COCKTAIL HOUR ~ LAVENDER LEMON MARTINI

Don't be frightened. It's better than you think. Like lemonade with just a hint of lavender in the background. And It's not lavender massage oil you're using, this calls for fresh leaves. The edible kind. I prefer the tender new growth personally. The flavor is just barely there, and the lemon really brightens and lightens the warmth of the lavender. You can find fresh lavender in some health food stores, and I have also seen it at Whole Foods. I picked mine while out on a walk the other day. Don't like booze? No problem! This is awesome with Perrier too!

So, Merry Christmas everyone! It's been pretty busy, and we've been gone a lot, so there hasn't been a whole lotta cooking going on here lately. And what I have cooked is just the average boring stuff you throw together when you're hungry and have no energy and very little time to get food on the table, definitely not blog material. Hey... here we had buttered noodles, and here we had an omelette. Big whoop.  So instead of letting the blog sit here dormant, I just decided to do another cocktail post. Because it's slightly possible that people might be looking for cocktail recipes for holiday parties, right? 

LAVENDER LEMON MARTINI

Why lemon and lavender? I have no clue where I got the idea, but it just works. 

~2 oz Belvedere Vodka

~4 teaspoons simple syrup (50% water 50% sugar dissolved)

~2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

~1 heaping teaspoon fresh lavender leaves. I suppose you could also use dried?

~paper thin lemon slices for garnish

Add crushed ice, vodka, lemon juice & syrup to shaker -- massage lavender leaves lightly to release the oils and add to shaker also. If your lavender seems really potent (there are different varieties), cut to half teaspoon or less -- you can always add more later. The point is to have a very faint lavender aroma in the background, not for this to taste like you're eating a Glade air freshener. So anyway, shake well.... Serve in chilled glass. Garnish with the paper thin lemon slices. 

For a NON-alcoholic version, use 7-up or sparking water instead of the vodka. 

COCKTAIL HOUR - CHRISTMAS FUDGE MARTINI

I really don't make cocktails often. Maybe a glass of wine now and then, but I'm so not a mix-master of any kind. But for some reason I have been in a martini mood lately. But not traditional martinis, nontraditional ones. Hence the Acai Berry Amazon from the other day. 

Today I was looking at a plate of fudge my husband got from one of his customers and the next thing you know I had out the Bailey's, milk, and the shaker. 

White Christmas Fudge Martini

1 ounce Stoli Elite Vodka (or my favorite, Belvedere)

2 ounces Bailey's Irish Cream

2 ounces Milk

Whipped Cream (optional)

1 piece of any kind of Christmas Fudge

Add liquids to shaker. Add ice and shake well. Pour into martini glass and garnish with fudge and whipped cream.

Kids obviously can't have Bailey's, but they CAN have whipped cream on their hand! 

COCKTAIL HOUR -- ACAI BERRY AMAZON MARTINI

Acai Berry is all the rage. Well, in California anyway.

It has powerful antioxidant capabilities. Some believe it promotes weight loss. The juice, in my opinion, is delicious.  

Acai Berry supplements are sold in most vitamin shops, but the juice is not that easy to find. The berries are highly perishable, so you will only find it in pill or juice form. I found this juice at Whole Foods.

Acai Berry Martini

Makes 2 - 3 oz. Martinis

2 oz. Acai Berry Juice

2 oz. Belvedere Vodka

2 oz. Hendrick's Gin

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon lime juice

Add sugar, vodka and gin to shaker. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add ice and lime juice and shake vigorously. Pour and serve with a lime twist garnish. 

For a non-alcoholic martini -- substitute sparkling water or 7-up in place of the alcohol. 

COCKTAIL HOUR - RASPBERRY THYME SMASH

Yep, raspberries and thyme. Weird, huh?

Typically, I'm not one for complicated mixed drinks. They're messy, and usually not even that great. But, mess or not, this one I had to try.

So, I see this article for a Raspberry Thyme Smash in the most recent issue of Bon Appétit. I like raspberries. I like thyme. I don't like Gin. BUT... it's made with Hendrick's Gin, which I've never had, which is infused with rose and cucumber. Interesting, I thought.  And look at the drink, doesn't it just look delicious! 

Here's the 411:

Here was mine. Totally worth driving to BevMo to get the Hendrick's Gin, it's good! And the drink is scrumptious!

FRIDAY NIGHT HAPPY HOUR - Jägermeister

I love Jägermeister. LOVE it. 

The more you have it, the more you want it too. It's creepy addictive. I think it may be like cigarettes- there is a "secret ingredient" that they don't tell you about that makes you an addict against your will.  

Oh, I exaggerate - I'm not addicted, but I sure do like it! And it's always on my shopping list, right up there with onions. Hmmm. Maybe I am addicted?

What the hell is in this stuff anyway?? 56 herbs, roots, barks, fruits and woods from all over the world, that's what. Fifty six. And the process to make it involves lots of grinding, and mixing and macerating - then a year of storage in oak barrels... then more mixing. And exactly what's in it is all a closely guarded secret of course. You can mix it with stuff, but I prefer it up, over ice.

Happy Friday everyone. Cheers!