White Grape Cosmos

A delicious cosmopolitan with a flavored vodka twist, made from white grape vodka. A perfect complement to late-night SATC reruns.

White Grape Cosmopolitan

1 oz white grape vodka
1 oz lemon lime soda
2 oz cranberry juice
squeeze of lemon juice

Shake (or stir) together with ice and garnish with a slice of lemon or, for a fancier touch, a twist of lemon peel. Enjoy!

Margarita Time!

I think it's about time for a cocktail, don't you? Below are some margarita recipes for your enjoyment! (All of the recipes are for one, but can be easily multiplied.)

Margarita

2 oz silver tequila
juice of half lime
1 oz orange curacao (or Cointreau)
Garnish: kosher salt & lime wedge

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Rim the lime wedge around the glass edge, and dip in salt. Pour into a margarita glass rimmed with salt and garnish with said lime wedge.

Frozen Pomegranate Margarita

2 ounces white tequila
1/2 ounce Triple Sec or other orange-flavored liqueur
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh or bottled pomegranate juice
6 ounces ice (or more)
Garnish: lime wedge & salt

Mix all the ingredients in a blender until smooth and frothy. Pour into glass, rimmed in salt and garnish with a lime wedge.



Blue Margarita

2 oz tequila
1 oz blue curacao
1 oz triple sec
1 oz Lime Juice
Garnish: kosher salt & lime wedge

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a margarita glass rimmed with salt. Garnish with lime wedge.

And a special, non-margarita recipe, but using tequila...

Tequila Sunrise

1 oz to 1 1/2 oz silver tequila
orange juice
1/2 oz grenadine

Fill a tall glass with ice. Add tequila and orange juice almost to full. Slowly pour grenadine syrup over a spoon on the top. It'll trickle down to create the "sunrise" effect.

Enjoy!!

Chocolatey Deliciousness

Here's another installment to the Deliciousness baking series. (I didn't think it was going to be a series till just now, but I think it's a good idea!) Brownies is the deliciousness today, and let me tell you, these are probably the best brownies I have ever eaten! Chewy, gooey, and oh-so-chocolatey, you need to try these.

Outrageous Brownies
(Ina Garten & Martha Stewart, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, New York: Clarkson Potter, 1999; see FoodNetwork for the original.)

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided (about 2 bags)
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan. (Yes, this is going to make a giant sheet pan of brownies.)

Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. If you don't have instant coffee on hand, stir in 3 tablespoons of prepared hot coffee into the chocolate mixture instead. (The coffee brings out the flavor of the chocolate, but if you don't feel like going through the trouble, leave it out.) Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature, this takes about 10-15 minutes.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the optional walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. (Mixing the extra chocolate chips and the optional nuts in flour makes sure that they won't sink to the bottom of your brownies during baking.) Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Letting it cool before cutting allows you to get neat brownie squares. But, if you're too impatient like the rest of us, dig in with a glass of milk! Or something. Anything, because frankly, it's not going to matter with your mouth full of this amazing brownie.

Prunes, Prunes, the magical fruit!!!

Prune Pie
¾ pound prunes
2 teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar



Wash and soak prunes in cold water for about 3 hours.
Cook in the same Water until soft.
Pit the prunes.
Cut the prunes in halves or quarters and
Mix the sugar, lemon juice, flour and butter cut in small pieces.
Line pie Plate with pie crust.
Place the prune mixture in the pie. Wet

Edges of the under crust, cover with the upper crust and press the edges slightly together.
Bake in moderate oven for about 30 minutes.

Prune Sherbet

1. Boil one pound of prunes in one cup of water until very tender, strain through a fine colander, adding a pint of sugar, the juice of one lemon and half a cup of maple syrup; return to the fire and stir constantly to prevent burning, boiling ten minutes.
2. Remove, and when thoroughly cold add the stiffly whipped whites of two eggs; turn into the freezer, and when half frozen stir in a small cup of chopped hickory nuts.
3. Serve in small sherbet cups, with a tablespoon of whipped cream on each portion.

Prune Stuffed with Cheese (Double Trouble)

1. Let choice prunes soak over night in cold water; steam until tender; slit down at one side and remove the stone from each.
2. Grate Edam or other cheese; add a little fine-chopped red pepper, or a dash of paprika, and enough mayonnaise dressing to mix the cheese to a soft and smooth consistency.
3. Fill the open spaces in the centers of the prunes with the cheese mixture.
4. Serve with lettuce salad, over which French dressing has been poured, and toasted crackers.
5. Philadelphia or Neufchatel cheese may be used; also, French dressing in the place of the mayonnaise.
6. You could also wrap them with bacon!
   

Alcoholic Apples

Apple Soju Cocktails

1 Pink Lady or Granny Smith apple
2 cups soju or sake
5 cups chilled tonic water (40 fluid ounces)
8 lime wedges

1. Cut apple into matchsticks with an adjustable-blade slicer fitted with a 1/4-inch julienne blade, discarding core. Put matchsticks in a pitcher and stir in soju. Let macerate, covered and chilled, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

2. Fill 8 (12-ounce) double Old Fashioned glasses with ice. Strain about 1/4 cup soju into each glass, then add some apple pieces to each glass. Top off drinks with tonic and serve with lime wedges.

(From Epicurious.com)

Pure Deliciousness in Cookie Form

Here's a chocolate chip cookie to die for! I tweaked the recipe from a bunch of sources, including, but not limited to, Martha Stewart, a Ghirardelli chocolate wrapper, and FoodNetwork.com.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature*
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk or cream or half & half
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift dry ingredients together (flour, salt, and baking soda), and set aside.

