Category: Drinks

Maple Lemonade

I’ve got a budding entrepreneur on my hands! My oldest daughter has been dreaming up business ideas since she was four. At nine, she’s already lined up her classmates to work in her salon (which she named, “Make It Up”) and she’s been saving up her Chanukah gelt for years! Entrepreneurial spirit is definitely in the genes, so it’s no surprise that she’s so business-minded.

When the weather starts to warm up, my little businesswoman starts dreaming up her lemonade-stand strategy. This year, she decided to sell brownies and saltwater taffy in addition to watermelon lemonade. Pink lemonade is always a good seller with the kids, and it’s so much fun to watch their faces when they take their first sip. We’ve done watermelon limeade before, so we went with lemonade this time. I made some chewy brownies with colored sprinkles and we headed to the Bay Parkway waterfront to set up our stand. It was such fun to watch my daughter in action! She would light up with every customer, and she took each sale so seriously. The passersby were so impressed! She netted $30.75 profit, which she put aside with all her savings, after tipping her sister $5 for helping.

My kids are huge lemonade fans, and not just for selling. Our absolute favorite recipe is one that I tasted at one of Levana Kirschenbaum’s cooking demo’s. She actually made it for my kid’s camp last year and I’ve been making it ever since. Traditionally, lemonade is made by making a syrup out of sugar and water, but with Levana’s maple version, there’s no need for that! I also love that the maple syrup is a natural sweetener, so it’s healthier than the traditional. Thanks to Levana for allowing me to share this recipe with you all!

Maple Lemonade
reprinted with permission from The WholeFoods Kosher Kitchen
More lemonade variations on LevanaCooks

3 cups water
1 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup

Place all the ingredients in a jar or pitcher and stir well. Mix again before serving as the maple syrup tends to settle at the bottom.


Related Recipes:

strawberry limonana
watermelon limeade
cherry basil limonana

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Gelt Hot Chocolate

I’m super excited for this Chanukah blog post because WE’RE HAVIN’ A PARTY! Albeit a virtual one, but we can still have fun, right?! And all parties have to have prizes, so there’s a great GIVEAWAY too!

I got together with a few other bloggers to create a virtual menu and I was assigned the drinks. Now when I think of Chanukah, I imagine sitting by the lights of the Menorah, snuggled up under a warm blanket, sipping hot chocolate and singing Chanukah songs. The kids are around me playing draidel (ok, fighting over draidel), and my husband is frying latkes in the kitchen. Yes, Chanukah is just about the only time I let him take over and make a mess! He learned to make perfect crispy fried latkes when he was in Yeshiva in Israel and I don’t mind getting a little break from cooking so the kitchen’s all his (for at least a night..or two).

While hubby hosts a fryfest, I like to mix up a warm drink – some mulled wine, spiced apple cider, or gelt hot chocolate, obviously. I came up with this fun Chanukah version of hot chocolate based on a drink that my friends and I used to order at a place called Cafe K, back in the old days. Cafe K is still around, and they might still serve it! It was called “Torino Hot Chocolate”, after the chocolate bar that was used to make it. They’d take a whole bar of this chocolate and pour hot milk over it, and that was it! It was a dreamy confection and we’d save up our calories to splurge on it in the winter. It would warm us up from the inside out and we’d relish each and every sip!

I thought it would be fun to do the same with some chocolate Chanukah gelt! It makes a great party drink – just put out a vase filled with chocolate gelt, an urn of hot milk, and an endless selection of toppings and you’ve got yourself an amazing hot chocolate bar that will be the talk of  your Chanukah party!

And now for the rest of our virtual party menu, check out the mouthwatering dishes from these talented bloggers:

Appetizer:  Turkish Lentil Soup by Samantha from The Little Ferraro Kitchen
Main: Roasted Jalapeno and Cheddar Strata by Melinda from Kitchen Tested
Side: Mac and Cheese Latkes by Miriam from OvertimeCook
Dessert: Deep Fried Rugelach by Amy from What Jew Wanna Eat

Gelt Hot Chocolate

3 bags (3 oz.) good quality chocolate coins (I use Belgian chocolate gelt)
1 cup whole milk (or half cream, half milk)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
whipped cream, for topping
cinnamon stick, for serving
additional chocolate gelt, for serving

Method:

Unwrap the chocolate gelt and place on the bottom of a glass. Bring the milk up to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Add sugar and cinnamon and stir until chocolate is fully melted and incorporated. Top with whipped cream and serve with a cinnamon stick and chocolate gelt.

