Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Midnight Martini

This dark, murky espresso cocktail is for grown-up trick-or-treating. It was taken from Ina Garten’s Halloween for Grown-ups, but I changed a couple of details. In her version, she used orange-flavored vodka. First, I wasn’t sure I would want any orange flavor at all, so I started with plain vodka. Then, I added just a little orange liqueur, quite liked it, and experimented with how much was just right. I used a natural, premium, locally made liqueur called Paula’s Texas Orange. PTO is also excellent, if not necessary, in margaritas. In the end, the espresso and orange flavors mixed quite nicely. My version of the cocktail:

1 c brewed espresso, chilled
3/4 c vodka
1/2 c Paula’s Texas Orange (or another orange liqueur)
1/2 c Kahlua
1 cup ice
Sliced blood oranges

-place ice in a cocktail pitcher and pour espresso, vodka, orange liqueur, and Kahlua over it; stir to combine and continue stirring for several seconds to chill the mixture; pour into four martini glasses while straining out the ice, and garnish each with a slice of blood orange

Blood orange slices add a nice touch of color, and their name even sounds Halloween-oriented. Given the amount of alcohol per martini, they surprisingly lack harshness as the Kahlua performs well in smoothing out the edges. Can I say it’s hauntingly good? Too easy. Mysteriously enchanting? No. But, it’s Halloween, and this is a great cocktail, so give it a go.



6 comments:

  1. lisa,
    This is my kind of cocktail.
    do you still have trick or treaters ringing your bell at midnight???!!!!!

    Enjoy!

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  2. how lovely!!! i would trick or treat at your house!! the flan below looks lovely, too... what a perfect glaze/syrup1! these martini photos are GORGEOUS!

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  3. I tried some Halloween cocktails lately and was disappointed, but this one looks delicious. I linked to it on my blog: http://www.savvyhousekeeping.com/?p=126

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  4. love the close up of this one and the name ... how wonderfully suitable for halloween too ^o^

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  5. This is looking good...are you sure it's only for midnight? LOL

    -DTW
    www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

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  6. Oh gosh I remember that episode. Was it the one where she made the cake decorated with candy corns? God I love Halloween... I too was cautious about how much orange she had in hers. Come Halloween this year - I'll be trying your version.

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