Showing posts with label cocktails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cocktails. Show all posts

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Mulled Cranberry Vodka Cocktail

Pretty to look at, even more delicious to sip, this mulled cranberry vodka cocktail boasts the best flavors of the season in a refreshing drink that goes down way too easy. Mix up a batch for your holiday party!

Food Lust People Love: Pretty to look at, even more delicious to sip, this mulled cranberry vodka cocktail boasts the best flavors of the season in a refreshing drink that goes down way too easy. Mix up a batch for your holiday party!


My younger daughter is a fan of mulled wine. I can take it or leave it. But I think I have finally found a mulled drink I do love. Mulled cranberry juice is lighter than wine and lends itself to a cold cocktail as easily as a warming cup.

I also chose not to simmer the juice with the spices for hours on end. A quick boil and time to infuse while the drink cools gives just the right amount of seasonal spiciness that is not cloying or overwhelming. The tart cranberry still shines through brightly. And look at the beautiful color!

Food Lust People Love: Pretty to look at, even more delicious to sip, this mulled cranberry vodka cocktail boasts the best flavors of the season in a refreshing drink that goes down way too easy. Mix up a batch for your holiday party!


Have I convinced you yet? Do give this a try. And make sure you scroll down to see the rest of the winter cocktail recipes my Sunday Supper group are sharing today.

Mulled Cranberry Vodka Cocktail


Ingredients
For the mulled cranberry juice:
4 1/4 cups or 1 liter cranberry juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
zest 1/2 clementine

For the garnish:
1/4 cup or 35g fresh cranberries
1/8 cup or 25g sugar

For the cocktail:
1 1/2 oz or ml vodka
8 oz or 240ml mulled cranberry juice
Ice

Method
Use a sharp knife to remove the zest from half of your clementine, leaving behind as much of the white pith as possible.

Add the cinnamon stick, cloves and clementine zest to the cranberry juice in a medium sized pot. Bring the juice to a boil. Boil briefly, about 3-4 minutes, then turn the heat off and leave to cool.

Once cool, strained the mulled cranberry juice to remove the spices and clementine zest, then chill it in the refrigerator.

Wash the cranberries thoroughly and dry them in a colander until just damp. Roll them in the sugar until completely coated. Use a sharp cocktail stick to poke through three or four per stick to create the garnish. Set aside on a clean plate sprinkled with a little more sugar.

Food Lust People Love: Pretty to look at, even more delicious to sip, this mulled cranberry vodka cocktail boasts the best flavors of the season in a refreshing drink that goes down way too easy. Mix up a batch for your holiday party!


When you are ready to serve the mulled cranberry vodka cocktail, fill your glasses with 5-6 ice cubes.

Add in the vodka and top up with mulled cranberry juice. Garnish with the sugar-coated cranberry skewers, if desired.

Food Lust People Love: Pretty to look at, even more delicious to sip, this mulled cranberry vodka cocktail boasts the best flavors of the season in a refreshing drink that goes down way too easy. Mix up a batch for your holiday party!

Enjoy!

Check out all of the winter cocktail recipes we are sharing today. Many thanks to our event manager, Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures.

Cocktail Shakers

Winter Wines and Punch


Pin it!

Food Lust People Love: Pretty to look at, even more delicious to sip, this mulled cranberry vodka cocktail boasts the best flavors of the season in a refreshing drink that goes down way too easy. Mix up a batch for your holiday party!
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Sunday, November 5, 2017

T.R.'s Mulled Cider Martini

Celebrate fall with a spicy seasonal mulled cider martini. Like all good martinis, it’s made 007-style, shaken not stirred.

Food Lust People Love: Celebrate fall with a spicy seasonal mulled cider martini. Like all good martinis, it’s made 007-style, shaken not stirred.

This week my Sunday Supper family is honoring one of our own, T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbly, who lost his battle with cancer this year, not long after winning Blogger of the Year at the Food Wine Conference in May. We are sharing gluten free recipes, some from T.R.’s own blog so make sure to scroll down and check out the list.

T.R. was an absolute hoot, quick to dance and joke, and I honestly believe that he never met a stranger. His infectious laugh would get us all going. I wanted to share one of his recipes today so I started watching his YouTube videos and couldn’t stop laughing, even through my tears. We all miss T.R. so much.

