Summer Cocktails - A Red White and Blue Shot

1 part grenadine
1 part peach schnappes
1 part blue curacao

Pour each slowly and carfully into the shotglass in order (red, white, then blue). To make it easier use a spoon. Turn the spoon upside down and place in the shot glass. Pour each over the spoon. It will help keep them from mixing and ruin the look of the shot.

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Summer Cocktails - Yankee Doodle and Patriotic Punch

Yankee Doodle

1 part UV Blue Raspberry flavored vodka

2 parts sour

1 part tonic

Pour vodka, sour and tonic into a rocks glass over ice. Stir and serve.

Patriotic Punch

1 part UV Red Cherry-flavored vodka

3 parts lemonade

Pour the ingredients into a rocks glass over ice. Stir and serve.

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Summer Cocktails - Herradura Splash

1 ¼ oz of Herradura Silver Tequila
2 oz pineapple juice
2 oz cranberry juicesplash of lemon-lime soda

In a cocktail shaker, add ice, tequila, juices, lemon-lime soda, and shake.


Serve over ice.

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Alton Brown Smokes Like a true Macgyver

Smoked Salmon by a Macgyver esque Alton Brown. I say Macgyver esque because he smokes this fish in a cardboard box with a hot plate and a cast iron skillet with sawdust.

Don't believe me just watch and enjoy. Let me know what you think about it and if you are going to go try this!



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Grilled Swordfish With Melon Salsa

2 pounds fresh, boneless swordfish steak about 1 inch thick - cut into 4 pieces
1/2 cups cantaloupe, peeled and diced
1/2 cups honeydew, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped fine
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped fine
1/3 cup red onion, chopped fine
4 ounces green chilies, diced or 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped fine
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or chopped fine
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice - squeezed from lime
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cut whole steak into 4 pieces, approximately 1/2 pound each, or buy individual steaks.

If grilling in a pan, preheat pan for 2 minutes. If grilling on open grate, preheat the grill on medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes. Brush/coat pan or grill surface with cooking oil or cooking spray.

Place swordfish steaks on cooking surface and grill for approximately 4 to 7 minutes on each side or until steaks are firm to the touch, but still moist, tender, and slightly opaque on the inside at the thickest point.

Since temperatures vary for ovens and open grills, check the fish for doneness being careful not to overcook swordfish in order to achieve the best flavor.

Melon Salsa - 30 minute preparation--prepare ahead of time.
Slice the cantaloupe, honeydew and mango, removing the fruit so it can be diced into 1/4 inch cubes. Chop the green pepper, red pepper, and red onion into fine pieces. If chilies are not diced or seeded, remove the seeds and cut into fine pieces. Chop fresh cilantro and garlic into small pieces, or if desired, mince the garlic instead. Place those ingredients in a small mixing bowl and toss well.

In a separate bowl, squeeze 3 tablespoons from one lime and mix with vinegar, oil, and ground cumin. Pour contents into the fruit mixture, mixing all together.

Cover and refrigerate for several hours to allow flavors to combine.

Serve salsa on top of the grilled swordfish.

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It's a Bla.st of Free Advertising for your Blog!

I just found a new marketing idea for your websites and blogs. It is completly visual. It is just like the board out front of many grocery stores where people tack up business cards. That is exactly what you are showing on numerous other sites that are a part of this network.

Now I have only just signed up for this. So I do not have any stats to show to prove its value you to you; yet!

Bla.st is the name of this fairly new network. However it does have some features for anyone but especially someone on a budget. The main feature is that your ad card can be put up for FREE.

Now as with any free type of markeying like this you are put on the bottom of all of the other free ads. However you can increase your ad placement. You can pay a per day amount to increase your placement. all cards are put into the directory. The front page shows 80 ads with links to other pages. Now your per day payment of your choice will decide which page you are placed on. The largest and first ad is paying only $1.06 per day. That means if you pay $1.07 per day your ad will be in the number one spot.

Now you can earn advertising money for helping to give Bla.st exposure. If you write a blog post and submit it to bla.st, upon approval, they will add 2 cents per day to your card. If you add a link to your site they will add 1 cent per day. Sorry, only one upgrade is allowed per card. Bla.st also has a referral program. You participate by placing the widget, like you see on the right side of my page, on your site.

The widget will display ad cards from the category you select and you receive 50% of the revenue generated from your site. This referal program works like the information below taken directly from the Bla.st website.

bla.st uses a simple cookie based referral programme that is built into the bla.st widget. Here's how it works:

1. Place the bla.st widget on your site
2. A user clicks one of the bla.st links or cards in the widget
3. A cookie is placed on the users browser for 30 days
4. If that user pays for a card while the cookie is present on their browser, you earn 50% of the sale
5. At the end of the month we pay all referrers via PayPal

Some examples:

a user clicks the "add a card here" at the bottom of your widget. They then place a card on bla.st and pay 1c/day for 365 days. You earn 50% of $3.65 = $1.82

If a week later the same user upgrades their card to $1.00/day for the remaining 358 days, you earn 50% of $358 = $179

I am excited to see how this works. I will let you know in the future when I find out for myself. In the mean time I hope you try it for yourself.

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What is Great BBQ

Summer is in full tilt right now. That means loads of backyard BBQs all across the country. No matter what you call BBQ or what makes it the best, you have to admit there is nothing else like it.

You have your dry and wet ribs in Memphis. The pulled pork in the Carolinas and beef brisket in Texas. I know those are far from the only regions in the country that barbecue. They are the main ones people think of when you mention great BBQ.

The reason behind this post is not to tell you what you probably already know about BBQ. I want to know your favorite BBQ dishes or ways to BBQ. Be it a charcoal grill or smoking. Also do you prefer the briquettes, lump charcoal, gas or wood(and what types of wood)!

Just let me know in a comment!

Also I will be posting some of my favorite recipes for sauces, rubs and meals. Maybe even a few reciepes for some summer cocktails even though I perfer an iced sweet tea or a cold beer!

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