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Come Party With Me: Chinese New Year - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:30:25 -0800

For a large dinner party select a specialty cocktail that can be made in advance and in a large batch. This recipe for a white wine sangria gets an Asian twist with the addition of canned lychees and sake. It will pair perfectly with spring rolls and Chinese noodles.

To make it a truly festive celebration stock up on Asian beer (Tsingtao is a nice option) and good sipping sake (I like Sake One's selection). To check out the recipe for the shinsei sangria, read more.

Shinsei Sangria
From Food and Wine Cocktails 2008

Ingredients

3 pears, sliced
3 oranges, sliced
6 Granny Smith apples, sliced
24 canned lychees, drained
1 1/2 pineapples, peeled and cut into large chunks
One 750-milliliter bottle vodka
One 750-milliliter bottle Sauvignon Blanc or other dry, citrusy white wine
One 750-milliliter bottle sake
Ice

Directions

In an airtight container or large bowl covered with plastic wrap, combine all of the ingredients except the ice and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
Strain the mixture into a punch bowl, discarding all of the fruit except for the lychees.
Add enough ice to chill the sangria to serving temperature. Serve in ice-filled white wine glasses.

Makes 18 drinks.

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All About Lychees

partysugar — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:01:31 -0800

Yesterday I suggested you serve a cool lychee cocktail for a Chinese New Year dinner party. If you found yourself scratching your head and wondering what on earth is a lychee, I'm here to help:

Lychees - or litchis - are one of China's most cherished fruits. They are small, walnut-sized fruits with a perfumed, creamy, jelly-like flesh.
The lychee is native to Southeast Asia and is cultivated in subtropical regions like California, Hawaii, and Florida.
Peak season for fresh lychees is June and July while canned and dried ones are available year round.
To eat, look for bright red-skinned fruits. Peel with your fingers and pop in your mouth as you would a nut or candy. Just don't swallow the seed!

Did I forget to mention something about lychees? Fill us in below!

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Come Party With Me: Chinese New Year - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:28:31 -0800

Kick-start your Chinese New Year dinner party with an elegant cocktail. A lychee martini is sophisticated, cool, and festively flirty. When you sit down to dinner offer guests a dry Riesling, fruity Sauvignon Blanc, or crisp Chenin Blanc; all would pair nicely with the menu. If you really want to serve a red, look for a light, smooth Pinot Noir. Don't forget water and sparkling water. A refreshing option for non drinkers is lemonade. To see the recipe for the lychee martini, read more.

Lychee Martini
From InStyle magazine

1 14 oz. can lychees
2 cups vodka
1/2 cup cranberry juice

Drain the lychees, reserving 1 cup of the lychee syrup.
In a large pitcher combine the reserved lychee syrup, the vodka, and the cranberry juice. Refrigerate until very cold.
Fill cocktail glasses with ice water.
To serve, empty ice water from glasses. Place one lychee in the bottom of each glass, and fill with a cocktail.

Serves 8.

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Yummy Link: Lychee & Lime Martini

YumSugar — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:30:39 -0700

This lychee and lime martini sounds like it would hit the spot this summer. - Never Bashful with Butter

Happy Hour: Lichido Liqueur

YumSugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:12:52 -0700

Back in January, I told you guys all about how infused liqueurs were all the rage this year. Turns out that I may have actually been on to something. I just found out about a new liqueur called Lichido. It's produced in France from aged cognac, premium vodka, lychee & guava essences, and a "touch" of white peach juice. Personally I want to get my hands on a bottle and swig it down. Has anyone out there tried it? The folks at Liquor Snob say it's worth tracking down. I think it sounds heavenly on its own, but I also found a few recipes. To check them out, read more

Blushing Buddha
From Lichido

4 oz Sake
1 oz Lichido Liqueur
One Pitted Lychee

Shake all the ingredients with ice.
Pour into chilled glass.
Garnish with lychee nut.

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Lichidotini
From Lichido

2 oz Lichido Liqueur
1 oz Vodka
Dash Fresh Lemon Juice

Shake all the ingredients with ice.
Pour into chilled glass.
Garnish with lychee nut.

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Come Party With Me: Olympics Viewing - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:15:54 -0700

When guests arrive at your Olympic viewing, surprise them at the door with a chilled shot of Canton Ginger Liqueur. The shot will loosen up shy friends and get the conversation flowing. Next offer guests a glass of strawberry-lychee punch. Muddled with fresh strawberries, China's most cherished fruit sweetens this delicious rum cocktail.

Also have beer, wine, and sparkling water on hand. To learn how to make this cool, refreshing strawberry-lychee concoction, read more.

Strawberry-Lychee Punch
From Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients

3 small strawberries, hulled
1/4 ounce Simple Syrup
1 canned lychee plus 1/4 ounce syrup
2 ounces light rum
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
Ice

Directions

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the strawberries, Simple Syrup, lychee and lychee syrup
Add the rum, lime juice, and ice, shake well, and pour into an ice-filled red wine glass.

Makes 1 drink.

