The Sassy Scorpio

It’s tiki time! Warmer weather finally seems to be here to stay, so I’ve invited some special amici to party with us. Meet the new crew.

Tiki mugs this cool are certainly worthy of a sassy cocktail. If you like a Scorpion Bowl, you’ll be happy to know you can easily shake up a Sassy Scorpio with freshly squeezed fruit juice to take a virtual trip to paradise right in your own home. Shall we?

THE SASSY SCORPIO

juice of 1 orange (I’m loving Cara-Caras lately), about 5 oz.
juice of 1 lemon
5 oz. pineapple juice
2 oz. gin
2 oz. golden rum
2 oz. Malibu rum
2 oz. vodka
1 tablespoon grenadine
4 maraschino cherries–two per tiki on a toothpick to garnish

Remember: crushing ice is cathartic, so at the end of a grueling day, just grab a hammer (a meat mallet works even better) and a gallon Ziploc bag and bang your troubles away. Et voilà, crushed ice. Fill two tiki mugs with ice and set them in the freezer while you whip up the drinks. You know, just like us, tiki mugs like to chill.

Squeeze the fruit juice (except for the pineapple, of course), add the pineapple juice, grenadine and liquors. Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into tiki mugs. You’ll have enough to fill two mugs and then some. So take a good sip and be sure to top off your drinks. Garnish with two cherries speared on a toothpick.

Now you know what to make for Hawaiian Shirt Friday–just one more day to get there, thankfully, WHEW! Here’s some music to get the party started! Aloha, amici!

 

Girl Scout Cookie Cocoa

You may have heard, here in the Land of Steady Habits (a.k.a. Connecticut), we were walloped by a monster blizzard this weekend. In my 44 years living in this area, I don’t recall snowfall of this magnitude. I can’t open my front door.

The door to my back deck leads to a wall of snow. The deck itself looks like a giant bowl of powdered sugar.

The only door that will open is in the basement. I opened it to dig out my heat pump (insert wallet here), in hopes I can keep things relatively toasty here. Have I told you lately I’m a crummy pioneer?

So, what time is it? Well, it was about 1:30ish when I stirred it up, but that’s beside the point.

It’s really time for a liquid thin mint! A liquored up Girl Scout cookie cocoa, replete with whippy cream to make the day a little brighter. Kid you not, it tastes just like a thin mint with the added magic factor of being an adult beverage.

Follow me, you might just earn your bartender merit badge for this one! With apologies to Mrs. Kachinsky, my Brownie leader–I never made it further than Brownies–I really am a good girl deep down where it counts.

GIRL SCOUT COOKIE COCOA

1/2 cup + of milk (overpour so you have a standard mug half filled with milk)
1 tablespoon Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa
1 Valrhona feve (or small amount of your favorite dark chocolate, broken into pieces; note: 1 Valrhona feve = 1/8 oz.)
1/4 cup Rumple Minze peppermint schnapps
generous glug of Bailey’s Irish Cream
whipped cream (I like Reddi-wip for this purpose) to top your cocoa

Heat the milk in the mug in the microwave. About 45 seconds worked nicely here. Take it out, stir in the Ghirardelli cocoa, then break up the dark chocolate, drop it into the mug and stir again. It should melt in, but an extra trip to the microwave will make it perfect–about 20 seconds more.

Stir in the Rumple Minze, then the Bailey’s. Remember, you need to leave enough space to top it with whipped cream. Et voilà!

So, I leave you singing a “Song of Joy” with alllllllllllll the happiness this melody brings…because the power is on and I’m safe and warm, however snowbound. And now a little warmer–OK and mildly buzzed–from  this killer cup of cocoa. I was a huge Captain & Tennille fan back in my Brownie days (oh, yes, I had this album, for the record). Make no mistake, they still sound good to me, too. CENT’ANNI, amici! Stay safe and toasty, wherever you are!

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Margaritas

Native strawberries will be ripe for the pickin’ just around the corner here in the Land of Steady Habits. Gotta make sure our recipe’s right for soon-to-be summer sippin’, strawberry margarita-style!

