Lychee Lemonade Fizz

If it's not Happy Hour, let's pretend! I love a good cocktail. In the Summer, the fresh and fruitier, the better. Frosé? Hell yay! This sweet, frozen fizz is not frosé, but surely as tasty. It's for anyone that loves lemonade, a little bubble, cold to the sip, and well... lychees. I fell in love with lychee cocktails the first time I tried the ginjo lychee cocktail at Morimoto, one of my all time favorite sushi restaurants. If you've never tried a lychee, because after all, they are a little more rare in American cuisine, I highly recommend. Lychees have a consistency similar to the inside of a grape and they are sweet. Here is my super simple recipe for this Summer's creation of a lychee lemonade. Cheers! xo RCN

Makes 2 cocktails:

2 cups ice

10 lychees (they usually come in a 20oz can in liquid which is about 20 lychees)

1 can of sparkling lemonade, I used Lemon Lemon blackberry flavored

2 shots Vodka, I use Grey Goose

1/2 fresh lemon + 2 small lemon wedges for garnish to each glass

Crush ice in blender until frosty and snow-like and you just can't crush it anymore. Then add 8 lychees and continue to blend and crush (pulse too) for about 30 seconds or so until all combined and lychees are chopped up into very small pieces. Remove pitcher from blender and give the snow cone textured ice/lychees a mix with a spoon before scooping about four big spoonfuls into each glass. Then add one shot of Vodka to each glass (maybe 1 1/2 if you like your cocktails a little stronger) followed by a 1/2 cup of the sparkling blackberry lemonade (or reg. sparkling lemonade). Pour slowly, or the drink will fizz over the rim. Squeeze a quarter wedge of fresh lemon into drink and stir. Drop one whole lychee into each drink, and complete with a small lemon wedge on rim of glass. Sip with a straw and voilà!

Brunch Bloodys

Brunch requires a delicious drink and for me it often starts with a Bloody Mary. I was not a fan of tomato juice as a child, but for some reason by the time I turned 21, I started to love tomato juice - with vodka and a whole lot of other flavors. Here is my version of the famed brunch favorite. An over the top garnish is what makes the cocktail even better. How do you like to top off your Bloody? Enjoy your weekend brunch, cheers! Recipe below. xo RCN

Recipe makes one large glass (plus a little extra)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Organic tomato juice

2 shots Vodka

Healthy handful of ice

12 dashes of Crystal Hot Sauce

10 grinds of Pepper (or more)

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Worcestershire

2 tsp Olive Juice

1/4 tsp Horseradish

1/2 TBSP Lemon Juice

1/2 TBSP Lime Juice

3 Olives

1 piece of Pickled Okra

1 Dill Pickle

1 Lemon wedge

1 Lime wedge

1 piece of Bacon

1 Celery stalk

Mix all ingredients together before pouring into glass filled with a healthy handful of ice. Garnish with a half skewer stacked with a dill pickle, three olives, and a pickled okra. Add wedge of lime, lemon, and shrimp cocktail to the rim of the glass. Finish with a crispy piece of bacon, celery stalk, and straw. Enjoy!

Candy Cane Martini

Holiday Happy Hour Alert! This drink is actually perfect for dessert as well. A little peppermint flavor always has me feeling ready for Christmas. Cheers & enjoy! xo RCN

By the glass:

1.25 oz Vanilla vodka

1.25 oz Creme de Cacao

.75 oz Peppermint schnapps

Crushed candy cane for rim of glass, one mini cane for garnish

To serve, begin by dipping the rim of the martini glass in water. Slowly motion the rim of the glass through crushed candy cane pieces on a flat surface. Hold glass horizontally, sometimes that works best! After the glass looks divine, mix all other ingredients in a martini shaker (with a 1/2 cup crushed ice, if you like your drinks really cold). Pour into glass and sprinkle a little crushed candy cane at center of drink. It will sink to bottom of glass and create a pretty red-clear gradation of color in your drink. Done, serve for the partay!