Bourbon Street Milkshake and Spanish Latte Milkshake

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
Here are 2 yummy milkshake recipes, one from The Brooklyn Bowl and one from Mariah Swan. What a great afternoon treat. Eat some pretzel sticks, lie on the couch, watch bad TV. That's what I call a great day off!

Bourbon Street Milkshake

Ingredients
1 cup vanilla ice cream
2 tablespoon whole milk
1 1/2 ounces Bourbon
2 tablespoons Nutella
1 teaspoon malt powder

Procedure
Combine all ingredients except ice cream into blender and blend til smooth. Now add ice cream and blend until creamy. Serve in chilled sundae glass.

Spanish Latte Milkshake

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups coffee ice cream
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup milk
1 ounce Kahlua
whipped cream for garnish

Procedure
Put everything in blender and whip til smooth. Pour into chilled pint glass and top with whipped cream. Do not operate heavy machinery while drinking, these are not for children!

Homemade Kahlua and Raspberry Infused Vodka

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
Yes, fancy schmancy liquor can be very pricey, but there are some delicious libations you can make at home. Here are two suggestions. The one thing to remember is these concoctions need to age, so plan ahead!

Homemade Kahlua

Ingredients
4 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups water
1 vanilla bean, cut in half
3/4 cup freeze-dried coffee (like Café Bustelo instant espresso)
1/4 cup hot water
2 cups brandy
2 cups vodka or Everclear
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Procedure
Combine sugar, water, and vanilla bean in a large heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let boil 15 minutes to let the sugar dissolve completely. Remove from heat. Combine coffee with the hot sugar syrup mix well. Return to heat and simmer on low heat for 6 minutes; do not boil. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Remove vanilla beans.

When cool, add brandy or vodka, and then add the vanilla extract. Pour into bottles and cap tightly. Store in a cool dark place, and let age at least 1 month before serving.

Raspberry Vodka

Ingredients
4 Cups Vodka
2 Cups Sugar
1 Lb. Fresh Red Raspberries
Large container with tightly fitting lid

Procedure
Add vodka, sugar, and raspberries to large container, cover, and store in a cool, dark place. Every week open container and stir well. After about two months, strain liquid through a fine sieve into a bottle and store in refrigerator or freezer. This is a traditional and widely used method of flavoring vodka, and works well with any fresh fruit.

Mocha Pecan Pie

The Altitude Adjustment Section
I love different versions of nut pies. They are easy to make, don’t require a lot of special ingredients and take very little time. Here is a version of pecan pie, which is greatly improved by the presence of chocolate and coffee liqueur.

Ingredients for crust
3 cups A.P. flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter cold and cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons Crisco
1 room temp egg yolk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
5-6 tablespoons cold water

Procedure for crust
In food processor pulse flour, sugar and salt. Add cold butter and shortening and mix till mixture resembles small pea size crumbs. Add egg yolk, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of water. Pulse till dough begins to clump together now add more water as needed till dough holds together. Now gather dough into a round flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. This recipe makes 2 crusts. Thank you Susan Purdy!

Ingredients for filling
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons AP flour
3 large eggs
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup Pecans

Procedure for filling and pie
Preheat oven to 400. Place all ingredients except the nuts into the blender and puree till the chocolate chips are completely ground up and everything is smooth. It will be loud! Now pour mixture over nuts in a bowl and toss well so the nuts are covered with mixture.

Pour filling into the unbaked pie shell. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then lower oven to 350 and bake for another 30 minutes or till filling is set. Cool completely before cutting. Why not serve with ice cream?

Frozen Cappuccino

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
Have you ever had a Frozen Cappuccino full of alcohol? Well, here it is. It’s like a very adult malted. If you are going to drink this, do not operate heavy machinery!

Ingredients
1 ounce light cream
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1 tablespoons coffee liqueur
1 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur
1 tablespoon Irish cream liqueur
Crushed ice

Procedure
Combine the liqueurs, ice cream and cream in a blender with half a cup of crushed ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into a parfait glass rimmed with cinnamon sugar. Garnish with a cinnamon stick. Add a straw, and serve. Now that's a party!

White Russian

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
In keeping with our patriotic theme while still being an international sensation, I have chosen a White Russian as the refreshing beverage of the week. Although it is actually beige, like all of Santa Fe. This is a very popular cocktail. It has become even more popular after it was featured in the cult classic movie, "The Big Lebowski."

Ingredients
3/4 ounces vodka
3/4 ounce Kahlua liqueur
1 1/2 ounces cream
ice cubes, optional

Procedure
Just mix together the vodka and Kahlua in an old-fashioned glass. Then float the cream or milk on top last. Ice cubes aren't necessary, but can be used. White Russian drinks are best served in chilled glasses, though. For variation on your White Russian recipe, try using vanilla vodka instead of plain vodka

The Jaffa

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
I love chocolate and orange — it makes great cookies, so why not drink it? — so here is a recipe for a drink with those flavors: the Jaffa.

Ingredients
Ice cubes
1 ounce Kahlua
1/2 ounce Scotch Whiskey
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
1/2 ounce orange juice
1 ounce cream
shaved chocolate curls
orange twist

Procedure
Fill half a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Pour in Kahlua, whiskey, Grand Marnier, orange juice, and cream. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with chocolate shavings and a twist of orange.