Sidecar Cocktail- An old classic for a reason!

It's New Year's eve and it's time for a classic cocktail!

It's funny because I'd always heard of this cocktail but never tried one.  We were recently on a cruise, and the drinks were included for "free". As I waited patiently at the bar to get our drinks, a young gal next to me started chatting about what my favorite drinks were so far. So far?  Heck, I'd been drinking the prosseco and not much else. She told me that she and her boyfriend were working their way through the cocktail menu... omg, how smart is she?  She mentioned her faves and we parted ways.  When I got back to our 'game table' with our buddies, I started to peruse the cocktail menu.  A Sidecar?  Hmmmm.... anything with Grand Marnier is good with me, so I tried one. WOW!  I love them!  

We've been home over the holidays and since it was New Year's Eve, started talking about having a cocktail.  We searched through the liquor cabinet, looking for brandy with no avail. However, we did find an almost empty Courvoisier bottle. Perfect! Cognac is a type of French brandy. 

Please note, some recipes call for Triple Sec instead of Grand Marnier. Both are mostly citrus liqueurs but I whole-heartedly recommend the Grand Marnier instead!  

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

1 jigger cognac, or brandy 

1/2 jigger Grand Marnier, or Cointreau

1/4 jigger of lemon juice (i used a 1/2 jigger, as i like it sour)

You can pour this over ice in a martini shaker and drink it 'straight up' like I have photographed, but it is also delicious over ice in a double .  A sugared rim is traditional for a Sidecar, but I skipped that here. 

A jigger is one of those metal measuring cups that bartenders use, but any measuring cup would work, just keep the ratios. I easily doubled this recipe....2 jiggers brandy, 1 jigger Grand Marnier and 1 jigger lemon juice.

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Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs

It's been a while since I updated my blog, but lately I have been feeling inspired again! These eggs are spicy and delicious, I highly recommend.

Last Friday I did a Cabi party at a friend's house and she did these marvelous Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs.  Now, I am not always a fan of Deviled Eggs, but these were fantastic.  I knew I had to make them for a family function today!  Here's the link I used, but I did take some poetic license and change up a couple things.

One note, without getting into the Mayo vs. Miracle Whip debate... if  you like your eggs sweeter you can use Miracle Whip, but if you want tangy/no sweetness, then use mayo.

These eggs went really, really fast at the function today. Someone people weren't paying attention and did not get one. LOL!

I forgot to picture the Old Bay Seasoning below...

Make 24 pieces
Ingredients:

12 eggs, hard-boiled

1/3-1/2 cup mayo

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp. horseradish

Juice of 1/2 a lemon, or 1 1/2 Tbsp pickle juice

2 tsp. hot sauce

1/2 tsp. celery salt

Salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp. old bay seasoning

Garnish Ideas:

Pickled Coins, sliced olives and/or capers, for garnish 

Celery leaves

Place eggs in a large pot and cover with about an inch of water. Place pot on stove and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and cover with lid. Let sit for 11 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs from pan and place in a bowl of ice water. OR, use my link on Perfect Hardboiled Eggs

When cool enough to handle, peel eggs. If possible at this point after the eggs are peeled, refrigerate the eggs for a couple hours or overnight.  Sometimes if the eggs are a little warm, the egg whites can break or split. When chilled, cut eggs in half. Scoop yolks out and place in a medium bowl.

In the bowl with yolks, add mayonnaise, tomato paste, horseradish, lemon or pickle juice, hot sauce, and celery salt and mix until well combined (I had to use my stick blender to get them smooth, but people probably won't care if they are lumpy). Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a piping bag.

Place old bay seasoning on a small plate and press cut side of eggs into seasoning. Place eggs on a plate and pipe filling onto each egg. Top with a pickle or olive slice and celery leaves as garnish.

Don’t have any Old Bay seasoning?  Here’s a recipe that is pretty close!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons celery salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 pinch dry mustard

1 pinch ground nutmeg

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St Germain Manhattan

Tis the season to be jolly, right?

I've been a little remiss lately and it has been a couple months since I last posted.  You know, sometimes has a way of getting in the way of things we like to do.  We all get busy, but always remember to do the things that give you joy.  LOL, that is blogging and making cocktails for friends and family too.  This is the perfect time of the year to do that.

Manhattan's are always yummy, but this one has a great "light" twist by using dry vermouth and St. Germain.  I highly recommend this one.  I intend to make some more of these, but I am going to have to head to the liquor store to pick up my single most favorite liqueur of all time, St. Germain.

Have a safe and fun New Year's. I wish you health, happiness and joy in 2018.

