How was your week? Long? Thankfully, we are so close to the weekend! It’s almost time to kick your feet up and relax with a refreshing cocktail. A lot of my girlfriends, and I, enjoy an excellent martini. One of our favorites is a Lemon Drop Martini. This cocktail is refreshing, sweet, and tart. I have made this cocktail homemade but also have found Stirrings Lemon Drop Martini Mix at my local Publix. The company Stirring prides itself on using real juice and triple filtered water. What that means for us, is that the mix won’t give you that weird sugary feeling at the back of your throat. The homemade Lemon Drop Martini recipe is tarter than the mix, and the mix is sweeter than the homemade recipe. Pick which favor fits your taste buds, or try both ways! The key to a perfect Martini is a chilled glass and vodka, as well as the perfect balance between sweet and sour. If the vodka is not cold, the alcohol taste will be robust and unpleasant, so make sure you freeze your vodka for at least a couple of hours. Don’t have a few hours to wait? I have a life hack to help you out! All you have to do is wrap the vodka bottle in a wet paper towel, and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Then, you are ready to go! Cheers!

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen vodka
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Ice

Directions:

Combine the vodka, lemon juice, and sugar and pour into a cocktail shaker with ice. Rim the glass with superfine sugar. Pour into martini glasses and garnish with lemon slices.

Ingredients:
3 oz Stirrings® Simple Lemon Drop Martini Cocktail Mixer
1.5 oz Smirnoff® Vodka
Garnish: Lemon Drop Rimmer (optional)
Directions:
In a cocktail shaker combine Stirrings Simple Lemon Drop Martini Cocktail Mixer, vodka and ice. Shake well and strain into a rimmed cocktail glass.

Stirring makes a Lemon Drop Martini Rimmer that is perfect for your cocktail.

Some of my favorite memories with my family involve my dad cooking Chinese food. We have made many, many egg rolls over the years: in my kindergarten classes (see pic below!), college apartments, a cabin in the woods, hotel suites, and of course our own houses. Each time has been full of laughter and so much yummy food!

On our recent trip to my aunt’s house, my cousin Benjamin asked if we could make my dad’s famous egg rolls. My cousins affectionately call my dad “Uncle Wok” because of his Chinese cooking skills. My parents brought all the food supplies and the well-seasoned wok. Everyone gets involved with helping stuff the egg roll wrappers, rolling them up, and frying them. It’s such a memorable way to spend time together, a family tradition that we will always cherish. So, gather your own gang, and try the Arthur Family egg rolls! Cheers to Fry-day!

Ingredients:

