Strawberry Mimosas

Strawberry Mimosas make brunch even better with a simple but beautiful upgrade to your classic mimosa recipe.

Did you watch Happy Endings while it was on? I was such a massive fan of this show. It was the best of the Friends -style comedies that everyone was making a few years ago and so packed full of jokes that you could watch each episode twenty times and still find new things to laugh at. If you haven’t seen it, all three seasons are available on Hulu.

This recipe is actually part one of a two-part recipe pairing (come back Friday for part two) from one of my favorite Happy Endings episodes, in which characters, Penny and Alex, both drink about a million mimosas with very different results.

You’ll see what happens to Alex on Friday (or watch that clip, it’s very funny), but Penny finds she can speak fluent Italian when she’s drunk.

And guys, this is legit. I may have consumed these photo shoot mimosas , and let’s just say, my Italian, post- mimosas was great .

To be honest, I don’t actually love straight mimosas because I’m not a huge orange juice fan, but I desperately wanted to do this recipe pairing, so I got creative.

I added a simple homemade strawberry syrup to the mix to give it a slightly tarter, sharper sweetness and oh man, that little upgrade made all the difference. I could drink so many of these.

They are also just straight up beautiful. I mean, look at them. Don’t you want to invite all of your friends over and let them admire your handiwork while you drink sparkling wine and speak terrible Italian together? Don’t you!?

Usually mimosas are made with Champagne. I used prosecco because of the Italian theme and because it’s what the internet tells me all the cool kids are doing now. You can also use cava or whatever dry sparkling wine you have on hand. If you don’t do alcohol, I also heartily recommend using seltzer or club soda to make mocktails.

How ever you enjoy them, these will make for a lovely addition to any brunch.

Ingredients

Strawberry Syrup

▢ 1/2 cup ( 100 g) granulated sugar
▢ 1/2 cup water
▢ 1 cup ( 6 oz) sliced strawberries
▢ 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mimosas

▢ Orange Juice chilled
▢ 1 bottle Champagne, prosecco, or cava chilled
▢ Strawberries and orange slices for garnish

Instructions

Strawberry Syrup

In a small sauce pan, combine sugar and water. Heat over medium until sugar dissolves completely.
Add strawberries and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 15 to 17 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened and syrupy.
Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and transfer to a jar. Store in the refrigerator and allow to cool before using in drinks.

Assemble

Add 1 tablespoon of strawberry syrup to the bottom of your glass. Fill glass 1/3* of the way full with orange juice. Fill the rest of the way with champagne.
Stir, garnish, and enjoy.

Notes

Nutritional Information

Make brunch even better with a simple but beautiful strawberry upgrade to your classic mimosa recipe. Recipe includes nutritional information and - 9

Saturday Morning Snapshot

Took a break from photographing today’s recipe to eat today’s recipe…

State of the Blog

We finished up May Nerd Month week two! This week was Bryan Fuller week, which meant I got to spend all week talking about shows I love, posting Fullerverse-themed recipes and sifting through Tumblr for juuuuust the right GIFs of cannibal puns. It was great.

Weekend Post: Hannibal Cannibal Puns - 13

NBC via HannibalLecterMD

Seriously though, I have like 10 more of those GIFs.

Next week we have our first and only (I’m so ashamed) Nerd Month book-inspired recipe. That recipe is so good that the leftovers were literally stolen from my kitchen. Then Wednesday and Friday, there is a two-parter that pairs the most ridiculous combo. One’s boozy, one’s messy, both are delicious, neither should go together (but they do, surprisingly well).

Recipes/posts released this week were:

Candy-Sweet Jello Shots with Triple Sec Whipped Cream - 14

Candy-Sweet Jello Shots with Triple Sec Whipped Cream - 15

Candy-Sweet Jello Shots with Triple Sec Whipped Cream – Jello shots with a major flavor upgrade. Candy-sweet and topped with triple sec whipped cream, you’ll actually want to savor these shots!

Kahlua Cream Cheese Cup Pies – Miniature mocha and Kahlua cheesecakes with a crunchy Oreo cookie base, cool sour cream topping, and fudge sauce.

