Smokey Citrus Bloody Mary

Here is a little secret about me...I am cheap. I prefer to make dishes/drinks at home versus going to a restaurant, particularly if we will be having drinks with the meal.

On that note, Pat and I love a good Bloody Mary drink on a lazy Sunday morning  I will partner them with a nice little brunch. Problem is that I can't stand commercial Bloody Mary mix, so I went on a search for a homemade one. I found this recipe on Allrecipes and we loved it. I made it the day before just to give the flavors a time to meld. The nice thing about this mix is that even though it made a ton of mix, we were able to put it in serving size packages and freeze it.

I decided to partner this with a citrus vodka. It had a sweet yet smoky taste to it. We also tried a plain vodka version, and it was awesome too. What I liked about this recipe is that I seemed it could be easily adaptable for a Bloody Maria which has a tequila base. We even tried it straight with no alcohol and it was pretty dang tasty.

Garnish these as desired. I like the "meal in itself" component of these drinks and will go crazy with my garnishments. I have used green onions, celery stalks, green olives, large shrimp, chunks of cheese, chunks of summer sausage, etc. I am reminded of that photo where the Bloody Mary is garnished with a baby cheeseburger, a chicken sandwich and a buffalo wing.

So, here we go!:

Ingredients:

1 (46 fluid ounce) can HIGH QUALITY tomato juice

1/3 cup steak sauce

3 tablespoons hickory smoke-flavored

barbeque sauce

1 teaspoon ground celery seed

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

Lemon wedges

Directions:

1)  Stir tomato juice, steak sauce, barbeque sauce, celery seed, garlic salt, cayenne paper and black pepper in a large pitcher. 

2) Serve in glasses over ice. Add 1.5 ounces vodka and top with 4 oz of mix.  

3) Garnish each serving as desired above.

The Citronella Cooler

I keep talking about my new love. Nope, not a new man, but a new site! I absolutely love The Tipsy Bartender that can be found on Instigram and Youtube. He has some of the most creative and fun drink recipes on it that allow me to add to my drink recipe catalog and takes some of the pressure off me for concocting drinks for Bette Lee Croby's Midweek Mixers. I also get to try them out before recommending them highly or giving them a thumbs down.

This one was a HUGE hit in my house. I partnered it with steak tacos and EVERYTHING was gone by the end of the night. It almost acted as a palate cleanser. It is a blend of citrus flavors that are softened with the cranberry juice. It is perfect for warm Summer days and just went down like a smooth lemonade.

Just a note: He poured the cranberry juice on top of the drink and let it settle. I poured everything into a shake and blended it that way. I loathe, simply loathe unmixed drinks!

So, here we go!:

1.5 oz Citrus Vodka

2.5 oz Lemonade (the "premade" stuff. Not the powdery garbage!)

.5 oz FRESH SQUEEZED lime juice

1 oz cranberry juice

Lemon slices

Lime slices

Fresh strawberry

Directions:

1) Place hurricane glasses in freezer to chill.

2) In a metal shaker filled with ice, pour first four ingredients. Shake for no more than 30 seconds.

3) Pour everything into chilled hurricane glasses and garnish with lemon, lime and strawberry.

Key Lime Pie Tinis

Key Lime Martinis: A Dessert in a 'Tini Glass

Top View..be sure to do the add'l graham cracker crumbs

Side view..it is even the color of Key Lime Pie!!

OK...I am a HUGE fan of martinis...love 'em!! I am also a fan of Key Lime Pie. I have come across many a recipe for Key Lime Pie Martinis which are too "vodka(y)" in my humble opinion. Key Lime Pie has a smoothness and tartness to it and a strong vodka taste just doesn't fit into that.  So, my tastebuds demanded  that I come up with a new recipe and this is what I came up with...

Alright..I lied...a side note...I use fresh squeezed key lime juice in these drinks. Key limes are tiny little limes which are a tad sweeter than run of the mill limes. I have also made this with fresh squeezed lime juice and, although it works, it doesn't have the smoothness of key limes. Any concentrated lime juice is just simply a no-no!! It is way too strong and bitter!!

Whoopsie..lied again...It is imperative to prepare your martini glass and shaker. If I know I will be making drinks in the evening, I will place my martini glasses and shakers in my freezer or deep freeze. You always want your tinis to be ice cold.

