Citrus Cranberry Spritzers

This would make a great ‘signature drink’ when your guests first arrive. Just ask if anyone is taking medication that prevents them having anything grapefruit and adjust something for them, without making a fuss.

 

  • 2 cups fresh grapefruit juice (pink  or red is preferred)
  • 2 cups fresh orange juice
  • 2 cups cranberry juice (I prefer the white cranberry juice – not so acidic)
  • 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
  • 4 cups chilled sparkling wine or mineral water for those not drinking.
  • Orange zest for garnish

In a large pitcher, stir together the grapefruit, orange and cranberry juices. Rim each of 8 glasses with some lime and dip into sugar. Place 2-3 ice cubes in each glass .

Stir in the lime juice and divide equally among the glasses about 2/3 full and top with the sparkling wine. Garnish with an orange twist and make a toast. Wonderful!

Try using a Blanc de Blancs Brut (cheaper than the others) but certainly just as tasty.

 

Benedict Crab Cake, Sabayon and Caviar

Okay, let’s get real. Easter is coming and that means company coming for the weekend. This is the way to pamper, blow their minds and make you the hostess with the mostess. I kid you not. Read it, plan ahead and just make sure you have the tablescape you want to showcase this delight.

 

  • 1/2 loaf white bread
  • 2/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped fine
  •  1/3 cup mayonnaise, not salad dressing
  •  1 tsp. lime zest
  • 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  •  1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
  •  1 tbsp. mustard
  •  pinch of paprika
  •  pinch of dried Thyme
  •  pinch of salt and ground pepper
  •  1/4 tsp. celery salt
  •  1 lb. crabmeat (fresh is best)
  •  1/4 cup finely minced onion
  •  1/4 cup yellow or orange bell pepper, diced fine
  •  butter for frying (about 6-7 tbsp.)

Sabayon (recipe follows)

  •  8 large eggs, poached to desired doneness
  •  jar of caviar
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped together with
  •  1 tbsp. fresh dill, finely chopped for garnish

Tear the bread in small pieces and place in a food processor to pulse until soft fine crumbs. (about 6 cups). Transfer to a shallow cake pan. Add in one half of the parsley and set aside.

Using cheesecloth, place the crabmeat inside and squeeze tightly to remove as much of the liquid as possible. In a large bowl, add the crabmeat, onion, pepper and one half of the parsley. Add the chilled mayonnaise, lime zest and gently toss. Do not over mix or it will be gluey in exture.

Divide into 8 patties and lightly pat the tops and bottoms of each patty into the bread crumbs.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a skillet now and melt the butter until it begins to bubble. Cook the cakes in batches until golden brown on both sides and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 7-8 minutes.

Sparkling Wine Sabayon

  • 2 large egg yolks
  •  1/4 cup sparkling wine
  •   1/4 cup whipping cream
  •  4 oz. unsalted butter
  •  pinch of salt and ground white pepper
  •  1 tbsp. fresh dill, finely chopped

Place a small amount of water in a pot and place a metal mixing bowl on top. When water is simmering, add the yolks and sparkling wine and whisk until the temperature reaches 140F.

Mixture should froth up and thicken . In two separate pots reduce cream by half and melt the butter. Slowly add the butter to yolk mixture while whisking. Once the butter is well incorporated and smooth, add the cream. Remove from the heat and fold in the dill.

To Plate:

Warm the plates, add a crab cake on each one. Carefully place a poached egg on top and ladle some Sabayon over the top. Add a dollop of the caviar (if using) and sprinkle the egg mixture on top.

Serve with a glass of well chilled Chardonnay. OMG! This is wonderful.

Special Blood Orange Cocktail

‘Tis the season to be jolly and when your company arrrives, what better way to welcome them with this special ‘signature drink’.

Each year, I tried to have a different special welcome to our home drink. This is easy, super tasty and such a pretty colour as well.

 

  • 1 cup blood orange juice
  • 1 cup Grand Marnier
  • 1 750 ml bottle of sparkling wine

Stir the juice and liqueur together in a pitcher, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until well chilled.

