The MARTINI DIVA

20130726

White Wine Cherry Sangria Recipe

A Merry Marriage of Cherries and White Wine

WHITE WINE CHERRY SANGRIA RECIPE

1 Bottle of White Wine

(I used a nice Italian Pinot Grigio)

1 C. of Fresh Cherries, Pitted and Sliced

1 Orange, Cut into Segments

1/2 C. Sugar

Combine all the ingredients together and let them get acquainted for a minimum of a day. I let mine congregate together for 2 days and the longer I left it, the deeper the color became indicating more of the cherries and oranges had dispersed within the wine.

I went back and forth about adding in some fresh herbs, but in the end decided this time just to keep it in the fruit family. I do think tarragon would be nice and cardamom would be interesting too. Plus a splash of Prosecco would be a nice way to add some effervescence....

Feel free to add more or less sugar depending on your preferences.

Cheers, M'Dears and Enjoy!

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20130725

HOT FUDGE SUNDAE MARTINI Cocktail Recipe

Who doesn't like a hot fudge sundae? Especially one with vodka in it? Yes, I turned this favorite ice cream dessert into a cocktail. You won't need a spoon for this sundae.

HOT FUDGE SUNDAE MARTINI with Ingredients & Instructions

TheHOT FUDGESUNDAE MARTINI
INGREDIENTS1 Oz. Marshmallow Vodka1 Oz. Chocolate Vodka1 Scoop Vanilla Ice Cream3 Tbsp. Hot Fudge Sauce, MeltedPinch of Maldon Salt
Garnish: Chopped Peanut Rim, Whipped Cream, Cocktail Cherry
Tools: Blender
Glass: Cocktail (Martini)
DIRECTIONSAdd the chopped peanuts to a small plate. Add 1 tablespoon of the melted hot fudge to another small plate. Dip your glass rim in the melted hot fudge and then into the peanuts.Drizzle some of the hot fudge into the glass bowl. Chill the glass in the freezer.Add the rest of the hot fudge to a blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.Pour into your chilled glass, garnish and serve.
Make extra - trust me!
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

National Hot Fudge Sundae Day is July 25th.

Updated 7-2021

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20130724

IT'S NATIONAL TEQUILA DAY! MARGARITA UP, QUERIDOS!

Let's break out the tequila and hit it with some blueberries, shall we?

BLUEBERRY MARGARITA

INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz. Blue Agave Tequila
2 Tsp. Blueberry Simple Syrup*
1/2 C. Fresh Blueberries
1/2 Oz. Lime Juice
1/2 Oz. Blue Curacao
3 Mint Leaves
Ice

GARNISH: Fresh mint leaves, orange slice, blueberry filled ice cubes

DIRECTIONS
Rim glass with a 50/50 sugar and salt combination.
Muddle the lime juice, blueberry simple syrup, mint leaves and fresh blueberries in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
Add plain ice cubes, pour in the tequila and blue curacao and shake until chilled.
Pour into the chilled glass, garnish and serve.

*BLUEBERRY SIMPLE SYRUP

INGREDIENTS
1 Cup of Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Water

TOOLS
Saucepan
Storage Jar
Small Metal Strainer

DIRECTIONS
Bring the blueberries, sugar and water to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the liquid has reduced by half or to a syrup consistency.

Strain into your clean glass jar and refrigerate for up to several months.

Not only is this Blueberry Simple Syrup great in cocktails, it's perfect for pancakes or poured over ice cream or pound cake.

Purchase the Blueberry Margarita Recipe Here.

Not into blueberries?
No hay problema, mi amigos, here's a ton of other
TEQUILA COCKTAILS

Saludos, queridos!

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20130720

The LOLLIPOP COCKTAIL for National Lollipop Day

You know me, I will always try to create a cocktail for any food holiday where possible. National Lollipop Day was just another fun excuse to indulge myself.

I used to make this with Pinnacle Rainbow Sherbet Vodka but, since it's no longer being produced, I simply replaced its lime, raspberry and orange or pineapple fruit punch flavor with some more easily procured vodkas.

Yes, it's sweet, but then so are lollipops, and at least this has the redeeming quality of having booze.

