Have A Sip Of: Hot Buttered Rum

The batter alone is simply divine. This is my mom's recipe and even though I do not consider Rum a tasty treat, you can't go wrong with this at the holidays. I am not implying your holidays will be improved by large consumptions of rum, but should you need a sip to help you relax, here is an antidote even St. Nick would imbibe on. Enjoy.

HOT BUTTERED RUM MIX

1 pound butter (I use Land O Lakes)

1 pound brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

1 quart vanilla ice cream 

Cream sugar and butter until fluffy, add 1 quart partly melted ice cream. Mix well. Store covered in the freezer.  In a mug add 1 shot of rum (I use Cruzin Clipper 151 proof. Have also used Captain Morgan's Spiced). 2 heaping tablespoons of mix (or to taste) and boiling water. Scrape fresh nutmeg on the top.

Take A Sip Of: Watermelon Bloody Mary

Happy Birthday to my little brother, HiPie. He is fresh back from St. Thomas and St. Croix. He will definitively need a cocktail starter to replenish the scads of electrolytes he left behind.

And we are having a dinner party with some friends tonight. One of them, born and bred in the Bayou. She is a fabulous cook thus inspiring this twist on a classic cocktail.

We love a good bloody mary. My favorite bloody mary is actually from a mix called Zing Zang. Amazing. But this fruitful pleasure is a highly tasty version. Another way to stay refreshed while we still are wrapped in summer.

Let's have a cocktail? Of course. This recipe compliments of Martha Stewart.

Watermelon Bloody Mary

Ingredients:

* 12 cups watermelon chunks (from a 4 lb watermelon, rind removed) plus pieces, for serving
* 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
* Ice, for serving
* 1 1/2 cups tomato juice
* 13 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco, or to taste
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
* 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds, ground with a mortar and pestle, or celery salt
* Freshly ground pepper
* 1 to 1 1/4 cups vodka
* Celery stalks, for serving

Directions

1. Working in batches, puree watermelon (with seeds) and sugar in blender. Strain into a bowl through a fine sieve, pressing with a rubber spatula; discard solids. (You will have 5 1/2 cups juice.)

2. For children's drinks: Divide 2 1/2 cups juice among 4 ice-filled glasses.

3. For adults' drinks: Stir remaining 3 cups watermelon juice with tomato juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and celery seeds in a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice. Season with pepper. Stir in vodka and divide among 4 ice-filled glasses.

4. Garnish adult drinks with a piece of watermelon and a celery stalk.

Have A Sip Of: Basil-Strawberry Vodka Lemonade

This will certainly wet your whistle during the heat wave of summer. Perfect for parties, lazy afternoons, or the rare opportunities you get time alone. Goodness awaits...make yours soon. And for the minors, this is (almost) just as good sans Vodka.

Cheers!

Basil-Strawberry Vodka Lemonade

1 bottle vodka
2 liters sparkling water
2 bins of fresh strawberries (or 2 ten ounce packages of frozen strawberries)
1 12 oz can of frozen lemonade
1 bunch of fresh basil

Loosen 4 or 5 basil leaves and muddle with a bit of sugar and water. I also muddle a few of the berries. Combine all ingredients, mix, serve, and try not to claim it "didn't turn out well" so you can keep it all to yourself.




And while I am sipping on some of this delicious nectar, I am taking part in BlogHop '09.

There are such a fantastic group of writers in BloggyWorld. And I am getting to know some of them this weekend. Like to read along? Please do. Better yet, join.

Have A Sip Of: Honey Pear Martini

As you may recall, the Honey Pear martini, also known as the Honeyed Pair Martini, (oh, clever play on words) is also known as The Daywrecker. So while you get all hazy-eyed staring at your new summer fling, I will just politely add, you were warned.

This elixir...my oh my....it is simple. And simply out of this world. HiPie and I attempted to make them in Mexico with a bottle of Grey Goose La Poire, some unknown mixture that was promised to be honey, and pieces of lemon. Do not do this. This isn't Second City. Don't improvise. We had to because 1. the La Poire was beckoning 2. I talked up the Honey Pear martini oh so much. 3. They do not sell lemon juice in Mexico. Anywhere.

So here is the delicious mixture. Enjoy every sip.

