Good Food and Drink Ideas
Contents
How To Be Ready For Drop-In Entertaining
How to Have a Successful Pot-Luck Dinner
How to Turn Any Dish Into a Diet Friendly Dish
What Makes
A Great Gourmet Coffee?
Making a Kid Friendly Dinner Party
Quick
and Simple Main Dishes Using Chicken
The Art Of A South Western Burrito
Beef Bourguignon: the Old Favorite That is Making a Comeback!
How To Keep a Well Stocked Bar
The Dinner Party on a Budget
Dinner parties are not just for the people
who can afford
veal and lobster
most nights of the
week. And, they are not just for those
who have a large grocery budget. One of
the easiest things to do if you are looking to entertain is to throw a
dinner party on a budget.
When working on
a budget, you will have a smaller list of ingredients to choose from. For
example, you may be forced
to choose from steak or chicken, instead
of anything under the
sun. Smaller parties are also easier to manage and to plan for.
The first thing
to do is to make sure the guest list is complete. Do you have enough space for
everyone? Are the people
you invite likely to come? You don’t want to
invite ten people
and only have three show up
especially when you buy enough food for ten. When you make your guest list out,
make sure you have enough room to accommodate them as well as the budget to
feed them. It’s true that the less people you have, the better food you can
purchase. But at the same time, you need to consider what is more important to
you for your party; a well rounded guest list
or a gourmet meal.
After you have the guest list managed, search
for a menu that you can work with.
Buying frozen appetizers can look
expensive, but they are usually cheaper than buying the ingredients to make
them yourself. Try to keep the courses set to three as a maximum. An appetizer,
main course and dessert are the only things you really need, and dessert can be
as simple as a sweet cocktail. Look for a main dish that is liked by everyone
but still a decent price. This way you keep everyone pleased as well on budget.
The next thing
to consider is that you need to keep the setting as simple as possible. I’ve
seen parties where everything is perfectly matched and the theme is right in
your face, and while it usually looks good, it can cost more than the food if
you are not careful. At the same time you can have a very simple theme where
you use color or stuff you already have as a great jumpstart to the best party you’ve
thrown. Just remember that no matter
what you do the point is to have a good time and spend time with
friends. If you start getting stressed out then maybe you should step back and
take a break, then try again in a few minutes.
How To Be Ready For Drop-In Entertaining
Even the most gracious
host can become
frazzled and stressed
out when things
get hectic and fast paced, especially when she is on
her own with the hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and the planning. Imagine how she’d
be when there is last minute extra guests or out of town friends stop by
because they were “in the neighborhood”!
Despite how much
effort you think it takes to put together a planned party or how stressed out
you think you’d be if you tried,
it’s always so much simpler if you keep a few items on hand and always remember that if you want to
entertain then almost anything is fixable.
You can get a
decent bottle of red wine almost anywhere and they keep well in the bottom of the pantry. And since red wine is best
served room temperature then this would be your best option for those drop-ins.
Another option when it comes to drinks is to have a bottle of cocktail mix
ready in the fridge, and as long as it hasn’t been opened then they keep a long
time, and it will be ready and chilled, so even if your liquor is not, the temperature will still be nice and
cold thanks to the mix. One other thing to keep in mind is if you think there
will be kids. Older ones like teens may like a sparkling grape juice, or soda,
and younger ones will be just as content with
a juice box. These things
are easy to keep on hand and are usually
in your pantry anyway
if you have kids yourself.
As for hors
d’oeuvres they can be as simple or as complicated as you’d like, keeping in
mind that guests who will be staying just a minute may need something quicker
than those who are staying a few hours. Keeping
some cream cheese
and some crushed
red peppers on hand is a
real quick way to have a cheese ball along with some crackers, just use wax
paper to roll the cream cheese into a ball then coat in the crushed pepper and
serve on a plate with crackers and you have an instant dish in less than five
minutes. For something a little more extravagant you could keep a box of frozen
stuffed mushrooms or spinach pastries in the freezer and pop them in when you
fix the drinks.
Keeping a few festive paper plates on hand can be a real life saver for after guests
leave since you probably
weren’t ready for the mess in the first place so this keeps clean up to a minimum and prep very quick and simple.
How to Have a Successful Pot-Luck
Dinner
One of the
most common types of dinner parties now is the pot-luck dinner. Most of the
time these are very easy to plan
and usually go off without a hitch,
but there is always
room for error with guest serviced parties. One person might show up
with a meat dish to a vegan pot luck or someone won’t show up with anything, or
even worse, the person who is supposed to bring a main dish shows up with a bag of fast food cheese burgers.
Now a lot of people
will just go with the flow and try to fix
it their selves, but as we all know this will just make a stressed host and a party that seemed
useless.
Most of these problems
won’t mean much or bother too many people
if it was for a children’s
play date or something casual, but to a more sophisticated party, they can be
disasters.
One of the
easiest ways to head off any problems
is to assign each guest a dish, you can do this
in any extent you’d like really, just understand that some guests may balk at
the idea of you telling them what to
bring to a pot-luck so your best approach is to either ask and
hope that they respect your wishes or call it something other than a pot-luck.
One way to assign the guests a dish is to assign them a specific
course, such as two people
bring appetizers and three bring
the main course and then two bring dessert. Another way to do it is to
give each person a list of dishes on the invites and let them pick which one
they would like to bring.
The next thing
to remember with a pot-luck is to always have enough plates and silverware
available. Weather they are paper plates and plastic forks or the best china
available, you will always want to have extra
so that you don’t chance
running out. Also make sure that each guest
brings serving utensils for their dish unless you have enough yourself.
It’s a good idea
to have wide selections of drinks from water and sodas to juice and if it’s an
adult party then cocktails or an open bar. Another
option with this is to have a self serve bar set
up away from the food table so that no ones in anyone’s way. This can be stocked
with glasses and mixers or a
carafe of a selected cocktail perfect for the theme of the party.
Whatever you do
to keep things
stress free understand that the guests
are partly hosting
as well with pot-luck
parties, so don’t stress too much if things go a little wrong, just do what you
can to keep problems to a minimum and enjoy your party.
Christmas Baking With Kids
Christmas is
a magical time for people of all ages, especially so for children. And what better way to get them to enjoy
the holidays than by encouraging them to bake with you. You don’t need to limit your
baking to just cookies. You can make cakes as well as edible gifts
for family, friends, and
teachers.
