Jello Shots for a Party!

Who doesn't like to have a good party???


COSMOPOLITAN JELLO SHOT: 

• 1 1/4 cup cranberry juice cocktail
• 2 1/2 envelopes plain gelatin
• 1/4 cup Roses lime juice (or fresh lime juice with a healthy dash of simple syrup)
• 1/4 cup Grand Marnier, or Cointreau (use Cointreau or Triple Sec for a milder tasting jelly shot)
• 3/4 cup orange flavored vodka
• 1/4 cup lime zest for garnish, if desired
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  Directions

  1. 1Pour cranberry and lime juices into a small saucepan and sprinkle with gelatin. Allow to soak for a few minutes. Heat on low, stirring constantly, until gelatin is fully dissolved (about 5 minutes).
  2. 2Stir in the liquors, making sure to fully incorporate.
  3. 3Pour into pan or molds, and chill until set, several hours or overnight.
  4. 4To serve, cut into desired shapes and garnish with lime zest, if desired.

(You can pour the jelly shots into any pan or set of molds that can hold 2 1/2 cups of liquid.)


BLUEBERRY MARTINI JELLO SHOT:

Total time: 25 minutes, plus overnight chilling
Servings: About 20 Shots (more if you use 1/2 ounce molds instead of an ice tray)

10 1/2 ounces Stoli Blueberry vodka
2 ounces simple syrup* (add more if blueberries are sour)
3 1/2 (1/4 ounce) packets of gelatin powder

About 60 fresh blueberries (more if the blueberries are small)

1. Off heat, combine the vodka and simple syrup in a small saucepan. Add gelatin powder to the vodka mixture.

2. Heat the saucepan over low heat, stirring, until the gelatin is dissolved and incorporated into the vodka mixture, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. Place a few blueberries in the bottom of each individual ice cube mold, and carefully pour the vodka mixture into each. Refrigerate the ice cube tray until set, preferably overnight. These cocktails will keep, refrigerated, for as long as 2 days.

*To make simple syrup, combine equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan, and stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.

(I opted to use gelatin powder instead since it can be found in regular supermarkets (I used Knox Gelatine). As for setting the jello, the recipe has you use half-ounce silicone molds — since these shots are meant to be picked up with your fingers and eaten — but I didn’t want to go out and buy molds, so I ended up using an ice tray. It worked nicely except for the fact that each cube was bigger than a half-ounce, so I ended up with about twenty shots instead of thirty-five.)

Bramble Jelly Shot:

Recipe by Toby Cecchini 

For the float:

6 ounces crème de mûre (blackberry liqueur)
7 grams (1 packet) Knox unflavored gelatin
1 package (3 ounces) grape-flavored Jell-O gelatin
1 cup hot water

In a small mixing bowl, sprinkle the Knox and the Jell-O into the hot water and stir until completely dissolved, 5 to 7 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir in the crème de mûre. In a small, nonreactive baking dish or loaf pan, pour a few drops of cooking oil (grapeseed works well) and wipe out with a paper towel, coating the entire vessel with the barest layer. Pour blackberry float mixture in and set to chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, making certain it is level.

For the gin sour:

1 cup gin (lemon infused) (Note: vodka may be substituted!)
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
28 grams (4 packets) Knox unflavored gelatin
1 cup hot water.

Juice enough lemons to give you 2/3 cup juice, keeping the hulls as you squeeze. Roughly chop the squeezed hulls and put them in a coverable container along with the gin and the lemon juice. Leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours. It’s a good idea to do this before starting the float, so that by the time that has firmed up, your infusion is ready to go. When the float layer is firm, bloom the gelatin in the hot water by sprinkling it slowly while stirring, and continuing stirring until fully dissolved. Add the sugar and stir until that is also fully dissolved. Strain the gin mixture off from the lemon hulls through a fine sieve or chinoise and add it into the gelatin mixture, stirring well. Over a spoon, so as not to gouge a divot in the float layer, pour the lemon sour mix onto the float layer and return to refrigerator, again checking for levelness. Chill overnight. When ready to serve, cut into squares, or use a cookie cutter for shapes, and pull up carefully, using a cake spatula to get under the float layer. Garnish with a blackberry and/or a thin wedge of candied lemon. Or simply slurp.

PALOMA JELLO SHOT:

Recommended Pan:  1-pound loaf pan (approximately 8” x 4”/20 x 10 cm) or flexible silicon molds

1 1/3 cup grapefruit soda (we used Izzy's sparkling juice)

2 tablespoons frozen limeade concentrate (thawed)

2 envelopes Knox gelatin

2/3 cup agave tequila

Fresh grapefruit segments for garnish, if desired

Pour soda and limeade concentrate into a small saucepan and sprinkle with the gelatin. Allow the gelatin to soak for a minute or two. Heat over very low heat until gelatin is dissolved, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Mixture may be foamy initially, but this will disapate. Remove from heat.  Stir in the tequila. Pour mixture into loaf pan or molds. Place in refrigerator to set (several hours or overnight). 

To serve, cut into desired shapes (or unmold).  Garnish each jelly shot with a small grapefruit segment, if desired.

Makes 18 to 24 jelly shots.   

WATERMELON BASIL MARTINI JELLO SHOT:

Inspired by Kahakai Kitchen's yummy Honeydew-Mint Agua Fresca recipe and decided to create an "agua fresca style" jelly shot, using watermelon and a different aromatic, basil!  

Recipe testing for this jelly shot was conducted with both vodka and gin - it works great with either.

For serving, I can't resist a floral motif for this jelly shot - love the melon-y pink and the nod to the rosewater!  Skewers are shown above, with the jelly shots cut into 3/4 inch squares and interspersed with watermelon flowers (cut with a tiny cookie cutter) and slices of fresh basil.  Another option is to set the jelly shots in a flexible silicon mold, and place on a slice of watermelon (as shown below).  In either case, the watermelon slices and basil add a nice burst of flavor.  If you don't have time to mess around with molds and skewers, set the jelly shots in a pan as directed, cut into cubes, and top with a little finely chopped watermelon and basil on top, salsa style. 

The floral treatment . . .

Recipe follows.  If you plan on using molds or skewers, do add an extra 1/2 package of Knox gelatin (1/2 package = about 1 tsp).  If you are using sheet gelatin, please visit the recipe tab on the blog for the conversion.  

Cheers,

Michelle

Watermelon Basil Rose Martini

Recommended Pan:  1-pound loaf pan (approximately 8” x 4”/20 x 10 cm)

1/2 cup water

5 tablespoons frozen limeaid concentrate (thawed)

2 envelopes Knox gelatin

2/3 cup vodka or Hendricks Gin

2/3 cup watermelon basil juice (recipe follows)

1 drop rosewater (if desired)

1/4 inch thick seedless watermelon slices, for garnish (if desired)

Pour water and limeaid concentrate into a small saucepan and sprinkle with the 2 envelopes of gelatin. Allow the gelatin to soak for a minute or two. Heat over very low heat until gelatin is dissolved, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vodka or gin and watermelon juice. Add rosewater if desired. Pour mixture into loaf pan or molds. Place in refrigerator to cool, several hours or overnight. 

To serve, cut into desired shapes (or unmold).  Cut shapes out of the watermelon slices with a cookie cutter or a sharp knife.  Place one shot on each watermelon shape. Makes 18 to 24 jelly shots. 

Watermelon Basil Juice

1/2 pound seedless watermelon chunks (about 2 cups)

10 large fresh basil leaves (about 1/4 cup)

Food processor and strainer

Place watermelon and basil in the bowl of the food processor and process until very smooth.  Strain through fine mesh strainer to remove any solids.