July is never a bland month. It may be sticky, sunny and unbearably hot, but it’s rarely boring. Fireworks, BBQs and roof parties keep New Yorkers on their toes. And while summer fetes like these usually bring to mind cold beer, Pinnacle Vodka is pushing for more cocktail shakers than coolers at your next clambake.
Earlier this week saw the vodka brand, famous for its Pinterest-worthy flavors like Cinnabon and cookie dough, host an Unexpected 4th of July party, curated by Chef Claire Robinson, of Food Network’s 5 Ingredient Fix and celebrity mixologist Niccole Trzaska.
Under the evening’s theme of unexpected pairings, the festivities began with a cooking demonstration by Robinson, who kept to her mantra of five ingredients or less, all with a Golden Sage vodka cocktail in hand (see below for the recipe).
In a matter of minutes, she threw together laidback dishes like ginger garlic sugar snap peas, mojo pork tenderloin and a no-bake icebox cake – ideal contributions to any potluck BBQ.
For her, cooking is fun. She urges us all to kick off our shoes, mix up a drink and put on music whenever we approach the stovetop. “Make it a moment,” she says.
Her casual approach to food lends itself to those of us less inclined to following a recipe and, as such, she follows the philosophy of BYOC – Be Your Own Chef. In other words, there’s never one way to cook anything. If you don’t like one ingredient, switch it up. “Y’all get the gist,” is one of the southern chef’s favorite sayings.
She’s also adamant that no one should ever have to pay too much for good food. The most plentiful ingredients in your local grocery store, she says, are usually the ones that are most in season (and often on sale) and with her simple, slapdash recipe for retro icebox cake, there’s never an excuse to buy one for $20 from a boutique bakery again. Sorry, Magnolia, I’m with her on this one.
After Robinson’s demo, expert cocktail creator Trzaska took to the limelight to show us all how to mix up red, white and blue libations for our Fourth of July shindigs, with raspberry sorbet, Pinnacle raspberry vodka and piña colada mix layered with blue curacao. This is one of those one-sip drinks – as in one sickly sweet but remarkably delicious sip is all you need.
Later, dinner was served up family style under patriotic paper lanterns. We got a taste for Robinson’s cooking, accompanied by Cinnabon splash cocktails, and it was every bit as yum as it was easy to make. While sipping super-sweet cocktails may not be an everyday thing, there’s nothing wrong with a little over-the-top on a holiday weekend. Unbland cocktails, I salute you!
Golden Sage cocktail
- 1 part Pinnacle Original Vodka
- 1 quarter part dry vermouth
- 1 part pineapple juice
- 1 quarter part lemon juice
Mix ingredients over ice, shake and strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a sage leaf – but make sure to tap the leaf between your palms or snap between your fingers to release its essence.
Chef Claire Robinson’s Sugar & Spicebox Cake
- 3 cups chilled heavy cream
- 1 cup cream cheese, softened
- 9-12 chocolate graham crackers, broken into squares
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ plus 1 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
Beat 2 cups cream with 6 tablespoons sugar in a bowl until it just holds soft peaks. Then add cream cheese and mix until combined.
Spread 1 ¼ cups cream cheese mixture evenly in bottom of spring-form pan and cover with graham crackers. Repeat this step then spread remaining cream cheese mixture on top. Smooth, then cover with foil and freeze until firm – about an hour. Transfer to fridge and chill, covered, until a sharp knife inserted into center cuts through softened graham crackers easily – about 8 hours.
Pulse remaining graham crackers in a food processor until finely ground. Beat remaining cup cream with cinnamon and remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar until it just holds stiff peaks. Remove foil and side of pan and frost cake with cinnamon cream. Feel free to decorate with blueberries and strawberries for a patriotic take on the classic. Serve cold.
Twisted Talk: Will you be mixing it up this Fourth of July? Which Pinnacle flavors have you tried? Discuss below!
