Cocktail of the Summer

Holy deadlines! I have three major ones this week, but if all goes to plan I should be fine. Luckily, Mike had the foresight to snap some shots of my current favorite cocktail over the weekend. It makes for a nice, easy recipe to post on a day when I really need one!

Wine is my first love, but lately, I’ve renewed my enthusiasm for cocktails. I rarely drink vodka in any form (I’m more of a gin girl), but lately that classic vodka and cranberry combo has been tasting really good. The other week, Mike discovered a Ziploc baggie of Meyer lemon juice in our freezer that I had leftover from some recipe saved for a rainy day—it make a fabulous martini, with vodka of course.

During the summer though, certain cocktails really shine. I love drinks with lots of lime, like Margaritas and Caipirinhas, but now I can’t get enough of this new, simpler sipper—dark rum and pineapple juice with a squeeze of lime. I should come up with a good name for this. Any suggestions?

I know it’s not particularly creative, but it’s so tasty. The lime is essential to add some zip to the sweet pineapple juice. It’s best with dark rum, but not spiced (like Captain Morgan’s); that would be a whole different drink. So that’s my contribution to your Tuesday. When I get over my deadlines, I think I’ll celebrate with one. What is your drink of the summer so far?

Dark Rum & Pineapple
Though Dole pineapple juice is not a requirement, I like it and you can buy 6-packs of little individual cans—handy!

Makes 1

1 shot dark rum (1 1/2 ounces)
Dole pineapple juice
1 lime wedge

Fill a rocks glass with ice and add rum. Fill glass with pineapple juice, or to taste. Squeeze the lime into the drink and enjoy.

Cucumber Saketini Recipe

Sake it to me!

That's for Mike, so everyone else, please forgive the cheesiness. The saketini is a drink that's been popping up on trendy cocktail menus, and I think it has a lot going for it:

- It has no connection to an actual martini, aside from being served in a martini glass; so, it won't totally kick your butt like the much stronger gin and vodka varieties.

- It's not an embarrassingly girly color (yes, I'm talking about Cosmos and Sour Apple martinis), so anyone can sip it in public without fear of ridicule.

- The base of the drink is sake, so yum!

Sake is a big thing around our house lately. On Friday afternoon, I stumbled upon a recipe for a Cucumber Lime Saketini and realized that I had all the ingredients at hand. We had the remnants of a bottle of sake that we opened about 6 days prior, and it still tasted good (I love that the stuff keeps longer than wine). I also had a cucumber which I bought for salad, but decided that I really didn't want it in my salad after all. Using that cucumber and having a drink early-ish on Friday afternoon are what motivated me to make (read: get Mike to make) saketinis.

On closer inspection of the recipe I found, we realized it totally would not work. It called for a tiny bit of sake, a LOT of lime juice and too much sugar. This is a great example of my general feelings about all recipes: You need to read them thoughtfully, imagine how they will turn out, and let your own taste and common sense prevail. Sometimes recipes are crummy, or they just aren't what you want...it happens.

So this is our recipe. Still not terribly strong (sake just has a bit more alcohol content than wine), very refreshing, and a better application for cucumber than salad.

Cucumber Saketinis
For afficionados out there, the type of sake we used was Junmai Ginjo, but it should work fine with any dry sake.

Makes 2 drinks

Generous 1/2 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped fine
8 ounces dry sake
2 teaspoons sugar
2 juicy lime wedges
2 paper thin slices cucumber, unpeeled, for garnish

Fill two martini glasses with ice and water to quickly chill. Add the cucumber to a cocktail shaker and muddle, as if making a mojito. Add sake and sugar; squeeze in the juice of the two lime wedges. Fill shaker with ice and shake vigorously. If you're not in a rush, let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Discard the ice water in your martini glasses. Shake again and strain saketini mixture into glasses. Float a cucumber slice in each drink and enjoy.

The Perfect Margarita—With the Fastest, Simplest Recipe Ever!

It’s Cinco de Mayo tomorrow, and we’ve had the forethought to provide you with a recipe in advance of the actual holiday! We also thought noon on a Friday was a good time for a cocktail...

Sure, you’ve made Margaritas before, but try it our way and you’ll get one of the best drinks you've ever tasted without the hassle of simple syrup, sour mix or prolific lime juicing.

