Drinks & Concoctions

Hot Chocolate (Cocoa) with Ancho Chile

by liz · Feb 2, 2021

Today is National Hot Chocolate Day! A small holiday I know, but since I love chocolate and the nights are cold, I wanted to celebrate.

I found this recipe for Hot Cocoa + Pumpkin, and it gave me an idea for adding something a little spicier: ancho chiles. Ancho chiles are dried poblano peppers and are very common in Mexican cuisine, and I easily found whole ancho chiles in my local Hispanic market. Ancho chiles are not hot, but give food a fuller, slightly peppery flavor with a hint of smoky sweetness.

To infuse the chiles, chop one large chile and place in a sauce pan. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the chiles and cover with lid. Let chiles steep for 5 minutes, then pour through a sieve into a mug. Add hot chocolate mix and 1 tablespoon (or more) half and half.

Infusing hot chocolate with ancho chiles was easy! This combination of chocolate and spice would also be great with the addition of coffee (for the morning) or pumpkin (for extra fiber and nutrients). I’m also thinking it would make a sweet-and-spicy, cold-weather treat for my Valentine…steeping and steaming my way into his heart.

Links:

Hot Cocoa + Pumpkin recipe
Nestlé Hot Chocolate

Related hot chocolate recipes:

Green Tea Hot Cocoa

Fresh Mint-Infused Hot Cocoa

Green Jalapeño Margarita: Go Green on Cinco de Mayo

by liz · May 4, 2020

Here’s a trend I’ve been seeing lately: adding spinach to smoothies, grating zucchini into brownies and stirring pumpkin into soup and pastas. This may sound crazy, but these are all good ways to get more nutrients into our diets, which most of us need! And, they really do taste delicious…or, rather, I should say they don’t taste at all. I can’t even detect the extra veggies added to these particular dishes, so I get to eat my favorite foods with one extra, effortless serving of vegetables.

So, I soon became a spinach-smoothie convert, throwing a handful of spinach into any combination of frozen fruit, yogurt and instant breakfast mix I was blending. As May rolled around, I realized I could easily incorporate this trick into one of my favorite cocktails: the frozen margarita! Plus, I love jalapeños and drinks with a bit of spice. Adding a few fresh slices of this hot pepper + spinach gives your frozen margarita some heat, as well as a gorgeous green color. And it still tastes like that awesome beach trip to Mexico.

I give you the Green Jalapeño Margarita: your new favorite frozen summery drink.

Green Jalapeño Margarita

Ingredients for 2 servings:

3/4 cup fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup Tequila blanco
1/4 cup orange liqueur (such as Triple Sec or Grand Marnier)
1/4 cup apple juice or orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 to 4 slices fresh jalapeño chile
10 to 12 cilantro leaves
2 cups crushed ice
Coarse salt

Directions:

PLACE spinach, Tequila, liqueur, Juicy Juice, lime juice, jalapeño slices, cilantro and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

DIP rims of glasses into water; dip into salt and shake off excess. Pour margarita mixture into glasses. Garnish each with a jalapeño slice, if desired.

Cook’s Tip: Increase amounts of jalapeño, cilantro and spinach leaves according to taste.

Green Jalapeño Margarita

Author: Food Charmer

Recipe type: Drinks

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Serves: 1

Try this healthier - and still delicious - take on a spicy, frozen margarita.

Ingredients

¾ cup fresh spinach leaves
¼ cup Tequila blanco
¼ cup orange liqueur (such as Triple Sec or Grand Marnier)
¼ cup apple juice or orange juice
¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 to 4 slices fresh jalapeño chile
10 to 12 cilantro leaves
2 slices cucumber
2 cups crushed ice
Coarse salt

Instructions

PLACE spinach, Tequila, liqueur, apple or orange juice, lime juice, jalapeño slices, cilantro, cucumber and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.
DIP rims of glasses into water; dip into salt and shake off excess. Pour margarita mixture into glasses. Garnish each with a jalapeño slice, if desired.
Cook's Tip: Increase amounts of jalapeño, cilantro and spinach leaves according to taste.

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Mom’s Margarita Wine Punch

by liz · May 4, 2020

Ever since I found a cake stand that doubles as a punch bowl, I’ve been excited to serve wine punch like my mom used to do back in the ’70s. I remember her as fabulous in her polyester pant suit, hair piled high, serving pretty punch in a gorgeous glass bowl at parties my parents sometimes threw. I love this Margarita Wine Punch because it tastes like a margarita, but is made with wine, my favorite drink.

She sent me this recipe so I could have a great punch at my party too; it’s great for Cinco de Mayo, outdoor summer events, or any weekend when you crave a frosty Mexican beverage.

