Frozen Peach Margaritas - Hiking at Tannehill State Park

So you might be wondering, what does going on a hike and drinking margaritas have in common-- Well didn't you know cold margaritas (and nachos) are an excellent way to refuel and relax after a long hike.

Over the long holiday weekend we headed down to Tannehill State Park to do a little hiking, but first let's talk about those margaritas.  Fruit flavored margaritas that taste as good as those you get at a good Mexican restaurant are really hard to recreate at home, especially if you're not using a mix, but these are actually better than any I have had at any Mexican restaurant.  I've also made them with frozen mango and they turned out great, so I imagine you could use any kind of fruit you like.

Frozen Peach Margaritas

1 lb bag frozen peaches
3/4 cup silver tequila
1/4 cup orange liqueur
juice of 3 limes, about 1/4 cup of juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup ice cubes

In a blender combine all the ingredients, blend until smooth. (Depending on how tough your blender is you might have to stop the blender and stir.)  Divide among four glasses and serve immediately.  Garnish with a lime wheel, if you want to be fancy.

 A couple months back me and Michael took up hiking as a hobby, really just to get a little extra exercise, just hitting some local trails and exploring what's around us.  Now I know Alabama is not one of those states that attract massive numbers of hikers, but there is still a lot of good trails and beautiful things to see.  I've bought a few books on local trails, which seem almost useless and there isn't much good information online--So I'm going to start sharing my experiences, maybe some of you locals might want to explore some of these places or maybe you will be inspired to find places to hike close to where you live.

So Michael picked Tannehill as our hike location for this weekend.  First we stopped at the museum, two bucks to get in, interesting if you're into that sort of thing, and the lady there gave us a trail map.

That is one unfortunate looking mannequin!

Every Memorial Day weekend there is a big Civil War reenactment-- 

These folks were nice enough to let me take their picture.

I think every kid tries to cross the creek here, 

Years back me and my cousins never made it across--

A snake swam out from under one of the rocks 

and we ran back to the bank.

Damn, I'm fat! Not enough hiking or too many post-hike margaritas and nachos?

The trail is well marked, I think about 4 miles of easy trail, but I didn't bring my Garmin.  It's wide flat trail-- a few hills, but easy.

As for critters, we saw one snake, one deer, two soldiers on horseback, and a dog.

As for historic sites, there is a old slave cemetery.

And plenty of pretty sights.

Bushwacker Frozen Cocktails

If I had to pick a favorite frozen cocktail, it would always be a Bushwacker.  It always takes me back to Pensacola Beach-- white sand between my toes, styrofoam cup in hand filled with the creamiest, coconutiest, coldest drink-- A Bushwacker!

According to cocktail folklore the Bushwacker originated at the Sandshaker on Pensacola Beach, now you can find them everywhere, but to me the best ones come from Pensacola.  The second best come from my very own blender.

Any drink that begins with cream of coconut is always a favorite of mine.  It's not the same thing as canned coconut milk,  I know people sometimes get them confused.   Look for it with the drink mixes.

Then the ice cream, four big scoops.  These are not low calorie, that's for sure.

 

Then add the booze, the ice, and blend.

Frozen Bushwacker Cocktails

6 oz cream of coconut (like Coco Lopez)
2 oz Kahlua Coffee Liqueur
2 oz light rum
2 oz creme de cacao
4 scoops vanilla ice cream
2 cups ice cubes
2 shots 151 proof rum, optional
maraschino cherries, for garnish

In a blender combine the cream of coconut, Kahlua, light rum, creme de cacao, ice cream and ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into two large glasses and garnish with a cherry, and if your feeling brave top each glass with a shot of 151.

*Just be sure if you are drinking the 151-- well drinking period, you don't do anything stupid, like drive a car.

Twix N Tween BBQ Sauce

Twix N Tween has always been legendary-- Not that I had eaten there, but my whole life I have heard people talking about it.  My Great Aunt Bert lived on the main street in Centreville, Alabama, and every time we went to visit we passed by Twix N Tween.  Then someone at Aunt Bert's house would always mention about how they had eaten at Twix N Tween.  My mom even had a recipe for the Twix and Tween BBQ sauce and started making it, I think Aunt Bert might have made it too.

A decade ago Aunt Bert passed away, and I haven't been back to Centreville or heard much about Twix N Tween since-- Until I was flipping through my Mom's cookbooks and saw the recipe for Twix N Tween BBQ Sauce.  I made a batch of the sauce, It's tart dill pickle flavor made me want the real thing, the full Twix N Tween experience.

Today there are a few less than a handful of restaurants in Centreville, I'm sure years ago even less, I'm sure this has something to do Twix N Tween's legendary status.  Inside it could be a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting, it's very crowded, old men are sitting at tables drinking their cups of coffee, the old lady at the cash register nodding off to sleep.  You get the idea.  The food was good-- I might not call it legendary, well maybe the sauce.

Twix N Tween BBQ Sauce

recipe source: Calling All Cooks (the edition with the yellow cover)

2 cups ketchup

1 cup dill pickle juice

3/4 cup mustard

3 tbs Louisiana hot sauce

3 tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

a pinch of garlic salt

Combine all the ingredients in a pot on the stove over a medium-low heat.  Let come to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat and let cool.  Stored refrigerated, the sauce should keep several months.

Enjoy with barbecue pork or beef, but I like to use it as a sauce for hot dogs.