Monday Feels: Moscow Mules + Crawfish

Maybe it’s the time change or maybe it’s the weekend drinks still running their course in my body. I am one sleepy gal.

The season is finally here and if you’re in the great south, you know exactly what I am speaking of.
Crawfish.
My brother and sister-in-law + kiddos came in from Dallas for the weekend which called for some serious celebrations. We kicked off the weekend Friday with Gumbo and finished it with cheese burgers, loaded cauliflower mash, and a nice fancy green salad. Saturday we gathered around a boiling pot of water and laughed until the last one dropped *hand raise*.
I initially opted for rum strawberry limeades but after bartender J. Steve’s pulled out the mules, I was committed.

Friends, Moscow Mules are so dang good. He introduced me to the best ginger beer and although I am no connoisseur, this brand of ginger beer knocks it out of the park. In the past I have used the basic can you can find at everything liquor store or Trader Joe’s Ginger beer and while those get the job done, Fever-Tree is truly on another level. A restaurant level. These cocktails are crisp with the perfect amount of lime which make them perfect for sipping around the pool and in the heat! I can’t wait to enjoy them again!

Big “thank you” to my third brother, Jeremy, for graciously allowing me to share his recipe here with you!

J. Steve's Moscow Mules

• Servings: 1 Drink
• Time: ~1-2 Minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients

• • 2 ounces of vodka
• • 1 ounces of lime juice
• • 4 ounces of Fever-Tree ginger beer
• • Fresh mint

[Directions-ingredients]

1. Fill a glass with ice, preferably a copper mug such as these.
2. Combine all liquid ingredients, stir, and garnish with mint.*

*For a greater flavor, muddle mint with vodka and lime before adding ice and “beer”.

Needless to say, I may have repeatedly cut the crawfish spice with big gulps of gingery goodness. You know, it had ice so I thought I was good to go!

Our Crawfish 101:

• Wild crawfish season is generally late January through early July with the peak being March-May. Rain and temperature effect how the crawfish grow which ultimately effects the season. I find them at their largest during the peak months.
• Houston folk: We buy our live crawfish from Blue Water on 1960 (near Champions) the morning of. They’re fresh, jumbo in size, and pretty competitively priced. We typically allocate 3-4 lbs per person. Between the sides, party trays and appetizers, no one ever leaves hungry.
• Never forget to water them down and purge those whittle almost lobsters before boiling. This is the practice of adding salt to the water to rid any impurities in the intestinal track along with simply cleaning them a bit. You can follow the simple steps here.
• To start, we boil sausage, red potatoes, corn, mushrooms, and lemons.
• Zatarain’s Crab Boil and Zatarain’s Concentrated is our preferred spice.
• Go ahead and buy a few coolers. You will not want to reuse them for your drinks next month. We keep the crawfish separate from the sausage and potatoes.
• Gather, pinch those tails, slurp the juices, and enjoy the spring season with friends and family!
• Bonus points for playing zydeco music!

We’re doing a Fantastic Favara Family Fabulous Feuding Weight Loss Challenge! I’m pretty sure I got that name wrong but it was something super dramatic like that. We are kicking it off today and going through June 1st. Essentially, we weigh in, share updates every Monday, and in roughly 80 days, we gather and celebrate our beach bodies.
String. Bikini’s. People.

I will definitely be keeping you posted. Currently, there are 5 of us participating and I’m really looking forward to the competition. Have you ever participated in a friend/family “biggest loser” competition?

I am pretty much at my wits’ end in waiting for April. This has been one of the longest breaks Caleb and I have had in seeing each other and I’m just ready to hang out with my best friend! He is approaching his last year of his 20’s so the celebration is going to be so much fun! Perhaps.. Perhaps it’ll even include some tasty mules! WE JUST DON’T KNOW.

Have a great week, friends!
Get some rest and remember you’ll be back in the routine of things before you know it!