So once again I am watching the Food Network and have my trusty notepad next to me to pause the TV every few seconds and write down ingredients to "As Seen on TV" dishes and try to recreate them. So for this installment we have The Smashing Pumpkin Martini from the show "Best Thing I Ever Ate" where well known chefs and foodies, tell you the best thing they have ever had according to that shows theme and where to get it ... the one I watched was of course, That I am Thankful For!
I have the recipe from the show, which I did not make for 2 reasons:
1. The liquor store was not open to buy all the ingredients
2. After looking on line for the ingredients, this drink would have cost me around $75+ to purchase everything needed to make one drink ... which is probably why Grants Grill in San Diego charges $12 per martini!
I did come up with the Poor Man's Version of the Smashing Pumpkin, which tasted like liquid pumpkin pie, very yummy.You could garnish this with a shot of whipped gream and a few crushed ginger snaps but then it would be even more dangerous!
Next time I am in San Diego, I will go to Grants Grill and beg them to make me one of these seasonal drinks ... $12 to taste the drink is a heck of a lot cheaper than $75+ to make one.
Photo courtesy of the internet (we drank them before we took a picture)
Poorman's Smashing Pumpkin Martini
3 oz Vanilla Stoli Vodka (no vanilla vodka? add 1t. vanilla extract for every 2 oz vodka)
or
3oz Spiced Rum
1 oz Amaretto
3 T. Pumpkin Puree (canned is fine)
2T Smashing Pumpkin Syrup (recipe below)
Crushed Ice
Cinnamon & Sugar (for glass rim)
Run a slice of orange around the rim of your martini glass. Put Cinnamon & sugar mix on a small plate and put your glass rim down on the plate and turn to coat rim.
Put first 5 ingredients into a shaker, shake and pour into your rimmed glass. Garnish with a Cinnamon stick.
Smashing Pumpkin Syrup
1 c Sugar
1/2 c warm water
1T Pumpkin Pie Spice
Add sugar & water to a sauce pan. Heat until boiling, boil for 2 minutes. Add spice and stir. Set aside to cool slightly. Stir a few times while cooling to avoid skin on top. Store in plastic container in fridge.
Here is the original recipe from TV ... someday I might get all the ingredients and try this.
Grants Grill Smashing Pumpkin
(As seen on TV - prices are for 750 ml bottles or smaller)
1 oz Infused 10 Cane Rum - $30 (infused with pumpkin & star anise: place rum, star anise & chopped fresh pumpkin in a vaccum sealed bag. Let sit for a few hours. Strain rum in a container)
1/2 oz Grand Mariner - $36
1/2 oz St Elizabeth's All Spiced Dram - $30
1/2 oz Ginger Liqueur - $40
1 Meyer Lemon, juiced (30oz Meyer Lemon Concentrate at Amazon $25)
1/2 oz Saffron Syrup - 14 gram jar of Saffron at Costco: $79; a 3-pack of .038 oz each at Amazon $31
Dash Bitters
Rim your glass like above. Place all ingrdients in a shaker, shake and strain into the glass.