Bone Dry Martini

My round of Halloween cocktails continues with a Bone Dry Martini! Truthfully, it's just a dry martini with a little skeleton hanging out in the glass, but here's the wonderful thing about creating holiday-themed cocktails: you don't have to recreate the wheel. One thing that scares people when it comes to theme parties, or simply adding a festive touch, is that they are afraid it will be too hard.

So get that cocktail shaker out (or stir stick) and whip up a James Bond-worthy martini, toss in a skeleton, and get in the spirit of the season!

Oh, and don't forget the garlic-stuffed green olives. Because #vampires.

Bone Dry Martini

Makes 1 cocktail

• 2 oz gin
• 1/2 ozDry vermouth
• 2 dashes bitters
• 2 garlic stuffed olives

1. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and fill with ice.
2. Stir until thoroughly chilled and pour through a strainer into a chilled cocktail glass.
3. Garnish with garlic stuffed olives (to keep the vampires away) and a (clean) skeleton or skull.

Cocktail Friday: Honey Rhubarb Martini

My sister, Rebecca (who also blogs here), will be taking the reigns on Fridays for a while and I am SO excited about it! Armed with her trusty iPhone and lots of Happy Hour experience, I know she will be bringing some great stuff to Set the Table! This time, she and my mom teamed up to bring us this beautiful Honey Rhubarb Martini.

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My mom and sister cook the same way. They throw things together without thinking too hard about it; they sense it. Meanwhile, I'm leaning over their shoulder like a pest asking,

"Why are you doing that?"

"Is it really supposed to look like that?"

"Are you sure it'll turn out? What if it doesn't turn out?"

They cook the way I play music. The next chord is a four chord and the next is a minor sixth and there is a little change in rhythm here and let's throw in a seventh chord here. I can't explain it. I sense it. When you feel like that about something, pay attention. It probably means you've found the thing you are supposed to be doing.

Last night, my mom improvised a cocktail out of one of the only things ready to pick in our Minnesota garden: rhubarb. At first, it was going to be a rhubarb margarita but, by the time she was done, it was a gorgeous, cold, pink rhubarb martini.

And as always, it was delicious.

Honey Rhubarb Martini

Makes 2 cocktails

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup rhubarb cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
• 3 shots vodka
• 2 shots rhubarb syrup
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 large lumps ice

Instructions

For the Simple Syrup:

For the cocktail:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, water, rhubarb cubes, and grated ginger.
2. Heat and stir at medium heat until the rhubarb is soft.
3. Place hot saucepan into a larger bowl filled with ice.
4. When cooled, strain into a small jar or pitcher.
5. In a cocktail shaker, combine the ice, vodka, rhubarb syrup and lime juice.
6. Shake until well chilled and pour into your favorite martini glasses.
7. Garnish with fresh lime and/or rhubarb.

Cocktail Friday: Rosemary Martini + Frozen Grapes

Ah, summer. I can never decide if I love or hate this season. I'm not a fan of hot, hot heat so I typically get annoyed right around this time of year and start wishing for cool fall days when I can cozy up in a sweater and not feel like death both inside and out. I don't know if it's because I grew up in Minnesota or if I was just born this way, but I hope you'll love me anyway.

Frozen Grape Garnish

Since it is so hot, I'm going to embrace the ability to channel simple, cool cocktails and icy cold garnishes. My brain may be too melty to come up with a new, exciting cocktail, but sometimes simple is better (with a little visual flair of course). This rosemary martini (a combination of rosemary simple syrup, vodka and Vermouth) is the perfect way to cool down on a hot summer night and the garnish is easy to have ready to go in your freezer. You can use frozen grapes to garnish any number of drinks, but I love the elegant simplicity it brings to a martini. Add a little fresh sprig of rosemary from the garden and you've got one classy cocktail! And yes, the rosemary does at least remind me of cooler temperatures with its piny flavor.

Rosemary Martini

Not only do the frozen grapes look delicious, they help keep your drink cold just a little longer. And they make for a tasty snack when your glass is empty. As for the rosemary infusion, you can use almost any herb you have on hand: thyme, sage, basil...get creative!

We are leaving for a road trip to Saugauck, Michigan tomorrow morning. Any suggestions for what to do when we get there? Any good stops along the way? We are traveling with our 1 1/2 year old son and our 1 1/2 year old black lab. We could use lots of suggestions!

Cheers to Friday! Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Rosemary Martini + Frozen Grapes

Yield: 2 Cocktails
Ingredients

• 4 oz vodka
• 2 oz dry vermouth
• 2 oz Rosemary Simple Syrup
• Rosemary sprigs for garnish
• 2 frozen grape garnishes

Instructions

1. When your garnishes are frozen, go ahead and make your cocktail. Simply add the vodka, vermouth, and simple syrup to a shaker filled with ice.
2. Begin by making your frozen grape garnish. You'll want to do this at least half an hour in advance to the grapes are nice and cold when you put them in your cocktail. I like to make a lot of these and stick them in a freezer bag to I can pull them out any time I need them. All you need to do is this: thread 3 grapes onto a toothpick and place in a freezer bag in the freezer. They are great for snacking, too!
3. Shake just until the liquid is chilled, about 20-30 seconds.
4. Strain into two chilled cocktail glasses, garnish with your rosemary sprigs and frozen grapes. Serve.