Bourbon Cider Fizz

I like simple, elegant cocktails. I don’t typically want my drinks to have lots of frills but I still want to feel a little fancy when I’m holding it in my hand. That’s why I love taking classic cocktails and dressing them up a bit. This particular cocktail was inspired by a French 75, but I swapped some things out. Instead of champagne or Prosecco, I used a dry hard cider for festive bubbles. Instead of gin, I used bourbon. Instead of lemon juice, a teeny teaspoon of my homemade cranberry sauce (could also use cranberry juice). A little orange zest ribbon and a couple floating cranberries later, the Bourbon Cider Fizz was born! Perfect for Thanksgiving or basically anything worth celebrating in 2020. I mean it. We need all the reasons to celebrate right now, am I right?

Bourbon Cider Fizz

Makes 2 cocktails

• One 12 oz can or bottle of dry hard cider, chilled

• 2 oz bourbon

• 2 teaspoons homemade cranberry sauce* OR a splash or two of unsweetened cranberry juice

• 2 teaspoons spiced simple syrup (recipe here)

• fresh cranberries and orange zest for garnish

1. In two low ball glasses or champagne flutes, combine the bourbon with the cranberry sauce and simple syrup. Stir until combined. Slowly pour the hard cider into the glass. Stir once or twice to combine. Add garnishes. Sip and enjoy!

The Bloody Mummy

And just like that, we have arrived at the last week of October. I can't tell you exactly how that happened so quickly, but lucky for you, I'm filling the last few days of the month with delicious, spooky cocktail recipes! How does one new recipe a day sound? Starting....NOW!

The Bloody Mummy is my Halloween take on a brunch staple: a Bloody Mary. Just add string cheese! It's a simple change that makes this mummified drink fit for any (adults only) Halloween party or perhaps a post-Halloween brunch.

Stay tuned for cocktail #2, coming up tomorrow!

The Bloody Mummy

Makes 2 large drinks

• 2 cups tomato juice, low sodium
• 1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi paste
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon shichimi togarashi
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 5 oz vodka or gin
• celery salt
• celery stalks
• pickled green beans
• carrot sticks
• string cheese

1. Put some celery salt on a plate. Using a lemon wedge, line the rims of two tall glasses. Gently dip the rims in the celery salt before filling each glass with ice.
2. In a large glass measuring pitcher, combine the wasabi paste, soy sauce, shichimi togarashi and lemon juice. Whisk until combined.
3. Pour the tomato juice over the wasabi mixture and stir to combine.
4. Pull the string cheese apart in thin strips and carefully line each glass. This can be a little tedious but don’t worry about it being completely perfect. You will still get the mummy effect if a couple of the pieces fall out of place.
5. Carefully add the ice in the glass, making sure not to disturb the cheese too much. The ice will work well to hold the strips in place.
6. Put 1 1/2 oz of vodka in each ice-filled glass. Top with the tomato juice mixture and garnish with celery, carrots and pickled green beans.

Cocktail Friday: Blackberry Vanilla Mocktail + VIDEO

When Brad and I lived in Japan, we used to spend Friday nights enjoying Japanese beer, eating delicious Izakaya food (Japanese fried chicken FTW!) and doing pretty much anything we could to kick off the weekend in true 20-something, childless style. These days, with a 3 year old and 7 month old dictating our schedules and energy levels, we tend to lay low on the weekends. Friday nights involve pizza, sometime a movie, and falling asleep on the couch around 9:30pm. Yes. We are that exciting.

Despite the fact that our lifestyle, in a sense, has become much calmer and subdued when it comes to Friday nights, we still try to keep things fancy by making fun drinks from time to time. I love this Blackberry Vanilla Mocktail because it's delicious and kid-friendly but can easily double as an adults-only beverage. This beautiful drink also gave me some variety when I was pregnant, so if you have moms-to-be coming over for dinner, this is the perfect way to make sure they don't feel left out! 

