Golden Beet, Vodka, + Rosemary Cocktail

Golden Beet, Vodka, + Rosemary Cocktail | A Thought For Food

We're a gin household. Well, and bourbon. And rum. Ok, and tequila and mezcal. Pretty much all forms of wine and spirits are welcome. That is, however, except for vodka. We've always had a bottle in the cabinet, but I don't remember the last time it's been put to use. But here we are with a vodka cocktail. And it's one that I quite enjoyed preparing (and, of course, consuming). It all started with an offer from Prairie Organic Spirits to see if I'd like to try a sample. Well, yes, I was up for giving it a go. Even before it arrived, I knew the direction I wanted to take the drink in. Years ago, friends/bartenders of mine put together a beet cocktail that totally impressed me. You think that beets, with their strong earthy (read: dirty) notes, especially in their raw/juiced form, wouldn't do well in a cocktail. When paired with lemon juice and a touch of sweetness, however, the whole thing came to life.

Golden Beet, Vodka, + Rosemary Cocktail | A Thought For Food

Golden Beet, Vodka, + Rosemary Cocktail | A Thought For Food

Golden Beet, Vodka, + Rosemary Cocktail | A Thought For Food

That one was a red beet cocktail, but seeing that we only had golden beets in our fridge, I went with those. I got the juicer going and out came a beautiful yellow liquid. Finished off with some lemon juice and rosemary simple syrup, there are some really bright and rich flavors here. While the vodka doesn't stand out, I'm not sure any other spirit would do as well paired with those ingredients.There's a bit more creaminess to this vodka than you find in others, which gives a little body to the drink. Yes, it's neutral. But in this case, that's a good thing.

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Beet, Lemon, Rosemary and Vodka Cocktail

Yield 1 cocktail

Equipment
Juicer (to prepare the beet juice)
Jigger
Cocktail shaker

Ingredients
For the cocktail
3/4 oz golden (or red) beet juice
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz rosemary simple syrup (ingredients and recipe below)
2 oz vodka (I used Prairie Organic Vodka)

Directions

1. Add the beet juice, lemon juice, rosemary simple syrup and vodka into a cocktail shaker, along with three or four ice cubes. Shake for 15 seconds and strain into a coup or martini glass.

Rosemary Simple Syrup

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped

Directions 1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small sauce pan.  Add the rosemary.  Simmer until the sugar has dissolved.  Take off heat and let the mixture sit for an additional 10 minutes before straining.  Strain the rosemary out of the simple syrup. Let the syrup cool completely before using. Store in a container in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Watermelon Shrub Spritzer

Watermelon Shrub Spritzer // A Thought For Food

June has been an interesting month. I wasn't expecting to be busier than I was in May, but, gosh darn, my butt has been kicked. In addition to all the projects, we also had things to celebrate. Eric's birthday and our anniversary fall on the same week, so we went out to dinner not once, but three times to celebrate (hey, that's how we roll). There were times when I thought, "You know what? Let's just put this whole blog thing on hold for a few weeks." But as soon as a little free time presented itself, I was in the kitchen, my camera not too far out of reach. I just can't help myself.

I've had this shrub in my head for months now. Ever since Tabasco contacted me about being a part of their Tastemaker Program, I knew that one recipe I'd want to develop was a shrub. Seems like a natural fit. One of the three major ingredients in a shrub is vinegar, as is the case with Tabasco's hot sauce. A watermelon shrub immediately came to mind. It wasn't until I tasted the final result, though, that I realized how perfectly it all came together. Yes, there's a subtle kick, but what most stands out is the salt in the Tabasco that allows the sweetness of the watermelon to pop.

Tequila is my go-to spirit (Don't get me wrong. I love bourbon and gin, but agave-based spirits are what I order most at bars). While I'm not one for a watermelon margarita, I felt like the shrub would be more of my scene; zingy, both in the heat from the Green Pepper hot sauce and the vinegar, a little sweet, as well as the green notes from the tequila and green pepper. What I wasn't quite expecting was how addictive it would be. Especially on a hot summer day, these are dangerously easy to suck down. I guess that's the sign of a successful cocktail.

