Holiday Cocktail: Jolly Arrival

It's the holiday season! Our Christmas tree is up, the fireplace is lit almost every night, and I get to indulge in cooking with those ingredients that are really only useful for about a month's time around the end of the year.

I came up with a drink that fits well with the holiday theme, and decided to name it Jolly Arrival (figure THAT one out). The only problem is that you can only really have one - it's almost like a dessert!

Jolly Arrival

1 oz vodka
0.5 oz Irish cream liqueur (Bailey's or similar)
0.5 oz coffee liqueur (Kahlúa or similar)
0.5 oz almond liqueur (Amaretto or similar)
0.5 oz hazelnut liqueur
0.5 oz peppermint liqueur
3 oz whole milk or heavy cream
freshly grated nutmeg
cocoa powder

Fill a cocktail glass with ice and set aside. Add ice to a cocktail shaker, and pour in all the ingredients. Shake for 5 seconds. Discard the ice in the cocktail glass and strain the contents of the shaker into the glass. Sprinkle cocoa powder and nutmeg on top. Serve immediately.

Regional Dinner Party: Spain

I've been meaning to have people over for dinner now and then, cooking a multi-course dinner from a specific region or country, and we finally had our inaugural event the other day. The first country to appear on the menu was Spain, and this was my first time cooking Spanish food other than some random odds and ends. The full menu consisted of:

• Spanish cheeses with Pan de Horno
• Cauliflower with cherry tomatoes and Serrano ham
• Paella de marisco (seafood paella)
• Bizcochos Borrachos (drunken sponge cake)
• Licor 43 con leche

The dinner was certainly a success. I just wish I had taken pictures of everything!

Pan de Horno

1 tbsp instant yeast
3 cups warm water
7 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl and let sit for ten minutes. Sift the flour and salt together into a large bowl. Using your fingers, mix in the oil with the flour mixture. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and stir with your fingers until the dough is firm and slightly sticky. Pour the dough onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead another two or three minutes.

Grease a bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave until doubled in volume, about an hour. Once the hour is over, punch the dough down and move to a floured work surface. Knead a few seconds, then return the dough to the bowl and cover for another 15 minutes.

Cut the dough into two pieces, then form loaves. Place on a greased pan and cut slits on top of the bread. Turn the oven to 450 degrees F. Cover and let raise for 30 minutes, then bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until the top is toasted and the loaves sound hollow when knocked on the bottom. Remove to a cooling rack and leave until completely cooled.

Cauliflower with Cherry Tomatoes and Serrano Ham
1 large head cauliflower
1/2 red onion
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 lb thinly-sliced Serrano ham
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely-chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Start by cutting the cauliflower into 1-inch florets. Boil salted water in a large pot, then add the cauliflower florets and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain in a colander and set aside. Next, cut the ham into 1-inch pieces and cut the tomatoes in half.

While the cauliflower cooks, fry the onion with the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once the onion has turned translucent (about three minutes), add the tomatoes and ham. Cook until just heated, about two minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and parsley. Combine with the cauliflower and serve warm or at room temperature.

Paella de marisco
1 lb chorizo
1 lb shrimp
15 clams
15 mussels
1/2 cup white wine
1 large yellow onion
5 cloves of garlic
2 cups medium grain white rice
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
2 red peppers
1 green pepper
1 tsp saffron threads
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
pepper

I, unfortunately, do not have a paella pan or a pan large enough to cook a paella, so I have to resort to the oven method, which works quite well.
Start by peeling the shrimp, reserving the shells. Put the shells and four cups of water in a large pot over medium heat. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until reduced to 2 cups. Pour through a fine mesh, reserving the liquid and discarding the shells. Set the newly-created shrimp stock aside.

Boil water in a large pot and add the shrimp. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked through. Drain and set aside. Crumble the chorizo and cook over medium heat in a large skillet. Set aside.
Clean the mussels and clams, discarding any that do not close when tapped. Add the wine to a large pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the mussels and clams, then cover. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the shellfish are open, shaking the pot occassionally. Remove any mussels or clams that did not open completely, then set aside.

