I’m still trying out some recipes for my sister’s upcoming baby shower, which is going to be bumble bee themed. I’m working on making a beehive cake and have already determined a batch cocktail with honey to serve. Because it is a baby shower, it seemed only appropriate to also serve an alcohol-free beverage. After testing a few versions, this recipe for Honey Ginger Lemonade the perfect nonalcoholic drink for my sister to enjoy!
This recipe has just four ingredients and feels special enough for a baby shower or other celebration!
I am in full preparation mode for my sister’s upcoming baby shower. We are doing a honeybee theme, I’ve been working on a beehive cake, honeycomb decorations, and honey-filled beverages, including this Bees Knees Batch Cocktail.
The Bee’s Knees is a Prohibition-era cocktail made with gin, lemon juice, and honey simple syrup. This batch cocktail version adds lemon seltzer to make it more of a sip-able day cocktail with a little bit of fizziness.
Ingredients (makes 20 servings; multiply/divide as needed):
What. Is. With. This. Rain? I feel like it’s never going to stop raining in Philadelphia! It is now mid- to late May and all I want to do is enjoy some warm weather on my deck. Even if the weather isn’t cooperating, I can still pretend it’s summer with the help of David Burtka’s cookbook: Life is a Party.
Chef, actor, and entertaining authority David Burtka knows that every day can be a party. Over a lifetime of throwing epic gatherings, the Cordon Bleu-trained Burtka has perfected the formula for creating easy and perfect get-togethers at home. Now, in the pages of his debut cookbook, he’s sharing all of his secrets and an intimate look into the lives of one of Hollywood’s favorite families. Everything you need to throw a memorable party, or to make a delicious weeknight meal, can be found in the pages of Life is a Party. The cookbook is broken into sixteen party themes – from cozy game nights at home to elegant New Year’s fêtes-are built around doable, show-stopping menus that take the guesswork out of high-impact hosting. Complete with endless and fun ways to mix-and-match dishes, create stunning decor, prep ahead, and get guests involved, David helps you put all the elements in place to make every party a success without ever losing your cool.
The cookbook is broken into seasons to help plan party themes for different holidays and weather. Each party theme is better than the last! But after this weather, I knew I had to make a summer-themed recipe to help me dream of nicer days. I was drawn to a cocktail from the “Sunday Funday” party theme: Mojito Slushies. This yummy spin on the classic cocktail is the perfect refreshing cocktail to cool you down from hot summer days! This recipe is also a great make ahead recipe, with minimal work when you’re ready to serve it.
I also have a copy of Life Is A Party to give away! More details after the recipe.
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups water, divided
1 large bunch fresh mint
2 cups fresh lime juice (12-16 limes),
ice
24 oz white rum (or 24 oz lemonade for a mocktail)
You’ve probably noticed by now that I love to grill. And with that, sometimes I grill some strange things, like this recipe for a Grilled Peach Old Fashioned Cocktail, or this recipe for Grilled Margaritas.
I’ve wanted to make another grilled cocktail since I made the Grilled Old Fashioned. Citrus is always a great option for grilling because the heat helps release the juices of the fruit. So I figured Grilled Margaritas would work great!
I also substituted in Mezcal, which is like tequila, but has a smoky flavor, perfect for grilled margaritas!
Summer stuck around for a while in Philadelphia; it’s now October and the weather is just starting to feel like fall, so it’s time for some Fall Sangria!
I’ve wanted to make a fall sangria for weeks now, but wanted to wait for cooler weather to truly enjoy it!
Over the past year, quite a few of my good friends have gotten engaged. Four of us are getting married this summer (!), so we have plenty to celebrate and discuss when we meet up.
We all love a good cocktail to make our time together festive and have made a few fun ones in the past. This time around, I decided to make us a gin-based drink that just screams spring.
Gimlets are traditionally made with gin (or vodka) and lime juice, but I wanted to create a new, fun cocktail with a few choice ingredients. This Sparkling Blackberry Gimlet is made with Blackberry Ginger Ale. To further enhance the blackberry flavor, I made a quick blackberry-mint simple syrup to go with it. You can substitute in traditional simple syrup if you’d prefer.
