Quick and easy to make, this ice cream cocktail can be “spiffed up” to be super fancy, or something just to surprise the kids on a spring or summer day.

Orange Juice & Vanilla Ice Cream Cocktail, for the Kids

Orange Juice & Vanilla Ice Cream Cocktail, for the Adults

Use any of the “Orange” flavored liquor that’s on the market.  Cointreau, Grand Mariner, Absolute Mandrin, etc.

The second Hot Buttered Cider –  quick and nice to serve anytime in the Autumn/Winter months.

Old Fashioned Hot Buttered Rum

This is a fantastic way to end an afternoon of decorating the yard for Halloween or Christmas.  It just hits the spot perfectly. The original recipe does not contain apple cider (water instead), but it really adds a wonderful layer to the drink.

4 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 cups Apple Cider
4 ounces Rum ** See note below
nutmeg for garnish

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.  Cook over low heat, stirring, until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, without letting the butter set back up.

Combine the mixture with the softened ice cream in a large mixing bowl.  Use a hand mixer to mix, if you have one.  Otherwise stir and stir and stir until it’s smooth.  Freeze until totally frozen again.

To serve this heat the apple cider in a sauce pan.  Meanwhile, using 4 mugs or cups, add a scoop or two of the ice cream mixture to each mug.  Pour one ounce of rum over the ice cream, and then top with the hot apple cider.  Garnish with freshly ground nutmeg.

***To make this without the rum, use 1-2 teaspoons of rum flavoring added to the simmer, and do not add the rum when serving.

Hot Buttered Cider (Non Alcoholic)

1 orange, sliced and seeded, with skin still on
6 cups apple cider (apple juice)
4 cinnamon sticks
4 teaspoons butter

Place 1/2 of the orange slices, apple cider and cinnamon into a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.  As soon as it has come to a boil, reduce the heat to low.  Simmer for about 5-8 minutes.  Remove cider from the heat, and discard the oranges.  Remove the cinnamon sticks, reserving for serving.

To serve, place 1 teaspoon of butter into a mug, garnish with the remaining orange slices, and a cinnamon stick.

For Halloween, we served this in a Witches cauldron, which was sitting in a large platter that had dry ice.  Serve with gelatin Pixies, for some more fun, if you can find them.

Enjoy!

Slushy Orange Punch

1 6oz package Orange Jello
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups boiling water
30 ounce can Pineapple Juice
46 ounce can Apricot Juice
16 ounces orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 liters Ginger Ale, or Sprite/7-Up

In a large container, dissolve the Jello and sugar in the boiling water, and stir well, until everything is dissolved.  Stir in the juices and mix well. Put in the freezer – I use two of the gallon ziplock bags.

About 2 hours before serving, remove the mixture from the freezer to soften, but not melt totally.  Smash it around in the bags, and then place the contents of one bag in a punch bowl or a similarly large bowl.  If it is not smashed up enough and soft, use a potato masher.  Pour in 1-2 litres of the soda and stir to mix.

The topic of tea will be continual — I plan on at least 5 posts – A basic introduction; All about pots, filters, & containers; How to prepare teas, The different kinds of teas (which may end up into a multi post as well); and then a few recipes utilizing tea.

The US is a nation of coffee drinkers, as is proved by the copious number of coffee shops from coast to coast.  You can get a good selection of coffee almost anywhere these days, from the local Exxon or Hess gas stations, to the bodegas, delis, Mom & Pops, and of course the ever present Starbucks.

However, when it comes to teas, the choices are severely limited.  Starbucks offers some Tazo tea, which is okay and surely better than nothing. But usually, you are stuck with bagged tea — Lipton, Tetley, or some sort of flavored bagged tea.  Off-the-shelf bagged tea that you find at your local “mega mart” is just flavorless bags of fannings.  Yes, it’s true — I’m a tea snob :P

I recall having dinner one evening in the city at a very nice restaurant.  I should have known better than to order tea when I was handed the dessert menu which had a full page listing of the varieties and styles of coffees, and just “Tea” listed.  I ordered it anyway, think that this restaurant, being a 4 star rated place, would serve a good, or at least, a decent cup of tea.

I was presented with a small aluminum pot, filled with luke-warm water, and a tea bag on the side.  Suffice it to say that I ended up asking for a cup of coffee instead.  You just cannot brew tea leaves, even tiny fannings, in tepid water.