Turn the oven to 375 degrees F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the onion (chopped) and garlic (minced) and cook for about five minutes. Add the rice, shrimp stock, 3 cups of chicken stock, saffron, about 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper and cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the rice is al dente and some liquid remains. Transfer to an oven-safe dish, add the shrimp, chorizo, mussels and clams and cover with tin foil. Bake for 30 minutes and serve immediately.

Bizcochos Borrachos

4 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
8 oz water
1.5 tbsp honey
1 1/2 oz rum
1 cinnamon stick
peel from 1/2 lemon

Turn the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch cake pan with vegetable shortening and flour it (add flour, shake until coated, turn upside-down to remove excess).

Separate the egg yolks from egg whites. Beat the yolks with the sugar in a medium bowl until creamy. Using a stand mixer (or electric mixer), beat the egg whites until forming soft peaks. Carefully fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites. Next, fold in the flour and baking powder. Pour the batter into the cake form and bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before serving.

To make the sauce, add the sugar and water to a large sauce pan and place over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, honey and lemon peel and let simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring occassionally. Remove from the heat, add the rum and let cool to room temperature.

Cut the cake into 9 pieces and serve each piece with a drizzle of the syrup.

Licor 43 con leche

Licor 43
milk
Licor 43 is a liqueur from Cartagena, Spain, made from citrus fruits, vanilla and a variety of other herbs and spices - 43 in total (hence the name). I served this with warm milk, as I've been told that's the way they do it in Spain. The liqueur itself also works well on its own or on the rocks.

Swedish Christmas Dinner

Finally! Internet is back, and so am I. Here's what I served a group of friends for Christmas dinner. I will explain what is in the picture and post the recipes below for anything that I actually made.

Starting at the "9 o'clock" position, we have:

• Aged 2-year old English sharp cheddar cheese
• Smoked salmon
• Marinated herring - Abba's is the most famous Swedish maker. Available at IKEA.
  
• Swedish limpa bread (recipe below)
• Swedish meatballs (recipe has been posted previously)
• Stewed kale (recipe below)
• Prinskorv ("prince sausage") - found this at IKEA!
  
• Jansson's Frestelse ("Jansson's Temptation") (recipe below)
• Hard boiled egg - recipe below. Just kidding.

The dinner was served with a variety of beverages: red and white wines, glögg, and one of the more important parts of a true Swedish Christmas dinner: akvavit! Before drinking the shot, one has to sing a song in Swedish. Since I know most of my readers are not fluent in the language, here are the lyrics "in English" (basically, someone put English words to the song, to sound like it's in Swedish).

In addition, we made some Christmas-inspired cocktails, one of which is pictured above.

And now, the recipes.

Peppermint "Martini"

3 oz vodka
2 oz white creme de menthe
2 oz white creme de cacao
small candy cane

I hate calling anything that contains anything other than gin and vermouth a "martini," but I guess I have to get with the times. Place all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, pour into a cocktail glass, garnish with a candy cane, enjoy.

Swedish Limpa bread

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 tbsp shortening or butter
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp anise seed
1 1/2 cups hot water
4 1/2 cups AP flour
2 cups rye flour

Place 1/4 cup warm water and yeast in a bowl. Stir to combine and leave for 5 to 10 minutes, until frothy. In the meantime, combine brown sugar, molasses, shortening/butter, salt, caraway seed and anise seed in a large bowl. Pour the hot water over the ingredients in the bowl, stir and set aside until lukewarm (about 5 minutes).

Add a cup of flour to the sugar mixture and beat until smooth. Add the yeast mixture and mix well. Add the rye flour and up to 3 1/2 cups AP flour (which is what remains), but not more than required to make a soft, slightly tacky (but not sticky) dough. You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and let rest for 10 minutes. Knead until soft and tacky, then form into a ball and place in a large, oiled bowl. Turn to coat. Cover with waxed paper and a towel and let stand in a warm place until doubled (about 2 hours).

