Chasing Cozy

by Leslie Claire

RECIPES

HOW TO MAKE A PINEAPPLE CUP

Easy pineapple cocktail cup

Pineapple cups are so cute and can really add a special touch to a summer gathering with friends. They are so easy to make if you have the right tool.

This pineapple corer is key. All you do is remove the top of the pineapple, insert the corer right over the core, and twist. As you twist, the corer creates a spiral of pineapple.
Easy pineapple cocktail cup
You just lift the corer out and you’re left with yummy fruit and none of the mess of cutting around the core by hand.

You can then cut the core out, or, even easier, use kitchen shears.

Easy pineapple cocktail cup

The pineapple fully removed

You can make these cups even more festive with cocktail umbrellas and fun straws. You can enjoy a classic pina colada by the pool, or make your own recipe!

I most recently made a Prosecco punch that used some of the fresh pineapple in the recipe. Instead of buying pineapple juice, I popped four rings in the blender to make my own.

RECIPE

This recipe is just about right for filling two medium pineapple cups.

1 cup Prosecco
1/4th cup lime juice
1/3 cup orange juice
Four rings of your fresh pineapple
2 TBS  Aperol
5-7 ice cubes 

Blend everything together until the ice and pineapple chunks are gone. 

Easy way to make a pineapple cup
Be sure to tag me in your posts if you make some cute pineapple cups to enjoy by the pool!

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SUMMER SOLSTICE APEROL SPRITZ

sliced oranges and a bottle of aperol on a cutting board

SO, it seems like we’ve been seeing aperol spritzes in every other picture as we scroll through the ‘gram lately. It seems like people have pretty polarized opinions on this beverage. The New York Times even published an op-ed on why they think it’s a horrible drink.
I had to put it to the test for myself and squash my curiosity about this bubbly concoction once and for all.

A freshly made aperol sprit on a charcuterie board with meat, nuts, cheese and oranges

Long story short, I like this drink, but only when I make it my way. I’ll list three recipes below: the original provided by the official Aperol website, the most common recipe I found on Pinterest, and the one I made for myself and liked the best.

sliced oranges and a bottle of aperol on a cutting board

 

THE ORIGINAL

Fill glass with ice.
Combine 1 part Prosecco with 1 part aperol.
Add a dash of soda water.
Garnish with an orange slice.

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Combine 3 parts Prosecco to 2 parts aperol.
Add a dash of soda water.
Garnish with an orange slice.

MY RECIPE

Keep all your ingredients in the back of the fridge so they are FREEZING cold.
Only use Prosecco you would drink on its own. Don’t substitute something cheap or ultra low quality.
The lemon in my recipe is key. It gives the drink a sharper edge to balance out the sweetness of the aperol.
Make giant ice cubes so they dont immediately melt and water down the drink.
Fill glass with your large ice cubes.
Combine 4 parts Prosecco to 1 part aperol.
Add a dash of soda water.
Squeeze the juice of 1/4 lemon in.
Garnish with orange.

An aperol spritz styled on charcuterie board

What else goes with a refreshing drink on a summer day? A yum charcuterie board. You already knew I was going to say that 😉

We didn’t shop for this one, we just used what we had leftover in the fridge. The dark chocolate was my fave, because chocolate, but also because dark chocolate and oranges are a great combo.

The oranges are from our Hungry Harvest box and were perfectly ripe. You can use code ARCHCHASERS for $10 off your first harvest.

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MARY BERRY’S LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE- MINI BUNDTS

Mary Berry lemon drizzle mini bundt cakes

Every friend I talk to is obsessed with the Great British Baking show. I am too. If there is a GBBS detox program, I need it but I don’t want it. My obsession with the show is real, but my love with dear Mary Berry is even greater. I could talk about her for way too long.

Naturally, I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to Mary Berry’s recipes. There’s just something about their simplicity and the fact that it’s all just really good food, nothing too pretentious.

Mary Berry lemon drizzle mini bundt cakes

As we talked about before, I don’t even qualify as a home baker, I’m way worse than that. It takes our kitchen a good two full days to recover after one of my “baking projects.” It’s not great.

BUT, that should speak to how simple this recipe actually is. I consulted with two different recipes. This one, provided through BBC for Mary Berry’s Lemon Drizzle Traybake, and this one from the Salted Mint blog on how to turn that recipe into mini bundt cakes. If you want this recipe, please check our Deborah’s blog. She has totally created a simple way to make this tiny treat.

Mary Berry lemon drizzle mini bundt cakes

SO, the whole reason I’m posting about this is because I was able to successfully execute these cute little cakes, minus overfilling half of the bundt pan compartments. But hey, I still count this as a win. They were soft, fluffy and in my opinion, tasted even better the next day.

Mary Berry lemon drizzle mini bundt cakes

I will 100% be making more of these to bring to the lake this summer. To me, nothing says summer more than a citrusy treat or a cold glass of rose. Plus, this was an excuse to style with these fun little flowers from my local market before they wilted.

If you try this recipe, please share with me and go follow the Salted Mint blog and Instagram.