Blueberry limeaid cocktail

We cleaned out the freezer last weekend.  This is always an exciting experience, as the freezer can sometimes be Where things Go to Die.  We found some fun things this time though:  frozen blueberries and some blueberry vodka.

There wasn’t much of the vodka left, so I decided that in the interest of clearing up some space I should make a cocktail.  Purely in the interest of clearing up space, of course.

Blueberry limeaid cocktail (makes two drinks)

Ice

4 oz. blueberry flavored vodka

Juice of one lemon

Juice of one lime

1 TB powdered sugar, or 2 tsp simple syrup

Soda or sparkling water

Frozen blueberries (garnish)

Combine ice, vodka, lemon and lime juices, and sugar or simple syrup in a cocktail shaker.  Shake until very cold.

Serve over more ice topped with soda water (to taste) and garnish with frozen blueberries (or just serve over frozen blueberries).

Yum!  Glad to have suffered through this one for the sake of cleaning out the freezer.

Kitchen Play Inspiration: A naughty cocktail

Some of you may remember the Jarlsberg post I wrote for Kitchen Play.  Every month there are more posts with original recipes and more fun chances to win stuff!

December’s sponsor was MySpiceSage.com and this group of bloggers came up with some amazing dishes.  One of these days I am going to try the za’atar spiced chicken, but for the contest I could only manage to riff on one of Stetted‘s cocktails – the Naughty.

Stetted infused her simple syrup with bhut jolokia, also known as naga jolokia or the ghost chile.  These are apparently the hottest peppers in the world, which scares the crap out of me since I can barely touch a Scotch bonnet without sweating.

I didn’t have any ghost chiles lying around to infuse into my simple syrup, so I went with what I’ve got – Thai chiles.  We then used it to make shooters instead of the cocktail.

Naughty cocktail

Infused simple syrup

1 C white sugar

1 C water

3 Thai chiles (also called bird chiles), slit to release oils (or more as you prefer).  Be careful handling the peppers – the oils will stay on your skin for a long while and can make putting a pair of contacts in the next day a religious experience.

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil.  Add the sugar and peppers and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before mixing your drink.

Mixing

1 part chile-infused simple syrup

1 part lemon juice

2 parts unflavored vodka

Shake together over ice until well-chilled.  Serve at once.

Here’s to more great cooking in the coming year!

Yes, I am wearing a “little black apron” and the necklace is part of the apron.

Cocktail time

We finished the patio on Saturday!  I say “we” but I really mean “Curt” because it is amazing how terrible I am at laying bricks.  Thankfully my life rarely requires brick-laying.

I did mow the lawn and go to the hardware store and buy 5 cubic feet of sand.

That night we went to Pitch again – it was yummy and delicious.  We were the table with the (awesomely) smelly anchovy pizza in the back corner.  We were also the table with the amazing cocktails – I am usually a wine or beer person, and so is Curt.  But a couple of drinks on their cocktail list caught our eye.  Curt had a delicious ginger lemonade, I got a cucumber basil sparkler, and Megan had peach sangria.

The cucumber basil sparkler was memorable enough to recreate at home.

Cucumber basil cocktail

Basil leaves, crushed if small or chiffonade if large (a couple tsp. total)

1 TB finely chopped kirby cucumber, plus one slice for garnish

1 tsp simple syrup

1.5 oz. gin (we used Beefeater, once we get rid of some more booze I will use Hendricks – the original used Hendricks)

Soda water

Ice

In a Collins glass, combine basil, cucumber, and simple syrup.  Add ice and gin and stir gently to combine.

Top with soda water and garnish with a cucumber slice.

You have got to try this.  Even if you swear you don’t like gin or cucumbers – it’s so delicious and refreshing.  A brilliant summer cocktail.

No. 1 Pomapolitan

Happy new year!  First post of 2010, what pressure.

Before I start, I would like to welcome the artichoke people – are artichokes a New Years food?  Because I have gotten an unbelievable number of hits this past week from people searching for this artichoke post.  So, hello!  I hope your artichokes turn(ed) out well!

Anyway, you may recall that a couple weeks ago I decided to make some pomegranate and orange flavored vodkas.  Last night, I decided to try out a cocktail.  I make a cosmopolitan like so:

1.5 oz. citrus vodka

.5 oz. Cointreau or triple sec

1 oz. cranberry juice cocktail

juice of one lime

lemon or lime wedge, slice, or twist for garnish

Combine in a cocktail shaker – shake to combine and chill, and serve in a martini glass.  Garnish with lemon or lime.

I didn’t have any cranberry juice, so I needed to figure out a way to lend some of that sweetness into the two (very, very tart) vodkas.  So I made some simple syrup:

.5 cup water

1 cup white sugar

Bring the water to a boil and add sugar.  Stir until completely dissolved and remove from heat.

And now – the recipe for the pomapolitan:

.5 oz simple syrup

1.5 oz pomegranate vodka

.5 oz orange vodka

juice of one lime (or juice of half a lemon when you run out of limes… not quite the right flavor but worked in a pinch)

lemon or lime for garnish

As before, combine in a cocktail shaker – shake to combine and chill, and serve in a martini glass.

Garnish with lemon or lime.

What better way to say goodbye to 2009 than with a nice strong pink cocktail?

Happy new year, everyone!