Punch the dough down, then pull the edges into the center and turn dough completely over in the bowl. Cover and let rise again until nearly doubled. Punch down again, then turn out onto a floured work surface.

Grease a baking sheet. Divide the dough into two portions and shape into balls. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Place on the baking sheet, then cover and let rise until nearly doubled. Turn the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool on wire rack before carving.

Stewed Kale

1 bunch kale
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
salt
black pepper

Fill a large pot about halfway with water and add about 1 tbsp salt. Bring to a boil. Clean the kale and remove the leaves from the stems. Discard the stems. Blanche the kale in the water for about 1 minute. Drain and let cool. Once cool enough to handle, slice into smaller pieces.

In a medium pot, melt the butter. Add the kale and cook for about a minute. Add the cream, about a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Cook over medium heat for about three minutes, stirring regularly. Serve immediately.

Jansson's Frestelse

3-4 large potatoes
1 medium onion
200 g anchovies
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
3 tbsp bread crumbs
2 tbsp butter

Turn the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel the potatoes and onion and cut into thin strips. Grease a 9" dish. Place a layer of potatoes in the pan, then a layer of onion, then finally anchovies. End with a layer of potatoes. Once finished, pour the liquid from the anchovies containers and the cream into the dish. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top and bake in the oven for one hour, or until the potatoes are soft.

Hard Boiled Eggs

I said I was just kidding. All right, fine: put eggs in pot. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, remove from heat and cover. Leave covered for 15 minutes. Rinse in cold water, peel, eat, enjoy, yada yada yada.

Glögg (Swedish Mulled Wine)

Glögg! What Swedish Christmas would be complete without it? No Swedish Christmas, I say! A lot of countries have their version of mulled wine, specifically ones that get really cold in winter (like the Scandinavian countries and central European ones). In Sweden, you can generally buy glögg with a very low alcohol percentage or that is based on grape juice in any grocery store a few months prior to Christmas. The real stuff, made with red wine and vodka, can be bought ready made at Systembolaget, and the makers generally come up with a variety of flavors for every season. Making your own is easier and cheaper either way, and the added benefit is that you can get the ingredients anywhere and don't have to settle for the alcohol-free version they sell at IKEA.

Glögg is served in a small cup (glass or ceramic) with raisins and slivered almonds. You place the fruit and nuts in the cup and eat them with a teaspoon as you drink the wine. Obviously, you should serve the glögg with pepparkakor, Swedish gingerbread cookies.

Oh, and about the picture above - I made a bunch to give away for Christmas and didn't have any non-bottled glögg to take a picture of. It's supposed to look like red wine. If it looks like anything else, you're doing it wrong.

Glögg

1 bottle dry red wine
1 cup vodka
1/2 cup sugar
2 whole cinnamon sticks
1/2 tbsp cardamom (whole)
1/2 tbsp cloves (whole)
The peel of 1 bitter orange (if you can't find these, a normal orange will suffice)
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Start by grinding the whole spices coarsley. Pour the vodka into a bowl, add the spices, the cinnamon sticks (break them up first) and the peel of the bitter orange. Cover with a lid, plastic wrap, or tin foil and let stand for 24 hours.

Once the 24 hours are up, remove the orange peel and cinnamon sticks, then filter the vodka into a large pot through a coffee filter or similar (a cheese cloth would probably work well). Add the wine and sugar. Turn to very low heat. The slower you heat this, the more alcohol it will retain, and the end result will be much better. Don't boil it. Once brought to a simmer, stir until all the sugar is melted.

Serve in small cups with raisins and slivered almonds.

You can easily double, triple or quadruple this batch and store in dark bottles for about a month. Just make sure you seal them properly and heat gently when it's time to have a cup.

If you do wish to make a virgin version of this, use alcohol-free wine and steep the spices in regular filtered water overnight instead of vodka (use 1/2 cup of water for each bottle of wine).

