I really miss supper clubs. I know I have alluded to this in other posts, but I REALLY do. My husband and I enjoyed so many fun date nights tucked in a cozy, dark corner of many a retro style supper club somewhere in rural Wisconsin on the edge of town. I PRAY things open up soon. I know we are all ready to get back to "normal." I told my husband yesterday, "Seriously ALL I want right now is to go to TJ Maxx, Home Goods, and out on a date night at a supper club."
Oh yeah, and travel. Travel would be good. But, really, I could just use a nice date night out. Any moms out there feeling the cabin fever crabbies setting in? Until that glorious day arrives, at home treats will have to suffice. This week, we attempted the famed "Pink Squirrel." I gotta say, I LOVED this retro drink!!!!
Here's a little history on this glorious pink concoction:
The drink was invented at Bryant's Cocktail Lounge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Pink Squirrel was invented as an ice cream drink and is still served as an ice cream drink there and in many parts of the upper Midwest.
It is THE ultimate Wisconsin retro style ice cream drink. I love the pale pink color. So what do you need to make this drink?
vanilla ice cream-get a gallon tub, it takes more than you think!
Creme de cacao, Crème de Noyaux (almond flavored liqueur); we used almond extract for the kids' version (Watkins worked well)
cherries (can use juice for flavor and of course a cherry on top for garnish!)
cherry syrup-also used in the kid's version to give it more flavor. Cherry and almond actually interchange well.
whipped cream-garnish
milk
red food coloring
sprinkles for garnish
To make the drink, you put all the ingredients into a blender. My husband said he used about ten big scoops of ice cream to create drinks for our family of five. For the adult version, we added 2 oz of each liqueur. For the kid's version, we added almond extract to taste (this is a VERY strong extract, so we started with just a few drops and tested as we went.) You blend until it's smooth. We did add some milk to make it a little less thick. We added a few drops of red food coloring to give it that GORGEOUS light pink shade.
You can find lots of recipes for this drink online; however, I think what is the most fun is just experimenting a bit with what YOU like! There's no hard and fast rules other than in order for it to be the traditional supper club style, it must be made with ICE CREAM, not just cream.
The whole family enjoyed this Saturday night treat. Other than the liqueurs, it was not expensive...and even those aren't really expensive, plus we knew we would use them again.
During this time of quarantine, I think it's really important to have fun and create things to look forward to. I know we love traditions like Supper Club Saturday...In June we will try the GOLDEN CADILLAC! :D