Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Festive Hot Chocolate Vodka Martini with chilli

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A girl needs a good Martini at times and I like mine with Vodka rather than the classic gin, although there are times I would be found sipping on a Gin based Martini too. My recipe for Festive Hot Chocolate Vodka Martini with chilli,  is sure to be an instant hit at your cocktail parties and your friends and family are going to beg for more so stock up on the ingredients and learn to shake that cocktail with some style aka Tom cruise from the flick Cocktail!

 

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House of Fraser sent me a very elegant set of 4 Pied e Terre Martini glasses  with REAL GOLD spiral detailing ,yes you heard that right , for review , so a Chocolate Martini was in order.I do have a large bottle of Smirnoff Vodka Martini but this Martini recipe had to be special and befitting these rather special martini glasses.

Hubby was equally excited to contribute towards this fab Martini evening I planned for a lazy Sunday with some friends, so when I sent him out to buy Vanilla flavoured Vodka he came back with a beautiful bottle of M&S ”HOT” Chocolate Vodka with chocolate flavouring and a hint of chilli for warmth – Perfect!

It’s often by such happy coincidences that something really fabulous can be conjured. I have been using rather sparingly the Baileys Chocolate Luxe Limited Edition Creamy Irish liqueur which I purchased at the Chocolate Festival in April this year.And just like an opportunity to experiment with the liqueur has presented itself – aha!

So folks before I share the recipe for my Festive Hot Chocolate Vodka Martini with chilli  served in the Pied e Terre Martini glasses with REAL GOLD sprial detailing, let me bestow upon you – my unsuspecting readers my newfound knowledge about chocolate liqueurs acquired after spending  a few hours browsing the net and harassing several people including a very sweet gentleman who makes a living mixing drinks.This will ensure that you do not endure the angst that poor hubster and I experienced, as we searched high and low for Crème de cacao before realising that a creamy chocolate liqueur can be used instead and gives a creamy consistency to the martini which the Crème de cacao does not. Crème de cacao was not to be found on supermarket shelves and believe you me, we went into most of the big ones, they are available to buy online though – but that for me amounts to hassle and a longer wait than just grabbing whats on the shelves ,right ?

Since Crème de cacao can be replaced by the chocolate liqueur and I had the Baileys Chocolate Luxe Limited Edition Creamy Irish liqueur , I was quite relieved. Or else I would have had to either order the Crème de cacao online or spend ££ on Godiva’s Chocolate liqueur which does sound so very sinfully delicious ummm

A bit about the Pied e Terre Martini glasses  with REAL GOLD spiral detailing – these sophisticated glasses are available to buy from House of Fraser and are rather reasonably priced at £30 for a set of 4, they surely make for a fabulous gift idea for the festive season or any special anniversary or birthday or simply to spoil a martini lover.

 

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Festive Hot Chocolate  Vodka Martini with chilli recipe

Makes: 2 cocktails

Ingredients: 

  • 75 ml ( 1 peg measure of 60 ml +  1 /2 of a small peg measure of 30ml  ) OR 2 and 1/2 ounces of  Baileys Chocolate Irish Cream Liqueur
  • 2 peg measure which is 120ml  OR 4 ounces  of M&S ”HOT” Chocolate Vodka with chocolate flavouring and a hint of chilli
  • Powdered Lindt Chilli chocolate for rimming
  • Shavings of Lindt Chilli chocolate for garnishing
  • Ice
  • Cocktail shaker

1 ounce = 29.5 ml approx half a peg . 1 peg = 60 ml

Method:

  • Wash , wipe dry the Martini glasses and place them face down on a kitchen roll with the powdered Lindt Chilli chocolate to line the rim of the glass.
  • Place these lined rim glasses to chill in the freezer.

 

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  • Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with the ice cubes.
  • Shake vigorously.
  • Strain into chilled martini glasses lined with Hershey’s chocolate syrup
  • Garnish with Shavings of Lindt Chilli chocolate to get the extra chilli kick going

Enjoy with friends and family for a fabulous festive feast guaranteed to satisfy ANY chocolatey cravings !

