Cocktails & Snacks Using Your Home-Grown Herbs
Download cocktail recipes from our partners at Miscellaneous Distillery!
Rosemary Nuts
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon brown sugar
dash of cayenne pepper (or more to your taste)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups pecan halves (or mixed nuts)
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary leaves
Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter and stir in sugar, pepper, salt. Turn off heat and toss pecans in mixture until thoroughly coated. Spread on a cookie sheet in a single layer and toast 10-12 minutes until nuts begin to brown. Remove and sprinkle rosemary over hot nuts. Let cool slightly and serve warm, or cool completely to store in an airtight container.
Chimichurri Sauce
Authentic Chimichurri (Uruguay & Argentina)
Adapted from Cafedelites.com
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 small red chilies, seeded and finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon). Red pepper flakes can be substituted
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Allow to sit at least 10 minutes to release all of the flavors into the oil before using. The longer the better! Chimichurri can be prepared and refrigerated for 24 hours, if needed.
Use the sauce to marinate or to baste meats (chicken or steaks) while grilling. Serve grilled meat topped with additional Chimichurri.
Drink Recipes
Use your Garden sPOTS herbs to make the most refreshing drinks in town! We’ve listed a few of our favorite recipes for cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks. For more recipes, download this page of cocktail recipes from our partners at Miscellaneous Distillery!
Classic Mojito
Makes 1 drink
Ingredients
8 whole mint leaves (without stems)
2 ounces MISCellaneous Distillery’s Risky Rum
2 Tablespoons (1 oz) fresh lime juice (about half a lime)
1 - 2 Tablespoons Pratt Standard Rich Simple Syrup, depending on your sweetness preference (or make your own*)
Ice
2 ounces soda water
Extra mint sprigs for garnish
Directions: Add mint to your shaker. Gently muddle the mint to release the oils. Add rum, lime juice, and simple syrup to shaker. Add ice. Shake 10 seconds or until you get a nice frost on the outside of the shaker. Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with soda and a sprig of fresh mint. See a tutorial from our friends at MISCellaneous Distillery, here!
*Simple syrup adds sweetness without adding the texture of sugar granules to your drink. To make simple syrup, boil one cup of water with one cup of sugar until sugar dissolves. Cool.
Cilantro Bloody Mary
From the Washington Post
Serves 12 – perfect for your brunch crowd!
Ingredients
1/3 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice
3 to 5 serrano chili peppers, stemmed and seeded
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped (save some sprigs for garnish)
46 ounces (about 5 ¾ cups) tomato juice
¾ cup tequila, chilled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ice
Directions: You’ll want to do this in 2 batches. In a blender, puree the lime juice, chili peppers, and cilantro. Add tomato juice and tequila and pulse to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Strain the mixture into a large pitcher. (Strain twice if necessary.) Pour mixture into glasses filled with ice and garnish with a sprig of cilantro.
Mocktail
Coconut, Cucumber, Lime &
Mint Cooler
From Town & Country and From Cornelia Guest of Cornelia Guest Events
Ingredients
4 cups of coconut water
2 cucumbers sliced very thinly
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
Directions: Combine coconut water, cucumber slices, lime juice, sugar and mint leaves. Let chill for 1 to 2 hours. Serve as cooler mocktails.
Lemon Basil Martini
From Food & Wine magazine
Makes 1 drink
Ingredients
3 basil leaves, plus 1 basil sprig
¼ ounce of simple syrup (*see recipe)
Ice
2 ounces gin
½ ounce limoncello
½ ounce bianco vermouth (sweet white vermouth)
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
Directions: In a cocktail shaker, muddle the basil leaves with the simple syrup. Add ice and all of the remaining ingredients except the sprig. Shake well. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with the basil sprig.
*Simple syrup adds sweetness without adding the texture of sugar granules to your drink. To make simple syrup, boil one cup of water with one cup of sugar until sugar dissolves. Cool.
Non-Alcoholic
Strawberry Cucumber Basil Water
From Driscoll’s
Ingredients
16 oz Driscoll’s strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup sliced cucumber
4-5 basil leaves
Sparkling water
Directions: Add strawberries, cucumber, and basil to a pitcher. Top with sparkling water and stir well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove basil before serving.
Vodka-Thyme Lemonade
From Food & Wine magazine
Makes 1 drink
Ingredients
4 lemon wedges
Superfine sugar
Ice
2 ounces citrus vodka
1 ounce chilled club soda
1 lemon thyme spring
2 ounces Lemon-Thyme Syrup*
Directions: Run a lemon wedge along the rim of a highball glass to moisten it. Dip the rim in superfine sugar to create a light coating. Add ice to the glass and set aside. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the remaining 3 lemon wedges with Lemon-Thyme Syrup. Add ice and vodka and shake well. Stir in club soda. Strain the drink into the prepared highball glass and garnish with the lemon thyme sprig.
*Lemon-Thyme Syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine 1 -1/2 cups water and 1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add 3/4 ounce of lemon thyme, cover and let stand for at least 2 hours or overnight. Add 3/4 cup lemon juice and strain the syrup. Serve with drinks, dressings, sorbet.
Raspberry Vodka Martini
From Driscoll’s
Makes 1 drink
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon (½ ounce) simple syrup
2 Tablespoons (1 ounce) cranberry juice
3 Tablespoons (1 ½ ounces) berry vodka
1 Tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons (3/4 ounce) lemon juice
¼ - ½ cup ice
1 sprig of rosemary
6 Driscoll’s Raspberries, divided
Directions: To make the garnish. Remove leaves from rosemary, except for leaves at the very top of the sprig. Thread 2 raspberries onto the rosemary sprig and set aside.
To make the martini. Place 4 raspberries and 6-10 rosemary leaves into a cocktail shaker and muddle gently. Add lemon juice, simple syrup, cranberry juice, berry vodka and ice. Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is very cold. Strain martini into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with rosemary-raspberry sprig.