SPRING SANGRIA

For those of you who follow my blog you know by now that I love making a speciality cocktail for my guests when they come to my house.  This past week-end for my sons baptism I wanted to serve a cocktail that was appropriate to serve at 1:00 in the afternoon and not get everyone bombed before dinner was served.  I saw a recipe on www.epicurious.com that was from a Bon Appetite issue for a Strawberry & Peach Sangria.  The recipe look great, but of course I had to alter it.  Peaches are not really in season right now therefore I could not find peached anywhere.  I decided to substitute the  peaches with pears.  The original recipe also called for a strawberry syrup.  I don't know about you, but I can't stand too sweet of drinks.  I decided to omit the strawberry syrup and just add a bit more wine instead!  I tripled the recipe and by the end of the day all was gone but enough for one more glass.  This would be a perfect drink for a spring/summer tea party, bridal/baby shower or of course a baptism or first communion.  Very tasty!~

ARCHER FARMS - BLOOD ORANGE ITALIAN SODA

Ok so I found a new favorite, must have item for my bar this summer: Archer Farms Blood Orange Italian Soda.  I found it at Target a few weeks back in the pop/juice isle.  The color and taste is just fantastic!  You can make so many fun drinks with it, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.  I of course chose the alcoholic route.....come on I am a mom of two year old twins...you gotta think alcohol comes in handy!  Anyway, this is a fun new soda I found that you can mix with just about anything.  Mix it with vodka and a slice or orange for garnish.  Add a dash to your lemonade to add some color.  Here is a yummy concoction that I came up with for my husband and I, I called it the Italian Orange Crush.

ITALIAN ORANGE CRUSH 

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. Campari
• 4 oz. Archer Farms Blood Orange Italian Soda
• Splash of orange juice
• orange slice for garnish

1. Fill a tall highball glass with crushed ice.  Add vodka, Campari, blood orange soda and splash of orange juice.  Mix well with.
2. Add orange slice for garnish and drink up!

Monday Night Book Club

 A few neighborhood ladies and I started a monthly book club. This is just a reason for us to read some great books and get together once a month for some gabbing, drinking and nibbling!  It is my turn to host the meeting, therefore; I am in charge of making a few tasty treats and a signature cocktail.  I decided on a Blueberry & Lemon Teacake and  Fresh Fruit Salad with Mint to munch on.  Also, since our book (Sarah's Key) takes place in Paris, I thought I would keep with the French theme and make a French Martini.

A Family Valentine's Day Dinner

We are having some family come over for dinner on Valentine's Day.  The perfect way for me to show them that I love them is to cook for them.  One other way for me to show them I love them is to actually spend time with them and enjoy their company instead of  cooking and cleaning the kitchen the whole day and night.  So I decided to make a dinner where I could make most of it before hand to make it    bit easier on me.  I made an awesome Tomato Basil Sauce today which I can keep in the fridge until Sunday.That will be served over some store bought ravioli.   The morning before they come I am going to make a  huge roating pan filled with Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes that I will roast in the oven while they are here.  Also, the morning before they come I am going to make an Italian Layered Salad with  a home-made Balsamic Vinegarette.  For a special Valentine's Day "touch" I made a home-made loaf of Italian Bread that is formed in the shape of a heart!  For dessert I am  making an awesome White Chocolate  & Lemon Mousse Trifle!  You don't want to miss this special Valentine's Day menu!

Fun, Festive, Cocktails!

If you cannot already tell, I love speciality cocktails!  They are so fun and welcoming and many times are a conversation starter!  Here are a few fun, festive, cocktails you can serve at your holiday party!

COSMOPOLITAN PUNCH 

•  4 cups vodka
• 2 cups frozen limeade
• 1 cup Triple Sec
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 1 bottle sparkling wine (750 ml)
• 1 bottle club soda (1 liter)
• Lime zest for garnish

Stir all ingredients together in a large pitcher or punch bowl; add ice.  When cold, remove unmelted cubes and serve; garnished with strips of lime zest.

Another fun thing to do is to fill a jello ring half full with water.  Freeze.  Place limes, lemons, rasberries or whatever kind of fruit you would live over the frozen water.  Fill rest of way with water and freeze completely.  Run ring under hot water for a second to loosen.  When ice ring comes away from holder place it in  punch bowl to keep drink cool.

*Recipe & Photo Courtesy of http://www.cuisineathomespecials.com/


MULLED RED WINE 

• 4 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
• 1 TB. cardamom seeds, crushed
• 2 tsp. whole cloves
• Peel of 1/2  a lemon and 1/2 an orange
• 2 cups vodka
• 2 bottles of dry red wine (750 ml each)
• 1 cup sugar
• Grape clusters and oranges for garnish

Steep cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and citrus peel in vodka in a large pot over low heat, 10 minutes.  Add wine and sugar, and heat 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Strain out spices and serve warm, garnished with small clusters of grapes and slices of orange.

