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Posts Tagged ‘Cocktails’

Sparkly Strawberry-Lemon Sangria

My love for sangria is well-documented around these parts (I’ve previously posted recipes for Guava Sangria, Summery Red Sangria and Winter White Sangria), but this?

This is something special.

What you need: 

2 bottles white wine (I used Thorny Rose Pinot Grigio)

3 lemons, thinly sliced

1 green apple, thinly sliced

2 cups strawberries, sliced

3/4 cup white rum

1/4 cup grapefruit juice

6 cans Sprite

What you do:

1. In a large pot, combine sliced fruit, wine, rum, and grapefruit juice. Leave overnight.

2. Just before serving, add Sprite. Serve over ice.

(For best results, drink while swinging in a hammock on a Saturday afternoon.)



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May 8th, 2013 | Eat | 1 Comment »

Raspberry-Thyme Smash: Maybe The Most Delicious Cocktail Ever? (I’m Serious)

Let me introduce you to the cocktail (recipe via Bon Appetit) that my aunt served us at Passover dinner on Sunday, because it is ridiculous good.

Sweet, but not cloying-sweet. Tangy, but not forces-you-to-make-weird-faces tangy. My aunt warned me that making them for a crowd can get a little pricey once you throw in the Hendrick’s…but also said that good old Absolut does the trick nicely as well.

What you need:

1 fresh thyme sprig, leaves removed (discard stem)

6 fresh raspberries

Ice cubes

1/4 cup Hendrick’s Gin

2 tbsp simple syrup (to make simple syrup, mix 1 part cold water w/ 1 part sugar over low heat until sugar dissolves)

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

Garnish: 1 fresh thyme sprig, 1 raspberry

What you do:

1. Place thyme leaves in cocktail shaker. Add raspberries; mash with wooden spoon.

2. Fill cocktail shaker with ice; add gin, simple syrup, and lime juice.

3. Cover; shake until cold, then strain into highball glass filled with ice.

4. For garnish, thread one more raspberry onto another thyme sprig; place on rim of glass.



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March 26th, 2013 | Eat | 1 Comment »

The Penrose And Pickle Martinis

One of the highlights of this weekend: a long, chilled-out afternoon at The Penrose with one of my very favorite people, Nadine Jolie (Dad and Baby showed up towards the end).

I’ve been sort of gazing longly at The Penrose since it opened a few weeks ago – it’s right around the corner from me, and is a total anomaly on the UES, the land of Bud Light-soaked sports bars (not that that’s a bad thing, but variety is nice).

It’s all house-made everything and cool small plates and raw wood and bartenders with Irish accents and cocktails like homemade root beer with whiskey. I’m not even really a “cocktail” person – I generally stick to wine or beer – but the cocktails at The Penrose are unmissable.

Jolie and Baby Ramshackle and bottle #ramshackleglam

Jolie and Baby and bottle

Pickle martinis and pickle oyster sliders and pickles and pickles (w @nadinejoliebeauty at The Penrose) #ramshackleglam

Pickle martinis and pickle oyster sliders and pickles and pickles

SPICY PICKLE MARTINI (a.k.a. My Favorite Drink In The World)

It’s so good. It sounds so bad. But it’s so good.

In a shaker, combine 3 oz good vodka (I like Ketel One), 3 tbsp pickle juice (important: use really top-quality pickle juice, like McClure’s Spicy Pickle Juice), and ice. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a pickle spear.



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July 16th, 2012 | InstaGlam, Love | 1 Comment »

Avocado-Mint Tequila Pops

That’s right.

(I’m pretty excited about these, too.)

So the other night I was in bed rifling through People, and there was this whole special on “unusual things to do with avocados”, and one of those things was avocado popsicles. Which sounded weird and yet also kind of amazing…and also like they were missing something.

Like…I don’t know…

tequila.

