Tuesday 25 November 2014

Christmas cocktails

 


Here are a few festive drinks to add a little sparkle to your little black book of entertaining.  They are velvety, spiced just right and deliciously decadent... They certainly have what it takes to replace a dessert, and that's how I like to serve them.

So where did the inspiration come from?  I recently was lucky enough to be invited to a bloggers event in Cardiff.  The aim to get bloggers blogging about Nespresso and Currys (appliance store here in the UK).  It was a fantastic day hosted by Waterloo Tea (an amazing little coffee shop with the most divine food and selection of artisan teas - Bristol needs one of you.) and organized by the very cool and eclectic Joe Blogs.

Coming from a marketing background I was intrigued to see how this type of marketing would excite and deliver.  Excite and deliver they sure did.  Take a room full of creative people armed with SLR's and smartphones, get them high on Nespresso and let them play with the beautifully designed machines, show them how to mix the most delicious coffee cocktails and try to teach them how to make a heart out of foam in the latte art... Its no wonder everyone started setting the world of social media alight.  It was a huge success and great way to spend a gloomy Sunday afternoon.  This type of event yields a far greater return (in excess of 3 double page spreads) to the brand and is a very effective way of advertising. 

So here they are, the cocktails demonstrated to us by the Mixologist who did Lady Gaga's 30th Birthday bash.

Toblerone, Baileys and Coffee







Coffee Martini w Cointreau and Cinnamon 




 

Ginger Iced Latte

 





 
Toblerone Baileys Coffee
  • 1 1/2 shot baileys
  • 1 1/2 shot kaluha
  • 3 shots milk
  • 1 shot coffee
  • Put ice in the mixer and shake
  • Grate the Toblerone over the cocktail and garnish with a piece of chocolate on the glass

Coffee and Orange Martini

  • 1 shot vodka
  • 1/2 shot Cointreau
  • 1 shot Kahlua
  • 1 shot nespresso
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • Put ice in the mixer and shake

Ginger Iced Mocca
  • 4 shot milk
  • 1 shot coffee
  • melted chocolate
  • ginger 1/4 tsp




 

Tuesday 11 November 2014

prawn sushi salad with wasabi dressing

 
As I sit here on a true autumn, gloomy day reminiscing about the warmth of summer and the great one we've just had....(aaaah).  I'm drawn to those in the southern hemisphere, you lucky fish, you've got it all to come...This recipe is for you all and by far one of my favourites' of this summer.
 
I found this recipe in the Sainsbury's magazine which I have to say is my fix for Taste Magazine in South Africa.  It's packed with delicious recipes that are fool proof and turn out every time.  I would have never thought to use soy sauce over a salad but it works and it works damn well.  Try it.  The wasabi adds a real kick (which I love) but sensitive folk may need to add slightly less.  The original recipe had sushi rice and cut up seaweed sheets in which also sound divine if you were after more of a meal.
 
 




 

You will need:
  • 1 packed ready cooked and peeled prawns (not shrimps)
  • 1 Avo
  • 1 bag of mixed leaves
  • 1/2 cucumber sliced
  • 5 radishes, sliced with skin on
  • sprinkling of sesame seeds (black and white)
  • 1 large carrot, finely grated
  • 1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
  • 3 spring onions, sliced at an angle

For the dressing:
  • 1 tsp wasabi paste
  • 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil (or olive oil)

Method:
1) Prepare all the salad ingredients on a platter on the bed of leaves/lettuce.
2) Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together and pour over the salad.