WHITE RUSSIAN EGGNOG 

• 8 cups purchased egg nog
• 1 cup vodka
• 1 cup coffee liqueur (such as Kahlua)
• Grated nutmeg and cinnamon sticks for garnish
• Stir all ingredients together in a large pitcher or punch bowl, add ice.  When cold, remove unmelted cubes and serve, garnished with nutmeg and cinnamon sticks.

 POMEGRANATE MOJITO MARTINI 

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 40 leaves fresh mint
• 1 liter club soda
• 4 cups white rum
• 2 cups fresh lime juice
• 2 cups purchased pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 8 leaves fresh mint
• thinly sliced limes for garnish

1. Boil 2 cups sugar, water and 40 mint leaves in a saucepan over medium high heat until sugar dissolves, stirring often.
2. Reduce heat to m edium and simmer 2 minutes.  Strain syrup, dicarding solids, and cool to room temp.
3. Combine cooled syrup with soda, rum, lime juice and pomegranate juice in a large pitcher or punch bowl, add ice.
4. Process 1/4 cup sugar and 8 mint leaves in a mini food processor until mint is finely ground; transfer to a plate.  Rub rims of glasses with lime wedges then dip into the mint sugar to coat.  Set glasses aside.
5. When mojito mixture is cold, remove unmelted cubes and serve in martini glasses, garnished with lime slices.

*Recipe & Photo Courtesy of http://www.cuisineathomespecials.com/

Mistletoe Margarita

I went to my first Christmas party over the week-end!  My friend who was hosting the party asked me for a recipe for a fun holiday cocktail.  I gave her the recipe for a Cazadores Mistletoe Margarita!  Little did I know that I would be the one partaking in the consumption of many of these tasty margarita's!  They were so good!  The pomegranate juice and grenadine make it a beautiful reddish holiday color....you won't be able to resist!

CAZADORES MISTLETOE MARGARITA 

• 1 1/2 parts Tequila (preferably Cazadores)
• 2 parts pomegranate juice
• 1/2 part sweet and sour mix
• 1/2 part grenadine
• 1/2 part triple sec
• 1 splash fresh lime juice
• Sliced lime for garnish

Shake ingredients with ice and pour into a rocks glass on ice.  Garnish with a slice of lime.

*Recipe Courtesy of Cazadores
*Photo Courtesy of Food & Wine

Cocktail Anyone?

A party just isn't a party unless you have some sort of cocktail/spirits available to your guests.  Thanksgiving is no different.  Wine goes great with dinner, but what about the pre-dinner cocktails?  A cocktail during appetizers is a sure fire way to "loosen up"  your Thanksgiving crowd!  I have included a few different cocktail recipes attached to this post...check them out!  I am sure one or two will tickle your fancy!

ANNUAL HALLOWEEN PARTY

So it has been a bit over a week since I last posted...October can get pretty crazy in our house with birthdays, anniversary's, family coming to visit and Halloween. It is a tradition in our family to host a festive Halloween party. For as long as I can remember my parents always hosted this party at their home. They invited the neighbors and some friends and family and everyone came over right after trick or treating. Their menu always consisted of a hearty soup and chili. Both my brother and his family and me and my family moved about 45 minutes west of my parents. It is hard for the trick or treating to take place and for us to do the driving back and forth with all the kids. For the past three years my husband and I have now taken the reigns and we now host the annual Halloween party. We invite pretty much the same people that came over to my parents and this year we added a few neighborhood friends as well. We also tried to stay close with the annual menu of soup and chili, but we also added a few special recipes of our own. Please read more to find all the recipes!

A "Pizzie" Party!

It's a Pizza Party...or as my girls call it a "Pizzie Party"!  Ok..so this is it...this is the finale.  We finally had the last of the two year old birthday celebrations!  This past Saturday we had my family over to help celebrate.  My girls love pizza!  We could have taken the easy way out and just ordered a bunch of pizza's...but that can get quite expensive &also it just does not feel like a complete celebration without some home-made food. So I took it one step further and decided to have a pizza party where our guests created their own pizza's!

A "Chili" In The Air

Our twin daughters turned two years old on October 6th!  Very hard to believe!  On Sunday we had the first of three little parties to help celebrate their birthday. We had my husbands family from Indiana over.  Thanks to the horrible economy we are trying to watch our spending just like every other family out there.  I love to entertain and make large meals for parties.  Trying to find ways to still entertain and keep on a budget is hard to do...BUT...I have come up with some simple menus that will not break the bank and will still keep them coming back for more!  Here is the first of those menus:  A Chili Party!