NOW HERE WE GO!!
Ingredients:

• 3 Oz Vanilla Vodka
• 1 Oz. FRESH KEY LIME JUICE~
• 1 Oz Simple Syrup~ You can buy a bottle of simple syrup, but it is easier and WAY cheaper just to make it. All that simple syrup is made of is equal parts of granulated sugar and water which is boiled until the sugar melts and then is left to cool down.  Easy Peasy and cheap!!
• 1.5 Oz Sweet/Sour Mix
• 1.5 Oz Heavy Cream~This is basically a liquified whip cream.

To finish it off:

• Crushed Graham Cracker Crumbs~for your rimmer and topping
• Aerosol Whipped Cream~for the topping

Directions:

1) Do a rimmer of key lime juice and crushed graham cracker crumbs. Return tini glass to freezer.

Rimmed 'tini glass

2) In a chilled shaker that has had ice added, pour all drink ingredients in. Put lid on shaker and shake for 60 seconds to get it nice and blended/chilled.

3) Remove glass from freezer and strain drink into tini glass. Top with whipped cream and more crushed graham crackers.

Enjoy!!

Iced Coffee (serves 1)

Adapted: Allrecipes.com

As I was wandering around Allrecipes.com, which is a pretty common thing for me to do, I came across a recipe for Iced Coffee. Now, I love Iced Coffee, I just don't like paying the costs for it at Starbucks or places like it. This recipe intrigued me. Could it be the same?? Could I quit depriving myself?? How could I play with the recipe to make it my own?? Well, I found out the answer to all 3 of my questions! I am going to give the original recipe for a low-fat version which is beautiful for everyday use. Then, I will give my recipe with several variations. All were superb!

So, here we go!

Original recipe:

2 t. Instant Coffee
1 T. sweetner of your choice (sugar, equal, etc)
3 T. warm water
6 oz. fat free milk

Directions:

1) In a mason jar or any jar with a tight fitting lid, place first 3 ingredients. Shake for approximately 30 seconds to ensure ingredients are blended.

2) Put ice and 6 oz of milk in jar and reseal.  Want a variation, this is when those flavorings would be added. Shake for 60 seconds and pour into glass.

Naomi's recipe for full fat version (not one to be drank everyday and not shown!):

Prepare as same above, but substitue 6 oz of whole milk or half and half for fat free milk.

Variations (works with either non fat or full fat recipes):

Mocha Iced Coffee: Place 1 T. chocolate syrup in first step and continue as usual. Top with whipped cream and drizzle chocolate syrup
Caramel Iced Coffee: Same as above, substitute caramel topping for chocolate syrup
Flavored Coffee Creamers: I have been known to throw in some flavored creamer as well.

Alcoholic Variations (serves 2)

Disaronno Iced Coffee: Place 2 oz of DiSaronno in first step. Continue as usual. Top with whipped cream
Kahlua Iced Coffee: Place 2 oz of any flavor of Kahlua and continue as usual.

Note: Alcoholic Variations could be used as an after dinner drink. They should only be used with half and half to carry the alcohol.

Carl's Coffee

We have a restaurant in our town called Art and Alma's,  Century Inn. This restaurant is as old as the town itself. Although the food is really good, the bar is great! They have a bartender there by the name of Brenda. Brenda came to Burlington by way of a snazzy restaurant in Denver. Let's just say that she is quite the mixologist and I love to pick her brain.

Pat and I had meandered in there for dinner one night and stopped by the bar on our way out to grab a drink before the walk back home. Looking up on the "bar board", I noticed a drink called "Carl's Coffee" and it got me to wonderin'. I asked Brenda what it was... she described it...I ordered it and the rest is history.

Now, poor Brenda,who as I said is a mixologist, not your run of the mill bartender or drink pourer, can never get away from me asking 50 million questions, as she is making my drinks (or anyone elses drinks, for that matter) and this drink was no different. I am almost like a five year old child with the "what, who, why and where" questions. If it was me, I would have been diving into the back room when I saw me mosey up to the bar, but not Brenda. She is a trooper and answers my questions!!

So, thanks to Carl who gave the recipe to Brenda and here we go:

Ahhh, just playin'....A few pointers first:

1) Use a clear glass coffee mug, if available. This is a beautiful drink and it really needs to be shown off.

2) You are not limited to  the Kahlua mentioned in the "formal" recipe and,  in fact, the real recipe calls for Tia Maria. I didn't have it at the time and found out the Kahlua and Tia Maria are basically the same type of liqueur. One is from Jamaica (Tia Maria) and one is from Mexico. OK, enough for the liqueur lessons! I have also used the flavors of Kahlua (although the cream based ones detract from the beauty of this drink), Di Sarrono and Frangelico.