Starbucks has about 11,500 shops worldwide.  And there are *tens of thousands* of places in the US to get good coffee. However, a rather complete listing of tea shops is around 2208 tearooms *worldwide*.

I started drinking tea when I was a girl — Constant Comment which is a blend of black tea, orange rind and spices.  Sleepytime was another.  In my late teens, I started drinking Lipton almost daily, preferring it over coffee.  I do admit to still using both the Constant Comment and the Sleepytime — scents and flavors of your childhood stay with you forever, it seems.

And then one afternoon I was introduced to Darjeeling.  A perfectly brewed cup of first flush Darjeeling. It was delicate, and tasted to me like a perfect bottle of Red wine might taste to a wine connoisseur – it was amazing.  I fell in love with the flavor of the tea, but also the whole preparation of it.

That cup of Darjeeling changed how I viewed tea forever.  I started learning about the different varieties of tea – everything from an oolong and Lapsang Souchong to Assam and Ceylon and everything in between.

Trial and error taught me how to make a good cup of tea, but it wasn’t immediate.  I over brewed, under brewed, used too much leaf, or not enough.  I read everything relating to tea that I could get my hands on, and experimented with different styles of pots, different brewing techniques, different water temperature, different filters, infusers, strainers…you name it, I wanted to know about it.

Eventually I found what worked best for me, and the types of teas that I loved, some that I liked a lot, some that are amazing in winter, but not so great in summer, and vise-versa, and some teas that I just could never get a taste for.  I’ll go into this in detail in the next tea post.

This is the equipment I use:

hot water kettle
4 cup teapot
teasock infuser/filter
Long handled measuring spoon

I started out my tea adventure very simply, and very cheaply.  I found an online tea shop and picked out a couple of different tea samples.  And I purchased the least expensive tea pot I could find, which came with a built-in stainless steel mesh strainer, and boiled water in a pot on the stove.  The teapot leaked, and dripped tea every time you poured it, but it was fantastic to me.  This was what tea was all about

As I progressed, so did the tools I used.  I used to have a lot of different tea pots, but what I stuck with is

Chatsford Tea Pots

just the basic — a 4 cup pot.  The favorite pot – one that does not drip, and holds its heat very well is the Chatsford Earthenware 4 Cup teapot, Series “B”. The latest version is the series “E”. It comes in various sizes, from 2 cup (12 ounces) to 10 cup (60 ounces).   Chatsford pots were designed to fit the strainer that is included with every pot, so the strainer sits perfectly inside. The Chatsford comes in earthenware, as well as bone china and porcelain.

Some people prefer to steep the tea directly in the water, and then strain into another pot.  For me, that isn’t necessary.  I have tried a lot of different strainers and filters – bamboo, stainless steel mesh, plastic mesh, fine cheesecloth.  All will work, depending on the size of the tea leaf.  It’s just a personal preference.

Tea Sock

I use what is called a tea sock.  It is basically a 2-4 inch hoop-ring that holds a double ply “sock” made of muslin cotton.  It isn’t pretty, and perhaps not something that you want to use when you have guests, as it quickly stains, but it is large enough that the sock itself expands, allowing the tea to brew fully within it, easy to clean, and store.

I used a stove top tea kettle for many years, prefering the ceramic kettle made by Joyce Chen.  But that was lost in the divorce ;).  I used just a pot on the stove until I found the electric kettle I wanted.  My favorite addition to my ‘tea tools’ is an electric kettle, with variable heat settings. The one I use is the UtiliTEA Kettle, sold by Adagio Teas. It’s the perfect size for the 4 cup pot.  The variable heat settings are great, as you can get water to boiling for black teas, yet there is a setting low enough to brew green teas.

I originally was going to make this one post, but once I started writing about tea, I realized that this has to be split into a few different posts.

I’m passionate about tea.  There is genteelness to tea and an art to it’s preparation. There isn’t anything like the ritual of making a morning pot of tea — waiting for the water to boil, pouring that boiling water over the tea leaves, smelling the wonderful aroma that drifts upwards and fills the air with a sweetness that is indescribable, the seemingly endless wait for the leaves to steep and the heavenly taste that is the first sip.

I hope you enjoy this post, and the ones to follow in this tea series as much as I know I will enjoy writing them.

