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A delicious Champagne Cocktail for a New Year’s Celebration
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011I created this recipe as part of a brunch menu for one of my holiday cooking classes at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Everyone loved it! It would be a great addition to a new year’s eve party or a new year’s day brunch.
Champagne Cocktail
(Serves 12)
1 1/4 cups pomegranate juice (can substitute cranberry juice cocktail)
1 cup Cointreau
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (or more to taste)
2 bottles champagne or other sparking wine
Optional garnish: raspberries or cranberries
In a medium size pitcher, stir together the pomegranate juice, Cointreau and lime juice. Cover and chill.
When serving, fill champagne glasses with half juice mixture and half champagne. Place a raspberry or cranberry in each glass for garnish.
Make ahead: The juice mixture can be prepared, covered and refrigerated up to one day in advance.
Fun with the airstream continues (Days 10 through 14)!
Monday, August 22nd, 2011(Note: last post I messed up our “day” count – it is now corrected!)
We made it just fine driving through New Jersey, on and off the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. Stopped in at a grocery store and stocked up on staples and food for breakfast and lunch.
Once in Delaware (Day 10 continued), we checked in at our campsite just north of Lewes, called Steamboat Landing (the only site with room as we planned this trip last minute!), dropped off the airstream and then headed over to meet my college friend, Jim Martin and his family for dinner in Rehoboth Beach. We started off at Que Pasa, a fun dive bar on the beach just across the street from Jim’s beach house. Their Mango Margueritas are delish!!
- Jim Martin and Robert drinking Mango Margueritas
From there we went to Jim’s house where his wife Celia made us a delicious dinner – vegetarian lasagna, tossed salad, and rainbow sherbet for dessert. I need to get the recipe for the lasagna – it was yummy!
Spent the next day (Day 11) catching up on chores and on the beach with Jim and kids – until it rained! Back to the trailer for drinks – with Jim and his son Ben. Our first guests!
- Ben and Jim Martin
- Robert shaking up his famous martinis!
- Ben and me!
After a cocktail, the four of us went into Lewes, the oldest town, in the oldest state in the country – due to the fact that one of its residents was the first to sign the Constitution. We had a wonderful dinner at The Buttery. Our favorite dish was the crab cakes!
- Photo courtesy of The Buttery
Unfortunately, on Day 12 it rained most of the day so we caught up on work and called on a few retailers in Rehoboth Beach, before having dinner in two restaurants! Jim told us they were the 2 best in the area, and we couldn’t make up our mind which one to go to, so we went to both. First, we stopped into the Back Porch Cafe for a glass of wine, Crab-Guacamole and a tomato salad with pickled grapes. LOVED both dishes, especially the seafood guacamole – have to try and recreate this at home. They post recipes for several of their dishes on their website – check them out (link above)!
- Guacamole photo courtesy of the Back Porch Cafe
From there we went to the popular Blue Moon for dinner Their bar is a famous gay hangout and was packed, even on a Sunday evening! We had yet another fabulous dinner. Favorite dish? Pasta Bolognese – slow cooked beef, pork and veal with tagliatelle, black truffles and parmesan cheese. YUM!
- Photo courtesy of Blue Moon – view from our table!
Day 13 we drove to Washington DC, where we parked the airstream at the home of our good friends Dalton and Stacey Delan. We called on retailers and then spent the evening with our friends at their home and had a delicious dinner of eggplant parmesan, pasta, broccolini and yummy pastries from Whole Foods.
Day 14 was more retailer visits, then moving the airstream to Jim Martin’s DC home for our first airstream cocktail party! We served various white wines, deconstructed Benedictine Cheese Canapes (deconstructed because I didn’t have time to assemble them!) and Canellini Bean Dip from A Well-Seasoned Kitchen. We couldn’t invite too many people – the trailer isn’t that big! A few photos:
- Cannellini Bean Dip!
- Robert, Char Beales and Brenda Fox
Trinity College (my alma mater) friends Lisa Block, Jim Martin and Currie Smith
- Another Trinity alum Tom Casey and Currie
- Me and Lisa Block, my roommate in Vienna for my Junior semester abroad!
- My college roommate Cynthia Ballantyne’s son Trevor and me
Next stop – Southwestern Virginia!
Red Carpet Martini
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
(Per serving)
The perfect drink to serve for Academy Award viewing!
- 3 1/2 tablespoons (1 3/4 ounces) really good vodka
- 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) Cointreau
- 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) pomegranate juice
- 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) freshly squeezed lime juice (or 1/4 oz fresh lime juice and 1/4 oz. fresh lemon juice)
Chill martini glasses quickly by filling them with ice water and letting them sit for a minute.
Fill a martini shaker with ice. Add all ingredients. Shake well. Pour through a cocktail strainer into a chilled martini glass.
New Orleans Hurricane Cocktails
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Hurricanes were invented in New Orleans by bar owner Pat O’Brien during World War II when there was a limited supply of whiskey. In order to purchase a single case, liquor salesmen forced bar owners to purchase up to 50 cases of rum, which was plentiful. Looking for a way to use all his rum, Pat came up the Hurricane, named after the shape of the glass he served it in. There are many variations on the recipe, and this one is our favorite as it isn’t overly sweet.
- 1 1/2 oz. light rum
- 1 1/2 oz. dark rum
- 1 oz. fresh orange juice
- 1 oz. fresh lemon juice (or fresh lime juice)
- 2 oz. passion fruit juice
- 1/2 oz. simple syrup
- grenadine to taste
- 1 maraschino cherry, for garnish
- 1 orange wheel, for garnish
Shake and strain into an ice-filled Hurricane glass. Add garnishes and a long straw.
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