Margarita Wine Punch Recipe

adapted from a Sunsest magazine recipe, from sometime in the late ’70s

In a punch bowl, stir together:

3 6-oz. cans thawed frozen concentrate for limeaid
1 12-oz. can thawed frozen concentrate for lemonade
2 bottles (75 ml.) cold dry white wine, such as Chablis or Chenin Blanc (total of 9 C. wine)
If desired tint with A DROP OR TWO of green food coloring.

Shortly before serving add an ice ring or ice cubes. This can be mixed in a large bowl and served in a pitcher (or pitchers).

If desired set out a bowl of salt and a bowl of lemon or lime wedges so guests can rub glass rims with citrus wedges and dip in salt before adding punch.

Makes 3 quarts.

You can use any amount of wine in this recipe, anywhere between 1 bottle and 2 bottles. This recipe has double the wine of the original recipe my mom used, as the lime-aid is very tart and needed cutting. Very dry wine works best.

Now all I need is a fabulous summer pantsuit!

Margarita Wine Punch

Author: Sunset Magazine

Recipe type: Drinks

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Ingredients

3 6-oz. cans thawed frozen concentrate for limeaid
1 12-oz. can thawed frozen concentrate for lemonade
2 bottles (75 ml.) cold dry white wine, such as Chablis or Chenin Blanc (total of 9 C. wine)
If desired tint with A DROP OR TWO of green food coloring.

Instructions

In a punch bowl, stir ingredients together.
Shortly before serving add an ice ring or ice cubes. This can be mixed in a large bowl and served in a pitcher (or pitchers).
If desired set out a bowl of salt and a bowl of lemon or lime wedges so guests can rub glass rims with citrus wedges and dip in salt before adding punch.
Makes 3-4 quarts.

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Better than Green Beer: Fresh Green Smoothies for St. Patrick’s Day

by liz · Feb 26, 2019

One way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day is with (artificially) green-colored food and drinks: green beer, green eggs, green cupcakes, green milk…and the list goes on and on. This makes for some fun-colored eggs in the morning, which probably contain chemicals, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to eat green gravy.

Instead, how about making food green by injecting green healthy foods into the dish? I definitely want to wear and eat something green on St. Patrick’s Day, so I looked around for some fresh, green-injected recipes. The most surprising one? This Piña Colada Green Smoothie above, made green by adding a cup of fresh spinach, along with other typical ingredients you find in a healthy smoothie. Chopped kale works too, and it has the most nutrients per calorie of any vegetable.

I tried it out at home ahead of time (I certainly don’t want to disappoint green beer lovers with veggie-tasting smoothies) and was most pleasantly surprised. The smoothie tasted fresh, light and fruity-coconutty just like a piña colada should. There was not even a hint of that secret healthy ingredient that turned it such a gorgeous shade of green: spinach. I used freshly squeezed orange juice, fat-free yogurt and vanilla protein powder. With all the nutrients from this as well as the banana and pineapple, I could drink this green delight for breakfast every day.

Piña Colada Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 scoop or packet protein powder
1/2 cup pineapple or orange juice
1/2 cup frozen pineapple cubes
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup vanilla fat free yogurt
1/4 banana
1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup ice cubes

Directions:

PLACE protein powder, pineapple juice, pineapple, spinach, yogurt, banana, coconut and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

I also tried this Tropical Avocado Smoothie, shown above, using avocado, lime and fat free evaporated milk. Now I love avocado so much I can find a place for it at every meal of the day, but I’ve never had avocado for dessert (combined with sugar and served as a sweet). This would be interesting.

Well, I loved this smoothie even more! I couldn’t believe how rich and creamy it was, almost like ice cream, and so pretty. I didn’t know sweetened avocado was so good – and I used less sugar than called for in the recipe. In my opinion, this smoothie is just another delicious way to work more avocado into my diet.

So I’m set for fresh green drinks throughout the day tomorrow. And I even found this green-food-injected Green Eggs & Ham recipe, so I can still get my eggs “green” at breakfast.

Tropical Avocado Smoothie

Ingredients:

Pulp of 1 medium avocado
2 cans (12 fl. oz. each) Evaporated Milk, chilled
1/4 cup granulated sugar or to taste
1 teaspoon grated lime zest (optional)
Crushed ice (optional)

Directions:

PLACE avocado, evaporated milk, sugar and lime zest in blender container; cover. Blend for 30 to 45 seconds until smooth.

SERVE in tall glasses. Top with crushed ice, if desired.

NOTE: If a thinner drink is desired, blend in 1 cup ice cubes with drink ingredients.

Sparkling Holiday Champagne Punch

by liz · Dec 16, 2018

This is a delightful winter holiday punch with pears, cranberries and Sparkling Wine. You can use Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, Crémant or any other type of bubbles you can find—we especially love all the latest Central Coast Sparkling Wine. If you use a drier sparkler, just use less ginger ale. You can also adjust the amount of pear juice to your taste—especially if you like a fresher, crisper libation. On the other hand, many folks prefer a sweeter punch, and pear nectar or soda will pack more punch in that area.