You can make “normal” simple syrup by boiling equal parts sugar and water, but rhubarb’s in season, and I wanted to get that in on the cocktail party. So why be normal? First, let’s make the rhubarb syrup!

RHUBARB SIMPLE SYRUP WITH CARDAMOM
adapted from the Flourishing Foodie and Toby Cecchini (New York Times)

2 cups rhubarb, chopped
as a guide: for me, 2.5 stalks yielded two cups, but some of my stalks were HUGE (see above)

2 cups water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 a lemon, squeezed
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped

Wash the rhubarb; remove and throw away any leaves. Chop stalks into small 1/2 pieces.

To a medium saucepan, add rhubarb, water, sugar, lemon juice, cardamom and vanilla bean.

Stir to dissolve the sugar, then bring to a boil.

Reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. Stir just every so often. Remove from burner; let cool for 20 minutes. Strain and gently press through a fine mesh strainer. Pour the syrup into a glass container; store in the fridge.

It will keep for a week, and you’ll have plenty, so try it with seltzer as rhubarb soda or make a rhubarb Collins: 2 oz. gin, 1 oz. rhubarb syrup, squeeze of fresh lime, shake-a-shake-a, then top with seltzer…or maybe make a rhubarb bellini if you’re feelin’ fancy! One more for my friend Jay who rolls on the sweet side of the street and does NOT like gin: the rhubarb Julius! 2 oz. Stoli Vanil, 2 oz. rhubarb syrup, squeeze of fresh lime, shake and top with seltzer.

You can eat the leftover rhubarb (pick the vanilla bean out, of course)–it’s a bit like tart applesauce.

But, hey, let’s not forget the main reason we’re here: it’s time to go for a spin in the blender to Margaritaville. Fasten yer seatbelts!

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB MARGARITAS

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled
3/4 cup rhubarb syrup
1/2 lime, squeezed
1 cup your favorite tequila (I’m diggin’ Milagro of late)
1/2 cup your favorite orange liqueur*
*I used Agavero, tho’ I’m also a big Patron Citronge fan–both are delish. Citronge is slightly stronger by way of proof (64 proof vs. 80 proof).

Ready? Go! See the ingredients above? Place them all in a blender.

Blend! Like magic, margaritas are made. I don’t know if it’s my new blender, or just the texture of fresh strawbs blended with rhubarb syrup, but these are exceptionally SMOOTH and DELICIOUS! Serve in sugar-rimmed glasses filled with ice.

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom–CENT’ANNI to Janey!

Oh, and how did Janey like them?

On Mother’s Day, let’s just say these ‘ritas were kid tested–mother approved. Love you, Mom! ♥

 

X-Rated Sicilian Delight: Blood Orange Cocktail

PICK ME! PICK ME! So pleaded the bottle of blood orange juice as I spied it in Stop & Shop.

I had my eye on this persuasive (!) blood orange juice last time I was in the produce aisle, but found it especially irresistible when I read its side panel–Sicilian Delight!

Ooh, get in the cart, baby! You’re about to become even more delightful!

Last week, I tried X-Rated Fusion Liqueur in a lychee cocktail and decided I had to experiment at home. Made from blood oranges, mangoes and passion fruit, X-Rated Fusion might possibly be even betta with blood orange juice than lychee. Someone had to figure it out. And it was gonna be me!

So, as luck would have it, I found (file under “Who knew?”) right here in the Land of Steady Habits, Westford Hill Distillers is crankin’ out Rime Organic Vodka. Of course, I had to try it and it’s excellent!

But together: equal parts Rime organic vodka, Noble blood orange juice and X-Rated Fusion liqueur? Why, we’ve got X-Rated Sicilian Delight! And on a sunshine day, it sure goes down easy. CENT’ANNI! Happy weekend, amici!

 

Jalapeno Puree for Margarita Magic

Do you roll on the spicy side of the street? Give your margaritas the heat treatment with jalapeno puree! Just buzz up jalapenos with agave syrup to pump up your favorite ‘rita with an extra kick! It’s so good and so easy…and the spiciness is subtle.