Honey Pear Martini

Fill your shaker with ice. Add ice and cold water to your martini glasses to chill. (Come on, be fancy with me.) However, I don't recommend flavored sugar rim unless its lemon sugar.

This should make two or three depending on your glass size. We have Reidel 5 oz martini glasses but beware: you don't want to tell people you had eight martinis tomorrow. A 5 oz glass is tiny.

Ingredients:

1/2 pear vodka with a splash of cold water (Count to ten while you pour if you aren't going to measure).

1/4 honey simple syrup* (Directions below but don't worry, its simple.) Count to five while you pour.

1/4 lemon juice (fresh or Real Lemon 100% lemon juice. Count to five while you pour).

Shake it, shake it, shake it. Empty your chilling martini glass and refill with nectar of Aestas.

* To make honey simple syrup. Add 1 c. water to 1. c honey in a saucepan over medium heat until honey is fully incorporated. Do not boil. It will overflow and make a huge mess and you will pissed off before you can enjoy your cocktail and I never want to see that happen.

Let cool completely. Store in squeeze bottle or in tupperware container. Cheers!

Have A Sip Of: Sangria

Nothing cools down your Memorial Day Weekend cookout better than a glass of liquid delice'. And because I will be spending today enveloped in tasty Sangria and sandy Mexican beaches, it seems only fitting Sangria is the guest star of Cocktail of the Month.

Make it this morning and your mouth will be ready for a Sangria rinse by this afternoon. You may remember one of my specialities is the Sangria Cha Cha Cha but there are so many sangria recipes. Which one is the best? Today, I am giving you a multiple choice quiz in which all of the answers are correct. Here are several Sangria recipes so you can Cha Cha Cha your own. Feel refreshed already, don't you?


JENNY MAC'S SANGRIA CHA CHA CHA
Ingredients:
1 orange cut into slices
1 lemon
1 c sugar
1 bottle white wine ( I recommend pinot grigio, sav blanc, or viognier)
1 bottle red wine (pinot noirs, sangiovese, or young merlots)
Sliced peaches, apples, strawberries, raspberries
Grand Marnier to taste
Directions:
Combine the orange, lemon, sugar, and wines in a large glass bowl and stir. Cover in fridge for 4 - 8 hours. Add the fruit and spirits and let soak for at least 30 minutes. Serve over ice.


Kim Wray Perdue's Famous White Sangria
Ingredients:
1 bottle dry red or white wine
1.5 cups of Spanish brandy (do not use regular brandy. Or do and it won't be as good.)
Juice from 4 oranges
Juice from 4 lemons
Juice from 4 limes
2 T. cinnamon
1 c. sugar
Directions:
Combine in a 1 gallon beverage container and shake it, shake it, shake it. Add more sugar if you like, and warn people...this one packs a punch.



CHAMPAGNE SANGRIA
Ingredients
1 (750-ml) bottle Prosecco or French Champagne, chilled
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cups Mint Simple Syrup, recipe follows
1 lemon, zested and thinly sliced
1 lime, zested and thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
5 fresh mint sprigs
Crushed ice
Directions
In a large pitcher, combine the Prosecco, orange juice, Mint Simple Syrup, lemon zest, and lime zest. Add the sliced strawberries, lemon slices, lime slices, and mint sprigs.
Fill glasses with crushed ice and pour the sangria over the top. Serve immediately.
Mint Simple Syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and mint over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool for 20 minutes. Strain before using


RED WINE SANGRIA
Ingredients
1 orange, sliced
1 lime, sliced
1 apple, cored and sliced
1 bottle red wine
3 cups white rum
1/2 cup orange flavored liqueur, recommended: Cointreau
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
3 tablespoons sugar
1 quart club soda, to taste
Directions
To a pitcher add orange, lime, apple and cover with red wine, rum, orange liqueur, orange juice, pomegranate juice and stir in sugar. Chill in the refrigerator. When ready to serve top off with club soda, to taste.


SANGRIA PEREA
Ingredients
3 cups ice cubes
1/4 cup lemon slices
1/4 cup lime slices
1/4 cup orange, slices
1/4 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 cup seedless grapes
2 cups red wine
1/2 cup peach brandy
1 cup orange juice
1 cup lemon/lime soda
Directions
In a pitcher, add all the ingredients and stir to combine. Ideally, you want to wait about 1 hour for the fruit and the wine to infuse each other, but you can drink it right away.