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the perfect {holiday} punch.

December 13, 2011 — 3 Comments

The other day I came across an article on what your drink says about you.

You know vodka-cran made an appearance on the list. And what’d they have to say about it? “When in doubt, you stick to what you drank in college.” And it’s true – I definitely drank my share of vodka-cran in college. So much so, that the thought of it makes me cringe a just a bit. I’ll still have one if it’s completely necessary, but these days I’ll take it with soda water and just a splash of cran.

This is not the college variety of vodka-cran. This is the older, cooler sibling. It’s the adult version, and it’s a reason to appreciate getting older – because this cocktail totally kicks the other’s ass.

You’re essentially making your own cranberry juice by cooking down fresh cranberries with water and sugar. This is the key, because I’m really not a fan of the artificial flavoring of cranberry juice cocktail – which is really, like, a doctored-up apple juice. So fresh cranberries, right, in all their tangy glory…and then we pop in some beautifully woodsy rosemary sprigs for a little infusion. The combination of the two is strikingly perfect, and yes – the color combo makes this punch as holiday-festive as it gets.

In Cocktails celebrate, christmas recipes, cranberries, fresh herbs in cocktails, rosemary, vodka

the perfect {spicy} bloody mary.

November 30, 2011 — 1 Comment

Today, we’re bringing sexy back.

C’mon…you know a bloody mary is totally hot. Hot as in spicy. Sexy = hot = spicy. Are we on the same page? Good.

Today, I’m bringing sexy back in the form of the perfect bloody mary. This is not a new recipe to these parts, but because I make these *so* often, I felt compelled to take a shiny new picture and share it with you and remind you how awesome they are.

So you can make them. Like, this weekend. Or today. I surely wouldn’t judge you for imbibing on this fine Wednesday morning.

I love a good bloody mary for so many reasons. Most importantly, it’s usually the sign of a great weekend. This goes for both the “hell yeah, the weekend is here!” bloody mary and the “I had too much fun this weekend” hair of the dog bloody mary. I equally love that it’s considered totally normal to enjoy one (who are we kidding – several) before noon. In fact, having a bloody mary at any other time of day just seems downright wrong.

In Cocktails, Recipe Arsenal, Weekend Brunch celery, olives, spicy, tomato juice, vodka

anytime mojitos.

September 29, 2011 — 2 Comments

It’s raining. It’s pouring. And I’d like a mojito.

The great thing about these mojitos is that it doesn’t matter what the weather’s about. It could be raining, sleeting, snowing, hailing – or whatever other craziness you Northerners must face… With a little prep in advance, you can enjoy a mojito anytime.

In Cocktails limes, miami-inspired, mint, mojitos, rum

{best brunch ever} mimosa bar.

September 13, 2011 — 9 Comments

Add it to the bucket list: Host brunch with mimosa bar.

Unless you’re not into hosting, in which case you might change it to: Get invited to brunch with mimosa bar. It shouldn’t be that hard. I mean – you do know me, right?

The first ladies-only {more affectionately known as bitches} brunch I hosted became infamous because of the mimosa bar. It’s a brilliant concept, really. Everyone brings a bottle of champagne, and you provide the mixers. You can keep it as simple as buying a variety of juices at the grocery store, or you can be mental like me and make it all from scratch, like I did this second time around. The choice is yours, and I promise – no matter which way you go, everyone will be impressed. And happy.

I’m going to call this the holy-trifecta of champagne mixers: Orange-Pineapple Juice, Fresh Peach Nectar, and Strawberry Lemonade. I used three 1-quart capacity glass carafes that I was *so* excited to snag from work. Let me tell you – it’s a beautiful thing to now have access to every kitchen utensil or serving piece you can imagine!

In Cocktails, Weekend Brunch champagne, fresh-squeezed juice, lemonade, mimosa, peaches, strawberries, summer recipes

watermelon sangria.

August 16, 2011 — 3 Comments

Here’s what I can tell you about this sangria: It’s dangerous.

I’m going with dangerous in a good way. I consider any specialty cocktail that has you and your guests dancing on the couches in the middle of the day to be a great thing, in fact. I suppose it could be dangerous in a bad sense, if you consider how your head feels the next day.

I’ve also discovered as I’m writing this that I’m somewhat obsessed with sangria.

In Cocktails, Dinner Party Worthy sangria, summer recipes, watermelon, white wine

{life’s a} peach sangria.

