#010 OUR BEST VANILLA MARTINI RECIPE

Winter is here and when I think of the holiday season visions of frosty, creamy, coffee cocktails come to mind. Meres and I like to sip delicious martinis in front of a roaring fire so we had to come up with the perfect vanilla martini recipe with that hint of coffee flavor. Make no mistake; this is not your typical dessert cocktail. This holiday martini packs a major bang and is stout enough to bring a little extra bliss to the New Year!

Meres and I are proud to divulge our top secret drink recipe for the Vanilla Haze Martini. The inspiration for combining these particular flavors came together as a result of a wonderful hot coffee drink called the vanilla haze latte. We wanted to recreate the essence of this fabulous warming drink but in the form of a yummy cocktail. The finished product became this festive drink that was reminiscent of winter but delicious enough to be sipped any time of the year. It invokes the tastes of fresh vanilla bean, hazelnut, with a hint of coffee. Enjoy!




Vanilla Haze Martini

1 oz Licor 43
2 oz Vanilla Vodka (we prefer Absolut Vanilia ® )
½ oz Bailey’s Irish Cream ®
½ oz Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur ®
½ oz Frangelico ®
¼ oz Kahlua ®
healthy splash of light cream (half and half may be substituted)
fresh vanilla bean
***optional-hazelnut syrup for rimming the glass

Take the vanilla bean and cut it length wise. Then cut it once more in half. (You’ll save half of the bean as a garnish) With your knife, scrape the inner vanilla bean pod and put aside. Take an ice cold martini glass and rim it with hazelnut syrup. (This is optional) Put the glass back into the freezer until you are ready for pouring in your drink.

Fill a shaker half full of roughly crushed ice cubes. Pour all of the liquid ingredients into the shaker. Put the lid on the shaker and shake briskly for about 10 seconds or until you see frost form on the vessel. Strain the drink into your very chilled martini glass. Take the knife with the moist vanilla bean pods on it and scrape them off into the drink. (This will seriously bump up the vanilla flavor in the most heavenly way!) Use the remaining half of the bean as a garnish. Scrumptious!

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Love everybody in the room,
BlondeMav

#003 POMEGRANATE MARGATINI

Like most couples, Sundays for Mav and me are all about long mornings in bed, prolonging the showering process, mindless television and good cookin’. Of course, mixing the above tranquilizers with a self-concocted depressant never hurts. If you are looking for a nice drink to kick back with on your Sunday… I have your fix.


This will be a quick post because we’re in the process of trying to get our video entertainment online. So, without further ado, the Pomegranate Margatini. As the name implies, this is a martini recipe but it’s one that could totally work over ice.


Complements Food+Wine…
1 ½ ounce Tequila (silver is preferred)
1 ½ ounce Pomegranate juice
1 ounce Triple Sec
2/3 ounce Fresh lime juice

Pour ingredients into a chilled cocktail shaker or tumbler. Show ‘em some arm-to-shoulder action (count this as your Sunday exercise!). Pour into a chilled martini glass rimmed with coarse salt. Garnish with a twist of lime. Take outside. Sip in the sun. Dispense salty and sweet kisses.

Bye.
BlondeMers

Drink Tip #001-ICE-ICE BABY

As you will notice if you have been a prior visitor to our blog, we sometimes submit our own entries. Mers did the last one detailing our creamy & delicious “Blonde on Blonde Action” drink. I thought I’d share with you a little item I found that will keep your drinks extra chilly & really make that glass sweat when you turn up the heat.

For around four bucks I picked up these cute little “aqua cubes”.

It’s simplicity at its finest! Simply pop them in your glass of choice & put it in the freezer. Not only do you get the benefit of the frosty glass but these nifty little faux ice cubes will keep any tasty beverage extra cool. They’re also fun to plunk into one of our delicious martini concoctions to keep it chilled while consuming, yet not watering down the cocktail itself.

You can find these little “delights from the beverage gods” at many department stores. For the low retail price of about 4 dollars it’s certainly a worthy purchase in my humble opinion.

Now go to the fridge, pick out your favorite liqueur, put on some lounge-ish music & have a little libation relaxation!


