Taste & Tattle Tuesday ~ Our First Link-Up!

Hi Everyone! Colette here! 

Today I'm bringing you our very first recipe post and our very first link-up!

One of our hopes for this blog is not only that we will have the chance to share our love of food with you, but that you in return will share the love back with us! That's how we came up with the theme for our link up:

Every Tuesday, we'll provide you with a different prompt for the week. We ask you to link up your blog (if you have one) or respond in the comments section.

This week we're "toasting" the beginning of our new blog with

Lauren and I agree that one of the best parts of summer cooking is all of the amazing fresh produce available. We decided that some of that fresh produce belonged in a cocktail glass as well. So, we concocted this to share with you all:

No, that is not a margarita you see in the picture! It is a lemon lime martini. Here's how to make your own:

Lemon Lime Martini

Recipe makes one large or two medium cocktails. Directions are for one large.  

Ingredients
2 Fresh Lemons
2 Fresh Limes
4 Tsp. Sugar
3 Shots (1.5 oz each) of Vodka
Flavored Sparkling Water/Club Soda (we chose lemon)
Ice

Tools
Cocktail shaker
Hand-held juicer (like this one!)
Shot glass 

Garnishes
A tray of sugar to dip the rim 
An extra slice of lemon or lime to garnish

Directions
(1)  Slice the lemons and limes in half. Rub the edge of one around the rim of the glass (it's okay if a bit of citrus juice drips into the glass itself). Turn the glass upside down on the tray of sugar and coat the rim. Set the glass aside.

(2) Add ice to the cocktail shaker. Over the ice, use the hand-held juicer to extract all the juice from both lemons and both limes. Add the vodka and three of the teaspoons of sugar. Shake well.

(3) Pour the mix in the shaker into your sugar-rimmed cocktail glass. Top the drink with a floater of club soda or flavored sparkling water (fill the rest of the glass). Sprinkle in the remaining teaspoon of sugar. Garnish with a lime slice and head out to your patio to enjoy!

Note: We love super tart cocktails, which is why we chose to use a lemon-flavored sparkling water for our float. If you'd like to mellow the citrus flavor, choose a plain club soda. If you want to amp up the lemon even more, replace the vodka with citron vodka, or add a shot of triple sec.

Cin Cin! 

And now, it's your turn...

What's your favorite cocktail to enjoy in the summer? Leave us a comment or link-up your blog below! And be sure to join us for our next Taste & Tattle Tuesday, where the theme will be Fourth of July Party Treats!

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by our blog!  This is a quick getting-to-know-us post before we dive into what you're really here for: the food and the drinks.

Why'd we start this blog?

We both have always loved food: cooking it, eating it, staring at it through glass cases. We're Italian, what can we say? We found ourselves often sharing photos, recipes, and reviews of local spots with our family and friends, so we decided to combine all of that great information into one easy to find spot on the web.

What can you expect to find here?

Recipes for dishes and drinks, restaurant and product reviews, entertaining and cooking tips, and anything else that has to do with our love of good food and good libations. We also want to hear from all of you as much as possible, so watch for our link-ups (especially "Taste & Tattle Tuesdays"!) and join in the fun with us.

Who are we?

We met as graduate students studying literature and writing. We bonded over our shared Italian heritage and found ourselves constantly studying (or complaining about work and school) over shared meals. When we realized we had a common bond not only through our scholastic interests but also through our connection to the kitchen, we knew this blog was a must to create.

We hope you enjoy all the dishes and drinks we have to present to you!