Last weekend, Eric and I hosted our first summer barbecue. For many years, we organized a winter gathering somewhere around the end of January or beginning of February and we'd trek out onto our snow-covered porch and fire up the grill. That became a tradition and we kept it going for a while, until the year we moved and then things fizzled out. We had this weekend blocked off for months because my friend Mandy was having a surprise birthday thrown for her (normally we'd be on the Cape). As soon as we heard about it I said to Eric, "We have to use this as an opportunity to throw a barbecue in our backyard!" And so we did. Friends gathered outside, dining under tents we put up. There was a ton of food (way more than we needed) and homemade rosemary lemonade with bottles of booze next to it so people could add their own. The weather was incredible, which was a nice surprise seeing that the forecast had called for thunderstorms. It was exactly what we'd wanted it to be and we hope to do it again next year.
I made a lot of the dishes for our party using our new blender that we ordered the other week. It was an impulse buy... on-sale on Amazon for one day and we decided that it was time that we get one. It is amazing the number of things you can do with a blender. I made baba ganoush and hummus and dressings for different salads. I'm not sure how I ever managed without one!
And then there are these fresh peach daiquiris (which were not served at the barbecue... sorry friends!). I blended up some ripe peaches with a little sugar and lemon juice to make a puree. A tablespoon of that added to the shaker with rum (I used some Diplomatico, which paired nicely with the peach), lime juice, and just a touch of agave (if you like it to be a bit more tangy, this can be left out). All of that is shaken with ice and strained to make for one tasty summer cocktail. These are best served on a porch, overlooking a body of water with a warm breeze hitting your face. That's just my recommendation.
Fresh Peach Daiquiri
Yield
1 Drink
Glassware
Coup
Ingredients
For the cocktail
3/4 oz. lime juice
2 oz. light or dark rum (I think dark rum holds up better with the peach puree)
1 tablespoon peach puree (see recipe below)
1/2 tsp. agave
Directions
1. In a cocktail shaker, add the lime juice, rum, peach puree and agave. Shake with ice.
2. Strain into chilled coup glass.
Ingredients
For the peach puree
2 ripe peaches, pitted and diced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions
1. Add the peaches, sugar and lemon juice to a blender and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Press through a sieve and strain to remove any pieces.