T.R.’s mulled cider 007 martini, or double-o-tini, as he liked to call it, requires two steps if you don’t have mulled cider already. If you do, feel free to skip straight to shaking your martini!

Ingredients
For the mulled cider:
4 1/4 cups or 1L apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons or 12g whole allspice
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons or 14g whole cloves
1/4 cup dark rum
You can read T.R.’s original post on the Wayback Machine.

Method
To make the mulled cider, put the apple cider in a large pot with the cinnamon sticks and spices.

Measure out the dark rum and add it to the cider.

Use a sharp knife to remove the peel from the orange, trying to get as little of the white pith as you can manage. Add the orange peel to the cider as well.
Cover the pot and put it on a low fire to simmer for an hour. Strain to remove the spices and orange peel. This can now be served warm or leave the mulled apple cider to cool then chill to make the double-o-tini.

T.R.’s Mulled Cider Martini


Ingredients
For the mulled cider martini:
Several cubes ice
1 1/2 oz or 45ml cold mulled cider
1 oz or 30ml vodka

Laugh along with T.R. as he shakes his double-o-tini. Written instructions follow.



Method
Add ice to your shaker, along with the mulled cider and vodka. Shake till it gets too cold to hold.  This must be shaken, not stirred! That’s where the 007 comes in.

Pour into a martini glass and garnish, if desired, with a cinnamon stick. (I also added a little orange peel because, why not?)

Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Celebrate fall with a spicy seasonal mulled cider martini. Like all good martinis, it’s made 007-style, shaken not stirred.

Check out all of the gluten free holiday recipes we have for you today!

Sleigh Ride Starters

Seasons Greetings Sides

Making Things Merry Main Dish

Decking the Halls Desserts




Pin it!

Food Lust People Love: Celebrate fall with a spicy seasonal mulled cider martini. Like all good martinis, it’s made 007-style, shaken not stirred.

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Sunday, August 16, 2015

Mother’s Ruin (Gin) Punch


Originally created by master bartender Philip Ward, Mother’s Ruin Punch is a refreshingly light tasting punch made from gin, grapefruit and lemon juice, vermouth and sparkling wine. My version serves one.

Lately, I’ve been rediscovering the deliciousness of grapefruit juice in cocktails. My libation of choice when I was in Texas this summer was Deep Eddy’s Ruby Red Vodka with a capful of Campari, topped up with club soda. While in the south of France visiting friends in July, their “house” cocktail was a concoction of grapefruit cordial with sparkling rosé wine, served over ice. And now, Mother’s Ruin Punch. It’s supposed to be mixed up in greater quantities and served, as the name implies, as punch from a punch bowl but is easily adapted to serve one. For the original recipe, check out this link on Food and Wine.

This week the Sunday Supper theme is Back to School and everyone is bringing you recipes for great lunch box fare or quick dishes that are perfect for a busy school night. I couldn’t resist going in another direction to bring you a delightful cocktail that is as celebratory as it is refreshingly delicious. For many parents, it’s been a long hot summer, full of keeping children busy and barbecues and campouts and sleepovers and late night snacks and summer book assignments and ball games and lazy mornings. But you made it through! Tuck the children into bed and treat yourself to a special cocktail.

Do you have any special rituals for the first day of school? My baby graduated from university in May so this is the first year since 1995 that I won’t be sending anyone off to school. It’s bittersweet, friends, bittersweet.

Ingredients for one cocktail
Several cubes ice
1 tablespoon simple syrup (I used simple syrup made from demerara sugar.)
1 1/2 oz or 45ml gin
1 1/2 oz or 45ml fresh grapefruit juice, plus thinly sliced grapefruit, for garnish
3/4 oz or 22.5ml fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz or 22.5ml sweet vermouth
About 1/2 cup or 120ml chilled sparkling wine or Champagne

Method
Cut a couple of thin slices off of your grapefruit for garnish and then juice the rest of the fruit.

Tuck one of the grapefruit slices in a tall glass then add in several cubes of ice.

Pour in the simple syrup, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, vermouth and gin. Give it a good stir, adding another cube or two of ice and a second grapefruit slice.



Top up with sparkling wine.


Enjoy!

Many thanks to our hosts this week, DB from Crazy Foodie Stunts and Caroline from Caroline’s Cooking. We hope you find lots of recipes that make Back to School more enjoyable and fun!