August 2, 2011 — 1 Comment

Tell me you’ve walked by the peaches at the grocery store or the market lately.

The scent of peaches this time of year is just *intoxicating.*

I buy them every time I pass them – I can’t help myself. Usually, I take them plain. No cutting them up or anything silly like that. Just sticky, fresh peach juice dribbling down my chin, and probably falling onto whatever papers I have sitting in front of me while I work. Because no amount of napkins ever seems to be enough for the juice of ripe, fresh peaches.

I also like to bake with them. If I had a grill, I’d love to cook with them. And, of course, I like to make drinks with them.

This sangria is special because not only are you using diced peaches, you’re also adding fresh peach pureé to the mix. The end result is so much… peachier… than what you’d get from adding the diced fruit alone.

You can use any other fruit you’d like. I used green apples, because I love apples in sangria – and their crisp flavor is a natural match for peach sangria. You could go solo on the peaches – you could do thin, pretty slices instead of dicing them, if you prefer.

No matter which way you choose, life’s a peach – enjoy it.

Peach Sangria

2 bottles of pinot grigio
1 cup Cointreau or other orange liqueur
4 peaches (2 pureéd and strained, 2 diced)
1 cup diced fruit of your choosing
1/2 cup – 1 cup simple syrup

Combine chilled ingredients in a large pitcher, adding simple syrup to taste. If possible, make a few hours in advance to give the flavors time to meld.

In Cocktails, Dinner Party Worthy peaches, sangria, summer recipes, white wine

mango margaritas with chili salt.

July 14, 2011 — 1 Comment

If I told you that these margaritas had Daniel and I fervently dancing in our living room on a Sunday afternoon, would you be more or less inclined to make them?

I’m assuming the answer is more, because we’re friends – and we’re into the same kind of things.

Either way, you simply must try these margaritas. I’m really hoping you’re into mango – because it’s kind of an important component.

Purée fresh mango with a bit of lime juice and then mix it with the standard margarita ingredients: Tequila and orange liqueur. Add a drizzle of agave for sweetness – and then the secret ingredient, grapefruit soda. I have no idea why it works here, but it does. Brilliantly.

If you have leftover mango purée, freeze it. I did – and I’m quite happy about it.

And then, there’s the chili salt. Sounds fancy, right? Chili powder, meet Kosher salt. Get to know each other – because you’re a great combination. And why not invite a little sugar to the party? All together, these three ingredients balance each other perfectly.

I’m telling you: You will *love* these margaritas.

If you like mango… And tequila. I really hope you do like tequila. That’s important if we’re going to continue to be friends.

Mango Margaritas with Chili Salt

Adapted from David Yan via Food & Wine

2 fresh mangoes, peeled and roughly chopped
4 limes, plus 1 to cut into wedges for serving
1 cup grapefruit soda
1 cup good silver tequila
1/2 cup orange liqueur
2 – 3 tablespoons agave nectar {depending on how sweet you like it}
3 cups ice

Chili Salt:

1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 lime wedge from above

To make the chili salt, combine first three ingredients on a small plate. Take a small lime wedge and rub it onto the edges of your margarita glasses. Now, dip the rim of each glass into the plate of chili salt.

Purée the cut up mangoes and the juice of two limes in a blender. Pour mango purée into a container, leaving one cup of the purée in the blender. Juice two more limes into blender, and add the rest of the ingredients. Blend and pour into salted glasses.

Depending on the size of the mangoes you use, you may have extra purée. If you have an extra cup, you can freeze it and save it for another batch. If you have less, I’d probably just add it to the pitcher once there is room and then add other ingredients accordingly for another batch.

Makes approximately 6 servings.

In Cocktails, Dinner Party Worthy flavored salts, mango, margarita, tequila

the capri sun cocktail.

June 11, 2011 — 2 Comments

If you try and think of what you loved drinking as a child, I bet you’d come up with all sorts of ideas.

Squeeze-Its. Kool-Aid. Tang. Juicy Juice. But not the kind they sell today, in the bottle – the kind that comes in a giant can. Good stuff.

Not good for you, clearly. But that’s an entirely different conversation for another day. Right now, we’re only about remembering the things we enjoyed as kids.

