Spirits

‘Irish Coffee’ Cake and a Great Cause for Children – St. Baldrick’s Foundation

March 8, 2011

St Patrick’s Day will be here soon and I’ve got enough Irish in me to start thinking about a celebration. Not a big party but an opportunity to pay homage to a part of my ancestry (My Dad’s parents were German and Swiss; my Mom’s English and Irish). I’ll usually make corned beef for dinner, [...]

Lavender Lemonade Martini

July 26, 2010

My daughter was out with friends one night and came home with instructions, “You have to make this drink I had!” It was like a lemon drop martini but with lavender infused vodka. That was sometime this past winter and I wasn’t inclined to make that effort until summer when I thought it just seemed [...]

Leopold Brothers Tart Cherry Liqueur

July 7, 2010

I love this liqueur! I recently sampled it at a Spirits tasting held by a local cheese shop and now it’s a sure thing to become a staple in my bar. It’s great on the rocks but my favorite way to serve it is adding it to my ‘house’ sparking wine, Cristalino Brut Cava which [...]

Cranberry Liqueur

December 16, 2009

I always make my Christmas gifts; well, except for my kids who would just die if I gave them a basket of homemade goodies! Each year is a greater challenge to make something more unique than the last and this year I wanted to make my own liqueur. The photo is not the greatest either [...]

The Strawberry Muddle

Strawberry Muddle - sweetened sparkling wine with strawberries and lemon

June 10, 2009

This drink was featured in the July ’09 issue of Bon Appetit; my personal food bible! I had just received the magazine and was having friends over for a cocktail and luckily had the fruit on hand along with some sparkling wine I always use in place of Champagne when mixing for cocktails. The drink [...]

The BEST Fresh Margarita

May 3, 2009

The first touch of warm weather and I start to think of Margaritas. I love wine, but this cocktail is a summer mainstay; and expected by friends when they do a patio visit! You really can shortcut the recipe by using limeade and lemonade as indicated, but do the longer version if possible; it’s really [...]

Mojito

May 3, 2009

I love the refreshing taste of this cocktail. Add to that, the fact that I always have ingredients on hand; one way to use the abundant mint I get from my only plant. So easy too!

Lemon Drop Martini

May 3, 2009

I used to meet a friend of mine for drinks EVERY Friday night at my favorite local restaurant (now I can call is my hangout I guess). He always had a vodka martini and I varied each week. Sometimes wine, sometimes a Cosmopolitan but recently I’ve loved their Lemon Drop Martini. Never happy to HAVE [...]

Cosmopolitan

May 3, 2009

1 oz. Cointreau® 2 oz. Vodka Cranberry & lime juice Shake with ice and strain into a Martini Glass

Cranberry Relish with Orange Liqueur

November 20, 2008

A very simple type of cranberry side dish; I guess I consider it a relish instead of a sauce since it isn’t cooked. More importantly, it includes some Grand Marnier in place of orange juice! This recipe is listed on the Food Network as a creation of Tyler Florence; I don’t recall getting it there [...]