Tag Archives: vodka

Chocolate Coconut Martini

This is not your usual chocolate martini. I saw it on Hungry Girl’s new television show on The Cooking Channel. We haven’t made it yet but plan to very soon. The only change I made to this was using regular Reddi-wip instead of fat-free Reddi-wip. This is a low-calorie martini as well. Using the Diet Hot Cocoa mix which has only 25 calories saves many calories. We use the Diet Swiss Miss Cocoa package. The sugar-free or no sugar added ones have more calories. I don’t understand it but as long as it tastes good who cares! Check out the original recipe on Hungry Girl’s TV show page.


INGREDIENTS:

1 packet Swiss Miss Diet hot cocoa mix

2 ounces hot water

2 ounces cold water

2 ounces sugar-free coconut syrup

2 shots (3 ounces) vodka

2 tablespoons whipped cream (Reddi-Wip)

unsweetened coconut shavings, for garnish

chocolate shavings, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large glass add dissolve the hot cocoa mix with the hot water. Add the cold water and stir.

2. Add coconut syrup, vodka and whipped cream. Stir well.

3. Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well!

4. Pour into chilled martini glasses. Top with coconut and chocolate shavings.

Vanilla Flavoring

This is a very simple and wonderful little recipe. I found it on SparkRecipes and as soon as I have a free moment I am planning on making my own. I love that it’s homemade and I’m sure it will taste awesome! I’m doing simple recipes this week as I’m still very tired from work. I am hoping everyone will bear with me during this transition. I am not forgetting my loyal readers!

Photo is for illustrative purposes only!

 

 

INGREDIENTS
2 vanilla beans
8 ounces vodka

DIRECTIONS
Split the vanilla beans in half lengthwise. Scrape the seeds from the bean using a knife, and place both the seeds and the beans in a glass jar with a lid. Warm the vodka to 100-120 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the warmed vodka over the beans and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, seal the jar. Store at room temperature for one week, shaking the jar every other day. Strain the mixture, then store in a sealed container. Flavoring will keep for a year, but chances are you’ll use it up before then.

NY Jets & Green Bay Packer Cocktails

Yes we are NY Jets fans in this house. Doesn’t matter that we live in Florida. Once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker. It’s been very exciting for the last few weeks to say the least. I predicted weeks ago, before the Jets miraculous win over the Colts, that the Super Bowl would be the Jets vs Packers. My husband is also a Packers fan having lived in Wisconsin many years ago. But Jets come first. So when it’s down to the final game we will be cheering for the Jets.(I am very optimistic aren’t I?) So today’s post, in honor of those two teams, are two cocktails, that are green. Both teams main colors are green. No there won’t be any cheese flavored cocktails for the Packers. Ewww… They are both green and we’ll leave it at that. Try them both this weekend. One for each game!  Or make them both for both games! It’ll give everyone up north something to do in this snowy weather, yet again! The first martini is very simple. The second one isn’t really difficult but it’s got more ingredients. They both have Midori in them. Be adventurous! Take a chance!

Go Jets! Go Packers!

GREEN-TINI

INGREDIENTS:

4 ounces vodka (your choice)

3 ounces Midori melon liqueur (or any melon liqueur you wish)

Lime wedges for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with limes.

Makes 2 martinis


ZEN COCKTAIL

INGREDIENTS:

2 ounces Zen Green Tea Liqueur (this is pretty readily available)

1 ounce Midori melon liqueur

6 ounces mango juice

white pepper

4 ounces cream

mint leaves for garnish

grated nutmeg for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into chilled champagne flutes or other slender class.

Garnish with mint leaves and a dash of nutmeg.

Makes 2 cocktails

** I just tried to buy the Zen Green Tea Liqueur, it’s pricey!! $30 a bottle! Yikes. I am looking for a smaller bottle now.

Liquid Oreos

Who doesn’t like Oreo cookies? I don’t actually. I know, I know incredible right? But it is true. I actually like the white cream in the center but that’s it. Hate the cookie. Call me crazy. BUT, this delicious cocktail is one way I will have my Oreo and like it! The recipe makes 2 drinks so if you wish to make it for people just double the amounts. Oreos are used as garnish for this cocktail but if you are like me, just leave it out. I will!

INGREDIENTS:

1½ ounces vodka

1½ ounces Kahlúa

1½ ounces white crème de cacao

1½ ounces Baileys Irish Cream

2 Oreo cookies, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice cubes.

2. Add the vodka, Kahlúa, white crème de cacao and Baileys and shake well. Strain into 2 chilled martini glasses. Slip an Oreo onto the side of each glass for garnish.

