Wonderful Winter Cocktail

I stumbled upon the yummiest winter cocktail last week and just had to share.

I met some friends for drinks at Bonefish Grill for happy hour. When I arrived, they all had cloudy-white martinis in front of them. I knew I would be joining the bandwagon as soon as I read the cocktail menu.

So what was the drink? A Winter White Cosmopolitan. It was delish to say the least. So delish that I snapped a photo of the menu so I would remember to buy the liquors and try to make this myself!

One google attempt and I found a recipe and photo! The photo above is from This Teacher's Lounge, who also loved the drink in 2010.

And here is the recipe from food.com:

1-1/2 ounces cranberry vodka (Bonefish uses Stoli Cranberi)

1/2 ounce Cointreau

1 ounce fresh lime juice

1 ounce white cranberry juice

3-4 frozencranberries as garnish

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients over ice in a shaker tin. Shake and strain into chilled martini glass. Float frozen cranberries on top for garnish.

I'm considering taking the ingredients for this drink to a holiday party in a few weeks as my pitch in for food/beverage. Put the bottles and garnish on a chic serving tray with the directions in a small silver frame so guests can help themselves!

Do you have a favorite wintertime cocktail? Do you serve signature cocktails at your holiday parties? Have you ever taken the ingredients and directions to make a cocktail with you to a party? Seems like a creative pitch-in item to me!

So-Pretty Candy Apple Treats

As a designer, I am blessed to have product reps visit our architecture and design firm with treats in tow on a daily basis.

As a designer, I am also cursed to have product reps visit our architecture and design firm with treats in town on a daily basis. Think cookies and doughnuts in your face at least three times per week. Hard. To. Pass. Up.

Luckily, we have some reps who are wonderfully creative. And sometimes even little health-conscious. Natalie, one of our wallcovering reps, always delights us with yummy and pretty treats. Last week we were lucky enough to have some of her handmade goodness delivered. Before I cut into mine, I took a photo to share with all of you. Then, emailed Natalie to ask for a wallcovering sample and her recipe. If she wouldn't mind sharing it, of course.

Lucky for you, she shared. I think these apples would be the perfect holiday treat. Using both red and green apples would pretty much make them sing Christmas Carols!

From Natalie:

My recipe is kind of loose, especially since I made so many but I’m going to base this on a yield of 6.

1 - 14oz. package of caramels (Yes, I cheated…I wanted to make the caramel from scratch but I decided I’ll try that when I make a small quantity!)
6 – apples (I use Granny Smith because I like the color and the tartness)
2 T. – milk
Chocolate chips
Vegetable oil
Butter
Craft sticks

Optional: Vanilla Extract, Chopped Nuts, Crushed Graham Cracker or topping of your choice: candy, marshmallows, toffee, etc

Prep:
Generously butter a cookie sheet.  Clean apples, remove stems and insert craft stick about ¾ into the apple.

Caramel apples:
Melt caramels in a medium pan over low heat, add 2 T. milk while melting.  Stir frequently until fully melted and smooth.  (Optional – stir in about 1-2 tsp vanilla)  Dip and twirl apple in melted caramel covering about 2/3 + of the apple, wipe excess caramel on the side of the pan, turn the apple upside down and twirl a few more times so the caramel flows towards the top, caramel should cover about ¾ of the apple.  (If using toppings, dip the apples immediately into the topping.)  Place apple on buttered cookie sheet.  Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until caramel sets.

Chocolate Drizzle:
Melt chocolate chips (1/3 to ½ cup? I don’t measure??) in double broiler or in microwave.  If using a microwave, melt in 20-30 second increments (stirring in between) until chocolate is smooth.  Stir in vegetable oil, start with a teaspoon and slowly add more if needed until chocolate is glossy and drips in a smooth stream when raising the spoon.  Hold apple parallel (or slanted a bit downward) over the bowl of chocolate, twirl apple while drizzling the chocolate.  (You could also do a second drizzle in white chocolate.)  Refrigerate again for about 10 minutes.  

Done!

For the finishing touches, Natalie used cupcake liners to cut down on possible messiness and ribbon to decorate the sticks.

Natalie said I made her day by asking for the recipe.

She totally made my day, too!

What would you use as a topping for these apples? Crushed candy canes would be super festive! Do you have a favorite holiday treat recipe that is so pretty it's like receiving a gift?