I have never been one to shy away from sharing all of the awesomeness that the Philadelphia area has to offer. I am pretty darn proud of my city, especially when it comes to our rocking food and beverage scene. So it should come as no surprise that my gin of choice is always Bluecoat Gin.
Why yes, Bluecoat IS made in Philadelphia! What sets Bluecoat’s flavor apart from others is their use of organic juniper berries, which give off a more spicy, earthy tone versus pine-tree flavors found in regular juniper berries. Bluecoat is finished off with a premium blend of organic American citrus peels and spices which adds a nice citrusy finish to the spirit.
Bluecoat must have known my affinity for them, because I was asked to develop a Valentine’s Day themed cocktail using this yummy gin. Because Valentine’s Day is all about the love, I threw in a bunch of my favorite cocktail ingredients to make the “perfect” cocktail for me! (Here’s hoping you agree)
This recipe for a Blue Rose Cocktail starts with a strawberry mint simple syrup, adds in some sparking wine, and finishes off with some pomegranate juice.
My fiance (and considerably more creative half) dubbed this a “Blue Rose Cocktail” — Bluecoat Gin + rose coloring from the simple syrup and pomegranate juice.
When I have friends coming to visit, I like to make a batch of cocktails beforehand so that I have a pre-made refreshment to serve. Lemonade-based drinks are a favorite of mine: I’ve made a Rhuby-Lavender Lemonade as well as a Bourbon-Peach Lemonade in the past.
So to keep my trend going, I decided to make this Honey, Ginger Sparkling Lemonade with Rosemary and added in some bourbon. (My friends are big bourbon fans, if yours aren’t, vodka would work as an easy substitute). I changed the recipe a bit to fit my tastes, but you can find the original recipe here.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup local honey
1/2 cup water
the juice of 5 lemons, plus the zest of 1 lemon
the juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup minced ginger
10 full rosemary stalks
2 1-liter bottles of club soda
1 1/2 cups bourbon
Ice cubes
Note: Bourbon does include grains that contain gluten. However, distilled alcohol is considered gluten-free because the process of distillation removes the harmful gluten protein, which is why I have this recipe listed as gluten free. If you are highly sensitive to gluten, bourbon may be off limits for you.
It’s that time of year again, East Passyunk Avenue’s “Flavors of the Avenue” is almost here! From noon to 4 pm on Saturday, April 26, the best of East Passyunk’s restaurants will be offering samples of their signature dishes and drinks.
General admission for the Food Tent opens at 1pm and includes Skinny Girl wine and Samuel Adams beer. Outside of the tent enjoy a free street festival with live music by We Are Fauna and The Drive-Ins, vendors and the April Showers craft show at the Fountain hosted by Crafty Balboa.
Tickets are $30 for General Admission but are going fast, so be sure to pick up your tickets ASAP! VIP tickets are actually already sold out!
I attended a media night to sample some of the offerings and am so excited for the main event. I attended the actual event last year and it did not disappoint! I have a review of some of the samples I had during the media event but also wanted to share my version of a drink recipe that was served by Stateside called a Pom Collins cocktail – a spin on a Tom Collins with pomegranate juice. Unfortunately this delicious drink will not be served at Flavors of the Avenue … you’ll have to stop by Stateside after to enjoy it!
Whenever I have a cocktail, I tend to lean towards refreshing drinks, usually with gin. But while visiting friends in New York, we went to a cocktail bar that used caraway vodka in a drink. (Caraway has an anise flavor to it and is frequently used in baking. It is commonly used in rye bread and most versions of Irish soda bread.) So it adds a really nice earthy flavor to any drink. I decided to make my own to use in refreshing cocktails. I also used it to make a version of my favorite cocktail: the east side, which is essentially a gimlet. (Every drink seems to just be a variation of yet another drink).
Ingredients to make caraway vodka:
2 cups vodka (I used a cucumber vodka for more flavor)
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
Ingredients to make cocktail:
2 oz caraway vodka
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
1 basil leaf, chopped
ice
club soda
Making your own flavored vodka is really easy. Just take a jar and fill it with 2 cups vodka and 2 tablespoons caraway seeds. Allow to sit for at least a week. Strain and store for future use. I used cucumber vodka as a base which made a pretty awesome flavor combination.
