Category: Drinks
Cool Dad, Cool Summer Cooler, Sangria

Cool Dad, Cool Summer Cooler, Sangria

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Father’s Day this past Sunday meant Hubby’s Choice.  We did whatever he wanted to do, eat, and play. Here is my Haiku for Father’s Day

He walked in the morn

Ate fried chicken Played Fortnite

She drank Sangria

Yep,  the Sangria was for me.  Sangria was the perfect complement to our Dad Driven Dinner of fried chicken, potato salad, fresh corn on the cob grilled, served as Elote (my latest obsession), and a berry melange with oranges.  AmIRite?

So I pulled out a bottle of red wine, not the pricey stuff, and made a large pitcher of Sangria. It’s light, it’s festive, it’s refreshing and delicious, one of my favorite drinks.  Perfect for hot summer days and alfresco dining.

Over the years I have tweaked a recipe I first found in Cooking Light magazine.  The tweaks entail adding more alcohol, imagine that.  Feel free to add your favorite fruits, the sky’s the limit.  I added blueberries and lime slices to this batch.  Apples would also be great, or other berries.  To bring out the flavors of the fruit, when you add the fruit to the wine mixture, muddle them lightly.  Totally optional.  Get fancy by garnishing the glass with a wedge of citrus or a strawberry.  If you’re in party mode, hit it with a splash of Brandy.

Did I mention we finished with homemade apple pie?  Happy Father’s Day!

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Sangria

Take red wine, add a little bit of sugar, oranges, lemons, cinnamon, and cloves. Then take it over the top with a splash of Triple Sec, Brandy and Club Soda, that’s Sangria!
Course Drinks
Cuisine Spanish
Keyword Red Wine, Sangria, Summer Cooler
Prep Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 750 ml bottle of red wine, inexpensive but drinkable Riojas would be lovely, low tannin, younger wine
  • 1 cup fresh orange juice
  • 1/4 cup Triple Sec or Brandy
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 strip orange peel 4” long
  • 4 cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 lemon thinly sliced & seeded
  • 1 orange thinly sliced & seeded
  • Splash brandy
  • 2 cups Club Soda or Sparkling Water

Garnish

  • any fresh fruit

Instructions

  • Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large pitcher, stirring mixture until the sugar dissolves.
  • Press cloves into the rind strip.  Add strip, cinnamon, and fruit to wine mixture. 
  • Chill for at least 30 minutes.  Stir in club soda just before serving.  Serve over ice.
  • Garnish with additional fruit.
Stop the Madness with Lemon Syrup

Stop the Madness with Lemon Syrup

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If you have a lemon tree in your backyard you will know what I am going through. Our one lemon tree produces enough lemons for my entire neighborhood.  Too bad EVERY house in my neighborhood has a lemon tree.

So, if you have any suggestions on what to do with all my lemons, PLEASE forward them to me. I am always looking for ways to use them because man (or woman) cannot live on Lemon Bars alone…

Well, I probably could but that wouldn’t be wise.

Fortunately, I do have a suggestion for an abundance of lemons.

lemon syrup

Jamie is home.  Which means marathon kitchen sessions of baking, cooking, and CLEANING.    We picked a bunch of lemons and made a stupid easy lemon syrup that we keep in the fridge for lemonade, drinks, lemon tea, just about anything that needs some sweet lemon goodness.  It keeps for at least a month and is a fabulous way to make use of all those lemons.  I have had a cold for the past week (feels like forever) and my go-to comfort drink has been a steaming cup of tea and a couple of tablespoons of lemon syrup.

Counting down: Top Five List of Ways to Use Your Homemade Lemon Syrup

5. As mentioned, a couple of tablespoons in a steaming hot cup of tea, so good.

4. Drizzled on berries and yogurt for a morning kickstart

3. Drizzled on pound cake for that extra zip

2. LEMONADE, nothing better on a hot summer day but a tall ice cold glass of lemonade-oh yeah.  This is a mandatory summer fridge item.

  • Tall glass, Ice,1 part lemon syrup  to 3-4 parts water, to taste… ahhhhhhhh, garnish with a sprig of mint or basil, life is good, drink lemonade

1. LEMON DROPS for Happy Hour  (or any hour)

  • 2 ounces lemon syrup, 1/2 ounce triple sec, 2-ounce vodka.  Take a martini glass, dip rim in lemon juice then into granulated sugar.  If you are cool enough to already own a cocktail shaker ( I want one), pour vodka, triples sec, lemon syrup into the shaker with ice.  Shake, shake, shake.  Strain into martini glass. ENJOY.
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Stop the Madness with Lemon Syrup

Ingredients

Adapted from Taste of Home.

  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 3 cups lemon juice about 16 lemons
  • 2 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Instructions

  • In a 1-1/2-qt. heat-proof container, dissolve sugar in boiling water. If necessary heat on stove to dissolve sugar. Cool.
  • Add lemon juice and zest; mix well.
  • Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Although I have a jar in my fridge that has been there for a month, still delish!
  • Yield: 5-1/2 cups syrup (number of batches varies depending on concentration of lemonade).
  • When using the syrup, pour through a strainer to remove the pulp or zest. I'm a pulp girl so I generally don't bother staining the syrup.
  • To prepare lemonade: For 1 serving, combine 1/4 to 1/3 cup syrup and 3/4 cup cold water in a glass; stir well. For 8 servings, combine 2-2/3 cups syrup and 5 cups cold water in a 2-qt. pitcher; stir well. Yield: 1 serving.

