Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Martini Class

This is March Break here in Ontario - spring break for those of you used to another term. If you've been following my whining here on the blog you know it has been a brutal winter. We were excited about our Martini class on Monday - your Winter Get-away Martini Style'. We really, really, really needed to get away from snow and cold, if even just for a short hour.

The class was offered by the LCBO. For those of you who aren't from Ontario, this is our government run liquor monopoly. It is the largest purchaser of wine and spirits in the world and at the same time it pumps billions of dollars into the government coffers and provides Ontarians with an excellent supply of wine and liquor. Clearly a win, win situation!

The LCBO store near our house is equipped with a large room where they hold tastings and cooking demonstrations three or four times a week. The martini class was to be an hour long and we were to taste 6 martinis. What a get-away!

Now before I am slammed by the 'purists'  . . . we only drank 1 martini. The rest were simply cocktails served in a martini glass. However the term 'martini' is evolving and we should all just get on with it, I say.

I am reminded of my grade 12 geography teacher, Mr Washington. He once asked us to define the word 'rock'. We came up wit all sorts of complicated definitions but never quite got it. Finally, someone asked him what the definition of 'rock' was. His response was: 'something hard that you can pick up and throw at a rabbit.'

In the spirit (no pun intended) of Mr Washington . . . my new definition of Martini is any alcoholic beverage served in a Martini glass.

When we arrived we took our spot. The tasting mats were set with six martini glasses, each one uniquely decorated.

Let the get-away commence!

By the time the class was over we had tried six martinis (not full sized thank goodness), learned some new tips, and had a debate with the alloying man across from Paul over the key ingredient in Chambord.

Classic Martini

2 1/2 oz Premium Gin or Vodka
Splash of Vermouth

Put ingredients into a shaker with ice, for a Gin martini stir (do NOT shake), for a vodka martini shake, until chilled. Pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with an olive or lemon zest.

Kim, the instructor, showed us a trick. She added no vermouth at all to the drink. Rather she soaked the olives in vermouth. After draining them she added one to each glass. this provided for the perfect amount of vermouth.

I confess that I wasn't looking forward to this one. At every martini class we have ever taken this is made, and at every class it is everyone's least favourite. This was the first time I had had one prepared with gin (Bombay Sapphire) and for a change, I liked it!

Orange Star

1 1/2 oz Starbucks Coffee Liqueur
1/2 oz Mandarin Vodka
2 oz cold hazelnut flavoured coffee
1 oz Starbucks Cream Liqueur

Pour ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of orange that has been dipped in melted chocolate.

Key Lime Martini

1 oz Navan Liqueur (a liqueur made with vanilla and cognac)
1 oz melon liqueur
1/2 oz vanilla vodka

Dip the rim of the martini glass in melted white chocolate, then dip into graham cracker crumbs. Chill.

Measure the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a prepared martini glass.

Ras-chocolate Martini

1 oz premium vodka
1 oz creme de cacao (the clear, not the coloured)
1/2 oz raspberry liqueur (we used Chambord)
2 oz raspberry/cranberry cocktail

Measure the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a prepared martini glass.

Garnish with frozen raspberries.

Ocean Blue Martini

1 oz Hpnotiq liqueur
1 oz gold tequila
1/2 oz simple syrup
1 oz lime juice

Measure the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a prepared martini glass.

Garnish with frozen blueberries.

Kim also dipped the glass in Hpnotiq and then in coloured sugar for a festive look.

Chai Cream Martini

1 1/2 oz Voyant liqueur (a new chai tea liqueur)
1/2 oz dark rum
1/2 oz Kahlua

Measure the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a prepared martini glass rimmed with sugar and cinnamon.

Kim dipped the glass into Voyant in order to have the sugar/cinnamon mixture stick.

I don't know which one was my favourite. Paul's favourite was the Orange Star. I enjoyed the Chai Cream and the Ocean Blue.

A highlight for Paul was when he won 4 martini glasses to take home. He couldn't wait to get them home and fill them with a tasty concoction.

All in all it was one heck of a way to forget about winter for awhile!

A Martini for the February Bloggers

Back on January 26th Angie (AKA Tuscanartist), an incredibly talented artist living in Paris, posted this on a slowtravel message board:

Today I decided to blog everyday for a month. Anybody want to join me?

There are a lot of people out there that blog more than me but some do less too. So maybe we can motivate each other in this midwinter. I'm starting today

The group you see listed on the side as the February Bloggers are the folks who accepted the challenge. So starting on February 1st these folks: an Australian, three Canadians, some Americans, an American living in Paris, and a Norwegian living in Baltimore, filled countless hours sharing their thoughts, experiences, and stories on-line. Today, being the last day of February, the challenge is complete.

I confess that I felt a cheat joining in . . . I have blogged every day since January, 02, 2007. However, I am always one to join a party so the group kindly allowed me to join.

In honour of the group's accomplishment, I post a martini recipe which was created by . . . drumroll please . . . me! Like mant good things, it was created by accident. I felt like making a chocolate martini but had no dark chocolate liqueur. I did find some white chocolate liqueur (I know, I know . . . white chocolate isn't really chocolate) which I poured into a shaker with some other indigents.