A traditional east side uses cucumber and mint muddled together then mixed with gin, simple syrup, and lime and topped off with club soda. My version is just as refreshing, but uses some of summer’s other favorite fresh ingredients, lemon juice and basil, paired with my homemade caraway-cucumber vodka.
To make, add ice to a cocktail shaker and add the caraway vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, chopped basil, and ice. Shake and strain into a glass. Top with club soda. If desired, garnish with a cucumber or a lemon twist.
You can also serve the drink on the rocks, which I prefer (the ice keeps it nice and cool to keep it super refreshing).
If you are a fan of more citrus over sweetness, omit the simple syrup. You can further customize the drink by muddling the basil before adding it to the drink to release more flavor into the cocktail.
Everything about this drink screams summer. I wish I had made the vodka earlier in the summer so I could have had this all season. Sigh. Instead, it will just have to be my way to keep a little summer going on all year long!
I was at a restaurant on Long Island that had a drink they called a “lushee” which was basically a frozen sangria. And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Pure brilliance. I told a friend about this and we knew we had to make our own, what could possibly be more refreshing on a hot summer day? I was recently sent a cookbook that actually one-upped the concept of the lushee: a White Wine Sangria Popsicle.
The book, Poptails, by Erin Nichols of Erin Cooks, is filled with sixty pops inspired by your favorite alcoholic beverages. Recipes range from classics like a gin and tonic to fancy favorites like a cosmopolitan.There are even some awesome dessert pops like cherry cheesecake and banana split.
I was in love with this book before I even received it. What an amazing idea! Who wouldn’t want their favorite drink in iced pop form? The recipes had me imagining all of the lovely get-togethers I could have: a brunch with iced coffee and bloody Mary pops, a pool party with strawberry basil martini pops, or Christmas in July with spiked eggnog, mulled wine, and Christmas cheer pops. Sigh.
Anyways, I kept thinking back to those lushes and knew I had to try the white wine sangria pops.
I tweaked the recipe within the book a bit. For the original recipe, pick up a copy of this fun book!
Ingredients:
1 bottle white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
1 liter flattened seltzer water
1/4-1/3 cup cranberry juice (I used cranberry hibiscus)
1 tablespoon simple syrup, or to taste
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
1 pint blueberries
Note: You’ll need ice pop molds and Popsicle sticks to make these.
I wanted to start this post with the definition of seltzer, club soda, tonic water, and sparkling water. Because I always manage to mess these drinks up. And no wonder: club soda, seltzer and sparkling water are all water infused with carbonation. These can all be interchanged. Tonic water is something a bit different, it is still a carbonated water, but quinine is dissolved into the water as well. It’s quite a bit more bitter so be sure to use club soda/seltzer/sparkling water in this recipe. Or for a bit more sweetness, a lemon-lime soda would work.
Make sure to allow your seltzer water to flatten. Don’t forget this step! Unflattened carbonated beverages will explode when frozen. And that sounds like an awful waste of white wine sangria if you ask me. The book suggests opening your seltzer 8 hours prior and popping it into your fridge in a place it won’t spill.
Combine the wine, flattened seltzer water, cranberry juice, and simple syrup. I used lemon simple syrup to give a touch more flavor. Feel free to add some lemon zest to add a little extra.Add whatever mixture of berries you’d like to the pop molds. I went for one raspberry, one blackberry, and a few blueberries per pop.Fill each mold ¾ of the way full with the mixture; you need to leave a small amount at the top to allow the liquid to expand.
Note: you’ll have some extra sangria that won’t fit in the pop molds. This is so you can enjoy your creation before waiting 24 hours 🙂
Add popsicle sticks, cover, and freeze for approximately 24 hours.
To remove from the molds, fill a bowl larger than your pop molds with warm (not hot) water. Add the mold to the bowl for 15 seconds then gently pull on the top of the ice pop stock. If the pop does not release, add the mold back to the water for another 15 seconds, repeat this process until the pops come out of the molds.
These pops were refreshing and a little bit tangy. I wanted a bit more sweetness though, I might add more simple syrup next time I make them. I also would add a bit more cranberry juice so that the pops turn a very light pink color, which would probably look really nice.
What’s nice about this recipe is how adaptable it is. You can add or subtract whatever fruit makes you happy. You could use a sweeter wine, or even a (flattened) champagne. My friend made this recipe using white grape juice instead of cranberry.
