Moving to a new city is always a great opportunity to meet new people.  Kids make this even easier because kids want to meet kids, and kids have moms.  Instant mom friends.  Our new house is located within a gated community so with just a few simple strolls around, we had met a handful of good people.  I knew we would be hosting a get-together sooner rather than later, furnished with piping hot Gevalia coffee and sweet treats from the bakery at Safeway.  The Supermoon was making its appearance soon, a perfect light for the backyard.  Sounds like a party.

It takes a certain kind of person to live in Palm Springs, CA.  The summers are uncompromising and mostly inhabitable outside of a house or pool.  Boy does the other 3/4 of the year make up for it, but still, you have to love it here to stay here.

Our community is full of transplants, mostly from Los Angeles and Orange County, looking to get away from the hassle that is that area.  I know because it’s exactly what I’m trying to run from.  With all of these like-minded folks around me, it’s no surprise we easily sunk into the community.

So happy to be back in Palm Springs for good, I decided to throw a little get together to celebrate new friends in our favorite city under the Supermoon.  As I mentioned before, it’s pretty unbearable during the day right now, so naturally I went for a nighttime soiree.  Once the sun started to set, our new neighbors started to knock.  Like clockwork, people come out of their homes at sundown.  It’s really kind of amusing when you pay attention.

The first thing I think of when guests are coming over is coffee.  Coffee and gatherings just go together.  It warms them up and gets them talking, no?  Since it was happy hour though, I knew my guests would be expecting something a little more adult.  I thought, why not combine the two?

And so it went, we started our guests out with Gevalia coffee, freshly ground and brewed, with appetizers.  After, oh maybe an hour, I noticed that look a parent can get in their eye when they are away from their children for too long, and realize it would be okay to have a drink.  After all, many had simply walked over here.  Commence the coffee martini.

I tried to outshine the moon… couldn’t.  The Supermoon was bright!

Chit chat on the windfarm (was really hard to find a photo where we weren’t windblown!)

Gevalia began brewing coffee in Gavle, Sweden in 1853, where traditional cast-iron roasting developed its distinctively rich, smooth taste that was never bitter.  This is why it made such an excellent companion to the vodka martini.  I am not the kind of coffee addict who just needs a fix.  I only enjoy the strong brew if it is a tasty and pleasant one, very smooth.  Gevalia is going to remain stocked in my pantry because it is so delicious.

I’m a fan of simple cocktails while entertaining.  The Coffee Martini is quite simple.  It is just two ingredients: premium vodka and premium coffee.  You could certainly add a bit of cream, liquid and or whipped, but with a good tasting coffee like those from Gevalia, you really don’t need it!

[gmc_recipe 28421]

We prefer to grind our own beans so we opted for the Traditional and French Roast varieties, which is what our Safeway had in whole bean.  There are plenty already ground fine as well as Keurig® K-Cup® * for you Keurig Brewer folks.  Most all of the variety of flavors and roasts are available at Safeway (ours is actually a Vons).  I happen to love these stores as they always have just what I need, especially when party planning (the great prices don’t hurt either).

*Kraft Foods is not affiliated with Keurig, Inc. KEURIG and K-CUP are registered trademarks of Keurig, Inc

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.