JALAPENO PUREE

3 jalapenos, seeded and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons agave syrup (I use light organic blue agave from Wholesome Sweeteners)

Add to mini food processor and grind away! On day one, it will look all sorts of frothy like this.

Then it will settle down into this vibrant green color:

How much does it make? Why, a whole skull-ful! That’s just under 1/3 of a cup.

How much to use per drink? Try 3/4 of a teaspoon and see what you think!

How long does it keep? I have no idea, so call your friends, make plenty of margaritas and drink up! All the other kids with the pumped up kicks are on the jalapeno train–you should get on board, too! WOO WOO!

 

Homemade Hennessy Ginger Hooch (Ginger Liqueur)

Over the weekend, Katty’s Kitchen cranked out some homemade Hennessy ginger hooch–OK, ginger liqueur. While it may not be less expensive than buying a bottle of Domaine de Canton, it sure is a whole lot more fun and very flavorful! WHEEE! Instead of brandy, I hooched it up with Hennessy Privilege VSOP Cognac. Wait till you see how easy!

HOMEMADE HENNESSY GINGER HOOCH (GINGER LIQUEUR)
adapted from Marcia Simmons (no relation!), Serious Eats

2 ounces ginger root
1 vanilla bean
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups water
zest of one orange
1 ½ cups Hennessy Privilege VSOP Cognac

This ginger root kinda looks like the shape of Vietnam, does it not?

Peel ginger and slice thinly. I used a vegetable peeler to slice most of the ginger and a paring knife for the rest.

Cut a vanilla bean in half, then slice each half down the middle and scrape the insides. All of it goes into a saucepan with water, sugar and ginger.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer about 20 minutes till ginger is soft.

While that’s boiling, zest an orange into an airtight glass container. I grabbed the Microplane and my biggest Glasslock container so I’d have plenty of room for the ginger, syrup and Hennessy.

Ready for how easy this is? Pour ginger/syrup into glass container with orange zest; add Hennessy. Seal the container and give it a gentle shake. Let it steep–just on the counter is fine. I spaced and put it in the fridge. That’s fine, too. After 24 hours, remove the vanilla bean pods.
Hint: don’t throw the pods away–put them in your maple syrup bottle!

24 hours after that, strain out the ginger using a fine-mesh sieve. My fine-mesh sieve is not quite as fine as I needed to get the job done completely. The original recipe calls for straining through a coffee filter. Oh, let me tell you, that went over like a giant lead balloon! What worked purr-fectly, though, was to rig a tea strainer into my drinkin’ jars.

Now it really does look like I’m makin’ hooch! YEEHAAAAAAAAAA!

This concoction is said to last a year, though I’m sure this batch will be but a distant memory by then. No need to refrigerate, either.

I can’t wait to make some seriously sexy adult beverages later this week–either The Gold Rush or a straight up ginger ‘rita! It’s gonna be time for a good time come quittin’ time on Friday! Cheers, amici!

 

Katty’s Irish Cream

If I’d known how ridiculously simple and delicious it is to make your own Irish cream, I’d have probably worn out the blender by now. Holy smokes! If you enjoy Bailey’s, you owe it to yourself to take this recipe for a spin soon. Curious? April Katt was!

KATTY’S IRISH CREAM

1 cup heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup Jameson’s Irish Whiskey (I was a bit short of a cup, so I topped it with Maker’s Mark!)
½ teaspoon fine grind espresso
½ teaspoon cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
scant ¼ teaspoon almond extract

Ready for how easy this is? Pour all ingredients into blender and blend on high for about half a minute. Store in tightly sealed containers in the fridge. I understand this will keep for several weeks, though am not sure I’ll find out here a Casa Katty!

Shake it like ya mean it before you serve. Oh, and if straight up Irish cream isn’t enough deliciousness for you, try combining with Grand Marnier on the rocks for a French Kiss. MWAHH! ♥ It’s also quite nice in coffee and perfect as a nightcap, much like this Louis Prima tune: Buona Sera! And CENT’ANNI, AMICI!