There are plenty of other creative pop recipes within the pages of this book. I love the element of fun that the popsicles add and can’t wait to try more of these yummy recipes!
1/4-1/3 cup cranberry juice (I used cranberry hibiscus)
1 tablespoon simple syrup, or to taste
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
1 pint blueberries
Instructions
Make sure to allow your seltzer water to flatten. Don’t forget this step! Unflattened carbonated beverages will explode when frozen. And that sounds like an awful waste of white wine sangria if you ask me. The book suggests opening your seltzer 8 hours prior and popping it into your fridge in a place it won’t spill.
Combine the wine, flattened seltzer water, cranberry juice, and simple syrup. I used lemon simple syrup to give a touch more flavor. Feel free to add some lemon zest to add a little extra. Add whatever mixture of berries you’d like to the pop molds. I went for one raspberry, one blackberry, and a few blueberries per pop. Fill each mold ¾ of the way full with the mixture; you need to leave a small amount at the top to allow the liquid to expand.
Note: you’ll have some extra sangria that won’t fit in the pop molds.
Add popsicle sticks, cover, and freeze for approximately 24 hours.
To remove from the molds, fill a bowl larger than your pop molds with warm (not hot) water. Add the mold to the bowl for 15 seconds then gently pull on the top of the ice pop stock. If the pop does not release, add the mold back to the water for another 15 seconds, repeat this process until the pops come out of the molds.
For Father’s Day, I wanted to make my dad a somewhat traditional sangria. He is a man who has nothing and wants nothing (which is probably a result of having two daughters and a wife who want everything), but he does love a good sangria. I hope he likes it!
Ingredients:
1 bottle of Rioja wine
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 cup triple sec
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup cranberry juice
3 table spoons simple syrup
1 apple, cored
1 orange, cut into thin slices
1 lemon, cut into thin slices
1 lime, cut into thin slices
1 peach/nectarine, pitted and cut into wedges
Ginger ale, to taste
Combine the wine, brandy, triple sec, orange juice, cranberry juice and simple syrup. Stir.
Prepare all of your fruit.
Add the fruit to the wine mixture and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
When ready to serve, pour sangria into a glass and top with the ginger ale to taste.
I took only one sip of this, so my dad will have to be the true judge of this recipe. It seemed to taste good to me: not too sweet and still a hint of actual wine. You can make a bunch of substitutes for this recipe. If you don’t have the time to make simple syrup, just use 3 tablespoons sugar and stir until it dissolves in the wine mixture. Feel free to substitute or eliminate some of the fruit choices: blackberries would also be a nice addition in the sangria.
I have a bunch of fruit left over from my Berries with Lemon Mint Syrup. It’s a lovely warm weekend in Philadelphia which immediately made me think of sangria. What a perfect way to use more of these berries!
Ingredients:
A bowl full of mixed berries (strawberries, hulled, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries)
1 1/2 cups of triple sec
1 1/2 cups cranberry juice (I used cran-raspberry juice)
There are few things more refreshing on a hot summer day than a mojito. My CSA share came with mint this week as well, so mojitos sounded like a perfect drink for this little heat wave we are experiencing in Philadelphia. I didn’t want to just make a classic mojito so I was happy that the CSA share came with strawberries as well.
Ingredients (per serving):
1 teaspoon simple syrup
2 fresh strawberries, halved
Mint leaves from 1-2 sprigs
Sparkling water (club soda)
1/2 lime
2 ounces light rum
Ice
To make simple syrup, combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water in a saute pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Cool.
Prepare your strawberries. Remove the stem from the strawberries and cut in half.
Add the juice from 1/2 a lime, two strawberries (4 halves), 1 teaspoon simple syrup, and the mint leaves to a glass.
Using a muddler or the back of a spoon, muddle the ingredients together. Muddling is crushing ingredients to allow the flavors and oils to be released and combine.
Add two ounces rum and ice, and shake to combine. Fill with sparkling water.
This is so refreshing. I made mine with very little simple syrup; I prefer my mojito to be more minty than sweet. Feel free to adapt the amount of each ingredient to your tastes. This recipe can also be changed to use watermelon, raspberries, or whatever else sounds good to you.
