Rhubarb martinis and gougeres

I'm a big fan of the breakfast martini (gin and marmalade, possibly with some extra Cointreau or Grand Marnier) and last night a couple of friends came over to try a new variation on the theme - breakfast martinis made with rhubarb jam!

Beforehand, I was wondering if the whole project would be scuppered by the difficulty of finding rhubarb jam, so imagine my delight when at Marylebone Farmers' Market last Sunday I came across a stall selling this - perfect for the job.Three tablespoons of jam, three large slugs of Plymouth gin and some ice cubes combined in a shaker was enough to produce two of these:

I was very pleased at how they turned out, and the jam combined well with the gin to give a smoothie-like texture, whereas often the marmalade in a breakfast martini doesn't mix easily and you end up with a top layer of neat gin and a bottom layer of marmalade and orange peel.

Gougeres fresh from the oven

To accompany the martinis, I made some gougeres which went down a treat. I also made an ipod playlist with some old favourites and some new stuff. I'm not sure if the neighbours appreciated the occasional belting-out of a Belinda Carlisle chorus, but given that next door's toddler woke me up at 5 a.m. playing the recorder, the occasional revenge karaoke session seems only fair. This kiki is marvellous!