Vodka Tonic Jelly shots

News flash - a flock of glowing vodka tonic bats is headed your way ! 

We've gone absolutely batty.  Why, you ask?  Well, for starters, these cute little Vodka Tonic Jelly Shot bats would put anyone over the edge!  The best part - no fancy schmancy chemical agents or additives are required for this little trick.  Quinine, the active ingredient in tonic water, naturally glows under black light!  (Oh, the wondrous things one learns on the InterWeb.) 



This photograph was taken offsite, over at Intern Doug's.  Quick survey - let's have a show of hands, please.  How many of you are the least bit surprised that Intern Doug has black lights in his basement?  (Me neither . . . )


I used a Wilton ice cube tray for the bat mold . . . here's the link.  These would be just as groovy set in a pan, and cut into cubes for serving, or set in tiny shot glasses, etc.  The black light is obviously the key component of presentation here!


Enjoy! And XOXOX,

Michelle

P.S. Why, yes, gin would be a lovely substitute for vodka . . . 

Vodka Tonic Jelly Shots

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups tonic water
• 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 envelopes plain Knox gelatin (makes a firm jelly shot for setting in a mold.  Decrease to 2 or 2 1/2 envelopes if using other methods to set, such as loaf pan or mini martini glasses.  An envelope of plain Knox gelatin equals about 2 tsp of gelatin powder.)
• 2/3 cup vodka (citrus flavored is nice . . .)

First, prepare the silicon molds with a light application of cooking spray.  Then wipe the mold cavities out with a clean paper towel. This method will leave just the slightest residue, which will help unmold the gelatin without affecting the taste or appearance. Place each mold on a cookie sheet or cooling rack to provide a stable surface for handling.

Combine the tonic, citrus juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and sprinkle with the gelatin. Allow the gelatin to soak for a minute or two. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved, about 5 minutes. (Mixture will be very foamy, but this will diminish.) Remove from the heat and stir in the vodka.

Pour the gelatin mixture into the molds, and refrigerate until fully set, several hours or overnight.

To serve, unmold, loosen the edges by pulling away from the side of the mold, and pop each jelly shot out.

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The Bramble

A row of Bramble Jelly Shots, a la Toby Cecchini, beckons . . . 

I have been dying to have a go at the Bramble Jelly Shot recipe since it first appeared on the NYT blogs in March of this year!  A Bramble cocktail is quite divine - a lemon sour base, gin, and a float of blackberry liqueur.  The Bramble's translation to gelatin was conducted by noted cocktail expert/bartender/author Toby Cecchini, who also wrote the NYT  piece.
 Take a minute to read the article if you can - its a tremendously fun read, not only because JSTK is mentioned in the article - Toby's trials and tribulations in Jelly Shot Land are very entertaining!

Well, Bramble Jelly Shot was certainly worth the wait.  It's a wonderful recipe, tasty and gorgeous, with a handsome, well thought out garnish!  I tested the Bramble recipe first with gin, as indicated Toby's instructions, but made a vodka version as well, per the preference of one of the tasting groups.  The gin version was a bit more complex, but the vodka was extremely tasty too - both were gobbled up in short order!   Nice work, Toby - you are welcome at the Test Kitchen anytime!!!

Hope you enjoy!   The recipe for Bramble Jelly Shots follows, and is also on the NYT article link.

XO, Michelle

BRAMBLE JELLY SHOTS (with apologies to Dick Bradsell)

Recipe by Toby Cecchini and reprinted from the NYT Magazine Blogs

For the float:

6 ounces crème de mûre (blackberry liqueur)
7 grams (1 packet) Knox unflavored gelatin
1 package (3 ounces) grape-flavored Jell-O gelatin
1 cup hot water

In a small mixing bowl, sprinkle the Knox and the Jell-O into the hot water and stir until completely dissolved, 5 to 7 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir in the crème de mûre. In a small, nonreactive baking dish or loaf pan, pour a few drops of cooking oil (grapeseed works well) and wipe out with a paper towel, coating the entire vessel with the barest layer. Pour blackberry float mixture in and set to chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, making certain it is level.

For the gin sour:

1 cup gin (lemon infused) (Note: vodka may be substituted!)
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
28 grams (4 packets) Knox unflavored gelatin
1 cup hot water.

