Cocktail recipe: Blueberry infused vodka and lemonade

Chicago is almost at summer temps. Today was 90 degrees! Tomorrow will be 70, which is more my style. However, one good thing about hot, hot temperatures now- we have a grill!! That's right, instead of heating up our whole apartment with cooking we can take it outside. So, we invited a friend over for some turkey burgers and I made a special cocktail for the occasion- blueberry infused vodka and lemonade.

Keith got me this nifty gift that will allow you to infuse any liquid with any fruit/herb. We have made some pretty delicious combos- my favorite was blood orange blueberry and tangerine lavender. This time I went for simple, just good old blueberries.

First rinse the blueberries, then take a small handful and put it into the bottom of the infuser.

After that put the lid on, by put on the lid you actually grind up the fruit and make it into a juice.

Attached the bottom to the top of the infuser, and pour in your choice of beverage. This time we picked vodka. You can use anything though- lemonade, wine, water, etc.

Next step is Keith's favorite- SHAKE IT

After making sure it's good and mixed (about three minutes) Put it in the fridge for an hour minimum. We mixed it with some freshly squeezed lemonade I happened to pick up at the grocery store and there you have it, a fresh cocktail for a hot summer day.

It comes out a bit more pink that you would think, but that's just the blueberry juices mixed with the yellow lemonade. Go figure. Anyway, stay cool out there, drink responsibly and happy summer!!!

Recipe: Chocolate Mint Martini

Last night, I was in the mood to make a cocktail. Although, recently I have decided to give up booze for a bit, I decided to make one for Keith. I pounded over all of our choices- we have a pretty well stocked bar, but not as many mixers. So I evaluated what we had and decided for a pretty easy- but strong- drink called the chocolate mint martini. I also topped it off with a thin mint cookie, which we are slowly eating all of the cookies in our household and will not be replacing them. (ugh, time to lose weight!) 

Here is my recipe for this easy cocktail:

• 1/2 ounce of creme de menthe
• 1/2 ounce of creme de cacao 
• 1 ounce vodka

Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice for over 15 seconds. Strain and pour into a martini glass (or cocktail glass in our case) Serve. Enjoy responsibly.

I hope you like this cocktail and are looking forward to more blog posts. There are good things in the works, including a room renovation and recipes I want to share.

Have a great weekend!

Travel bug and tea cocktail recipe

Recently, I have been feeling the urge to travel. It's getting bad enough that I am daydreaming and planning these trips that we can't really afford to go on  right now. You know, a whirlwind four week vacation around the UK and Ireland. Not going to happen any time soon. I suppose it's because I have been reflecting a lot about my 20s, with a "big" birthday less then a week away. One of the highlights was my bout in Scotland. I adored it and now I want to go back and see more of the UK, and especially Scotland. And I want to go back with Keith.

I started drinking tea while I worked at a museum there. It was a nice way to stop what I was doing and take a quick break with some co-workers. So, I got to love black tea with cream and some sugar. Since leaving, I only drink black tea now- nothing added. I drink tea everyday, and I just adore it so much. The other day, I wanted some tea with an extra kick- so I tried this recipe. and man, did it not disappoint.

I give you: The Tea Cocktail

First things first- cut up about 5-7 strawberries and put them in a mason jar. Add one cup of vodka and give it a quick shake. Add a teabag into the strawberries and vodka- any flavor. I used black tea one time, and the next time I used cinnamon and vanilla black tea and it was delicious.  Let this steep for about an hour. 

Once that hour is almost up, start juicing some lemons to make freshly squeezed lemon juice. You need one cup, which turned out to be 2.5 lemons, although that might vary. Pour the one cup of lemonade into a pitcher and add 1/4 cup of sugar to sweeten. Stir.

After the hour of brewing, remove tea bag and throw away. Then pour the vodka/tea/strawberry mixture into the pitcher with lemon juice and sugar. Stir to mix everything up. Pour over ice and then add seltzer water to top off the drink. This mixture should make four cups.

This drink is good. Very refreshing. The tea is very tasty and perfect for a tea lover. But it is a bit strong, just remember to drink responsibly.

Happy making!

