Pink Martinis and Cupcakes - perfect treats for a girls' night out

Posted on Fri, Jul 1, 2011 : 11:37 a.m.

Pink Martinis and Cupcakes - perfect treats for a girls' night out

By Peggy Lampman

Pink Martini

Peggy Lampman | Contributor

The group Pink Martini is being featured during the Ann Arbor Summer Festival on Saturday, July 9 at 8 p.m. at Hill Auditorium. In support of this event, Main Street Ventures is offering $10 off each ticket (up to four tickets).

The catch? Simply belly up to the Chop House or Gratzi bar and order a Pink Martini, up through July, 9. Hey -— someone's got to do it! You will receive a coupon with a code number, which you redeem when purchasing your tickets.

This "Pink Martini" business just happened to coincide with my plans to celebrate a girl friend's birthday. Wouldn't pink martinis and pink cupcakes be a winning girly-girl party combo? (Think wedding showers, bachelorette parties — girl's nights in general.)

Birthday Girl, Debbie, accompanied by a Pink Martini (Chop House Recipe) and Pink Cupcake (purchased from Cake Nouveau).

Peggy Lampman | Contributor

Julie White (director of communications for Main Street Ventures) was kind enough to procur the recipe, the Sparkling Pomegranate Martini, from Eric Arsenault (director of wine and spirits for The Chop House) for my celebratory intentions. Julie says the cocktail is the perfect solution for midday doldrums; a reason to enjoy the afternoon. I'm thinking it would be a wonderful accompaniment to pyrotechnic displays as well.

Next week we're thinking of meeting at the Gratzi bar and let the bartender do the work.

I'll have my fireworks in pink, please.

Peggy Lampman | Contributor

My friends and I made a pitcher in celebration of our friend Debbie's birthday.We accompanied them with Raspberry-White Chocolate cupcakes purchased from Cake Nouveau. I purchased all of the ingredients for the martinis at Stadium Liquor, which has a notable collection of enhanced vodkas. (I can't wait to try the cucumber vodka, in particular.)

Yield: 1 martini
Time: 5 minutes (plus time to chill martini glass)

Ingredients

3/4 ounce sparkling wine, such as Chandon Classic Brut
Chilled martini glass
1 1/4 ounces Pearl Pomegranate Vodka
1/2 ounce Pamma Liqueur
3/4 ounce Cranberry Juice, such as Ocean Spray
Lemon or Lime Twist

Directions

Pour sparkling wine in to a chilled martini glass. Mix pomegranate vodka, Pamma Liqueur, and cranberry juice in an iced cocktail shaker. Shake ingredients and strain into martini glass. Garnish with a lemon or lime twist. Enjoy!

Looking for a specific recipe? Click here for dinnerFeed's recipe search engine; type the recipe or ingredient into the search box. I am a real-time food writer and photographer posting daily feeds on my website and in the Food & Drink section of Annarbor.com. You may also e-mail me at peggy@dinnerfeed.com.

Comments

Peggy Lampman

Sat, Jul 2, 2011 : 12:21 p.m.

Thanks for the comment, Adam. Great alternative Pink Martini recipe, and I'm a fan of vermouth in martinis. Gin and Vermouth are undoubtably the classics but I think vodka and vermouth would also be considered in the classic category these days. There are a million and one recipes for not-so-classic martinis in martini bars and homes - all in good fun. Speaking of good fun, check out this Salon blog on Classic Martinis. The Dorothy Parker poem towards the end is quite amusing! Cheers! Peggy <a href="http://www.salon.com/april97/food/surreal970409.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.salon.com/april97/food/surreal970409.html</a>

Adam Jaskiewicz

Sat, Jul 2, 2011 : 12:29 a.m.

How is it a Martini if it doesn't contain gin or vermouth? If it *must* be pink, add some bitters or swap half of the dry vermouth for sweet. And no olives if you do that; use a lemon twist.