Miz Chef

Cooking Up a Healthy Life

Tag Archives: beverage


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Apple Cocktail

Listen, it’s just been too damn hot to cook. The dog days of summer are upon us. Temperatures are making the mercury in (old school) thermometers cry, and you could fry your entire breakfast on the streets. Understandably, you don’t want to be in the kitchen for any longer than it takes to pour a glass of lemonade.

But most people don’t seem to have a problem spending a few minutes pressing a button on a blender for a nice, frothy, alcoholic beverage With the promise of a delicious fruit-based libation, spending that time at the kitchen counter will be worth it, especially with a recipe as easy as this one.

For this recipe, I used a premade fruit puree by Perfect Puree, but there are other brands of purees out there. There are many different flavors and they’re nice to have around for summertime beverages, as well as desserts and savory dishes. You can keep them in your refrigerator for short-term use, or the freezer for long-term storage. However, if you can’t get your hands on these purees, you can make your own. For this recipe, simply peel and seed a green apple.

Apple Cocktail

Makes 2 cocktails.

2 oz. green apple puree
4 oz. apple rum
ice
Garnish: Sliced apples (optional)

Combing the puree and rum in a blender. Add a few ice cubes and puree. Pour into 2 martini glasses. Garnish the edge of the glasses with apple slices.

Enjoy!

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Watermelon Lovely

It would seem I’m on a watermelon kick (last time, I did a recipe for watermelon pickles). But that’s what happens when you buy a big watermelon and are the only one eating it. You find different ways to use it.

This week, I offer you a refreshing drink with a kick to it. I call it Watermelon Lovely because it truly is lovely to look at. It’s very easy to throw together, and it makes the perfect summer libation.

Enjoy!

Watermelon Lovely

3 cups chopped, seeded watermelon, preferably cold
2 tablespoons dark or light rum (more if you want it stronger)
2 tablespoons Amaretto di Saronno (more if you want it sweeter)

Garnishes*Puree the watermelon. You should get approximately 2 cups.

Pour the liquid into a pitcher or something large enough to mix other ingredients into it. If it’s not already cold, add ice cubes, chill it, and then strain it.

Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour into 2 glasses and serve.

*If you like, you can decorate the rim of the glasses with colored sugar, crystallized herbs (that’s basil in the picture), or chunks of fruit.


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Guava Cocktail

IMG_5351Last week, I made guava puree from fresh guavas that I had found at the market and made guava quesadillas. I had plenty of puree leftover and promised you a guava cocktail. So now I’m delivering.

Guava puree makes for a complexly flavored drink, but also a sweet drink. So, if you prefer your drinks less sweet, you may want to cut back on the guava. Increasing the amount of rum—as good as that sounds—won’t cut the sweetness—it will just make a really strong drink!

I had purchased (unknowingly) white guavas instead of pink ones. If you get white guavas, you might want to throw in a bit of grenadine for a deliciously red color. The pictures you see here were taken before the grenadine. I stirred some in later and decided that I liked it, but it was too late for photos.

So, while the summer is hanging on by thread and guavas are still appearing at the market, grab some and try this drink. For the rest of the year, use guava paste, which I discuss HERE.

Enjoy!

Guava CocktailIMG_5344

2/3 cup guava puree
½ cup spiced rum
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon grenadine
Garnish: orange slices and/or mint sprigs

Place all the ingredients in a blender, along with a few ice cubes. Blend until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses and garnish with an orange slice and/or a sprig of mint.

Makes 2 cocktails.

IMG_5349

 


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Apple Cider Special

Apple cider drinkIt’s the last weekend before Christmas. For many of you, the tree’s been trimmed, the stockings have been hung by the chimney with care, the presents are wrapped and waiting under the tree, and the cookies for Santa have been baked. For many of you, this frenzy will continue for the next few days until Santa Claus is on the radar over Singapore.

For both of these groups of people—and even for those who don’t like Christmas and feel that it’s a time of year you must endure—the best thing I could think to off this week is an alcoholic beverage.

Apple cider is everywhere this time of year and it’s not unknown to add a dash or whiskey of bourbon to enhance its qualities. I thought I’d try something slightly different: apple cider, gold rum, and apricot brandy.

