Mango Chili Lime Shots

Hello Fellow Gelologists,

A friend of mine is traveling in Guatemala with her five year old son. Adventurous you might say, but that's Kristen. The two of them are having a great time and easting some of the most delicious fruit imaginable. Four years ago I traveled there with my friend Claire and stayed in the city of Antigua. There was an enormous mango tree just on the edge of her block. The fruit from this tree was amazing. Even better, was the lime juice and chili powder we added to the sweetest mangos ever tasted.

So here is a Guatemelan inspired gelatin shot.

Mango Lime Chili Madness

2 cup Mango nectar

4 envelopes unflavored gelatin

2 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp lime juice

1/2 cup Tequila

1/2 cup Lime Captain Morgan Rum

1/2 cup Margarita mix

1/2 cup Triple Sec

Chili powder

In a microwave proof bowl, sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over the mango, lime juice, and sugar until boiling. If the mango juice is from fresh mangoes, you must boil it first and then let cool. Otherwise, enzymes inside the mango will breakdown the gelatin. If the juice is pasteurized, no problem. Stir, let cool, then add the alcohol.

Pour the mixture into molds or a baking dish and refrigerate for two hours.

Before serving, lightly sprinkle lime juice and chili powder on the top.

Enjoyemente!

Minty Julep

Hello fellow gelologists,

Exciting news on the Astrobiology front. As of Friday night, astrobiologist Dr. Richard Hoover published findings of alien bacteria-like fossils found in a meteorite. Now, I will await more information, but this is a peer reviewed journal, so I give it credit. Where do we go from here?! Was life on Earth started by life from another planet? Stay tuned...

So how can we celebrate this finding, by making a gelatin shot. Okay, there's not connection between the science story and today's shots, but if you look at the photo, they seem inspired by such a mystery. Translucent pyramids, flecks of green leaves, alcohol. Yes, it's definitely the direct translation of a peer reviewed science article.

This mint julep shot was requested by Dante, who came over on Friday to explore his jello shot making ability. In fact, three friends were invited to design a shot. Normally, I spend my Friday nights making shots by myself. But then I thought, the shots make parties social, why not the making of them?

So here are the Dante's creations:

Mint Simple Syrup

1 cup water

1/2 cup mint leaves

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bourbon

In a small pot, heat the water, sugar and mint leaves to boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for half an hour. Strain the syrup to remove leaves.

Mint Julep Shot

1 cup mint simple syrup

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup chopped mint leaves

Rootbeer Reboot

Hello fellow gelologists,

While at the local liquor store I stumbled upon a new product, well, new to me- alcoholic whipped cream. It's canned whipped cream infused with alcohol. The makers of this product come from Temperance, MI. Yes, Temperance. The irony. If you go to their website, you can read about their peculiar history and how they ended up there.

But I don't want to go on and on about alcoholic whipped cream. I'd rather do that with gelatin shots!

Today's shots are a revisit to some rootbeer shots, called Floaters, I made a couple of years ago. They were very basic and not very beautiful. But these are much, much, more noteworthy.

Rootbeer Rebooted
5-10 pieces of old fashioned rootbeer candy
1 cup of rootbeer, flattened
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup vodka
1/4 cup vanilla vodka
1/4 cup rootbeer schnapps

Optional
Alocohol infused whipped cream
Pretezel- the curvy kind.

To make the Rootbeer infused vodka, add the cup of vodka and candies into a glass container. Leave for several hours to dissolve. Strain the vodka through a sieve to remove any solids.

In a microwave proof bowl, add the Rootbeer and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over liquid. Microwave for 2-4 minutes until hot. Remove, cool, and add the alcohols.

For molds, I used some small plastic shot glasses I found at the grocery store. Lightly oil the inside of the glass and wipe off excess with a paper towel. Add the liquid and refrigerate for two hours.

To remove, use your finger to break the seal of the surface and then holding the shot glass with you opening away from you, using your fingers to cover the top, give quick shakes. This is how your supposed to get the ketchup out of the bottle, not the repetitive shakey-shake we all do.

Top with the cream and for added effect, break off the curvy part of the pretzel and add to the side to make it look like a mug handle!


Cheers!

Valentine's Day Revisited

Hello Gelophiles,

Valentine's Day may long gone, but for those who didn't officially celebrate due to myriad reasons, why not make March 5th YOUR official Valentines Day. Maybe your previous day was sweet, maybe it was sour. So why not combine the elements of both into one delicious gelatin shot?!

These are my layered Strawberry Supreme Sour Cream Shots.

Strawberry layer
1 6oz box of Strawberry gelatin
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup pureed frozen strawberries in syrup
3/4 cup cold water

1/2 cup Vanilla Vodka
1/4 cup Strawberry pucker
1/4 Light rum

Sour Cream Layer
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 Tablespoon sugar

In a microwave proof bowl, mix the strawberry puree, strawberry gelatin, and cold water. Sprinkle the 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin and let absorb. Microwave for 4 minutes until the mixture is hot and the gelatin dissolve. Watch for over boiling!

Let the mixture cool and stir in the alcohols. (Is the plural of alcohol alcohols?) Anyways, irregardless, add the alcohols.

Prepare the sour cream layer. Add the sour cream to another microwave proof bowl and add the 1/2 cup water. Sprinkle on the unflavored gelatin and let absorb. Heat for 2 minutes, mix and cool.

Add half of the Strawberry mixture into your baking pan or fill just less than half of your silicon mold for layer one.

Place in the fridge and let it get semi-solid and spoon on the sour cream layer. Let it set again and add the remainder of the final strawberry layer. Let it set for 2 hours or place in the freezer to speed set. Top with chocolate shots or a small dollop of sour cream.

These tangy, tart and sweet shots will be just right to soothe the sordid heart.

Enjoy!