BY GWEN KENNEALLY
Here is a trio of Mother’s Day Cocktail Pitcher recipes to round out your brunch party. (These recipes serve 6-8) The tea recipe can be made without the limoncello and gin for a tasty and refreshing non-alcoholic beverage. I have included a recipe for Berry Ice Cubes to make for pretty pitcher presentations. I also like to use sliced citrus and edible flowers, as well as fun vintage pitchers and mason jars for glasses. Look for special napkins and straws to add a touch of elegance to your beverage station.
Enjoy your friends and family while you celebrate all of the amazing mothers in your life. Cheers!
Limóncello Tea
½ cup honey
½ cup hot water
3 cups freshly brewed green tea, cooled
¾ cup gin
¾ cup Limóncello
¾ cup fresh lemon juice
1-cup fresh grapefruit juice
1 cup chilled club soda
Ice cubes
6 lemon slices (for garnish)
Mint (if desired)
Stir honey and 1/2 cup hot water in small bowl until honey dissolves. Cool completely. Combine honey water, green tea, gin, Limóncello, lemon juice, and grapefruit juice in large pitcher. Add club soda and stir to blend. Pour in a pitcher full with ice cubes.
Limóncello
17 large lemons, preferably Meyers when in season
Two 750-milliliter bottles grain alcohol or 100 proof vodka
5 cups water
6 cups sugar
Wash and dry the lemons. With a paring knife, remove the ends. With a vegetable peeler, remove only the yellow rind, leaving the pith intact. (Squeeze juice from the lemons and reserve for another use.) Place the lemon peel in a 4-quart Mason jar with a rubber-seal lid. Add the grain alcohol, making sure the lemon peel is completely covered. Store in a cool, dark place, shaking the jar once each day to agitate the lemon peel.
On the 14th day, bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the sugar and remove from the heat, stirring until it is dissolved. Cover and let cool to room temperature. Place a colander on top of the saucepan and strain in the contents of the Mason jar. Discard the lemon peel. Stir to combine the liquids, about 1 minute. Transfer back to the Mason jar. Store for 1 month in a cool, dark place, shaking to agitate the liquid twice a day. After 1 month, transfer the Limóncello to smaller bottles that can be sealed with rubber stoppers.
Bloody Mary
3 large stalks celery from the heart, including leaves, plus extra for serving
36 ounces tomato juice
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
12 dashes Tabasco, to taste
2 cups vodka
Cut the celery in large dice, including the leaves, and puree in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until finely minced. In a large pitcher, combine the rest of the ingredients except the vodka. With the food processor running, pour 1/4 of the tomato juice mixture into the food processor through the feed tube. Then pour the contents of the food processor into the pitcher with the remaining tomato juice mixture. Add the vodka and chill. Serve in tall glasses over ice with a stick of celery.
A Pitcher Of Mimosas
1 bottle of Champagne, Cava, Prosecco or sparkling wine
1/2-gallon freshly squeezed orange juice
1 orange
Cut the orange in half crosswise, and then cut the halves into ¼ thick slices. Pour the entire bottle of Champagne into the pitcher. Pour the chilled orange juice into the pitcher. Stir the mixture thoroughly. Add all the orange slices to the mixture in the pitcher.
Berry Cubes
1-pint strawberries
1-pint raspberries
1-pint blueberries
water
3 ice cube trays
Cut up the strawberries into pieces. Put them in to one of the ice cube trays. Fill it with water. Carefully carry it and put it in the freezer. Put one or two blueberries into each of the boxes on the second ice cube tray. Fill it with water. Carefully carry it and put it in the freezer. Put the raspberries into the third ice cube tray. Fill it with water and again carefully carry it and put it in the freezer. Freeze overnight.
Gwen Kenneally is the owner of Back to the Kitchen, Full Service Catering and Party Planning. She is the co-founder and master baker at Magpie Gourmet Mini Pies.
CLICK HERE to Learn from Gwen through her instructional videos featured on EHow.
Check out her websites www.Backtothekitchen.net and http://magpieminipie.vpweb.com. Her Sweet and Savory Cookbook is available through AMAZON .
About Karen Young
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