Watermelon Ice Cubes

Ingredients:
1 large watermelon

Directions:
Cut watermelon into workable pieces. Remove the seeds and the rind. Puree the watermelon in a blender or food processor. Pour the puree into ice cube trays and freeze.

Peach Rum Punch

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen peaches

2 cups lemon-flavored rum (recommended: Bacardi Limon)

3 cups peach nectar (recommended: Kerns)

1 cup pineapple juice

1 cup ginger ale

Directions:
Chill all ingredients. Combine all ingredients in a punch bowl, adding ginger ale last.
Serve cold.

Drunken Watermelon

Ingredients:
4 pound seedless watermelon
2 cups tequila
1 cup triple sec Lemon-lime soda (recommended: Sprite)

Directions:
With a knife, shave off the stem end of the watermelon, just enough so that it sits flat. Cut the top off the watermelon, about 3 inches down. Scoop out half of the watermelon with a melon baller and set aside
Scoop out remaining watermelon, leaving the rind-bowl. This will be your punch bowl. Transfer scooped out melon (not the melon balls) to a blender and puree; may be done in batches. Push watermelon puree through a strainer to remove pulp and any seeds. Return watermelon water to the watermelon punch bowl. Stir in tequila, triple sec, and melon balls. Top off with lemon-lime soda. Serve cold over ice.

Glen of Passion

Ingredients: (serves 2)
1/2 tsp dried or fresh lavender flowers (see note)
1 tbs caster sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup Glenfiddich Scotch whisky
1/8 cup pear liqueur

1/8 cup fresh passionfruit pulp (from 1-2 passionfruits)
1 cup ice cubes, plus extra to serve
2 fresh lavender sprigs, to serve

Directions:

Combine lavender flowers, sugar and boiling water in a heatproof jug. Set aside for 15 minutes to infuse and cool. Strain into a small jug and discard lavender.
Combine Glenfiddich, pear liqueur, passionfruit pulp, lavender infusion and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake for 2 minutes or until cocktail shaker is extremely cold.
To serve, pour among serving glasses, top with extra ice and garnish with fresh lavender sprigs

Cranberry Vodka Punch

Ingredients: (serves 12)
6 cups cranberry juice
1.5 pounds seedless watermelon, cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices
4 cups lemonade
1 cup vodka
1/2 cup Cointreau liqueur

Directions:
Pour about 1 cup of cranberry juice into ice-cube trays and place in the freezer for 6 hours or until frozen.
Use a 2 inch-diameter star-shaped pastry cutter to cut stars from the watermelon slices.
Pour the lemonade, vodka, Cointreau and remaining cranberry juice into a serving jug. Add the cranberry ice cubes and watermelon stars and serve immediately.

Grapefruit Spritzer

Ingredients: (serves 6)
2 cups chilled grapefruit juice
1/2 cup lemon barley cordial
1 tsp Angostura aromatic bitters
4 cups chilled soda water

Directions:

Combine the grapefruit juice, cordial and bitters in a jug. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill.
Pour the grapefruit mixture evenly among serving glasses and top with soda water. Serve immediately.

Chamomile, Peach & Ginger Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 chamomile tea bag
1/2 cup low-fat or soy milk
1 peach, skinned, stone removed
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1-2 tsp wheatgerm (optional)

Directions:
Place teabag in a cup, cover with 1/3 cup boiling water. Cool, remove bag and place tea in blender with remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Campari with Orange

Ingredients (serves 6)
Ice cubes, to serve
6 oz campari
2.5 cups fresh orange juice
Soda water, chilled, to serve
Orange slices, to serve

Directions:
Fill 6 serving glasses with ice cubes. Pour campari and orange juice among glasses. Top with soda water and orange. Serve.

Pink Drink

Ingredients (serves 2)
2 red apples, cut into wedges, core removed
1 pink grapefruit, peeled, segmented
9 oz punnet strawberries, hulled, washed

Directions:

Use a juice extractor to process the apple and grapefruit. Transfer to the jug of a blender. Add the strawberries and blend until smooth.
Pour among serving glasses and serve immediately.