VARIATIONS:

For coffee hot chocolate, omit cinnamon and add 1 tsp coffee and an extra tsp of sugar
For vanilla hot chocolate, omit cinnamon and add 1 tsp vanilla extract or heat up milk with 1 vanilla pod, scraped

TOPPING IDEAS:

whipped cream, marshmallows, crushed cookies, crushed graham crackers, brownies, coconut, candied nuts, candied citrus rind, crushed peppermint candy, sprinkles, fresh mint.

And now for the exciting part – the prizes! We’re giving away 2 separate packages – a cookbook package sponsored by Artscroll and a Gourmet Kosher Foodie Package sponsored by Nomoo cookies and California Gourmet. Enter to win below. Happy Chanukah!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Other Festive Hot Drinks: Mulled Wine
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Passion Fruit Cream Cornucopias + a Coolada

Being a food blogger has awarded me such amazing possibilities! Getting a chance to work with some amazing kosher products is one of them!

When I was approached about working with Morad’s amazing Danue line of fruit flavored wines, I was all over it! We’re talking sweet fruity flavors like pomegranate, lychee and passion fruit – oh my! Have I ever told you how much I adore passion fruit?

Passion fruit is not exactly readily attainable in New York. Case in point: I actually forked out a whopping $3.99 for ONE little round one to make the blessing of a new fruit (Shehechiyanu) on the Jewish New Year. I think that puts me at about $1.00 per seed. Still, I wanted to splurge on my favorite exotic fruit for the holiday – so I went all out. I’m thinking it’s time for another trip to Aussie, where they sell passion fruits like apples, to hoard up on the sweet and tangy delicate fruit.

When I heard that Morad had a passion fruit flavored wine in their collection – I was beyond excited to work with it! I wasn’t surprised to learn that it’s Morad’s best seller – who wouldn’t want alcohol that’s infused with the fruity goodness of passion fruits, hello?!

I set out to make the most of my passion fruit wine with both a cocktail and a dessert that would celebrate it’s exotic appeal. First…the dessert. To highlight the holiday of Succot – a time when we celebrate the overflowing harvest – I decided to go with a twist on the classic cream horn. The cream horn resembles a cornucopia; horn of plenty, that is a symbol of abundance. You’ll find cornucopia’s pouring forth with produce – especially around Thanksgiving time, making this dessert all the more appropriate.

Now I doubt you’ve ever seen a cornucopia filled with passion fruit cream – that is thanks to Morad’s amazing wine that I reduced down into a syrup which I used to spike the pastry cream. And not just any pastry cream. To keep it dairy free, I made the classic french custard with coconut milk, to highlight the tropical feel. My husband is a huge fan of custard-based desserts, so I couldn’t wait for him to be my taste tester when he got home from work. The man sure knows his pastry cream! Well let me tell you guys…one lick of the stuff and he said it was the best custard he’d ever had! I used the leftovers to make him a classic napoleon and he licked his fingers down to the last crumb. I’d call that a success! :)

As for the cornucopia’s themselves? Don’t be overwhelmed by their cuteness – these babies are such a breeze to make! All you need are some cream horn molds and frozen puff pastry and they’re done in under 15 minutes. Let me tell you – I’m not one for these involved pastry type of things, but they were truly super easy! Just MAKE SURE you lightly grease you molds before applying the puff pastry. Ask me how I know.

And don’t worry, if you can’t get your hands on the pastry molds in time for Succot, you can always wrap some sugar cones in foil and use those instead. They’ll be larger than traditional horns – but that just means more passion fruit cream for you!

To get the recipe for these passion fruit cream cornucopias, head on over to Joy of Kosher!

Now that we have our dessert all set, we’re onto the cocktail! I mean, you gotta have a cocktail right? Especially on Succot! To highlight the exotic passion fruit in this spiked smoothie, I decided to do a riff on the classic Pina Colada by using Morad Passion Fruit wine instead of rum. You can add the ice for a delicious slushy, or keep things light with a cocktail, sans ice. Either way, this fruity, creamy and lets face it – dreamy – cocktail is a winner!

To get the recipe for the Passion Fruit Colada, head on over to Joy of Kosher! 

Thanks to Morad Wineries for the opportunity to work with their delicious fruity wine, and for sponsoring this post! I’m off to finish the bottle!

Other Fruity Cocktails:

The Hamantini
Whiskey Cider
Sangria

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Cherry Basil Limonana

If you’ve never tried limonana, you’re missing out on an amazing drink! The traditional thirst-quencher is made by mixing lemonade with lots of fresh mint and ice – for a refreshing summer treat.

But you know me – I can never just do classic. OK, maybe I can – but I still love putting my own twist on things. That’s how my strawberry limonana happened.

This year, I decided to try using my new herb obsession – basil! I’m putting it in salads, stuffing it into sandwiches, and now, even drinks! Strawberry-basil is a classic combination, but it works amazing with cherries too!

