Wild Iris Martini

Sometimes I just need to go for a walk by myself to unwind.  My favorite place to go for a stroll and get lost in my thoughts is through the woods, or on a path filled with lots of lovely vegetation.  It is a time when I don't have to do anything but think and walk, just enjoying my surroundings and forget about the cares and demands of the day.  I was on such a walk when I came across some irises.  I am sure at some point they had been planted by someone, as they are not a wild flower, but these appeared to be the way they were randomly among the other plants in the woods.  I guess even irises need a little freedom sometimes and not be confined to fenced in landscaped yards...sort of the way I like to be alone on my walks and get away from noise, distractions and demands of any sort. 

The wild irises inspired a cocktail that I made tonight, a refreshing gin base with fresh blueberries, a hint of lemon and floral lavander.  It's color was every bit as lovely as the iris itself, and the flavor was refreshingly floral with a hint of tartness from the lemon and sweetness from the berries.  The gin itself had a nice herbal note, which reminded me of nature and my walks through the woods. Here is the recipe if you would like to enjoy something wonderfully refreshing!

Wild Iris Martini (gin with blueberry, lemon and lavander)Serves 1

1/3 cup fresh organic blueberries
4-6 large ice cubes
1 1/2 oz lavander agave syrup*
4 oz Gin

1 1/2 oz fresh organic lemon juice
fresh blueberries
lemon slice

In a martini shaker, muddle the berries with the ice, crushing them until they are in small pieces. Add the lavander syrup, gin, and lemon juice, place top on shaker, and shake until well blended. Pour through a strainer into a chilled martini glass, adding a few fresh berries to your glass and a lemon slice for garnish and serve!

 

*Lavander Syrup:

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup boiling water

2 Tbsp dried lavander flowers

 

Combine all ingredients in a clean jar, and mix well.  Cover and let sit for at least a day in the fridge to infuse, or up to a month. 

Winter Kiss

It was up to 40 degrees yesterday in Minnesota, and it felt downright tropical!  The snow was melting by the buckets...then today hit and it a chill filled the air.  The temperatures dropped and the ice pellets fell.   Why ice pellets?  It is supposed to snow this time of year, not send down tiny hail!  When I got to my car after work, I discovered that the ice had formed a thin, but rock hard, and immoveble layer of ice on my windows.  I had no choice but to stand and scrape...and scrape, and scrape some more.  It hardly budged, and as I was driving home trying to warm my fingers and see through the small holes I had scraped in the windows, I was dreaming of something warming I could ingest when I got home.  Yes, I could make a hot cocoa, or maybe a hot toddy...but I wanted to be creative, and since it is New Year's Eve, I thought it would be a good night for something a bit more special.  Bourbon sounded wonderful!  I wanted to include bourbon since it warms you from the inside. 

I had this really good drink at Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul recently called the Cardinal's Kiss with bourbon, walnut liqueur, and bourbon soaked cherries which was delicious!  I thought why not make my own twist on it, since I had some bourbon soaked cherries in my fridge.  So I combined lemon and orange juice (so the drink would not be entirely booze, plus it gave it a nice citrus note), cherry soaking liquid, and a dash of almond extract (for a nutty flavor) with bourbon.  It was warming, and like a warm kiss...everything that walking outdoors right now was not.  The perfect drink to shake off the winter chill.  If you are chilled, you should fix yourself one of these!  Happy New Year everyone!

Winter Kiss 

Makes 1

4-6 large ice cubes

3 oz Maker's Mark bourbon

1/2 oz cherry soaking liquid*

3 oz orange juice
1 oz lemon juice

1 tsp pure almond exract

4 bourbon soaked cherries*

Citrus zest for garnish

In a martini shaker add the ice, bourbon, cherry liquid, orange juice, lemon juice, and almond extract and place top on shaker. Shake until well blended. Place about 4-5 bourbon soaked cherries onto a skewer, and place in a lowball glass. Pour drink through a strainer into glass, and serve with a citrus zest garnish!
 
Bourbon Soaked Cherries:

In a glass jar, cover 1 cup dried bing cherries with enough bourbon to cover.  Place lid on jar, and let sit at least overnight before using.  Store in the fridge. 

Cheers!

I can't believe 2010 is drawing to a close this week!  The year has flown by, so fast that I feel like I am looking back on someone else's life at times, so  much has changed!  I view New Years as a time to celebrate new beginnings as well as things I have learned, as well as good things that have happened in the past year.  Doing a celebratory toast and having a nice glass of bubbly or a cocktail is often part of New years eve, so I thought what  better a time than now to share with you some of my cocktails which I think would be perfect to ring in the New Year with.  Below are the photos, and if you click on them, you will be linked to the recipes.  I am not a fan of bubbly, being a cocktail girl myself, so Cheers to you, here's to a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Vanilla Snow Martini

Vanilla Girl Martini

Ginger Bread Martini



5 Spice Honeycrisp Appletini



Ruby Slipper Martini



Pumpkin Spice Martini



Gingerbread Martini

Gingerbread has a special place in my heart around the holidays.  It is the warming spicy sweet flavor, along with the wonderful aroma and memories that go along with it that I love.  But oddly enough this year I didn't make any around Christmas!  But I found a way to still fit it in this year, just in different form...the gingerbread martini!  My Mom and I usually spend Christmas day together, opening gifts, enjoying delicious baked goods, and having a nice dinner, enjoying a cocktail...

