Day 12: White Christmas (We'll follow the old man)

The Grasshopper Martini. I'd like to preface this story by saying that in Ontario you only have to be 19 to drink...

When I was younger it was just my mom and I home for Christmas. My parents were divorced and my brothers were much older than I and had already left home. On Christmas Eve the two of us would make up a platter of munchies, mix ourselves grasshoppers and sit down to watch White Christmas. Till this day "We'll follow the old man..." brings a tear to my eye (alright, I sob).

The Grasshopper we had last night was pretty darn good though slightly different than I'd had before. In the recipe above, they added cream - we added ice cream and milk. I prefer the 'shake' version but the one we had last night was good enough to remind me of sitting next to my mom watching Bing and Danny sing.

Merry Christmas! Hope you have a White one.

Day 11: 'tis Christmas Eve.

Break out the holly and in our case, the shovel, it's Christmas Eve. Hopefully your kiddos are snug in their beds and you're having much needed alone time (or busy wrapping...). To put you in the mood it's time to make an Eggnog Martini. Ah, a true Christmas tradition - or one that soon will be. To make: put into your shaker an ounce of each: vanilla vodka, amaretto, eggnog, and ice and shake baby, shake.

Hugs and Kisses to all of you out there. Have a wonderful evening. And just in case you like to keep track of the man in the red suit (I'm not talking about the RCMP) check out this site.

Food Porn.

I happened upon this site and I just had to share. I apologize. If you'd like to make any of the items shown on any one of the pages I would be more than happy to help you eat it.

Day 10: Mouthwash or Something slightly better?

Hammonds Candy Canes. I hear they are divine. I think I saw them on the Food Network at some point but maybe not... They look good, they sound good (with names like all natural butterscotch and cabernet candy cane...) and so you'd think it would be a good idea for a martini. Honestly, as one who's not big on the whole peppermint idea in the first place, I should have known a Candy Cane Martini wasn't the drink for me.

It's easy peasey to make: vanilla vodka, chocolate vodka (Godiva, mmmm) and peppermint schnapps. Schnapps in general are yummy but alas, not like this. It was all a little strong quite frankly (yes, this is coming from me). I bet if Mr. A had used one of the recipes listed on google (there's got to be a hundred of the things) perhaps it would have turned out differently. Perhaps if he had used the creamy liqueur type Godiva and not the vodka Godiva it would have won me over. But he didn't. And so I bid this drink Adieu. Hope you have better luck.

Day 9: Dedicated to these guys.

They make me laugh - like out loud, with stuff spewing and everything. With the Crantini you can practice your Ninja Kick and fill up on antioxidants at the same time. It's like a miracle drink or something. So by drinking one of these you're just looking out for your health. You're like, being nutritious. Yah, go with that.... Only 3 more days to go.

Recipe (for those of you too lazy to click on the link... you know who you are Karyn) though this isn't the exact recipe you'll find. Mr A. had to do a bit of improvising:

1 1/2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Lillet
4 oz Cranberry Pomegranate Concentrate (the stuff in the freezer section)

Add all the ingredients in a martini shaker - no need for ice 'cause you were smart and used the frozen concentrate. Then shake, pour into martini glass and if you'd like, add a few cranberries to complete the drink. The recipe above said you should soak the cranberries in vodka first and I think you should listen to them 'cause they know what they're talking about. I think they're professionals.

Day 8: My favourite so far...

Isn't this the cutest? It's even better in person. Might I suggest you run out and buy a whole bunch and celebrate the festivities in style? Each is only $3.49 and they are yummy on their own but even better in a Flirtini.

Day 7: Lime: not just for Margaritas.

It's cold here... cold, cold, cold. And I'm dreaming of a nice beach in Mexico. Thus, we're taking a little detour on the list and creating something that reminds me of the aforementioned beach. Day 7 is a Lime-tini. Mmmm... This one goes down faster than water in a desert! I think you could make it into a highball by adding some soda and crushed ice and I'm sure that will be a often-seen drink on the Oasis this summer. Mr. A mixed this one up and he changed the recipe from the one posted on the Smirnoff site. His is as follows:

1.5 oz vodka (not lime - just regular)

1.5 oz Roses lime juice

add to a shaker with ice, shake and strain. Enjoy!

Day 6: Breakfast Coffee.

I don't know about you but my day does not officially start until I've had my first cup of coffee. While it's brewing I thank God for it - literally! And if for some reason I don't get that oh, so delicious, first cup of coffee I'll have a headache by noon. And I'm cranky as all heck by two. The thing is I always seem to brew too much coffee (yes, there is such a thing). I can drink one cup, maybe two, three is the max and yet, for some reason there is always some left over. I don't know if I'm hoping for the cast and crew of The Wizard of Oz to show up or what, but the pot is almost never empty.

