Ice cream, sorbet, and TWD scones

This is going to be really short, unfortunately, because it's late and I'm just now getting a chance to sit down and blog. Busy day! Let me just do a quick recap, then I'm off to bed.



I'll start with the TWD scones. They're awesome! Since I'm trying to not eat dairy, and Brad doesn't care for dried apples, I just made cranberry scones instead. Some of the changes I made:

I soaked some Craisins in hot water to plump them up, instead of dried apples
I omitted the cheddar cheese
I used soy milk with vinegar in place of the buttermilk, and a mixture of soy milk and water instead of apple juice,
Instead of an egg, I used 1 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp water, and an additional 1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder,
Instead of butter, I used all-vegetable shortening.

It worked really well! Brad, his mom, and the kids all loved them! I'm still amazed that the egg and buttermilk replacements worked that seamlessly in this recipe. And I absolutely love what the little bit of cornmeal added to the scones! I never would have thought to include that!



I give these scones a huge thumbs up! Woohoo!

Next let's move on to the frozen desserts I made yesterday and today. I ended up not bringing the vanilla custard to work to make ice cream, because it separated and was all weird this morning when I got it out of the fridge. I did bring the pineapple-orange-ginger sorbet, though, and it turned out beautifully! So yummy! Brad bought an ice cream maker on the way home today (after not being able to find one yesterday), and I put the custard in to freeze. I didn't eat it because of the whole dairy thing, but the kids loved it. Hooray!



The sorbet is by far my favorite, though. The orange and pineapple are so fruity and tropical, and the little bit of ginger I added really enhanced the flavors and gave it a nice kick. I love this stuff! But I did that one better. I put it in a glass like so:



...and the I topped it off with Malibu coconut rum. Oh, baby! What an incredible drink! I may have to just keep some sorbet on hand all the time so I can have one of these whenever I want. YUM!



Off to bed for this tired girl. Good night!

Sonic for grown-ups

Cherry Limeades from Sonic are one of my new favorite things. They're so refreshing and yummy, and it's great that they have a lo-cal diet cherry limeade, too. Nice!

When we were sipping on some a few weeks ago, Brad said he'd like to try making a cocktail version of one sometime, so here it is! It's so good! I'll admit that I'm totally a girly drinker. I don't like beer (after a bad experience at a Navy command party with two kegs 5 years ago. Oops.), and I like my alcohol sweet and fruity, so this drink is right up my alley.



Now all that remains is to come up with a name. What do you think we should call it? Cherry Bomb? It'll Fuck You Up Cherry Limeade? Supersonic Cherry Limeade? Come on, folks, give me your suggestions!

The Yet To Be Named Cocktail

2 oz light rum
Sprite
1/4 cup cherry juice (not concentrate)
1/4 lime, juiced
2 to 3 tsp maraschino cherry syrup

In a tall glass filled with ice, add rum, then fill to within 1 inch of the top with Sprite. Add cherry juice, lime juice, and cherry syrup. Stir to combine. Garnish with a lime wedge and a maraschino cherry. Serve immediately.

Yield: 1 large or 2 small cocktails

Sangria

Sangria

Fruit: at minimum, 2 oranges (one sliced, one squeezed), 1 apple and 1 lemon (sliced). Sliced peaches, bananas, pears or melon are also good.
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup Triple Sec
1 bottle cheap red wine
1 stick cinnamon, if desired

Mix fruit with sugar and Triple Sec; add wine. Add cinnamon stick, if desired. Let sit for at least 2 hours.

Optional: Before serving, add 1 cup 7-Up, Sprite or club soda, or 1/2 cup brandy.

Pomegranate Martinis

I had a delicious pomegranate martini at J. Alexander's last weekend.  They make them with pomegranate-infused vodka, pomegranate juice, and fresh squeezed lemons and oranges, and were so yummy.  I asked Brad to try to recreate one for me this evening, and this is what he came up with.  We only had limes on hand, no lemons or oranges, but it was really good!  Sort of like a pomegranate Cosmo.