When I poured it out for Paul he raved 'this is amazing, just like a Banana Cream Pie!'

Now, I don't like banana flavoured drinks as a rule but managed to quaff this back with a smile.

Banana Cream Pie Martini

1 oz Vanilla Vodka
1 oz White Chocolate Liqueur
1 oz Creme de Banana
1/2 oz White Creme de Cacao

Pour over ice in a martini shaker. Shake until well chilled.

Strain into martini glasses.

We garnished the glass with pieces of sliced banana which had been dipped in chocolate.

Cheers to the wonderful February Bloggers, be proud of your accomplishment!

White Chocolate Martini

We haven't had a martini post here for awhile. Now, before the 'martini purists' thrash me about the head, I do understand that there is only one real martini (perhaps two if you can agree upon a vodka or gin version) and that the rest are just cocktails served in a martini glass. There, no need to be critical.

The whole world has been trending to a more expansive definition of the word martini and who am I to go against that flow?

I made these martinis for our Valentine's Dinner last week. Prior to making the martinis I melted some semi-sweet chocolate and drizzled it on the inside of the glass. They were garnished with fresh raspberries.

White Chocolate Martini

1 1/2 oz vanilla vodka
1 oz white chocolate liqueur
1/2 oz white creme de cacao

Combine all ingredients in an ice filled martini shaker. Shake. Strain into a cocktail glass.

French Martini

The key ingredient in this cocktail is Chambord, which is made from black raspberries, honey, vanilla and some herbs. Chambord has been made for about 300 years in France (since 1685) and is a sweet, but tasty liqueur. Chambord is all natural, unlike other synthetically flavour liqueurs and is a very versatile liqueur in cocktails. It is relatively light in alcohol strength, at 23%, and has a  retail price, for a 750ml bottle, of $39 CDN ($36US).

The French Martini was created by the Chambord liqueur company for a world wide promotion. It seems to have worked, and the cocktail is now quite popular. This is what liqueur and spirit companies need to do when creating cocktails. Most spirit companies just take the name of their product and apply it to a long list of classic cocktails. That’s just so boring and unimaginative. But is Chambord’s case, they created a popular cocktail that is original and tied to the product. This is good marketing.

French Martini

2 oz Vodka
½ oz Chambord
2 ½ oz Pineapple Juice

Pack a shaker full of ice and add all ingredients. Shake or stir*. Stain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lime twist.

* I shake because the pineapple juice makes the drink cloudy anyway, and the shaking give the drink a nice light texture because pineapple juice froths nicely.

When the Chambord company was creating the French Martini, it might have been more French to include brandy instead of vodka. One of these days I’ll shake one up with brandy and check out whether it works or not. They probably tried it and decided that for mass appeal and the martini moniker, vodka was the proper choice. For now, if you want to put a little more “french” in your French Martini, use Ciroc vodka which is a grape based vodka (sounds like grappa to me). Or you can use the ubiquitous Grey Goose vodka which is of french origin.

Another good cocktail to make with Chambord is simply adding an ounce to a flute of champagne. This is a much nicer cocktail than a Kir Royale, even though a Kir Royale is a great drink also. It's good to mix thing up every once in a while.

Milky Way Martini

I see that I have been slipping and have not posted a martini recipe for awhile. Now, before the 'martini purists' thrash me about the head, I do understand that there is only one real martini (perhaps two if you can agree upon a vodka or gin version) and that the rest are just cocktails served in a martini glass. There, no need to be critical.

The whole world has been trending to a more expansive definition of the word martini and who am I to go against that flow?

This is a quick and easy drink to pull together. If I were wanting to impress folk, I would rim the glass with melted chocolate or drizzle melted chocolate on the inside of the glass in an interesting pattern. Because I was just pulling these together for Paul and I I didn't much care about the presentation.

Milky Way Martini recipe

2 oz vanilla vodka
2 oz chocolate liqueur
1 oz Irish cream

Combine all ingredients, mix, and serve in a cocktail glass without ice.

Mudslide Martini

a shameless self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest.

Our photo is currently number 16 out of 463 photos.

You can vote by clicking here

Remember a 10 is good!

Feel free to e-mail the link to friends and loved ones!

*smile*

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Paul works in retail. You can imagine what the end of November and December brings for him. Tonight when he came home he was wiped. What was a good spouse to do? Whip up a martini.

Happily there was NOT a repeat of the unfortunate martini incident. However this treat did have him tipsy after three sips. It is safe to say that the craziness of work was soon gone.

1 part Starbucks™ Cream Liqueur
1 part Starbucks™ Coffee Liqueur
½  part ABSOLUT® VANILIA®

Shake ingredients over ice. Serve in a Martini Glass. I garnished the martinis with a chocolate covered malted milk ball that was cut in half. The picture above shows a double - which explains the alcohol-induced tipsiness!

Ice Blue Hpnotiq

a shameless self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest.

Our photo is currently number 18 out of 431 photos.

You can vote by clicking here

Remember a 10 is good!

