u/BrontosaurusNeckTie

Made a huge batch of Kahiko Punch (Smuggler's Cove recipe) for a friend's party and it's a hit! It's a tad sweet for my taste but it mellows out when the ice melts.

The Specs:

-1/2 oz scratch cinnamon simple

-1 oz lemon

-1/2 scratch Hibiscus liquor (SC recipe, I made mine with Appleton signature)

-1.5 oz passion fruit honey syrup

-2 oz pot still unaged rum (I used Wray and Nephew)

-6 drops tiki bitters

Scale the amounts up for however many people are at the party.

Hey everyone,

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I (38F, measurements are B: 43 W: 36 H: 45) am attending my cousin's wedding in a little over a month, so it's time to start outfit planning. I'm drawing a complete blank as to what kind of dress I want to make. The wedding isn't super formal, so I thought maybe a cute cocktail dress would work. I was thinking of making either Simplicity S9286 (view B) or the soon-to-be released "The Dress" by KAP creative studies, but I'm not feeling 100% about either. I figured I'd see if anyone had any pattern suggestions that they love that would be suitable. My style is kind of all over the place lol, but I love feminine, vintage silhouettes and little punk/alt details. I appreciate any input y'all might have!

I had a really similar drink a few weeks ago at a rum tasting at Morgan's Cove, and it made me want to try out this Tropical Standard take! The stars have aligned this weekend and I happen to have most of the ingredients on hand to make it (minus a few key rums but I think I made it work? You be the judge 😅), so I went for it! I still don't have snifter glasses, but I thought this Mai Kai punch mug would be appropriate.

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The Specs:

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-5 Dashes Saline

-3 dashes angostura

-1/2 oz Lime

-1/2 oz Orange

-3/4 oz Grapefruit

-1/4 oz ginger oleosaccharum

-1/2 oz Honey Syrup (66 brix)

-1/2 oz strong cold brew

-1 tsp Allspice Dram

-1/4 oz Planteray OFTD (recipe calls for Hamilton 151)

-1 1/4 oz Flor De Cana 12 (recipe calls for 1/2 oz El Dorado 12 and 3/4 oz Panama-Pacific 9, but I didn't have the El Dorado on hand and I can't find the Panama-Pacific anywhere)

-3/4 oz Goslings (used Goslings because it pairs well with ginger, but the recipe calls for Coruba, which I can't find anywhere near me)

3/4 oz Appleton 12 (recipe calls for Appleton 8)

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As someone who absolutely loves coffee in all forms, this was a home run for me. However, it is a bit of a pain to make, so I think I'd rather just drive over to the Mai Kai (or Morgan's Cove if it's ever on special again!) and have someone else make this for me. 😅 I think out of the three versions I've had, the Morgan's Cove special was my favorite.

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10/10 would recommend stopping in on a Monday afternoon

It's my Dad's 70th, and he requested Mai Tai's, so I obliged. In addition to that I decided to make a batch of Tropical Standard's Piña Coladas so he could try them out, and despite him saying he's not into Piña Coladas, he loved it. Made as a double, without garnish and in the glasses I don't care so much about (because, poolside).

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The Specs (because it's a double):

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-10 drops of saline solution

-4 dashes of Angostura

-3 oz of homemade coconut cream (Tropical Standard recipe)

-120 g frozen fresh pineapple

-1 oz pineapple juice acid adjusted to lime

-1.5 oz Smith and Cross

-1.5 oz Hamilton 86

-Heaping 1/4 tsp guar gum (xanthan gum works too)

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Throw everything in a blender with as much ice as you prefer and serve.

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Cheers 🌴🍹

Thanks for all your input on my recent post asking about rum specs for a "Paracetamol!" I used the Tropical Standard recipe, and for my rums I ended up using equal parts Hamilton 86, Planteray OFTD, and Smith and Cross (3/4 oz of each). I don't have a snifter, but my Oga's mug is working just fine. Cheers!

So I'm planning on making Painkillers this weekend, should I use Hamilton 151 or Planteray OFTD in it? I feel like the flavor profile of the Hamilton will probably go slightly better, but the OFTD seems to be way more versatile of a rum that I could use for other drinks. And, let's be real, I don't have a fortune to spend on a bunch of different rums lol. Pic of the SC Naked Ape I made last weekend!

