The KITCHEN SINK MARTINI

How to clean out your fridge and get a great cocktail from it.

What do you do when you have a bunch of different veggies and not enough of them to make dinner? You make a martini.

The
KITCHEN SINK
Martini

INGREDIENTS
2 Oz. Dill Pickle Vodka*
1 Oz. Celery Juice
1 Oz. Tomato Juice
Juice of 1/2 a Lime
1 Tbsp. Finely Chopped Bell Pepper
1/2 Tsp. Garlic Salt
3 Drops Cholula Chipotle Sauce

Garnish: Assorted veggies, olives, whatever vegetables you have in the fridge.

Tools: Blender, Cocktail Shaker, Strainer

Glass: Cocktail (Martini)

DIRECTIONS
Rim your glass with salt and pepper.
Chill your glass in the freezer.
Add the ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth.
Transfer to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled.
Strain into the chilled glass, garnish and serve.

* MAKE YOUR OWN PICKLE VODKA

Yes, you do see "Dill Pickle Vodka" in the recipe.  There are or were several companies that made dill pickle vodkas but they are increasingly hard to find.

These days I make my own by simply infusing a bottle of decent vodka with almost the same ingredients I use to make pickles..I usually use sliced cucumbers, dill seed, garlic, peppercorns, mustard seed, celery seed and let that infuse for at least a week or longer. Taste and shake daily until you reach your preferred level of pickleness, strain well and bottle.

It really ia the perfect vodka to put a little extra zing in this cocktail - after all, the pickle had to be represented in a Kitchen Sink Martini, right?

November 15th is Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day.

Updated November  2017

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The GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE MARTINI Cocktail Recipe

Contrary to popular believe German Chocolate Cake does not come from Germany, it is an entirely American creation. It was originally called "German's Chocolate Cake" after a 100 year old baking chocolate created by Sam German for the Baker's Chocolate Company. Mrs. George Clay, a Texas housewife, used that chocolate in the recipe she sent to The Dallas Morning News in 1957. The recipe was picked up and reprinted by General Foods who owned Baker's Chocolate at that time and it went fifties style viral and ended up one of the most popular cakes in America!

I've brought all the classic flavors of Mrs. Clay's German's Chocolate Cake into my German Chocolate Cake Martini recipe. I used my own Homemade CANDIED PECAN LIQUEUR which brings that lovely caramelized pecan flavor to the cocktail. (You'll find you will use that liqueur for a lot more cocktails than this martini and it's great over ice cream.)

To bring in the cake flavor I used Cake Vodka, and for the coconut I used Cream of Coconut which really adds a sensuously creamy and sweet coconut flavor. And for the chocolate I used Godiva Chocolate Liqueur and chocolate milk.

But the best part is the rim - I grabbed that coconut pecan frosting and piped on a nice, thick thread of it across the whole rim! You can use shredded coconut if you would like, or even coconut & chopped pecans but the frosting is what really brings home the whole German Chocolate Cake Experience.

The

GERMAN

CHOCOLATE

CAKE

MARTINI

INGREDIENTS:

1 Oz. Candied Pecan Liqueur

1 Oz. Chocolate Liqueur

1/2 Oz. Cake Vodka

1 Oz. Cream of Coconut

1-1/2 Oz. Chocolate Milk

DIRECTIONS:

Pipe two tablespoons of coconut pecan frosting on to the rim of your cocktail glass then chill your glass in the freezer.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add the ingredients and shake until chilled.

Strain into a cocktail glass and serve.

P.S. At the last minute I jazzed up the garnish with some leftover chocolate shavings I had on hand from making my cake. Waste not, want not as my mom used to say.

VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

June 11th is

NATIONAL GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE DAY

Updated 6-2021 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

HAPPY BLACK COW DAY - Tip a Black Cow Moo-tini, Not a Black Cow!

June 10th is

NATIONAL BLACK COW DAY

Why tip cows when you can tipple a martini?

This cocktail is inspired by the vintage name of what we now call a root beer float - the Black Cow. The Black Cow was invented in 1893 by Frank Wisner, Jr. of Cripple Creek, Colorado, who decided to float a scoop of vanilla ice cream on his glass of root beer one day when he glanced out his window to see the moon lighting up nearby Cow Mountain. Mr. Wisner served it up the next day and this root beer float became quite popular with the local children who then dubbed it the "Black Cow", a name that stuck well into the twentieth century.

