Thanksgiving Ginger Cocktail


Set the table, folks - it's Thanksgiving time! Yes, yes, I live in Australia now ... where we don't have the Best Holiday Ever ... but that doesn't mean I can't be thankful, right? And make some comfort food, and hang out with family and friends, right?
I do make a big Thanksgiving dinner - even here in subtropical Queensland - but because this is subtropical Queensland, I do it in our autumn (April). In November it's just too damn hot.

(for reference's sake, this is what it looks like around here in November.)


Please don't hate me. That was purely for illustrative purposes. To show you that I couldn't possibly roast a turkey or anything right now.

(I'm too busy playing at the beach, heh heh)

On to cocktails. I actually (surprisingly) made this one non-alcoholic ... but feel free to use champagne instead of tonic water. Ginger is perfect for a Queensland-style Thanksgiving because a) it grows like crazy around here, b) it goes well with pumpkin pie and c) it soothes overstretched tummies.

And what - you ask - shall we overstretch our tummies with? Here are some fab ideas:
Cocktails, Appetizers, Soups and Salads:
Sweet Life Bake: Pumpkin Margarita
Easy Peasy Organic: Thanksgiving Ginger Cocktail
Dishin and Dishes: Butternut Squash Bruschetta With Sage Pesto
Mooshu Jenne: Green Salad
Two Peas and Their Pod: Maple-Roasted Butternut Squash Apple Salad
Jones is Hungry: Roasted Vegetable Salad
Purple Cook: Pasta and Bean Stew With Tomatoes and Broccoli Rabe
From My Corner of Saratoga: Curried Pumpkin Soup
Mains:
CIA Dropout: Turkey and Stuffles Roulades With Squash Mash
FN Dish: Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey
My Angel's Allergies: Cranberry-Glazed Cornish Hens
Sides:
Cafe Terra Blog: Cranberry Pumpkin Stuffing
Virtually Homemade: Twice-Baked Cheddar and Chive Potatoes
Easy Eats Magazine: Sausage and Dried Cranberry-Walnut Stuffing
The Sensitive Epicure: Oyster Dressing and Gravy
Daily*Dishin: Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes Supreme
What's Gaby Cooking: Rustic Herb Skillet Stuffing
Family Fresh Cooking: Coconut Brown-Butter Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Silvana's Kitchen: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Mushroom-Rye Stuffing
The Cultural Dish: Cranberry Sauce
Desserts:
I Am Baker: Pumpkin Cake
Heather Christo: Pumpkin Vanilla Ice Cream Pie
And Love It Too: Pumpkin Custard (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
Haute Apple Pie Girls: Double Pumpkin Mini Pies With Candied Pecans
Ladles and Jelly Spoons: Not Your Same Old Pumpkin Pie
Daydreamer Desserts: Cuban Diplomatic Pudding
Thursday Night Dinner: Red Wine Chocolate Cake
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Caramel Apple Pie

Cheers!

************
Thanksgiving Ginger Cocktail

The time
15 min prep + 1 hr cooling

The ingredients
A handful* of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced or diced
1/2 cup rapadura sugar
zest of one lemon
4 cups water
sparkling water, champagne or vodka, to taste

*I used a knob that fit comfortably into my upturned hand

**use organic ingredients if you can

The process
1. Boil all the ingredients until the water reduces to ~3 cups. But don't worry if you let it go too long, it'll just be more concentrated, and that's not a bad thing.

NOTE: Stir now and then, to make sure the sugar in there doesn't stick or burn or anything.

2. Strain out the ginger pieces - but keep them because you can use them in baking - and pour the liquid into a jar to store in the fridge. Try to use your ginger syrup within a week or two.

3. To serve, mix the chilled ginger syrup with your dilution of choice (we're loving sparkling water at the moment) in a ratio of 1:5 syrup to water. Feel free to adjust this ratio depending on your taste - and it'll also depend on the strength of the ginger. So add more or less as you like.

(PS. my ginger syrup was inspired by this recipe)

The cost
This'll depend a lot on whether you use sparkling water (cheap) or alcohol (less cheap) - and I have to admit I didn't weigh my ginger before I used it. Hmmm. Next time.

So even if you don't celebrate the Best Holiday Ever, give yourself a toast for being *awesome* and thank the people you love for sharing your life with you.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Amanda xx

Comments

  1. Lovely cocktail!
    Fun to be in this Thanksgiving feast with you! Your recipe looks amazing. Please update the link to my recipe, it was wrong: http://www.familyfreshcooking.com/2011/11/16/brown-butter-coconut-mashed-sweet-potatoes-recipe/

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  2. Perfect! I was just thinking that it would be great to have a curated list of great Thanksgiving recipes. Oh and I'll be making your ginger cocktails too. xxx

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  3. That is not fair, LOL! Actually, you are are very lucky, enjoy every moment I say! Love the ginger cocktail, it sounds refreshing, and perfect for Thanksgiving! I had fun cooking with you at the Communal Table! Take care, Terra

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  4. I love this little cocktail or mocktail! It is allergy-friendly - very important in our house - and we usually have a ginger syrup around the house to use for our ginger tea (http://www.myangelsallergies.com/2011/01/snack-match-hot-cocoa.html). I think that next time I will just mix it with a little sparkling cider and see what happens. Thanks!

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  5. Oh my but so many wonderful recipes to go through, least of all this delightful cocktail. Enjoy your lovely summer...are you sure you won't miss the smell of a gorgeous turkey roasting? :)

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  6. MMMMMMM,...what a tasty & appetizing home made ginger drink! Looks fantastic too! :)

    Yummmmmm,...! Great other ideas too! Thanks for sharing this tasty post!

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  7. I must try this drink! And thanks for the list of other recipes to try!

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  8. This is so cool! I'll have to pour one the next time I'm watching the Wallabies play (I'm a HUGE rugby fan).

    Glad we were at the Communal Table together!

    Best regards, Scott (www.JonesIsHungry.com)

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Thanks for commenting! Amandaxx