Makes 2 drinks

Apple Cranberry Martini

So the calendar says it’s Fall. I have to say it has been cooler than normal here in south Florida. Remember, it’s cool for us. In the mid 70s! The weather people say it’s cooler than normal for this time of year. I think they’re right. I’ve gotten used the Fall weather arriving in time for Thanksgiving! Halloween is usually pretty warm here. But either way, it’s Fall. I remember years and years ago when my family would go up to Maine for a long weekend. We have a house in Naples, Maine. A summer “camp” as they call it. No heat. No insulation. Indoor plumbing! But you don’t go up there in the winter or after the lake freezes. Yes, the house is on a lake as well. So Columbus Day weekend was usually the last time we went up. One of the traditions we had, for a few years anyway, was to go apple picking. No matter how sullen or grumpy some of were we always had fun. We ate more apples than we picked sometimes! The weather was always beautiful. Cool but not cold, sunny and clear.

 

October 1976: Me (red jacket upper left), Dad, Billy, Warren, Michele & Mom

 

I do miss that part of being up north this time of year. We have pumpkin ‘fields’ here. They are usually on a corner lot on the road or church yard. Places where in another month or so we’ll see Christmas trees. It’s just not the same to go pumpkin picking here! So all this talk of  “Fall” weather had me thinking of a seasonal martini. Did the pumpkin one already. And since I associate apple picking with the Fall this martini sounded perfect. Sort of like an apple cosmo! Anyway, give it a try and enjoy the Fall weather however you can!

 

 

 


INGREDIENTS:

2 ounces cranberry vodka

1 ounce green apple vodka

1 ounce cranberry juice

apple slices (red or green) for garnish

fresh cranberries for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Add ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and pour into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with an apple slice or cranberries on a toothpick.

Makes 2 drinks

Macaroon Martini

Don’t you love it when you can have dessert and cocktail all in one! This martini does just that. Almost makes you want to have a cup of coffee to go with it. But don’t. The macaroon martini is a tasty after dinner drink or have it as a pre-dinner cocktail. Either way it will be a hit. If you want before hand drip chocolate syrup down the insides of a martini glass and chill in the freezer. This way you get an extra treat when you are ready to pour the martini! Try it! You’ll Like it! This recipe is for two drinks.

INGREDIENTS:

6 ounces vodka

1 ounce chocolate liqueur (Godiva is always a good choice!)

1 ounce Amaretto (Use Amaretto di Saronno is the best, don’t use a cheap one, you’ll regret it!)

orange twist for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with crushed ice. Shake well and strain into chilled martini glasses.

Garnish with orange twist if desired.

Makes 2 cocktails

Lychee Martini

This has to be one of the tastiest martinis I’ve had in a long time. We had it for the first time at a Russian restaurant in Sunny Isles, FL (Miami). The restaurant is called Lotus Restaurant and Lounge. Don’t be fooled by the name. It is a Russian restaurant for sure. With an Asian flair. They have sushi on the menu along with the usual Russian dishes. A wonderful place. When we were there in August we asked the waitress about any specialty martinis that they might have. She suggested the Lychee Martini with Russian Wodka (No joke, that’s how she said it!) It was so good and the lychee fruit in the martini had been soaked in vodka. An extra bonus when you were done! Well we found a recipe that tastes pretty close to the one we had at Lotus. The hard part was finding lychee juice! You can get it from a can of lychees. That was the other problem. Finding lychees! We did find them in Whole Foods. They come in a can and the brand we got was Roland. I am on the search for other places that may be cheaper. Oh how I wish we had a Trader Joe’s here in Florida! One day maybe! Anyway, once you find the lychees make up a batch of these and you’ll be pleasantly surprised! Don’t forget to soak the lychees beforehand so you get that extra treat! The recipe calls for either white or red cranberry juice. We chose the red because the one we had originally had a light pink tinge, which you won’t get from white cranberry juice. Either way it’s a tasty treat!

INGREDIENTS:

3 ounces vodka

2 ounces peach schnapps

2 ounces red or white cranberry juice (I use light cranberry)

2 ounces lychee juice (from a can of lychees)

lychees for garnish

Ice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place ice into a cocktail shaker. Pour in vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry juice, and lychee juice. Cover and shake well until the outside of the shaker has frosted.