And to show how simple this beautiful beverage is to make, check out my latest video with Penso Entertainment on the FoodieTV Youtube Channel! Don't forget to subscribe to the channel so you don't miss future videos!

Blackberry Vanilla Mocktail

Makes 2 drinks

• 1/3 cup blackberries
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• seeds from 1/4 of a vanilla bean
• Club soda
• Mint and/or lemon slices for garnish

1. In the bottom of a large glass or cocktail shaker, crush the blackberries with the lemon juice, honey and vanilla.
2. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve set over a glass or liquid measuring cup.
3. Fill two short glasses with ice and divide the juice between them. Top with club soda and garnish with mint leaves or lemon slices.

Cocktail Friday: Blueberry Thyme Gin Fizz

We had a truly wonderful spring day on Wednesday. The sun was full of enough warmth to take away the need for a sweater or jacket. The moment I felt the heat hit my skin I felt instantly rejuvenated. Riley and I went to the park where he discovered the joy of watching bugs crawl on the sidewalk. As I watched him discover new things that only come with the changing seasons I realized how much he has grown. Last year at this time I was watching him clumsily walk around as he discovered that moving one step in front of the other brought him from here to there and back again. Those sweet baby legs are now little boy legs. He has grown faster than I'm willing to acknowledge most of the time.

Luckily, each new stage brings even more sweetness than my heart can hold (even in the midst of the toddler mood swings that come with being 2 years old).

So, I'm saying goodbye to one season and hello to a new one by celebrating the things that I love most. Today, it's all about fresh thyme and bright blueberries. Muddled together they create the perfect beginning to a spring cocktail. Gin, vermouth and bitters are given a little life with a splash of club soda. Sweetness comes from my date simple syrup (which makes this a no-sugar-added cocktail).

And just like that it's time to say cheers to the weekend. And spring. And change.

Life become more beautiful with change, don't you think?

Blueberry Thyme Gin Fizz

Ingredients

• 15 fresh or frozen blueberries
• 3 large thyme sprigs
• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz vermouth
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1/2 oz date simple syrup
• club soda

Instructions

1. Combine the blueberries, thyme sprigs, gin, bitters and simple syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously until thoroughly chilled.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass filled with ice.
3. Top with club soda and garnish with a thyme spring and a couple blueberries.

Cocktail Friday: Negroni + Meyer Lemon Twist

Brad and I went skiing with some good friends last weekend. We spent all day Saturday with snow flakes falling on our faces and, at least in my case, saying prayers of thanks that I didn't break a leg as a result of my very limited experience on skis. When the day was over, all I wanted to do was sip on a cocktail while cooking a warm, soothing soup in my cozy kitchen. There is something about ending an active day cooking something delicious that can't be beat.

One of the things I love about cooking is that you can make seemingly small changes that make a recipe new and fresh. Adding coconut milk to what would otherwise be a classic butternut squash soup, for example. That's the fun part- taking something classic and making it your own.

Classic cocktails are another perfect place to add little touches that reflect the seasons or showcase your favorite garnishes and ingredients. Another perk of going with the classics is that you can learn a lot about mixing good drinks. The Negroni, for example, demonstrates how delicious Campari can be when the bitter flavor is balanced properly. Gin and vermouth are used to both highlight the bitterness and mellow it out. The finishing touch, typically a twist of orange, completes the cocktail with a bright citrus scent that you catch just as your mouth touches the rim of the glass but before the liquid passes through your lips. Perfection.

The only change I made here is the garnish. Rather than going with the traditional orange twist I opted for Meyer lemon. Consider this my trademark when it comes to the classic Negroni. At some point this weekend I will be sipping on one of these and hopefully cooking up something delicious. Cheers, friends!

Negroni + Meyer Lemon Twist

Ingredients

• 2 oz Campari
• 2 oz Gin
• 2 oz Dry Vermouth
• 2 strips Meyer lemon zest (or orange zest)

Instructions

1. Combine the campari, gin and vermouth in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Cover and shake vigorously for about 15 seconds.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the strip of zest.