I can't end the post without sharing my delight in the news that the Supreme Court ruled to legalize same-sex marriages in all fifty states. It took me a few days to process everything. Eric and I are personally effected, because now we can go anywhere in the country and our marriage will be recognized by the state. But what really hit me hard was knowing that future generations won't see gay couples as anything other than two people who love each other and, if they choose to do so, get married. That, for me, is a beautiful thing.

"“All men are created equal. No matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about.” -Harvey Milk

Watermelon Shrub Spritzer // A Thought For Food

Watermelon Shrub Spritzer // A Thought For Food

Watermelon Shrub Spritzer // A Thought For Food

Watermelon Shrub Spritzer // A Thought For Food

Watermelon Shrub Spritzer // A Thought For Food

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Tabasco. Over the course of the year, I will be creating recipes featuring the Tabasco Family of Flavors and this is the first of those posts. All opinions expressed on my site are my own.

You can check out my recap from my trip to visiting Tabasco here and my recipe for Smokey Shrimp Burgers here.

Watermelon Shrub Spritzer

Ingredients

For the shrub
3 cups fresh watermelon puree (using a blender or immersion blender)
3 tablespoons Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar

For the watermelon shrub spritzer
2 oz tequila blanco
1 oz lime juice
1.5 oz watermelon shrub
Watermelon (cut into 1 inch cube), for garnish
Lime zest, for garnish
Seltzer water

Directions

To prepare the shrub

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce and sugar until sugar has dissolved. Slowly stir in the watermelon puree.

2. Strain mixture through a sieve.

To prepare the cocktail

1. In a cocktail shaker, add the tequila, lime juice, and watermelon shrub, along with three ice cubes. Shake for 10 seconds and strain into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Top with seltzer water.

2. To prepare the garnish, fold a strip of lime zest in half and skewer onto a toothpick, followed by the watermelon cube, and another strip of lime zest.

Sweet Vermouth Cobbler

Cocktails aren't traditionally served at a Passover Seder. Often, there is wine. But because any grain or corn-based spirits are kitniyot (the hebrew word for the category of foods that are not allowed to be consumed during Passover), mixed drinks aren't typically served.  In looking ahead to the holiday, I thought a libation using fortified wines, such as sherry and vermouth, would be nice for those wanting to mix up a little after-work drink.

I sipped my first cobbler just a few weeks ago at one of our favorite bars and haven't stopped thinking about it since. The idea is simple: muddled citrus (typically orange), some sugar, liquor and garnished with seasonal fruit (citrus and berries) and mint. Sherry and vermouth are often a bit thicker in consistency and so a bit of soda water will help cut it.

After describing this drink to my mom, she pointed out that sometimes people include orange on their Seder plates. I had never heard of this before. Why orange? What symbolism does that have?

Here's what I learned from a quick search online: In the 1980s, Dr. Susannah Heschel, a Jewish feminist scholar, was visiting Oberlin College. It was there that she witnessed students adding bread crust to their Seder plates as a way of showing their support of feminists and gays and lesbians, who they felt were excluded from Judaism. Heschel suggested that because bread is kitniyot, that they replace it with an orange slice ("I chose an orange because it suggests the fruitfulness for all Jews when lesbians and gay men are contributing and active members of Jewish life."). The tradition has continued, but now is used to represent any groups that may feel marginalized.

Sometimes a recipe isn't just a recipe. Sometimes there's something symbolic about an ingredient or dish that resonates with people. I certainly wasn't expecting this cobbler to have such significance, but it's nice to think there's more to it than just a way to get people a little intoxicated.

sweet vermouth cobbler

SERVINGS
1 drink

INGREDIENTS
3 orange slices
3 ounces sweet vermouth
1 tablespoon sugar
Soda water
Crushed ice
Fresh mint

DIRECTIONS

1. In a highball glass, muddle two orange slices with the sugar. Once the juice has been released, remove the remainder of the orange slices from the glass.

2. Pour the sweet vermouth into the glass then fill the glass two-thirds of the way with crushed ice. Line the inside of the glass with a single orange slice.

3. Top drink with soda water and garnish with fresh mint.