Cocktail: Strawberry Mojitos

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It seems the strawberry crop in Fort Mill is extra good this year. And people must agree with me because Springs Farms just recently had to close their fields for a few days to the pick your owners because the fields were stripped bare and the plants needed time to replenish the supply. Strawberry season won’t last for that much longer so head out to Springs Farm soon and maybe try a new strawberry recipe or 2.

I recently tried this recipe for strawberry mojitos from iadorefood.com and found it to be a light, tasty, and refreshing drink. The kind of drink that when consumed outside on a nice day makes you want to become a permanent fixture on the porch. I love those kind of drinks.

fresh strawberry mojito

Strawberry Mojitos (slightly adapted from iadorefood.com)

  • 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
  • 2 limes- cut in quarters
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 liter club soda
  • White Rum (add to taste)
  • 1 1/2 cups ice
  • 8 ripe strawberries
  1. Use a mortar and pestle to mash together the lime, sugar, and strawberries. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, use a bowl and back of a spoon and do the best you can.)
  2. Add the rum and continue to mash until the lime and strawberry pieces are well incorporated into the rum.
  3. Pour into a pitcher , add ice, and mix well.

Yield:6 servings

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Cocktail: Strawberry Prosecco Fizz

April 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Happy Easter! And what a beautiful Easter it has been in Fort Mill. We started the day off with church, road The Lynx uptown to meet family for lunch at Queen City Q (we’ve never been huge ham fans, but we do love a nice plate of pulled pork). As I blog we are now enjoying watching Bubba Watson make the most incredible shot out of the woods in the play-offs of the Masters while we sip on Strawberry Prosecco drinks.

I got my first batch of fresh strawberries from Springs Farm yesterday and I have a big pile of strawberry recipes to try this season. This year’s crop looks to be extra juicy and plump.

This recipe for Strawberry Prosecco Fizz is a light and refreshing drink for an Easter Brunch or any other spring occasion. Any type of sparkling wine can be substituted for the Prosecco.  And….he did it….Bubba Watson wins the Masters!

strawberry prosecco fizz

Strawberry Prosecco Fizz

  • 2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 (750-ml) bottle Prosecco, chilled
  1. Combine strawberries, mint, sugar, and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Use a spatula to press mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or strainer into a bowl.
  3. For each serving, spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons strawberry mixture into a small glass and top with chilled wine.

Yield: 6 servings

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Christmas Cocktail – Cranberry Mojitos

December 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

This Christmas try a little something different in your cocktail glass, a mojito with a holiday flair. This drink has a wonderful sweetness from the mint contrasted by a cranberry tanginess. Plus it looks really festive. My husband fixed us  a batch of these last night. I was busy knitting and watching a Project Runway rerun. When I came into the kitchen to check on his progress, he was doing a fine job of muddling away. Only he wasn’t muddling mint – he had the Italian Parsley! You would think that with all the mint julips he has consumed in his life, he would be able to distinguish mint from parsley, but apparently not! So take 1 was tossed out. I told him maybe we should have tried it. He may be onto something with an Italian Parsley Mojito.

Cranberry Mojitos – recipe from We are not Martha

  • 8 ounces fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 20 mint leaves
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • ice
  • 4 ounces rum
  • 4-6 ounces soda water
  1. Place cranberries, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
  2. Once the berry mixture has cooled, strain them. You can keep the mixture in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before straining.
  3. Put 10 leaves of mint and one tablespoon of lime juice in each of 2 glasses. With the back of a wooden spoon or a muddler, mash the mit.
  4. Put ice in each glass and pour 2 ounces of cranberry syrup and 2 ounces of rum into each glass.
  5. Top off each glass with soda water and sprinkle a few fresh cranberries for garnish.

Yield: 2 drinks

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Festive Drink For the Holidays

November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The French Martini is quite possibly my favorite Martini. It is easy to make, containing just 3 ingredients: Chambord, Vodka, and Pineapple Juice. Chambord is a French Liquer made from black raspberries, honey, vanilla, and a few herbs. It has been produced for nearly 300 years, is all-natural, and has a sweet, complex flavor. With it’s reddish color, The French Martini makes a cheerful drink for the Holidays. There are many variations of the ratio of ingredients. I prefer ones where the pineapple juice is not too dominant.

 

 

 

 

 

French Martini

  • 2 ounces Vodka
  • 1/4 ounce Chambord
  • 1 ounce pineapple juice

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake. Strain into a mertini glass.

