Rose Gin Gimlet Recipe

I love a good cocktail—wine and beer will never disappoint, but there’s something extra fun about cocktails. Over the past year, I’ve been whipping up more cocktails at home, so when Nautical Gin asked me to participate in a blogger cocktail contest, I had to say yes.

I recently discovered Nautical Gin and have fallen in love with the brand. Nautical Gin is well-balanced with 10 botanicals and a hint of sea salt—yes, sea salt! This little ingredient provides a unique subtle flavor that sets Nautical Gin apart from other gin brands.

As any cocktail lover knows, subtle flavors pair well together, so I chose to make a delicate Rose Gin Gimlet for my submission. This cocktail combines Nautical Gin with homemade rosewater to create a delicious gimlet that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, or any day of the year.
rose gin gimlet recipe

Rose Gin Gimlet

Ingredients:
2 oz Nautical Gin
1 oz St. Germain
1 oz rosewater
1/4 cup dried rose petals
1/2 cup hot filtered water
1 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz lime juice
2 cups ice
Directions for Rosewater*:
Pour 1/2 cup hot water over 1/4 cup of dried rose petals in sealable jar.
Let sit for 10-15 minutes or until cool.
Strain out rose petals.
Keep rosewater in sealed jar for up to one week.

Directions for Cocktail:
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
Add 2 oz Nautical Gin, 1 oz St. Germain, 1 oz rose water, 1 oz simple syrup, and 1/2 oz lime juice to cocktail shaker.
Shake well and pour into cocktail glass.
Garnish with dried rose petals and enjoy!

* You can also use 1 oz of purchased rosewater

That’s it! The result is a light pink, slightly tart, delicate gimlet that smells like a bouquet of roses. The dried rose petal garnish floats perfectly for a beautiful display.
unique rose gin cocktail recipe
You can enjoy this delicately refreshing Rose Gin Gimlet anytime, but it’s especially perfect for Valentine’s Day. Who will you make this cocktail for?

Note: Nautical Gin provided the ingredients for this cocktail; all opinions are my own.

Just Add Cooking + Chef Jeremy Sewall

No matter the season, sometimes there are days when you just don’t want to cook. Whether it’s rainy or you’ve been too busy with life, we all have those days where you’d rather hide under the blanket all day, than meal plan and grocery shop. If you’ve ever had one of those days or weeks (or months) you should check out Just Add Cooking, a Boston-based meal delivery service.

Just Add Cooking prepares and hand delivers delicious meals to your door—all you add is the cooking! My first experience with Just Add Cooking was back in March and from the get-go I was hooked and excited for my next order.  Partnering with local Boston chef Jeremy Sewall of Island Creek Oyster Bar, Lineage, and Row 34, the latest Just Add Cooking box I received showcased recipes from Chef Sewall’s new cookbook.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

A recipe from Chef Sewall’s new cookbook, The New England Kitchen, the Roasted Cauliflower Soup was the perfect compliment to a rainy or snowy New England week. Not the biggest cauliflower eater, I was apprehensive about this soup when I saw it on the meal plan. That quickly changed as I cooked the complex blend of cauliflower, leeks, potato, and cream. Sautéing the leeks alone filled the house with a fresh aroma!

sauteing leeks

Although a multi-step recipe, making the soup was fairly easy. It was my first time cooking with leeks, but the recipe directions told me exactly what to do. The result? Healthy, hearty, and full of flavor—Chef Sewall’s Roasted Cauliflower Soup was a win!

roasted cauliflower soup

The toast came as bruschetta but I got hungry and ate it while the soup cooked!

Sliders and Gorgonzola Dressed Salad

My fiancé and I are both meat eaters but have been trying to eat healthy, which made this this pre-portioned beef recipe appealing to us. The sliders offered the taste and flavors we love in a well-balanced protein and veggie-packed dish. The beef for the sliders was fresh and beautiful, if you’re comfortable saying that about meat.