Even very young
children can help decorate cookies or cut out cookie shapes from the dough. Try making some spiced ginger star cookies which look great in a tissue lined
box. Or you can cut out the ginger
star shapes and make a hole near the top before baking. Once baked, tie a ribbon through the hole and hang the star
cookies on the Christmas tree. Consider
a cookie swap with parents of other children.
Have everyone bring a different cookie, with everyone sharing and taking home cookies in containers. This is a great way to have a variety
of cookies on hand at home
without having to bake so many different kinds.
Come up with creative ways to
package cookies if you’re giving
them away as a gift. Cover an old shoebox with wrapping paper and line it with tissue paper.
Once the cookies
are inside you can decorate the lid with some holly
or other decorations.
Christmas cakes
allow for endless
ideas of creativity. Buy a Christmas tree shaped cake tin and follow a simple recipe for a sponge
cake. Then let the kids go wild
decorating the tree with icing,
marzipan, chocolate sprinkles, or any other topping that creates a masterpiece
of a tree.
Cakes make a
great gift for your children’s teachers. Decorate
a cake and place it inside a Christmas cake tin. Or wrap it up with clear cellophane and tie it up with a box. You might want
to consider including the recipe with the cake along with a thank you note.
If you have older children you might want to
try making candy
for the holidays. Almond Roca is
easy to make and requires only a few ingredients such as butter, sugar, corn
syrup, almonds, and chocolate. One
thing to keep in mind is that you’ll need to use a candy thermometer to ensure
the mixture reaches the candy stage. Once
done, Almond Roca makes an impressive gift for your children to give.
Have fun baking and creating with your children. No matter what the ages are, children
will be able to feel proud of
what they make during the holidays.
How to Turn Any Dish Into a Diet Friendly Dish
A lot of
people are concerned about eating healthier. And, a lot of people are put on
stricter diets because of either a personal reason or as a medical reason such
as high blood pressure or cholesterol. This is usually
easy to follow if you’ve been doing it a while, but at the same time
can get very boring and make you start wishing for your old favorite that’s now
off limits.
The easiest way
to handle the situation is to adapt your favorite foods so they can fit into
your diet. Sometimes this is easier
than others, but at the same time it’s almost
always doable. It just depends on your diet and what you’re
trying to convert to a diet friendly food.
If you’re
in a diet where you need lower calorie foods then using
skim milk and cheeses and “fat
free” alternatives can be something to consider. At the same time you need to
make sure that what you substitute in your recipe is not changing good calories
and nutrients for worthless ones. Make sure that if you use skim cheese that
it’s not imitation, because then you shave off some calories, but you also lose
all of the vitamin and calcium. If your favorite desert is smothered in hot
fudge and strawberry glaze, try switching it out for fresh sliced strawberries
and some shaved dark chocolate.
Other things to
consider are diets for a healthy heart or high cholesterol. These can be a bit
more restrictive because you really can’t find a substitute for salt or a big
steak. The real things you can do for a diet like this though are to make sure you stick
to portion size. A serving size of steak is just one deck of cards. That’s right, the size of a
single deck of cards, and most people eat steaks two or three times that size.
Using a variety of seasonings other than salt can work out well also. Try using lime marinades instead of salt and
you still get a little kick from the lime and it usually is perceived the same
way as salt, so you won’t be missing it for long.
In the end you will eventually be able to adapt any recipe to fit your specific diet, so don’t fret
about the limited things you can eat and instead, use your head to figure out
other ways to make those dishes.
What Makes A Great Gourmet Coffee?
Tasting coffee
is as much a ritual for some as wine tasting is for others. When a coffee connoisseur tries a new
gourmet coffee they are just as focused as the wine aficionado. So what makes a coffee a great gourmet
cup of coffee? Several things
go into determining what good coffee is all about.
It all starts before you start to brew the coffee, with
the way the coffee beans smell after
you’ve ground them. The first
impression of the flavour comes to you as you
inhale the aroma. As the
coffee is brewed, the fragrance will come out.
And finally there’s the taste as your tongue comes into contact with the
coffee, releasing the coffee aroma within your mouth.
It’s your tongue
that is going to decide between an okay cup of coffee and one that is
sensational. There are three basic components that most coffee experts focus on: acidity, balance, and body.
Within the
coffee beans are naturally occurring acids. These
acids blend with natural sugars which then produce
a slightly sugary taste. It’s this sweetness
that gives the coffee its spiciness
or tang.
A balanced
gourmet coffee will have all its flavour characteristics in perfect alignment
for that type of variety
of coffee. The expertise comes
by knowing what characteristics a certain coffee is supposed to have.
The body of the coffee is determined by the aftertaste in your mouth. Residues of the coffee will remain in your mouth and on your
tongue. And this aftertaste will vary
on the type of characteristics the coffee is supposed to have. To simplify this, the body of a coffee is
all about its consistency, thickness, and texture.
There are many varieties of coffee to choose from that it can become confusing
to find one or two that you really like. Some of the best gourmet
coffees come from Costa Rica, having the perfect balance of
smoothness and flavour without being at all bitter. Second in line are gourmet coffees from Columbia and Brazil,
though they can be slightly bitter. Many
African coffees will have a hard taste to them, while Asian coffees are often
on the sour side.
The key to finding gourmet coffee you like is by focusing on the characteristics that taste best to you. For instance, if you
like a sharp, dry coffee
you might want to try a Costa
Rican or Kenyan coffee. Coffees
with a great aftertaste are typical of Kenya or Guatemala. No matter what, gourmet coffee all comes
down to personal taste.
Make Any Drink More Festive
Most all holiday parties will
have either an open bar or a self serve bar, whether it’s cocktails or just
juices and soda. It’s always more fun for the holidays to make things more
festive when it comes to drinks.
Even if you just
down play the decorations around the house,
playing it up with
the drinks is a fun and unexpected way to bring the cheer.
You can use any
theme from Christmas to the 4th of July as a backdrop for your drink
ideas. Just remember that some things will
add flavors to the drink so make sure they are palatable
to at least some of your guests. But at the same time, some don’t add
any flavor at all so they would work for anyone.
Around Christmas time it’s always fun to add some festive color here and there. This is really
a fun time to spice up the drinks with a neat garnish. You can use
peppermint sticks or candy canes for swizzle sticks, or maybe try a chocolate
straw for hot cocoa. You could also use colored sugars such as red or green for sweet cocktails that generally have a sugar coated rim to begin with. These idea work well
with cocktails as well as sodas and juices.
