Ina Garten's Make Ahead Cranberry Martini

I was waiting for Ina's new cookbook, Make it Ahead, for almost a full year. I made a beeline to Barnes & Noble on release day and raced home after work to read through it.

And it was kind of disappointing.  A lot of recipes were rehashes of old ones (which you almost can't blame her for, it is her 9th book, how many ideas can one person have?), and a lot of them were just prep ahead tips, not things you could completely make and reheat.

I've had the cookbook for two months now, and Ina's make ahead cranberry martinis were the first thing I tried.

This is basically an upscale version of a cranberry vodka. I served it at our Hanukkah party, and it was very well received. It's fun and festive and easy enough to make (though not as easy as just a regular cranberry vodka...). I did doctor the original recipe by squeezing in the juice of half an orange, and adding an extra half cup of cranberry juice, but if you like more of a vodka bite, do it Ina's way.

Make Ahead Cranberry Martinis (from Make It Ahead, recipe written with my changes)

1 cup cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
6 strips of orange zest, 1x3 inches (I used a vegetable peeler)
1 750 ml bottle vodka
1 and 1/2 cups cranberry juice cocktail (original recipe calls for 1 cup)
1/4 cup Triple Sec
Juice of half an orange (original recipe omits this)

Pour bottle of vodka into a large pitcher, Pyrex, whatever it can hang out in for a couple days.

Combine cranberries, sugar, orange zest, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer about 5 minutes, until cranberries start to pop. Let cool, then add to pitcher with vodka. Refrigerate for up to five days.

Up to two days ahead of time, you can make the cocktail. I did mine Friday night for a Sunday afternoon party. Strain the vodka mixture into a pitcher, reserving cranberries but discarding zest. Add the cranberry juice, triple sec, and juice of half an orange. Stir.

When ready to serve, fill a cocktail shaker with ice, pour in some of the drink mix, and give it a good shake. Pour into martini glasses, garnishing with cranberries. Enjoy!

Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade

I've been MIA lately, due to some serious (and unsuccessful) house hunting. It's been completely overtaking my brain, so I really need to force myself to focus on other things.

So today I wanted to share a great summery cocktail: the blackberry bourbon lemonade. It's a delicious mix of sparkling lemonade, blackberry and rosemary simple syrup, and of course, bourbon.

This makes a great drink for a summer party, due to it’s all American ingredients (bourbon, lemonade) and it’s festive red color (which you can make red, white, and blue with the addition of a blackberry garnish), and its big-batch recipe that makes 12 drinks.

 

Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade, originally from Better Homes and Gardens

Here I'm providing the 1 gallon big batch version, click the link above for a single serving size. 

3 cups bourbon
2/3 cups lemon juice
1 recipe blackberry rosemary simple syrup (below)
4 cups sparkling lemonade
Blackberries, for garnish

Combine bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup in a large pitcher or punch bowl. Stir. Add sparkling lemonade and garnish with blackberries.

Makes 12 5oz servings.

Blackberry Rosemary Simple Syrup
12 oz fresh blackberries
1 1/2 tbsp rosemary, roughly chopped
3/4 cup water
1/4 sugar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes, until blackberries are breaking down and the liquid is syrupy and reduced by half.  Mash the blackberries into the liquid with a wooden spoon towards the end of cooking.  Strain through a fine strainer, pressing on the berries to extract juice. Let cool, and store in fridge for up to one week.

Strawberry Margaritas

I've been trying for years to come up with the perfect margarita- slushy, limey, not too sweet- but always failed. The ice would turn into chips, or disappear completely, leaving me with a watery, not slushy, drink. I had issues with lime juice too; the bottled stuff tasted like crap but squeezing fresh juice took a dozen limes and a lot of time.

So I switched my goal from the classic plain lime margarita to a fruity one, and now I've been successful. I use frozen fruit, which really helps to increase the slushy consistency, and I crush my ice in the blender before I add the rest of the ingredients. And since the drink's focus is now fruit (strawberry, in this case) I only need the juice of two limes, so I'm not standing there trying to squeeze out paltry amounts of juice from a million limes.

Strawberry Margaritas, adapted from Cooking Light

3 1/2 cups frozen strawberries (you can swap in other fruits too, like peach or mango)
2 1/2 cups crushed ice
3/4 cup tequila
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp Triple Sec
1/4 tsp salt (let's be honest, there isn't a chance I measured this. I shook my salt shaker a couple times into the blender)
Lime wedge for garnish

Fill your blender with ice, and crush. Remove to a separate bowl, and measure out 2 1/2 cups.

Combine all other ingredients, through salt, and process until smooth. Pour into a large pitcher, and garnish individual glasses with lime wedge.

Makes only four margaritas, so go ahead and double it.

Make Ahead: You can make this up to 45 minutes before guests arrive and keep the pitcher of margs in the fridge. Any longer than that and your slushy consistency might start to melt away.

Peppermint Mojitos

 

Today I’m sharing a recipe for Peppermint  Mojitos, a refreshing cocktail that’s perfect for Christmas.

The drink is easy to make for a group, although juicing enough limes to get one cup of juice was annoying. Why are limes so juiceless? Whenever I watch Barefoot Contessa I make fun of her electric juicer, but you can bet I was wishing for one when I made these. 

Peppermint Mojitos, adapted from Perfect Recipes for Having People Over by Pam Anderson

2 cups ice cubs
8 large mint sprigs, plus more for garnish
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup fresh lime juice (I needed 8 limes!)
1½ cups white rum
½ cup peppermint schnapps
8 dashes Angostura bitters
1 liter Seltzer, chilled

Add ice, mint, sugar, and lime juice to pitcher. Mash mint against ice and sugar with a wooden spoon. Add rum, schnapps, and bitters. Store in freezer until party time.

To serve, fill 6 8oz old fashioned glasses with ice, and add rum mix to come 2/3 of the way up the glass. Top off with club soda. Garnish with candy cane and extra mint sprigs, and serve.

Serves 6.