COCKTAILS AT SIX: THE STARLIGHT ROYALE

I was reminiscing today of my recent trip to Niagara Falls. I was such a lucky girl to find myself tagging along on my spouse’s business trip over a long weekend.

While his days were filled with meetings & note taking, mine were filled with site seeing, vineyards & lunching with fast-made girlfriends (sigh). Now we’re back home & all I need to take us back is an evening in front of the 1953 thriller Niagara starring Marilyn Monroe - & a champagne cocktail of course. Champagne & Marilyn certainly do seem to match my Niagara Falls mood perfectly.

The Starlight Royale

2 1/4 cups freshly squeezed lime juice, plus extra for rims
1 1/2 cups gin
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 bottle brut Champagne or sparkling wine
Fine sanding sugar for rims
Grenadine

Mix lime juice, gin, and superfine sugar in a 2-quart pitcher; chill until ready to serve (several hours). To serve, dip rims of glasses in lime juice, then sanding sugar, to coat with 1-inch wide band. Measure 4 ounces Champagne into cocktail shaker filled with ice. Add 3 1/2 ounces lime juice and gin mixture, and shake; strain into 2 glasses, and add 2 to 3 drops of grenadine to each. Repeat. Serves 12.

* images via [ & recipe via Martha Stewart, c+s tumbler, & amazon ]


of le petit happy

COCKTAILS AT SIX: BLACKBERRY CHAMPAGNE

Bastille Day has come & gone and the Tour de France has cycled through to Paris until next year', but there is absolutely no reason that we all can't keep celebrating our inner French girl!

I've slipped on my Bensimons (one cannot have enough of these cute little canvas numbers!) and queued up my Coeur De Pirate album (love!) to put myself in a French frame of mind, which wouldn't be even close to complete without clinking glasses filled to the brim with a take on the classic French aperitif, the Blackberry Kir.

The Blackberry Champagne Cocktail:
4 blackberries, quartered
1/4 cup Triple Sec
4 sugar cubes
Angostura bitters as needed
1 bottle Champagne, Prosecco or other dry sparkling white wine, chilled

In a small nonreactive bowl, combine the blackberries and triple sec and let stand for 15 minutes to let the fruit macerate. Place 1 sugar cube in each of 4 Champagne flutes and add 1-2 dashes of bitters to each. Spoon 4 pieces of marinated blackberry into each flute. Top with Champagne & serve immediately. Serves 4.

* images via the food channel, iTunes, & we heart it

Cheers!

I'd like to raise a glass of champagne and wish you all a very Happy New Year! I hope you have a wonderful night no matter where you are or what you are doing. Just be careful and try not to fall in the bathtub at the end of the night! Cheers!

Photo by Pamela Hanson