And what to do with all that leftover coffee? Well, I know some people throw it out around noon thinking they won't drink it and I'll love to say that I'm one of those people but you just never know if you'll want a cup of cold coffee around four... No one ever does UNTIL - dun, dun, dun - The Coffee Martini! Yippee. It's cheapskates dream. Okay, that's not entirely true. The recipe calls for fresh brewed Espresso but I tried it with 1/2 day old coffee and it was damn good. Cost effective too! And I didn't add the beans. In truth I didn't want to risk the choking thing. It would have been a real bummer. However, if you happened to go to The Human Bean and order a coffee (might I recommend anything without chocolate - tell them I sent you...), you could always save the chocolate covered bean for your nightly martini... Two birds, one stone...

Day 5: 007, The Right One.

Sometimes it just makes sense to be drinking while watching reruns of Two and a Half Men. So thankfully, we revisited the 007 Vesper and all was quite merry. This martini was Mr. A's favourite. It's also the one that contains the least amount of 'fru fru' alcohol. But it's still good and a great sipping drink. You can really taste the Lillet so if you haven't got any in the house run out and grab some to make this drink. It's well worth the eight dollars.

Day 4: Keeping the Vanilla in Christmas.

Yes, by now we're all growing a little tired of vanilla vodka but I'm happy to say I'm completely out. PHEW! The little bit I had left was enough to make a Vanilla Alexander Martini. I don't think I've ever purchased vanilla vodka, however, I think I would just to make this drink. It' s a version of the chocolate martini we had on Day 1 but the shaved chocolate and cream just make it dreamy. This is by far my favourite yet. It's like hot cocoa on a cold winters day... with a shot of something special.

Recipe:

1 oz. vanilla vodka (even better if you've made it yourself...)

1 oz. creme de cacao

1 oz. cream (use cream - you deserve it)

shaved chocolate (Again, use the good stuff. You only need a small amount.)

Fill a shaker with ice. Add vodka, creme, and cream. Shake until well mixed. Strain into glasses and top with shredded chocolate. I bet it would taste even better with melted chocolate around the rim. Doesn't everything? I'm all about extravagance this year.

Day 3: Cinnamon Warmth.

It's gotten a might bit chilly out there lately and I've been feeling the need to keep warm. Now usually that means making a cup of tea, grabbing a good book and snuggling up on the couch with a quilt. Well, I do believe we've taken that one step further with the Chai Tea Martini.

I've got a few tea bags hanging around the house... The hardest thing about this martini is waiting for the tea to get cold. I advise being prepared by having the tea already to go. Hopefully you're a pot tea maker and have some sitting in there from this morning. If not, brew the tea, let it steep for an hour or so and then whip yourself up a Day 3 drink. This one won't let you down.

Recipe:

2 ounces vodka (use vanilla vodka if you've got it)

2 ounces cold chai tea

splash of milk (cream or half and half works too)

Place ice in a shaker. Add vodka & tea and shake. Strain into glasses and add the splash of milk (or cream). Quickly run a spoon through it - just to mix it in but not completely - it adds creamy depth to the drink. To kick it up just a notch, try rimming the lip of the glass with honey.... yeah, if that doesn't make you feel good you shouldn't be reading this blog.

Day 2: For the Chocolate Lovers.

What could be better than a little Kiss? Why one surrounded by vodka and creme de cacao of course! A delightful little drink called, A Chocolate Martini! The recipe calls for just the two items however, if you happen to have vanilla vodka (like the one I made as vanilla extract some time ago) then I highly recommend using that instead. And don't forget the Kiss! A perfect drink for the chocolate lover in all of us. Yum.

12 Days of Christmas Martinis!

Picture from www.martinilovers.com/007 - you can get the recipe from there as well.

I've decided that the Christmas season needs to be ushered in with cheer and extravagance. Since I was too cheap to go and buy the Lego Advent calendar and since by the time I finally thought it made sense to actually get one they were already sold out, I've decided to create my own countdown to Christmas....

How about 'The 12 Martini's of Christmas!'

And queue the intervention...

Day 1: A not-so 007 Martini. After watching Daniel Craig sport some short short I thought there was nothing classier than a martini. If said martini has a fancy ingredient like Lillet in it than it has to be good. Well, at least after the second sip/gulp. I'm guessing that it would be even better if Mr. A hadn't switched the amounts of vodka and gin but hey, maybe not. Not too worry I didn't throw it down the sink (phew). I drank the whole darn thing and by the end there was a very large smile on my face. This was such a freakin' fabulous idea. Sometimes, I'm just brilliant.

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days (original from 1998)

It is not Christmas unless you've heard this song - well, in my house anyway. I'm allowed to blare it and everyone sings along. Hope you're finding someway to get into the season too.