Other holidays
such as 4th of July or Halloween are great for festive drinks as
well. You could use food dye to color the ice cubes red and blue and have some
normal or if you wanted the illusion of them being white, just use hot water
when you fill the trays and every now and then stick a toothpick into the ice cubes as they harden.
The hot water adds more bubbles
than cold and the agitation
from the toothpick does the same. The more bubbles
you have the whiter the ice will be. If you want to put a little more work into
it you could start out with star or pumpkin shaped ice cubes then put those
into regular ice cube trays to create an enclosed ice cube.
Things to consider
when creating your bar are to make sure that the garnishes
that add flavor are not going
to sour the drinks or create an odd aftertaste, so it’s a good idea to try those out before the party. Just keep in mind
that if you have a self serve bar to make the uses for the garnishes obvious,
you would never guess how many people would think it’s just for a table display
or something else that is off the wall.
Ideal Cocktails For
Brunch
What better way to enjoy a weekend morning
than by serving
brunch to your family and friends. And
keep in mind that brunches are perfect for any occasion, such as Mother’s Day
and Christmas, or no occasion at all. The
varieties of foods you can serve for brunch are endless, including egg dishes,
decadent French toast, potato casserole, and berries with cream. But what type of beverages are you going
to serve your guests?
Of course no
brunch would be complete without a great tasting coffee. Why not spice that coffee up a bit by turning
it into Irish coffee? Just add a little whiskey, fresh whipped cream, and
chocolate shavings on top and you have the perfect way to start off the
morning.
Don’t stop there. There are many types of cocktails you can serve depending on what type of brunch theme you want
to create, each with their own
light and fruity taste. After all,
cocktails aren’t just for dinner anymore.
If you’re serving a light brunch,
a Melon Patch cocktail
is the perfect choice. Made with vodka, triple sec, melon
liqueur, and club soda, this drink is a good accompaniment for brunches that
feature fruit. Another
cocktail for a light brunch
is the Greyhound, a simple and refreshing drink made with vodka and grapefruit
juice.
The Bloody Mary is a great choice
for heavier brunches. The tomato flavour combines well with egg, pasta, and
pancakes dishes. And what about
putting a slightly different twist on the original Mimosa? The Dream Mimosa combines
apricot juice with champagne, mint,
and ginger root.
For those brunches served on hot mornings, why not try a Tequila
Sunrise, which goes well with pastries and fruits. This cocktail is easy to make with
tequila, orange juice, and grenadine.
Similarly,
the Screwdriver is delicious in its simplicity by mixing vodka with orange juice, ideal
on a sunny morning.
A Peach Bellini is perfect for formal
brunches when you want to impress
someone. The Bellini goes well with brunches where
eggs, fish, and white meats are served. For
more casual brunches where you still want to impress, the Kiwi Mango Mint Cocktail
is a refreshing cocktail.
Made with kiwi vodka, mango nectar, and fresh mint leaves, this drink will make
your guests want to linger all day.
No matter
what types of cocktails
you serve at your brunch,
your main goal should be to match the drink with the food. With so many great cocktails to choose
from the possibilities are endless.
Making a Kid Friendly Dinner
Party
Dinner parties
are common all year long, whether it’s for a birthday or a congrats party, or
any other reason even if you don’t have one. They are even more common
when the holiday
season hits. From thanksgiving, Christmas, or Hanukkah, and all the way
through New Year’s, holiday parties seem to multiply out of thin air. One thing
most will have in common is the adult theme, meaning usually no kids are allowed or at the very least
they are advised
against bringing them, mainly because even the older ones that are 12
and 13 will be bored and may cause interruptions.
There are many
different reasons to throw a kid friendly dinner party, the first being that
you may have kids yourself, and at the same time if your guests have children
they may not be able to get a babysitter or feel like
leaving them behind. If something happens and they need a last minute
babysitter it can be hard to find one, not to mention that during the holidays
finding a sitter may be hard.
The first thing
to consider when making your party kid friendly is the atmosphere. Is the party
a real formal sit down three course dinner? If so then try to have a separate
room where the kids can have plenty of room to play but that’s
also okay for them to have dinner in. Make sure there are plenty of toys for all the ages
involved, so obviously if they are all under five then a game system shouldn’t be needed, but at the same time if they are all over five then baby toys will not be needed.
When it comes
to the menu, I doubt that the kids will want lamb chops with garlic sautéed
mushrooms, so try to plan accordingly,
and if you don’t want to
cook an extra
dish then have the
parents pitch in for pizza. Most local delivery places are fairly well priced
so you each toss in about two through five dollars and you should have enough
depending on how many kids there are.
Keep in mind that while kids over eight
or nine will be fairly well off without constant
supervision, others under that age may need a babysitter. This is where
one of the older kids comes into play. If you or one of the guests has a teen
that is good at babysitting, try talking to them a few days before and see if
they will “baby-sit” in the kid’s room while the party is in effect. Most teens
would jump at the chance to make a quick fifty or so, depending on how many
parents have the younger children you could all agree on a total to pay the
sitter then divide it up by the number of smaller kids and each parent pays
their share.
Quick and Simple Main Dishes
Using Chicken
When most
people complete their grocery shopping, they keep a list of items handy to
purchase. One of the most commonly purchased protein items is chicken; chicken
breasts, chicken thighs and sometimes whole chickens. Without cooking chicken
in a variety of ways, it can become somewhat
mundane over time.
Consider the cooking
ideas listed below to spice up
your usage of the traditional staple, chicken.
Roast Chicken
The easiest thing to do with
a whole chicken is to roast it. Some people shy away from roasting chicken as they perceive
the process to be too challenging.
But, with some simple tips,
you can begin to roast a
beautiful chicken for dinner.
Begin by placing
your chicken into a roasting pan. Toss in about two cups of chopped vegetables, choosing
whichever vegetables are your favorites. Some vegetable ideas include
carrots, potatoes, squash, parsnips or celery. Spice to taste and set your oven
to roast. You have just created a simple meal that is both filing and healthy.
Chicken Pieces
Chicken
breasts are great for a variety of recipes. One of the best things to do with
chicken breasts is to dice them up when they are still half frozen. This way
you have a nice easy time cutting them up into bite size pieces, and then you
can just toss them into a pan with some garlic and a little oil to sauté. Then, boil some noodles until al dente.