Capri Sun tops the charts for many, and aside from Kool-Aid, I’m thinking it’s the only one I’ve mentioned that’s still being sold the same way – in those fun, little aluminum pouches. It is still sold that way, isn’t it? I’m now realizing it’s been a while since I’ve examined the fake fruit juice aisle at the grocery store…

Everyone loved Capri Sun as a kid, and creating a Capri Sun in cocktail form elicited just the reaction I was hoping for at my dinner party. It was a serious hit, in fact, and everyone begged for the recipe. It’s totally simple, and you can easily play with it based on what you have on hand – just make sure to include the “Island Blue” schnapps, as that was the key to the punch-y flavor.

You won’t believe how much it tastes like the real thing.

Go on, try it. Let me know what you think.

The Capri Sun Cocktail

Light rum {you can use flavored – like pineapple, raspberry, etc. – or plain works just as well}
Island Blue Pucker schnapps
Lemon-lime soda {I used Diet Sierra Mist}
Pineapple juice
Cranberry juice {I used light}
Maraschino cherries for serving

In a large pitcher, add 3 parts rum, 2 parts schnapps, 2 parts soda, and 1 part pineapple juice. Pour into ice-filled glasses and top with cranberry juice. Throw in a cherry, and enjoy!

Note: Depending on whether you want to use a pitcher or individual glasses, I wrote this recipe in parts – this way you can tweak it to fit any size.

In Cocktails rum, specialty cocktails

cotton candy martinis.

June 9, 2011 — 1 Comment

When I started planning the menu for my “Childhood, Reinvented” dinner party, I had one thought and one thought only when brainstorming on specialty cocktails.

Cotton candy.

{I may or may not have planned my entire theme around this burning desire to serve cotton candy in cocktail form}

A cotton candy martini seemed brilliant enough. I looked at a few recipes online that combined different things in an effort to mimic the flavor of cotton candy, but I wasn’t really feeling it. And then, I heard there was such thing as cotton candy vodka.

COTTON.CANDY.VODKA. True story. And there’s also – wait for it – whipped cream vodka. I went to the website, and discovered that they also make cake-flavored vodka. This is kind of a big deal.

So, the recipe became super simple. A little cotton candy vodka, a little pink fruit juice for some color, and a hunk of cotton candy – which gives the drink that gorgeous two-tone effect.

Cheers – to cotton candy! And living forever young.

Cotton Candy Martinis

Cotton candy vodka
Pink-colored fruit juice {I used some strawberry-melon concoction that worked well}
Cotton candy

Pour desired amount of chilled cotton candy vodka into martini glasses. Top with pink-colored juice. Add a torn piece of cotton candy to each glass, and watch the two-toned magic begin.

Alternatively, you may use a martini shaker if you want to keep it traditional – just make sure to add the cotton candy after you’ve poured.

In Cocktails cotton candy, martinis, specialty cocktails, vodka

frozen pomegranate margaritas.

May 4, 2011 — Leave a comment

These margaritas hold a special place in my heart. Because I love a good margarita, yes – but also because these were the very drinks Daniel and I fell in love over.

As in, on our first date, we drank these margaritas at Rosa Mexicano, and fell in love. The rest is history.

It’s no surprise that I jumped at the opportunity to recreate these at home. They’re actually quite simple to make, especially if you use the bottled pomegranate juice. And although that does lend some sweetness, I like to add agave nectar in addition.

These margaritas are served frozen, which may come as a surprise to those of you who know I usually take mine on the rocks (hi babe, I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who knows that). I’m sure they would be phenomenal either way, but I like them frozen, because that’s how they’re done at Rosa.

{You didn’t think I’d leave you without a fabulous new margarita recipe for Cinqo de Mayo, did you?}

Frozen Pomegranate Margaritas

Good white tequila {I use Patron}
Orange liqueur {I use Patron Citronge – Triple Sec or Cointreau are also great}
Pomegranate juice {I use POM brand, though you can squeeze your own if you wish}
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Agave nectar
Ice

Start with an empty blender. Depending on the size of it, and the size of the glasses you use, you should be able to get at least four servings from one batch.

Add 4 parts tequila, 1 part orange liqueur, 1 part pomegranate juice, and the juice of 2 – 3 limes to your blender, making sure to leave some room in case you want to add more of a particular ingredient. Add a good squirt of agave nectar. Add ice and blend. Taste for additional agave or pomegranate.

In Cocktails margarita, mexican recipes, pomegranate, specialty cocktails