I've also found that heating the glögg in a slow cooker/crock pot is ideal if you have a lot of people over. Turn to "high" until heated, then keep at "low" and serve straight out of the crock pot - just make sure you turn it off once it's empty! A cracked crock pot is a sad crock pot.

Hot Chocolate with a Kick

It's cold out there, and what better remedy is there than hot chocolate? I decided to make some the other night, with a slight kick added: whiskey cream liqueur (or Bailey's, as most people would call it, no matter the brand).

Hot Chocolate with a Kick

1 serving of hot chocolate (I use Swiss Miss milk chocolate)
3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
2 oz Bailey's cream liqueur (or similar)
cocoa for sprinkling

Mix the hot chocolate according to the instructions on the package. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Pour the hot chocolate into a cup, add the Bailey's and stir. Top with the whipped cream and sprinkle cocoa on top.

Super simple, extremely healthy (not!), and so very, very good.

These are a Few of My Favorite Drinks...

I was going to come up with lyrics for a parody of "My Favorite Things" from "The Sounds of Music" and end it with the title of this post, but I didn't manage to come up with something witty enough. Thought counts, though, right? ;)

So, what's a food and drink blog without posts about drinks? I've been planning this post for a while, but never got around to actually writing it because it's hard for me to pick out just a few "favorite" drinks. It's always down to my current mood, and I often don't decide what I want until I reach the bar when I'm out - and I don't always order something from the list below.

Having worked as a bartender for a bunch of years in a number of bars in a couple of countries, I have had plenty of time and resources to experiment and figure out what I like and what I dislike in the world of alcoholic beverages. I'm still not even sure what I think about certain products (fruit-flavored beer, for example) and some of my old favorites I hardly ever consume anymore (I used to order a shot of Bailey's and a glass of cider once upon a time...). What I do know, however, is that the list below is my go-to, won't-get-tired-of, incomplete list of drinks I like a lot.

These are not necessarily the classic recipes, but they are the way I make the drinks and they taste great to me, ok? ;)

The Dry Martini

2 oz gin. I prefer Bombay but go with whatever you like.
0.5 oz Vermouth. I like Noilly Prat
a twist of lemon peel

Tools: cocktail shaker, spoon
Glass: martini ("cocktail")

Start by putting ice in the glass and the cocktail shaker. You'll need to fill the glass, cocktail shaker should be about half full. Next add the gin and Vermouth to the glass. Stir. Do not shake. James Bond may like his "martinis" full of ice but I do not. If you don't have a spoon that is long enough or clean enough, you can put the lid on the shaker and slowly turn it upside down a few times, but stirring is preferred.

Once stirring is complete, discard the ice from the glass. Pour the liquid from the shaker without any of the ice. If you have a Boston shaker, this is achieved by using a separate strainer. If you're using a Cobbler shaker, use the strainer in the lid. Finally, garnish with the lemon peel. Some people like to rub the inside of the glass with the lemon peel, but I personally think you'll have enough of the lemony taste from just putting it in the glass. In addition, every second from when you place the liquid in the shaker until it hits the glass is precious - you don't want to water the drink down, but you do want to make it cold. Since there's no ice in the glass, you need to consume the drink within ten minutes unless you like warm gin (and since it's so good, you need to make another one right away).

Rusty Nail

2 oz scotch (blended whiskey)
1 oz Drambuie

Tools: n/a
Glass: Old fashioned ("rocks")

Put some ice in the glass, add the two alcohols, mix. It's simple and it's oh-so-good. Now, Drambuie is a whiskey liqueur made with herbs and honey. It's very smooth and relatively sweet, and has the same alcohol content as most whiskeys on the market (80 proof/40% alcohol by volume). Very much like the dry martini, this cocktail is made from alcohol mixed with other alcohol with only some ice added - no mixers here. If you do not like whiskey (or drinking any hard alcohol straight up), chances are you won't like the Rusty Nail. If you do, however, order one at a bar and prepare to feel the respect from the bartender (just kidding, although I'm sure a bartender would prefer the Rusty Nail guy over the four-shots-of-your-cheapest-tequila guy).