Feel free to e-mail the link to friends and loved ones!

*smile*

---

It is always time for another drinks post isn't it?

Now before you send me an e-mail . . . I know that the colour above isn't all that blue. I was out of triple sec and substituted Grand Marnier so the addition of the yellowish liqueur made the drink les sof a brillian blue than I had been expecting!

1 oz Hpnotiq
1 oz coconut rum
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz triple sec

Shake with ice, strain into  a martini glass.

Yes, that is a double shown above! hic

Icy Cosmo Martini

a shameless self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest.

Our photo is currently number 17 out of 429 photos.

You can vote by clicking here

Remember a 10 is good!

Feel free to e-mail the link to friends and loved ones!

*smile*

---

We haven't had a nice drink post here for a bit. It is time to do something about that! We enjoyed these martinis last night! I hope that you do as well.

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 1 oz vodka, ½ oz Chambord, the juice of ¼ fresh lemon, and 2 oz cranberry juice. Stir until well chilled and strain into a Martini glass. Sprinkle (garnish) with fresh raspberries.

Be careful, this doesn't taste like it is alcohol, but we discovered that there is a 'wallop' hidden away in the midst of all of that good taste! *smile*

Blue Violet Martini

Yes, I know that this isn't a martini. Martini purists should just mix a cold one and sip it rather than post comments advising me that this isn't a martini recipe *smile*

The other day Paul and I were looking for a nice cool martini recipe to enjoy before dinner. I had three bottles of Hypnotiq to use up so I googled Hypnotiq recipes and this was one of the ones that came up. I mixed up two doubles and we happily sipped away.

I didn't have any fresh blackberries but I did have some organic ones form Whole Foods in the freezer. I just added the frozen berries to the finished drink as a sort of natural ice cube.

I am happy to report that there was no silliness as reported here!

Cheers!

Recipe provided by Crystal Therrien, assistant bar manager, Whiskey, Green Valley Ranch, Las Vegas.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ounce Hpnotiq
• 1/2 ounce Chambord
• 1 ounce Absolut Raspberri
• splash of pineapple juice
• 3 blackberries

PREPARATION:

In an ice-filled mixing glass, combine Hypnotiq, Chambord, Absolut and juice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with skewered blackberries.

Sunday Night Dinner

We haven't had the pleasure of mom's company for dinner on Sunday night for a few weeks as she has been under the weather with a bad bronchial infection. Today she felt well enough to leave the house so we invited her over for a dinner inspired by the cooking class we enjoyed earlier this week.

Paul and I started off with a blender of our favourite 'summer drink' of the moment . . . Bananas on the Side. The recipe is simple:

1/2 cup Banana Liqueur
1/2 cup Mango Rum
2 cups tropical fruit juice blend

Place all the ingredients in a blender with ice and blend until creamy. You can make ice cubes out of the juice so that you do not water down the drink as the ice melts.

The drink is light and refreshing!

It must be good because Paul had 4 and promptly turned beet red (alcohol does that to him).

Mom and Paul enjoyed a cheese tray that Paul had put together while I grilled the next course. Paul is quite good at the cheese course. He puts out a nice variety of cheese, dried cranberries, candied Spanish walnuts, pecans, an assortment of crackers and flat breads, and some sort of tart jelly. Tonight it was Fabia's Berry Blast (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and jalapeno peppers) . I think mom overdid it on the cheese!

The first course was a simple one. Grilled figs wrapped in prosciutto. All you do is wrap a fresh fig with a slice of prosciutto. I did three this way and for the other three I cut the figs almost from top to bottom and inserted a piece of Gorgonzola dolce in the centre, closed it up again, and wrapped it with prosciutto. You just lightly brush them with oil and grill them until the prosciutto is slightly crisped.

I served them with a balsamic reduction. We each got two - one with the melted Gorgonzola dolce in the centre and one plain.

The main course was a grilled beef tenderloin steak served on a bed of sauteed mushrooms, leeks, and shallots. I served it with roasted fingerling potatoes and sauteed rainbow chard and fiddle heads. I have never had chard before but it always looks so interesting in the store that I decided to buy some and enjoy it - I am so glad I did because it was wonderful!

   

The chef at the cooking class showed us how to garnish the plate by placing a 'salad' of baby lettuces/sprouts on top of the steak. I bought the mixture of pea, onion, beet, and broccoli sprouts at the market and mixed them with a bit of olive oil and some red wine vinegar which had been infused with rosemary. Yum - a simple but elegant way to finish off the dish.

While everyone relaxed I made dessert. It was the same dessert from the cooking class: Strawberries with Ice Wine Sabayon. The sabayon was not as difficult to make as I had anticipated it would be. I think I used too much ice wine, the recipe called for 1/2 a bottle but ice wine comes in a multitude of shaped bottles, all with a different volume. Grrr Oh well, now I shall have to experiment. Don't get me wrong though - it was still amazing but had more of a kick than I remembered.

I served it in a large martini glass and tucked in a Ossi dei Morti that Paul had bought me for our anniversary. They were really good dipped into the sabayon!