What's the magic ingredient? It's a common can of frozen limeade from the freezer section of the grocery store. We always have a can in our freezer. For one drink, you'll use a shot of the slushy stuff, so measure it straight from the frozen can and it will melt and dilute slightly when you shake it over ice. This is Mike's recipe, but we also have to give credit to his dad, my awesome father-in-law, Brian, who introduced Mike to the limeade innovation.

If you feel the need to serve actual food for your Cinco de Mayo celebration, try our Chiles Rellenos or Mole Sauce, two specialties from Puebla where this holiday was born.

The Perfect Margarita on the Rocks
By Mike (adapted from Brian O'Hara)

One little tip: You're mixing it with a sweet, acidic juice, so there's no reason to use a premium tequila in a Margarita recipe. Restaurants do it so they can charge you more, even though you'd never be able to detect the difference between Patron and cheap Sauza. Save the good stuff for sipping straight up.

Makes One

1 shot tequila (1.5 ounces)
1 shot limeade (Minute Maid Frozen Concentrate from the freezer section)
splash triple sec
1 fat lime wedge
kosher salt
ice

Add a handful of ice to a cocktail shaker. Pour the tequila, limeade and triple sec over the ice. Shake well, then let it sit for two minutes to melt and dilute the limeade.

Meanwhile, spread some salt on a plate. Cut a diagonal sliver in the flesh of the lime wedge and run it around the rim of a Margarita glass. Dip the rim in the salt and shake off excess. Fill the glass with ice and garnish with the lime wedge.

Shake the drink again and strain into the prepared glass, discarding the ice in the shaker. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: recipes, holidays, margarita, cocktails

Meyer Lemon Drop Martini

Picture this:

You slowly sidle up to the bar, resting your forearms on its smooth oak surface as you settle yourself onto a stool. Your shoulder lightly brushes against the attractive gentleman (or lady) on the stool beside you, as he greets you with an eager smile and a kiss on the cheek.

You lean back in your chair, languidly tossing your hair over your should and say, “What a day,” as your chest rises and falls with a gentle sigh.

Your companion motions for the bartender and asks what you’d like to drink.

“Lemon Drop,” you reply.

You anticipate the sensation of the cold, smooth liquid on your tongue as the bartender expertly prepares the cocktail. He slides the drink towards you, and you lift it to your lips as the moisture from the icy glass drips down the stem like sweat, wetting your fingertips. You pause, holding the rim of the glass centimeters from your lips and look up at your companion as the corners of your mouth curve into a sly smile, full of promise for the evening ahead.

Your eyes lock with his as you take a slow, full sip of your drink. Suddenly, you register the harsh, sour sting of the lemon juice. You hastily set the drink back down on the bar, spilling a sip or two with your clumsy movement. You scrunch up your nose, pushing your eyes into a squint as the acidic liquid burns the inside of your cheeks. You press your chin downward into your neck as you force yourself to swallow. You open your mouth and take a big breath and rub your watery eyes, leaving a black smear of eye makeup along your cheek.

“What’s wrong?” asks your bewildered companion.

“I didn't expect that drink to be so sour,” you answer.

“We can send it back,” your companion suggests helpfully.

“Good idea,” you say, as you smile sheepishly and order a beer.


Has this ever happened to you or to someone you care about? If this mood killing, awkward scenario could be prevented with one simple ingredient substitution, you’d do it right?

I’m happy to say that no one need suffer a painfully sour Lemon Drop Martini ever again thanks to the Meyer lemon. With pure lemon flavor, but none of the pucker, Meyers are perfect for a lemon cocktail. They are only in season during the winter months, so look for them now. If you can’t bear the sour bite of regular lemons, this drink is the answer you’ve been waiting for. Enjoy it after a long day with someone special.

Meyer Lemon Drop Martini
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living.
Serves 2

2 oz. simple syrup made with zest of 1 Meyer lemon (see below)
Juice of 2 Meyer lemons
3 oz. vodka

To make the simple syrup, combine 1 oz. water, 1 oz. sugar (measure in a cocktail jigger) and the lemon zest in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves.

In a cocktail shaker, combine a handful of ice, the lemon juice, vodka and simple syrup. Shake vigorously and strain into 2 chilled martini glasses.


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