Prue Leith's Simple Vermouth Swap For A Sweet, Refreshing Martini

You may know Prue Leith as one of the United Kingdom's most successful restaurateurs and caterers, or maybe you know her as one of your favorite judges on "The Great British Bake Off." To add to her accomplishments, she has a lineup of cookbooks — the latest of which will be released on October 15 and helps home cooks whip up restaurant-quality food with little work and no fancy equipment. But one of our favorite recipes from "Life's Too Short to Stuff a Mushroom: Really Good Food Without the Fuss" is actually for a drink. In her vodka martini recipe, Leith swaps vermouth for Cointreau to give the traditionally strong, dry drink a bright, sweet, citrusy twist.

A typical vodka martini is made with vodka, vermouth, and an olive or a strip of lemon peel for acidity and tang. This drink is alcohol-forward; it's not for those who fancy sweet cocktails that mask the burn of alcohol with sugar. Leith's version, however, balances the strong taste of the spirit with orange-flavored, sweet Cointreau, just a touch of simple syrup, and a good bit of lemon juice. The result is perfectly sweet, tart, and refreshing.

Prue Leith's recipe makes two martinis and calls for 3.5 ounces of vodka, 2 tablespoons of Cointreau, 2 tablespoons of simple syrup, and the juice of one large lemon. Although this recipe strays from the vodka martini norm, you can still customize it to your liking. The difference between a wet and a dry martini comes down to the ratio of vermouth to vodka. To make the "British Bake Off" queen's version dry, decrease the amount of Cointreau to 1 tablespoon or even half a tablespoon. To make it wet, double the amount of Cointreau.

The lemon juice in Leith's martini steps in for the olive juice in a dirty martini. To take this martini from dirty to filthy, increase the amount of lemon juice one teaspoon at a time until you find your perfect ratio. And, as with any martini, you should use high-quality spirits and liqueurs as they are the stars of the show; the bottom-shelf stuff will make this cocktail hard to drink. Throw everything into a shaker, preferably one that is guaranteed not to leak, like Simple Modern's Cocktail Shaker (which you can also use to measure your ingredients). To get the full cocktail bar experience at home, choose your glasses wisely — Godinger's Martini Glasses' unique style stands out beautifully.