LOLLIPOP COCKTAIL with Ingredients & Instructions

The
L🍭LLOPOP
COCKTAIL

INGREDIENTS
1 Oz. Mango Vodka
1 Oz. Citrus Vodka

1/2 Oz. Pineapple Juice

1/2 Oz. Cranberry Juice

1/2 Oz. Orange Juice

1/4 Oz. Lime Juice

Garnish: Mini Rainbow Lollipop, Lemon Wedge

DIRECTIONS

Pour ingredients into an ice filled highball glass, stir then garnish and serve.

VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

National Lollipop Day is July 20th.

Updated 7-2021

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20130719

Peach Daiquiri

I love daiquiris. I particularly love fruit daiquiris and one of my favorites is peach because you can use fresh, frozen or canned peaches and all of them are delicious. One of the few canned fruits that I will use are peaches, otherwise I stick with fresh or frozen fruit.

This means that no matter what time of year it is, I can have a Peach Daiquiri!

The Frozen
PEACH DAIQUIRI

INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz. Light Rum
1 Oz. Peach Schnapps
1/2 Cup Peach Slices
3/4 Oz. Lime Juice
1 Tsp. Agave Nectar
1/2 Cup Ice

Garnish: Peach Slice

Tools: Blender

Glass: Coupe or Cocktail

DIRECTIONS
Blend ingredients until smooth, pour into a chilled glass, Garnish and serve.

OTHER
DAIQUIRI RECIPES

Updated 7-2017

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20130718

Blueberry Mint Infused Bourbon and Julep Recipes

BLUEBERRIES, MINT & BOURBON

This is how you do cool in the summer!

I was given a huge bag of frozen blueberries and since I had already made Blueberry Vodka and Liqueur I decided it was time to infuse some bourbon!

I took my blueberries, some honey, some fresh mint and a little pinch of nutmeg and made myself some Bring-It-Down-Home Blueberry Bourbon that will knock your socks off!

Here's the recipe for my
Blueberry Mint and Honey Bourbon

INGREDIENTS
12 Oz. Good Kentucky Bourbon
1 C. Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
5 Fresh Mint Leaves
3 Tablespoons Honey

TOOLS
Infusion Jar
Potato Masher or Cocktail Muddler
Strainer**

DIRECTIONS
Crush the mint a bit to release the oils and add to your infusion jar..
Add the frozen or fresh blueberries and mash them up to release the juices.
Warm the honey for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave then add to your infusion.
Optional: I added a couple of strokes of grated nutmeg.

Allow this to infuse for several hours up to a week. Mine was perfect in three days.
Remove the mint leaves but keep the blueberries in the bourbon, they look nice in the cocktail and people love it in the drink.
**If you want, you can strain the bourbon by pouring through a metal strainer into your final storage bottle. I kind of like having the berries in there so I don't usually strain. If I want a clear liquor for a cocktail I'll strain this through a metal strainer when I make that cocktail.

As you can see from the photos I did a small test batch here. It was so good I went ahead and made two full batches

Then I had to use this glorious moonshine in a cocktail so I made myself a little Blueberry Mint Julep that also incorporated some fresh blueberry juice and some Blueberry Simple Syrup (recipe below). Sheer heaven on a hot Arizona evening, I had two and only stopped myself from having a third by sheer will power!

I didn't have blueberry juice on hand BUT what happens when you defrost fruit? You get a lot of juice from the crystallization of the berries! I simply put my frozen blueberries in a large strainer over a measuring cup and had myself a good cup of blueberry juice by the time the blueberries had defrosted. The berries went into the booze, the juice went into the Julep.

Here's the recipe for my
BLUEBERRY MINT JULEP

INGREDIENTS:
2 Oz. Blueberry Mint Bourbon (recipe above)
1-1/2 Oz. Fresh Blueberry Juice
3 Tsps. Blueberry Simple Syrup (recipe below)
Fresh Mint for Garnish

DIRECTIONS:
Chill your glass in the freezer. Add 1 cup of ice to a cocktail pitcher, add the bourbon WITH the blueberries included but the mint removed.
Add in the fresh blueberry juice, the simple syrup and stir until chilled.
Add a few ice cubes to a cocktail glass, pour the cocktail over the ice, garnish with fresh mint and a few fresh blueberries and serve.

Blueberry Simple Syrup

1 C. Water

1 C. Sugar

1 C. Blueberries

2 Tsp. Vanilla

Juice of 1 Lemon

Bring this to a simmer until the mixture is reduced by half. Strain out the blueberries and save those to spoon over cake or ice cream. Pour the Blueberry Simple Syrup into a glass container, refrigerate and enjoy!

Updated March 2016

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