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*With thanks to House of Fraser for a complimentary set of 4 Pied e Terre Martini glasses  with REAL GOLD spiral detailing. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

*Recipe inspiration from Cocktail expert Colleen Graham’s recipe ( http://cocktails.about.com/od/cocktailrecipes/r/choclt_mrtni.htm) and  Murrye Bernard’s recipe ( http://cocktails.lovetoknow.com/Baileys_Chocolate_Martini_Recipe) .

A Hot Summer Day !

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I had a truly brilliant day , I spent a few blissfull hours at a park, I otherwise  only saw while being seated in a crowded tube , getting squashed between a bunch of strangers and trying NOT to die of the various body odours floating around mixed with even more toxic deodorants failing miserably at their jobs.

My gal pal S and her super cute and smart 4-year-old boy had a blast of day starting by gobbling strawberry flavoured icicles, followed by grocery shopping , hungrily eating many Indian street style snacks under the garb of being ”devislishly hungry”  and then rushing to this awesome park.

Oh yes , but the HIGHLIGHT of my grocery shopping was that I purchased a dozen HAPOOS AMBE (Alphonso = Hapoos ,AMBA= Mango in Marathi , my mothertongue), I cannot describe the happiness I felt as I sunk my teeth into a ripe,plum slice of the King of Fruits. I will probably dream of drinking chilled mango milkshake early in the monring and ending the day by eating chilled slices of the hapoos mango with dollops of fresh cream ,which I totally enjoy squirting out from it’s can and telling myself that since it’s ”low fat” ,It can be that BAD after all !;)Just the thought of an alphonso mango brings back a string of memories , my most recent one being that of being transported staright to heaven as I had my first ever ”MASTAANI” that too a MANGO Mastani in Pune at one of the most favourite college haunts of Punekars- ”Sujata Mastani” in Old Pune ,Peth area.(I shall stop here as I will sink hopelessly into a whole journey down memory lane and totally loose my way …hummm I do see another blog write up coming up , all about Mangoes and memories ,aha the good LIFE !) Oh yes and S and me took great delight in haggling over our purchase and managed to bring down the price by £1.47 , my mom will be so happy to hear this (jeevan safal moment for her,LOL !). I say this because I am terrible at bargaining and after years of seeing mom successfully doing it while buying veggies I hated myself for being such a failure 😉 ,now that is exactly WHY I love Modern retail , imagine trying to ask the cashier at one of the Supermarket chains ”Surely , since I am buying 3 instead of 1 , you HAVE to drop the price by atleast 50p !,or else I DO have the option of WALKING OUT and buying from so-and-so competitor” – all this with a raised brow and a really fake serious expression on my face !( AHO KAKA, asa kai karta , 3 dabbe ghetoi na hapoos che ,tar kahi tari bhaav neet vichaar karoon sanga !!!) (Btw, Mastani is basically a thick ice cream milkshake with dollops of ice cream loaded on top and real fruit slices stuffed inside and on top of it is way way better than a falooda and is a dessert which has originated from Pune city and is a local must have !)

Never have I seen a larger gathering of tiny tots all dressed in summery bright clothes and happy parents in one place !

I had my moment of calm amongst the chaos, as I sat on a wooden bench and gazed up at the bright sky , the trees gently swaying in the summer breeze ,thanking the gods for bestowing us with such a lovely day, I watched a few bold squirrels scamper around for food .

I left my mobile and my camera behind though , I wanted nothing to come in the way of me living in the moment .

I am turning into a person that dislikes mobile phones , rather a dangerous place to be in, in todays ”connected world” I say …hummm

But who can take away from me the memories I have clicked ,farmed and stored away in the crevices of my mind , to be pulled out on  a cold rainy day , am sure I will smile as  I think of this perfect day, a 4 year old innocent banter , my friends happy smile as she sat on a swing after many,many years and the feeling of the warm sun on my face ….sighhh….

It’s a BRIGHT and SUNNY DAY !

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It’s one of those day’s when I ache to grab a mini picnic lunch and a mat , rush to the local park, lie down with a good book and sip some lemonade chilled ofcourse . I dream of falling asleep with the book gently resting on my tummy and the sound of bees buzzing around in the distance , tiny flowers popping up in the grass around me and experiencing a feeling of complete bliss – the feeling of doing nothing and yet doing everythings .

Just the thought makes me smile 🙂

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