Wednesday, October 6, 2010

A Cosmopolitan of a Different Color . . .



Jewel-shaped bites of Pear Cosmopolitan - perfect for a "Girl's Night In" . . .

A new barkeep/mixologist friend mentioned in passing concocting a pear cosmopolitan via a swap of cran for white cran and orange vodka for pear flavored.  Being crazy for all things pear, we couldn't resist a little experimentation with our existing cosmo jelly shot recipe.  The result is a not-too-sweet, mild and undeniably nosh-able jelly shot!


The jewel shaped jelly shots pictured above were set in a specialty ice cube tray.  Although the end result is really cute, it was a bit difficult to achieve.  The tray is constructed with a constrictive band around each mold cavity, which differs from a normal ice cube tray or silicon baking mold.  No problem if unmolding a hard ice cube, but jelly shots are a bit more yielding and delicate.  Not surprisingly, several jelly shots were maimed in the initial unmolding process.  This difficulty was remedied with a few discreet cuts to the upper band of the tray.  (I filled the trays up with water after the cutting/unmolding, and leakage was almost nonexistant - so I definitely plan to use the trays again.)  Kerekes also distributes a very nice faceted jewel mold which I have used in the past with good results.

Another serving option is to set the jelly shots in a loaf pan, cut into squares, and garnish each with a sliver of pear.

Enjoy!

Cheers, Michelle

Pear Cosmopolitan Jelly Shots


Recommended Pan:  Standard Loaf Pan (approximately 8” x 4”)

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup white cranberry juice cocktail
  • ¾ cup pear flavored vodka (we used Grey Goose)
  • 1/8 cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed and strained
  • 1/8 cup water
  • 1/4 cup Cointreau
  • 2 envelopes Knox gelatin (if using molds, add 1/2 envelope additional gelatin.  1/2 envelope equals about a teaspoon of gelatin powder.)  
  • Sliced pear for garnish, if desired

Pour cranberry and lime juices into a saucepan and sprinkle with gelatin.  Allow to soak for a few minutes.  Heat on low, stirring constantly, until gelatin is fully dissolved (about 5 minutes).  Remove from heat.  Stir in the liquors, making sure to fully incorporate.  Pour into pan, and chill until set, several hours or overnight.


To serve, cut into shapes.  Garnish with sliced pear, if desired.  Makes 18 to 24 shots.







7 comments:

Sweet Olive Press | Helen said...

Oh wow. Your pear cosmo pictures momentarily transported away from the feeding-kids-dinner hour; that's quite a feat.

I can't wait for someone to make these for me!

Karen said...

These are darling! Love the jewel shapes. I can absolutely see serving these for a girl's night in. How fun!

Carolyn said...

Oh dear, sorry about the maimed jelly shots. I bet the broken bits tasted every bit as good as the whole shots, though!

Lauren Zabaneh said...

Everytime I scroll down your blog and see the first picture emerge from the bottom of my screen, I say, "Oh my god!" Everytime! I love your photos!

I have a silicone mold in my pantry that I bought at Marshalls one day (totally random purchase) that I believe is for ice cubes (the writing is all german so I'm not sure.) I made the mistake of putting it in the dishwasher with the heated dry "on" and it got seriously warped. There are, however, about 6 little cubes that are okay. All this to say, everytime I see it in my pantry (which is like 9 times a day) I think to myself, "I wonder what Jelly Shot Test Kitchen could do with that?" or " I have got to try one of their recipes". It's sad really. I just need to make the pear cosmo and call it a day.

Thank you for your sweet comments! Girl, I can't take all the credit for the photos. I had the hubs and my sis in law take the ones of me , but the rest I did. I love the photography aspect of blogging. Next to cooking, it's my favorite. Thanks for the vote!

Lauren Zabaneh said...

Everytime I scroll down your blog and see the first picture emerge from the bottom of my screen, I say, "Oh my god!" Everytime! I love your photos!

I have a silicone mold in my pantry that I bought at Marshalls one day (totally random purchase) that I believe is for ice cubes (the writing is all german so I'm not sure.) I made the mistake of putting it in the dishwasher with the heated dry "on" and it got seriously warped. There are, however, about 6 little cubes that are okay. All this to say, everytime I see it in my pantry (which is like 9 times a day) I think to myself, "I wonder what Jelly Shot Test Kitchen could do with that?" or " I have got to try one of their recipes". It's sad really. I just need to make the pear cosmo and call it a day.

Thank you for your sweet comments! Girl, I can't take all the credit for the photos. I had the hubs and my sis in law take the ones of me , but the rest I did. I love the photography aspect of blogging. Next to cooking, it's my favorite. Thanks for the vote!

Stephen said...

The photo's just get better:)
Mr. M.

leaf (the indolent cook) said...

Looks great and would be fantastic for a party!