Plum Pudding Vodka

Plum pudding vodka:

1 bottle (about 700ml) vodka

9 oz dark brown sugar

3.5 oz mixed peel

9 oz sultanas

5 oz raisins

Grated rind and juice of 1 orange

1 tsp almond essence

6 cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

2 vanilla beans, split, seeds scraped

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp mixed spice

Direction:

To prepare the vodka, place all ingredients in a large bowl and cover well with plastic wrap (reserve the vodka bottle and cap). Set aside in a cool place for 1 week, stirring once a day. Strain the contents through a very fine sieve, pressing down well to extract all the liquid. Pour liquid back into the vodka bottle and screw the cap on tightly. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.*

South-f-the-Border Slushie

Ingredients (serves 4)
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 ripe honeydew melon, halved, deseeded, peeled, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup silver tequila
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves

Directions:

Place water and sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Place sugar syrup and honeydew in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Pour into a shallow metal container and cover with foil. Place in the freezer for 6 hours or until almost frozen.
Use a metal spoon to break up the honeydew mixture. Place honeydew mixture, tequila and mint in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Spoon into glasses to serve.

Watermelon Mai Tai

Ingredients (serves 8)
1 pound peeled watermelon, chopped
1/2 cup Golden Circle pineapple juice
1/2 cup white rum
1/4 cup triple sec liqueur
1 tsp grenadine
Crushed ice, to serve

Directions:
Place the watermelon, pineapple juice, rum, liqueur and grenadine in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth.
Divide the ice among serving glasses. Pour over watermelon mixture to serve.

Mango & Passionfruit Champagne

Ingredients (serves 12)
3 large mangoes (about 2.5 pounds)
1 1/2 cups passionfruit pulp (about 18 passionfruit)
7 1.5 pints bottles good-quality Champagne, chilled

Directions:
Cut the cheeks from the mangoes close to the stone. Use a large metal spoon to scoop out the flesh, place in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
Combine mango puree and passionfruit pulp in a bowl and stir until well combined. Pour into 4 ice cube trays and freeze for 6 hours or overnight until set.
To serve, place an ice cube in each serving glass and stand at room temperature for 5 minutes or until ice cube begins to melt. Pour over chilled Champagne. Serve immediately.

Pineapple and Strawberry Fizz

Ingredients
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup strawberries, hulled
3 cups dry sparkling wine or soda water

Directions:
Place pineapple juice and strawberries in a food processor or blender and process for 1 minute or until smooth. Pass through a sieve to remove strawberry seeds. Half fill champagne glasses with the mixture and top with sparkling wine or soda water.

Fresh Watermelon Juice

Ingredients

2.5 pounds seedless watermelon, peeled, coarsely chopped
2 tsp finely grated ginger
2 tbs lemon juice
Mint leaves, to serve
Ice cubes, to serve

Directions:
Place watermelon, ginger and lemon juice in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. Add sugar, if desired.
Strain through a fine sieve into a serving jug. Add mint and ice cubes and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Fruit Pops

Ingredients
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 honeydew melon, peeled, chopped
1/2 rockmelon, peeled, chopped
9 oz punnet raspberries
Soda water or sparkling mineral water and straws, to serve

Directions:
Place the sugar and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat to medium and boil until reduced by half. Set aside to cool.
Place the honeydew melon and two tablespoons of cooled sugar syrup in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into bottles to half fill and freeze for one hour until frozen. Repeat with the rockmelon and raspberries.
Transport to the beach frozen. Top with soda or mineral water to serve.

Melon and Strawberry Lassi

Ingredients
1/4 small pineapple, peeled, chopped
1/8 small rockmelon, peeled, chopped
4.5 oz strawberries, hulled
1/4 cup low-fat yoghurt
1/2 cup Unsweetened Pineapple Juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 cups ice cubes
mint sprigs, to serve

Directions:
Combine fruit in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Add yoghurt, pineapple juice, cardamom and ice. Blend until creamy and smooth. Pour into glasses. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve.

