Christmas 2013

Christmas 2013

Can't have Christmas without Grandma Gits' Hot Milk Cake!

Best.Coffee.Cake.Ever.OfAllTime.

Grandma Gits and her friend used to get together once a month in the summer and bake up a storm. My favorites were the cinnamon rolls and Hot Milk Cake. This hot milk cake was our Sunday breakfast staple after we got home from Church.  I've seen it occasionally in older cookbooks, one called it a "Lazy Daisy Cake." Easy to make ahead - all you need to do is finish off the coconut frosting under the broiler. But it's the airy cake that makes it such a great recipe!

Grandma Gits' Hot Milk Cake
Grease and flour an 8x8 baking pan (you can double the recipe for a 13x9x2 pan).  Preheat the oven to 350.
For the Cake: 1 cup flour                                     pinch salt
                      2 eggs                                            1 tsp baking powder
                      1 cup sugar                                    1/2 cup milk, heated with 1 round tbl butter (not scalding)
                   
     Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.  Beat eggs to a froth and add sugar gradually.        Beat until well blended. Fold in flour mixture gradually, alternating with hot milk.  Pour batter into greased      and floured pan. Bake 20-25 min. Cake can be frosted warm, or saved and frosted later.

For the Topping:  3/4 cup packed brown sugar      2 Tbl butter
                           1 cup shredded coconut             2 Tbl cream (or 2 part milk:1 part butter)
      Moisten sugar and coconut with melted butter and cream. Spread frosting on COOKED cake. Put               frosted cake under broiler and broil until toasty brown in color, about 3-5 minutes.

In search of the ultimate Pumpkin Martini

     Pumpkin flavored "whatever" is all the rage now that Fall is in full swing. I type this more than a month from the most appropriate holiday for pumpkin-flavored libations (Halloween, of course), but that's because it's hard for me to give up...

     But I think I've found something I can stick with. It also feeds my need for homemade cocktail-related goodies. I was intrigued by the use of pumpkin butter instead of pumpkin liqueur or pumpkin syrup in this recipe.

     I stumbled across this concoction on the third page of a Google search (because as you know, if you can't find it, JFGI). I read the recipe, passed it by, reread it, passed it by again, then had an "aha" moment.  The original drink is called "Pumpkin Divine." The name conjured up unpleasant memories of Pink Flamingos, but I digress.

     I felt the need to modify the recipe, primarily because I'm not a real fan of Grey Goose La Poire, and tonight I was too lazy to go downstairs and dig out my bottle of triple sec, so Cointreau had to suffice.

We'll call this "Pumpkin Awesome"
1 1/2 parts vodka (I used Crater Lake)
1/2 part Cointreau
1/2 part simple syrup (if you don't make your own, Stirrings is a good one)
1/2 part pear shrub (don't be scared - recipe is here)
1 Tbl pumpkin butter
sprinkle of pumpkin pie spices
Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake over ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. You can leave out the pumpkin pie spices and shake them over the top of the cocktail if you prefer. Awesome.

     The Cointreau replaces the Triple Sec with a little richer taste. The Pear shrub + vodka replaces the pear flavored vodka, which I think is too sweet anyway.

     Personally, this cocktail made all the effort of making pumpkin butter and pear shrub TOTALLY worth it.
Two thumbs up!

Halloween Libations: The Pumpkin Martini

I've been on the hunt for the perfect Pumpkin Martini for years. I think I've found it - it doesn't need the flavored liqueurs (e.g.Hiram Walker's neon orange Pumpkin Liqueur...), nor does it rely on flavored vodka (too sweet). Just the right mix of fresh ingredients and kick!

2 T pumpkin puree (yes, real puree. Use from a can if you don't want to mess with a real pumpkin)
1/3 cup milk or cream
1 pinch pumpkin pie spice
Mix these together in a shaker with some ice, then add:
1.5 oz vodka
.5 oz creme de cacao (white or dark)
Add a little more ice, shake until foamy, strain into a martini glass and garnish with a shake of nutmeg or cinnamon!
Halloween Gold!

Summer Cocktail Month: June 30, 2013

The Last Word - for my friend, Kathy Moore. An appropriate drink for the last day of Summer Cocktail Month! 


1 part gin 
1 part green chartreuse 
1 part Luxardo maraschino liqueur (not the cherry juice...look it up)
1 part fresh lime juice. 

Combine in a shaker and shake over ice; strain into a chilled martini glass. A shout out to Lynn Beimdiek Morris for the wicked awesome display plate!! 

Summer Cocktail Month: June 29, 2013

Sex on the Beach - This particular drink has several variations (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_on_the_Beach), but the classic is the simplest. Don't omit the peach schnapps...

1 part vodka 
1 part peach schnapps 
Cranberry juice
Orange juice

Combine vodka and peach schnapps with ice in a tall glass; fill with equal parts cranberry juice and orange juice. 

Summer Cocktail Month: June 28, 2013

The Pineapple Upsidedown Cake Martini - As with most cocktails that include fruit juice, you can always lighten it up with ice and some soda water for those hot summer days!

1 part vanilla vodka
2 parts pineapple juice 

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake over ice and strain into a martini glass. Drizzle in a little bit of grenadine and garnish with fruit! Be careful...this one's a quick drink... 

Summer Cocktail Month: June 27, 2013

The Bees Knees! Another classic cocktail from the archives! Honey syrup can be made on a drink-by-drink basis - 1 T honey plus 1 T water, heat in a glass for 30 sec in the microwave, cool slightly before using. In honor of our favorite insect: the bee (wild or native, you rule our world!)

2 parts gin 
3/4 honey syrup 
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Combine in a shaker and shake over ice and strain into a glass, with or without ice (our new fave is to pour over a ginormous ice cube made with some fancy-schmancy new silicone ice cube tray!).