Divide among some chilled martini glasses. Toast the New Year and the         conversation will start.

In case I didn’t mention it…….yummy!

Limoncello Sparkling Wine Cocktails

Use homemade Limoncello (I made ours and it is better than I ever imagined….yummy, yummy. Give it a whirl, it is sooooooo easy.

Now with that in mind and the Limoncello already made up, here you go:

 

  • 1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves
  • 1/4 cup Limoncello
  • 2 tbsp. sugar, plus more for dipping flutes
  • Lemon peel strips from a fresh lemon
  • 4 tsp. fresh lemon juice plus 1 lemon wedge
  • 1 cup chilled sparkling wine.

Place the mint, limoncello, sugar and lemon strips in the blender. Blend until the mint is finely chopped. The lemon will be coarsely chopped. Strain into a small bowl.

Run the lemon wedge around the rims of two champagne flutes. Dip into  sugar to coat. Equally pour in the lemon mixture and top with the sparkling wine. Hang a couple of lemon strips off the rim.

Toast the night away. Warning: Be careful, as it CAN hit with avengence if you have too many. Just sayin’.

YUMMMMY.

Berry Mash Cocktails

If you thought I had given up on my ‘signature drinks’, think again….here’s another one. It makes 2 drinks so be sure to add on when making more.

 

  • 1/2 cup fresh raspberries or blackberries
  • 3 tablespoons of Chambourd
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 1/2 bottle of any semi-dry sparkling wine of your choice

Gently stir the raspberries, sugar and Chambourd in a bowl, mascerate and let sit, covered, in the refrigerator at least 2 hours.

Spoon 2 tbsp. of the raspberries and some juice into champagne flutes, and slowly top up with the sparkling wine.

Toast each other and enjoy!

Last entry 2010

  • It has been fun, for me, and I hope useful to you. We are entertaining guests tonight and have asked them to stay overnight. Two reasons: Can enjoy the evening with a drink or two and don’t have to worry about what is out there driving in the wee hours (if we can stay awake that long).  I am going to show you our menu and how easy it is to prepare.

As this is New Years Eve, we are going to really dress up for the evening. We will also try and spread each course out over the evening so it will, at least, be about 4 hours. Then the evening will begin. For us, this is entertaining at its finest.

  • Signature drink – New Years  Martini
  • Two kinds of Hors d’oeurves (one hot and one cold) not even sure yet just what but…
  • Coquilles St. Jacques
  • Papaya and shrimp with curry mayonnaise (plate licking delicious)
  • Rice
  • Asparagus
  • Salmon topped with Lobster Newburg
  • Ginger Cannolis,
  • Champagne for toasting , a different touch, for sure.
  • Coffee/wine/liqueur

Yesterday, Don made the Coquille St. Jaques, I made the filling for the cannolis and the dressing for the salad. Set the table, did the laundry, changed the bedding upstairs and put out fresh towels. This morning I will stuff the cannolis and place in the fridge until dinner. The salad is a two minute ‘put-together’ and the rest is as we go.  Try it and you will say (for the last time this year) Damn, I can do this!.

Bon Appetit. We will show pictures as the evening progresses. Oh, for your information, the dishes we are using are everyday dishes, We packed up all the good dishes when my daughter was here. I will show you  don’t need to have ‘everything’ to put on a dinner and showcase it to the best of what you own.

Hints for the Bubbly

These tips are for a sparkling (champagne type) wine.

Always ensure sparkling wine is well-chilled to 50F before opening it. Never put it in the freezer unless you want to be seeing stars not drinking them. The cold temperature and the pressure in the bottle will easily explode the bottle. Please don’t try it. It is probably best to keep it in the fridge for about an hour.

Do not shake the bottle before opening it unless you are a race car winner. It could hurt.

Remember to TURN the bottle not the cork. The pressure in the bottle will push out the cork. It should be a whispered ‘sigh’ not a pop. Enjoy and drink responsibly.