Toss the chicken and the
pasta together with a jar of Alfredo
sauce, or any tomato based sauce and serve. This chicken
recipe is as easy as spaghetti.
Barbeque Chicken Legs
When it comes
to chicken legs, one of the easiest recipe ideas is to line a baking pan with
foil for easy clean up. Lay the
chicken thighs down in rows and then pour a bit of barbeque sauce over them. Choose whichever barbeque flavoring you prefer.
This recipe is a really
easy meal to create in any volume and it goes great
with just about any side dish that you can imagine. For example, you could add
potato salad, Mac n’ cheese or fruit salad to your chicken tights to complete
your meal.
Some of these are even as simple to do with other cutlets of chicken
such as thighs or wings as well, but keep in mind that they
would require more effort to have them come out right.
The Art Of A South Western
Burrito
Southwest cooking
has often been described as earthy and full of spirit, with a character that is complex yet
achieved with only a few simple ingredients.
Some of the more common ingredients that are considered to be south
western include beans, corn, tomatoes, chillis, avocados, and squash. You can combine all of these ingredients
together in a satisfying and great tasting meal that features the tortilla.
The simple concept of filling a tortilla with savoury ingredients and rolling it up is native to
Sonora, found in the north west of
Mexico. Experiment with chicken, beef,
and beans as fillings.
Tortillas are a tasty on their own and make a great wrap. In Mexico the tortilla is usually used
much like an eating utensil. You’ll
find tortillas easily enough in
your local grocery store and find they come in different varieties for
all palates such as whole grain, corn, or ones made without hydrogenated oils.
You’ll want to
serve salsa with your burrito to give it that added zing. In past years, salsa has replaced ketchup
as the favourite condiment. There are
countless commercial salsas available at the grocery
store. However, nothing
can compare to making your own
fresh salsa in your own kitchen. Try mingling the flavours together in a
unique salsa by combining avocado, jicama, celery, red peppers, lime juice, and
garlic. This salsa makes a great
accompaniment to any burrito.
Along with the
salsa, serve a south western potato salad alongside the burrito. Use a waxy variety of potato that has a thin skin and
won’t fall apart once cooked. Slice up
the potatoes and combine in a bowl with cooked fresh
corn cut off the cob, onions, garlic, a bit of mayonnaise, lime juice, and
cilantro.
South western
cuisine doesn’t have to be hot and spicy. You
can use mild chillis to add a distinctive flavour to any dish without
overpowering it with too much heat. Try
roasting the chilli’s to intensify
the flavour even further. Or use chilli’s
found in the grocery store, such as whole canned green chilli’s or whole
fire roasted red and green chillies.
At the end of the meal serve
a light dessert
that won’t take away from the warm
sensation your stomach will be
experiencing after the burrito, salsa,
and potato salad.
Fruit sprinkled with a bit of pineapple juice and sugar makes a
nice ending.
Enjoy the many tastes of south western cooking by starting with the simplicity and great taste of
the burrito.
Beef Bourguignon: the Old Favorite
That is Making a Comeback!
There are few
people that could not help but love the old French favorite of beef
bourguignon. Originally, it was exceptionally popular in the sixties and seventies. Unfortunately, the recipe for this perfect dish was placed on the
top shelves, out of reach for many decades, but now it is making a great big
come back. So, your friends can just refrain from turning their noses up, if
you choose to present this as your entrée, during a dinner party. It is
official; beef bourguignon is now back in fashion.
So, let’s get cracking
on this perfect
dish!
First of all, you
should dice 2lb or 900g of braising
beef into large chunks. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a frying
pan and then add the beef, cooking
for around 5 minutes or until the meat
has been browned enough. Place the meat into the main pan that you are going to
be cooking with.
Dice a medium
onion and gently brown these in the oil. Add to the main pan and add 1
tablespoon of flour, which you should introduce slowly to the mixture to absorb
all of the juices. Gradually pour in around 425ml or just short of a pint of
red wine and ensure that you stir the mixture
continually, when doing so. For seasoning, add 2 cloves of chopped
garlic, some thyme, a
bay leaf and, of course,
some salt and cracked black
pepper. You should
then cook for around
two hours on a low simmering heat, either on your hob, or in a casserole dish.
Next, take 12oz
or 350g of peeled shallots and dice around 8oz or 225g of bacon into strips.
Brown these in olive oil until they reach a light colour. Finally, you should
chop 4oz or 110g of dark-gilled mushroom. Add all of these ingredients to your main pan and cook for a further one hour.
Once your beef bourguignon is ready, it is ideal to serve this with charlotte potatoes or small new potatoes with vine roasted
cherry tomatoes on the side.
It is not as
complicated to make beef bourguignon as you may have thought. Moreover, it is a
really tasty dish that will be enjoyed by most people. So as not to have too much of an overdose
of red wine, beef bourguignon would be very well served by a nicely chilled
bottle of rose wine.
Thai Cuisine: A Fusion of Exciting Regional
Flavors.
Thai cuisine
really does incorporate the very best of the foods that are available on their
own doorstep, plus the best flavors from neighboring countries. There are a
large number of vegetables available to the Thai cook and many of these grow
locally and would be freely available. Thai cuisine cleverly uses meats that
are accessible at certain times of the year and the traditional dishes are adapted accordingly. Fish would be one of the most popular additions to meals as this would tend to
be more widely available at any time of the year.
When people
consider Thai cuisine,
their minds often
begin to think
about the addition
of certain herbs and spices,
which are synonymous with this type of food. Some of the most popular examples
include lime juice, lemon grass, ginger, coconut milk and fresh coriander.
The Thai people
can thank India for the introduction of coconut milk into many of their dishes,
especially desserts, and China for the way a number
of dishes are now fried.
Fried rice noodles being a very good example.
The Thais really do take cooking
very seriously. They always try to ensure that there is a perfect mix of flavor, within any of the
dishes that are prepared. Often, this can lead to a dish having a combined
sweet and sour mixture of tastes. Many Thai soups tend to follow this trend.
Some popular
examples of Thai soups are Tom Yam Kung, which is a spicy soup with lime juice,
lemon grass, mushrooms and shrimps.
Tom Khaa gai, which is a soup with galangal
root, chicken feet and coconut milk. Kaeng Som is a soup that may be
considered to be the Thai national dish, as it is served in slightly varying
adaptations across the country.