Aloha!

After perfecting my favorite home Mai Tai (pictured) I think I want to try making my ultimate home Navy Grog next. I'm making my way through the Smuggler's Cove book, and even though the SC Navy Grog Is pretty good, I think it could be better. I'm also kind of tandem reading Tropical Standard. Their Navy Grog seems a bit complicated, but the rum specs are interesting (and way different from SC!). I *love* the Morgan's Cove Navy Grog, which is also way different than SC, but seems to be a bit less fussy than TS. According to some preliminary research, it seems like Smith & Cross is a must? Probitas is an interesting option for the light rum portion, as well as Hamilton 86 and/or Appleton 12 for the dark rum. So I'm just curious about your personal favorite specs and rum combos, for y'know, very important research purposes. I appreciate your input!

I'm a SAHM and my husband works two jobs, so the bulk of the domestic tasks are on me (which includes cooking). My husband had some pretty scary blood work come back from the doctor about a month ago so he's had to radically change his diet. I try to eat pretty heathy and take care of myself because I'm approaching 40 and I want to feel/look good, my 4 yo is on the autism spectrum and has mild ARFID, and my 13 yo has a normal diet, but I don't want to subject him to the super pared down, bland meals that their dad eats. Occasionally he'll eat what I eat, but for the most part, he has different preferences than myself, so I end up making a separate meal for everyone. It's so incredibly annoying that I end up just eating unsatisfying and boring chicken breast and broccoli because after I've made everyone else's meals I'm so sick of cooking that I make the quickest easiest thing for myself.

Last night my husband had leftovers from a previous meal and grabbed a cheese pizza for the kids (one of the only foods they agree on lol) which meant I had the time and energy to prepare a delicious meal that I actually wanted. I cut up some peaches and put them under the broiler to make them a little charred/caramelized, toasted up some pecans, seared a chicken breast, grabbed a small handful of crumbled gorgonzola cheese, and put it all on a bed of spinach and kale with my scratch made blueberry lemon balsamic vinaigrette dressing. 🤌🏼

I'm actually a pretty good cook, and I wish I had more time to make stuff like this.

EDITING TO ADD:

Wow this got way more engagement than I was expecting! There are a lot of great suggestions in the comments to help alleviate my kitchen workload, thanks for that! So, a few things:

1. My husband does help me meal prep! Admittedly I do most of it because he works two jobs. He also makes all of his own meals during the day, so it's just dinner that I'm making for him (that he eats when he gets home late from job #2). He's a wonderful parent and husband who contributes meaningfully to our household, on top of working from 8am-11pm Monday-Friday (and occasionally on a weekend day too)

2. I recently started baking with my 13 yo and he's been loving it. The 4 yo gets involved too, but she mostly just likes to stir things and try to steal the spatula (autism moms: iykyk). I think cooking actual meals with me in the kitchen is a great next step for us, I'm sure he'd love learning how to make something. I sense fresh pasta in our future (his favorite)

3. A lot of people are asking for the vinaigrette recipe, so here it is! I pretty much eyeball it, but it's about a cup of fresh blueberries, about a third a cup of balsamic vinegar, quarter cup-ish of evoo, 2 ish tsps of fresh lemon juice and a pinch of the zest, and a small pinch of salt. Put everything in a blender, and there ya go! If it tastes too tart, I'll add a tablespoon of honey, but I personally don't like an overly sweet salad dressing and the blueberries are typically sweet enough for me. Sometimes I'll add a lil Dijon mustard and maybe fresh basil, but the basil can be a tad overwhelming, so I usually stick to the base recipe. Also, this salad is awesome with pears as well! They get nice and caramelized under the broiler too, and it goes well with the gorgonzola. You can sub feta too if you wish, but I like a funky cheese.

Editing to add one more thing: Y'all, it's a stainless steel mixing bowl, it's pretty standard kitchenware that comes in a set with a bunch of sizes. It's not a dog bowl. We don't even have a dog lol.