***Notable-We’ve been promising to venture into the zany world of video bartending. Granted neither my girlfriend nor myself is going to mimic the fine artistry behind the bar as demonstrated by Tom Cruise in the classic film “Cocktail”. However, we believe strongly in our taste buds & therefore think that you will enjoy the beverages in spite of the “modestly skilled” preparation you will soon be able to view. Our video extravaganza is in the works so check back often and please feel free to comment.

Love everybody in the room,

BlondeMav

#001 CARROT CAKE MARTINI

So our blog’s name is a riff on an original drink recipe of ours. It would make sense to start with that drink (we’ll get to it soon) but for this inaugural recipe post, we want to offer something that will have you begging for more. The Carrot Cake Martini will do just that. Admittedly, our recipe was taken from one found through grouprecipes.com. But when you find something this good, you’ve got to share. Hands down, this martini has it all: 1) it’s insanely simple, 2) it’s delicious and impeccably balanced and 3) it’s a bit of an aphrodisiac.

Get ready... to drink:

1 1/2 ounce Vanilla Vodka

1 ounce Butterscotch Liqueur

1/2 ounce Cinnamon Schnapps

Get ready... to rim:

Assorted drink paraphernalia

Cinnamon graham crackers

Granulated sugar

Cream cheese

Get ready... to ravage:

Ready? Set? Go!

1. Fill shaker half full with ice cubes and chips.

2. Add liquor. Nothing fancy here - just measure and pour.

3. Swirl and let stand while preparing martini glass rim.

4. Smear a small amount of cream cheese on the rim of your glass. Press into finely crushed graham and sugar.

5. Get that drink, give it a good shake, strain, pour and enjoy.

Love everybody in the room. Bye.
M&M

LICK-HER BASICS

or a starter guide to OUR bar.

Before we start throwing up drink recipes, we wanted to let you know there are some really quick and easy preparation techniques that we follow.

1. Frost all glasses, both those used for preparation and drinking. We’re talking martini glasses, shot glasses, shakers and highballs. The colder the better, unless it’s in bed with you.

2. Chill most liquors, particularly vodkas and cream-based drinks.

3. Use smaller chips of ice when possible. It’s simple science - a little collision theory at work. The more little pieces sidling up against one another, the more they will hit, chip and melt… and the colder your drink will get.

4. In general, we’re shakers. Not stirrers. (But sometimes we muddle). The key to shaking a great drink is looking for this:

...you want to shake until you get a nice, frosty shaking vessel. And once poured, little frosty swirls should glisten on the surface of your drink.

Unless otherwise noted (and with the obvious exception of hot drinks), all of our recipes will employ these techniques. So if you want to do it just like us (how sweet!) keep these basics in mind.

Love everybody in the room. Bye.

M&M

APERITIF (ACCENT-A-GOOOOO, OMITTED...SORRY!)

Aperitif (n.) [ah-per-i-teef]

1. a small drink of alcoholic liquor taken to stimulate the appetite before a meal.

Hi, first off: thanks for visiting. Given we are new to the world of blogging and haven't promoted this site as of yet, heaven knows what drew you here and what you are expecting. Consider this our aperitif of sorts.

Our full menu of blogging fun (COMING SOON):

• Cocktail recipes: this is really an excuse for us to drink and play at bartending. We hope to post frequent drink recipes, complete with hot, steamy video tutorials showing off our vast superiority in the fine art of mixology (and our complete ignorance in the way of bartending etiquette). But we can promise this: the drinks... will be good. Tasty even. In all seriousness, we'll stand by our recipes. They are tried and true (and most likely being sampled at the time of posting).


• Slice of life: anecdotes, witticisms, and zany antics from our humble home in the heart of Alabama. All delivered in mixed media form and proving blonde, contrary to popular belief, is a synonym for MENSA member.


• Shameless plugs: we have some pretty cool friends. And they are doing some pretty cool things that more people ought to know about. We'll try to reign this in, but from time to time, we hope to throw up some links and musings regarding our favorite people, places and activities.

Love everybody in the room. Bye.

M&M