 

Ruby Red ‘Ritas

Happy New Year! It’s the dead of winter and this kat is missing her sunshine in a big way. So how about a little liquid vitamin C to make up for the lack of vitamin D?

A bartender in Florida taught me how to make these–ruby red grapefruit and half a lime, freshly squeezed, with your favorite tequila and some Patron Citronge…YESSSSSS. It’s as close as you can get to a virtual vacation in a sugar-rimmed glass with ice. Let’s get the party started right heah!

RUBY RED ‘RITAS
1 ruby red grapefruit, squeezed–about 6 oz. or 3/4 cup
1/2 lime, squeezed
2:1 ratio tequila:Citronge (4 oz. tequila/2 oz. Patron Citronge)
2 sugar-rimmed glasses of your choice

So much the better if you have the holy grail of margarita vessels as I do from a trip to Cabo long ago…but, really, any glass will do. And if you don’t feel like squeezin’ by hand, Noble in the produce section is a good bet. You already know how to sugar-rim a glass, right? Simply run the lime around the edge, then dip into a plate of coarse sugar.

Cheers to ya! And here’s to all good things in 2011 for you and me!

 

Lavender Simple Syrup & a Lavender Martini on the Rocks (say yes!)

Remember that old Martini & Rossi commercial from the 70s? “Martini & Rossi on the rocks–say yes!” If you like lavender (I love!), you’ll wanna say yes to these two easy recipes.

We recently went out for adult beverages at a local wine bar. I was intrigued by a lavender martini with Stoli Vanil and had to have it. Quite delicious and so refreshing on a hot summer night!

Luckily, it’s easy to replicate, but I’m doin’ it on the rocks (!) to keep it extra cool. Now you can, too. Here we go.

LAVENDER SIMPLE SYRUP

½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup water
1 ½ tablespoons dried lavender

Bring ingredients to a boil.

When sugar is completely dissolved, let cool and store in the fridge. Strain lavender buds before using in your drink.

Feel free to double–I make half batches at a time since it’s so easy to throw together…and the Yankee in me hates to throw anything away! Look how pretty!

And now, for the cocktail part of the program.

LAVENDER MARTINI

Crush ice.
Pour 1/4 cup Stoli Vanil over ice.
Squeeze a wedge of lemon.
Add 1 tablespoon of lavender simple syrup.
Add a splash of sparkling Pellegrino or soda/seltzer.
Stir with a straw and enjoy!
It’s martini time (recorded live at Toad’s Place, New Haven)!

Martini & lavender on the rocks–say yes! Yeahhhhh!

 

Cruzan Vanilla Mint Lemonade

Is it 5 o'clock yet?

When life has given you lemons, a home-squeezed adult beverage can really hit the spot. One of my recent favorites is Cruzan vanilla mint lemonade. I’ve even made one with cucumbers, too! But for the moment, let’s keep it simple.

Last year’s mint is on the rise on the deck and ready for picking.

Katty and the mint!

And I’ve got a lemon in the fridge and a bottle of Cruzan Vanilla Rum. It must be 5 o’clock somewhere, no? Let’s muddle that one over with a tablespoon of simple syrup. HA HA! Like so:

CRUZAN VANILLA MINT LEMONADE

8 fresh mint leaves (mine were small, so I picked a few extra!)
1 tablespoon simple syrup
1/2 a lemon, squeezed
1/3 cup Cruzan Vanilla Rum
Pellegrino (or any other fizzy, unflavored beverage such as seltzer or club soda)
crushed ice (crushing ice is almost as rewarding as drinking this drink!)

Muddled mint leaves in simple syrup

Muddle mint leaves in simple syrup. Crush ice. If you don’t feel like a few bangs on a sandwich bag to crush the ice, cubes are fine.

Crushing ice is both cathartic and fun!

Cruzan Vanilla Rum & friends!

Fill glass about 3/4 of the way with ice. Pour muddled mint over ice. Squeeze half a lemon. I cut the half in two for easy squeezin’. Throw one of the quarter lemons in the glass. Add rum. Top with fizziness of choice. Serve. Smile. Watch your day improve.