Around the Kitchen Table: Our Refreshing Summer Drink Ideas + 7-Book #Giveaway!

 

CLEO COYLE: The heat is on! For many people, July Fourth marks the start of summer vacations, and Marc and I hope you're all enjoying this holiday weekend. Summer also brings sizzling temperatures and for some (including us here in NYC) sweaty days of swampy humidity.

Cold, refreshing drinks are never more appreciated than during these sweltering months, which is why I'm throwing open this month's Kitchen Table Talk to your summer drink ideas. Do you have a favorite summer drink refresher? Let us know...

As for us, this EASY FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE (with a sugar-free option) is a chilly chocolate favorite during the summer months. With whipped cream and shaved chocolate on top, it makes a great summer desert, too. And the sugar-free option is a nice idea for those of you (or members of your family) cutting back on sugar. Enjoy!

Click here or on the photo above to get 
Cleo's recipes for Easy Frozen Hot Chocolate 
(with a Sugar-Free Option)

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LUCY BURDETTE: I often make a special drink to celebrate a book launch. (I’m working on something with strawberries and basil for the two books coming out this summer!) But this Campari spritz was to celebrate A DEADLY FEAST. I  chose the  drink that I’d been dying to make. It's light and perfect for an evening at the beach or by the fire! I think you’ll like it. 

But I know there are some people who dislike bitter flavors like Campari. For you, I’d recommend mojitos, which are surely the signature drink in Key West! 

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PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON: Like Lucy, I'm a spritz girl, too. An Aperol Spritz in my case. We had them in Italy and they quickly became a summer favorite. I've also been known to go old school with a white wine spritzer occasionally.   

 

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LESLIE KARST: It’ll likely be cold and foggy here in coastal Santa Cruz for much of July (and August, as well), but I can always dream of the kind of hot, sultry evening that requires a tall, refreshing drink! 

I’m a fan of gin, so one of my go-to beverages when it’s hot is a spritzer made with gin, fresh fruit juice, and a splash of soda over ice. One of my favorites is known as a “rickey” (purportedly invented in 1883 by Colonel Joe Rickey), traditionally made with gin, lime juice, and soda water, with little or no sugar. Here’s a lemon-basil gin rickey recipe for you to try. Cin cin!

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VICKI DELANY: Big summer drink fan here. One of my first recipes for MLK was this Pimms cocktail as made by one of my daughters for family gathering around the pool. Summertime perfection. 

Here's the recipe as it appeared at MLK: 

Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: The Perfect Summertime Drink with Pimms (mysteryloverskitchen.com)

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MAYA CORRIGAN: This berry smoothie is a cold refreshing summer drink. that uses fresh berries. Although I can buy berries year round in the supermarkets near me, the local ones that ripen in summer are much more flavorful. This drink is easy to make with only five ingredients. It appeals to both kids and adults.

Though I was never a smoothie fan,

this drink changed my mind. Here's the recipe. 

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MADDIE DAY: What wonderful drinks! I do love a good gin and tonic on my deck in the summer, preferably with a good book in hand.

I shared this cranberry-based cocktail from Murder in a Cape Cottage here on the blog last winter. Mac and Tim served it at their New Year's Eve wedding reception, but it's also a nice cool drink for the summer.

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VMBURNS: I live in the South and the number one drink you will find at practically every restaurant, barbecue, and inside practically every Southern refrigerator is SWEET TEA. You'll notice I said that I LIVE in the South. I wasn't BORN in the South. So, I thought Sweet Tea was simply iced tea with sugar. It wasn't until I moved here that I realized Southerners (at least the ones in my East Tennessee neighborhood) consider sweet tea far more than iced tea that's been presweetened. Sure, the basic ingredients are the same, but its all in the execution. After much research and drinking what felt like vats of sweet tea, I have landed on a recipe that works. Swing by Mystery Lovers' Kitchen on July 13th for the recipe.

    

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MOLLY MACRAE: All these wonderful, refreshing drinks! Valerie, I'm looking forward to your sweet tea recipe. We lived in East Tennessee for twenty years and I developed a love for the local sweet tea. These days, for special summer occasions, we make Rosemary-Infused Watermelon Lemonade. Oh, man, is it good. I wrote it into Last Wool and Testament, the first book in my Haunted Yarn Shop mystery series. Isn't it beautiful? 

