Prunes in Armagnac. Pruneaux à l’Armagnac

• 500g dried prunes 
• 200g (1 cup) sugar
• 1/4 liter (1 cup) water
• 1 lemon
• 1 pod of vanilla
• 1 bottle of good Armagnac

1. In a small sauce pan, add the sugar and water and heat until boiling. Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler to peel strips of skin from the lemon, add them to the pot. Slice the vanilla bean in half, and drop them into the pot.
2. When the pot comes to a boil, let it continue boiling for two minutes. Then, put the prunes in a medium bowl and pour the boiling liquid over it. Let the ingredients steep for 12 hours. 
3. After 12 hours, remove the lemon peel and vanilla pod. Spoon the prunes into a large mason jar. Pour the Armagnac into the remaining liquid in the bowl, mix well. Pour the content of the bowl through a sieve into the mason jar. Close the jar tightly and let stand for at least two weeks, or preferably one month, before use.

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Caipirinha

Photo Credit: Epicurious.com

Serves: 8

• 4 limes
• 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups cachaça (from a 500-ml bottle)
• 3 or to taste ice cube

1. Quarter 1 lime lengthwise, then cut each quarter in half crosswise and divide pieces between 2 (6-ounce) glasses. 
2. Add 1 tablespoon sugar to each glass, then muddle lime pieces by pounding and pressing with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Fill each glass with ice and add 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) cachaça to each, stirring well. Make 6 more cocktails in same manner. 
   
   (Cachaça, a liquor made from sugarcane, gives these drinks their distinctive flavor. In Brazil it is traditional to make caipirinhas one or two at a time, as we do here. For ease of entertaining, however, you can simply combine all the ingredients in a pitcher. )

Recipe Source: Epicurious.com

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Sangria

• 750g fruity wine (Cono Sur, Merlot).
• 1/2 cup brandy or rum or Grand Marnier
• 2 cups juice (orange, apple or any tropical)
• 2 cups chopped fresh fruit
• ginger ale

Chill for several hours, add ginger ale to taste (I usually put 2 cups), ice.

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Cosmopolitan Martini

• 1 1/2 fl. oz vodka
• 1/4 cups cointreau
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
• 3/4 cups cranberry juice
• 4 swirls of lime zest to garnish lime 

Pour all the ingredients into a shaker with lots of ice. Shake vigorously for several seconds and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist. 

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