The Food Diaries

Pear & elderflower martini

A lovely and simple three-ingredient cocktail.

In a cocktail shaker 1/3 filled with ice pour in 45ml Absolut Pears Vodka, 60ml St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, a squeeze of lemon. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Serves 1.

Classic Margarita

In a cocktail shaker 1/3 filled with ice shake together 45ml tequila, 30ml fresh lime juice and 30ml cointreau. Strain into a Martini glass or serve on the rocks in a tumbler filled with fresh ice.

Marmagnac cocktail

In a cocktail shaker mix together 50ml Armagnac with 2tsp marmalade. Add a handful of ice and top with 50ml fresh apple juice and a dash of rhubarb bitters. Shake well and strain into a tumbler filled with ice.

Serves 1.

The Beach House punch

Bring 750ml water to a boil. Steep with bourbon vanilla red tea (or use a combo of rooibos and vanilla-scented tea). Add 125ml freshly squeezed lemon juice, 250ml freshly squeezed orange juice, 125ml passion fruit jam*, and 250ml Maker’s Mark bourbon. Sweeten to taste with agave nectar. Chill and then serve in tumblers filled with ice. Top with soda to taste.

Serves 10.

* Scoop out the pulp of around 10 passion fruits into a small saucepan. Add 150g sugar and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the consistency thickens (think honey).

The Snowflake cocktail

Here’s a lovely wintery seasonal cocktail that is delicately scented by elderflower and apples.

In a cocktail shaker 1/3 filled with ice, add 25ml St Germain, 25ml Briottet apple liqueur, 25ml Bombay Sapphire gin, and 25ml pressed apple juice. Shake well and pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprinkle of silver and/or gold leaf.

Serves 1.

Apple & Apricot Martini

In a tumbler 1/3 filled with ice, pour in 25ml Gin, 25ml Apricot liqueur, 25ml apple & elderflower juice, and 2 tsp apricot jam. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Apple Pie Cocktail

Autumn in a cocktail glass.

In a cocktail shaker 1/3 filled with ice pour in 30ml apple liqueur (such as the French Briottet Manzana Verde), 15ml cinnamon liqueur, 20ml Rye Whiskey (such as Wiser’s), and 25ml cloudy apple juice. Shake well and serve in a chilled Martini glass with a wedge of apple as garnish.

A dark and stormy G & T

A late (British) summer twist on the classic gin and tonic.

In a highball 3/4 filled with ice pour in 30ml gin, 15ml strawberry liqueur, 15ml creme de cassis. Complete with good-quality tonic (such as Fever Tree). DO NOT STIR. Top with a wedge of lime and a cocktail twizzler which can be used to stir up the cocktail to taste by the drinker. 

Serves 1.

Canary Mary 

A nice alternative to the ubiquitous Bloody Mary - slightly sweeter and milder too. You may be lucky enough to find some yellow tomato juice in the shops, though I think fresh tomatoes taste exactly like summer.

Place 4 medium yellow tomatoes, peeled and deseeded in a blender along with 1 tsp horseradish cream, a few drops Worcestershire sauce, a few drops Tabasco (I prefer Sriracha), a pinch of Japanese pepper (Sansyo), a squeeze of lemon, and a few drops of celery bitters (you could try Bitter Truth). Process till smooth.

Pour into two tumblers 3/4 filled with ice. Top with 40ml vodka in each glass. Stir well, till nicely chilled. Garnish with a half yellow cherry tomato.

Campari Sunset

A refreshing summer drink - the sweetness of the strawberry liqueur and orange juice being offset by the bitterness of the Campari and grapefruit juice.

In a pitcher mix together 250ml (1 cup) Campari, 100ml Strawberry liqueur, 500ml freshly squeeze blood orange juice and 150ml freshly squeeze pink grapefruit. Add ice and stir till chilled. Serve over ice.

Makes 6 (150ml) servings.

The classic (peach) Bellini

A seasonal favourite, invented by Giuseppe Cipriani the founder of Harry’s Bar in the 1930’s - this a two-ingredients cocktail requiring only white peach puree and Prosecco (Italian sparkling white wine).

Puree 3 white peaches, peeled and cored. You can pass the puree through a fine sieve if you like a smoother texture. Pour into 6 champagne glasses (fill to 1/3). Top with Prosecco (you will need 1 bottle Prosecco or other sparkling white wine). 

Serves 6.

Melon vodka

Inspired by food blogger David Lebovitz, with his recipe for a strawberry-infused vodka, I decided to give it a go myself substituting with the fragrant Charentais melon.

The recipe couldn’t be simpler: In a large jar place chunks of fragrant melon flesh (1 small melon), cover with 1 bottle (750ml) of vodka. Cover and store in a cool, dark place for around 4 days (depending on the ripeness and flavour of the fruit this may need an extra couple more days).

Strain through a cheesecloth, discard the fruit (most of its flavour will have been transferred to the vodka) and pour back into the vodka bottle.

Cocktails recipe using vodka melon will appear in upcoming diary entries.

Note: you can use a relatively inexpensive vodka for this recipe as the fruit will be doing all the work to add the flavour.

Strawberry Kir

In a small wine goblet pour in 1 part creme de fraise or other strawberry liqueur, to 5 parts chilled white Burgundy wine.

The Algonquin cocktail

Named after the legendary Algonquin Hotel in New York City, this is a classic 3-ingredient cocktail; not too sweet, not too dry, and surprisingly, can even be appreciated by non-whiskey drinkers.

In a cocktail shaker 1/3 filled with ice pour in 45 ml rye whiskey, 30 ml vermouth (such as Noilly Prat), and 30 ml pineapple juice. Stir gently till very cold. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Adding a few drops of orange bitters is a nice touch. This cocktail requires no garnish to complete it.

Serves 1.

 Strawberry summer punch - German Erdbeerbowle 

Take 400g strawberries, sliced and place in a bowl. Sprinkle on 1/2 cup sugar and the juice of 2 lemons, stir and refrigerate for 2 hours. Strain the juice and set aside in the fridge. Add 1 bottle white wine (Riesling or Gewurztraminer) to the strawberries and return to the fridge for another hour. Place all in a punch bowl and top with 1 bottle sparkling white wine. Serve in punch cups with cocktail picks (to scoop out the strawberries).

Optional: add 100ml strawberry liqueur and 100ml Pimms No.1 to the strawberry juice, and150ml rose lemonade to the punch bowl.