Getting Started On School Days
Ideas for the Lunchbox
After School Snacks and Beverages
School Night Suppers
Sweets to End the Day




Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Spicy Tahini Palmiers @NeighborFoodie


Ready rolled puff pastry spread with tahini, chilies and garlic and baked till crispy make great nibbles, perfect for a shower, birthday or even a cocktail party.

Today we are celebrating our fellow blogger and sweet friend Courtney of NeighborFood who will shortly be welcoming her ”little mister.” Since we can’t actually get together, Nancy from gotta get baked has organized a virtual baby shower, which doesn’t have gifts but certainly has a lot of good food to welcome the sweet baby boy and send best wishes to his eager parents. Make sure to scroll down to see the link list to all the party food! And if you want to follow Courtney for delicious dishes and upcoming baby news, do like her blog Facebook page or follow her on Instagram.

These puff pastry palmiers are so easy to make, and so delicious. I could have eaten the whole plate!

Ingredients
1/4 cup or 60g tahini
1 fresh red chili pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry, thawed.

Method
Chop chili finely. You can deseed first if you’d like to reduce the amount of spiciness. Put tahini, chopped chili, garlic, paprika and salt in a small bowl. Stir well.



Unroll your thawed puff pastry on top of a large piece of cling film.

Spread your paste evenly over the pastry, making sure to go all the way to edges.



Use the cling film underneath to help you fold the bottom in to the middle.


Now fold the top in to the middle.



Now fold the bottom over the top side as if you are closing a long book.



Use the cling film under the roll to tightly cover it and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Unwrap the roll and cut it in half. Rewrap one half and put it back in the refrigerator. Cut the other half in half inch or 1 cm slices with a sharp knife.

Lay the slices on a baking pan lined with parchment or a non-stick silicone mat. Leave room between them for puffing and spreading.



Bake for 10-12 minutes in your preheated oven on one side and then flip and bake 5-6 minutes more on the other, or until golden and crispy. Cool on a wire rack.


Repeat the process with the second half of the roll. This makes about 20 spicy tahini palmiers.



Enjoy!

Check out all the divine food we are bringing along to Courtney's virtual baby shower!







.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Rhubarb Fool Cocktail


A bright, refreshing drink that is just the right combination of tart and sweet, this rhubarb lovely is drizzled with a little cream and some tangerine or orange zest, and is guaranteed to get you in the holiday mood! 

The first time I ever saw rhubarb, perhaps in Sydney circa 1987, I had no idea what to do with it so I didn’t buy any. It looked like pink celery and that was odd. Was it a vegetable? Used for seasoning like celery was? I didn’t have a clue. Finally I bought one of the Australian Women’s Weekly magazines (This was, after all, way before I had internet access of any kind.) and all was revealed. Rhubarb is a fruit! Or at least it is used like a fruit, in compotes, pies and other baked goods. Technically, of course, it’s a vegetable.

Our favorite way to enjoy rhubarb, up till now, has been in an apple and rhubarb pie because the apples and rhubarb complement each other so nicely with the rhubarb breaking down completely and the apples still keeping a bit of their shape and bite.

Another favorite is the British classic rhubarb fool dessert made by folding stewed rhubarb through whipped cream.

But this drink, made with rhubarb syrup, may be my new favorite way to enjoy my tart pink friend. I mean, really, just look at that color!



This week my Sunday Supper group is gearing up for the holiday parties by bringing you a plethora of concoctions, some made to imbibe directly, others using alcohol as an ingredient or flavoring. Many thanks to DB from Crazy Foodie Stunts and Alice from A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei In The Kitchen for hosting this fun event. Make sure to scroll down to the bottom to see the whole link list of libation-full recipes.

Ingredients
1 1/2 oz or 40ml rhubarb syrup
2 oz or 60ml vodka
2 cups crushed ice
Couple of tablespoons lightly whipped cream
Orange zest

Method
Put the crushed ice into a cocktail shaker and add in the rhubarb syrup and vodka.

Shake well for a minute or so, allowing the ice to melt a bit.

Pour the liquid through the strainer into a martini glass. Garnish with a drizzle – or more – of the whipped cream and a few pieces of orange zest.