While the recipe was relatively easy to make, it presented a bit of a challenge because the shredder and/or grater it called for had recently and had yet to be replaced. Thankfully I had a food processor to use which allowed the recipe to be cooked in full and thoroughly enjoyed! My fiancé LOVED this meal and quickly gobbled up seconds!

sliders with gorgonzola just add cooking

Cod with Broccoli and Orange

I usually don’t make fish at home, since our city apartment doesn’t have room for fancy kitchen contraptions like a meat thermometer that fish recipes often call for, so this cod dish was new for me. I was half excited to make fish and half nervous that I was going to make myself sick. Thankfully, the recipe directions provided by Just Add Cooking made this dish a success, even without an internal temperature reader. Hearing customer feedback, Just Add Cooking made some recent modifications to their recipes to make them less complicated so new recipes won’t require as many kitchen gadgets.

The cod was delicious and a great complement to the pearl couscous and fresh broccoli. The panko sprinkle added the perfect touch of crunch and color to this healthy meal! Best of all, this dish gave me confidence in my fish-cooking skills!

just add cooking orange cod and broccoli

The convenience that Just Add Cooking offers is a great compliment to busy lives and unpredictable New England weather and the upcoming 2017 collaborations with more Boston chefs make it even easier to get your favorite professional recipes right at home! Looking for an easier way to meal plan? Just Add Cooking is offering a deal for new customers. Sign up here and you can get your first no-commitment Just Add Cooking box for just $39 (that’s $30 off of your first box)!

Note: I received this box free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hot Mulled Wine – Perfect Snow Day Drink

I’m proud to say that I survived the Blizzard of 2015 in Boston. It wasn’t as bad as predicted, but as I write this, the snow has been falling steadily for over 24 hours and I’m so bored that I need some wine.

Thankfully, I had the ingredients in the house for one of my favorite winter drinks – mulled wine. Called Glühwein in its native German, mulled wine is a warm wine infused with mulling spices, similar to the hot cider that you get when you’re apple picking on an awkward third date in the fall, or the yummy scalding drink they hand out in paper shot glasses at Williams Sonoma.

Recipe for Mulled Wine (Glühwein)

10 mins, Easy

Ingredients:
Red Wine
1/2 c. Water
Mulling Spices
Cheese cloth
Honey or Sugar to taste
1/2 Orange or 1-2 Clementines
Brandy (optional)
Cinnamon Stick
Directions:
Put mulling spices into a cheese cloth. Peel zest from orange, omitting pith (white part).
Put spices, zest, water, and honey/sugar (to taste) into saucepan and simmer.
Squeeze orange into pot and stir.
Add wine and optional brandy until warm throughout.
Remove spices and pour into mugs with orange peels.
Garnish with cinnamon stick.

I had a bottle of one of my favorite wines, 90+ Cellars Big Red Blend. Mulled wine is usually my go-to for my not-so-favorite wines, as the mulling spices, brandy, and honey tend to mask anything I don’t like. But Boston liquor stores are still closed thanks to Snowmageddon 2015, so I sacrificed my yummy Big Red Blend to the Glühwein gods for the sake of something warm to drink.

mulled wine recipe 90 plus cellarsYou can make your own mulling spices out of cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon or pick them up at the store like a normal person.  I’m firmly in the “normal person” category and picked mine up at a supermarket. I’m also usually in the “add brandy” category when making this recipe but that’s up to you.

I also cheated and used clementines instead of oranges because I don’t like oranges. Also, I felt like the Incredible Hulk while squeezing the juice out of the clementines. The recipe isn’t exact with respect to time – I usually just wait until it’s steaming or I’m thirsty enough. Keep an eye on it though, as you’d hate to burn off the alcohol by letting it boil. Once it’s ready and smells good, pour it into a mug, garnish with a cinnamon stick, and enjoy – Cheers!

mulled wine recipe

Note: 90+ Cellars DID NOT pay me to write about this wine. I’m just a 90+ evangelist who loves their wine.