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Cucumber Ginger Cocktail

They say that fish and company go bad after 3 days. We've had company at least every weekend for the past 3 months. Add a new baby, sleep deprivation, and work drama to the equation and you've got a whole lot of bad. I think we could all use a cocktail from Martha Stewart. No one can drink to endure company like a WASP. I'd like to dedicate both this drink and the power ballad link below to my husband, baby, and dog. Someday we will be alone together again.

CLICK TO PLAY:  Heart - Alone

Cucumber Ginger Cocktails

1 1/2 cups vodka
1 English cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
2 bottles (750 mL each) sparkling water
1/2 to 1 cup Ginger Simple Syrup (see below)

Put vodka and chopped cucumber in a nonreactive container. Refrigerate 1 hour. Strain; discard cucumber. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use, up to 2 days.

Fill eight tumblers with ice. Add 3 tablespoons infused vodka to each glass. Squeeze, then drop, a lime wedge into each. Top with sparkling water; stir in 2 tablespoons syrup.

Ginger Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 piece (about 10 inches long and 4 ounces; or use several small pieces) fresh ginger, peeled and cut into very thin rounds

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add ginger; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and let steep 30 minutes. Pour syrup through a fine sieve into an airtight container; discard ginger. Refrigerate up to 1 month.

Ginger and Grapefruit Pitcher

I love a summer cocktail and I love grapefruit and ginger. Here's a tasty drink you can make a pitcher to avoid spending so much time bar tending.

Ginger and Grapefruit Pitcher

2 grapefruits, quartered
4 ounces Ginger Simple Syrup, recipe follows
2 limes, juiced
1 lime, for garnish
5 ounces tequila
Ginger ale
 
In a large pitcher or bowl add grapefruit, ginger simple syrup and limes juice. Muddle, add tequila and ice. Fill container with ginger ale. Garnish with lime wedges 

Ginger simple syrup:

1 cup water
3-inch piece peeled and sliced ginger
or 2 Tablespoons ginger puree
2 cups sugar

Add water, ginger and the sugar to a saucepan and bring to boil. Stir until sugar is dissolve. Strain. Let cool and store in the refrigerator in an air tight container.

Britney Themed Cocktails

Last Friday night Popmuse and I attended a World of Wonder art show celebrating the spectical of modern day Britney Spears. There were paintings, photos, mixed media pieces, performances, and some amazing theme drinks served with hot Cheetos.  To help recreate some of the Britney magic in your own home, try making some of the Britney inspired cocktails featured at the show.

Britney Themed Cocktails:

Barefoot & Pregnant
2 parts Vodka + 1 part Coke

Oops… I Did It Again
2 parts Vodka + 1 part Diet Coke

Cheeto-tini
2 parts Vodka + 1 part Orange Pop

Vagina Flash
2 parts Vodka + 1 part Strawberry Pop

Umbrella Attack
2 parts Vodka + 1 part Pineapple Fanta

Sea Breeze Cocktail

I am deep in a grapefruit moment right now and have come to love the idea of making a pitcher of cocktails for social gatherings. This is a pretty standard summer cocktail recipe by The Barefoot Contessa. I like to make a pitcher a few hours in advance and toss in some slices of grapefruit.

Sea Breeze Cocktail

16 ounces vodka
30 ounces cranberry juice
16 ounces grapefruit juice
Ice cubes
Lime wedges, frozen

Place the vodka and juices in a plastic container, cover with a lid and shake until combined. Fill each glass half full with ice and pour in the drink mixture. Place a frozen lime wedge in each glass and serve. 

Champagne/Pomegranate Cocktail

In an effort to make Halloween festive yet adult-like Nilblogette and I threw together a red alcoholic beverage  for our movie night. She added a splash of Blue Cacao for kicks, but they work either way.

Champagne/Pomegranate Cocktail

1 fluid ounce pomegranate juice
3 fluid ounces dry sparkling wine
splash of Blue Cacao (optional)

Pour juice in champagne flute and top with champagne.

Bing Cherry Mojito

This was a Martha Stewart summer drink recipe that Bloghungry modified to make more manageable. I'm not sure why it's called a mojito, because it uses vodka instead of rum and contains no mint. However, it is light and refreshing and was the official drink of our 4th of July BBQ this year. Martha knows her booze.

Bing Cherry Mojitos

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 5 limes)
16 oz bag frozen cherries
9 oz vodka
1 liter tonic or club soda

Bring 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar to boil, stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. In a medium sized bowl, mix frozen cherries, lime juice, sugar syrup, and vodka. Fill 6 glasses with ice, spoon in 1/2 cup cherry vodka mixture, top off with soda and serve.

