Festive Fourth of July Jelly Vodka Shots

How do you celebrate an American holiday like Fourth of July in Poland?

With Polish vodka, of course!

Well, I do have a lot of the traditional foods prepared for our expat 4^th of July BBQ tonight such as: hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, tortilla chips and my homemade Mexican salsa, chips with Ranch dressing, pasta salad, broccoli salad and 2 dozen colorful vanilla cupcakes. Why not add an adult beverage that you can slurp such as Red, White and Blue Jelly (Jello) shots?

I’m sure our American, Australian, Brazilian and Polish-American friends will appreciate the effort and tastiness of these small jiggly cubes.

Unfortunately, my “blue” layer turned more purple because I used blueberries to make that layer instead of neon blue boxed Jello, which we don’t have here in Poland.

If you want to replicate these at home, you need to plan on at least 8 hours so you have time to allow each layer to set. I did the process over two days just to be on the same side. If you want to give it a go, here’s the recipe I adapted from Jelly Shot Test Kitchen. I think it would be fun to adjust the colors for other holidays too!

Wishing all my American readers at home and abroad a very Happy Fourth of July as well!

Cheers, Joy

Fourth of July jelly shots served on my Polish pottery.

Red, White and Blue Jelly Vodka Shots

Blueberry Layer:

8          oz.                   hot water

2          cups                 Polish wild blueberries or normal blueberries

8          oz.                   (Polish) vodka

4          Tablespoons    fresh lemon juice

4          Tablespoons    honey

6          each                 silver gelatin sheets, bloomed, or 1 packet of Knox unflavored gelatin (If you want to use sheet vs. powdered gelatin, please read this helpful conversion gelatin chart.)

In a small pot, heat the water, lemon juice, honey and blueberries together. Let steep about 20 minutes off the burner.

Strain the blueberries, pressing down to keep all the blueberry juice.

Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bloomed gelatin sheets and vodka.

In a small, glass baking dish (9-inch by 9-inch), pour a few drops of cooking oil and wipe out with a paper towel, coating the entire vessel with the barest layer. I placed and smoothed out a layer of plastic wrap on top of this.

Then, pour in the blueberry mixture in and set to chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, making certain it is level.

White layer:

(NOTE: I only used half of this mixture in my pan because it yielded too much.)

8          oz.                   lemon infused vodka

6          ea.                    lemon zest peeled from 6 lemons
6.5       oz.                   fresh lemon juice
1/2       cup (110g.)      sugar
12        each                 silver gelatin sheets, bloomed
8          oz.                   hot water

Using a vegetable peeler, peel off the lemon zest from 6 lemons. Set aside in a bowl with the lemon juice and vodka. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 2 hours at room temperature.

After 2 hours, strain the lemon mixture.

Heat the water and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved.

Then, whisk in the lemon infused vodka and the bloomed gelatin, stirring until the gelatin is dissolved.

Carefully, pour (ONLY HALF) the lemon jelly mixture over the blueberry layer. Place the pan back in the refrigerator, again checking for levelness. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Red layer:

1          box                  strawberry (or any kind of red color) Jello (NOTE: The Polish brand of gelatin worked perfectly for this for me.)

8          oz.                   (Polish) vodka 

8          oz.                   hot water        

6          each                 silver gelatin sheets, bloomed, or 1 packet of Knox unflavored gelatin

Heat the water. Stir in the strawberry jello mix, stirring until the gelatin is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

Then, whisk in the gelatin sheets and vodka.

Carefully, pour the red jelly mixture over the white layer. Place the pan back in the refrigerator, again checking for levelness. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, you can simply pull up the plastic wrap out of the baking pan and place the layered jelly on a cutting board.

Use a very sharp knife and cut the jelly into squares, or use a cookie cutter for shapes. I cut my jelly into 1 ¼-inch cubes, so my tray yielded about 24 jelly cubes. You will end up with some scraps if you don’t use the side pieces.

Garnish with a blueberry or raspberry.

Slurp and enjoy!

An alcohol-free jelly dessert for the kiddos that are coming to our party.
Topped with sweetened whipped cream.

And of course, I had to bake something too. Vanilla cupcakes with Italian buttercream frosting.

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Mini Muffins Made with Wild Polish Blueberries

It’s just too hot to cook.

This week is the hottest week yet we’ve experienced in Warsaw with near record highs of 33 and 35C (91-95 F). Living without AC like most Poles means sleeping is quite uncomfortable, so we’re hightailing it to a hotel for the next two nights. Yesterday, I even leisurely strolled the aisles in a grocery store for nearly an hour because it was the coolest place I could find.

But last week, when temperatures weren’t near as hot, I baked a batch of mini muffins with Polish wild blueberries for hubby to take to work for our Turkish friend’s final week in Poland.

Wild blueberries have been in season for nearly two months, and I cannot get enough of them! They are much smaller than cultivated varieties and have a distinct, almost winey, sweet flavor. I’ve eaten handfuls of the wild blueberries just by themselves as well in cereal, yogurt and in my Independence Day Berry Cobbler. I even made a batch of blueberry-ginger jam and blueberry cheesecake ice cream.

Sadly, the wild blueberries at Hala Mirowska seem to be disappearing, and normal-sized blueberries have replaced them. Luckily, I stashed away a kilo or two of the wild blueberries in the freezer so I can make another batch of these muffins when our Istanbul friends arrive next month.

These muffins are a combination of lemon-poppy seed and blueberry – a perfect pairing! Hope you enjoy them as much as our friend, Ozerk, did!

Smacznego! (Bon appétit in Polish)

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Mini Muffins with Wild Polish Blueberries

Yields: 48 mini muffins

Ingredients:

1 ¾      c.         all-purpose flour

½         c.         granulated sugar

2          tsp.      baking powder

¼         tsp.      salt

1          ea.        lemon zest, freshly grated

1          tsp.      poppy seeds

1          ea.        large egg, beaten

¾         c.         milk

¼         c.         sunflower or vegetable oil

1          c.         fresh or frozen wild blueberries

1.         Preheat your oven to 375F/190C. Also, line mini muffin pans with paper baking cups.

2.         In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and poppy seeds.

3.         Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

4.         In a second bowl, mix together the egg, milk and oil. Add this mixture into the well of the previous bowl. Using a rubber spatula, stir just until moistened. Batter will be slightly lumpy.

5.         Lastly, fold in the wild blueberries. If you are using frozen, I like to toss them with a little flour to help prevent them from sticking together.

6.         Using a spoon, fill the paper cups about 2/3s of the way full. Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden on top. Optional: sprinkle a bit of raw sugar on top of the muffins before baking.

7.         Of course, you also can bake these muffins in standard-sized baking cups. Just increase the baking time by five minutes or bake the muffins until lightly golden on top. 

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