Sparkling Holiday Punch – recipe adapted from Meals.com

Ingredients:

2-3 cups of fresh pear juice or purée (or 2 cans pear nectar or soda)
2 cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 can (12 oz) ginger ale, chilled
1 bottle (750 ml) sparkling wine
1/2 cup frozen cranberries

Directions:

PLACE nectar, cinnamon sticks, cloves and cardamom in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.

REFRIGERATE for 4 hours or until chilled. Remove cinnamon sticks and cloves with slotted spoon. Pour mixture into large punch bowl; stir in ginger ale. Float cranberries on top.

Sparkling Holiday Champagne Punch

Author: Meals.com

Recipe type: Drinks

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Serves: 8 cups

This is a delightful winter holiday punch with pears, cranberries and Sparkling Wine.

Ingredients

3 cans pear nectar
2 cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
½ teaspoon ground cardamom, (optional)
1 bottle (1 liter) ginger ale, chilled
½ cup frozen cranberries

Instructions

PLACE nectar, cinnamon sticks, cloves and cardamom in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.
REFRIGERATE for 4 hours or until chilled. Remove cinnamon sticks and cloves with slotted spoon. Pour mixture into large punch bowl; stir in ginger ale. Float cranberries on top.

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Vin Chaud: Heavenly Mulled Wine

by liz · Dec 6, 2018

I once attended Christmas Eve Mass in an old cathedral built in the 1100s in Lausanne Switzerland. What I loved the most about this was the musty, mystical feel of the church filled with villagers in the cold night, the fact that I could understand much of the sermon in French, and the vin chaud (mulled wine) they served everyone at the end.

Being a new wine drinker, I’d heard of mulled wine but never tried it. This “warm wine” is heated and steeped with spices like clove, cinnamon and anise and then served hot, steaming with fragrant spices. It tasted like Christmas in a glass, but also of the vineyards. It was heaven. And I was drinking it in the perfect place.

I found mulled wine all over Europe during the holidays and through the cold winter months. It reminds me so much of winter holidays that I now make mulled wine at the end of every year, and into the new year too. I like to make it with local wines, especially young table wine and freshly-ground nutmeg to keep the experience original.

For a more modern, fusion vin chaud you can use white wine (making it more cider-like), add different combinations of fruit juices, grate fresh ginger into the mix and experiment with herbs to create different flavors. Make your own unique winter concoction and settle in for the winter.

Recipes to start:

from Nestlé Kitchens (easy)
from Food Network (easy)
from Epicurious (more involved)

Cooking Light Recipe Makeover: Low Fat Piña Colada

by liz · Jun 12, 2018

Written by Liz –

The June issue of Cooking Light features a recipe makeover for that refreshing summertime treat: Low Fat Piña Coladas, shown above (photos by Randy Mayor, recipe and content by Cooking Light). They use Carnation evaporated milk to help lower fat but keep the creamy flavor:

“You’ll like our way of losing almost all the sat fat while keeping the delicious coconutty goodness. Freezing the pineapple adds a velvety texture and keeps the cocktail frozen longer. The riper the pineapple, the more concentrated the flavor will be.”

Sounds good to us! Excerpt below is from June 2012 issue of Cooking Light.

Lighter Piña Coladas

Nothing says “escape” like a creamy, ice-cold piña colada: cocktail in hand, feet in the sand, music in the background (hopefully not that dreadful piña colada song, the last #1 hit of the 1970s, unless it’s a guilty pleasure). Unfortunately, nothing says “better head to the gym” like a piña colada, too: 425 calories, 8 grams of saturated fat, most of which comes from the mysterious goo known as cream of coconut. We’ll show you how we kept the vacation-worthy flavor while slashing fat and calories. At just 158 calories, it’s all pleasure, no guilt.

Tip #1: Homemade Coconut Milk

We make our own infused coconut milk to replace heavy, sugary cream of coconut. This cuts 176 calories and 8 grams of sat fat per drink. Save day-of prep time by doing this step (step 1) the night before.

Tip #2: Fresh Pineapple

Pineapple peaks in summer; it’s sweet, slightly tart, and juicy. Sub fresh fruit for some of the canned juice and save 44 calories per drink. A splash of juice adds more acidity.

Tip #3: Gold Rum

We opted for the darker variety, with its hints of caramel and molasses, which better complement the creamy coconut and tart pineapple.

Piña Colada Recipe for Success

Freezing the pineapple adds a velvety texture and keeps the cocktail frozen longer. The riper the pineapple, the more concentrated the flavor will be. Get the recipe here.

Links:

Related better-for-you frozen cocktail recipes:

Green Jalapeño Margarita

Frosty Strawberry Margaritas