Somebody's Gotta Do It!

So it might as well be me.
Tough duty, I know...testing the holiday cocktails.
My new favorite?
Champagne with a healthy splash of St. Germain...oh goodness gracious, I like it.
I've always had a fondness for champagne and a new version of a champagne cocktail was offered to me by my pal Lynne, thank you my dear friend...this is definitely a keeper...as are you.

Lynne added some of her hand foraged huckleberries, they literally danced in the glass! I don't know how she got them to do that but I intend to find out.

Just so you know, this champagne cocktail goes well with everything...
especially a selection of fabulous desserts.
Yes indeed...it was a very good week.

Signature Drinks

The Pink B*tch

we called it

The Pretty Pink Lady

When we have a big party I like to make a signature drink. We always offer a special cocktail when we have our annual garden dinner party. For the birthday party last Saturday night we were using pinks, oranges and greens in the color scheme...mostly pink. I thought a pink cocktail would be fun. I've made this one before and served it at a party, it's not too strong, it's refreshing and it's pretty....perfect! I found the original recipe in a cookbook a friend gave me, Serena Food and Stories by Serena Bass. It's one of my very favorite cookbooks, there are some really great recipes and she tells great stories about food, catering and her life.

Serena's version of

The Pink B*tch

1 1/2 ounces Absolut Citron

1/2 ounce raspberry puree

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

Splash of Sprite

Lemon wedge, for garnish

Add all the ingredients to a shaker half filled with ice.

Shake well and strain into a double rocks glass over ice.

My version - to serve a crowd

*The Pretty Pink Lady*

1 1/2 cups Sky Vodka - Lemon

1/2 cup raspberry puree

1/2 ounce Real Lemon Juice

2 or 3 cups Sprite

Lemon slice, for garnish

I made the drinks in batches, sometimes doubling these

ingredients depending on how fast the guests were drinking

them. We set several glasses on a tray, put in a few ice cubes,

filled the glasses and perched a half-lemon slice on the edge

of the glass. I made them pretty weak, it was a mellow crowd

and I was going for a thirst quencher - not a strong martini

style drink. We didn't bother with the martini shaker for

these, just poured them straight out of a pitcher.

*Raspberry Puree

I used frozen whole raspberries.

Thaw raspberries, put in blender and blend on high for a couple of minutes. Strain through cheesecloth to get rid of the seeds. Blend seeded raspberry syrup with equal parts simple syrup.

*Simple Syrup

I heat two cups water with two cups sugar until the water almost boils. Stir until you're sure all of the sugar granules have dissolved. Cool the syrup completely and then add to the berries.

I posted this recipe for Julie, one of Tami's readers...hope you like it Julie!

Summer Slushy

Okay, so I'm abandoning the good ship Black and moving on to Garden Party recap...I've had requests for recipes so I gotta feed my peeps!
The photo captures a bit of my table setting and of course front and center is the cocktail I chose to accompany my appetizer menu. Oh yeah, we liked it...a lot - a whole lot.

Here ya go folks.
I made the peach mixture the day before and put it in the freezer, if I did it over again I would do it more than one day ahead. You were supposed to be able to make round scoops of this stuff, sorta like ice cream but the sugar and liquor content made it too slushy to scoop.

Peach Bellini Slushy
1 16 oz. bag frozen peaches - thawed
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup Proseco
Chambord for drizzling

Heat the sugar and water until the sugar melts, let cool. Put the peaches in a blender on low-med, add cooled sugar water, orange juice...then slowly add 1 cup Proseco. I put this mixture into the freezer in a tupperware container.
When you're ready to serve put a big scoop of the peach mixture into a pretty wine glass (about 1/3 full) drizzle with about 1 teaspoon of Chambord then add some very cold Proseco to the glass and stir. The mixture will fizz so fill the glass slowly. I garnished the glasses with little key lime and kumquat slices, very unusual and pretty dang cute.

So, I've tried these with Champagne, they taste a whole lot better if you use the recommended Proseco - those Italians know what they're doing I tell ya. I've made the original Bellini recipe and even ordered it at Harry's Bar in Venice. This slushy version is a fun twist that I'm quite fond of. I had something similar at The Boathouse Restaurant in White Rock, B.C. and I've been wanting to re-create that recipe ever since, they have them in a giant slushy machine - I need one of those things for the Party Barn!
Tell me what ya think Mar!