TGIF cocktail party

I hosted a TGIF cocktail party with my friend Chris. It was part of our school's silent auction. We do Great gatherings.  We had 8 Mom's counting us (and my Mom).  We made seasonal cocktails with homemade liquors and appetizers.  Fall: Pumpkin Martini's (we used 2 parts homemade pumpkin syrup, 1part Vanilla Vodka and 1part amaretto), cocktail meatballs and cheese and crackers.  Winter: a variation of Cranberry fizz (1part cranberry liquor, a splash of ginger ale and lemon aid), cranberry pinwheel and . Spring: Key lime Martini, Chris made veggies and Savory Spinach dip  and Mini Reuben.  Summer: We did Sorbet margarita's with pineapple infused Vodka, I used the pineapple core (less to strain after but infused only one week would try longer next time).  The lemon pasta, Chris made was great served with fruit and dip. Deserts: Irish cream, chocolate Death( I need to find the on-line recipe) and yummy tea cakes.  
As sipping we did some jolly rancher vodka , only made grape might make other flavors next year - watermelon anyone?

St. Patrick's Day Post

We are having a few friends over to celebrate St. Patrick's Day next weekend for cocktails and drinks.
Food: I am not going to do a full corned beef and cabbage dinner, but may do some appetizer based on corned beef (my husband would be ecstatic if I did a hash). I am looking for dishes that are based in Irish Cuisine and/or that are orange and green. I WILL be making Irish soda bread and probably some brown bread, and my Potatoes with Smoked Salmon (post from last year).
I am also thinking I might do baby lamb chops with mint and some type of clam or mussel dish. Any other thoughts? I'd love to hear them!
Drinks: I think we'll be offering an assortment of drinks made with Irish beers and/or whiskeys, and, of course, Irish Cream.
Look forward to your thoughts.

I cannot remember the last time it was 60+° on St. Patrick’s Day. I do remember it raining cats and dogs, and even snowing, on St. Patrick’s Day, but today was a crazy-beautiful day! And as such, I couldn’t really bring myself to have a hot Irish coffee, so I decided to pour it over ice ... yum! All you do is make a regular old hot Irish coffee. For a single cup of coffee, if you don’t have one of those fancy new machines, a French press works very well. IKEA has them for about $10, and most coffee shops have them for a bit more than that. Once you’ve made the Irish coffee, place a metal spoon into a tall glass with ice, and pour in the coffee. My husband’s aunt used to teach middle school science, and she swears by the metal spoon in the glass of ice when you’re adding a hot liquid to prevent the glass from breaking with the change in temperature. Float the cold cream on top.

Iced Irish coffee

1½ oz Jameson’s Irish whiskey
1 t brown sugar
6 oz strong hot coffee
heavy cream

Combine the whiskey, sugar, and coffee in a mug, and stir to dissolve. Place a metal spoon in a tall glass of ice. Pour the sweetened coffee over the ice. Float the cold cream on top. Slainte!

A few years back I found this recipe and thought it would be perfect for Super Bowl Sunday. It was. It’s also great for a hot summer day. Some friends affectionately call these White Trash Margaritas, that works too.

Beergaritas

1 12 oz can frozen limeade concentrate
6-12 oz tequila
3 12 oz Mexican style beers (Corona, etc. — For the “white-trashier” version, cheap beer works great: MGD, Old Milwaukee, etc.)
ice
lime slices for garnish (omit for white trash version, garnish would be an oxymoron)

In a pitcher, stir together the limeade and tequila until well-combined. Add the beers. Pour into individual glasses over ice; garnish with lime slices. To make frozen beergarita, reduce the total amount of beers to two, and combine the limeade concentrate and tequila in a blender with ice.

Cheers! Go Saints! (No particular reason, I love New Orleans, I’ve been to New Orleans, my sister used to live in New Orleans, I like that they haven’t been there yet, that city deserves some good mojo ...)

181 calories, 26 grams carbs., trace fiber, trace protein, trace fat (no saturated), no cholesterol, 7 milligrams sodium**

(Don’t forget about the car bomb cupcakes from last year’s Super Bowl Virtual Dinner Group post.)

