New & Nifty: Stacked Wines

This may not be such an issue at the holidays, since it seems like there are always people around, but do you ever yearn for a glass of wine, but hate to open a new bottle because you know you won't (or at least you don't plan to) finish it?

If so, let me introduce you to Stacked.  What is it?  A tower of four individual cups of wine that snap together to equal a full bottle.  It's perfect for sharing.  Or not.  For on the go, since it's already in a glass.  Or staying at home, since you won't have to dirty any additional dishes (did I mention it's already in the glass?).  It currently comes in four varietals:  cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot, and pinot grigio.  And, if you only feel like one glass, you no longer have to worry about wasting the rest of a bottle.

Mmm...tasty!

P.S. You've still got time to enter the Blogiversary giveaway!  You can do so until 12 pm CST tomorrow (12/19); just click here.

*Disclaimer:  Stacked Wines has no idea who I am and they didn't ask me to say nice things about their product.  I just wanted to share a new product that I found fun and innovative.

Trick or Treat

Give me something good to eat!

Thought I'd tempt you with a few of the Halloween treats I made this year - sugar cookies, homemade candy corn, and "blood" spattered red velvet cake balls.  Yum, yum!  Oh, and don't forget the orange and black vodka.  It's only for those of age though, sorry kiddos.

Celebrate safe and Happy Halloween!

Chill Out

One of the biggest worries I encounter when planning a party is how to ensure the canned and bottled drinks are cold come party time, and how to keep them that way.  I don't usually have the refrigerator space to store them; putting them in the freezer could result in exploded cans and busted bottles; and icing them down in a cooler takes just as long as the fridge plus I have to remember to start the process early.  

My solution?

Place the warm bottles or cans into a large bowl, bucket, the kitchen sink, or even a clean water tank and cover the drinks completely with ice.  Add water enough to cover the drinks and ice, then add 1 cup of salt (either rock or granulated) for every 3 lbs of ice; stir/swish the mixture around occasionally to help the drinks cool faster.  You'll have cold drinks in mere minutes - about 3-5 minutes for a 6-pack!  It will take a bit longer the more cans/bottles you have (bottles take a bit longer to cool than cans), but it still beats waiting hours for cold drinks.  Oh, and be sure to rinse the bottles and cans off before opening, otherwise you'll end up with a nice salty addition to your drink.

Mmm...tasty!

Lucky Leprechaun Shakes

Are you feelin' lucky?

Hopefully, you aren't feelin' green...though with the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday, feelin' a wee bit Irish wouldn't be a bad thing.

To help you celebrate, I whipped up these bevvies that double as dessert.  (Remember, I warned you that I like to combine desserts!)  This one contains alcohol, so it isn't suitable for the kids, but who ever said you don't deserve a treat every now and again?  Not I!

Oh, and you might notice that today's recipe has a "Printable Recipe" link; clicking it will allow you to print just the recipe, minus all the other ramblings/pictures/etc. that might be part of the original post.  Hopefully, it will make it that much handier for you to print out any recipes you want to try!  And, yes, I will be adding "printable" links to all the previous recipes I've posted, but have patience with me...it may take awhile.

Lucky Leprechaun Shakes
Printable Recipe
Yield:  2 shakes



Ingredients:

• 4 scoops mint chocolate chip ice cream
• 1 oz creme de menthe
• 1/2 oz creme de cacao
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
• Milk
• Green food coloring, if desired
• Chocolate sandwich cookies or green sugar, for garnish if desired

Preparation:

1. In a blender, combine the ice cream, creme de menthe, creme de cacao, chocolate syrup, and a splash of milk.  Blend until smooth, adding more milk as needed to reach your ideal consistency.*
2. Stir in green food coloring, if desired, then pour into a chilled glass.  Garnish with crushed chocolate sandwich cookies or green sugar; serve immediately.

*You can add additional creme de menthe or creme de cacao in place of the milk to thin the shake, if preferred.  If the shake becomes too thin, add additional ice cream.