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Blueberry Pomegranate Martinis

November 12, 2011 By 1 Comment

Last week I stopped in the new liquor store in Fort Mill, The Tipsy Bottle, which is located across from Lowes Home Improvement Store. I was in search of a bottle of Blueberry Vodka. Took me a little while to find it. It’s unbelievable how many different flavored vodkas there are available. Pinnacle Vodka has 29 flavor options including whipped cream vodka which I’ve heard is very good. Although it’s a small store, The Tipsy Bottle also has a nice selection of wines and hosts a complimentary wine tasting every Friday from 3 to 7 pm.

Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits so I was fairly confident that I would enjoy the Blueberry Vodka. And I was right. The thing about flavored vodkas is they have so much flavor and sweetness added to them, you almost don’t need to mix anything with them. The lemon juice, pomegranate juice, and Cointreau in the recipe below just really help round out the taste.

Blueberry Pomegranate Martinis

adapted from Southern Living

  • 1/2 cup blueberry pomegranate juice
  • 1 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup blueberry vodka
  • 2 tablespoons  orange liqueur (I used Cointreau)
  • fresh blueberries for garnish

How to Do it

Place all ingredients except fresh blueberries in a cocktail shaker with ice. Cover and shake vigorously until well chilled. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with fresh blueberries.

 

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Happy Halloween

October 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Candy Corn Martini

Wondering what to do with all the extra candy from Halloween? Here is one solution I found to repurpose the candy corn and brighten up your martini glass at the same time. It is a Candy Corn Martini and it is simple enough to make and adds some fun to the fall season.

First you need to infuse some vodka with candy corn. Infused spirits has been all the rage with folks using all sorts of fruits and flavors to create their own liquors. You may have seen evidence of this behind the bar of your favorite establishment – think glass jar with pineapple slices in a clear liquid.  To make this drink, take 3/4 of a cup of candy corn and add to 1 cup of vodka.  You will let this sit for about 3 hrs until the combination turns a very bright orange.

Next, fill a shaker with ice, add 1 cup candy corn-infused vodka and 1/4 cup butterscotch schnapps.  Shake and pour into a martini glass which can be garnished with…more candy corn.

Very easy drink to make and taste just like candy. There are several variations on this recipe with some adding egg whites for frothiness and others adding in flavored liquors.  This recipe is adapted from one found on We Are Not Martha.

 

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Waxhaw Antique Mart

October 25, 2011 By 3 Comments

 

Have you ever rediscovered something you used to enjoy doing and wondered why on earth you ever stopped. Last week I purchased a sewing machine, made a trip to Mary Jo’s in Gastonia, and have been on a sewing rampage ever since. When something catches my attention, I totally immerse myself in it. Even though Mary Jo’s is well-known as the largest and best fabric store in the area, I couldn’t be sure that there weren’t other, better fabrics out there somewhere. I began googling fabric stores and discovered a store named The Quilting Nook in Waxhaw, NC. The glimpses I got of their fabric from the photos on the website looked promising and since Waxhaw is only a sort drive from Fort Mill, I wasted no time adding it to my schedule.

I counted down the hours- well not really- but I was rather excited. Looking for new fabric is like going on a treasure hunt.

So you can imagine my disappointment when we (my husband came with me) arrived at 103 W S Main St and there was no fabric store to be seen. At first I had a glimmer of hope that our navigation had let us down. A quick zoom in on my I-phone however left no doubt that we were at the correct location.

But….. determined not to make the drive to Waxhaw a total waste, we decided to take a look in the antique mall next door. A quick inquiry with the owner of the Waxhaw Antique Mart informed us that the fabric store had been closed for about 3 months. Oh well, back to my google searches.

It only took a couple of minutes of perusing the merchandise to discover that this antique mall is right up my alley. I may not have found Fabric Nirvana, but I found Glassware Nirvana.

I ended up purchasing a small, uniquely shaped pitcher (perfect for when I make cocktails just for my husband and myself) and a single glass – just because I liked it.  The prices in the store are very reasonable. The pitcher only cost me $12.  There were many other things that caught my eye. I have a feeling I will be a frequent visitor to the Waxhaw Antique Mart.

Of course I had to give my new glass a try. Sandra Lee’s Fashionable Phyllis looked smashing in it. Tasted good too.

Fashionable Phyllis – Sandra Lee

  • 1 1/2 ounces Canadian Whiskey, Crown Royal  (didn’t have any so I used Makers Mark)
  • 3 ounces orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon grenadine
  • Cherry and orange slice for garnish

In an ice-filled glass, combine all ingredients and garnish with cherry and orange.