** Like we really care about this information with all that we’ll be consuming on Sunday!
 

Simple gifts

It’s nice to make personal gifts for your friends and family, but it’s not so nice being stressed out the week before Christmas and feeling like you have to make personal gifts. So, start now, early, and take your time. Make gifts that will mean something to the recipient, and make them now, while you have the time. They don’t have to be elaborate gifts, or time-instensive preparations, just simple, heartfelt, and just right. Do you and a friend always test and rate the cosmos at the restaurants you visit? Why not make her some cranberry liqueur so you can get together and make your own holiday cosmos on a stressful day?

The vibrant red color of this liqueur is perfect for the holidays. Present it in a decorative glass bottle with your favorite cosmopolitan recipe attached.

Cranberry liqueur

2 c sugar
1 c water
1 12-oz package fresh cranberries
3 c vodka

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and cool completely.

Place cranberries in a food processor; process 2 minutes or until finely chopped. Combine sugar mixture and cranberries in a large bowl; stir in vodka.

Pour the vodka mixture into a large, clean jar; secure with lid. Let stand 3 weeks in a cool, dark place, shaking every other day.

Strain the cranberry mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a bowl, and discard solids. Carefully pour liqueur into clean, decorative bottles.

Note: Liqueur can be stored refrigerated or at room temperature for up to a year.

If you don’t have a favorite cosmo recipe, try this one out.

Cosmopolitans

2 parts Cranberry liqueur
1 part Cointreau
½ part lime juice

Mix with 1 cup crushed ice; strain into martini glass. Garnish with a lemon or lime twist.

Friday night cocktails and appetizers

My neighbor’s hot artichoke and spinach dip — the best I’ve ever had! — and key lime martinis that tasted just like key lime pie! Part sweet, part tangy, part garlic, part creamy, it was the perfect combination. If you like, for an extra special touch, rim martini glasses with graham cracker crumbs.

Key lime martinis

2 oz vanilla vodka
2 oz liquer 43
2 oz Rose’s lime juice

Combine in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, let set to chill well. Strain into martini glasses.

Friday night cocktails and appetizers

It was a quiet rainy night. One football practice had ended early, the other one had been canceled altogether, so there were more kids around, and fewer adults. It called for just a bottle of red wine and an easy dinner. Corn chowder was in the crockpot, and I put together some Open-faced Italian tuna melts based on Rachael Ray’s Tuna Mini Melts with Rosemary, but I was looking for less sandwich, more appetizer. And, as usual, I wanted to use what I had in the house, so I used a hearty whole-grain bread, and made them open-faced (who needs that extra slice of bread when you could have an extra glass of wine instead?). I added some sundried tomatoes for color and flavor too.

Open-faced Italian tuna melts

2 cans Italian tuna in olive oil, lightly drained
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 large sprig rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
1 sundried tomato, finely chopped
Black pepper
1 T olive oil
4 slices provolone cheese, deli sliced and chopped
8 full-size slices of grainy bread, or 32 slices of cocktail bread

Mash tuna with finely chopped shallot, rosemary, sundried tomato, black pepper, and olive oil. Stir in the chopped cheese. Toast one side of the bread under the broiler until light brown, turn bread over, top each with a generous tablespoon of tuna. Place under the broiler again, just until warm.

Friday night cocktails and appetizers

Part deux. I have some homemade amaretto on the hutch staring me down. My friend Tammy has seasonal cocktails, and my husband usually loves them. I can’t remember what her summer cocktail is right now, but her winter cocktail is amaretto and ginger, and Fred loves it. I’m not a ginger ale person, but you can only drink so many amaretto on the rocks before you’re lying flat on your back, so I came up with amaretto and orange juice. Whether you prefer ginger ale or OJ, serve it in a highball glass, on the rocks.

This evening, we’ll be having our amaretto cocktails with black bean “hummus”. This is a recipe that originally came from my friend Eileen. It isn’t a Mediterranean inspired hummus, it’s more of a Mexican black bean dip, but because of it’s consistency and color, we had trouble coming up with a name for it [that didn’t sound like the punchline of a 5th grader’s off-color joke]. Thus, I’ve taken to calling it “hummus”. Again, one of my favorite things about it is that I usually have all the ingredients on hand, and if I don’t, they’re simple enough that I can remember what they are without writing them down.