*Set out butter 30-45 minutes before use for easy mixing

Cream butter till soft in a stand or hand mixer, and then add both sugars till lightened in color and fluffy. Gradually mix in egg & egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Mix till combined.

Slowly add in all but 1/4 cup of the flour mixture. Mix till just combined, then turn off mixer and stir in rest of flour and chocolate chips.

Chill dough for 30 minutes and lick the beaters. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough two inches apart on a greased or parchment paper-covered cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 minutes if you want delicious melty cookies, or 9-12 minutes for non-mouth burning but delectable cookies. Let cool 5 seconds before diving in and burning your mouth with hot gooey chocolate. Or be responsible and let cool for a respectable amount of time. Enjoy with milk, coffee, or Kahlua.

But if you just want to eat the cookie dough...

Cocktail Party Menu Tips

Offer an assortment of appetizers (about eight appetizers per person)

Select food and drinks that have broad appeal

Keep it simple

Select a few dishes that can be prepared ahead of time

Offer an assortment of meat, poultry, fish, cheese, vegetables or fruits

Decide which food will taste good together (consider rich, highly flavored food, simple, fresh, etc,)

Offer a variety of hot and cold foods

Serve party-friendly food (foods that are not messy or greasy)

Offer some food items for guest with diet restrictions such as vegetarian, sugar-free, low-sodium, etc.)

Avoid repeating flavors

Offer drink choices (alcoholic and non-alcoholic)

Always end with coffee and dessert

Avoid dishes that require painstaking serving techniques or last-minute preparation (unless you have plenty of help)

Don't try new recipes unless you are completely satisfied with them

Cocktails parties should last no longer than 3 hours (if longer, the host should serve dinner)

Munchables

Wild Mushrooms And
Fontina Flatbread Appetizers

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 6-inch pita flatbread
1 3-ounce package assorted wild
mushrooms (portobello,
shitake, chanterelle or porcini)
1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh
rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
rosemary
1/2 cup grated Fontina cheese

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly brush each flatbread with
olive oil and place on baking sheet.
Place in oven until lightly brown,
about 5 to 7 minutes; set aside.
Heat remaining olive oil in skillet
over medium-high heat until hot.
Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic
and rosemary. Cook and stir until
mushrooms are tender, about 3 to
5 minutes. Arrange mushroom mixture
over the top of each flatbread.
Sprinkle each with Fontina
cheese. Bake in oven until the cheese
melts, about 5 minutes. Cut each
flatbread into eight wedges.



Smoked Salmon And
HerbedCheese Spread

1 5.2-ounce package light cream
cheese with garlic and fine herbs
1/4 cup chopped, smoked salmon
2 tablespoons thinly sliced
green onion






Combine ingredients in small bowl until well-combined.
Serve as a spread on crackers. Also try stuffing
or topping for vegetables such as cherry tomatoes,
new potato halves, pea pods, cucumber slices, etc.

Yields about 1/2 cup spread

CALORIES 48, TOTAL FAT 3G, CHOLESTEROL 11MG, CARBOHYDRATE 1G, PROTEIN 36, SODIUM 137MG

Asparagus With Prosciutto And
Honey Mustard Sauce

1  bunch fresh asparagus spears,
trimmed
1  3.53-ounce package prosciutto
or smoked salmon
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/3 cup honey
Hot pepper sauce to taste

Blanch asparagus in a large saucepan
of boiling salted water for one
minute. Transfer to a colander and rinse
under cold running water to stop cooking.
Drain well and pat dry. Cut prosciutto
strips. Wrap strips of prosciutto
around each asparagus spear. Mix
mustard, honey and hot pepper sauce
to taste in small bowl until well-combined.
Serve with asparagus wrapped
in prosciutto. Spoon about 1 tablespoon
of the honey mustard sauce in
the bottom of six brandy glasses. If
desired, place two to three wrapped
asparagus spears in glass to serve.

Yields about 6 to 8 appetizers

CALORIES 38, TOTAL FAT 1G, CHOLESTEROL 4MG, CARBOHYDRATE 6G, PROTEIN, SODIUM 231MG.

No better way to start than with...

COCKTAILS!!!!

Pomegranate Ginger Cosmopolitan

1 1/4 ounces lemon vodka
1/2 ounce triple sec
1 ounce pomegranate juice
2 thin ginger slices

Combine all ingredients in a shaker
filled with ice. And shake. Strain into
a chilled martini glass. If desired,
garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds.

Yields 1 serving



Kilimanjaro

2 ounces Amarula Cream Liqueur
1/2 ounce of Peppermint liqueur

Layer the ingredients in cock tail glass. (The Kilimanjaro
won best new cocktail in the world a few years ago in
South A frica.)

Yields 1 se rving

Skinny White Russian

2 ounces Kahlua
1 ounce vodka
Skim milk or soymilk

Pour Kahlua, vodka and milk into a rock glass
over ice and mix.

Yields 1 serving

Flavored Tequila Sunrise

1.5 ounces Cuervo flavored tequila
(citrico, oranjo and tropina)
4 ounces orange juice
A splash of cranberry juice

Mix tequila and orange juice over ice in a highball
glass and float with cranberry juice.

Yields 1 serving


Strawberry Bellini

1/2 ounce strawberry puree
1/2 ounce rose syrup
4 ounces Martini & Rossi Asti
Strawberry

Pour puree and rose syrup into
champagne flute and mix with a
stir stick; add the Martini & Rossi
Asti. Garnish with a strawberry.

Yields 1 serving

Peach Or
Mango Bellini

1 ounce Peach or mango puree
4 ounces Martini & Rossi Asti
Mint leaf

Pour puree into champagne
flute; add Martini & Rossi Asti.