6 TB vegetable oil for stir frying meat/veggies
3 cups vegetable oil for frying egg rolls
2 cups shredded raw Napa cabbage
2 handfuls fresh bean sprouts
3 large stalks celery, sliced thin lengthwise, then widthwise
1 ½ pounds ground pork
1 pound cooked shrimp, shelled, deveined, and chopped
4 green onions, sliced
2 cans sliced water chestnuts, chopped into slivers
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 TB dry cooking sherry (or rice wine)
1 TB soy sauce
2 TB sugar
Egg roll wrappers at room temp
1 egg slightly beaten
Hot mustard
Duck sauce
Salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Wash, chop and stage vegetables by the stove in separate bowls. Have all other ingredients measured separately and staged by the stove. The success of Chinese stir frying is to have all ingredients measured and staged for cooking, as stir frying is a quick and last minute technique. This is also less stressful on the cook…trust me.
2. Set wok over high heat for 30 seconds, swirl in 2 tablespoons of oil, count to 20, add minced garlic and finely sliced green onions, and stir fry briskly to lightly brown and release garlic flavor into the cooking oil. Add ground pork, salt and pepper to season, and stir fry until meat is browned.
3. After ground pork is browned and most of the moisture has evaporated, add dry cooking sherry and soy sauce around the edges of meat and stir fry for another two minutes. Remove browned and seasoned pork from the wok and drain excess moisture and grease on a paper towel.
4. Set wok over high heat for 30 seconds, swirl in 1 tablespoon of oil, count to 20, add carrots, and stir fry for 2 – 3 minutes…at the point where color is at its peak and vegetables are still a bit crunchy (do not overcook). Remove carrots from wok to a big glass bowl.
5. Repeat this process in three more batches for celery/water chestnuts, cabbage and bean sprouts. Cabbage will reduce in bulk considerably. All stir fried vegetables can be added to carrots in big glass bowl.
6. Set wok back over high heat for 30 seconds; there should be enough residual oil in the wok for final stir fry. Add browned pork, chopped/cooked shrimp, and stir fried vegetables. Add sugar and combine this mixture stir frying for an additional 2-3 minutes to allow sugar to glaze meat and vegetable mixture.
7. Return meat and vegetable mixture to glass bowl and refrigerate until ready to wrap and fry egg rolls. Mixture should be completely cooled down (at least to room temperature) prior to wrapping. Mixture can be kept for several days in refrigerator to serve at later point in time. Do not attempt to wrap egg rolls with hot mixture; mixture should be fairly well drained of any excess moisture. If pressed for time, go for Chinese take-out and serve egg rolls at later date. 😉
8. Fill each egg roll wrapper with approximately 1-½ tablespoon of the mixture. Roll and seal with slightly beaten egg, as illustrated. Place rolls on oiled wax paper or cookie sheet. Egg rolls should be wrapped rather tightly and sealed. Do not over stuff egg rolls or loosely roll, as they tend to explode in the wok making huge mess and stressing out cook and guests.
9. Place paper-lined serving dish in a 250° oven. Set wok over medium high heat for 30 seconds; add 3 cups of oil, heat to 375° or until a cube of bread browns (about 1 minute). Oil should not be hot to the point of smoking. Carefully place three to four egg rolls in the oil at once, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown, turning often. Remove from wok with a slotted spoon, drain and keep warm until ready to serve.
10. Serve with traditional hot mustard and duck sauce. (The absolute best duck sauce in the world is sold at Publix Supermarkets.)

Enjoy! What are you favorite family traditions? I’d love to hear about them!

Today’s Fry-day post is inspired by my recent trip to Homestead Manor’s farmer’s market. Since I have been learning a lot about farm-to-table foods, I decided to share a recipe with a vegetable that’s currently in season. The great thing about buying seasonal produce is that local farmer’s markets are likely to have them available! My vegetable of choice this time was an artichoke, and I did have my challenges with cutting one up. My time-saving tip for you is this helpful how-to video. For this particular recipe, you can stop the video at two minutes and thirty-eight seconds. Once you get the hang of prepping the artichoke, it’s pretty simple! I’ve also included my favorite recipe for lemon aioli, which is the perfect dipping sauce for these delicious fried artichokes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
-4 large artichokes
-32 fl oz peanut oil
-1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
-2 Lemons

Directions:
1. Cut the lemons in half and set aside
2. Clean the artichoke, then peel the outer green edges with a knife or a peeler.
3. Squeeze lemon over the artichoke, and use the rhine to spread.
4. Heat peanut oil in a tall pot over medium heat.
5. Fry the artichokes until they are slightly golden in color. Remove artichokes from oil and drain on paper towels.
6. Turn temperature of oil up to medium high. Return artichokes to the oil and fry until they are completely opened and deep golden brown. Remove from oil, place face down on paper towels to let all the oil drain.
7. Serve warm (with aioli)!

Lemon Aioli:
-2 garlic clove
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 egg yolk
-1 lemon, zested and juiced
-1 cup olive oil

Method:
In a mortar, pound the garlic and salt to form a paste. Stir in the egg yolk, lemon zest, and juice until integrated. Add the olive oil in a slow trickle, and blend. If you want, you can add ¾ cups of Mayonnaise to your mixture.

What are some of the farm-fresh vegetables at your local market? Do you fry them? I’m always looking for a new recipe to try, so feel free to share yours in the comments below!