Strawberry Champagne Cocktail #BloggerCLUE

This twist on the classic peach Bellini uses strawberry simple syrup and strawberry puree to create a deliciously fresh Champagne cocktail, perfect for any celebration.

This month for Blogger C.L.U.E., my assigned blog is one that I am very familiar with and love. It is written by one of the most popular ladies on the interwebs because she is sweet, friendly, kind to a fault and makes the most sensational recipes. Despite all the deliciousness that comes out of her kitchen, she stays remarkably slim. Yep, my blog this month is That Skinny Chick Can Bake, written by my sweetheart of a friend, Liz.

Our theme is sparkles, so despite all the great recipes with shiny things, like her beautiful vanilla cupcakes sprinkled with silver balls or the glistening sheen of barbecue sauce on her Asian Baby Back Ribs, I had to go with the Strawberry Bellini Cocktail. Any excuse to open a bottle of bubbly, right?

Liz had been sent some simple syrups to use in cocktails when she made this originally and they looked great, but unfortunately I didn’t have any, so I made my own strawberry simple syrup from this recipe online, halving the ingredients. It was super easy and still made plenty! Or head on over to Liz’s post and check out the syrup she used. Also, Liz says this makes only two drinks but we had plenty enough strawberry puree for four or five drinks. That is to say, we drank the whole bottle of Champagne. Hey, we didn’t want it to get flat and go to waste, right?

Ingredients
7 oz or 200g ripe strawberries, stems removed (plus a few for garnish)
2 tablespoons strawberry simple syrup
Champagne

Method
Puree the strawberries in a blender with the simple syrup. Strain mixture. (I forgot this step so we were left with tiny little strawberries seeds at the bottom of our glasses. Not a big deal though.)

Put a couple tablespoons of puree in each glass.

Just look at that gorgeous red color!

Pour in some Champagne. It will bubble up so just wait till the bubbles subside and pour in a little more.

Stir to combine.

And then top up with more Champagne. Make sure to garnish each glass with a strawberry.

This Month’s Blogger CLUE Participants are

• Baked Ziti from Azmina at Lawyer Loves Lunch
• Blood Orange Margaritas from Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Brown Butter Brown Sugar Banana Bread from Christiane at Taking on Magazines
• Cardamon White Chocolate Panna Cotta from Debra at Eliot's Eats
• Cherry Pie and Cream Pavlova (Okie Pavlova) from Ramona at Curry and Comfort
• Cornish Game Hens with Whiskey Herb Citrus Glaze from Lea Ann at Cooking on the Ranch
• Delicious Savory Clafoutis from Christiane at Taking on Magazines
• Fingerling Potato Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Lemon Ginger Crinkle Cookies from Jean at Lemons and Anchovies
• Maple Caramel Golden Sugar Blondies from Kelli at Kelli's Kitchen
• Milky Way Martini from Aly at Cooking in Stilettos
• Peach Buckle from Anna at Anna Dishes
• Pomegranate Champagne from Christy at Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Ramona's Mini Cinnamon Rolls from Kate at Kate's Kitchen
• Rosemary Peach Sparkling Cocktail from Alice at A Mama, Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen
• Salted Toffee Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Soft Pretzel Sticks with Spicy Mustard from Heather at girlichef
• Sparkling Mojitos from Heather at girlichef
• Sparkly Shortbread Cookies from Lisa at Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Strawberry Champagne Cocktail from Stacy at Food Lust People Love

Find That Skinny Chick Can Bake online:

     

Lemon Mint Rosé Cocktail

A dry rosé wine fortified with vodka and some muddled mint, lemon and sugar makes a beautiful cocktail, extending the drinkability of rosé into the autumn months for rosé summer-only purists. 

Pink wine snob reversal
Until I started dating my future husband, I knew very little about wine. I don’t remember either of my parents drinking wine, except for a phase when my mom would buy Cold Duck – a sort of sweet pink sparkling wine made by mixing red wine with bubbly - or Mateus, a Portuguese labeled rosé that, even as a child, I understood was less than stellar in the wine category, the fancy bottle notwithstanding. As I reached an age where I could order wine in a bar, I always went for a crisp dry white, with the theory that a cheap white was usually more palatable than a cheap red, and wine-by-the-glass back then was invariably of the cheap variety. When we moved to Paris, I was shocked to find that the good-wine obsessed French drank pink wine during the hot summer months! And that it could be dry and not sweet. I became a fan of the pink.

As the summer days are waning and the autumn is coming on, unused bottles of summer rosé can be transformed into cocktails, extending their welcome refreshment into the next season.

Ingredients
Several fresh mint leaves
1 lemon wedge
1 oz or 30ml vodka
1/2 cup or 120ml rosé
1/2 – 1 teaspoon sugar (or more, depending on your taste for sweet drinks)
Ice

Optional garnish: sprig of mint

Method
Place mint, lemon and sugar in a glass and muddle well.

Add several cubes of ice to your glass and then pour in the vodka.

Add the rosé and stir. Garnish with sprig of mint, if desired.

Enjoy!