I love the idea of adding fresh fruit to my lemonade, but if you’re not fond of having bits of cherries in your drink – check out my variation for an infused version instead!

Cherry Basil Limonana

1/2 c lemon juice
1/4 c maple syrup
15 basil leaves
1 heaping cup pitted fresh cherries (about 20)
1 c water
2-3 cups ice

Method:

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until slushy.

VARIATION: If you don’t like having the pieces of cherries in this smoothie/slush hybrid, you can boil the cherries  with maple syrup and water until the cherries are soft. Puree the mixture in the blender with basil leaves and pour through a strainer. Blend the cherry-basil infused syrup with the lemon juice and ice.

 

Other Summer Drinks:

strawberry limonana
watermelon limeade
tropical fruit smoothie

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The Hamantini

Purim has got to be every child’s favorite day of the year (and every dentists worse nightmare!). They get to dress up like princesses, go house hopping with their friends and amass an unconscionable amount of candy. It’s quite literally a kids dream come true.

But for the parents of those kids? Maybe not so much. First you got the weeks leading up to Purim where you have to wrack your brain for that perfect shalach manos gift basket. Not to mention all the kiddies, and their teachers, principals, therapists and bus drivers. It’s no wonder by the time Purim comes around, we’re meant to drink up until we don’t know the different between Haman & Mordechai.

And then you got Purim day where you’re up at an ungodly hour to dress all the kids in their Purim costumes, barely make it for Megillah reading, and run about town taking each of your kids to their list of friends, not to mention your family and friends. By the time you sit down for the Purim meal, you need a stiff drink! Enter: THE HAMANTINI, a riff on the classic Purim cookie – hamantaschen.

The 3-cornered hamantasch is customarily eaten on Purim because it resembles Haman’s hat. For more on that story, read this holiday guide. Hamantaschen are traditionally made with raspberry or apricot jam – both of which I have incorporated into my Hamantini cocktails.

For my Raspberry Hamantini, I went straight for my favorite drink of all time – Raspberry Snapple. A shot of vodka and some raspberry jam simple syrup offer a serious raspberry experience with just the right amount of buzz. Of course, the rim of the glass is dipped in raspberry jam syrup and raspberry hamantasch cookie crumbs – making The Raspberry Hamantini a most befitting name!

The Raspberry Hamantini

2 oz. raspberry Snapple
1 1/2 oz. vodka
2 tbsp raspberry jam simple syrup (recipe follows)
raspberry hamantasch cookie crumbs, for garnish

Method:

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake (ice, optional). Dip the rim of your cocktail glass in raspberry jam simple syrup and raspberry hamantasch cookie crumbs. Pour the drink into your cocktail glass.

Raspberry Jam Simple Syrup

3 tbsp raspberry jam
3 tbsp water

Add ingredients to a small pot and bring to a boil, whisking to break up the jam. Simmer until slightly thickened. Set aside to cool.

If raspberry is not your flavor, give The Apricot Hamantini a try. With apricot nectar, dark rum and apricot jam simple syrup, you’ll be in apricot heaven! Of course the rim of this cocktail glass is also dipped in apricot jam simple syrup and finished in apricot hamantasch cookie crumbs for a festive finish. Apricot euphoria in a glass, if I may.

While I’m no mixologist, I had so much fun creating these festive cocktails! I found some great stuff hiding in my liquor cabinet, and I can’t wait to whip out my shot glasses come Purim. I make quite a fun drunk, I must say. So if you see me around and I’m a wee bit tipsy, you’ll can blame it all on Haman and his three-cornered hat.

So as the day dwindles down, and the kiddies collapse all shmeared in makeup and chocolate, whip out your martini glasses and let the real fun begin!


Pick the flavor that suits your fancy – Raspberry or Apricot (or both!)- and drink up and be merry! Happy Purim!

The Apricot Hamantini

2 oz. unsweetened apricot nectar (I use Ceres)
1 oz. dark rum
1 tbsp apricot jam simple syrup (recipe follows)
apricot hamantasch cookie crumbs, for garnish

Method:

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake (ice, optional). Dip the rim of your cocktail glass in apricot jam simple syrup and apricot hamantasch cookie crumbs. Pour the drink into your cocktail glass.

Apricot Jam Simple Syrup

2 tbsp apricot jam
2 tbsp water

Add ingredients to a small pot and bring to a boil, whisking to break up the jam. Simmer until slightly thickened. Set aside to cool.

Other Cocktail Recipes:

whiskey cider
3 layer chocolate cake martini

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In honor of Purim, the Kosher Connection is having a cocktail linkup party! Read on for more great cocktail recipes and ideas!