Margarita Lime Jello Cubes (Shots)

Years ago, when I was hip and young, staying home on New Years Eve was "totally not cool".  For my more mature self in 2012, however, a nice quite night home with the kids was just what the doctor ordered.  Snuggled on the couch with puppies on our laps we rang in the New Year watching the classic It's a Wonderful Life and finding gratitude in the Life we "Liv". 

Our last minute change in plans however, left us with a gorgeous batch of Margarita Lime Jell-O shots... a use my dad probably had not envisioned when he brought over a Trader Joe's sized bag of limes from his tree, though a use he is probably wishing he had been a part of.

Tart and potent, these jiggly cubes of margarita go down easy, especially when dipped into a sweet lime sugar that brings a definite "Pow" to the senses when popped into your mouth.  Unflavored Knox Original Gelatin allows true margarita flavors to shine through uninhibited by the usual flavored Jell-O.

Combined with fresh squeezed lime and lemon juices, a touch of sugar and a splash of Grand Marnier, these little guys can become somewhat addicting.  Note to self:  when photo shooting said Margarita Shots in the morning, perhaps one should not eat all the scraps from trying to make perfectly shaped cubes...

Pouring the prepared gelatin into a prepared baking dish and then cutting eases the prep and cost of those little plastic shot cups, and a simple topping of a tiny lime wedge sure catches the eye.  Sugar mixed with grated lime peel adds an attractive and sparkly addition to your serving plate with its pretty green flecks contrasting with the golden hues of the cubes as it brings an additional layer of flavor to the shot.

Lemon Drop Jell-O Shots for National Vodka Day

October 4th, National Vodka Day

Suburban living has its benefits.  For example, we have friends to pick up our mail when we are out of town, help picking up the kids from school when we are running late, and someone to fill our measuring cups when we are missing an ingredient.

Such was the case with the creation of our Lemon Drop Jell-O Shots.  In preparation for a neighborhood gathering, and with a phenomenal idea from Naomi at Baker's Royale, I had my lemons assembled and scrubbed, halved and scooped out and lined up on mini muffin tins awaiting their vodka laced Jell-O filling as I reached up into the liquor cabinet for the vodka.  Much to my surprise, the vodka cabinet was bare.

Doing my best to avoid a late night trip to the store I peered out my windows to see if lights were on at any of the neighbors.  One was out of town, another doesn't drink, another out to dinner, but the one directly across the street was lit up in celebrating of Maggie's 9th birthday (10 Gryffinder garbed "Hermiones" were in attendance).  With laughter carrying across the street I stood hesitantly in my front yard while clutching my big measuring cup and decided to head over.

The dad opened the door, saw my measuring cup and asked if I needed sugar.  The all out belly laugh that occurred after I stated, "No... I need a cup and a half of vodka," had me smiling while he asked if my day really had been that bad?

Vodka in hand, I scurried back home, prepared my Jell-O concoction (we used a ratio of 2/3 vodka to 1/3 water) and set the filled lemon shells into the fridge to set overnight.

A sharp knife and a pretty plate was all that was remaining for our party offering the next day which indeed garnered plenty of "Oooh's and aaah's" as it was placed on the drink table.

Adjustable to suit your tastes, the hardest part of the recipe is scooping out the lemon shells.  My first attempt to turn the shells inside out, as I had seen recommended, didn't work and found me with a torn half lemon shell left in my hands.  My solution was to use a paring knife to cut away as much of the lemon from the rind as I could and simply using either the edge of the knife or my fingernail to peel away the remaining pith, almost like peeling the lemon from the inside out.

Visually appealing as well as fun, I enjoyed the numerous questions about how I had shaped the wedges, with most people not realizing that I had cut the wedges from a half lemon that had chilled overnight.  Popular with all ages (over 21 years of age) I served a few saved wedges to my parents, Father-in-Law, and my dad's 85 year old cousin the following night and actually had my Father-in-Law ask for seconds.  Jell-O shots do indeed span the generations!

Happy National Vodka Day 2011!

Strawberry Margarita Jell-O Shots

When thinking of Super Bowl foods strawberries don't usually make the cut.  However... mix the strawberries with a little tequila and turn them into a margarita and you are getting closer!  With our sunny Citrus Blush already mixed and in the pitcher we weren't really in need of another cocktail, but when I came across these cute little shots I couldn't resist putting them on my Super Bowl Extravaganza Table.  

Hollowed out strawberries work as a vehicle for a Jell-0 concoction of strawberry gelatin, tequila and a touch of Grand Marnier.  Garnished with cute little wedges of lime these little shots are absolutely adorable!

Strawberry season here in San Diego is a tad behind schedule and I had a bit of trouble finding those beautiful, plump and bright red berries, but we made do with the Farmer's Market offerings and found some that were good enough.  Hollowing out the berry is a bit of a chore, and I pierced the bottom of the berry on more than one occasion.  Note to self:  If there is a hole of any size in the bottom of the berry the Jell-O will flow right through!

The gelatin is mixed with water, 4 oz of tequila and 2 oz of Grand Marnier.  When mixing, the "potion" smelled just like a Strawberry Margarita!  The next hurdle was to actually get the Jell-O into the hollowed out berries... not an easy feat.  Luckily Liv came to the rescue!  Suffering with a sinus infection the pharmacist had filled her antibiotics and given us a baby dropper to take the medicine dose.  Being 11 years old, we laughed at the baby dropper and stuck it in the drawer.  Remembering this little dropper at the last minute, we pulled it out, sucked up about a Tbs of the Jell-O and squirted it into the berry.  Ideal!!

The berries were adorable on the table and garnered "Ooohs and Aaahh's" from the crowd, but upon tasting, most people could not taste anything but sweet Jell-O and the berry.  None of the "Margarita" flavor seemed to make its way onto the taste buds.  So while these little guys are visually perfect for the table, they didn't pack the punch I was hoping for.

The recipe and directions can be found on the Baker's Royale blog and I really think that with the proper tweaking they could pack more of a Margarita Punch.  Definitely worth playing with for the visual impact that they made.  Next time I would probably double (at least!) the tequila (reducing the same amount of water) and see what we can come up with.  To be continued... (someday!)

Edited 2/10/11:  Tamera, in the comment section below, suggests using all liquor in the gelatin mix, no water.  My friend, Becky (of Becky's Football Stromboli) suggested the same thing

Edited 1/26/12:  After the success of our New Years Eve Margarita Lime Jello Cubes, I would fill the strawberries with this tempting concoction! 

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