Shrimps often
appear in Thai main dishes and will regularly be mixed in with other meats,
such as chicken and beef. Khao phat includes
fried rice and shrimps with either beef, pork or chicken.
Other popular
entrées include khao man gai which is sliced boiled chicken over marinated
rice. Khao no phet is roast duck over rice and laat naa is rice noodles, meat and vegetables in a thick
gravy sauce.
For fans of
curried dishes, Thailand has not escaped the regional influences from India and
China and they have a number of their own unique choices. Gaengmus sa man is a
rich and spicy curry with beef or chicken. Gaeng khiaw waan is a curry that is more in keeping
with what you would expect
from Thai cuisine. It is a sweet green curry with coconut milk, shrimps and
either chicken or beef.
Thailand has
quite cleverly taken the best regional ingredients that are available to them
and adapted them to become
a unique style of food which they can be and are extremely proud
of. As Thai cuisine
is becoming increasingly popular, the sampling
of one or two of their traditional dishes. We will soon reveal
the reason why.
Why Not Sample the Delights
of Viennese Cuisine?
It would be very fair to state
that Viennese cuisine does not get the attention of food critics as much as it
should. Austrian food, generally, is extremely wholesome and always includes a
combination of top ingredients to create some truly scrumptious dishes. Most
people would probably have already
heard of apple strudel and possibly even wiener schnitzel, but they would not tend to be that familiar with
Viennese cuisine as a whole. Everything is mentioned about Italian and French
cuisine, but poor Austria seems to take a bit of a back seat. Is this fair,
when they have such gorgeously unique food to offer?
Viennese cuisine
has seen most of its influence come from the old Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Modern day Hungarian and Austrian
dishes are not too dissimilar, with the well known
goulash hotpots featuring as one of each country’s national dishes. Influences
have also come from other neighboring countries, and it is believed that wiener
schnitzel itself, may have originated from Milan in Italy, during the 15th
or 16th centuries.
As Austria can
have a notoriously cold alpine climate, it is common for a main meal to start
off with a steaming bowl of hot soup. A very
popular soup in Austria will seem, at first glance, to be an ordinary
hearty chicken noodle soup. However,
closer inspection of the noodles
would reveal that they are
actually strips of pancakes. Sounds strange, but this really does work.
Wiener schnitzel
does remain as a popular dish in Austria, although
it would tend to be made of either pork or turkey now, rather than
the more traditional veal. The dish is flattened and seasoned meat, wrapped in
breadcrumbs and is ideal when served with a squirt of fresh lemon juice.
Austrian Gulasch
is very similar to the paprika seasoned Hungarian goulash and other popular
savory dishes include tafelspitz, which is boiled beef served with apple and horseradish sauces. For the more adventurous, and you would need to be
exceptionally brave for this one, you may like to sample beuschel, which is a
ragout made of calf lungs and heart.
Viennese cuisine
is probably best known internationally for their excellent desserts. Apple
strudel is a popular choice
in many countries, as the apple, cinnamon and raisins, wrapped
in thin pastry is such a simple, but delicious idea for a sweet.
Sachertorte is equally popular in Austria and is an apricot filled chocolate
cake that is far more complicated to make than the strudel. People generally
tend to enjoy this in cafés or purchase it from a shop now, as they have less
time in their more hectic lives. This chocolate cake is often served with
whipped cream and this is perfect to accompany the richness of the cake.
So, here’s
to good old fashioned Austrian
cuisine. Let us not keep it quite so understated in the future!
Mexican Cuisine: A Multi Colored
Feast.
When people
think of Mexican food, tortillas, nachos and tomato based sauces immediately
spring to mind. However, much like the country
itself, the traditional foods offer a carnival like fusion of colors and tastes, thanks
to the inclusion of many strong and spicy traditional ingredients.
Like so many dishes,
the ingredients used vary from region to region. The north of Mexico tends to favor meat based menus, to
include beef, goat, even ostrich! The central region is more varied and
influenced by the surrounding areas. Chicken proves to be a popular choice,
along with the more specialized carnitas, made from braised pork, and menudo, a
spicy tripe soup.
The south east region, particularly the coast of the Yucatan peninsula,
has a more Caribbean influence. Often sweeter dishes invariably containing
seafood, spicy chicken, pineapple or chocolate, the most necessary
ingredient in mole sauce. Ceviche,
a raw fish marinated in lime,
or huachinango, red snapper are popular fish choices here. Pollo pibil is a
real Yucatan specialty. This consists of chicken marinated in orange
with spices, barbecued and traditionally served in locally sourced
banana leaves.
The basis of so many of the traditional menus will inevitably include tomatoes, chilies,
garlic and onion. Put these
ingredients together with your choice of meat, fish, cheese, beans or
vegetables. These may be used to fill
a tortilla, a thin flat bread made traditionally from maize or
alternatively wheat flour. Enchiladas consist of baked, folded tortilla, coated
in tomato and chili sauce, stuffed with meat or vegetables. Chiles renellos are
large chilies stuffed with spicy meat and cheese, great served with rice and
fresh salad.
Other options
are tacos, a crispy fried tortilla which folds around your choice of filling,
making them a versatile snack to eat from your hand, when on the move. These
can then be accompanied by jalapenos
or guacamole and topped with melted cheese,
washed down with a Mexican beer, such as Corona or
Sol, or perhaps a tequila based margarita.
No traditional
Mexican meal would be complete without a delicious desert. The most popular
choices are tres leches, a moist cake, or platanos machos, fried spicy bananas
covered with sour cream. Desert enchiladas, a rich sweet version of the traditional enchilada where the meat
filling is replaced by fresh fruit, baked and covered in chocolate laced with
cinnamon.
In terms
of diversity in using local ingredients, Mexican
food must be applauded for its
imagination in both creating and displaying its dishes, which reflect the
culture of this remarkable country.
Christmas Lunch: The Traditionally British
Way.
The one thing
that most Christian societies worldwide really take seriously is the
traditional Christmas meal, which is avidly
looked forward to each year. This is the one excuse for all of the
family to get together and enjoy each other’s company and some good celebratory
food and drink. The UK is no exception to this and when it comes to the
Christmas lunch, everything will be done to ensure that the prepared meal will
have been worth the year long wait.
Because so much emphasis is placed on the main course and dessert, it is less common for the
British to partake in a starter
or first course. Those that do, would probably be inclined
to restrict this to a light bowl of
soup with a small amount of bread.