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Gail and Tom Reveal Details From Top Chef Vegas

partysugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:50:41 -0700

At the beginning of every Top Chef episode, Padma Lakshmi reminds viewers that the winner will make a special appearance at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, so it's no surprise that much of the events at the festival are devoted to all things Top Chef. Take Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio's demonstration, entitled "In the Kitchen with Top Chef," for example. The two culinary minds created dishes (her: a strawberry lychee cocktail and shrimp pea pasta; him a lobster pea ravioli), provided tips on how to cook more like a top chef, and best of all, revealed details from the upcoming season that recently finished filming in Las Vegas. To find out what Gail and Tom had to say, read more.

On cooking more like a top chef:

"Always use fresh lemon juice!" Gail said when mixing her cocktail, "never that gross stuff that comes in a plastic lemon."
Like Michael Symon said at his seminar, Tom recommends not using extra virgin olive oil for sautéing. "It's a waste of money," explaining that one should use regular olive oil for most things and extra-virgin for dressings and garnishes.
Be creative! Tom likes to take the same three ingredients - like tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese - and see how many distinct dishes he can create with those simple items.

On Top Chef Vegas:

"I've never eaten better on and off the show." Gail openly praised the Las Vegas culinary scene and the next crop of cheftestants.
Tom agreed: "The chefs are more talented, more efficient cooks. Every season there's a surprise, especially Carla comes to mind, but this time there's lots of surprises."
Both Tom and Gail stood by the show's "only as good as your last dish" mantra. Gail explained, "That's the reason we have guest judges because they don't know the contestants like Tom and I do." Then Tom added his two cents, "Look at the Giants vs. the Patriots. Yes the Patriots were a better team, they went into the Super Bowl never loosing a game, but the Giants won fair and square. No one said, 'oh the Patriots win because they played a better season.' The show is the same way."
While Gail takes no part in the final cheftestant selection, Tom looks at the last 20 resumes to make sure none of the prospects previously worked in his kitchen.
The last thing Gail said was, "Season 6 is really amazing," and in an homage to Bravo, "You'll just have to watch what happens."

Hearing all of this are you excited for TC Vegas?

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Custom Blends: Frozen Yogurt's Newest Trend?

YumSugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:00:04 -0700

If the new pomegranate flavors from Pinkberry and Red Mango don't do it for you, consider this: what if you had an endless number of flavors to choose from?

High-tech blending processes may be the next big wave in the frozen-yogurt trend. That's what I discovered when I visited the San Francisco outpost of Yogen Früz, a fro-yo chain with a high-tech yogurt concept. First, I chose from single-serving packages of a base yogurt in various flavors (low-fat vanilla, nonfat vanilla, or low-fat chocolate) with probiotic cultures.

Then I chose two toppings out of a large selection that included frozen fruits (strawberries, cherries, mangoes, lychees, blueberries, etc.) and dry toppings (Cap'n Crunch, almonds, coconut flakes, granola, and the like). Together they went into a proprietary machine. Twenty seconds later, I was enjoying my lychee mango vanilla creation, which was whipped, creamy, and studded with icy chunks of mango and lychee.

Yogen Früz may have pioneered the idea, but - with specially designed yogurt-blending machines available on the web, other boutique yogurt bars have caught on. Have you tried this type of yogurt? Now that the fancy frozen yogurt trend is waning, do you think custom blended fro-yo could be the next big thing?

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Want a YumSugar Apron? Then Start Leaving Comments!

YumSugar — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:14:41 -0800

Last month's top commenter is long-time TeamSugar member celebrity_soup. She loves sharing her recipes and always has something to say. When asked about chicken for dinner, she said:

I always make this chicken on weekends, it's very versatile. Leftovers can later be used to make just about anything with chicken.

And when asked about lychees, she said:

I LOVE lychees, i eat them all the time here in Africa. They are available mostly at summertime, i pop around 20 something in minutes. They are so sweet and juicy! yummmmm!

For being our top talker, celebrity_soup is going to receive a YumSugar apron! Congrats celebrity_soup!

Want your own YumSugar swag? Then come out of hiding and start leaving comments! The person who leaves the most comments during March will also be rewarded a YumSugar apron, so start talking! You must be a TeamSugar member to comment, so if you're not a member, please register here for an account.

If you're feeling a bit shy you can always order your own. I've put some of my favorites - like the apron and bib - below, but there's lots more to choose from.

Nestlé Introduces Beauty Drink

YumSugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:15:04 -0700

The brand Nestlé is synonymous with chocolate bars, frozen meals, and those delectable Toll House cookies, but it's possible that the company may soon be just as recognizable at the cosmetics counter.

The world's largest food and beverage company has introduced Glowelle, a beauty drink that proclaims to have antiaging properties.

The bottled drinks come in two flavors, raspberry jasmine and pomegranate lychee, and are available for $7 a pop at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman department stores. The blends claim to "nourish and hydrate the skin from within and help fight free radicals, known contributors to the signs of aging."

This drink is just the latest in a bevy of supplements that have hit the market. I've always been perplexed by beauty drinks: do they work? Have you ever tried a beauty supplement in the form of food or drink?

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