Raspberry Beret

July 27, 2012

 

 

Soooooo, how are y’all weathering one of the hottest summers on record?  The T. family has consumed a gluttonous amount of ice cream, lemonade (Arnold Palmers for me), popsicles and Slurpees.  When the weather gets steamy, we bathe ourselves in sugary cold confections. In our defense, there’s also been a lot of swimming going on, so I like to tell myself that we’re burning all of those calories off in the local pool.

You know what is especially strange about this summer?  It’s been too hot for even the crotchety, over-priced ice cream man to drive his battered truck into our neighborhood.  I haven’t heard his annoying arse all summer, and believe me, I’d hear it. He blasts “The Little Red Wing” so loud that I think Pete Townsend would give him a thumbs-up.

What happened, crotchety over-priced ice cream man? Why did you forsake us?  Did you go to the great Creamsicle in the Sky?  Did the years of driving for hours, listening to your own mind-blasting music, render you drooling and barmy?  It’s got to be something like that, because the parents in our cul-de-sac are suckers. We’ve shelled out for 3$ Bomb Pops for years.

We’ve shelled out for them because I am a lazy slob. We own popsicle molds. We own an ice cream maker. I could, in essence, replace crotchety over-priced ice cream man, had I the drive or the will. But I don’t. Okay, maybe a few times a summer, I will drag those suckers out, but for the most part? Cannot be bothered.

This summer, I’ve been particularly bad.  In fact, I suck.

I suck because the only thing I’ve used my ice cream maker for is a libation. Hey, Mommy is hot and tired and the Minxes are scheduled to the gills, so don’t judge.

Just make this.  It’s Mommy Xanax.

Now truly, you do not have to  make your own sorbet. Admission: I made my own the first time I tried this treat, and it was great sorbet, because the recipe not only comes from ice cream guru David Lebovitz, but because the sorbet itself has alcohol in it. And then you combine it with more alcohol. Win-win, eh caterpillars?

However, I have gotten slack and made this treat with good quality (think Haagen-Dazs) raspberry or strawberry sorbet and it works quite fine, thank you very much.  Sometimes a girl just needs a shortcut.

I named this happy little cocktail Raspberry Beret, because it just happens to be my favorite Prince song. Something about that song makes me feel all pink and funky and fizzy inside, and this libation is all of those things.

Drinking this adult float reminded me of childhood evenings in North Dakota, because in the summer, my sister would order me to keep vigil at the top of the stairs, long after we’d been tucked into bed.  I’d sneak out from under the covers and lie in wait on the stairs, ears pricked for the slightest sound of the freezer opening.  Late summer evenings and open freezers meant one thing: Mama and Daddy were sneaking ice-cream floats.

Black cows, to be specific.  A black cow (or, as some people call it, a brown cow) is basically a root beer float.  Frosty vanilla ice cream and rich root beer, melded together in a tall glass? Heaven. Daddy was particulary fond of black cows, so when he was home from week-long business trips, my sister and I reckoned that we had a fighting chance that the freezer door would creak open.

And when it did? I’d run on my tiptoes to my sister’s room, tap her on the shoulder, and down the stairs we’d rattle, pajama-clad and hopeful-eyed. Daddy would laugh and Mama would sigh at the sight of us.

“You girls have the ears of a cat,” Mama would say, shaking her head. And then she’d take out two more glasses from the cupboard.

While this is decidedly an adult treat, it took me back.

Feel free to make this for the little ones with alcohol-free sorbet and some cream soda. And then toast to summer. Hot as she is, you have to love her. So take that, crotchety, over-priced ice cream man! We don’t need you, anyways!

 

Raspberry-Rose Sorbet

from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop

Makes about one quart

 

2 cups rose wine

2/3 cup sugar

3 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen

 

In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, bring the rose wine and sugar to a boil. Remove pan from the heat, add the raspberries and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Pass the mixture through a food mill fitted with a fine disk, or puree in a food processor or blender and then press the puree through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the seeds.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker per manufacturer’s directions.

Freeze in a container until firm.

 

For the Raspberry Berets:

Fill a tall collins glass with scoops of sorbet. Pour Prosecco or any slightly sweet sparkling wine over the sorbet. Serve with a spoon and a straw and enjoy.

 

 

 

{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }

Camille Brightsmith July 27, 2012 at 9:48 am

Rasberry Beret….I think I looooooove her.

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amanda {the habit of being} July 27, 2012 at 10:31 am

she word a raspberry beret, the kind you find at a secondhand store…this will now be in my head for the rest of the day. the adult sorbet will be a must.

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TKW July 27, 2012 at 10:46 am

Amanda,

That song is “sticky” isn’t it? At least it is one I like–plenty of bad ones get stuck in my head, too. I’ll take Prince any day.

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Arnebya July 27, 2012 at 10:31 am

She walked in through the out door.

We have been managing. We finally put the window units in, so that helped, but we still don’t use them every day. You have no idea how thankful I am that my kids love salad because we’ve been existing on cold salads and ice cream. The middle girl asks quite frequently if I’ll make her something float-like. Maybe this’ll work (minus the wine and shot of vodka, of course. What?)

