Bond Girl Cocktail
The Bond Girl Cocktail is a great addition to your holiday and everyday cocktail collection. A few years ago, while visiting Vienna, Austria during the Christmas market season, we were in need of sustenance after visiting multiple Christmas markets. Laden with Christmas ornaments and assorted holiday tchotchkes, we found ourselves near the University of Vienna, and popped into a restaurant frequented primarily by university students. To our delight, the restaurant had a great cocktail menu. Our bubbly, vibrant red Bond Girl Cocktail is created from taste memory of that Viennese holiday visit. After we’d enjoyed a few Bond Girl Cocktails, the local students commented to us that they were impressed that the much older visitors had such a great tolerance for these cocktails and were none worse for the wear. What cheek! Now, we share this cocktail with you; try one, or two, with our Tuna Tapenade spread on some crispy crackers or baguette slices. The Bond Girl Cocktail is a tad strong, after two you may feel shaken and stirred and think you are Pussy Galore! Remember, drink responsibly and don’t drink and drive. Enjoy!
Total Time: 10 minutes. Serves 2.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Bond Girl Cocktail recipe for $1.00.
The Anna May Cocktail
The Anna May Cocktail evokes flavors of the Far East in a tasty tribute to the late, lovely actress Anna May Wong*. Golden lychee-based elderflower liqueur, spicy ginger vodka* and lychee juice each contribute their subtle, delicious elements in this intriguing and delectable cocktail. We honor Anna May Wong’s underappreciated talent with The Anna May Cocktail. Raise a toast to her and enjoy The Anna May Cocktail or two while watching one of her many movies from Hollywood’s golden age.
Total Time: 5 minutes. Serves 2.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of The Anna May Cocktail recipe for $1.00.
Autumn Apple Cider Mash
The Autumn Apple Cider Mash cocktail is inspired by fresh, unfiltered, locally produced apple cider becoming available in the market, making us think of Autumn. Depending on where you live, the weather may or may not underscore this feeling. Living in the Southern California desert, October days and nights are not quite cool enough to give you the feeling of Autumn; we decided to make both warm and cold versions of this cocktail. Both versions infuse the fresh apple cider with the warmth of cinnamon. When it is below 40 F or 4 C, the warm Autumn Apple Cider Mash will warm you from the inside out. If it is over 100 F or 38 C, serve in a tall glass over ice to cool and relax you. Enjoy either version with some Ajvar Eggplant Red Pepper Spread, a cheese assortment and Cream Cheese Celery Sticks for a tasty cocktail hour. This Autumn Apple Cider Mash cocktail is scary good but don’t be afraid to make and enjoy some tonight! Happy Halloween!
Total Time: 5 minutes. Serves 2.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Autumn Apple Cider Mash recipe for $1.00.
Whiskey Sours
Here’s our take on Whiskey Sours, a truly classic cocktail. We recommend using Meyer lemon juice when making Whiskey Sours; it will enhance the flavor of the cocktail while making for a very smooth experience. Sour mash bourbon really shines in this cocktail; if unavailable, any good bourbon will do. If you’re not familiar with Whiskey Sours, or haven’t enjoyed them in a while, it’s time to get reacquainted with them. Whiskey Sours are easy to enjoy on their own with light, salty snacks, as a pre-dinner cocktail or, better yet, do both! Serve these retro cocktails with a 60s era snack of Cream Cheese Celery Sticks for a mid-century modern feel. Whiskey Sours were a favorite of Vito’s parents, his Dad would make the cocktails, while his Mom would whip up some snacks, like the aforementioned celery sticks, to enjoy with their cocktails. Whiskey Sours were also a very popular drink at cocktail parties in the 1950s and 1960s. While you can make them individually, on-demand, the simplicity of the cocktail enables you to prepare them in larger quantities too without diminishing their quality.
Total Time: 5 minutes. Serves 2.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Whiskey Sours recipe for $1.00.
Ginger Pear Martini
Our Ginger Pear Martini marries the tastes of spicy, crisp ginger and smooth, sweet pear. After lots of searching for a ginger vodka which had a ginger-forward but not sweet taste, we tried and succeeded in producing our own. Unlike most commercial brands we do not add any sugar, making it ideal to mix with liqueurs and other sweet spirits or to be enjoyed chilled and neat. A Ginger Pear Martini is a lovely accompaniment to Tuna Tapenade prior to dinner, the spicy sweet cocktail acting as a delightful foil for the rich appetizer. The crystallized ginger will absorb some of the cocktail and become a soft, besotted candy treat to be enjoyed once the drink has been consumed… time for another Ginger Pear Martini.
Total Time: 5 minutes. Serves 2.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Ginger Pear Martini recipe for $1.00.
Sake Martini
We were first introduced to the Sake Martini at La Maison Japonaise restaurant in New York City in the 1980s, with its vibe of Art Deco Paris and Tokyo. Every time we make one, we think back on the restaurant’s fabulous fusion of Japanese and French elements, in the kitchen and at the bar, way before fusion cuisine became a “thing”. While the bartender wouldn’t divulge his recipe, we think that we’ve faithfully recreated it here. Be sure to use a really clean and dry sake, likewise avoid a dry vermouth which is too forward or overly herbaceous. We like to think that the vermouth is just kissing the sake on the cheek; it’s more of a memorable flirtation than a date with a significant other.
Our Sake Martini is clean, crisp and easy on the alcohol compared to its gin cousin; it’s the perfect post-work, pre-dinner cocktail, whether you’re the one preparing dinner or just keeping the chef company. Enjoy a Sake Martini with Tuna Tapenade, one is crisp and dry, the other is complex and rich; your palate will thank you. Go ahead, have a Sake Martini, or two, and think of James Bond sipping one in the Ginza or maybe in Harajuku these days.
Prep 2 minutes, Total Time: 5 minutes. Yields 2 cocktails
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Sake Martini recipe for $1.00
Moesha Cocktail
A Moesha Cocktail is a tasty, tempting drink with tangy-sweet tangelo juice as its main component. Tangelo trees are very heavy producers of fruit; we have a pair in our garden. What better way to enjoy tangelo juice than in this Moesha Cocktail which is as lovely and elegant as its namesake.
Prep Time: 2 minutes, Total Time: 5 minutes. Yields 2 large or 4 small cocktails.
Heartbreaker Cocktail
If love is sweet, heartbreak is bittersweet. The Heartbreaker Cocktail, deep red and bittersweet, is a great aperitif. Enjoy one and perhaps indulge in a second, new love may be waiting just across the bar. Looking for a drier cocktail? Check out our Sake Martini.
Total Time: 5 minutes. Serves 2.
Xanthippe Cocktail
Xanthippe (pronounced zan-tippy) was the much younger, attractive wife of the Greek philosopher Socrates; she was alleged to have been extremely sharp-tongued and her name has for centuries been a by-word for a shrewish woman. We’re not at all sure of that but we toast to Xanthippe with this lovely, vibrant and sharp cocktail.
Our Xanthippe cocktail uses just three ingredients plus crushed ice to produce these delicious results. Enjoy a Xanthippe or two with some Tuna Tapenade during cocktail hour; the flavor contrasts pair exceedingly well. Be careful, having multiple Xanthippe cocktails may make you behave like its lovely namesake.
Total Time: 5 minutes. Serves 2.