Makes 1 (but easy to double)
Ingredients

2 parts Bourbon
1 part St. Germain (elder flower liqueur)
1/2 part dry vermouth (or dry white wine works too)
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Garnish with maraschino cherry or orange twist and serve over ice, or straight up in a martini glass.  This is a strong drink... so I like the way the ice mellows it.

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Gingerbread Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yum, gingerbread is one of my favorites!  
These are moist and so tasty, it will make regular gingerbread pale in comparison.  I may need to make another batch before Christmas. 
  

I found this recipe on this site, and my only suggested change is to cut the icing recipe in half.  It's delicious, but it made too much. These bars are good enough that they don't have to have the icing at all, powdered sugar would be enough. 
Leftover icing... you can use it on another batch of cookies, or spread it on gingersnaps or graham crackers.

Serves: 24 bars

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg, well beaten 
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger 
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Cream Cheese Frosting: (or just dust with powdered sugar)
½ cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 lb (3¾ cups) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and molasses on medium speed until creamy.

Add the egg and stir until completely incorporated. Add flour, spices, and salt and mix until well combined.  It's a somewhat thick dough, but easy enough to pat down in the pan with a spatula or your fingers.

Spread dough into prepared pan, using clean hands or a rubber spatula to press the dough to the edges of the pan. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes; do not overbake! If the edges puff up, push down with your fingers while it is cooling, that will make a nice evenly flat bunch of gingerbread bars.

Cool in a pan with a wire rack.

When bars have cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting or dust lightly with powdered sugar. They are delicious with nothing on them! Cut into squares and serve.

For the frosting: Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Slowly mix on low and then beat it on high until fluffy.

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Chambord "Christmas" Margarita

Ho, ho, ho.
Christmas says Mexican food to me.
Actually anytime says Mexican food to me!  Hahaha.
This is a beautiful, festive drink that is tangy and tasty but not too sweet!  We had this with some simple tacos for dinner last night, but it would be a nice cocktail for a holiday get together too.

Serves 2 big margaritas (with refills)  Or, maybe 4 normal size margaritas...

Ingredients

6oz tequila

3oz fresh lime juice, plus some for garnish

2oz simple syrup

2oz chambord
2 oz cranberry juice
 

Sweet, Salty Lime margarita salt:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup salt

zest of 1 lime

Fill a blender with about 3 cups of ice.  Add tequila, lime juice, simple syrup, cranberry juice and Chambord and blend until smooth.  If needed for thicker margaritas, add more ice. Place salty and sweet lime margarita salt in a shallow dish then run a lime wedge around the rim of 2 cocktail glasses and dunk into lime sugar. Fill glasses with margaritas, garnish with a lime wheel, or wedge, and serve.













For the salty and sweet lime margarita salt: Add sugar, salt, and lime zest to a food processor or blender then process until smooth. You will have leftover margarita salt, but it will last a long time.  I must admit, I tossed a teaspoon into my salsa too.  

My view from my chair last night.  You can see I need to buy more Christmas china, haha.

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Chocolate Salamé

Easiest Italian "no bake" cookies around!
Plus, what fun to fool your guests with this around the holidays.
There are many versions of chocolate salami, some including nuts and dried fruit, but I liked this simple version taught to me by a darling Italian exchange student, Giulia. She gave me the recipe in the grams, which is easy enough to do with a kitchen scale.  Measuring by weight is much more accurate than measuring cups, so if you have a scale, give it a try.

This is a crunchy fudgy goodness to enjoy.

Makes 1 roll about 10 inches long
Ingredients

2 cups (300 gram) biscuits (plain butter cookies)
2/3 cup (150 gram) butter
1/2 cup (100 gram) sugar
1 cup (200 gram) cocoa powder
2 egg yolks
Dash of rum
Powdered sugar for dusting

Break the biscuits (cookies) into little pieces.
Melt the butter.
Separate the eggs, you will use the yolks only.  Save the whites for something else...
Put the biscuits, the sugar, the butter, cocoa powder and yolks into a bowl.  
Mix all together
Shape and roll your salamé into a long tube.  Chill for about 1 hour.
Dust with powdered sugar
Remove from fridge and let sit for about 30 minutes before slicing and eating.

NOTE- This recipe is traditionally made with uncooked egg yolks, much like tiramisu.  Do don't feed this to the very young, the very old and anyone who is pregnant to be on the safe side, who can all be at more risk to salmonella.  However, you can buy eggs pasteurized in the shell, as the USDA says, “In-shell pasteurized eggs may be used safely without cooking."

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