Black Russian

2 oz vodka
1 oz coffee liqueur (Kahlúa, for example)

Tools: n/a
Glass: Old fashioned ("rocks")

Another simple recipe: fill the glass with ice. Add the liquids. Stir, consume. The Dude in all his honor - and don't get me wrong, I really do love a White Russian - the Black Russian is where it's at. The coffee liqueur by itself is too sweet, the vodka by itself is...vodka by itself, which is fine as long as the vodka is decent. The mix? Fantastic. Yes, it's the third cocktail with no mixers, just booze, but it's so damn good that I can't really help putting it on this list.

If you do want to make a White Russian, prepare the above recipe and add 2 oz ice cold whole milk, or cream if you like that sort of thing.

Long Island Ice Tea

1 oz vodka
1 oz silver tequila
1 oz white (silver) rum
1 oz gin
1 oz Cointreau (or triple sec)
2 oz "sour mix" (equal parts simple syrup, lemon juice and lime juice)
dash of cola
slice of lemon to garnish

Tools: n/a
Glass: Highball

Oh, Long Island, how I love thee. If you go out and drink five of these, you'll wake up the next morning and your liver will sit next to you with a cup of coffee, going "you're an asshole." Yes, I stole that line from Denis Leary, thanks for noticing. The Long Island Ice Tea has been around since the late 70s and is the drink of choice for a lot of people, if I'm to believe my years behind the bar. I've served this potentially lethal mix of liquids to anything from high school students (where it's legal to serve high school students alcohol, of course) to old ladies out with their after-work social club. I've also consumed a fair amount of them, although I tend to limit myself to one a night, once every...month, maybe two. If mixed properly, it will taste like ice tea, but most places overdo the coke and it'll taste like alcohol mixed with coke and a splash of lemon.

First of all, prepare your sour mix. Place equal parts sugar and water (say, half a cup each) in a pot over medium heat. Stir constantly, until the sugar has dissolved. Pour into a container (made of glass, not plastic) and let cool. Keep in the fridge if you're not using right away. When it's time to make the sour mix, blend the syrup with an equal amount freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice. Keep in the fridge, should last a couple of weeks. Or, you could always buy some at the liquor store.

Next, assemble the drink. Take a large highball glass and fill it with ice. You'll want a glass large enough to only be about 2/3 full when you've added the ice and the 5 oz (total) of alcohol. Pour the alcohol in the glass, fill up with the sour mix (eyeball it - you want it to be roughly 2/3 inch from the top) and stir. Pour a dash of coke over the top. Garnish with a lemon, consume.

There are several things that can "go wrong" with this drink. If it's too sour, increase the simple syrup ratio in the sour mix - unless you bought the sour mix in the store. If that's the case, use less sour mix compared to the alcohol, not the coke. You're not supposed to use enough coke to color the drink brown, it should be yellow with a hint of brown.

See, I can make drinks with fruit in them too! ;)

Flaming Dr. Pepper (shot)

3/4 oz Amaretto (or similar almond liqueur)
1/4 oz 151 proof rum (Bacardi 151, for example)
1/2 pint lager beer

Tools: bar spoon (unless you're a pro)
Glass: 1 oz shot glass, pint glass (US pint - use a half pint glass if in Europe)

Let's do a shot then, shall we? Some innovative bartender invented the Flaming Dr. Pepper, and since you can't find Dr. Pepper in France, it became one of my shooters of choice when I lived there. Now, I rarely do shots, but when I do, I like them a bit fancier than "tequila with salt and lemon."

Fill the beer glass halfway up the rim. Next, fill the shot glass roughly 3/4 of Amaretto. Now comes the hard part: top the shot glass off with 151 proof rum. A seasoned bartender can easily do this by tilting the glass and slowly pouring the rum (through a bottle pourer) into the shot glass, thus layering the rum on top of the Amaretto. If you're not a seasoned bartender, you might have more luck slowly pouring it (still, using a pourer) over the back of a bar spoon.

