Happy Hour

Happy Hour is a monthly feature with easy, creative cocktails and drinks for entertaining.

The Oscar Buzz Cocktail

by Aida Mollenkamp —

Aida Mollenkamp The Oscar Buzz Moet & Chandon Cocktail Recipe

Nothing says celebration like something bubbly so I’ve got two champagne cocktails to share with you today and tomorrow. First up is this blood orange and pomegranate champagne cocktail I’ve coined The Oscar Buzz. It’s made with seasonal ingredients, as bright red as the red carpet, and balanced enough that it can pair with a variety of finger foods.

This is also the cocktail I developed for this year’s Oscars for Moët & Chandon so the key was to make it flavorful yet not so bold that it overpowers the champagne. It pairs fabulously with all the food I’ve shared this week as part of the Oscars Viewing Party though it’s versatile enough to match with a variety of foods. Of course, it’s also quite fabulous on its own so don’t feel the need to throw a whole party just for an excuse to mix one of these up.
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Happy Hour: Grapefruit-Aperol Margarita

by Aida Mollenkamp —

Aida Mollenkamp Easy Recipe Grapefruit Aperol Margarita

I love guests. I love chatting with them, laughing, and cheers-ing, but the truth is I play favorites. My affections can be easily bought with a good food gift. No, I don’t mean something fancy — just something edible like, say, a trunkful of citrus. My mother lives out in the Palm Springs area where there’s a citrus tree every other foot. No, seriously. So, the other day, my mother, being the perfect guest she is, showed up with a literal trunkful of Meyer lemons, ruby red grapefruit, and Cara Cara oranges. She looked like she was holding her own farmer’s market out of her trunk but it was all for me and all for free.

So, I went a little nuts. As in, everything I’ve cooked this week has had some form or multiple forms of citrus. And I promise to share the results before all the amazing winter citrus call it quits. First up was a few rounds of citrus pickled shrimp, which have become my healthy snack of choice this Super Bowl weekend. After that were tins upon tins of Meyer Lemon Icebox Tartlets, which I will post later this month. Finally, I opened the liquor cabinet to drink up the last of them.
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Happy Hour: Garden of Eden Cocktail

by Aida Mollenkamp —

Aida Mollenkamp Garden of Eden Cocktail Recipe

Last New Year’s Eve came and went as I worked on my cookbook into the wee hours of 2011, so this year I have two year’s worth of celebrating to do. I’ll be kicking things off with this festive gingery twist on the classic Champagne cocktail. It’s a simple sparkling wine cocktail that’s so effortless to throw together all you’ll have to worry about is running out of bubbly.

Cheers to a festive New Year’s weekend and to a food-filled 2012!

xoxo

Aida
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Happy Hour: Corpse Reviver #2 Cocktail

by Aida Mollenkamp —

Aida Mollenkamp Easy Cocktail Recipe Corpse Reviver #2

Right about now, you’re likely looking at the name of this cocktail and thinking, “why are you talking about corpses when Halloween has already passed?” Well, it turns out, the saintly celebrations haven’t ended for me quite yet because this weekend I’m attending an enormous Dia De Los Muertos celebration (read: rumored to be the largest in Southern California). I’m not really sure what to expect, but I’ll take lots of photos and will be sure to share them. What I am sure of is that DDLM is a celebration and logic follows that it’s best to toast spirited celebrations with spirited drinks, hence the Corpse Reviver #2.
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