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TINA KASHIAN: I like this topic of refreshing summer drinks! I have an easy drink to share. It’s a super healthy yogurt drink which is consumed all throughout the Middle East. Armenians call it Tan, Lebanese call it Ayran, and Iranians call it Doogh. Take a cup of plain yogurt, 1 cup of water, and salt to taste. Mix well. Add ice and chill. Garnish with mint or parsley, and drink on a hot summer day. Other variations add finely chopped English cucumber and mint and blend in a blender. The best version is made with homemade yogurt. I’ll share recipes in the future. Wishing you all a happy, cool summer!

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LIBBY KLEIN: You may know that I grew up in Cape May, NJ where the Poppy McAllister series takes place. Well, I moved away a long time ago but try to go back every summer. With a giant beach house, ten adults, and eleven children - all on vacation together - you want a fancy cocktail option that's refreshing for the adults that can be non-alcoholic for the kiddos and lightweights. I made up this Cotton Candy Sizzle to go along with Restaurant Weeks Are Murder - my mystery basket competition murder. This recipe is very easy to adapt. Just substitute lemon-lime soda for the vodka. Or don't. Hey, you're on vacation - live it up!

Cotton Candy Sizzle

3 ½ ounces of unsweetened pink grapefruit juice

2 ounces of Marshmallow Vodka (or lemon-lime soda)

2 ounces of orange vanilla syrup

1 pack of cotton candy Pop Rocks

Lime wedge for rimming

Lime twist

Ice

Combine grapefruit juice, vodka, orange vanilla syrup, and ice in a shaker bottle or martini shaker. Shake well. Rim a martini glass with the lime wedge and dip into the Pop Rocks until the edge is covered. They will begin popping and snapping immediately. Pour cocktail into your martini glass and add your lime twist. Enjoy the popping.

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LESLIE BUDEWITZ: I'll admit, when it's time for a summer drink, I'm more likely to pop a chilled bottle of Prosecco or Pinot Grigio than mix a cocktail. Peg's spot on about the deliciousness of the classic Aperol Spritzer, particularly at a sidewalk cafe in Italy! I quite enjoyed creating the Raspberry Limoncello Sparklers for Killing Thyme, though I don't seem to have shared them here. (The recipe is in the book.) And when the Murphy Sisters in my Food Lovers' Village mysteries had a taste-off between Huckleberry Margaritas and Huckleberry Martinis in Butter Off Dead, of course I had to taste everything myself first. (You can do the same here. The recipes are on the blog and in the book.)

For a non-alcoholic treat, I've become a big convert of cold brew, using Cleo's super-simple version to make my own: Put 3/4 cup ground coffee in a quart jar, fill with water (about 4 cups), seal and shake, and refrigerate for 12-24 hours, shaking occasionally, then strain. For a classic iced coffee, pour half a cup of cold brew and half a cup of water over ice and add milk and a tablespoon of vanilla syrup. Or make a dairy-free coffee soda, which I discovered in Fresh Brewed Murder by Friend of the Blog Emmeline Duncan: Pour half a cup of cold brew concentrate and half a cup of club soda or sparkling water over ice. Add a tablespoon of syrup -- I love vanilla, huckleberry, or homemade lavender syrup. Stir and enjoy for an instant summer pick-me-up!

GIVEAWAY!

To be entered in this week's drawing

for the 7 terrific mysteries below,

join us in the comments.

Do you have a favorite
refreshing summer drink?

Join the conversation!

Include your email address,

so we can contact the winner!

 

> BREWED AWAKENING by Cleo Coyle

> THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS by Lucy Burdette

> MURDER UNCORKED (ARC) by Maddie Day

> MURDER IS A PIECE OF CAKE by Valerie Burns

> STEEPED IN MALICE (ARC) by Vicki Delany

> PEPPERMINT BARKED by Leslie Budewitz

> HUMMUS AND HOMICIDE by Tina Kashian

Comments Open through

Wednesday, July 5

Don't forget to include

your email address.

Congrats to our winner,

Christi King!

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