 

To make these, you’ll need to pick up some Volcano Pops (basically popsicles with little hollowed-out tubes in the middle that you can fill with anything from whipped cream to adult beverages). Of course, you can also make them with regular popsicle molds (or Dixie cups and wooden sticks, whatever works), but then you’ll need to serve up the tequila separately. Which can be fun, too.

What you need:

- 2 avocados

- 1 large handful mint leaves, finely chopped

- 1 cup sugar

- Juice from 1 lime

What you do:

1. Heat 2 cups water in a saucepan. When boiling, add sugar and remove from heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Set aside and cool completely.

2. Mash avocados in a large bowl, and fold in mint leaves. Mix in the sugar water and lime juice. (Note: You can also use a blender if you prefer a smoother texture; I kind of like the chunkiness that you get from mashing.)

3. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

The taste is totally surprising – sweet from the sugar, sour from the lime, and creamy from the avocado. It’s a little weird, not going to lie. But also really good.

Finishing touch: dip the rim in coarse sea salt (I used Maldon Sea Salt Flakes) and fill with tequila. Serve with a wedge of lime.

As a more dessert-y, non-alcoholic alternative, you can fill the center with chocolate and top with some more sea salt flakes.

Do itttttt.



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July 10th, 2012 | Eat | 1 Comment »

Summery Red Sangria

Since yesterday’s park picnic with friends was a last-minute thing (the forecast said thunderstorms until about 11AM, and our original plan was an indoor restaurant), we kept it simple: takeout from Southern Hospitality (pulled pork, yum) and BYO beverages. Dogs and babies optional, but encouraged.

What I made: red sangria. I completely forgot to take a picture of it (which is probably OK, since we toted it along in a Poland Spring jug and it was much more delicious than it was photogenic)…but that stock image up there should do nicely.

Here’s how you make my version:

SUMMERY RED SANGRIA

2 bottles fruity red wine (can be inexpensive)

1/2 cup brandy

3/4 cup orange juice

1 small orange, sliced

1 lemon, sliced

1 lime, sliced

1 apple, diced

1 can ginger ale

Combine all ingredients except for ginger ale in a large pitcher (or Poland Spring jug, whatever works) and refrigerate overnight. Add ginger ale just before serving, mix well, and serve over ice.



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July 5th, 2012 | Eat | No Comments »

Garden Party Must: Mason Jar Cocktails

Pre-mixed cocktails in Mason jars with screw-on lids perched in an enormous galvanized-metal bucket.

I mean, obviously.

Moving beyond garden parties: if you’re having a summer wedding, I’m going to go ahead and insist that you do something like this (with alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, whichever you prefer) pre-ceremony; so fun, and I think it’s such a nice touch to give your guests something to sip on while they wait to watch you walk down the aisle.

(more…)



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June 28th, 2012 | Lifestyle | 3 Comments »

Fiesta Cups!

I’m going to call these “Fiesta Cups” because it’s my personal belief that when you serve tequila in hollowed-out fruit set on a retro deviled egg platter…well, that’s a party, right there.

FIESTA CUPS

1. Hollow out halved limes (reserve the juice and pulp). This is vastly easier if you happen to have a grapefruit spoon laying around. I don’t, so I used a serrated knife, which seemed both unnecessarily messy and surely dangerous. Don’t do that.

2. Dip the rims of each halved lime in coarse salt.

3.  Set the salted limes in your fabulous Fire King egg platter. (If you don’t happen to own one already, try eBay; if you’re feeling impatient, Crate & Barrel carries a pretty, simple version.)

4. Carefully strain a little bit of fresh lime juice into each hollowed-out lime, and then top with good-quality tequila.

Note: If you’d prefer to serve these on a regular (flat) platter, make sure to take a little slice off of the underside of each halved lime, so that they sit upright.

Oh, and if you’d rather fill your deviled egg platter with deviled eggs than with tequila, click here for some tips.

Inspiration via Pinterest.



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June 12th, 2012 | Eat | 3 Comments »

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