Recipe: Butterbeer [Guest Blog Post]

Greetings and salutations dear readers! This is the M.P.'s first official guest blog post. My name is Keith Hand and I just so happen to be married to the M.P.'s very own Jenn. Many of the recipes you have seen on this site come out of Jenn and I trying new things. The following recipe came out of our honeymoon trip to Universal's Islands of Adventure. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you: Butterbeer!

I pieced this recipe together from numerous sources online and modified it to make it easier to make individual servings.

BUTTERBEER

Tools

• A mixing bowl
• A whisk
• A 1 teaspoon measuring spoon
• A 1 cup measuring cup

Ingredients - Whipped Cream

• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 7 oz marshmallow fluff

Ingredients - Butterbeer

• 1 teaspoon of Butter Extract
• 1 teaspoon of Rum Extract
• 12 oz bottle of Cream Soda
• Optional - Whipped Cream Vodka (maybe butterscotch?)

Once you have all of your ingredients and tools together I would recommend starting with the whipped cream topping... because whipped cream is delicious. This recipe will make enough for numerous servings of butterbeer, but I am sure you could figure out other things that need to be topped with it if you don't want that many.

TOPPING

You are going to want to add the heavy whipping cream [1 Cup] and the marshmallow fluff [7 oz] in the mixing bowl. Then you are going to whisk that bad boy until it becomes delicious whipped cream. This can take a while.

You start with this splashy mess.

 You end with pure, unadulterated heaven.

THE BUTTERBEER

To make an individual serving you are going to start with the extracts. Add the butter extract [1 tsp] and rum extract [1 tsp] to a cup (preferably a souvenir Butterbeer mug from Universal).

 Then slowly pour in the cream soda [12 oz bottle].

 If you want you can add in some whipped cream vodka [1 oz to a butt-load].

At this point you are going to want to slowly stir the beverage to preserve the carbonation. Then dollop the whipped cream topping onto the Butterbeer. I would also recommend trying a 1-3 spoonfulls of the topping first.

ENJOY!

Recipe: Pimms' Cup

So, I have a friend who swears by Pimms no. 1. I have never tried it before. I think the only time I really even considered purchasing it, was in this small booze shop in Scotland when I lived there and I was looking at things I had no idea what it was. After passing it for a small, teeny whiskey bottle which was gross, I kind of forgot about it until recently. Keith got me a book, which mentioned Pimms and I decided it was time to try it.

I know, Pimms is suppose to be a more summery drink. That being said, it was in the mid-40s yesterday!! 40S!!! So, of course after walking around without a coat on, it felt like summer. Keith and I whipped up a few Pimms' Cups.

Here's how:

1 and a half ounces of Pimms No. 1
A lemon Lime soda

Ready? It's so hard.... Mix them in a cup. We added an ice cube and some mint and cucumber for garnish. Then enjoy responsibly.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season! My resolution is to post more in the new year, so let's hope I stick to it!

Red Hot Chata Drink Recipe

I haven't posted for a week. That is my fault, I got sidelined by Keith's birthday and various other projects. I am trying to finish up summer projects and getting ready to tie the knot in mid September, so things can be a bit hectic. So, I decided to write a quick recipe post for a delicious drink that we discovered. This recipe is something I picked up a few weeks ago. I made one for Keith and he really liked it. It's a cinnamon based drink. Okay, ready?

First off, gather your supplies. For this drink recipe you will need ice, a shaker, cocktail cup, and ground cinnamon. You will also need a horchata flavored drink- Rum Chata in our case. And a cinnamon whiskey drink- Fireball in our case.

Place a few ice cubes in the shaker. Then mix in the whiskey and the horchata drink. We put in a ratio of 1 shot of whiskey for two of the horchata. The whiskey's coloring make it a weird color until its mixed...

But the lid on your shaker and shake well. Please don't mind the bad nail painting job, or the nerdy shaker.

Place a few ice cubes in your favorite cocktail glass. I got this one for Keith awhile ago. Anyway, back on topic, strain the drink with your shaker and pour into cup.

Sprinkle come ground cinnamon on top. and finally, ENJOY! 

We are still figuring this blog out, so please hang with us while our photos and recipes improve. I hope you like our first one. It's pretty delicious, however drink responsibly.