Wedding Tea

While in North Carolina, sweet iced tea was in no short supply. It was offered to me at every meal and I became dependent on it before the end of my stay there. A lot of southerners swear by this basic sweet tea recipe. They say a pinch of baking soda takes the bitterness out of the tea and darkens the color without adding any discernible flavor. Give it a try.

Southern Sweet Tea

6 regular tea bags
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups boiling water
1 1/2-2 cups sugar
6 cups cold water

In a large glass measuring cup, place the tea bags and add the baking soda. Pour the boiling water over the tea bags. Cover and steep for 15 minutes. Take out the tea bags and do not squeeze them. Pour the tea mixture into a 2-quart pitcher; add the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add in the cold water. Let cool; chill in the refrigerator and serve over ice.

Citrus White Wine Spritzer

It's been a stressful weekend for Carrie Fisher and Bloghungry. Carrie had a seizure late Friday night and I had to run her to the pet emergency room. They treated her, ran tests, and kept her overnight for observation. When she finally came home Saturday we both needed to relax. She napped a lot and I made citrus white wine spritzers ala Rachael Ray. We both feel much better now.

Citrus White Wine Spritzer

2 (1/4-inch) slices lemon
2 (1/4-inch) slices lime
Ice cubes
4 ounces Pinot Grigio or other white wine
2 ounces lemon lime flavored seltzer water

In a large stem glass arrange slices of lemon and lime between ice cubes to fill the glass. Pour 4 ounces of white wine, 1/2 cup, and 2 ounces of sparkling lemon lime seltzer water, 1/4 cup, down over fruit and ice. Stir with cocktail stir-stick or straw and serve.

Infuse Your Own Vodka

Bloghungry says: Buying flavored vodkas can be pricey and Kool-aid tasting! Why not make your own instead? Here are some guidelines and suggestions for infusing vodka flavors at home:

Chosing Ingredients:

It can take under a week for citrus fruits or strongly flavored ingredients to infuse. Softly flavored or fibrous ingredients such as strawberries, pineapple or fresh ginger, can take between one and two weeks. Fresh fruit and produce should be washed thoroughly to ensure they are free from presticides and any unwanted party guests. Berry-like fruit, such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, should be left whole. Fibrous fruits like pineapple or mango should be chopped into small chunks and strawberries or citrus fruit, cut into thin slices. Thin-skinned juice oranges or Meyer lemons work best, as excess pitch quickly creates a bitter taste. Vanilla beans should be cut lengthways and herbs left on their stems. Chili peppers can be left whole, or cut in half if you want to increase the rate of infusion. If you want to speed up the flavor infusion process, or deepen the flavor, sprinkle a layer of sugar over the top of fruit. Occasionally stir the mixture to dissolve any settled granules. You could also try a simple syrup or honey.

Choosing an Infusion Jar: Basic, tall or round glass jars with tightly fitting lids, preferable complete with pouring spouts are the only initial outlay required for your new in-house vodka infusion center. The glass jar should be filled full with the infusion ingredients and the remained with vodka. Tighten the lid securely over the jar and place in the refrigerator or at room temperature, away from direct sunlight.

Choosing a Base Vodka: Choosing a suitable vodka base is key to effective flavor infusion. Rye or potato based vodkas are not conductive to effective flavor and color infusion, as they detract away from the taste you are trying to create. The more times vodka is distilled, the clearner and purer it becomes. So try choosing vodkas that are distilled more than three times.

Infusion times:

Approx. 3 - 4 days:

Vanilla beans, lemons, oranges, grapefruit, limes, mint, garlic, tarragon, basil, oregano, dill & thyme

Approx. 1 week: Cantaloupes, strawberries, peaches, mangoes, pitted cherries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries

Up to 2 weeks: Whole chili peppers, pineapple, fresh ginger and lemongrass

These are only guidelines. Just remember that stronger flavored fruit and herbs/spices take less time to infuse, whereas softer flavor and fibrous fruit take longer. The most accurate method is to continually taste them, adding more or diluting, until the flavor reaches your preferred intensity.

Vodka Lemonade & Spiked Iced Tea

Our country/cowboy/gay/transvestite cocktails for the Oscars centered around tea and lemonade. The Dixieland tea was a little boozey for me, but the Peach cooler and Vodka lemonades were pretty good. Here's a rundown of the recipes.

Dixieland Iced Tea

2 oz Whiskey
1/2 oz Amaretto
Fill with Iced tea

Shake or stir. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Peach Tea Cooler

9 oz Iced tea
3 oz Peach schnapps

Mix and serve on the rocks.

Vodka Lemonade

3 oz Vodka
2 Tbsp Frozen Lemonade Conentrate
Fill with Club Soda

Stir and garnish with a lemon wedge.