Anne BralyIf you've never had frosé, you may not realize that it's the perfect adult beverage to ward off the season's heat. For those of you already familiar, you know frosé is the ideal drink for a sultry summer evening.
Think of it as a grown-up Icee, a cross between a frozen daiquiri and sangria - fruity, delicious wonderfulness.
I experienced my first sip of frosé a few years ago at a restaurant in Florida and have since tried to duplicate it, but my efforts paled in comparison. Some recipes call for creating artisan syrups, which is just a little too much trouble for a drink made at home. I say leave that to the bartenders with their industrial blenders and all the ingredients ready-made and waiting.
For me, it's all about convenience, using what I have on hand. Recently, I found the recipe I've been waiting for, and just like the drink itself, the recipe is a blend of several. It just took a little trial and error - and one important substitution: the addition of campari in place of grenadine (the latter is a bit too sweet for my taste). The strawberries - plus a sprinkling of sugar - add all the sweetness you need. Campari, with its tart, citrusy flavor, is a nice counterbalance. If you cannot find campari, triple sec is a good substitution.
You will need to plan ahead when making frosé. First, you'll need ice trays. Remember those things? You can pick up a two-pack at the dollar store for a buck. One bottle of wine fills up two ice trays. Also, you will drink no wine before its time, and in this case, that's the time it takes for the wine to freeze - a good eight hours.
Don't spend a lot on the wine. Get a cheap bottle; just make sure it's dry. A sweet rosé will ruin the drink. It's the perfect marriage of rosé wine that's been frozen - thus, the name frosé - with vodka, strawberries and a dash of campari, all blended together into a slushy finish.
Strawberry Frosé
1 bottle dry rosé
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1-2 tablespoons sugar (see note)
1/4 cup vodka
2 tablespoons campari or triple sec
Pour the rosé into ice cube trays and freeze until solid, 8 hours or overnight.
Combine the strawberries and the sugar in the bowl of a blender, and let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, until the berries begin to release their juices. Add the vodka, campari and rosé cubes. Blend the mixture on high until smooth.
Pour into glasses and garnish with additional strawberries, if desired. Will fill 4-6 glasses.
Note: The amount of sugar you use depends on individual taste as well as the natural sweetness of the berries, so taste them first and proceed from there.
NEW GENERATION OF BLENDERS
Black & Decker has introduced two new blenders this summer. One is designed to make your blending duties so much easier, while the other will make them so much quieter. Either would be ideal for making your frozen drinks.
* The new XL Blast is a drink machine on steroids. It has four settings that are calibrated to create just the right texture for your drinks. Sometimes you want just a hint of crunch, particularly for your frozen margaritas. But you don't want a hint of ice crystals in your smoothie. For your frozen daiquiri, you might want a thicker consistency. This blender does all the thinking and figuring for you.
* There's nothing worse than the loud noise from a blender when you're trying to crush ice and talk at the same time. Your blender drowns out any conversation until the job is done. The new Digital PowerCrush Blender takes care of that problem by reducing the noise level by 40 percent, so the conversation can keep going while you're making your frosé. It's really quite ingenious - and powerful too as it shreds ice as if it were paper.
Both blenders can be found at walmart.com or amazon.com for right around $50, so if you're in need of a new blender, consider these new ones. The price point is good for blenders that can do what these can do. They're durable and use the latest blending technology that higher-priced blenders employ.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.