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Put de Lime in de Coconut

If you’re still looking for a cool, refreshing, but yummy drink to serve at your IMAG1802Memorial Day picnic or barbecue, look no further. I’ve got you covered right here.

I had this little bottle of coconut vodka that I wanted to use, and while I was out shopping the other day, I came across one of those coconut juice drinks with the little pieces of coconut in it. Hmm, I said to myself. I think this would be a great mixer for that coconut vodka.

And that’s what I did. I poured the vodka over a little ice and added the coconut drink. It was okay but it needed something. So I squeezed in some lime. That was it. Let me tell you, coconuts and limes are often paired together for a reason! They’re like Antony and Cleopatra, beans and rice, Abbott and Costello—they just belong together (well, at least the beans and rice and Abbott and Costello).

So, here’s my recipe for a Coconutty-Limey Drink. It serves one but can be batched, and it works well with coconut rum, too.IMAG1808

Coconutty-Limey Drink

2 oz. coconut vodka (or rum)
1 1/4 cups coconut juice drink with pulp
2 wedges from a medium lime

Place a couple of ice cubes in a glass. Pour in the vodka and coconut drink. Squeeze in the juice from one wedge of lime. Squeeze in the juice from the other wedge and add the wedge to the glass Serve.

 

 


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Apple-Bottom Drinks

A few weeks ago, I bought apple slices canned in syrup. I used the apples in apple corn muffins (recipe HERE) and saved the syrup (because of its sugar content, it can stay quite a while in the refrigerator).IMG_2512

One of my suggestions for the leftover syrup was to make drinks with it. I finally had a opportunity to try a couple out. I must say, they turned out deliciously, so I wanted to share them with you.

If you can’t find canned apples in syrup, you can make your own: Slice 2 apples and place them in a small saucepan with 1 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar. Bring to a boil; lower the heat and let simmer about 20 minutes, covered. Then strain the liquid out over a small bowl.IMG_2802

So here are my successful apple syrup recipes. Both make 1 serving.

Spiced Apple Shooter

1 ounce Captain Morgan rum
1 tablespoon apple syrup (strained)
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients, except cinnamon stick, in a shaker with ice. Strain out into a shot glass. Place the cinnamon in the glass and serve.

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Spiced Apple Shooter

Apple-Cacao Aperitif

1 ounce white rum
1 ounce white crème de cacao
1 tablespoon apple syrup (strained)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Lemon zest

Combine all ingredients, except zest, in a shaker with ice. Strain into a small aperitif or cocktail glass.

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Apple-Cacao Aperitif

 


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Cucumber Mango Mint Shooter

I can’t believe it, but tomorrow is Labor Day. This summer was a non-summer, what with all the rain and cold days. Then again, there have been some gorgeous weekends recently, so I guess it wasn’t all bad.

Doesn’t change the fact that the summer is over. I can hear the Friday night fireworks at Coney Island from my house and this past Friday was the last one of the season. When I hear that final, cacophonous thunder that marks the end of not only of the week’s display but of the summer’s, it always makes me a little sad.

Cucumber Mango Mint Shooter

Cucumber Mango Mint Shooter

But Americans do not go gently into that goodbye of summer. Labor Day means picnics, barbecues, beach parties, and lots of food and fun. And I have just the cocktail to go with it all. It makes use of summer goodies, like cucumber, mango, and mint, but it makes a great cocktail for the coming holidays, too. And because cucumber and mint are also considered a restorative and a digestive, respectively, it makes a great after-dinner cocktail for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Cheers!

Cucumber Mango Mint Shooter

Makes 4.

1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 mango, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon mint leaves
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon lime juice
¼ cup melon liqueur
4 mint sprigs (optional)

1. Place cucumber, mango, mint, maple syrup, and lime juice in a food processor or blender. Process until fully pureed.

2. Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Pour mixture into strainer and let it drip through. Press down on pulp with a rubber spatula to strain as much liquid out as possible. Whisk in  liqueur.

3. Pour into shot glasses, top with mint sprig, and serve.