2. Strain into chilled martini glasses; garnish with a lychee fruit.

Makes 2 drinks

Linda’s Orange Razz Tini

As promised, here is the martini that my cousin Linda had several times when we ventured into the Tini Martini Bar (http://tini-martini-bar.com/) at the Casablanca Inn in St. Augustine. As I said John and I had stayed at the Inn 3 years ago and had fallen in love with the place. Especially after we found out they just opened a martini bar! We were sold. So when we went back the first time it was great. The martinis range from $10.50-$12.50. Yes a little on the higher end BUT they were definitely more than 6 ounce martini glasses. I would say 8 ounces and they filled them to the tippy top! None of this space at the top as most places do. So after we took Linda there the first time we knew we’d be back during our visit. And one afternoon during the daily thunderstorm at about 2pm, we sought shelter at our favorite bar. Thanks to our bartender Jason we were very happy indeed! Ghosts and all! So here is the tini martini that Linda had. I am using measurements that will make a 6 ounce martini. As always feel free to add more depending on your glass size!

INGREDIENTS:

3 ounces orange vodka

3 ounces raspberry vodka

Splash of Chambord

Splash of Cranberry Juice

DIRECTIONS:

Place ingredients in cocktail shaker filled half with ice and shake, shake, shake!! Strain and pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with an orange slice! Nice!

Makes 1 martini

Blini-Tini

So what is a Blini-tini? If you know what a Bellini is this is a twist on that. Bellini’s are a delicious, refreshing cocktail. (See past post) When we were recently visiting the ancient city of St. Augustine, FL we stopped in a few times to our favorite martini bar, The Tini Martini Bar, in The Casablanca Inn. We had stayed at the Inn 3 years ago when the bar was brand new. They have the best martinis in the city. And they fill them to the tippy top! No half-inch of empty glass at the top! The bar and the Inn is reported to be haunted, by a friendly female ghost. (No, not Casper). I think my cousin Linda will attest to some odd happenings while we were sitting at the bar. I was next to her and I see her look on the floor like she dropped something. Nothing there. She’s still looking so I asked what was up. She said she felt something physically touch her leg, like something fell against it. We didn’t see anything anywhere. So I am guessing the ghost was saying hello! Wild! (And no we were not drunk!) Anyway, here is the martini that John and I had, twice. Linda’s martini will be next week’s post!

Tini Martini Bar at The Casablanca Inn, St. Augustine, FL

INGREDIENTS:

2 ounces peach schnapps

2 ounces peach vodka

2 ounces Prosecco or champagne

Splash of Orange Juice (no pulp! Or strain it if it does have it!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour champagne into chilled martini glass.

2. In a cocktail shaker half filled with ice add the schnapps, vodka and orange juice. Shake till mixed, strain and pour into cocktail glass.

Garnish with fresh peach slice if you have room!

Makes 1 martini


Ice Cream White Russians

This drink is easily a contributor to the usual Freshman 15 gained at college. Then again I didn’t discover this drink till Senior year I believe. Some of you will (SUCO Grads!) remember this delicious and decadent concoction from Red’s Filling Station in downtown Oneonta, NY. No it was not a gas station people! It was a bar. What else was Oneonta known for! Anyway, I remember a warm spring day (yes we did have them on occasion), going down to Red’s one Friday afternoon with my BFF Rose. I think we may have been going for what was called “sours”. It’s basically happy hour. Not really sure why it was called “sours” but it was. Well when we arrived at Red’s they had a special drink called an Ice Cream White Russian. Sounded good. I liked ice cream and I liked White Russians. So how bad could it be? It was like a White Russian milkshake really. They served them in large beer mugs with a straw! Boy did they go down smooth! Refreshing, delightful, delicious…But on the other hand LOADED with calories. But we were 20 somethings and we didn’t care about the calories back then. I did the math for this delight (I was curious) and this drink packs a whopping 444 calories, 16 grams of fat, 43 grams of carbs! But it has 1 gram of fiber and 5 grams of protein! Ok so the bad outweighs the good. But if you use low-calorie ice cream you can trim some of the bad away! But once you have one of these it won’t matter! It’s probably been 25 years since I had one but I still remember it like it was yesterday! Oh yeah and if you want, top with whipped cream! Why not!!

Red's Filling Station, Oneonta, NY (1983)

INGREDIENTS:

1 pint vanilla ice cream (of choice), softened

2 oz. vodka

2 oz. Kahlua


DIRECTIONS:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth but thick.

2. Pour into chilled beer mugs or tall chilled glasses.

Makes 2 drinks

You can make this stretch to 4 drinks if you serve in smaller glasses.

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