Party with a Purpose
Sunday, May 10th, 2009Saturday May 9th I was at 39th & Cambie Signature Liquor Store to help raise funds and collect donations for Dress for Success. The event was sponsored by Diageo Canada so needless to say I was helping by providing refreshing drinks! The drinks were being paired with a delicious appetizer prepared by Chef Marcus of Mava Foods (www.mavafoods.com)
At the popular request of imbibers here is the recipe for the cocktail I was mixing up:
DFS Cocktail
2 oz Smirnoff Vodka
1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Cilantro Syrup
6 x 1″ Watermelon Cubes
2 Saffron Sugar Dipped Grapefruit segments (cut the grapefruit into quarters)
Squeeze dipped grapefruit segments into mixing glass then add all ingredients together and shake on ice vigorously for 20 seconds.
Fine strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with shaped grapefruit zest.
To Make Cilantro Syrup:
3 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 cup cilantro
Mix the sugar and water together and heat until sugar dissolves. Add cilantro to hot syrup and let sit for 15 minutes.
Strain out the cilantro and store syrup in glass bottle. Refrigerate.
Saffron Sugar:
1 g Saffron
2 cups Maple Sugar (reduce maple syrup and let crystalize; crush with mortar & pestal) - subsitute, demerara or brown sugar if you don’t want to be so geeky)
Muddle together saffron & sugar then use to dip grapefruit segments into. Let the dipped segments sit for 5 minutes before squeezing into the drink. If you wanted to add another twist to this drink you can try grilling the dipped grapefruits.
For mor information on Dress for Success and how to host your own Party with a Purpose:
Visit http://www.dressforsuccess.org to learn more. Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to more than 90 cities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the UK and the West Indies. To date, Dress for Success has helped more than 500,000 women work towards self-sufficiency.