These measurements are approximate, as Brad just gave me a rough guess of how much he used, so feel free to adjust the ingredients to suit your taste.

Pomegranate Martinis

4 oz vodka
8 oz pomegranate juice
juice of 1 lime

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.  Shake thoroughly, strain and serve.  This makes enough to fill 2 to 3 martini glasses.

Limoncello

This takes about a month from start to finish, but it's worth the effort! Maximize your efforts and make a double or triple batch.

10 lemons
1 liter vodka
3 cups white sugar
4 cups water

Zest the lemons, and place zest into a large glass bottle or jar. Pour in vodka. Cover loosely and let infuse for one week at room temperature.

After one week, combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. DO NOT STIR. Boil for 15 minutes. Allow syrup to cool to room temperature.

Stir vodka mixture into syrup. Strain into glass bottles, and seal each bottle with a cork. Let mixture age for 2 weeks at room temperature.

Place bottled liqueur into the freezer. When icy cold, serve in chilled vodka glasses or shot glasses.

Champagne Punch

6 cups cranberry juice cocktail
2 cups orange juice
2 bottles champagne
1 bottle club soda

Combine all ingredients except champagne. Chill well, and pour into a punch bowl. Add champagne. Serves 20.

Appletinis

1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup vodka
1 cup apple juice
1 cup apple liqueur (such as Sour Apple Pucker)
Crushed ice

Combine water and sugar in a glass measuring cup. Microwave at HIGH 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring once; cool. Combine sugar mixture, vodka, juice and liqueur in a pitcher; stir to combine.

Place crushed ice in a martini shaker. Add vodka mixture to martini shaker in batches; shake well to chill. Strain about ½ cup vodka mixture in shaker into each of 10 glasses; repeat procedure with remaining vodka mixture, refilling ice as necessary. Serve immediately. Yield: 10 martinis.

Frozen Mojito Slushes

For every 4 slushes, you will need:
1 pint lime sorbet or 1 can lime ade from frozen juice section
8 shots light rum
1/2 cup mint leaves
1 tray ice cubes

In a blender, combine 1/2 pint sorbet or 1/2 can of lime ade with 4 shots of rum, 1/4 cup mint leaves and 1/2 tray of ice. Pulse, then blend on high until lime-mint slush is smooth.

Pour drinks into 2 large cocktail glasses using a long handled spoon and repeat with remaining ingredients.

Friendship Tea

2 c. dry Tang
1 ¼ c sugar
¾ c instant tea (unsweetened)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves

Combine all ingredients and store in airtight containers. Use 2 teaspoon of Russian tea mix to one cup of boiling water.

For a Mad Russian, add one jigger of brandy.

Cranberry Punch

1 quart cranberry juice
1 quart orange juice
1 quart club soda
1 1/2 cups vodka, (optional)
Fresh fruit or ice ring

Combine juices, soda, and vodka, if desired, in a punch bowl. Add fruit for garnish.

Hot Buttered Rum

AKA "That Cheryl Fox Drink"

1 lb butter, softened
1 lb powdered sugar
1 lb brown sugar
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened

Combine butter, powdered sugar and brown sugar; beat well, until light and creamy. Blend softened ice cream into butter mixture.

For each drink, add 1 Tbsp batter into a mug, and add 1 jigger of dark rum. Fill cup with hot boiling water and stir well. Top with fresh nutmeg and serve immediately.

Rum Punch

3 tablespoons bottled Whiskey-sour mix or fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons unsweetened pineapple juice
2 teaspoons light rum
2 teaspoons Di Saronno or other amaretto
Splash grenadine
1 tablespoon Myer's or other dark rum
Garnish: Maraschino cherry and an orange wedge

In a glass filled with ice stir together all ingredients except rum. Top off drink with rum. Garnish with cherry and orange.