Tag Archives: gin

cocktails 101 – the g & t

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This gallery contains 3 photos.

After an extended holiday, food for fun is finally ready to kick off 2015. And what better way to ring in the new year than with a cocktail? What with my enrollment in an online bartending course (Groupon made an … Continue reading →

gate-crashing a Sicilian cocktail party

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This gallery contains 7 photos.

Liz: Well, hello. Welcome to a Special Travel Edition here at food for fun. I hope you brought your passport, as we’re going International today. First, you’ll want to meet my friend Saucy of Saucy Gander. She puts my simple … Continue reading →

cocktails, sci-fi snow day edition

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While it may be sunny and possibly even warm where you are, it snowed lots today here in Minnesota and the temps are set to go near-zero F before the week is out. What’s a food blogger to do? Baking seemed the natural way to warm up, but as you can see from this post’s title, that’s not how things went down.

Instead, I turned to two cocktails that have been on my to-do list for a while. The first came about when I was introduced to all things Dr. Who by my most excellent blogger friend, amb. (You’ve seen her here before.) I knew nothing, so asked her simple questions such as “what is a tardis?” and “what is a sonic screwdriver?” And while I’m now well-versed on the blue box that is the tardis, I’m still a bit unclear on sonic screwdriver. (Amb saying, “A sonic screwdriver is like … a magic wand. But science-y,” helped only a bit.) To me, a sonic screwdriver sounds like a cocktail waiting to happen.

Stumbling on this post, then, was Kismet. Inspiration kicked into high gear and I could almost taste that cosmic concoction. Today’s snow meant canceling an engagement across town, so I used the time instead to mix my Whovian adult beverage. Three parts orange juice joined one part candy corn vodka to create this day-glo cocktail.

Whovian Sonic Screwdriver, anyone?

Whovian Sonic Screwdriver, anyone?

The super-sweet vodka demanded a bit of salt for balance, so I rimmed the glass with salt. (True, rimming a glass with salt is more a margarita thing, but I’d bet Dr. Who is good with me mixing things up a bit.)

I imagine this beverage as a sort of cosmic super juice that would allow Dr. Who–in whatever form he takes–to vanquish alien enemies everywhere. The bad guy wouldn’t stand a chance.

Stranded at home with one cocktail creation down, I decided to tackle an igloo drink I joked about making when commenting over at Blog of Funny Names. I don’t remember specific circumstances, but somehow it stuck that I had challenged myself to create another adult beverage with the only parameter (besides having to taste good, of course) being that it fit the description of “igloo.”

A google search found one recipe with gin and vodka, which sounded lovely. It contained a lime though, not tracking with a winter theme, so I subbed in a peeled and sectioned clementine. Honey added sweet and I muddled it all and tasted. Whoa. It screamed for a nonalcoholic dilution and I considered the possibilities: Ice? Tonic? Soda? Glancing out the kitchen window, at heavily falling snow, gave my brain a start. A conversation I’d had months earlier with a colleague came back to me: She’d jokingly challenged me to create and “adult snow cone.” Now was my chance!

I stepped outside (brrrrr) and filled a glass with freshly fallen snow. (Freshly fallen is key here–didn’t want already-marked snow. Though I’ve heard arguments that even “clean” snow isn’t clean after falling through an atmosphere rich in pollutants. Eh…I pushed that thought aside and forged ahead.)

snow

waiting for snow cone status

I then strained my clementine-steeped spirits over the snow and watched it quickly melt down. A sip told me I had a potent and bracing winter refresher. It seemed an apt Igloo.

The Igloo

The Igloo

Dedicated to the BoFN co-founder who gave me the idea, this second cocktail wraps up the first of many snow days ahead. Wishing you all warm and toasty thoughts, no matter the weather.

Arto’s Igloo

  • 2 ounces gin
  • 1 ounce vodka
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 clementine, peeled and separated into sections
  • Freshly fallen snow or finely crushed ice

In tall glass, combine gin, vodka, and honey; stir to blend. Add clementine; muddle well. Fill a short glass with snow or ice. Strain gin mixture over snow.

being a guest, DIY cocktail mixers, and pb graham poppers

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blog  /bläg/

  • noun: blog;  plural noun: blogs
  1. a personal website or web page which an individual records opinions, links to other sites, etc. on a regular basis.
  • verb: blog;  3rd person present: blogs;  past tense: blogged; past participle: blogged; gerund or present participle: blogging
  1. add new material or regularly update a blog.  “It’s about a week since I last blogged”
  2. write about (an event, situation, topic, etc.) in a blog “”he blogged the Democratic and Republican national conventions and an independent”

Who knew?

“Blog” is a relatively new word for most. Wikipedia cites its first appearance in the late 1990s and only in 2009 did it take off on a more personal level. (Credit for definition and graph goes to google.)index

I never imagined I’d author something with such a funny name, but here I am. (And here you are–you’re probably doing it, too.) Food for Fun was born because it seemed important for a food writer to have a food blog. It’s been rewarding and a favorite part has been the community of like-minded (and some not so like-minded, but fun just the same) folk I’ve come to know.