Black bean hummus

1 can black beans, drain and reserve liquid
½ jar Mrs. Renfro’s Roasted Garlic Salsa, more if you like
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lemon
½ bunch cilantro, more if you like

Put garlic in a blender and blend until garlic is chopped fine. Add beans, salsa, lemon, and cilantro to blender. Blend until smooth (a hummus-like consistency). Add as much reserved liquid as you like to reach your desired consistency.

Friday night cocktails and appetizers

Most Friday nights you can find some neighbors in my kitchen (and some neighborhood kids of all ages in various rooms in the house), kids generally feast on chips and salsa and pizza, but whomever is in the kitchen is looking for a signature cocktail and a tasty app.

Today felt like Fall. Today’s signature cocktail was apple cider with some dark Puerto Rican rum. Yum. Today’s signature app was red bean dip. For those of you who don’t live in New England, red bean dip is often served at Really New England restaurants (those with lobster specials, early bird specials, and lots of blue hairs). The red bean dip is great with Wheat Thins^® — and all those red beans pack quite the protein punch!

Red bean dip
1 can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
¼ c ketchup
¼ c relish, drained, squeezed dry
½ t dry mustard
2 T horseradish
2 t worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients together. Refrigerate at least 3o minutes. Serve with Wheat Thins^®. Even better the next day.

Punch recipe for kids

One of my sisters or sister in law made a Punch for Mom and Dad's 45th Anniversary party! I remember it being a huge hit with the kids. Who has the recipe? Therese wants punch at her Masquarade Ball TONIGHT!

Summer BBQs

Is everyone ready for unofficial beginning of summer? I love the season of grilling, salads, dining al fresco, and of course, nice cool beverages. My favorite bevarages are Katie's Sangria, and the following recipe that she shared with me for Beergaritas. With one group of our friends, this became a fast favorite! We haven't tried it frozen yet, but if it gets really hot this weekend, we just might have to!

Beergaritas

1 - 12 oz. can Frozen Limeade Concentrate
6 to 12 oz. Tequila
3 - 12 oz Mexican Style Beers (Corona, etc.)
Ice
Lime Slices for Garnish

In a pitcher, stir together the limeade and tequila until well-combined. Add the beers. Pour into individual glasses over ice; garnish with lime slices. To make frozen beergarita, reduce the total amount of beers to two, and combine the limeade concentrate and tequila in a blender with ice

181 calories, 26 grams carbs., trace fiber, trace protein, trace fat (no saturated), no cholesterol, 7 milligrams sodium**

What are you making this weekend?

OK, so here’s another best-kept secret. This time, my friend Heidi’s, but apparently, my sister Regina has claimed it for her own:

“Hi, do you have ‘my’ champagne punch recipe? I want to make it tomorrow, forgot my recipe in PA.”

Lucky for Regina, Heidi’s recipe is actually epicurious.com’s recipe, and luckier for Regina, Heidi actually shared that fact with me and didn’t claim it for her own, otherwise I would’ve had trouble putting my fingers on it tonight.

Reg, enjoy your punch tomorrow, and more, enjoy your friends at “home”. You deserve a very fun night with them, for sure!

Champagne Punch

1 c Triple Sec
1 c brandy
½ c Chambord
2 c unsweetened pineapple juice
1 qt chilled ginger ale
2 chilled 750-ml bottles dry champagne

In a bowl combine Triple Sec, brandy, Chambord, and pineapple juice, and chill the mixture, covered, for at least 4 hours or overnight. In a large punch bowl combine the Triple Sec mixture, ginger ale, champagne, and ice cubes.

Happy New Year!

I know Brendan will be mad at me for divulging this long-held family secret (and probably this picture), but I can’t find my copy of the recipe, and I’d like you all to tell me if my memory is correct.

Irish cream

4 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 c heavy cream
2 T chocolate syrup
2 t instant coffee
1 t pure vanilla extract
¼ t pure almond extract
¾ c Irish whiskey (I think the original recipe called for 1½ cups, but I usually use less)

Combine in blender. Chill. Serve in a pretty bottle. Makes great gifts!

