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Colorado Mary

All of the days have been blending together. The only way I’m able to figure out the difference between a weekday and a weekend is whether or not there’s a food truck outside the brewery.
aab3 A delicious Arepa Verde – a Colombian-style corn cake topped with avocado mayo, crispy pork, cilantro and lime juice from SoBe Fort Collins.
am Nomad Street Cuisine came on Saturday and I had one of the best burgers I’ve ever consumed. I don’t give out those labels lightly, my friends.
aabb Creamy Camobozola cheese, spicy arugula and sweet ‘n savory bacon jam on a juicy patty, served in a tender brioche bun. This was on par with my favorite burger of all time – The LAB burger. Seriously, it’s that good.
pump2 I could tell is was Sunday because the brewery was in use. We brewed our first guest beer – pumpkin ale!
pump1 Caramelized with a blow torch. Just because we can.
a 100lbs of torch-caramelized pumpkin went into the brew. I’m beyond excited to finally taste it!
mary2 My recipe development for Snowbank Brewing has been going slowly, but surely. After the Chimichurri and Pale Ale Infused Artichoke I ran out of time to cook for a while. This latest recipe was inspired by our traditional brunch we attend every Sunday.
am19 Bloody Mary Sundays at Gravity 1020, redux.
mary5

I’d like to start by saying that I do not like Bloody Mary’s. I’d only had two in my life and they just were not for me. Until this.

Colorado Mary

Serves 4
Prep time 10 minutes
Meal type Beverage
A spicy twist on the traditional Bloody Mary using Snowbank Brewing's Colorado Red ale.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups tomato juice
  • 1 cup Colorado Red ale
  • 1 cup vodka
  • 1 + 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 1 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/4 cup vinegar (I used the vinegar that came in the banana pepper jar)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 Small pinch of ghost pepper powder
  • 1 Large celery stalk
  • 1 dill pickle
  • 1 Large piece of bacon

Directions

Step 1
In a pitcher combine the tomato juice, Colorado Red ale, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, celery salt, vinegar, freshly ground black pepper and ghost pepper and stir well.
Step 2
Using a lime, rim a shaker pint with salt, add ice cubes and Colorado Mary mixture and garnish as desired. Bacon is highly recommended.

This spicy twist on the traditional Bloody Mary with the addition of beer makes all the difference. The sweet malts and tomato juice are balanced out by the tangy vinegar and fiery ghost pepper. Add bacon. You just have to.
bank

And now I must head back to the brewery for yet another day of work. We have a special tasting with Tasty Harmony this evening for an exciting upcoming project. It’s no food truck, but I’m sure not complaining!

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Godiva Caramel Pecan Caffetini

This is technically not a martini. There is no gin or dry vermouth in this drink, but “Caffetini” is a much cuter way of describing a coffee cocktail. Therefore, I have proclaimed it officially a martini. I also put it in a martini glass. Any argument is now invalid.
As a participant in Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, I get some free stuffs from time to time in order to review or create new recipes. Godiva and Foodbuzz sent me two of Godiva’s new limited edition coffee flavors to create a beverage recipe. I received Pumpkin Spice
and Caramel Pecan Bark. Immediately, I started daydreaming of delicious boozy dessert drinks perfect for a chilly autumn or winter evening.
My first recipe was created using all of these ingredients. It was awful. I attempted to make my own vanilla vodka, but I think the vodka has gone bad or the vanilla extract is too bitter to be mixed in. After dumping it all down the drain, I decided that simpler is better anyway!
Godiva coffee and Godiva chocolate liqueur. Yeah, that’ll do.
(Disclaimer: The liqueur was purchased on my own dime. Although if Godiva wants to send me another bottle free, I won’t complain…*hint hint*)

Caramel Pecan Caffetini

Serves 2
Prep time 10 minutes
Meal type Beverage
Adding coffee to the thick, rich liqueur balances this drink out so it’s not overwhelmingly heavy. The aroma of coffee, chocolate and caramel grace your senses with the the first sip. Sweet chocolate comes to the forefront when paired with the caramel sauce that has a hint of salt to develop the complex, buttery goodness of the caramel as it slowly drips down the glass to encase your fingers.

Ingredients

  • 4fl oz freshly brewed coffee
  • 4fl oz chocolate liqueur
  • 1 handful ice
  • Salted caramel sauce (for rimming (I used Trader Joe's Fleur de Sel))
  • Pecans (for garnish)

Directions

Step 1
Brew the coffee and set aside in the fridge to cool.
Step 2
Measure out the chocolate liqueur.
Step 3
Rim the martini glasses with caramel and garnish with a pecan.
Step 4
In a cocktail shaker, combine the coffee, ice and liqueur and shake vigorously. (This is where I had to get creative. We aren’t big hard liquor drinkers here, so there wasn’t a cocktail shaker in sight. Instead, I combined all the ingredients in a water bottle, shook vigorously and poured into the individual martini glasses through the top. Worked like a charm!)
Step 5
Strain (or pour through the water bottle cap) the shaken mix into individual martini glasses.
Step 6
Sip and enjoy bliss.

Adding coffee to the thick, rich liqueur balances this drink out so it’s not overwhelmingly heavy. The aroma of coffee, chocolate and caramel grace your senses with the the first sip. Sweet chocolate comes to the forefront when paired with the caramel sauce that has a hint of salt to develop the complex, buttery goodness of the caramel as it slowly drips down the glass to encase your fingers. Descriptive words I write feebly attempt to translate delicious images to your brain.

Now if only it would snow outside so I could light the fireplace and curl up in a fuzzy blanket with a foreign film, the world would be perfect.

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