Lomo Saltado With Oven-baked Fries – Tender stir-fried beef sirloin, red onions, and tomatoes served with baked french fries and white rice. Carb lovers, you have to try this one!

Pop-culture Corner

How has everyone’s week in pop culture been? Read/watched/listened to anything good?

I will never stop laughing at this “leaked” Ghostbusters script .

Oh hey, almost everything I watch on network television was cancelled this week. Farewell, The Grinder , Grandfathered , Galavant , and Agent Carter . You were too good for this world. Did any of your favorites get axed?

In other everything-you-love-will-eventually-leave-you news, The Toast announced they will be shutting down in July [insert 1000 frowny faces here]. All I ask is that before they go, they pen a million more entries in their “If X Were Your Y” series because I’m not prepared to live in a world where I do not know what it would be like if Tom Hiddleston (and whoever is the new Tom Hiddleston in 3 months) were my boyfriend .

I’m off to go see Cap 3 again this evening with my dad (who owns a comic book store but has somehow not yet seen it). A week has passed and I’m still pretty high on this film. We’ll see where I land after a second viewing… Have you seen Civil War yet? What did you think?

Meal Planning

Saturday: Chimichurri Steak Quesadillas Sunday: Spicy Sausage Pasta Monday: Teriyaki Chicken with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Tuesday: Cobb Salad Wednesday: TBD Thursday: Chinese Takeout Friday: Sharp Cheddar Broccoli and Ham Chowder

Have a great weekend!

The easiest oven-baked beef ribs recipe you’ll ever find. All you need is two ingredients, one hour, and a whole lot of napkins.

The easiest oven-baked beef rib recipe you'll ever find. All you need is two ingredients, one hour, and a whole lot of napkins. From BakingMischief.com - 20

Looking for more summer favorites? Try my Tri-tip in the Oven , S’mores Cupcakes , and Slowcooker BBQ Tri-tip Sandwiches .

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you had a productive and fruitful week and have some awesome and/or awesomely relaxing weekend plans!

Wednesday, for Nerd Month (more on Nerd Month here ), we paid homage to a scene from Happy Endings , one of my favorite television comedies, by making Strawberry Mimosas so that we might all speak better Italian.

In that scene, we learn that while Penny speaks fluent Italian when drunk, Alex just eats ribs.

So today we are going to follow up Wednesday’s recipe with with that classic brunch mimosa pairing: oven-baked ribs.

Just go with it.

Before we start, I’m just going to stop and say, BBQ devotees, turn away now. This recipe is going to make you so angry.

People who just really want some ribs without spending three hours slow roasting them or manning a grill, come this way.

There’s a category of recipes I call “good enough” recipes. It’s not something I write about often or see highlighted in the cooking community, because “good enough” isn’t exactly a compelling selling point, but I think they are valuable recipes for home cooks. They’re solid, tasty, uncomplicated, and easy. This is one of those.

I love beef ribs, but for the longest time, I didn’t make them because the process to get “fall-off-the-bone tender” meat was too much for me. Then one day in college, I really wanted some ribs, and I made these. And they were great.

The meat wasn’t falling off the bone like you’d get with perfectly cooked Short Ribs , but it had a beautifully baked coat of my favorite BBQ sauce on it and was exactly what I had been craving. My friends and I enjoyed the hell out of those ribs, and I’ve been making this recipe ever since.

These Oven-baked Beef Ribs are one of the easiest dinners you’ll find, and honestly, one of my lazy afternoon summer faves, especially served alongside Mashed Potatoes or a Small Macaroni Salad .

This is what you need: cheap beef back ribs and your favorite BBQ sauce.

This is what you do: Stick the beef ribs in the oven. Wait. Put some BBQ sauce on there. Wait a little longer. Eat.

It doesn’t get any simpler than that. The worst part is cutting the ribs apart if you buy a rack and waiting while they cool before you start devouring them. I have the burns on my fingers to prove it…

Are you a BBQ fan? Do you have any “good enough” recipes you love? Tell me about them!