There’s nothing like a homemade gift to say you really care about someone. At the holidays things are always busy, but it’s so nice to make someone feel extra special. When you’re baking your favorite cookie recipe, make an extra batch of dough, freeze it, and bake them for a special gift for someone—tie them in a pretty box, put them on a festive plate (look at yard sales and flea markets year-round for odd plates), or put them in a jar with a nice ribbon.

What could be better than a thoughtful gift that’s also easy? The following Amaretto recipe takes all of half and hour—even if you multiply it, then just pop it in a pretty bottle (pick these up through the year too, or save your wine bottles) with a stopper (also in abundance in kitchen stores) and a ribbon. It stores at room temperature, and you probably have all the ingredients in your house already! It’s perfect for a hostess gift or a special friend.

Amaretto
(from allrecipes.com)

1 c water
1 c white sugar
½ c brown sugar
2 c vodka
2 T almond extract
2 t vanilla extract

Combine water, white sugar and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until boiling and all sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let mixture cool for about 10 minutes. Pour in vodka, almond extract, and vanilla. Mix well and store in a sealed bottle.

Necessity is the mother of invention,
or discovery. My kids were clamoring for some cocoa, but we were out. It hadn’t really been cold enough, but today has become rainy and raw. So, I found this lovely alternative on the Family Fun web site. It’s easy, easy, easy, and my husband, who doesn’t love chocolate, really liked it.

Hot vanilla

1 cup of milk
2 teaspoons of sugar
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
whipped cream, optional
chocolate syrup, optional
cinnamon, optional

For each hot vanilla, microwave 1 cup of milk and 2 teaspoons of sugar in a mug for 90 seconds. Stir in ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Top with a dollop of whipped cream, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and a dash of cinnamon, if using.

And, welcome to the neighborhood baby Kate Alexandra Mellet! We’re so happy you’re here.

We had a big weekend of football (son, Evan scored 2 touchdowns toward his team's 24-20 win), but also baseball (Red Sox, ugh).

What says Autumn to you? But before you answer, it's also Indian Summer, so it's actually more like Summer tha July was here in Newburyport. Again, the contradiction that October in New England usually is.

SO, to observe the Red Sox despicable loss this evening, we had some friends over and combined Autumn and Summer: Sangria, burgers and dogs on the grill, guacamole, caramelized onions, blue cheese.

Ultimately, I wanted a big burger bar, and I had it. A hamburger with guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, and goat cheese says Summer. One with blue cheese and caramelized onions says Autumn. I had both myself, thank you very much.

But the two biggest hits of the evening were the sangria (Summer) and the caramelized onions (Fall, which also made their way into a fabulous dip for potato chips). The sangria recipe comes from a friend I worked with years ago, and it's been a staple in my house and my sister's since then.

Jenn's sangria

1 lemon
1 orange
¼ c sugar
¼ c brandy
¼ c triple sec
1.5 l red wine
12 oz ginger ale

Slice lemon and orange and place them in the bottom of a pitcher. Add sugar, brandy, triple sec, and let sit in fridge for a few hours, or overnight. About an hour before serving, add red wine, and chill. Add ginger ale just before serving.

Caramelized onions
For this recipe, I use any mixture of onions I have, it makes the flavors more interesting: shallots, Vidalias, Bermudas, whatever you have.

1 lb onions, sliced
¼ c salted butter
¼ c olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ t ground cayenne pepper
1 t kosher salt
½ t freshly ground black pepper
¼ c sugar

Add butter and oil to skillet and heat. As you slice the onions, add them to the skillet and cover them to sweat them. Once all the onions are sliced, add the garlic, salt, and pepper, and continue to sweat. Once all the onions are tender and translucent, add sugar, and remove lid to caramelize them. Once they're a nice caramel brown, remove from heat. Use hot or refrigerate for later use.

My sister, Bridget, makes her caramelized onions in a crockpot while she's working and uses them to make a great pizza with smoked gouda.