Once layered, here comes the fun part. Light the rum, preferably with a lighter (a match is harder and you might get some phosphorus in the drink if you're unlucky). Let it burn for a few seconds, then drop the shot glass into the beer glass and drink it down in one big gulp. Bam! Instant Dr. Pepper!

The Matrix (shot)

1/2 oz white (silver) rum
1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz blue Curaçao
1/2 oz grenadine
Strongbow cider (or similar English cider)

Tools: n/a
Glass: two 1 oz shot glasses, pint glass (preferably the European pint)

I have no idea who invented this shot, nor have I ever seen it outside the Paris bar scene. It was taught to me by the assistant manager at The Freedom, Dimitri, and it's...let's just say that if a shot of Jägermeister is "not for the seasoned drinker" (quote from Jacquie's dad), this is. It's also for the nutcase drinker. It's not a shot I'd recommend you take very often.

Start by putting vodka and grenadine in a shot glass, with a bit more vodka than grenadine. Next, put the Curaçao and the rum in the other shot glass, with more rum than Curaçao. This is not an exact science. Now, place the glass with the Curaçao and rum in the bottom of the pint glass. Stack the glass with the vodka and grenadine on top. Next, pour the cider down the side of the glass, making sure you don't directly hit the shot glasses. Fill 'er up.

What you have here is a drink with two "pills" - red and blue - and thanks to the cider mixing ever so slightly with the blue Curaçao, the drink itself will be green and green is a pretty dominant color in The Matrix.

Now comes the hard part: drink it all down in one go. It's a shot, even if it's a pint-sized shot.]

Not-so-Irish Coffee

1/2 oz Bailey's (or other whiskey cream liqueur)
1/2 oz Amaretto
1/2 oz Irish whiskey (optional)
4 oz hot, black coffee
whipped cream

Tools: n/a (or a whisk, if whipping cream), bar spoon, straw (optional)
Glass: highball

A traditional Irish Coffee is coffee and Jameson's whiskey mixed up with sugar, topped with lightly whipped cream. While I enjoy that, I actually prefer this not-so-Irish Coffee because I like whiskey more on its own and it feels like a waste to put it in coffee. That being said, I like to add a little Irish whiskey in this just to give it some extra kick (there's not much kick in Bailey's or Amaretto, so why not?).

Recipe is quite simple: mix all the ingredients but the cream together. If you whip the cream yourself (as opposed to buying it in a can), make sure you whip it very lightly - it should still be quite runny - and slowly pour it over the drink. Put a straw and spoon in there first, so you don't mess up the look of the drink by having a strand of cream come down through it, caused by the straw.

If you want to make the drink even sweeter (and, as some would say, "girlier"), replace the whiskey with chocolate liqueur.

By request: Mojito

2 oz white (silver) rum
2 limes
brown sugar
mint leaves

Tools: muddler (pestle for you Brits out there), ice crushing device (see below)
Glass: highball

Luke, here's for you. I can't believe I didn't think to include this in the original post, so instead of making a whole new post called "Request: Mojito", I'll just sneak it in here.

Quarter your limes and place them in the glass. Sprinkle about 2-3 tbsp of brown sugar, and finally add about 15 mint leaves. Now go to town with the muddler. We're looking to release juice from the limes and flavor from the mint leaves, as well as partially dissolve the sugar. Don't destroy the mint leaves too much!

Once you've destroyed the poor mint leaves enough, it's time to add the alcohol. Once this is done, it's ice time. Now, you already have the muddler in your hand, so one way (the best way, of course) is to crush the ice with it! If you don't want to completely ruin your good hand, or any hand for that matter, feel free to use a mechanical ice crusher or even a blender. You're looking to crush the ice, though, not emulsify it. Amount-wise, you need enough ice to fill the rest of the glass.

Garnish with a slice of lime and why not a mint leaf or two?

Some people enjoy a splash or two of soda water to be added on top, I don't think that is necessary at all.

Mmm...Mojito.