Drink and a nosh: Ginger lemondrop and roasted garlic feta hummus

When life gives you ginger vodka, you make lemondrops.

We were blessed with the gift of homemade ginger vodka (and horseradish vodka) as part of the annual ritual exchange of holiday gift baskets this past season. (Don't have that delightful ritual? I highly recommend going back in time and inventing it. All you have to do is show up at friend's houses with pretty baskets filled with food and such. The key? Time your distributions so you end up at the house of someone who has a well-stocked wine cellar and understands that substantial appetizers are also in order. In other words, our house.)

Ginger lemondrop
From Yazi Ginger Vodka, via Hood River Distillers.

Ingredients

1½ ounce ginger vodka

½ ounce orange liqueur such as Triple Sec

1 sugar cube

1 ounce lemon juice

Method 

Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled shaker. Pour into a cocktail glass.

Rating: It was perfectly tasty, but the ginger doesn't exactly stand out. Better to just use that precious ginger vodka straight, or it makes a quite nice martini. Thanks, Sonja and Bernie. 

Roasted garlic hummus with feta

Adapted slightly from littlespicejar.com

Ingredients

1 small head of garlic, roasted

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup tahini paste

1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 ¾ cup cooked chickpeas with liquid (or 1 can, drained with liquid reserved)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

½ teaspoon ground cumin

Method

Put garlic in a food processor and puree. Add lemon juice and tahini and whir to combine well. Add feta and pulse until well mixed. 

Add half the drained chickpeas, 2 tablespoons of the chickpea liquid and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and puree well. Add remaining chickpeas, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the salt and cumin. Process until smooth, adding more chickpea liquid if needed to reach desired consistency. (The reason you're doing this in two stages is because it's much easier to get things evenly mixed and smooth.)

Adjust seasonings to taste; you might need more salt depending on the type of feta you used and whether you cooked the chickpeas yourself (really well cooked chickpeas made in a slow cooker are awesome for making a smooth hummus). 

Rating: Another tasty hummus variation, and a handy way to use up some feta. I had some of the marvelous Greek feta from the deli case at Bill's Imported Foods. It's wonderful, but it's moist enough that it doesn't keep as well as that drier, commercial stuff. The roasted garlic is a nice subtle touch. The cumin is reminiscent of two other tasty bean-cumin spread combos I've made: cowboy hummus and coriander-chili pinto bean dip.

Play along: "Blue & Lonesome" from the Stones. I want to be that awesome at something when I'm in my 70s.