Peppermint Paddy Cocktail
Peppermint and chocolate is one of my all-time flavor combinations, and this hot treat with white hot chocolate, chocolate whipped cream, and minty Altoids is a perfect dessert drink for a cold day. A twist on the classic Hot Peppermint Patty drink, this white hot chocolate cocktail is spiked with brandy, white crème de menthe, and dark rum, making a mug of cheer sure to warm you all over. Read more
Pure Passion Cocktail
New Year’s celebrations just aren’t the same without champagne, and mixing up champagne cocktails is one of our favorite ways to enjoy the bubbly. This cocktail recipe has passion fruit juice, lime juice, triple sec, and a brut cava, and the sugared rim with chili powder gives it a mix of sweet and spicy.
Passion fruit juice may be tricky to track down in some areas, and I hit every single store we regularly shop at to find some. I finally had to give in and buy passion fruit nectar, a sweetened form of passion fruit juice, but I also had to read the labels because almost every brand I could find had high fructose corn syrup. La Fe brand passion fruit nectar was the only one to use regular sugar. Read more
Cider Car Cocktail
As the snow fell and piled up during the now infamous blizzard of December ‘09, I stayed in the kitchen baking cookies and getting ready for Christmas with a mug of hot cider in hand. We like it spiked with spiced rum or cinnamon schnapps with a stick of cinnamon in the mug, but this hot cider cocktail is a variation on the classic sidecar cocktail and has apple brandy and triple sec. The orange flavor from the triple sec works well with the cider and we agreed the cinnamon sugar rimmer is perfect, though we used an orange wedge rather than lime to rim the mug. For a nonalcoholic variation, just add an ounce of orange juice to the hot cider. Read more
Big O Cocktail
Christmas is past, New Year’s Eve is approaching, and whether you host or attend large parties, intimate gatherings, or stay at home with your loved ones, festive drinks are part of the celebration of the new year. We began taste testing new (to us) cocktails over the weekend and will share some of our favorites this week in preparation for New Year’s Eve. Read more
Rhubarb Margarita
I can’t imagine celebrating Cinco de Mayo weekend or enjoying a good Mexican meal without margaritas. My favorite margarita is the classic tequila/Triple Sec/lime juice concoction on the rocks with a bit of salt on the rim, but I’m always up for trying new varieties. This rhubarb margarita from 101 Margaritas by Kim Haasarud intrigued me, especially since we just added three rhubarb plants to our garden and I’m eager to cook with them. Unfortunately they aren’t ready yet, but rhubarb is coming in season and can be found in grocery stores and farmers markets around the country. Read more
Arancello (Orange Liqueur)
March 4, 2009 by Andrea
Filed under Beverages, Italian foods
Last year Michael had a business trip that took him to Naples, Italy for the very first time. Needless to say he was very excited about the trip and sought all sorts of advice on local foods to try, and everyone familiar with the area told him he could not leave Naples without trying the limoncello. He came home from his trip enthused about all the different foods he enjoyed and he was stoked about the limoncello and arancello, but his favorite was the arancello. Listening to him describe the food made me feel a little bit envious, but hopefully someday I’ll have an opportunity to visit the famous city and other parts of Campania.
Arancello/limoncello is a traditional liqueur from Southern Italy, and it’s easy and inexpensive to make, requiring only citrus fruit, vodka or a neutral grain spirit such as Everclear or Gem Clear, sugar, and water. You shave the peel off the oranges and soak them in the alcohol for seven days, strain, then mix with the sugar syrup. The liqueur is usually stored in the freezer but the alcohol content prevents it from freezing solid, so it’s drinkable. The higher alcohol content in neutral grain spirits draws out more of the orange oils than vodka, imparting more flavor to the liqueur; however, neutral grain spirits are not sold in some states and might even be illegal in your state, so check your state’s liquor laws before having a friend run it across the state line for you.
With citrus in season, this is a great time of year to make arancello or limoncello. We keep several bottles on hand in the freezer, and though we enjoy it straight out of a shot glass, our favorite way to sip is with a little half & half poured in, which makes it taste like a very adult Creamsicle. We also tried it with eggnog at Christmas and really enjoyed that combination, and we even made a champagne cocktail with limoncello for New Years Eve. Read more