Summertime sippin' (for the grown ups)

I was introduced to the Purcell sisters when my next-door neighbor, Ellen, showed me their book, Straight Up! Cocktail Parties. It was another one of those "How did my sister and I not think of this?! How did we miss that party train?" moments. But since we didn't do it, I'm glad that the Purcell sisters did, their recipes and entertaining tips are fabulous, and their writing style is so entertaining, I actually read the book cover-to-cover. Their mom's margarita recipe is foolproof, it calls for 3/4 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice, 1 1/4 oz triple sec, and 2 oz tequila, I'm not good at remembering exact quantities, so I converted it all to 1/4 ounces so I could remember the proportions instead: It's a 3-5-8 Margarita, starting with the least potent and moving to the most potent, that I can remember. My friends Tom & Dawn always add a little orange juice to their margaritas, and it gives them a little something extra, I'll be honest, I haven't that with these, because they do seem perfect as they are. The sisters caution to use plain ole Jose Cuervo Gold, that an expensive sipping tequila just doesn't work in this recipe. On a final note, Ellen's promised me an introduction to, even a night on the town with, one of the sisters when she visits next weekend, I can't wait!

Summertime sippin', continued

After I talked about making iced coffee ice cubes in yesterday's blog, I was making iced green tea, and decided to make an extra batch for ice cubes ... same principle, don't dilute the beverage. Also, with all the hullabaloo about green tea being good for weight control, I thought I'd throw a few cubes in my water or in my regular iced tea for good measure.

Then, I opened the Boston Globe's Food section and read a great article about Southern sweet tea, and the varieties of iced tea available in Boston's tea houses and coffee shops.

After reading that, I thought I'd look for an authentic sweet tea recipe. I went to foodtv.com to see what Paula Dean had to say -- she seems to be the authority on all things Southern, but alas, no sweet tea recipe from Paula. I modified this 5-star recipe from a viewer (she used sugar straight, and from everything I've read, the magic to sweet tea is using simple syrup so you don't get any granule-y residue. Does anyone have a tried-and-true favorite of their own?

So everything turns out at the same time, start your simple syrup while you're boiling the water for your tea. (Simple syrup can also be used to sweeten iced tea, mint juleps or other alcohol based drinks, fruit salad, as well as a soaking liquid for in between layers of genoise cake.)

Southern Sweet Tea

8 cups water
4 small or 2 family-size tea bags
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
8 cups cold water

In a kettle, boil 8 cups water. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan heat the sugar and water and bring to a boil. When the sugar is completely dissolved remove from heat. Add tea bags to boiling water and remove from heat. Let steep for 5 minutes, or to taste. Strain tea into a gallon-size pitcher and add simple syrup. Add remaining cold water to pitcher and stir. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Summertime sippin'

31 Days of Blog: Day 15. One of my great joys of summer is iced coffee. I look forward to it as soon as the weather starts to warm. A few years ago, I found this recipe in Better Homes and Garden magazine for spiced iced coffee. It's fabulous!

Really Hot Iced Coffee

1/3 c ground coffee
2 inches stick cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 t crushed red pepper
6 pods cardamom, crushed, or 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Raw sugar or granulated sugar (optional)
Ice cubes
1/2 c whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (optional)
1/2 t ground nutmeg (optional)

Measure coffee into the filter-lined basket of a 10-cup coffeemaker filled with 8 to 10 cups water. Add cinnamon, red pepper, and cardamom. Prepare coffee according to coffeemaker instructions. Chill for at least 1 hour. Stir in sugar, if desired. Pour into an ice-filled pitcher or tall, ice-filled glasses. Top with whipped cream or ice cream and sprinkle with nutmeg, if desired. Makes 10 servings.

(I've only served with the cream on special occasions (book group is the only one that comes to mind). I like my iced coffee very strong, unsweetened, with milk only, so that may be why I like this recipe so much.)

I've adapted the recipe over the years. I only use whole bean coffee, so I often throw in whatever whole spices I have on hand along with the beans. Today I used whole allspice, cloves, and coriander. Two cinnamon sticks and a bit of crushed red pepper is like having a red hot candy in your mouth with coffee. I like to use the spiced coffee to make ice cubes to add subtle flavor to the iced coffee while they melt. You could add your favorite liqueur for an after-dinner drink

However you brew it, enjoy this summertime treat.