Dirty Martini ~ Shaken Not Stirred

Why is it called a ‘Dirty Martini’ … because of the added Olive Brine which makes it look a little cloudy.  This is one of my favorite Martini … of course I’d never tried a Martini until a couple years ago when my niece talked me into ordering one before dinner out one night.  Thank you Kelwie!  That was a doozie of a large … no make that humongous … Martini and I must admit … one was quite enough … this one isn’t quite that size by any stretch of the imagination.  From then on I was ‘in love’ with the Martini. 

Sooooo … why had I not ever tried one you may ask?  Well I grew up in an era where everyone drank on TV … Dean Martin always had a glass of some kind of liquor in his hand on his show and we all know about 007 and his ‘Shaken Not Stirred’ Martini … so I sorta associated a Martini as a old geezer drink LOL … a lot has changed since then … now we have dozen of flavors of Martini from Lemon Drop to Pomegranate but the Dirty is still my favorite.

Dirty Martini ~ Shaken Not Stirred

3 oz Vodka

1 oz Dry Vermouth

½ oz Olive Brine

1-2 Manzanilla (or Spanish) Olive Stuff with Pimento, for garnish

Place Vodka, Dry Vermouth and Olive Brine in a Cocktail Shaker with crushed ice.  Shake vigorously for a couple seconds then pour into your martini glass.  Skewer an Olive or two and add to drink for garnish … I personally love to eat the olives after finishing my drink because they absorb all that delicious flavor.

Hint: A Shot Glass is the equivalent of 1.5 ounces.

Winter Sangria

This is one of the BEST sangria recipes I’ve ever tried and definitely has a ‘winter’ sorta feel to it being it’s made with red wine and red juices.  It was a hit at Thanksgiving Dinner!  I found the recipe on Pinterest and since I changed it, I am not naming the source … the original recipe called for 1 bottle of Red Zinfandel but it tasted like drinking a fruit punch instead of an alcohol based Sangria so I added a second bottle … the original recipe also called for pomegranate seeds and since they are chewy and probably were only in the recipe for looks, I omitted them.  This is delicious and I CANNOT wait to make it again!!! 

This recipe makes a lot so be prepared to either serve it from a Punch Bowl or several Pitchers.  I used an empty Patron bottle and another empty bottle, for transporting.  Though its very pretty in a Patron bottle, its difficult to remove the fruit so I would recommend using a pitcher.

Winter Sangria

2 (750 mil) bottles Red Zinfandel

4 cups Cranberry Juice

2 cups POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice

1 cup Orange Juice

¾ cup Simple Syrup

1 Apple, unpeeled, cored, sliced thin

1 Orange, cut in half and sliced thin

1 Lemon, cut in half and sliced thin

½ cup Fresh Cranberries

San Pellegrino Sparkling Water

Combine all ingredients in a large container.  I used an extra large mixing bowl or you could use a punch bowl (for making and serving).  Chill 4 hours or overnight.  To serve, pour into glasses, extracting some of the fruit into the glass, and top off with a splash or two of Pellegrino.