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Come Party With Me: Tailgate - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:30:53 -0700

When one hears the words "tailgate" and "drinks," the first thing that comes to mind is beer. And lots of it. At my tailgate, I'll supply guests with a selection of cold brews and an updated version of the shandy, a classic beer cocktail. Tailgates always get a little rowdy, so I won't serve hard alcohol.

It's a good idea to have sodas, water, and a couple bottles of chilled white wine on hand. Before heading to the stadium, don't forget to stock up on ice. There's nothing worse than warm beer on a hot afternoon. To look at the refreshing recipe for the beer cocktail - at my party it will be poured into Cal cups! - read more.

Lime Beer Cocktail
From Sandra Lee

Ingredients

1 (6-pack) light beer
1 can frozen limeade
1 lime, sliced in half

Directions

Pour beer into a large pitcher. Add still-frozen limeade and stir to combine. Stirring with a metal utensil can reduce foam. Allow foam to settle.
Squeeze half a lime into pitcher.
Finely slice the other lime half and place into pitcher, for garnish. Pour into chilled glasses and serve cold.

Serves 6.

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Happy Hour: Soda Chanh (Simple Sparkling Lemonade)

YumSugar — Wed, 30 May 2007 13:01:18 -0700

One of my favorite drinks at Vietnamese restaurants is soda chanh, which is essentially a limeade (although sometimes it's lemonade) made from sparkling water. It's wonderfully refreshing and hits the spot on really hot days. The best part is that I don't have to wait until I go out to eat to enjoy it. The recipe is super simple, so you won't have to wait either. To give this recipe a try, read more

Soda Chanh
From Answers.com

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon (or lime) juice
Ice cubes or crushed ice
6 cups sparkling water or club soda
optional: pinch of salt

To make the simple syrup, combine 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.
Continue cooking without stirring for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is clear and the consistency of light syrup.
Remove pan from heat and allow to cool completely.
Either use immediately or pour into a clean, dry jar and refrigerate, covered tightly, until ready to use. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
To make lemon soda: In a pitcher, combine 1 cup simple syrup and lemon juice. Stir to mix well.
Fill six glasses with crushed ice; then pour 1/4 cup of lemon syrup in each glass. Fill the rest of the way with sparkling water, stir, and serve immediately.
Stir in salt if desired.

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Happy Hour: Lime Rickey

partysugar — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:11:57 -0700

This weekend my dad was helping me make a lime tart for Easter dinner's dessert. We were working in my brother's kitchen, which is beautifully remodeled, yet lacking in the essential kitchen tools. The lime tart was my best option because it required no hand mixer or food processor. I bought a whole bunch of limes and my dad agreed to juice them with his hands and a fork. He cut all 15 limes and we only needed juice from about half of that. What did I do with all of the extra lime juice? Why I made a cocktail of course! A lime rickey is a refreshing cocktail that's like an adult version of limeade. Gin (or vodka, if you prefer) is stirred into a mixture of sugar simple syrup, lime juice, and soda water. Garnish with the extra limes and enjoy. To check out this must-make-the-next-time-you-have-too-much-fresh- squeezed-lime-juice recipe, read more

Lime Rickey
From Sunset magazine

1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups gin
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 quarts chilled soda water
Thin slices of lime

In a 1-quart pan, mix sugar with 1/2 cup water and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Let cool or chill.
In a 3-quart pitcher, combine gin, lime juice, and the cooled syrup. Cover and freeze until ready to serve.
To serve, add soda water. Pour into ice-filled glasses and garnish with lime.

Serves 6 to 8.

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 182(0.0% from fat); FAT 0.0g (sat 0.0g); PROTEIN 0.1g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; SODIUM 0.9mg; FIBER 0.0g; CARBOHYDRATE 17g

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In Season: Sweet Limes

YumSugar — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:50:06 -0800

Although the assortment of produce seems to be more varied when the weather is warmer, I encountered an unusual fruit on a recent trip to the farmers market: the sweet lime. Also referred to as a Palestine sweet lime, the citrus fruit is native to India, where it's used medicinally to allay upset stomachs, nausea, and throat infections. It's still somewhat obscure in America, but the hardy lime, which blooms in Winter and Spring, has long been commercially grown in Vietnam, Egypt, along the Mediterranean coastline, and in states such as California and Florida. To learn how sweet limes get their yellow color, read more.

Generally, limes are picked while they're still green, but they actually turn yellowish in color when completely mature. Likewise, green sweet limes, while unoffensive, have yet to reach their full sweetness. Rather than having a high amount of sugar, the fruit contains less acid than ordinary limes, causing it to taste sweeter. Although the fruit's pale yellow flesh is praised for its mildness and palatability, some have described the fruit's taste as insipid due to its complete lack of tartness.

A few ways to use sweet limes:

Make sweet limeade, or add some to your ice water for a refreshing aroma.
Use the fruit's juice to make sweet lime-flavored granita.
Incorporate the fragrant peel into in a homemade marmalade.
Toss into a Winter fruit salad for an unusual bite.
Tone down your cocktails by using in place of sour limes.

If you've ever encountered sweet limes, how do you enjoy them?

Come Party With Me: Tree Trimming - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:00:59 -0800

The holidays are a great time to break out the old punch bowl. I'll be dusting off mine Friday for a tree-trimming party and filling it with this sparkling pomegranate punch. Made with Prosecco and no hard alcohol, this red-hued concoction is a sublime blend of pomegranate juice, fresh squeezed orange juice, and limeade. You can mix the ingredients in advance and stir in the bubbly the moment guests arrive. Since it is the holidays, consider getting a sparkling jasmine tea for those who don't drink. Also have beer, water, and eggnog on hand. To look at the punch recipe, read more.

Sparkling Pomegranate Punch
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

1 quart pomegranate juice
2 cups fresh orange juice, strained
2 cups chilled limeade
One 750-milliliter bottle Prosecco
Lime and orange slices, for garnish
Ice
1 cup pomegranate seeds

Directions

In a punch bowl, combine the pomegranate juice, orange juice and limeade.
Pour in the Prosecco; float lime and orange slices on top. Ladle into 12 ice-filled glasses, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve.

Serves 12.

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Happy Hour: Margarita

partysugar — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:00:58 -0700

I don't know about you, but being this close to Cinco de Mayo makes me crave margaritas! Simply made, a margarita is tequila, orange liquor, and lime juice. However, this recipe for the ultimate margarita takes the concoction to a whole new level. Limeade concentrate and beer are the secret ingredients that make it exceptionally refreshing. While I prefer my margaritas on the rocks, this recipe is also nice blended.

To rim the glass with salt, rub a lime wedge around the rim of the glass. Dip it in a bowl of coarse salt, turning the glass in a circular motion. Carefully fill with ice and the margarita.

To check out the recipe - seriously this is a keeper, I've made it more times than I can remember! - read more.

Ultimate Margarita
Modified from Epicurious and Ozols Business Group

Ingredients

1.5 cups tequila
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
1/3 bottle beer (light beer: Budweiser, Coors, Miller)
1 can frozen lemonade concentrate
juice from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lime
sugar to taste
ice
salt, if preferred to rim glass

Directions

In a blender combine all ingredients, blend until smooth. Alternately, combine all ingredients except ice in a pitcher and pour into an ice filled glass.

Makes 12.

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