Below is the version of mulled cider that I have used a lot over the years.  The nice thing about this recipe is that you can leave out ingredients you might not have on hand, and it still comes out pretty well.  The only thing that is really necessary is the cider, cloves and cinnamon.  And even then, if you don’t have cloves, you can leave that out, too.

I like to serve this just as is – in good sized mug – one that isn’t too big, or too small.  Once it is strained to remove the spices, you can put it into a thermos and take it with you on Halloween, or while cutting down your Christmas tree.

This can be made, and then re-heated easily.  Just pour into a pitcher, or a serving container of some sort and refrigerate.  Either warm in a pot on the stove, or a mug in the microwave.

Autumn Hot Spiced Mulled Cider

1 gallon Apple Cider
12 Whole Cloves
2-3 cinnamon sticks
2 whole nutmeg
2 chunks crystallized ginger
1/2 lemon, sliced
1 tablespoon honey

Add Cider, clove and cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to a large pot. Slice lemon into wedges, remove the seeds, and add them to pot.  Add honey.

Stir to combine and begin simmering, stirring occasionally.  You can simmer this for 10 minutes to 2 hours.  The longer (up to 2 hours) you simmer this, the better the flavors meld. Strain the cider before serving.

Alternatively, put cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and lemon in a tied cheesecloth bag and no straining is necessary.  Stir often so the flavors mix with the cider.

For the adults, add a splash of rum or bourbon when serving.

This is absolutely wonderful on a hot summer day.  Enjoy!

Orange & Lemonade Vodka Slush

4 Cups Sugar

6 Cups Water
750ml Vodka
2 12 ounce containers of Frozen Orange Juice

1 12 ounce containers of Frozen Lemonade
7-Up, Sprite, or Gingerale

Make a simple syrup:  Add the sugar and water to a sauce pan, and bring to a boil.  Allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat, and cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the orange juice and lemonade concentrate.  Add in the vodka, and stir well to mix.  Add the simple syrup.

Put in a large container, and put into the freezer.  Allow to freeze at least 24 hours.

To serve this, use 1/3 Vodka Slush to 2/3 7-up, Sprite or Gingerale. Garnish with a slice of fresh sliced oranges or lemons.

This is absolutely wonderful on a hot summer day.  Enjoy!

Orange & Lemonade Vodka Slush

4 Cups Sugar

6 Cups Water
750ml Vodka
2 12 ounce containers of Frozen Orange Juice

1 12 ounce containers of Frozen Lemonade
7-Up, Sprite, or Gingerale

Make a simple syrup:  Add the sugar and water to a sauce pan, and bring to a boil.  Allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat, and cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the orange juice and lemonade concentrate.  Add in the vodka, and stir well to mix.  Add the simple syrup.

Put in a large container, and put into the freezer.  Allow to freeze at least 24 hours.

To serve this, use 1/3 Vodka Slush to 2/3 7-up, Sprite or Gingerale. Garnish with a slice of fresh sliced oranges or lemons.

Watermelon Honey Cooler

6-8 ice cubes
2 cups watermelon, seeded
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoons lime juice
7-Up or Sprite

Crush the ice cubes in your blender, Add in the watermelon, honey & lime juice, and blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on your blender.  Pour into 4 glasses, and cover with the 7-Up or Sprite. 

A variations on this recipe:

Add 2 cups of Orange Juice

Change out the watermelon for cantaloupe or honeydew

For a non-virgin version, ad an ounce of vodka per serving ;)

Coconut White Russian

1/4 part Kahlua
1/4 part Piña Colada
1/4 part Vodka
1/4 Part Milk

Put the alcohol over ice, in a shaker if you have it, and then pour into a glass, add milk to fill the glass.

Be careful — it’s surprisingly strong — if you drink too much of it, you’ll be singing ‘Long Tall Glasses” in no time ;)

On the other hand, it might be helpful with getting laid – it is sweet and doesn’t taste like there is much alcohol in it – always advantageous for my boyfriend ;)

I did a two-step, quick-step and a bossa nova
A little Victor Silvester, and a Rudy Valentino
You should a seen me movin, right across the floor
Hand me down my tuxedo, next week I’m comin’ back for more
I can dance — oh yes! I can dance
Look at me dancin’ the floor movin’
I feel good — I can dance
I can dance, I can dance, I can dance.