Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Spring Green : Kiwi Lemongrass Cocktail


Spring is in the air. Plants are budding, birds occupy the trees each morning in droves, and the temperature outside has slowly begun to climb. I've already said it, and I'll say it again, I love when the seasons begin to change, the death of one and birth of another. Spring is likely my favorite. The color, the warmth, the sun, and the sweet smell. It's perfect.


 In honor of this change, our hostess for my cooking clubs dinner this March, miss Ashley, chose the theme of green. Our dinner this Saturday falls smack dab between St Patties day and the Spring equinox. Ashley had only one (very good) stipulation; no artificial coloring. I've got the pleasure of serving my gourmet girls the cocktail and the appetizer course. I knew immediately that I wanted to make kiwi cocktails, complete with kiwi juice and pulp. Would it be green enough? I wondered. Clearly, green is not an issue. I amped this mixture up a bit by adding a splash of fresh lime and pineapple juice, finishing each drink with Dry Lemongrass soda. Refreshing, slightly sweet, tropical, light, and bubbly. Just about as perfect as a libation can get. 

Wondering what I've got up my sleeve for appetizer? Stay tuned!

The Kiwi Cocktail
Serves Two

Ingredients:

4 oz Belvedere Vodka
6 oz kiwi juice (see note)
Kiwi Pulp
3 oz pineapple juice
1 oz fresh lime juice
Lemongrass Dry Soda

Directions: 

1. In a cocktail shaker full of ice add vodka, kiwi, pineapple, and fresh lime juice. Shake well.
2. Pour mixture into two cocktail glasses of your choice full of ice with a tablespoon or two of kiwi pulp. 
3. Top off with lemongrass soda, or sparkling water.
4. Sip and savor. 

Note: For this recipe I used four kiwis, food processed them, and strained the juice using a sieve. This gave me about 3/4 cup kiwi juice and plenty of pulp.






10 comments:

kamran siddiqi (the sophisticated gourmet) said...

Oooh! That green is absolutely gorgeous! I'll have to make this (minus the vodka). Lovely post!

Rachelle Louise said...

Gorgeous cocktail! I absolutely can't wait to try it on Saturday night! So excited you shot it in one of those glasses I got you guys! : )

Looks perfect! Like you! xx

Anonymous said...

It looks great....!!!

miss mallory opel said...

Kamran, this recipe would make a wonderful non-alcoholic drink! Our hostess is about 5 months pregnant, so I wanted something that would still be delicious sans alcohol. Thank you for the kind comments!

Rachelle, glad you're looking forward to it, love the stemless martini glasses!

Indugetscooking, thank you!

Anonymous said...

This looks like a very nice cocktail! Also love the styling and photography!

Anonymous said...

Here it is! I think I'll start with 2 oz of vodka and work my way up gradually. Where did you find the dry lemongrass soda? I've never seen that before.

Cheers,

*Heather*

RamblingTart said...

Mmm, what cheery and bright cocktails! :-) I'm going to a green dinner party this weekend and my contribution will be Irish Mashed Potatoes - potatoes mashed with garlic, green beans and a whole lotta olive oil. Yumm!!! :-)

Lea said...

Mh, yummy, I love kiwis :)
And it also looks very good!

miss mallory opel said...

Cookmybooks, thank you!

Heather, I hope this cocktail does the trick! Dry Soda is a local company that makes amazing uniquely flavored sodas, much like infused sparkling waters, low sugar/low cal, very flavorful. Delicious and perfect for cocktails and mocktails alike! http://www.drysoda.com/

RamblingTart, I love that you're having a green dinner this weekend too! Your mashed potatoes sound incredible! Have a blast!

Lea, I had not seen or tasted a kiwi cocktail before, but I love kiwi too, so I thought 'why not?' - seemed like a wonderful idea to me, turned out it was!

girl said...

Gorgeous cocktail! I'll have to try this out!