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Happy Hour: Hot Buttered Rum

partysugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:00:19 -0800

Tomorrow, Jan.17, is National Hot Buttered Rum day. To celebrate, I'm heading over to my friend H. Joseph Ehrmann's bar, Elixir, in San Francisco's Mission district. They're having a little party, and hot buttered rums are the highlight. If you don't live in SF, no worries: H has shared his recipe with us, so you can make it in the comforts of your cozy kitchen! While some variations call for a batter, this recipe is less traditional. It combines hot water with butter, whole cloves, and cinnamon sticks. The final concoction is extra-rich in spice with a creamy texture and soothing taste. According to H, it's best enjoyed "in a chilled room, around 40 degrees Fahrenheit."

Sounds like it would be the perfect cocktail after a day of skiing or traveling, so to get the recipe, read more.

Hot Buttered Rum
From H. Joseph Ehrmann

Ingredients

1 clove
1 inch of cinnamon stick (broken to fit inside a tea infuser)
1 sugar cube (recommended: demerara)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
boiling water
2 ounces spiced rum (recommended: Gosling's Black Seal Rum)
1/4 ounce St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram

Directions

In a tea ball or other tea infuser, place the clove, cinnamon stick, sugar cube, and 2 tablespoons of the butter.
Steep the ball in 4 ounces of boiling water for 3 minutes.
Add the spiced rum and St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram.
Stir by dipping tea ball 3-4 times. Float the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter on top and serve.

Makes 1 drink.

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12 Days of Edible Gifts: Vanilla Hot Chocolate Mix

YumSugar — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:30:00 -0800

During Winter, nothing epitomizes warmth more than a steaming cup of rich hot chocolate. This holiday, why not package that feeling for your loved ones by making inexpensive and thoughtful homemade hot cocoa?

Unlike store-bought mix, which often tastes chalky and watered-down, this edible gift is velvety in texture and pure chocolate in flavor. This year, I'm making a large batch and distributing individually decorated packages of mix to members of my extended family. To make your own version of this luscious-tasting gift, read more.

Vanilla Hot Chocolate Mix
From Epicurious

Ingredients

4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split crosswise
1 1/2 pounds high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process

Directions

Place sugar in large bowl. Split half vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape seeds into sugar, and add pod. Work seeds in with your fingers. Cover snugly with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.
In food processor fitted with metal blade, process semisweet chocolate and milk chocolate until finely ground, using 4-second pulses. (Process in two batches if necessary.)
Remove pod from sugar. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend.
To gift, carefully transfer mix to decorative jars or bags. Add instruction labels for recipents: "For each serving, heat 8 ounces milk in small saucepan over medium heat until scalded (or microwave 2 1/2 minutes at full power). Whisk in 1/4 to 1/3 cup mix. Serve with unsweetened softly whipped cream or marshmallows. Mix keeps airtight at room temperature for up to six months."

Makes 10 cups of mix (24 to 36 servings).

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Would You Rather Drink Mulled Wine or Spiked Cider?

partysugar — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 01:30:05 -0700

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Know Your Ingredients: Orange Flower Water

YumSugar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:00:52 -0700

Now that Party's cleared up the mystery around one foreign spirit, Pimm's, I'm going to attempt to demystify another mixer - orange flower water.

A delicate flavoring used in desserts, drinks, and other dishes, orange flower water is a natural extract made from distilling orange blossoms from bitter orange or Seville orange trees. Sometimes known as orange blossom water, it has a delicate yet powerful, jasmine-like scent. The flavoring can be categorized into two different genres - French flower water and Middle Eastern flower water. The French version (like the venerated Provençal brand A. Monteux pictured here) is perfumed and floral, while the Middle Eastern kind is brighter with citrusy notes.

Orange blossom water can be used to enhance the flavor of cocktailsm such as the Ramos Gin Fizz and is an ingredient in true orgeat. It's also a key component in some madeleines, cakes, and cookies. Drops may be used to flavor hot water, a common practice in the Middle East, or other desserts like fruit salad and ice cream. How do you make the most of orange flower water?

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Noteworthy Nibbles - Aug. 11-18, 2009

YumSugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:30:27 -0700

If you don't have any solid plans for this weekend, don't let the food festivities pass you by. From New Mexico's Hot Chili Days, Cool Mountain Nights event to an Iowa homage to sweet corn, August is packed with distinctive culinary celebrations.

Personally, I wish I could attend North Carolina BBQ pitmaster Ed Mitchell's dinner at the James Beard House - but I'll happily settle for a local lesson in making Summer farmers market cocktails. What's on your tasting itinerary for the weekend? Pipe up and tell us in the comments!

Houston, TX: Houston Restaurant Week - Aug. 11-23
New York, NY: Modern Israeli Cuisine at the James Beard House - Aug. 12
San Francisco, CA: Botanical Spirits & Summer Farmers Market Cocktails – Aug. 12
Chicago, IL: Taste of the Nation Chicago - Aug. 13
West Columbia, SC: Eat, Drink & Think Local - Aug. 13
Red River, NM: Hot Chili Days, Cool Mountain Nights - Aug. 13-15
West Point, IA: West Point Sweet Corn Festival - Aug. 13-16
Boston, MA: Fisherman's Feast – Aug. 13-16
Delcambre, LA: Delcambre Shrimp Festival - Aug. 13-16

To see the rest, read more.