An unforseen bonus has been having clients bring me on as guest poster for their sites. As it’s all food related, I’ll offer links here–please give them a look-see. The salad alone make them worth the read. Promise.

But I won’t just send you elsewhere to read other blogs. Food for Fun is about content, folks 😉

First up: I’ve become of fan of celery simple syrup, which goes especially well in gin and vodka cocktails. It’s also a great way to use up those last few ribs of celery that always seem to be hanging out in the crisper. For each 2 ribs chopped celery, add 3/4 cup each water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes; drain and voilà! It’s sharply flavored enough that you’ll know the celery is there, but mild enough to be a versatile and interesting addition to lighter cocktails.

celery simple syrup

celery simple syrup

Second: How-To sour mix (margarita, anyone?) posts are everywhere, so this may be old news, but having tried it once, I always keep a stash on hand. It’s tasty enough to drink as-is, but a dilution of at least soda water makes is irresistible. And it shines in tequila-based drinks, absolutely.

D.I.Y.

D.I.Y.

Making the homemade sour requires more muscle than does the celery syrup as it calls for a cup each fresh lemon and lime juice. After much squeezing, the juices are poured into a premade simple syrup (boiling 1 cup each sugar and water until sugar dissolves). Its bright and fresh flavor set it worlds apart from store-bought sour and there will be no going back if you haven’t already made the switch.

Third: Now that your cocktail pantry is stocked, we’ll roll some peanut butter balls. A recent project put me close up and personal with oodles of peanut butter recipes–most of which I want to make immediately as they look so amazing. Because I’m paid for working on the recipes on paper and not in the kitchen, I hadn’t tried any. Until I came across this 3-ingredient, 5-minute recipe that demanded to be made NOW. You’ll like them, too, I think.

three ingredients--all you need

three ingredients–all you need

peanut pyramid of power

peanut pyramid

PB Graham Poppers

adapted from a Skippy® recipe

  • 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • Sprinkles, coconut, additional graham cracker crumbs, unsweetened cocoa powder, and/or other favorite coatings

In medium bowl, stir together 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, the peanut butter, and honey. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Roll into 15 (1-inch) balls; coat in sprinkles, etc. as desired. Refrigerate to store.

I’ll be back next week with a more cohesive post, though hoping you enjoyed today’s smorgasbord of goodies.

pop! goes the cocktail

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Last week’s food for fun post brought you ice cream to beat the heat. Seeing as how this week is hotter than last–at least here in St. Paul–I’m still searching out foods to cool me down. Which is why the following headline caught my eye: “Cocktails-on-a-stick look like kid’s food, but boozy treats are for adults.” A bit wordy, perhaps, but I was all over the concept. Cocktails on a stick? Sign me up!

The article appeared in a recent St. Paul Pioneer Press, but was originally written by Jill Wendholt Silva for the Kansas City Star. It introduced me to Laura Fyfe’s Poptail and though I’d seen a version of this frozen treat at Attempts in Domesticity, I’d not yet realized it was a trend in the making.

Silva mentioned that “plenty of folks are getting on the poptail bandwagon,” talked of the poptail’s popularity on Pinterest, and cited Food & Wine‘s July issue’s Mojito-Watermelon pops. Clearly poptails are the next cupcake and it’s a trend I couldn’t wait to follow. Setting my sights on the Gin Zing, I made a batch tonight.

1 1/4 cups chopped baby cucumbers

1 1/4 cups chopped baby cucumbers

Pureeing 1 1/4 cups diced cucumber and 1/2 cup St. Germain with a stick blender (though the recipe suggests a food processor), I then strained it through a fine-mesh sieve.cucumber puree

Half of the solids left behind were stirred back into the strained liquid and 1/4 cup gin was stirred into that.Straining

I had cut the recipe in half, so was set up to make three poptails (oh, how I love that word), but I used shot glasses and was able to fill six and still have enough left over for a chef’s sample. (It was way too sweet unfrozen.)

ready to freeze

ready to freeze

I popped the poptails into the freezer and checked back an hour or so later, when the mixture was frozen just enough to hold the (half) popsicle stick upright. Another hour and they were frozen enough to unmold. The recipe called for a seven-hour freeze, though I wasn’t patient enough to let it go that long.

single serving

single serving

They were pretty little things and also quite tasty and refreshing. Sweet was the first hit on the taste buds, but booze was a close second as was the fresh green flavor of the cucumber. Next time (because there most certainly will be a next time), I’ll stir in a few grindings of black pepper or a teaspoon or so of freshly grated gingerroot for extra kick. But even as-is, these simple poptails are the bee’s knees.

Gin Zing poptails

Gin Zing poptails

Which brings me to Silva’s other flavors: Bee’s Knees (!) containing honey, whiskey, and ginger beer and The Jaliscito with lime zest and juice, watermelon, tequila, and Grand Marnier–both must-makes in my book.

Silva recommends using wooden craft sticks instead of plastic popsicle mold sticks as wood grips the softer ice mixture better than slippery plastic. She also cautions against using too much alcohol lest the mixture fail to freeze completely. Though should that happen? Silva notes that these poptails easily morph into an adult snow cone or slush. And I won’t argue with that, especially in this heat.