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TKW July 27, 2012 at 10:49 am

Arnebya,

I made this for my kids with raspberry sherbet and cream soda. It’s good. :)

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Kate July 27, 2012 at 11:02 am

Oh, the daddy here is fond of a float – coke floats particularly. Me, well I like my ice cream in a bowl. Too much, I had to banish it from my freezer.
This sounds delicious. And I just happen to have a bottle of prosecco. And a never been used ice cream maker. Maybe I need to get creative to get through August.

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Pamela July 27, 2012 at 11:30 am

Gah. I thought it was just North Carolina that was so hot. I’m a bit relieved it’s like this everywhere. Although it still is HOT. We were at the pool all day, and the process of getting there and back almost undid me. This looks wonderful!!

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Contemporary Troubadour July 27, 2012 at 11:30 am

We made raspberry sauce the other day with a flat of threatening-to-liquefy berries from the farmer’s market. I’ve been eating it straight from the fridge with a spoon and a sprinkling of sweetener. I suspect if I were to put the mess in the freezer, it would make excellent sorbet — thanks for the suggestion! Anything cold and sweet-tart sounds good to me these days.

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Jennifer July 27, 2012 at 12:07 pm

Yummy, yum, yum.

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idiosyncratic eye July 27, 2012 at 4:14 pm

I don’t drink wine but there’s a similar slushy daquiri blog over at thekitchensgarden blog. Mm-mm. The heat’s just hit here but it’ll soon be other. Be glad your local ice cream van doesn’t play a tortured, hashed out version of Winnie the Pooh. PS. The upside down bird photos are on the blog now! :)

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TKW July 28, 2012 at 7:09 am

Idiosyncratic,

Your ice cream man plays Winnie the Pooh? You win.

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Tina July 27, 2012 at 4:14 pm

Ah, Prince. I’ve been in a raspberry mood lately. I’m always in a Prince mood. I’ll have to try this.
We did raspberry sorbet and homemade vanilla ice cream in sugar cones last night…soooo good!
Gotta love summer.

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suzicate July 27, 2012 at 6:28 pm

I LOVE summer…the heat gives me a great excuse to drink good stuff like this!!!!!!!

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BigLittleWolf July 27, 2012 at 6:37 pm

Raspberry anything – heavenly in summer.

Pleeeeeeeease come live here and create these divine concoctions chez moi. (I’ll let you wear my shoes…)

xoxo

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TKW July 28, 2012 at 7:10 am

Wolfie,

Now that is a tempting offer!

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Katybeth July 27, 2012 at 8:58 pm

My 5 o-clock cocktail is almost always a root beer float in the summer. However this sorbet looks really refreshing so maybe I will branch out, live a little and wine some.
Except for schedules and school…I can’t wait until fall.

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TKW July 28, 2012 at 7:11 am

Katybeth,

Part of me yearns for fall and part of me hates to see summer go. I can’t make up my mind…

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Sherri July 28, 2012 at 5:15 pm

A Prince reference always works on me…..

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elizabeth July 28, 2012 at 8:49 pm

I want to go to there. And I want to drink that. In full.

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TKW July 29, 2012 at 3:34 pm

elizabeth,

Come any time! I’ve missed you! Hope everything is ok.

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Liz @ PeaceLoveGuac July 29, 2012 at 12:05 pm

This looks so delish, and perfect timing…I’m ready to call it quits on summer, too. Unfortunately, Austin stays hot until October. (Better make mine a double!)

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TKW July 29, 2012 at 3:34 pm

Liz,

Summer in Texas (even awesome Austin) deserves at least a double.

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Leslie July 29, 2012 at 1:53 pm

Whaaaa? The Ice Cream man is a Pus*y!

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TKW July 29, 2012 at 3:35 pm

Leslie,

I know! He must have croaked or something, because we were total suckers for his over-priced Spongebob-sicles.

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naptimewriting July 29, 2012 at 8:17 pm

Prosecco is my bathtime drink of choice. (Their bath or mine…same drink.). Raspberry sorbet float it is.

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naptimewriting July 29, 2012 at 8:21 pm

Prosecco is my bathtime drink of choice. (Their bath or mine…same drink.). Raspberry sorbet float it is.

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TKW July 30, 2012 at 5:04 pm

Nap,

I loathe the bath hour with children…prosecco will see me through. And maybe some crack cheese rolls. xo

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Tiffany July 30, 2012 at 7:41 am

Must. Make. Now.

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TKW July 30, 2012 at 5:09 pm

tiff,

after your bathroom story, you need a double!

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Barbara July 30, 2012 at 9:23 am

You’re not lazy….you’re a busy mom. We all were the same way. I experiment more since the kids moved out. :) The heat just begs you to use shortcuts.
Love this drink…Prosecco is perfect here. Kind of a raspberry Bellini. The sorbet looks good too!

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Jenna July 30, 2012 at 9:47 am

Man . . . how did I manage to combine pregnancy with the hottest summer on record?
All I know is that, in the absence of an ice cream maker, a raspberry smoothie will be happening tonight.

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TKW July 30, 2012 at 5:09 pm

Jenna,

Alice will love a raspberry smoothie. :)

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Rudri Bhatt Patel @ Being Rudri July 30, 2012 at 7:33 pm

Booze and raspberries! I am in. Can’t wait to make this.

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Jane July 30, 2012 at 9:00 pm

We just celebrated the last night of little league baseball – this drink (for me, anyway) sounds absolutely divine!

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