Springfield, MO: Summer Sizzle BBQ – Aug. 14-15
Emporia, KS: Flint Hills Beef Fest - Aug. 14-16
Sonoma County, CA: Grape to Glass Weekend - Aug. 14-16
San Rafael, CA: San Rafael Food & Wine Festival - Aug. 15
Cary, NC: Beer, Bourbon & BBQ - Aug. 15
Hayward, CA: Hayward Zucchini Festival - Aug. 15-16
Napa, CA: Taste of the Nation Napa Valley - Aug. 17
Philadelphia, PA: Taste of the Nation Philadelphia - Aug. 17
New York, NY: Legends of Barbecue with Ed Mitchell - Aug. 18
San Francisco, CA: Summer Garden Party at the Magic Flute - Aug. 18

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Happy Hour: Whiskey Lemonade

YumSugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:00:43 -0700

Uncouth as it may sound, whiskey and lemon was the combination that first opened my eyes to the world of alcoholic beverages.

It was freshman year of high school, and the only drink in the world that I hated more than coffee was anything with alcohol in it. Then I developed a nighttime cough that no medicine would cure, and my mother started making me a drink of hot lemon juice, honey, and a splash of whiskey. The whiskey was warming on the way down and had a musky, smoky scent; the lemon left a tart, tongue-puckering finish.

That experience turned out to be just the beginning. Flash forward a decade and a half, and while I now appreciate everything from Campari to absinthe, the combination of whiskey and lemon still holds a special place in my heart. I especially love it in an icy, lemonade-like version for picnics or other Summer outings. See a recipe for warm weather refreshment when you read more.

McDonald's Mocha Mondays Mean Free Coffee For Customers

YumSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:30:39 -0700

If you were already contemplating the fast food chain's new Angus Third Pounder, here's another reason for you to drop in to McDonald's. The company wants you to try its new McCafé coffee drinks so badly that it's offering free McCafé Mocha samples in-store every Monday for the next four weeks.

Beginning July 13, the world's largest fast food chain will implement Mocha Mondays: between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., customers can order a seven-ounce iced mocha or an eight-ounce hot mocha for free. The promotion will take place at participating locations every Monday through Aug. 3.

According to corporate executives, this is one of the largest sampling initiatives the company has ever undertaken, and McDonald's anticipates giving away roughly 10 million McCafé Mochas during the promotion. Will you take advantage with a steaming hot mocha - or the cold version?

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What's Cooking at Slashfood

YumSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:30:56 -0700

We love Slashfood so much that every Thursday we round up their most delicious stories. Here are this week's finds:

Korean bibimbap makes a versatile, well-rounded dinner for one.
Appalachia's red hot dogs are the subject of a new food documentary.
Good news: Turns out drinking too much beer doesn't actually cause beer bellies.
The Skinny Chef learns how to bring out the best in a tomatillo.
Embrace the nostalgia of bread-and-butter pickles sans the high-fructose corn syrup.
A Boston Marathoner becomes the face of breakfast haven Waffle House.

Photo by flickr user avlxyz

Dunkin' Drinks Join Beef, Cookie Dough Ranks in Food Recall

YumSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:00:52 -0700

Yesterday, Dunkin' Donuts temporarily pulled its Dunkaccino and hot chocolate drinks off store menus after discovering that one of its suppliers' facilities may have been contaminated with salmonella. The doughnut chain's supplier, Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, voluntarily recalled several of its products, although no illnesses have been traced back to the contamination. Dunkin' Donuts is confident the drinks will be back in stores soon, but yesterday's recall is simply one more to add to a rapidly growing list of food contamination concerns. At the end of last month, Nestlé pulled 30,000 cases of Toll House refrigerated cookie dough after dozens of illnesses were traced to the product, which contained harmful traces of E. coli bacteria. Then over 380,000 pounds of beef were recalled across the country because the meat was also tainted with toxic E. coli. More than 12 people have been hospitalized as a result.

Food contamination appears to be a concern for Americans now more than ever. In March, following recalls of spinach, jalapeños, milk, and peanut butter, President Obama addressed food-safety issues and reassured Americans that he would aid the FDA in strengthening the country's food-safety system. Yet the situation only seems to be getting worse. Are you as frustrated with the FDA's lack of diligence as I am?

Come Party With Me: Independence Day - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:45:03 -0700

On a hot day, there's nothing quite like a tall glass filled with a tart mojito. Although the drink was created in Cuba in 1943, it's now considered a classic cocktail by America's top bartenders.

Since it's one of my favorite Summer sips, I'm serving them at my Independence Day party. While there's plenty of variations, from cherry to mango, I'm serving the traditional rum, lime, and mint version. The party is sure to last several hours, so don't forget to stock up on beer, soda, and wine.

For the mojito recipe, read more.

Mojito
From Gourmet

Ingredients

1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 lime
3 sprigs mint
1.5 ounces light rum
soda water

Directions

Put the sugar in a highball glass, squeeze in the juice of 1/2 small lime, and toss in the squeezed lime shell.
Muddle for a moment with mint sprigs, add the light rum and handful of fine ice, fill with chilled soda, and relax.

Makes 1 drink.

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