jcherney

My thoughts upon seeing the receipe were that it wouldn't freeze either. But then again, it sounded really good, and if it didn't freeze, then I'd just pull the stick out and drink the contents!! No harm, no foul....!!

Abby

Hahahahaha!!! I really LIKE the way you think!

OK, in the name of science, I decided to put this to the test.

In the original recipe, the proportions are about 12 oz water or water-based liquids (juices) to 2 oz alcohol. Grand Marnier is 40% alcohol/volume and I think tequila would be about the same. I used a flavoured vodka for my experiment and it's label reads 35% alc/vol. So I may be using a slight touch less alcohol than the original recipe.

(I don't think there is any need to go into the differences between US and Canada/Europe in terms of reporting alcohol content, but I'll mention that I believe the US uses alcohol/weight while Canada/Europe uses alcohol/volume, and I don't know how much variation this results in. My products are Canadian.)

I didn't have the ingredients for the original recipe, so I decided to use up a mini of Smirnoff Twist of Lime (which has been in my cupboard for awhile) in similar proportions to the recipe. I used 50 ml of vodka, 100 ml of Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice and topped up with water to make a total of about 300 ml. (I probably should have added a touch of Grand Marnier, but forgot.)

I didn't add sugar, because the flavoured vodka is already sweetened with sugar. I don't know if that changes anything - if sugar-water freezes more or less easily than water.

I found a plastic popsicle mold in the back of one of my cupboards, washed it, and poured the mixture in. It was enough to fill five segments, so approx 60 ml each. It's in the back of my refrigerator freezer compartment right now, and I'll give an update tonight or tomorrow.

Next is to see how much I can increase the alcohol content and still get a decently frozen result.

Abby

On a related theme, the good folks at My Science Project did some experimentation to determine the max amount of alcohol that can be used to make jello shots.

http://www.myscienceproject.org/j-shot.html

UNITED959

I may have been a better student had that been a lab in my high school chemsitry class.

Abby

OK, the results are already in!!!! I checked the freezer a little while ago and sure enough, my Pom-vodka pops already appeared nicely frozen. So of course I HAD to try one. Mmmmm..... but I really should have added a splash of lime juice and some Grand Marnier. Sugar would have been OK for people who like things a bit on the sweet side, but I liked it a bit tarter....

The one I ate was a tad soft, so I am going to leave them overnight and try another one tomorrow.

Back tomorrow with more details, maybe some photos and probably another recipe or two.....

LapLap

Add the lime juice and Grand Marnier and perhaps you should be christening them Cosmopomitans-onna-stick.

Abby

Hehehehehe!!! Well, the problem is that I can think of TOO MANY different things to try with this general idea.

Anyway, my pom-vodka pops are really good - even better today than yesterday. Here's a photo of a finished one, and it has a nice firm frozen texture.

The recipe below is something I ran across and have modified slightly. I'm thinking of making these for next weekend, when I have a few girlfriends coming over for a bit of a deck party. If it's a warm afternoon, it'll be a nice starter!


TEQUILA SUNSET POPSICLES

Approx half a dozen strawberries
mango
3 tbsp (45 mL) granulated sugar or to taste
4 to 6 tbsp (60 to 90 mL) tequila
2 tbsp (30 mL) freshly squeezed lime juice

Wash, hull and purée strawberries along with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Blend in 1 or 2 tbsp of tequila. Spoon into the bottom of a popsicle mould or whatever you are using. Cover and freeze for an hour or two or until firm enough to add second layer.

Peel mango and slice fruit from pit. Purée with 2 tbsps of sugar and the lime juice. Blend in 2 - 4 tbsp of tequila. Spoon over the strawberry mixture in each mould. Add the lids/sticks/handles and freeze until firm.

Or, I suppose you could put the mango in the bottom and the strawberry on the top and call them Tequila Sunrise Popsicles.

world_citizen

That's right! Nothing screams summer more, than a nice refreshing cocktail in your hand, on a hot humid evening. Here's a recipe I came across on the Better Homes and Garden's website, its for a white strawberry sangria. Oh does it look good!

Abby

Mmmmm.... strawberries and wine, sounds like summer to me!

Here's a Peach Sangria recipe I have modifed slightly...... (and yes, I know sangria maybe isn't the best term anymore, given that the original is red and is named for the 'blood-red' look.... )

Peach Sangria

1 750-ml bottle dry white wine
3/4 cup peach brandy (or peach schnapps?)
6 tablespoons frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
(or use fresh lemon juice/lemon slices and possibly increase the sugar)
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste - add half this amount first)
2 firm-ripe sliced peaches
Seedless green and/or red grapes, halved (optional)

Mix first 4 ingredients in large pitcher until sugar dissolves. Add peaches and all grapes.

Refrigerate sangría until well chilled, about 2 hours or leave longer (up to 24 hours) to let flavour develop.

Serve over ice. You can add a bit of soda water before serving, if you want to dilute it a bit.


LapLap, why not put your sangria recipe in this thread, it's better suited here than lost in the AC forum?

Showbizguru

I find a very,very dry martini in the American Bar at the Savoy in London is heaven on earth and,by chance,a fantastic loosener of knicker elastic as well.

LapLap

Considering the recipes with the name 'sangria' that are leaking into this thread I should defend the drink's honour with a real version

Sangria (my mama's recipe)

1 litre red wine
1 glass brandy
1 litre orange fanta (although I hear US orange fanta isn't so nice so a decent alternative - 1/2 OJ and 1/2 soda water - should do)
couple of tablespoons honey
plenty of small pieces of orange, apple & peach and the rind of an orange in one long peel.

Mix the brandy and honey together before adding to the other ingredients.
Combine with fruit and wine and leave to macerate for a couple of hours.

As we often make this in huge quantities we cool it by popping ice cubes in sealed plastic bags into the drink and fish them out before serving. The (cold) Fanta is added at the very last moment.

The fruit will become the most alcoholic part of the drink - don't leave it around for children to eat (my brother used to get a wee bit drunk this way at family gatherings as a little boy)

LapLap

I can think of much nicer places to have cocktails in London - consider this lady singularly unimpressed.

party_boy

Replace the pineapple with sweet and sour and a splash of 7up you have a purple hooter.

My recipe for the summertime:
Lemongrass mojito

Take fresh lemongrass and mint smash gently in a shaker with pestle
squeeze juice from 1/2 lime
add crushed ice
add 2oz-4oz light rum depending on size of glass
add some (i do about 1/4 of the alcohol content) simple syrup, top off with club soda
stir

Enjoy!

For a completely different taste, use a nonflavored Dark Rum

For a light light drink throughout the day you can have a

Creamsicle (just like the ones you had when you were a kid)

1 oz Amaretto
2 oz OJ (no pulp)
splash of cream

Shake over a little ice, strain, serve.

Abby

Hahahaha!!!!!

We can probably chip in and buy you a belt to help hold up your knickers, if you are in danger of losing them ....

But, while we're on the topic of martinis, I do know that many purists get annoyed with me when I call a mixed cocktail type drink a martini, and they have a point. Properly, a martini is gin and maybe a bit of vermouth. An olive or a twist. My SeaBreeze Martini isn't really a martini at all, it's just served in a cocktail (martini) glass. Still, I love to call it that.....

So, I know I play fast and loose with the term martini just as I do with sangria, and I beg forgiveness for my transgressions from those of you who know better......

Cholula

Good point.

Properly, technically and historically, a martini was gin and a bit of bone-dry vermouth with either a twist of lemon or an olive.

It was only much more recently that vodka, the vanilla ice cream of liquor, became caught up in the fray.