Cool Cocktails: Key Lime Martini

This is one of my all-time favorite cocktails. I'm almost always disappointed when I order them at restaurants or bars, so I usually stick with my homemade version (a recipe I got from my old roommate, Ann). Trust me--stick to this one and thank me later. This could easily stand in for dessert..dreamily delicious!

You can use whole milk if you're really freaked out about the cream/half and half, but it's only a few tablespoons per serving and it really makes a difference.

Also, please don't take my word for it--make this at home and see if your guests aren't asking for another round (or 3--ahem, please drink responsibly!)

Ann's Key Lime Martini (serves 2)
6 Tablespoons Licor 43 (Cuarenta y Tres)
2 Tablespoons citrus vodka
4 Tablespoons key lime juice
4 Tablespoons heavy cream (or half and half)

Cool Cocktails: Elderflower Fizz

(Happy Birthday to Me!)

One of my favorite liqueurs is St. Germain, a French spirit infused with elderflower. Their website has a recipe for an Elderflower Gin & Tonic, but I think tonic water is too sweet, considering St. Germain liqueur is already sweet on its own. I made this version of their recipe and think it's much tastier and very refreshing on a hot summer day:

1 1/2 shots St. Germain

1 shot Tanqueray gin (infused for 3 days with fresh cilantro)

Soda water or seltzer

fresh cucumber slice

Pour the St. Germain and the gin in a shaker, shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Pour into chilled martini or highball glass. Add generous glug of club soda (I used seltzer) and garnish with a slice of cucumber. The cilantro in the gin and the cucumber make wonderful partners! Enjoy!

Cool Cocktails: Godiva & Soda

This is another simple but fabulous taste: Godiva, soda water, and half and half. Oooh baby.

Godiva & Soda (serves 1)

4 ounces soda water (seltzer)

2 ounces Godiva liqueur

1 ounce cream or half-and-half

Pour the liqueur and the half-and-half into an ice-filled shaker, shake about 15 seconds, pour over ice in small glass. Add hefty splash of soda water on top. Cheers!

I'm not normally a white chocolate person, but I make an exception for this liqueur. of course, it's even better with regular chocolate liqueur, and also delicious when you mix the white and the regular chocolate!

Cool Cocktails: Watermelon Margarita

In celebration of my birth-week, and in an homage to the dog days of summer, I'm featuring a fabulous cocktail recipe each day this week! Today I'm starting off with one of my favorites: the watermelon margarita. I actually got this recipe from Cooking Light--each serving is about 100 calories! It's also gorgeous!

You don't even need a blender--I poured everything into a pitcher and then mashed it up with a potato masher--I wanted a drink with bits of fresh fruit and some heft.

I also took a melon baller and made cute little balls o'watermelon...you can see the mercilessly-hacked fruit in that lovely photo. It was a lot of fun, though pretty messy. Then I speared speared the melon balls with my American flag toothpicks. The fruit soaks up the cocktail and is all kinds of yum.

Ahhh...doesn't it just scream summer?

What's your favorite summer drink? Drop a comment and tune in this week to find out if it's one of mine, too!