Clementine 75's
Happy Belated New Year's Eve!
Last month's Food & Wine not only included the lovely green cocktail sauce recipe that I enjoyed last night with some gorgeous jumbo shrimp, but also this incredible recipe for Clementine 75's.
Planning!
I love a clementine. I love an infused simple syrup. I love French 75's. There's was nothing to it but to do it with just enough time management to ensure that the simple syrup was infused and cooled by the time my guest arrived with the sparkling wine.
Cooking!
The only real cooking involved here was a heavenly infused simple syrup. When I peeled and sliced the ginger needed for the shrimp stock (for my shrimp cocktail and my risotto), I also peeled and sliced enough ginger for this syrup. I smashed up the juniper berries with my mortar and pestle, tossed in a gorgeous soft ceylon cinnamon stick (rather than the two sticks called for in the recipe, because this would be enough) and the dried cranberries, then stirred in the sugar and water and brought it all to a simmer for just a minute before take it off the heat to steep.
When I strained it, it was so incredibly beautiful, but I forgot to take a picture. Please forgive me.
I whizzed five clementines through my juicer. It was a little bit too much juice, so my friend drank the extra straight.
clementines, prepare to meet your doom
Then we stirred everything together, and shook up our first round of cocktails, served in martini glasses with a brut cava float. This went so stunningly with the appetizers, we were in heaven. It's almost like I planned it that way!
