Sour Cherry Vodka

Happiness is kayaking and cherry picking on the same day. Paddling is a new hobby for me, but going to the cherry orchard has always been one of my favorite things to do.

I like to look for interesting ways to get the most out of the cherry harvest and make it last.

This time I covered my few precious sour cherries in vodka.

It was a bit of an experiment. The essence of the cherries was extracted after a month, and the resulting infusion is intensely aromatic and flavorful.

Sour Cherry Vodka
Printable Recipe

14 ounces sour cherries, stemmed
¼ cup sugar
16 ounces vodka

Combine all of the ingredients in a 1-quart mason jar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cover and let infuse at room temperature for about a month. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a glass bottle.

Makes approximately 20 ounces. Keeps more or less indefinitely tightly sealed in the bar or the pantry. Use in cocktails or blend with freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar, and chilled soda water for a refreshing spritzer. Combine with simple syrup to moisten cake layers in Black Forest cake.

Toast to the New Year

Happy New Year's, dear reader! I raise my glass to you. May 2011 bring you health, happiness, and delicious dishes.


Pomegranate-Grapefruit Champagne Sparklers
Printable Recipe

¼ cup pomegranate arils
6 ounces pomegranate juice, chilled
6 ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, chilled
1 750-milliliter bottle sparkling wine, chilled

Divide the pomegranate arils among 6 champagne flutes. Combine the pomegranate juice and grapefruit juice in a pitcher or measuring cup with a spout and divide among the flutes. Divide the sparkling wine among the flutes and serve immediately.

Serves 6. Best in the wintertime, when pomegranates and grapefruit are plentiful. Use freshly pressed pomegranate juice or, if you can find it, Evolution Freshest Pomegranate juice. If you are squeezing juice fresh, you will need 1 to 2 large pomegranates and 1 large grapefruit for this recipe.

New Year's Wishes

Here's to a happy New Year everybody! May 2010 bring you and yours joy and prosperity.

Frozen Kir Royales
Printable Recipe

1 cup Minted Black Currant Sorbet
1 750 milliliter bottle sparkling wine, chilled

Scoop the sorbet into 4 champagne flutes. Divide the sparkling wine among the flutes and serve immediately.

Serves 4. Either store-bought currant or raspberry sorbet would make fine a substitute for the Minted Black Currant Sorbet. The traditional Kir Royale is made with crème de cassis and Champagne.

Pomegranates

I’ve got a thing for pomegranates. I’ve absolutely loved them since I was a little girl. My mother would sometimes surprise me with a big shiny pomegranate, a rare treat, my favorite treat. I would patiently clean the entire thing and then suck the juice out of a handful of arils at a time. I still do that sometimes, but now I usually just buy fresh pomegranate juice. What can I say, I’ve also got a thing for immediate gratification. Though it is a bit tannic, Evolution Freshest Pomegranate juice is, by far, the best I’ve found.


Pomegranate Potion
Printable Recipe

1 ½ ounces vodka, chilled
6 ounces pomegranate juice, chilled
4 ounces soda water, chilled

Combine all of the ingredients in a chilled martini glass and serve immediately.

Serves 1. The vodka really brings out the flavor of the pomegranate juice, but feel free to leave it out if you prefer a nonalcoholic beverage.

Margaritas

Since I was missing Texas, I decided it was time for a visit. So here I am in Texas. And when I’m in Texas, I drink margaritas.


Traditional Margarita
Printable Recipe

1 heaping cup ice cubes
1 ½ ounces silver tequila
1 ½ ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
¾ ounce Cointreau or triple sec
¼ teaspoon sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Pour into a chilled margarita glass and serve immediately.

Makes 1 strong margarita. If you like, rim the glass with salt by dipping into lime juice and then immediately into kosher salt. This style of margarita is found throughout the American Southwest.

Advance

My advance check just came in the mail today! It’s actually the second half of my advance for Seared to Perfection, and it means that the publisher has officially accepted my manuscript. And what’s more, I recently found out the book is going to have photos! I celebrated with fruity martinis.


Cassis Martinis
Printable Recipe

1 heaping cup ice cubes
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
¼ cup vodka
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon crème de cassis

Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Pour into chilled martini glasses and serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings. If you like, rim the glasses with sugar by dipping into crème de cassis and then immediately into sugar.