The British tend
to pull out all of the stops for the main course. Often the turkey is cleaned,
stuffed and prepared on Christmas Eve. The designated cook will wake up early
on Christmas Morning to begin
roasting the turkey in the oven. The turkey usually has rashers of streaky
bacon lined along the top of the bird, to provide some extra basting fat during
the cooking process.
The British
absolutely love their roast potatoes and quite often, the way that these have
been cooked, will be the deciding judgment on whether the cook has done a good
job with the meal generally. There is a lot of hype about using goose fat to
create the best ‘roasties’, but often butter
will do just as well.
The potatoes should
be part-boiled, drained,
tossed and then added to the hot melted butter to roast slowly
with the bird. More so in the English Midlands, mashed potatoes may also be
served alongside the roast potatoes, but never instead of.
The most
traditional vegetable to serve with the British Christmas lunch is definitely
Brussels Sprouts. Even if some people may not be particularly keen on them,
they will still tend to find a small pile gracing
their plate. Carrots
mashed with broccoli
florets, cauliflower, garden
peas and cabbage are all other
popular vegetable choices.
The main meal
would not be complete without all of the traditional trimmings that are
expected alongside. A breadcrumbs and herb stuffing mix must be included. In
recent years, most households would now opt not to actually stuff the bird with
this mix and tend to prepare it separately instead. Small chipolata sausages
are also very popular and these are often wrapped in streaky bacon. The gravy has to be made using all of the vegetable and meat juices, to maximize the gorgeous flavour
when it is smothered over such a delicious roast.
When people
have managed to find enough
space, which is usually during
the Queen’s Speech at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the
traditional Christmas pudding
is served. This is a very rich and fruity pudding, often laced with
your favorite alcoholic liquor. Brandy sauce, custard or cream accompany this
pudding usually, but by far the best way to round it off, is with a large
dollop of thick Westcountry clotted cream.
America, Ireland and other countries
all have a similar way of preparing
their Christmas meals. But for that perfect traditional
roast turkey Christmas meal, this is the way that things are done in Britain.
Greek Cuisine : Tastes From the Tavernas
When thinking
of Greek food, Moussaka must be the first dish that would spring to most
people’s mind, understandable as it is officially the national dish. This is a
layered casserole type dish, made from ground lean beef mixed with beaten eggs,
milk onion cheese and seasoning, traditionally topped with sliced eggplant, though
this may be substituted by potato.
Another highly
enjoyable dish is Kleftiko, which in Greek translates as stolen meat. This stems from the legend where the dish is
made from a lamb stolen from an unsuspecting shepherd’s flock. To avoid
detection, the meat would then be cooked in a hole in the ground, sealed with
mud, to avoid the thief being given away by steam. In modern day cooking methods
the hole in the ground is fortunately substituted
with paper packaging, in which a shoulder cut of lamb is added to garlic, lemon
juice and the inevitable olive oil.
Souvlaki is a much lighter
meal , consisting of a choice of meat, for example chicken,
lamb or even swordfish or
shrimp, marinated with oil, lemon and oregano. This is then cooked on a skewer,
the literal translation, and served with rice and fresh vegetables or salad.
The fried
meatball dish Keftedes
is another popular choice, along with Stifado,
which is a game
stew cooked in red wine sauce with onion and cinnamon. Delicious served with
Psomi, a traditional Greek bread.
No traditional
meal is complete without the accompaniment of appetizers, sides, dessert and of
course drink. Meze is the collective name for a selection of small appetizers,
such as calamari, fried squid, or alternatively Greek
salad or tiganita,
which is fried vegetables such as courgettes, mushrooms, egg plant or
peppers, often served with a yoghurt dip.
For dessert,
baklava is readily
available. These are light pastry
layers filled with nuts and syrup, or
karidopita, walnut cake. Children will enjoy traditional Greek cookies,
koulouraki, made from butter or olive oil.
The most readily identifiable Greek cheese would
be feta, a white cheese
made from a blend of goat and sheep’s milk. Other popular
cheeses, often not readily available outside Greece, are kasseri and graviera.
All good meals
should be washed down by a traditional drink, such as retsina white wine, an
unfiltered frappe coffee. For those really looking to let their hair down,
there is of course the eighty per cent proof Ouzo, best drunk
with caution, or of course
an ordinary beer for the less
adventurous!
Experience Sunny Bajan Delicacies
The island
nation of Barbados
seems to have been successful in capturing the best examples
of neighboring cuisine styles, along with keeping hold of the
traditional influences from Africa and England, in the past. When you put these
factors together, you come up with the Bajan style of cuisine, which should be
celebrated for being a very unique example of food from the Caribbean.
Fish is extremely important, within the Bajan’s diet, as it is so readily available
throughout the Caribbean.
Bajan cooking does also include meats such as pork and chicken though.
It is fair to
state that all Caribbean islands have a particular choice of seasoning that
they like to put in with their food. For example,
Jamaica is World
famous for its ’jerk’ seasoning. Barbados is no exception and whilst the jerk style
of seasoning can be found on the island, Bajan food tends to have a more unique style
of its own. Thyme, marjoram, green onions and parsley are some of the herbal ingredients, which are
favored on the island.
The national
dish of Barbados is widely accepted to be flying fish with cou cou. This is
quite a simple recipe which makes good use of a species of fish that are abundant throughout the local warm
waters. The dish consists of fried flying fish and the cou cou is a combination of cornmeal, okra,
salt, peppers and seasoning, which are all made into a mash.
Other popular Bajan dishes include ’pie and fish’ which is a type of
macaroni cheese pie, again
served with the ever popular flying fish. ’Rice and peas’ is Bajan black
eyed peas simply
served with rice and Bajan candied sweet potatoes are made with plenty of locally grown
brown sugar, which can be fried or even mashed.
For something
sweet, fried plantains are very popular.
These are similar
to sweet bananas
and are deep fried and coated with cinnamon. ‘Conkies’ are a mixture of
cornmeal, coconut, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and corn flour, which are all served
in a banana leaf. These are particularly popular in November, when the Bajans
celebrate their independence.
There would appear to be a number of myths
about the food that you will
find on Barbados. A lot of
people automatically presume that it will be too hot and spicy, like some other
Caribbean national dishes. Whilst
hot food would
be available to you,
this does not provide a good example of overall Bajan food and you
would tend to find that this is quite far from the truth.