Wicked Chocolate Milkshake

Ingredients
1/2 cup chocolate fudge sauce
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur, optional
2 scoops good-quality chocolate ice-cream

Directions:
Dip the rim of a glass in sauce, allowing it to drip down the side. Place the remaining sauce in a blender with the milk, liqueur and 1 scoop of the ice-cream and whizz until thick and rich.
Spoon remaining ice-cream into the glass and pour in the milkshake.

Butterscotch Hot Chocolate

Ingredients
2 cups milk
1/2 cup good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup butterscotch schnapps
Marshmallows, to serve

Directions:
Place the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes or until it almost boils. Remove from heat.
Divide the chocolate among 2 tall heatproof glasses. Pour over the hot milk and butterscotch schnapps. Top with marshmallows to serve.

Vietnamese Milkshake

Ingredients
2 tbs sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh fruit (such as mango, banana or strawberry)
1/2 cup cold full-cream milk
6-8 ice cubes

Directions:
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until a thick and frothy puree. Pour into a glass, add a straw and enjoy.

Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

6 cups milk
2 x 3 inch cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
5 oz good-quality dark cooking chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Place the milk and cinnamon in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes to develop the flavours.
Place the cocoa powder in a small heatproof bowl. Add 1/3 cup of the warm milk mixture and stir until a smooth paste forms.
Remove the cinnamon sticks from the remaining milk mixture and place saucepan over low heat. Add the cocoa paste and chocolate, and use a wire balloon whisk to stir for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and the mixture is well combined.
Transfer to a heatproof serving jug and pour into heatproof glasses to serve.

Frozen Mango Margarita

Ingredients
20 oz frozen mango cheeks
1 cup silver tequila
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
2/3 cup Cointreau liqueur
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 cups ice cubes

Directions:
Place half the mango, tequila, lime juice, Cointreau, sugar and ice in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. Pour evenly among half the serving glasses. Repeat with the remaining mango, tequila, lime juice, Cointreau, sugar and ice. Serve immediately.

Creamy Mocha Cocktail

Ingredients
2/3 cup thin cream
1/3 cup amaretto liqueur
1/3 cup Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueur
2 tbs Tia Maria coffee liqueur
1 cup crushed ice
2 tbs chocolate topping

Directions:

Place the cream, amaretto, Baileys, Tia Maria and ice in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. Pour evenly among serving glasses.
Place the chocolate topping in a small plastic bag. Cut a small hole in 1 corner of the bag and drizzle the top of each drink with chocolate in a zigzag pattern. Drag a toothpick vertically through the zigzag pattern to create a slightly marbled effect. Serve immediately.

Mudslide

Ingredients
1 cup thin cream
1 cup Baileys Original Irish Cream liqueur
1/4 cup chilled vodka
1/4 cup Kahlua liqueur
8 scoops chocolate ice-cream
1 cup crushed ice

Directions:
Place cream, Baileys, vodka, Kahlua, ice-cream and ice in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into serving glasses and serve immediately.

Baileys Tiramisu

Ingredients

1 cup strong espresso coffee, cooled to room temperature
1/3 cup coffee-flavoured liqueur
6 savoiardi (sponge finger biscuits), halved crossways
2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup, firmly packed brown sugar
9 oz container mascarpone, at room temperature
1/2 cup Baileys Original Irish Cream liqueur
Coarsely grated dark chocolate, to serve

Directions:
Combine coffee and liqueur in a bowl. Dip biscuits, one at a time, into the coffee mixture and use to line the sides of four 1 1/2-cup capacity serving glasses. Drizzle with remaining coffee mixture.
Use an electric beater to beat the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until thick and creamy. Add mascarpone and Baileys and beat until well combined.
Use a clean electric beater to whisk the egg whites in a bowl until soft peaks form. Use a metal spoon to fold half the egg white into mascarpone mixture. Fold in remaining egg white until combined. Spoon mascarpone mixture among glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 6 hours to chill.
Sprinkle with chocolate to serve.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Ingredients
2 cups milk
4.5 ozpeppermint dark chocolate, chopped

Directions:
Warm 2 cups milk over low heat. When it starts to simmer, add 4.5 oz chopped peppermint dark chocolate pieces. Stir constantly for 3-4 minutes or until chocolate is melted and well combined. Serve immediately with marshmallows, if desired