Here’s a quick multiple-choice quiz: Which summer drink should you mix up to cool down?
* A Bloody Mary made in a blender;
* A chocolate egg cream to be sipped with a straw;
* A frozen white-wine sangria topped with fruit.
If you can’t pick one, no worries. It’s a trick question – they’re all just right.
While the season’s heat is at its peak, raise a glass and celebrate with these eight cool drinks.
This concoction includes wine, brandy and fruit.
Frozen white sangria
1/2 peach
1/2 plum
3 strawberries, chopped, and frozen until hardened
1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
3 tablespoons superfine sugar
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons brandy
1 1/2 cups small ice cubes
Fruit slices, for garnish
Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Garnish and serve. Makes 2 servings.
Creamy from the yogurt and milk, and sweet from the blueberries and honey, this milkshake remains virtuous: The yogurt is low-fat and the milk is skim.
Blueberry smoothie
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons honey
5 small ice cubes
Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve immediately in tall glasses. Makes 2 servings.
A cheery pink drink – basic lemonade blushed with pitted cherries – appeals not only to kids but also kids at heart.
Cherry lemonade
1pound sweet cherries, pitted
1cup sugar
13/4cups fresh lemon juice (about 12 lemons)
Set aside 10 cherries. Stir together sugar and remaining cherries in a large bowl, and let stand until cherries release juices, about 10 minutes.
Add lemon juice; stir until sugar has dissolved and liquid is bright pink.
Transfer to a pitcher. Stir in 6 cups cold water and reserved cherries. Serve over ice. Makes about 91/2 cups.
Dressed up for the table with fresh berries and mint sprigs, seltzer and syrupy raspberry vinegar make a thirst-quenching combination.
Raspberry spritzer
1/4cup raspberry vinegar
6tablespoons sugar
2quarts seltzer (about 2 liters)
Raspberries, for garnish
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
Bring vinegar and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Set syrup aside to cool. Put syrup in a pitcher, and stir in seltzer; add ice. Garnish and serve. Makes 2 quarts.
The king of diner drinks is actually made with milk, chocolate syrup and seltzer, but no eggs.
Egg cream
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
1/2cup milk
1cup cold seltzer
Put 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup into each of two 10-ounce glasses. Add 1/4 cup milk to each. Divide seltzer between glasses; stir vigorously and serve. Makes 2 servings.
Semifreddo means “half cold” in Italian. Here it refers to the slushy mixture that brings texture and flavor to this classic champagne cocktail.
Semifreddo bellini
1 cup peeled, chopped peaches, frozen until hardened, plus peach slices for garnish
1/4 cup peach schnapps
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chilled champagne or sparkling white wine
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
1 cup small ice cubes
Blend chopped peaches, peach schnapps, 2 tablespoons Champagne, the sugar and ice in a blender until smooth. Divide mixture between two glasses; top off each glass with 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons champagne. Garnish and serve. Makes 2 servings.
Mixed in a blender with tomatoes in unexpected hues, these Bloody Marys may look different, but they use all the traditional ingredients – tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, hot-pepper sauce and salt.
Frozen Bloody Marys
1/2 cup bottled red tomato juice, or fresh yellow or orange tomato juice extracted with a juicer
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh red, yellow or orange tomato chunks, frozen
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (use just 1 teaspoon with yellow or orange tomatoes)
3 dashes hot-pepper sauce
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups small ice cubes
Freshly ground pepper
Skewers of grape tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella cubes for garnish
Blend tomato juice, lemon juice, frozen tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, hot-pepper sauce, vodka, salt and ice in a blender until smooth. Season with pepper. Divide mixture between two glasses. Garnish and serve. Makes 2 servings.
Pineapple and coconut rum bring the taste of the tropics north.
Latin Lover
1/4 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
2 tablespoons frozen cranberry juice concentrate
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup coconut rum
1 1/2 cups small ice cubes
Fresh sugarcane, for garnish
Mix concentrates, lime juice, rum and ice cubes in a blender until smooth. Garnish and serve. Makes 2 servings.
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