Cosmos...part 2

Now that the weather is getting warmer (it was 91 here yesterday and hubby actually kicked the AC on "to see if it works") I am thinking about Cosmos.  My thoughts coincide with SATC part 2 coming out in May - yay!  I have mixed feelings about this movie though...On one hand, I'd love to see the girls together again, it looks like Carrie runs into Aiden, and something happens, cos she is calling Big and sayin' "Something happened" which is never good.  However, they are all WELL past the "single Cosmo girl" age, and somehow those extra wrinkles with the haute couture "young, hip" look, just don't seem to go together - and I should talk!

Well, I don't have many wrinkles, but when a woman starts to get to the age where she doesn't want to ADMIT her age, things start headin' south quickly, if you know what I mean.  Honey, you gonna have things saggin, that you never thought COULD sag.  You finally understand where the saying "over the shoulder boulder holder" came from, cos your boulders would just tumble down the mountain if there wasn't SOMETHING holdin' them puppies up.  Braless is no longer an option.  Even your face starts to creep south.  Thing is, so are all your friend's faces, so you are not alone.  You still feel young, you just don't LOOK young.  I for one am going to age gracefully.  I don't care if my lady parts want to fly south - let 'em.  So what if I get a few grey hairs, and start lookin' like my neighbor's beagle Buffy? I'm still ME on the inside, and I can still laugh with my friends, knock down a few shots and some beers (although I'll probably pay for it in the morning), and make double entendres til they are comin' out of my ears. 

Age is what you make it.  If you FEEL old, then you ARE old...but I don't want to see OLD SATC - Can you imagine if they made a SATC 7? Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda would probably be residents of a Dell Webb Sun City retirement community somewhere in the west, wearing floppy hats and teetering around on their 30 year old Manolos.  Samantha would be screwing all the widowers/divorced men in the community, Charlotte would be making scrapbooks of her grandkids, Miranda would be campaigning for elder rights, and Carrie would still be wearing her hair long and loose (although it would be grey) lots of turquoise jewelry, and she and Big would have the nicest house in the community.  Aiden would be living down the block to make things interesting, and Steve would open up a bar in the complex.  And they'd still be drinking Cosmos.

I love Cosmos.  I love making them, I love drinking them, I love the flavor.  I also feel wonderfully self indulgent when I make them.  I found these adorable martini glasses that make me feel special, and started a small collection.  I now have three.  One came from the UK, because they were sold out in the US, AND I paid LESS for it than I would have here (such the bargain hunter!) the other is courtesy of my darling daughter, and the third was the first in my collection.  The glasses are by Lolita , and they've branched out into wine, champagne flutes, etc..but I still think their martini glasses are the best. 

I have flip flops, (because I love flip-flops), "Music-tini" (because I love music - it's a major part of my life), and

"Grandma Got Run Over" (because it's incredibly silly, makes me laugh, and I love seeing her face at the bottom of the glass) and *update* I just obtained a fourth "Lolita" glass - this one is a retired "19th hole"  martini glass I got at a bah-gin on E-Bay dahlin' because I play golf, hubby is avid about golf, and we almost ended our engagement on a golf course - so...sentimental reasons :-P..I'm a happy camper.

I think every woman needs to have something that makes them feel special...indulged...and, oh, I don't know...bubbly?  Lolita Martini glasses do that for me.  I don't want a huge collection - I drink out of them, then wash them carefully and dry them before they go back in their boxes...but I don't mind getting ones that are part of the reflection that is ME, so it just goes to reason that I would not be content with just the original Cosmopolitan recipe.  I sort of made it my own, and I love the difference, and...I am willing to share it with you.  Here's hoping that YOU get YOUR favorite "Lolita" glass, shake up some Cosmos, put your feet up, and feel bubbly.

First, a decent vodka is a must.  It's the main ingredient in a Cosmo, and everyone seems to have a preference for vodka these days.  There's so many to choose from, all of them touting that they are the best, but I found the best, and it's cheaper than Diddy's, smoother than Smirnoff, and tastier than Stoli, and Tina-wina...guess what? It's made in Austin, TX! YeeeeeeeeeHAH!!!!  Tito's Handmade Vodka.  I love this stuff - not in an alcoholic sort of way, but I love it.  It's smooth, you could drink it straight, and very reasonably priced.  Read his story, it's kinda cool - It started out as a hobby, making flavored vodkas for friends, then he started trying to make his own vodka, succeeded, and the rest well, I'll let you read it :)  Best vodka I've ever had, and I've had a lot of vodka over the years I've been of legal drinkin' age.  Get it, nuff' said.  Besides, you'll be supporting a fellow Texan.  Hell, I'm an east coast gal, and I LOVE his vodka.  Tito hon, you got mah vote!

OK...you got the vodka.  Now, you need Limoncello, which is a lemon liqueur from Italy.  The original recipe calls for an orange liqueur like Cointreau, but I like Limoncello.   You will also need cranberry juice and orange juice, kapish? Good.  Here are the rough "parts" for my "Chris-tini":

2 parts vodka
1 part cranberry juice
1 part Limoncello
1 part orange juice.

Put in a cocktail shaker with lots of ice.  Shake it like a polaroid picture.  Strain and pour into your martini glass.  Enjoy.

This is easy to adapt.  If it's too strong for you, add more cranberry/orange juice.  If it's not sweet enough, add more juice.  If you like it sweet, I'd suggest getting the "Cosmopolitan" bottled drink mix, which has more sugar in it than plain cranberry juice.

For a variation, use Cointreau instead of Limoncello.  This is closer to the original "Cosmo" recipe, with the exception of the addition of OJ.

Further variations:

-Substitute Red Rum (which is Virgin Islands Rum infused with Tropical fruits) for vodka in either of the above recipes.   It's very good with Red Rum.  I had a bottle hanging around that I bought for some obscure recipe I made years ago, and decided to see how it would taste in a martini - yummy.

-Use Red Rum, pineapple juice, Cointreau with a splash of OJ for a "Tropi-cini"

Enjoy!
Part 3 will be more alcohol, Sinclair Lewis' punch revamped for the 21st century.  I bought the peach brandy and dark rum yesterday, and I'm mulling about the possibilities in a cocktail shaker around 5 pm this afternoon :-)