Yield: 1 drink

Waxhaw Antique Mart

101 East South Main St

Waxhaw, NC 28173

(704) 243-2203

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Bone-warming Apple Manhattan Cocktail

September 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There’s been a real chill in the air the last few days and since the weather is supposed to warm up next week, I am not allowing myself to turn the heat on. Alternate measures must be taken to stay warm. The Apple Manhattan is the perfect fall cocktail. The apple is cool and crisp like the air, but the bourbon will warm you down to the bone. Apples and bourbon pair perfectly together. Makers Mark tends to be my favorite bourbon. I find it to be very smooth with a deep, nutty sweetness.

What’s your favorite bourbon?

 

(Sorry for the blurry pictures – I am no photographer. But I just purchased two awesome books, Plate to Pixel and Food Photography, plus I’m getting a new camera for my birthday next month. So hopefully my pictures will be getting better soon!)

Apple Manhattan

  • 1/2 cup bourbon
  • 1/2 cup apple schnapps
  • 1/2 cup sweet vermouth
  • Green apple slices and red cherries

Combine first three ingredients in a pitcher. Pour into 4 ice-filled old-fashioned glasses. Garnish with apple slices and cherries.

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School, Birthday Cake and Kiwi Coladas

August 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What a week it has been! This was the first full week back to school for the Fort Mill School District and somehow we managed to make it through to the end with only a few minor blips -Oh! And an earthquake! I’ve been so busy, that already seems like a distant memory. The minor blips included daughter missing bus once, My husband and I forgetting 7th grade orientation Tuesday night, 1 swim practice missed because bathing suit was not in swim bag, oreos eaten for breakfast one morning due to lack of breakfast foods in pantry/ fridge, and son picked up from high school dead last 1 (Ok maybe 2) days. But I did give him the option of walking home or riding the bus.

Monday was also my daughter’s 12th birthday. Where the years have gone, I don’t know. We had her party last weekend at the Pineville Ice House, which FYI is a wonderful place to have a birthday party. The girls had a blast skating and we made it through with only 1 minor injury.

And thus we get to the second topic of this post- The Birthday Cake- pictured below. This sucker cost me $120. I’m going to blow up the picture, frame it, and hang it on my daughter’s wall because she will never see another birthday cake like this again. It’s Costco cakes from here on out.

She had asked me a few weeks prior to her birthday if she could pick her cake. Sure I thought, I’ve always encouraged independence in my kids and well- that’s one less thing I have to do.

Short story shorter (I’m a get to the point kind of person) she found this cake (pictured above) on the website of a bakery in Ballantyne. I was impressed with how quickly she found the cake, how cool the cake looked, and that it was from a bakery right near our house. She showed me the pricing page and we both determined that a cake that size and shape would cost $60. A little more than I wanted to spend, but she did such a great job taking the initiative that I said ‘sure you can have it ‘.

When I got to the store and place my order, they informed me it’s $60 for the cake, $30 for the zebra decorations, and $30 for the bow. Yikes!

It was good cake, but for $120 it should be out of this world cake! Did look really cool though.

So, lesson learned- NEVER let your child watch Cake Boss! You will pay if you do.

It’s always nice to end the week with a cocktail and who do you turn to for a good cocktail recipe after a long, hot, stressful week? Sandra Lee of course! The woman can’t cook worth a darn, but the lady knows her cocktails. I had never had a kiwi cocktail before. Not sure why the kiwifruit is not present in more recipes. They are readily available, inexpensive, yummy, and easy to store.

This recipe creates a vibrant green colored concoction, and I love how the little black kiwi seeds become dispersed throughout the drink. I did however have a difficult time straining. I think the holes in my strainer were too small.

KIWI COLADA – recipe by Sandra Lee

  • 4 kiwi fruit peeled and quartered
  • 1/3 cup light spiced rum
  • 1/4 cup Midori
  • 3 Tbsps. cream of coconut
  • 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
  • 3 cups ice

How to Make it

In blender combine all ingredients. Process until smooth. Poor through a strainer and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

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Summer Days are for Cocktails

August 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There’s nothing like finishing a summer week off with a cocktail on the back porch. We bought our current house because we fell in love with the porch and we try to use it as much as possible. It’s really our outdoor cat Simba’s domain, but he agrees to let us use it in exchange for food and water.

I like to try new drink recipes from time to time. The following is a Margarita recipe from Southern Living Magazine and it is definitely my favorite of the recent recipes I have tried.

Pomegranate Margaritas

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup hot water

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice

3/4 cup tequila

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup orange liqueur

1. Stir sugar and hot water until sugar is dissolved. Stir in remaining ingredients.

2. Pour desired amount of mixture into a cocktail shaker. Cover and shake for approximately 30 seconds.Serve.

I used Cabo Wabo for the tequila and cointreau but since the pomegranate juice has such a strong flavor, you could get away with using cheaper tequila and triple sec.

If you have any favorite summertime drink recipes, please share.

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