A Steaming Hot Bowl of Irish Stew:
the Real Winter Warmer!
There is nothing
better, during those long
and cold winter nights, than to settle yourself
down to a hearty bowl of steaming Irish stew. This traditional and rustic Irish
favorite, really will take the chill out of your bones and make you feel as
though you will have a good source of central heating for any cold night that may lie ahead. This exceptionally tasty meal is easy to make and will be a hit with all members of your
family.
To get started, chop 4 medium potatoes into
four pieces each. Then roughly chop 4 medium carrots and 2 medium
onions. It is advisable to cut the chunks quite large,
as this adds to the dish’s rusticity.
Next, dice about
1lb (454g) of lamb and fry in a pan for about five minutes to seal in the
juices and lightly brown
the meat. Add the meat to a casserole dish and add the chopped
vegetables, but not the potatoes at this stage. Pour over about 450ml of
lamb stock, which can be very simply made by adding two lamb stock
cubes to this amount of water. Alternatively, if you have been using
the meat from a bone, you can use the bones to create a really tasty stock.
Place the potatoes
on top of all the other ingredients to ensure that they are cooked through steaming.
For the seasoning, you should
then add 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped
parsley, some fresh thyme, one tablespoon of pearl barley, which is essential for the Irish stew theme, 2 shakes of Worcestershire sauce and some salt and
pepper.
Place in the
oven and cook for about 1¾ hours at around 160 degrees Celsius. About half way
through this cooking time, you should prepare a roux, which will
help to thicken the gravy in the
stew and give it a much more hearty consistency. Take 50g butter and 50g flour,
mix them in together and cook in a saucepan. Add some of the stock, from the
half cooked stew, and stir this in with the roux, cooking it in the saucepan.
Be careful not to allow the roux to get stuck to the bottom of the pan. Then,
simply add this back into the casserole dish for a thicker
and more appetizing Irish stew.
Once the stew has cooked for the correct
amount of time, all you have
to do is to serve it on to
warmed plates and then really tuck in and enjoy it.
Warming the Cockles
With Spicy Mulled Wine.
Nothing takes
off the chill of a cold winter’s evening more than the delightfully spicy aroma
of mulled wine cooking on the stove. This popular winter warmer is present in
many European cultures, but they all tend to follow the same sort of
ingredients and cooking methods. Mulled wine has been around for centuries and
is still just as popular today, especially around Christmas time, as it has ever been. If you follow
these simple directions, you too can enjoy the very civil sociability of sharing
steaming hot glasses of spicy mulled wine with your friends and family.
For a large batch,
which will be more than enough
to share around,
you should take two bottles of red wine. Apparently,
country wines tend to be better
than commercially available wines. For example, wines that
have hints of bilberry, damson, blackberries and black plums make excellent
choices.
Next, you need
to take four small oranges and insert four cloves into three of them. With the
fourth orange, grate the peel and keep it to one side. Squeeze the juice and
add this to a cup. Grate the peel from a lemon
and keep to one side, squeeze
the juice and add this to the cup of
orange juice.
Add the contents
of the cup, along with the
three other oranges,
to a pan. Add two, three inch long cinnamon sticks to the pan. Also add some fennel and
aniseed for a more spicy tasting wine.
Pour the two
bottles of red wine into the pan and heat gently to around 140 degrees
Fahrenheit or 60 degrees
Celsius. It is essential
that you do not allow the contents of the pan to boil, as this will cook off the alcoholic content
of the mulled wine.
Finally, you should
add the fruit peels, which
you should have placed to one side earlier. If the
wine is too bitter for you, at this point either add sugar or some honey,
according to your own preference. Make sure you keep stirring it.
You are now ready to serve it to your
friends and family. It is often a good idea to warm
some glasses before hand, so that the heat of the mulled wine remains for
longer. But this is up to you.
Spicy mulled
wine is usually a hit with most people and is especially popular at Christmas
parties. It makes a perfect
alternative to punch
and fills the air with such a delightfully cheerful aroma. As it is so easy to make,
why not try making your own batch?
Sensational Summer Pudding!
A lot of
people take one look at summer pudding and automatically presume that this
dessert is going to be quite complicated to make. This could not be further
from the truth. Summer pudding is an easy treat to make and will guarantee a
splendidly refreshing ending to any summer meal. What is more, it will make
the most of the summer
berries, when they have come
in to season.
In order to
create your own summer pudding, take a 1½ pint pudding basin bowl and butter
the insider all around. Place 8oz or 225g of redcurrants, 1 lb or 450g of raspberries and 4oz or 110g
of blackcurrants into a saucepan
with 5oz or 150g of caster sugar. Heat the ingredients just long
enough for the sugar to have been dissolved and for the fruit to start exuding
some of its juices.
Line the pudding bowl with pieces of good quality sliced
white bread. You should ensure
that the whole bowl has been
lined and that there are no holes to
be found. Next, set about half a cup of the berry mixture to one side and
pour the remainder into the pudding bowl. Take some more white bread and place
over the top of the mixture. Again, ensure that there are absolutely no holes.
Place the
pudding into the refrigerator for the night, so that it will set. When you are
ready to serve the pudding, simply remove it from the pudding basin, on to a
large enough plate and pour over the remaining berry juices that you are kept
to one side the day before. This way, if there are any last remaining white bread areas,
the mixture will cover them to give them an all
over classical red color.
It is most ideal to serve summer pudding with lashings of thick cream. If you can get hold of some Cornish
clotted cream, so much the better, as this will take away the sharpness
of the pudding and provide an
excellent accompaniment.
Summer pudding
is best enjoyed al fresco and when shared with friends or family. A nice and fruity rose wine will round the
pudding off perfectly.
So, as you can
see, summer pudding is far from being as complicated as you may have once
thought. Try making it yourself, the next time you are able to lay your hands
on these summer berries and let other people
think that you have spent hours creating
a complex master
piece for dessert.
Unique Dinner
Party Themes
When most people
throw dinner parties, they tend to focus on one main theme, usually around a holiday
or special event.
While those are the most common concepts
in the way of themes for dinner parties, they are not the only
ones available. If you want your party to be a bit more memorable than others,
a unique theme is great option.
Most people are
more focused on the theme of the party and the festivities than on the menu.
But, if you are looking for a common,
basic theme to begin building
around for your menu, steak or chicken are great options.
At the same time don’t forget that you can involve the menu in your
theme of your party and in fact, it is often fun to do so.