Though traditionally and originally made with root beer, different regions of the United States often use differing sodas for a "Black Cow", most often a cola or chocolate soda. In Kansas, where I grew up, we used cola so this is where my inspiration for this Black Cow cocktail recipe stems from. If you use grape soda that has it's own name, a Purple Cow. (P.S. If you like the idea of root beer instead of cola try my Root Beer Float Cocktail.)

I have used the most common ratios of equal parts of the Kahlua, cream and cola and I kept it simple and garnished it with a dollop of whipped cream. The Cow Gummi Candy can be found on Amazon but you can also just toss on a few chocolate sprinkles if you like.

Because the only cow tipping you should do after your teen years should involve booze.

THE
BLACK COW
MOO-TINI
(sorry, bad pun)

INGREDIENTS
2 Ounces Kahlua
2 Ounces Half & Half
2 Ounces Cola

Garnish: Dollop of Whipped Cream topped with a Cow Gummy

Tools:  Cocktail Shaker

Glass: Cocktail (Martini)

DIRECTIONS
Shake the Kahlua and Half & Half with ice.
Strain into a chilled glass.
Top off with the cola.
Garnish and serve.

Purchase this Black Cow Moo-Tini on fun, mailable POSTCARDS/INVITATIONS.

Happy National Black Cow Day!

Updated 6-2018

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The DECONSTRUCED GIN MARTINI

With Gin Day I decided to do something a little different. I decontructed a classic gin martini. Why? Because EVERYONE and their mother thinks they have the PERFECT recipe for a martini and every single one of them is different.

That's because we all experience taste in a unique manner, which explains all those different recipes for a very simple cocktail.  With only two ingredients, the Martini is the simplest of drinks. How easy is it to mess up gin and vermouth? Well, actually, pretty easy because for each person the ratio of the ingredients is a very personal experience.

Which is why I've deconstructed the Martini. Now you can serve up a TRUE PERFECT MARTINI every time by simply allowing your guests to adjust the cocktail to their preference as they sip. Problem solved, issue "non", disaster averted, fun had.

RECIPE:
Gin
Vermouth

Yes, posting the recipe was a joke. Leave vodka out of it.

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Updated 11-2016

JELLY FILLED DONUT MARTINI Cocktail Recipe

That's right. I did it. I created a Donut Cocktail. And not just any donut either, this is jelly filled. Otherwise known in my Czech family as bismarks, they are called berliners in Germany, paczki in Poland, sufganiyots in Israel and bomboloni in Italy, whatever you call them they are puffs of fluffy fried dough jam packed (pun alert) with flavor.

And I packed that flavor in a cocktail.

The

JELLY FILLED

DONUT

MARTINI

Ingredients

1-1/2 Oz. Cake Vodka
1 Oz. Raspberry Vodka
1 Tablespoon Raspberry Jelly
3 Drops Lemon Bitters

Garnish
Donut Glaze with Sprinkles Rim
Donut Hole

Directions
Mix 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar with a drop of vanilla extract and a teaspoon (+/-) of milk for the glaze then dip the rim of your glass in it. Then dipmin some rainbow sprinkles and chill the glass in the freezer.
Shake the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.
Strain into your glass and garnish with your favorite donut hole.

Yes, if you don't like raspberry you can fill your donut cocktail with strawberry vodka and strawberry jam, lemon vodka and lemon curd, and so on. Heck, you can go with chocolate vodka and chocolate syrup. Just don't leave out the cake vodka or you won't get the baked donut flavor.

VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

National Donut Day is June 8th.

Updated 6-2021

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Happy National Chocolate Ice Cream Day - Enjoy my Chocolate Malt Martini

July 7th is

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM DAY

One of my favorite ways to enjoy chocolate ice cream is in a chocolate malt!  No plain old vanilla ice cream with just chocolate syrup for me, I want chocolate ice cream in my malt!  And booze!

To that end I created my Chocolate Malt Martini - inspired by one of my favorite ice cream treats!

Get the
CHOCOLATE MALT MARTINI RECIPE HERE

Updated March 2016

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Celebrate National Apple Sauce Cake Day with an Apple Sauce Cake Martini

June 6th is

NATIONAL APPLE SAUCE CAKE DAY

Oh, yes. I did!

THE APPLE SAUCE CAKE MARTINI

Who else would put apple sauce in a cocktail??

Right?

Purchase the Apple Sauce Cake Martini Recipe on a fun, mailable POSTCARD/INVITATION

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Updated 8-2016