3) Be sure to use heavy whipping cream, NOT HALF AND HALF!! Trust me, the first time I made this, I screwed it up and used the half and half!

Now, here we go:

Ingredients:

5 oz HOT coffee
1 shot Kahlua, Tia Marie, Frangelico or DiSaronno~whichever you are in the mood for!
1 T. brown sugar
Heavy creamer

Directions:

1. Place brown sugar and liqueur in the mug. Stir to blend.
2. Pour in coffee

3. Place tip of spoon in coffee..just enough to break surface tension.
4. Slowly pour heavy cream over back of spoon to create layering effect. I went a bit crazy with the cream above to show how it should look. The amount of cream should actually be about 1/4 of a cup!
5. ENJOY!

How do you rim yours?? A Primer on rimming alcoholic drinks

As I have said in my posts before...I luurrvvee 'tinis...as a result, I love rimmers. Rimmers take a drink from "wow" to "POW" in 10 seconds flat. One can be as creative with their rimmer as they can their drink because there are rimmers for every season and, I swear, every drink.

What type of rimmers are out there:

*Cocktail rimmers~I swear that is what they are called. They range from bloody mary rimmers to umpteen martini rimmers. They can be purchased at liquor stores and most grocery stores that sell alcohol.
*Celery salt~This is my choice of rimmer for my bloody mary. It is simple and doesn't detract from the drink like I have seen with a couple of bloody mary rimmers which are on the market for a whole lot more money
* Colored sugars~ These are just your holiday baking sugars in a number of different colors
* Flavored sugars~ These can be a bit more difficult to find, so I grab them whenever I can
* Margarita salt~ It is just not for margaritas. I use it for all of my tequila drinks which call for a salted rim. It is heavier duty and coarser than table salt.
* Sweetened cocoa~ Is used for my drinks which are cream and/or chocolate based.
* Ground Graham Cracker Crumbs~ This is all I use for my "pie" tinis! Awesome, Simply Awesome!
* Ground Spice Cookies~ I use this for a number of my holiday drinks to give them that extra specialness.

So, first, a quick primer in how to rim:

1) Like the saying "PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!" My saying is "martini glasses MUST be cold"! Like a chunk of my barware, there is a spot in the deep freezer for it, but, while some can be rotated out depending on space issues, this isn't the case with your tini glasses. I equate putting ice cubes in martinis to putting them in red wine...Faux Pas, Paux Pas, Faux Pas!! Alright, off my soap box!

2) Next, pour a liquid into a dish wide enough to accept the whole rim of the tini glass. I actually grabbed a container that my son's fried rice came in and washed it 50 million times to make sure there was no extra flavorings to my juice. Normally, I choose to use fresh lime juice (note: not concentrated).

3) Take out a piece of wax paper, freezer paper or parchment paper and tape it to your table counter or wherever you plan on making your tinis. Next, take your rimmer choice and pour some onto the paper.

4) Take your glass out of the freezer.  Dip the glass in the liquid and then roll it in your rimmer. Voila..you now have a restaurant quality rimmer.

First dip in liquid such as lime juice..then

roll in rimmer of choice

5) Immediately return the glass to the freezer while you make your drink. When the drink is made, remove glass from freezer and pour the drink into the glass. Aim for the center of the glass, so none of the rimmer comes off.

Graham Cracker Rimmer

Pomegranate Tini Rimmer

What results is a restaurant quality drink that can run as much as $12 in a restaurant for a smidgen of the cost!

The "Lemon Drop Tini Kid"

I can't even say where I found this recipe. I have been making it for so long that I have it memorized, have doubled it, pitchered it...you name it!

It shocked me because I made it for my son one day and HE LOVED IT!! As with a chunk of things I make, Jonathon snubbed his nose at it at first, but, with the exception of my agave nectar margaritas, it was the only thing of mine that he would drink for the longest time.

So, here we go and it is an easy one to remember!:

Ingredients:

3 oz Citrus Vodka
2 oz Sweet/Sour
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice

Rimmer: Lemon drop martini rimmer (optional, but it really makes it pop)

(can that get any simpler??)

Directions:

1) Do a rimmer with the lemon drop martini rimmer if desired. Return martini glass to freezer
2) Take chilled shaker out of freezer and put some ice in it.
3) Fill with ingredients. Shake for 60 seconds.
4) Pour into prepared tini glass

Look at the ice crystals on top~now that's a cold 'tini!!