I put my whipped cream in a decorating bag for easy drizzling but you can just as easily pile the cream into the top of the glass.

Enjoy!

If you are feeling extra generous, let your helper lick the cream off your empty glass. 

We are set to PARTY this holiday season! Join us!

Libations
Savory and Sweet Libational Dishes
Libational Desserts

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Watermelon Jalapeño Cocktail

Fresh sweet watermelon chunks blended with ice and the double kick of jalapeño and tequila make a refreshing summer drink that will heat you up and cool you down.


Today I am pleased to share a refreshing concoction I make with sweet Texas watermelons and farm fresh jalapeños for our watermelon Foodie Extravaganza event.

Growing up in the South, I learned to put salt on my watermelon and eat it with a sharp knife straight out of the rind. The salt brings out the sweetness in the watermelon somehow so I’ve also added a little bit to this summer drink. It’s hot, cold, sweet and salty, in the best possible way. Hope you find it as refreshing as we do!

Ingredients for one 1 1/2-quart or almost 1 1/2-liter pitcher
1/4 15-pound or 6.8kg sweet summer watermelon (preferably seedless)
1-inch or 2cm fresh jalapeño or to taste
4 oz tequila
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Ice

Optional garnish – watermelon wedge, sliced jalapeño and flakey sea salt, if desired, but highly recommended

Method
Cut your watermelon off the rind and into small chunks. (Remove the seeds if you couldn’t find a seedless one.)

Finely mince the piece of jalapeño.

Put the watermelon and jalapeño in the blender. Add the tequila and salt and top with ice.

Blend until smooth and frothy.

Pour into pretty glasses.

Garnish with a watermelon wedge and one thin slice of jalapeño, to alert your guests that this will be spicy.

Add an extra sprinkle of flakey sea salt, if desired.

Put the pitcher in the freezer between servings.  It’s even better when it gets a little frozen.

Enjoy!

So refreshing in the summer heat!







Sunday, June 29, 2014

Rosemary Nectarine Sparkling Cocktail

Herb-infused simple syrup is an easy way to make a cocktail special, adding flavor and freshness to the original mix in this Rosemary Nectarine Cocktail.

Food Lust People Love: Rosemary simple syrup adds a refreshingly fresh flavor to this  rosemary nectarine sparkling cocktail.


Every summer I go for what I call the Annual Mashing. I lost one precious maternal aunt to breast cancer and my paternal grandmother was a survivor so I know there is potential from both sides. If you are my friend on Facebook, you’ll know that I always post a message when I go, reminding everyone to make an appointment too. If only one person takes heed and gets a mammography in time to catch something before it gets bigger and less treatable, then the message is worth sharing. (In case you weren’t paying attention, here’s my public service announcement: Make your appointment NOW. Your family will thank you.)

One upside of the Annual Mashing is the nice magazines in the waiting room. This year I thumbed through a beautiful issue of Saveur while I waited for my turn and came across an article on a peach farmer in California, complete with recipes using fresh peaches. I couldn’t wait to get home to try the sparkling cocktail. And, after the mammogram, I figured I deserved it!

This week Sunday Supper is sharing picnic food and this lovely cocktail is perfect for serving outdoors. You make up the rosemary simple syrup and nectarine puree and transport them in clean jars in a cooler with the bubbly, mixing each glass as needed. Many thanks to our host Jane from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner and Heather from girlichef for her behind-the-scenes help.

Ingredients
For the simple syrup:
4 sprigs rosemary
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

For the nectarine puree:
2 medium nectarines
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 bottle (750ml) sparkling wine or Champagne

Method
In a small pot, heat the water, sugar and rosemary sprigs until the sugar completely dissolves and cook for a further few minutes at a low boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.



Once cool, discard the rosemary sprigs and pour the simple syrup into a clean jar. Yield: about 1 1/4 cups or 300ml of rosemary simple syrup.

To make the nectarine puree, simply cut the nectarines up in chunks.

Mash with a hand blender until smooth. You can peel them if you want to but I like the pink shade that the peels add and don’t mind the little bits of peel in my drink.


Pour the puree into a clean jar and add the lemon juice.  Shake to combine. Yield: Just over 1 cup or 250ml nectarine puree.



To serve the cocktail, add 1-2 tablespoons nectarine puree and 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons rosemary simple syrup to each glass.