Juice enough lemons to give you 2/3 cup juice, keeping the hulls as you squeeze. Roughly chop the squeezed hulls and put them in a coverable container along with the gin and the lemon juice. Leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours. It’s a good idea to do this before starting the float, so that by the time that has firmed up, your infusion is ready to go. When the float layer is firm, bloom the gelatin in the hot water by sprinkling it slowly while stirring, and continuing stirring until fully dissolved. Add the sugar and stir until that is also fully dissolved. Strain the gin mixture off from the lemon hulls through a fine sieve or chinoise and add it into the gelatin mixture, stirring well. Over a spoon, so as not to gouge a divot in the float layer, pour the lemon sour mix onto the float layer and return to refrigerator, again checking for levelness. Chill overnight. When ready to serve, cut into squares, or use a cookie cutter for shapes, and pull up carefully, using a cake spatula to get under the float layer. Garnish with a blackberry and/or a thin wedge of candied lemon. Or simply slurp.

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French 75 Jelly Shots

French 75 Jelly Shot, served in a tiny appetizer cup with champagne on the side, of course . . .

The onset of fall finds me in a state of complete denial.  As such, I am disregarding the autumnal equinox to present this year's final installment of end of summer cocktail favorites translated into cocktail jellies.  It is fitting that this last nomination hails from JSTK fan and noted gelatine expert, the dashing Mr. M, who penned the following from his gorgeous patio in the south of France:

I think this [cocktail]  may be appropriate for a range of reasons that you will no doubt remark.

The cocktail is a ‘French 75’ or just a ‘Soixante Quinze’ .

There seems to be a number of versions of its origin but I prefer the one where it was created in ‘Harry’s New York Bar’ in Paris during the first world war and named due it having a kick like a 75 mm Howitzer artillery gun, it was further popularized in the New York ’Stork Club’.

Its first appearance in a cocktail recipe book was apparently in ‘The Savoy Cocktail Book’ published in 1930 (still in print apparently) written by Harry Craddock, a famous barman, who left America during the prohibition and moved to the Savoy in London.

The recipe is Gin, Champagne, lemon juice and sugar.

So as you may recall Champagne is on my summer favourites list and is of course French and Gin is also on my summer favourites list and is predominantly English (although I believe invented in Holland and the name derives from French), and the cocktail seems to have American parentage, all rather appropriate I thought, what better way to end the summer?

Now I admit I didn’t know the history until I did a little research but I love the cocktail and found its history is rather engaging and inclusive.

Here’s a little more detail:

http://www.smallscreennetwork.com/video/46/french_75/ 

Bet you wish you hadn’t asked J

[signed, The Dashing Mr. M.]

Yes on all counts, Mr. M.!  The French 75 IS the perfect cocktail to end the summer, for all the reasons listed above.  Quite perfect indeed for end of summer sipping/nibbling on one's patio overlooking the Mediterranean, one's deck in Minneapolis or wherever one enjoys the the last flowers of summer amid the first changing leaves.  

Recipe follows for the jelly shot version of the French 75 (note we didn't use fresh lemon juice - a must for the liquid version of the cocktail - as it can interfere with the jelling process, and we also dialed down the gin a notch - but we replaced it with more champagne!  Wheee!).  A similar brandy version of the French 75, which is quite delightful, is included in our upcoming jelly shot recipe book (although we now readily admit that gin makes a better summer cocktail, and gin also appears to be the most historically correct).  

Enjoy!   (And thanks a million Mr. M. for your nomination . . . )

Cheers, 

Michelle

The French 75 (with gin)

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

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup lemonade concentrate (strained to remove solids)
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 envelopes Knox gelatin *
• 2/3 cup gin (Mr. M. suggests Gordons or Bombay Sapphire)
• 2/3 cup flat champagne, prosecco or other white sparkling wine **
• 1 tsp sugar (if desired)
• Lemon zest garnish, if desired (we prefer these to be ribbon-y and just for looks)

Combine lemonade concentrate and water in saucepan (and sugar if using).  Sprinkle with gelatin and allow to soak for a minute or two.  Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is fully dissolved (approximately 5 minutes).  Remove from heat, and stir in the gin and champagne.  Pour into pan and chill until fully set, several hours or overnight. 

To serve, cut into desired shapes.  Garnish with lemon zest.  Makes 18 to 24 shots.  

* Note: if using a flexible silicon mold, as shown above, add 1/2 envelope additional gelatin (1/2 envelope equals about a teaspoon of gelatin powder).  A slightly firmer jelly shot is easier to pop out of molds.  


** Why flat champagne?  Using flat champagne results in a cleaner looking jelly shot - otherwise the champagne foams and bubbles when poured into the pan, and can leave a foamy residue on the top of the jelly shots unless skimmed off before chilling.  

  

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