So this year it was the gingerbread martini.  I combined Domaine De Canton ginger Liqueur, Bernheim, some spices, vanilla extract and a dash of molasses to keep it like the cookie.  I even rimmed the glass with colorful nonpareils for effect.  It really tasted like drinking the cookie!  It had all the same sweetness, zip and spice!  I missed the actual making of gingerbread cookies this year and having fun with the frosting, but I didn't miss eating the cookies with this fabulous drink!

Gingerbread Martini

Makes 1

2 Tbsp small nonpareils

1 Tbsp agave nectar

1 Tbsp water

1 tsp molassess

2 tsp maple syrup

4-6 large ice cubes
2 oz Bernheim bourbon (or your favorite bourbon)

2 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves

To make sugar rim, Spread nonpareils out on a small plate. Coat the rim of the martini glass with the agave syrup by dipping it into it on a plate, then dip the agave coated rim into the nonpareils and set aside. In a small dish, dissolve molasses and agave in 1 Tbsp water.  In a martini shaker add the ice, bourbon, vanilla, ginger liqueur, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and place top on shaker. Shake until well blended. Pour into a chilled martini glass and serve!

Vanilla Snow Martini...inspired by a snowy run

  

I have raced many cross country races in my running career, but never in 6 inches of snow!  Today was the team USATF Minnesota Team Cross Country Championships, and I had been looking forward to this race for weeks!  Now, I always expect cool temperatures requiring underarmour at times, but what I saw when I looked out my window when my alarm went off I was not expecting...it looked like a white Christmas in November out there!  Snow piling up, no plows out there yet.  But I was determined to race this even if it was in snow that would be much better to ski on than run in!  It took about twice as long to even get to the race because it was so snowy and drivers forget how to manage in snow the first couple times they drive in it!  By the time I got there I was watching the tail end of the men's race, and they all looked very cold...not surprising since many of them were wearing shorts and tank tops in the snow!  Including my boyfriend Dave who was out there running his first cross country race ever today and did very well! 

My friend and team mate Willie and I decided that a warmup would be pointless, and it would be better to run this race for fun this time considering the conditions.  When we got out there, the number of women at the race was less than a quarter it normally was most likely due to the snow and travel conditions.  We all lined up, the gun went off and we all ran on the small path that the Men had created.  The wind immediately pelted my face with ice pellets and sent cold air up my nose and into my mouth nearly knocking the wind out of me.  Three more miles of it awaited...luckilly it wasn't slippery just tricky footing.  I couldn't see from the snow in my eyes, and I missed Dave who was cheering for me, since I couldn't see anyone on the side of the course.  When I finished I was glad I had come out and braved the conditions!  Afterall, runners are not wimps, and I plan on skiing a 35k race this winter, so it was good practice!  Willie's daughter had built some snowmen at the finish line, so we all took a photo with them after the race. 

I give everyone who came out and ran today a lot of credit...and I can honestly say I have NEVER ran a cross country race like this!  Since I had such an interesting expirience racing in the snow, I thought I needed to make myself a cocktail tonight in honor of it!  I came up with the Vanilla Snow...a silky smooth coconut vanilla cocktail with vodka as it's base and laced with vanilla beans.  It was quite heavenly in comparison to the cold snow earlier in the day however...it was remenicent of Baily's but not so sickeningly sweet.  More balanced and deep in flavor from all of the vanilla notes.  You don't have to have a snowy expirience to enjoy it however...try making one yourself!

Vanilla Snow Martini

Makes 1

vanilla sugar:

2 Tbsp vanilla sugar
1 Tbsp agave nectar

4-6 large ice cubes
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 oz Prairie Organic Vodka
2 Tbsp vanilla bean syrup*

1/4 cup full fat coconut milk

vanilla bean for garnish

To make vanilla sugar rim, Spread sugar out on a small plate. Coat the rim of the martini glass with the agave syrup by dipping it into it on a plate, then dip the agave coated rim into the sugar and set aside. In a martini shaker add the ice, vodka, vanilla bean syrup, and coconut milk, and place top on shaker. Shake until well blended. Pour through a strainer into a chilled martini glass, and serve!
 

*Vanilla Bean Syrup:

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup agave nectar
seeds of one vanilla bean

Heat water until boiling, remove from heat and whisk in agave nectar and vanilla beans, until nectar is dissolved. Chill well before using in drinks. Makes 1/2 cup syrup