If you are in need of a toast to give when you serve these drinks, may I offer one of my favorite Irish blessings:

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be ever at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,

And the rain fall softly on your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Course, if that one is too long winded or serious for you, then perhaps just a simple "Sláinte" will serve you well.

Sláinte! 

Rockets Red Glare

No cakes this past week...I took a little time off to enjoy myself.  Well, actually I spent most of the cake free days catching up on my to-do lists.  Amazing how everything piles up when you've got cake on the brain 24-7...

I did crank out some good looking cookies (if I do say so myself) and some fun dishes for our firework free Fourth of July celebration though.  After all, I wouldn't want to disappoint you by not having a few goodies for you to salivate and ooh and aah over this week. Hehe!  (And, no, we aren't firework averse in my neck of the woods.  We've just been experiencing one of the worst droughts on record.  All prayers for rain are greatly appreciated!)

As an extra bit of fun today, see if you can guess what the title of this post and the goodies pictured below all have in common.  Answer will be revealed at the end!

Here's the sugar cookies.  I've titled the middle one the "watermelon wedding" cookie...sort of like the modern design among the more traditional ones flanking it...

And the beverage I made for the family on Monday - pomegranate-cranberry limeade sparklers.  It's a super simple drink to make and it can be adjusted to suit just about any one's palate; I like to make mine on the tarter side.  You can find the recipe here if you want to give it a try yourself.

And I know I said I didn't make any cakes this past week...but, truth be told, I did.  But, in my defense, I had very valid reasons for not staying cake free for even one week.  Those reasons were:  a new cake pop making tool that I couldn't wait to try.  (The test run was a little shaky, definitely need to do some work on the process, but no one had any complaints on the taste, even if the appearance was a little rough!)  Yes...I did make them red and white with blue sprinkles.  I was in the holiday mood!

And the other reason(s)?  Because I wanted to try out a new recipe AND I needed a dessert to take to the family get-together.  Turns out K and I got more than I bargained for with the red velvet crepe cakes...they weren't terribly hard to cook up (no baking involved), but the stacking, icing, and time involved were an undertaking.  We ended up with 2 versions:

The un-iced version.  Looks a lot like a stack of pancakes, albeit red ones.  I even added a pat of cream cheese "butter" and some cream cheese "syrup" to increase the illusion.

And...the iced version. Yes, I know it's crooked - icing a leaning tower of crepes is not easy!  It reminds me a tad of the Pac-Man ghosts...an albino one perhaps.  But, just wait until you see the interior of the cake!

Yep, that's 24, count 'em, 24 layers of red velvet and cream cheese frosting goodness.  Isn't it fabulous! And who would suspect that under that unassuming layer of frosting would lay this loveliness?  Guess it's true...beauty really is on the inside!

Catch you later, alligators!

P.S.  Did you figure out what everything in the post had in common?  If you guessed the color red, you are correct!  Congrats!  (The watermelon wedding cookies are a shade on the pink side, but watermelon is considered red so...)

Pomegranate Limeade Sparklers

A super easy, refreshing drink that's perfect for all your summer picnics.  It's infinitely adjustable to suit just about any taste, there is no set amount or measurements, just taste-test until you are pleased with the result!  And the fresh mint leaves add a nice unexpected flavor - don't skip or skimp on them!  If you're concerned about the leaves being in the drink you can strain it before serving, but let them steep in the liquid several hours before hand.

Pomegranate Limeade Sparklers

Printable Recipe



Ingredients:

• Frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
• Pomegranate juice
• Seltzer
• Fresh mint leaves
• Fresh lime slices, if desired

Preparation:

1. Pour limeade concentrate into a large pitcher.  Add at least one can (use the can the limeade comes in) of water.  Mix well.  Add the pomegranate juice and seltzer in equal amounts until desired tartness/sweetness is reached.  Add fresh mint leaves.  Refrigerate until well chilled.
2. Serve with additional fresh mint leaves and lime slices, if desired.

Bottoms up!