This cocktail can be made with the white liquor of your choice – gin, rum, or vodka. The floating pomegranate seeds really make this drink a star attraction!
Holiday Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 English cucumber use peel only
- 2 ounces white liquor rum, vodka, or gin
- 4-5 ounces tonic we like Fever Tree
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp pomegranate seeds
- ice
Instructions
- Line a large red wine glass with the cucumber peel.
- Add ice.
- Pour in liquor and tonic.
- Gently stir.
- Garnish with Rosemary and pomegranate seeds.
Cooking while on vacation? Yes! And it is a blast (especially when you have the men do the dishes). We recently visited a little slice of God’s heaven, Costa Rica. We were fortunate to have accommodations with a beautiful kitchen, so we took full advantage. Believe it or not, we actually cancelled a dinner reservation at the Four Seasons so we could make this meal together! Cooking with friends or family while on vacation makes for wonderful memories – especially if there’s rum involved! So the next time you’re vacationing with a kitchen available, cancel those reservations, turn up the music, pour the cocktails, and let the fun begin.
Shrimp, Feta and Fennel Dinner
Ingredients
- 2 cups fennel diced
- 5 Tbsp olive oil divided
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 can diced tomatoes 14 ounce, fire roasted if possible
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 Tbsp rum
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 2 pounds jumbo shrimp 12-24 per pound, peeled and deveined with tails left on
- 8 ounce feta cubed
- 5 slices whole wheat bread dried out and crusts removed
- 4 Tbsp fresh parsley minced
- 2 tsp lime zest
- 2 limes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Heat 3 Tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat in a large oven-proof fry pan. When oil is hot, sauté fennel for around 5-8 minutes until it is soft.
- Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
- Add the wine and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Then add diced canned tomato with the juice, cherry tomatoes, oregano, rum, and salt and pepper to the pan. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes.
- While this dish is simmering, put bread in a food processor and pulse until bread crumbs form.
- Place crumbs in a bowl and mix with the lime zest and parsley. Pour 2 T. of olive oil in the bowl, mix, and set aside.
- Place shrimp tails up in the pan (on top of the tomato/fennel mixture) and cover with feta.
- Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over the top.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and squeeze the juice of one time over the top.
Notes
Serves 6.
Here’s another refreshing Simple Celebration cocktail recipe. Cachaca rum originated in Brazil. Vicki had it during her trip to Vietnam and Cambodia where it was served in every restaurant. Bring this exotic flavor home for your next happy hour!
Cachaça Rum Cocktail
Ingredients
- Half lime cut into four slices
- 2 Tbsp simple syrup 1/2 sugar and 1/2 water dissolved
- 2 ounces Cachaça rum pictured
- Splash of club soda
Instructions
- Place the limes in the bottom of a cocktail glass and muddle.
- Add ice, additional ingredients, and stir. It's that easy!
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Put cinnamon and apple together and you have the wonderfully warm flavors of fall. Add some rum, and it’s a party! This cocktail seriously tastes exactly like apple pie. We believe the cinnamon schnapps is the key ingredient that makes it fabulous. Make this your “signature” drink at your next fall gathering, everyone is guaranteed to love it!
Apple Pie Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1/4 gallon apple cider
- 1/2 cup dark rum
- 1/2 cup cinnamon schnapps
- cinnamon sugar to rim the glasses optional
- 1 Granny Smith apple peeled, cut into large chunks and skewered
Instructions
- Mix together cider, rum and schnapps in a large pitcher.
- Rim glasses with cinnamon sugar.
- Pour the spiked cider into glasses filled with ice, then garnish with an apple skewer and serve.
Notes
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Moose Milk has been served at our neighborhood holiday parties for years and everyone loves them, but BEWARE – this is a very potent cocktail and if too many are consumed, there will be consequences and repercussions! One more word of advice, if you want to make another batch, but have run out of vodka and/or rum, please don’t substitute with a bottle of Jack Daniels – been there, done that, not good.
Creamy Moose Milk Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream slightly softened
- 1/2 gallon whole milk
- 1 cup dark rum
- 1 cup Kahlua
- 1 cup vodka
- Nutmeg garnish
Instructions
- In a large punch bowl, mix all ingredients and serve with a sprinkling of nutmeg on top.
- To keep cold, make an ice ring by freezing water in a bunt pan and float the ice in the punch bowl.
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Vicki’s husband, Skip, likes this eggnog cookie the best during the holidays. Why? Well, the rum of course!
Eggnog Cookies with Rum Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp dark rum
- freshly ground nutmeg
Instructions
Cookies
- In a large mixing bowl, beat 3/4 cup butter until fluffy.
- Add both sugars and beat well.
- Add egg, vanilla, and salt and beat again.
- Add the flour and beat until well mixed.
- Cover and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven for 350°.
- Shape the dough into 1-inch balls.
- Place on an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
- Press down in the center with your thumb (step 2).
- Bake for about 12 minutes.
- Cool on wired racks.
Frosting
- To make the filling, add 1/4 cup butter in a small mixing bowl and beat until softened.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.
- Add the rum and beat well.
- Spoon the frosting, about 1/2 teaspoon, into the middle of each cookie.
- Sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg and chill until firm.
Notes
Mango and mint add something unique to this martini recipe. Make sure you use a very ripe mango. Cheers!
Mango and Mint Martini
Ingredients
- 2 ounces rum
- 1/2 mango peeled, cut into chunks
- 4 mint leaves plus two sprigs for garnish
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup*
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add mango, mint leaves, lime juice and simple syrup. Muddle (mash) until mango is mostly liquid.
- Fill with ice, add rum and shake
- Double strain using a cocktail shaker top and a small strainer. Pour into chilled martini glass and garnish with a sprig of mint.