Top up with chilled cava, sparkling wine or Champagne.

Food Lust People Love: Rosemary simple syrup adds a refreshingly fresh flavor to this  rosemary nectarine sparkling cocktail.

Enjoy!

Are you planning a picnic for Fourth of July or just to celebrate summer? Check out the fabulous list of picnic friendly recipes we are bringing to the Big Virtual Picnic!

Beverages
Appetizers
Mains
Sides
Salads
Sandwiches and Wraps
Sweets

Pin this Rosemary Nectarine Sparkling Cocktail!

Food Lust People Love: Rosemary simple syrup adds a refreshingly fresh flavor to this  rosemary nectarine sparkling cocktail.
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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Authentic Caipirinhas

Caipirinhas are the quintessential Brazilian cocktail, made with local cane alcohol called cachaça, lots of lime juice and a big spoon of sugar. Just go easy because they sneak up on you.


It’s my birthday week so I am delighted to be starting it out with cocktails!  Check out the 28 festive libations my fellow bloggers have made for the party!  (I’m pretending they are all for my birthday!  Yay!)  I’m sharing one of my favorite cocktails, a love acquired when we lived in Brazil for several years.  My dear husband got very good at making caipirinhas, so he volunteered to do the needful while I took photos.

Ingredients
1 lime per glass
1 generous tablespoon sugar or more if you like things sweeter (Authentically, this should be coarse grain sugar but the normal white stuff works if that’s all you have.)
Crushed ice
Cachaça
Short straws

Method
Cut the lime into quarters and use your same sharp knife to remove all the seeds.  We happened to be using seedless limes this time.



Put the lime into a short glass, adding a generous tablespoon of sugar.  Or more if you like things sweet.


Smash the limes and sugar with a muddler.


Now fill the glass with crushed ice and top it up with cachaça.





Finally, give it a good stir.  Serve with a short straw for sipping.



Enjoy!

Now wasn't that simple?




Cheers to my fellow Cocktail Day bloggers, who are mixing it up with me today!  I'll take one of each, please!




Friday, June 1, 2012

Consistently Delicious Margaritas



The weekend is here AND it’s summer! So here’s a recipe for those of you who can get your hands on Minutemaid Frozen Limeade Concentrate wherever you are in the world.  I don’t even know where I first learned to make this frozen concoction that helps Jimmy Buffett hang on but I know we were making them during my college years at UT Austin, and that is a very long time ago. 

(For those of you who cannot get it, I found this recipe here.  Haven’t tried it yet but the comments section says it can be used exactly like the concentrated limeade  I can’t wait to try this when I am home with my own freezer because I haven’t seen Minute Maid for sale in Cairo.  Further bulletins as events warrant.)

Like my rum punch, the measures are simple and you cannot screw this up.


Ingredients
1 small can Minute Maid Frozen Concentrate Limeade (6 oz or 177ml)
1 can's worth tequila (6 oz or 177ml)
1/2 can's worth Cointreau, Triple Sec or Grand Marnier (3 oz or 88ml)
Ice


In Kuala Lumpur (where my can came from the Mini Mart – oh, how I miss you, dear Mini Mart – they only have the large cans, so I had to use a measuring cup instead of the can itself for measuring.  I took two cans with me in a cooler on the plane to Cairo when we moved, in case you are wondering, along with bacon, sausage, a pork roast and pecans.  Traveling light are not words in my vocabulary, apparently.  You have got to know what's important, folks. Priorities!

Anyhoo, on to margaritas.

Method
In a good blender with the power to crush ice, mix together the limeade concentrate, the tequila and the Cointreau.




Add in a few cubes of ice and start blending.


Keep dropping in cubes of ice through the hole in the blender lid until the level almost reaches the top of the blender.  Sometimes you have to give the ice cube a small poke to make it fall through the frozen concoction as the blender gets more full.  You will know it has reached the blades by the grinding noise.





Blend until all the chunks of ice are completely gone. 


If you want salt around the rim of your glass, dip one finger into the blender of margaritas and then run it around the rim.  Turn the glass over in a saucer with a thin layer of salt in the bottom.   Turn upright once more and fill.  (Sorry - forgot to take a photo of this step.)

I don’t have pretty margarita glasses but it tastes just as delicious in these.  


Happy Summer!  Enjoy!