METRO Wednesday, December 16, 2009 D Better than Newry Prices! 3 for 2 offer Buy any 3 items of Jewellery for Friends and Family this Christmas and get the lowest priced item FREE Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer Stephens Green Shopping Centre Tel: (01) 478-5336 McCanta says: If youre pregnant or cant drink alcohol, you still want to drink something beautiful. My favourite is Lychee Passion, but a simpler one is Kris Kringle. Muddle 1tsp freshly grated ginger, 2tbsp maple syrup, one sprig fresh rosemary (save one for garnish), one orange wedge, and two lemon wedges, in the bottom of an Old Fashioned glass. Add ice and top with 50ml apple juice. Garnish with a dusting of cinnamon and the remaining rosemary sprig. Make four days before drinking. Chop three oranges, three lemons and one lime into wheels. Remove the seeds. In a large (preferably glass) container, cover the fruit with 250ml Cointreau or organic orange liqueur and two cups demerara sugar. Stir until sugar coats all the fruit. Let it stand for about four hours, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, combine all the spices 2tbsp whole cloves, two cinnamon sticks, one nutmeg (roughly chopped), 1tsp allspice in a spice bag or muslin cloth. Add one bottle high-quality organic red wine (McCanta finds Argentinian malbec works best) and spice bag to the fruit. Transfer to the refrigerator. Stand for two to four days stirring a couple of times each day. Then strain all fruit/spices and transfer to a soup pot. Place on a medium heat for about 20min. Serve warm or hot and top with some freshly ground nutmeg. Edited by Chloe Scott features@metroireland.ie Good Taste Shake it, shake it, baby now Get sloshed: With party season in full swing, raw food mixologist and organic maestro Joe McCanta takes Metro through a class on making natural cocktails stuffed with seasonal and botanical ingredients by chloe scott I f your pre-Christmas parties are prone to ending in bibulous binges, there are ways of retaining some dignity serving fresh zingy drinks that bedazzle your guests. Hailed in the New York Times as being at the epicentre of organic cocktails, Joe McCanta, who has quenched the thirst of everyone from Stella McCartney to Moby, knows how to entertain with panache. My focus is on using fresh, seasonal and botanical ingredients in cocktails, so people drink like they eat, he says. Indicative of this is his greenhouse bar, where he grows herbs to use in cocktails he serves at raw food restaurant Saf. Hes even launching his own botanical- based spirit called Hum, made from organic rum, hibiscus, cardamom, ginger and kaffir lime. Make brown sugar syrup: reduce 1cup water with 1cup brown sugar. Stir continuously on medium heat until sugar dissolves. Place in a glass container to cool then store refrigerated. Homemade grenadine: Reduce one cup fresh pomegranate juice with cup organic white sugar and add in 20ml organic vodka. Place in a glass container to cool then store refrigerated. The drink: Muddle three kumquats and 2tbsp brown sugar syrup. Add 60ml Brazilian cachaa (I use Albelha organic cachaa) and ice then shake vigorously for about ten seconds. Empty contents into a rocks glass. Garnish with 5ml grenadine, an edible flower or a quarter piece of raw sugar cane and one whole kumquat, sliced and hung on rim of glass. Metro advises readers to please drink sensibly over the festive period and to never, ever drink and drive. Stir 50ml London dry gin (Sipsmith is fantastic), 20ml sweet vermouth (Joe uses Carpano Antica Formula), 20ml apricot brandy (Joe recommends Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot) and 5ml Benedictine. And a dash of Angostura Bitters. Pour into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with an orange peel; twist sharply and flame the vapours for extra zing. 4 Blondes A purists mulled wine Kumquat caipirinha Kris Kringle The Pregnatini Roll with it: Cocktail expert Joe McCanta mixes fresh fruit, zests and herbs with booze Picture: Getty Skewered drunken quails (marinate the day before) Mix 600ml water, 70ml Patrn Aejo tequila, 70ml maple syrup, 1 thyme sprig, 2 rosemary sprigs, 5g table salt, freshly ground black pepper. Marinate six quails for 24 hours in it. Remove quails and dry; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 225C. Wrap each quail in three pancetta slices (18 slices required in total, 180g) ensuring the loose ends are under the quail. Rub quails with a splash of olive oil and cook for seven minutes. If you prefer it cooked more, continue for three minutes. Remove. Using 60ml maple syrup, brush each pancetta strip, sprinkle over 75g pecan nuts, roughly crushed. Grill quickly until pancetta is crisp. Rest for three minutes. Serve with root vegetables and salad. Spiced Patrn Silver reindeer cocktail Shake 50ml Patrn Silver tequila, 1 lime, juiced, 2tbsp agave syrup (cactus sugar syrup). Shake with ice. Strain into a chilled Martini glass. For the foam topping: soften 10 sheets gelatine in cold water. Then dissolve in 150ml boiling water. Add one cup fine sugar and two dessert spoons of allspice mix. Pour into soda siphon or whip. Patrn tequila Moonrise sorbet This is super simple to make. Bring 250g caster sugar and 500ml water to boil to dissolve. Remove and cool. Add 105ml Patron Silver tequila and 35ml lemon juice, strained. Mix. Place in freezer for eight hours minimum. To serve, peel and grate one knob fresh root ginger. Quickly stir the ginger (to your taste) into the sorbet. Place in bowl. Try this at home: Chef Tom Collinss theatrical festive recipes index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html