Variations on a theme.  You could use Meyer Lemons cutting back the sugar a tad.  You also use limes or a combination of lemons and limes.  Its up to you!  Enjoy!

 
Bailey’s Irish Cream Stands In for Day 5 Holiday Cookies:

Bailey’s Irish Cream Stands In for Day 5 Holiday Cookies:

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.I was going to stop at homemade Kahlua but a super simple recipe caught my eye in one of my all time favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen.  I trust her implicitly so I knew I was going to make this.  This is a knockoff of Baily’s Irish Cream. Yep. Super simple and delicious.  I waited until the last minute to make this as it will probably not keep very long.  As I was perusing recipes for coffee liqueur I would come across recipes for a homemade irish cream.  Most called for eggs, which made me reticent to try.  Smitten Kitchen’s contains just cocoa powder, heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.  THAT’S IT!!!  You should be really excited right now  Oh darn, one more ingredient, Irish Whiskey.  Had you for a moment didn’t I?  Unlike the Kahlua, I did spring for a bottle of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey. It’s so incredibly simple it’s nuts.  You whisk the cocoa powder with a bit of cream until it forms a paste, then you gradually add the rest of the cream, stir in the vanilla and sweetened condensed milk and Irish Whiskey, DUNZO.  Pour into cute little bottles and refrigerate.  Good for 2 weeks.  Perfect for New Year’s!  I am also going to make one with a bit of instant coffee.  Doesn’t that sound delish?  Serve it in coffee, on the rocks…yumo.

That’s it!  Please enjoy the holidays with loved ones.  That’s what matters.  Happy Holidays!

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Day 5 Holiday Cookie List: Homemade Irish Cream

Knock off of Bailey's Irish Cream. It's delicious and guaranteed to warm you right down to your toes!
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Keyword Bailey's Irish Cream

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup 235 ml heavy or whipping cream
  • 1 14-ounce or 415 ml can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup 235 ml Irish whiskey (I used Jameson)

Instructions

  • In the bottom of a pitcher, whisk cocoa powder and a spoonful of cream into a paste. Slowly, whisking the whole time, add more cream a spoonful at a time until the paste is smooth and loose enough that you can whisk the rest of the cream in larger splashes. Once all of the cream is in, whisk in condensed milk, whiskey and vanilla.
  • Cover with lid or plastic wrap and keep in fridge for up to two weeks, possibly longer.
  • Serve in a tiny tumbler filled with ice, or splashed into coffee.

Notes

This is not for the faint-hearted.  Packs a nice punch.  If you would like to make it a little less boozy, add heavy whipping cream and the condensed milk 1 tablespoon each at a time, until desired taste.
 
Epic Fail: Homemade Kahlua 12 Days of Cookies: Day 4

Epic Fail: Homemade Kahlua 12 Days of Cookies: Day 4

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I have been in a funk this holiday season.  Every time I go to bake cookies I get de-railed.  I thought I would make a final push and get a few done, but I was struck by the flu bug which put the big kabash on any last minute baking. This effectively ended all hope of any more scrumptious cookies.  I have the dough for these wonderful crescents from Rose’s Christmas Cookies and for Mrs. Sugaya’s pecan tartlets chilling in the fridge. But they will have to wait until after Christmas.

But all is not loss.  I did manage to make some homemade goodies that I hope you will try.  I made favorite breakfast munchies, Juli’s granola and my cousin Bonnie’s spicy pecans. Cookies are little gifts of love, peace and hope and I just couldn’t bring myself to bake many.  I wish everyone love and joy with family and friends during this holiday season even if a few of us are on opposite sides of the political spectrum.

So, what did I make instead of cookies? Who guessed booze?  You would be right!  I started a couple of weeks ago after searching for a homemade Kahlua recipe. Big mistake, there must be a thousand recipes for something so simple!  So I came up with my own concoction that I think is pretty darn good and very easy.  Couple of tips, you are using a boat load of sugar and coffee, DO NOT break the bank on the vodka or rum.  I used the same vodka I used to make vanilla extract with last year, a brand from TJ’s. I picked it cause the bottle was cool looking.  I had some Meyer’s rum so I used that too.

I started with 1/4 cup instant expresso (Medaglia D’Oror) and my first batch didn’t have enough coffee flavor so I made a second batch using 1/2 cup and mix the two batches.  So I leave it to you to decide how much coffee flavor you want.  I will keep you posted on the feedback!

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Homemade Coffee Liqueur

Make your own coffee liqueur aka Kahlua, easy and sure to impress your friends and family!
Course Drinks
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword coffee liquer, easy to make, kahlua

Ingredients

Adapted from Creative Culinary

  • 4 cups water
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 1/3-1/2 cup dried espresso
  • 500 ml vodka
  • 250 ml Rum
  • 2 vanilla beans split
  • 2 shots of chocolate liqueur or 1 tablespoon cocoa nibs

Instructions

  • Combine the water, sugars and dried espresso in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
  • Bring to a boil; turn the heat to low and simmer for a minimum of 1 hour.to reduce the mixture and make a more syrupy consistency. I had a final volume of approximately 3 cups.
  • Watch constantly and stir occasionally. It will boil over if not watched!!!
  • Remove from heat and let cool.
  • Add vodka, rum, vanilla beans and chocolate liqueur or cocoa nibs
  • Pour everything into a clean storage container. I love these Ball Jars.
  • Age for 3-4 weeks in a cool, dark location; stirring once or twice a week.
  • When ready to bottle, remove vanilla beans, bottle mixture and store. I strained the mixture into the bottle.
  • How easy is that?
  • Serve straight, over ice cream, mixed drinks