10.05.2014

Champagne Shrub Cocktail (And This Weeks Eats)

When I went out for a celebratory 'kids are back in school' brunch with my girlfriends a few weeks ago, I had the most amazing mimosa.  

I've said it before, The Commons is pretty yummy and you can get full on brunch (with cocktails!) every day of the week!
It contained a 'raspberry-mint shrub' and, needless to say, we had no idea what that meant but were very happy with our tangy and berry flavored bubbly.  It seems that shrub infused drinks, which is just a type of flavored simple syrup with a little kick of vinegar, has really caught on.  There was a shrub cocktail on the menu at Lola last week and I've seen them pop up on Pinterest.  The origin of the shrub is rather interesting. Naturally, I had to try and create my own. 
It's really, really, really easy to do.  Just mix, leave overnight, strain and add some vinegar.  I wanted to try my hand at a straight up raspberry shrub, and just bought frozen raspberries from Trader Joe's.  I think I might try strawberry or strawberry-basil next...

Raspberry Champagne Shrub Cocktail
Ingredients:

  • 1 pound of raspberries (fresh or frozen - I mixed mine straight from the freezer)
  • 2 cups of granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
Preparation:
  1. Combine berries and sugar in a glass bowl, stir and cover with plastic wrap.
  2. Store in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or up to two days.
  3. Scoop the top layer of fruit and sugar into a sieve of mesh strainer (there will be some sugar at the bottom that doesn't dissolve), strain into a separate container and return to bowl.
  4. Whisk in vinegar and transfer to a glass or plastic bottle and give it a shake whenever you are ready to use.  It will last a month in the fridge.
  5. Make a cocktail! Just pour about 2 tablespoons in the bottom of a champagne flute and top with your favorite bubbly.  
This Weeks Eats
  • Monday - Pizza
  • Tuesday - Thai Ground Beef with Veggies and Brown Rice (a favorite Cooking Light recipe)
  • Wednesday - Chicken with Artichokes, Tomatoes and Mozzarella (longtime staple from Emeril)
  • Thursday - Easy Cheesy Chili Chicken and Rice (the name is true, it's a super easy and fast dinner we found on the Food Network years ago)
  • Friday - Mac and Cheese with Roasted Broccoli (a great Pioneer Woman recipe)
  • Saturday - out for a Oiselle event, gonna play dinner by ear.
  • Sunday Winter Minestrone (moved this Barefoot Contessa recipe back from last week, because it was just too warm and sunny around here for soup! So we went out for fish n' chips instead.)
As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie, Mommy Run Fast and Jill Conyers - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!





2 comments:

  1. Chicken with artichokes sounds delicious! Thanks for linking up :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I need to try the easy cheesy chili chicken! I mean, EASY and CHEESY....

    ReplyDelete