If you are
throwing your party in July, you could do a Christmas in July theme. This could
involve having your fourth of July party be a great backdrop
for a secret Santa at the end of the night. With a simple twist of colors,
from red, white, blue and green, your party could serve for both holiday
themes.
Some ideas to
include in your party may be some
great candy cane cocktails or sugar
cookie ice cream sandwiches. At the same time you could reverse the aspects of
this party of Christmas in July and use all of the summer decorations. For
example, you could have as a backdrop traditional summer
icons while dressing
in a sunny dress. Keep the cocktails
simple such as beer and tea and you’ve got summer twice this year. Don’t
forget the bar-b-q!
A black
tie event is not something everyone gets to attend within
their lifetime. So if this seems
a bit out of the ordinary for your crowd, then this is the perfect theme party
for you to throw.
Everyone can
wear their best dresses and suits and walk down the red carpet to your door. If
you want to spring for a “paparazzi” to flash a few shots as the guests arrive,
it’s sure to bring
a smile to those arriving.
Keep in mind that the menu could be heavily influenced here as well. Keeping things simple is out of the question here so play it up
with all the glitz you can handle. Also keep in mind that people will be wearing
their best clothing so I’d stick to white wine or champagne. Also keep a
few emergency clean up kits hidden just in case.
Tips For Christmas Cooking
Christmas is one
of the biggest holidays of the year, a holiday where food becomes extremely
important in homes around the world. It can also be the time of year when many people
stress over what to serve and how to prepare everything they want to serve! Following are some tips that can
help you stay sane during the holiday season.
Christmas
wouldn’t be complete without all that homemade Christmas baking. Many people have traditional family baking
goodies that they make every year. However,
it can be overwhelming if you decide to do all of your baking in one day. Try to plan your baking time across more
than one day. Choose recipes that
aren’t too complicated or you’ll soon grow frustrated as you try to get them all done before
the holidays. Get your
kids involved if you can, but give them tasks they can perform
that match their skill level. A great
tip when it comes to holiday baking is get all of your shopping done at least a
day or two before you plan to bake.
This way you’ll have everything on hand before
you start.
Perhaps the most
important meal during the holidays is Christmas Day dinner. There are so many options when it comes to Christmas dinner,
whether you stick with the traditional turkey
or branch out and try something
new, such as cooking an ethnic dish
from your heritage. If you’re cooking
for a large crowd don’t feel shy about asking
some of your guests to bring
over some of the side dishes or dessert.
If you try to do it all you’ll surely find yourself far too stressed out
to enjoy the day. A great idea is to have some people prepare one of their
own family traditions to share at
the table.
It seems like every day during
the holidays is filled
with cooking and food. All leading
up to the finale of the
season, New Year’s Eve. Consider keeping things simple this year
so you can sit back and enjoy the ending to the year. If you’re having guests over you can still focus on festivity
without making things complicated for yourself. Prepare easy appetizers such as homemade dip, chicken skewers,
mini quiches, and bacon wrapped scallops. Another
great food choice for New Year’s
Eve is a fondue. Although a bit more complicated than appetizers,
you can still keep it simple by serving a cheese fondue followed by a chocolate
one.
No matter
what you decide to bake, cook, and serve
this holiday season,
make sure you take
the time to sit back and enjoy what you’ve prepared!
Vegan Alternative Main Dishes
A lot of people
in today’s world
have chosen an alternative eating
style. Whether it’s vegetarian or vegan, they are both a
little hard to find meals to prepare at home. Generally speaking, vegetarian is
easier to find and prepare options that a vegan lifestyle.
If you’re a
vegetarian, you have the option to
consumer dairy and eggs, which are
both around in large quantities. But if you are a vegan, your diet
is completely free of all animal products; no dairy or eggs. This is where it gets a bit tricky for
someone not used to prepare food for consumption as a vegan. For example, if
you prepare cookies, you may think that they are harmless. But, they typically
contain butter or eggs.
Green Beans
The main
thing to start with when making a vegan alternative is to start out with the
right ingredients. This could be just about anything, but for now we will talk
about green beans. I know that they are usually a
side dish, but for this purpose
they can be a main dish. You can
spice them up with a little bit of almond butter and a vegan pastry. You can
also make little bundles of pastry filled with green beans, some herbs and a
little pat of almond butter and you’ve got a dish called money bags.
Tofu
Something else to keep in mind when preparing vegan dishes is tofu. This is usually
easy to come by, with most
grocers carrying the item in their produce section. There are several
different types of
tofu, from silken
to firm. And, the textures
range from very soft and creamy to firm like a block of hard cheese.
They also make tofu in plain and other flavors, but you don’t need to worry
if you can only find plain.
Tofu picks up flavors and holds on very well, usually in only a few minutes and
you can cook using about any technique possible. The most important
thing to keep in consideration is the texture of tofu. Make sure that its texture agrees with
the dish that you are preparing.
Tofu spaghetti
is a great dish to make that’s very easy. As a matter of fact, you can take
just about any dish and substitute the meat with tofu. To prepare tofu
spaghetti, start out by chopping the firm tofu into the sizes you want. Then,
sauté the tofu pieces with a little bit of tomato sauce and a chopped bell pepper. After a few minutes when the tofu is stained
red, you can add the rest of
the sauce and continue to simmer until fully warmed.
How To Keep a Well Stocked
Bar
Most
everyone knows that for any big party you will want a well stocked bar so that
you can entertain your guests. Whether it’s as simple as a large variety of
wines, or as complex as a mixer for every drink
you can think
of, you will want to make sure you
have a decent supply as well as the right equipment.
When it comes to
cocktails, it’s always best to keep a very basic list on hand since most
cocktails are made of just basic liquor and a mixer. Bourbon, rum, scotch,
whiskey, and vodka are usually your best options when it comes to having a nice
list, but at the same time a lot of drinks have undertones of some of the less
versatile drinks such as amaretto, grand mariner, triple sec, vermouth and even Irish
crème liqueur. Sometimes
you will even run into drink
where these undertones are the base instead.
The next
important thing when it comes to the actual drinks is to have a good stock of
mixers. These are almost
always cheaper than the liquor
itself and have a large
variety to choose
from. With flavors such as appltini and strawberry margarita, it’s the
best thing to have in order to round out a shallow liquor stock.
Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure that you have
plenty of the right garnishes for the drinks you
plan on serving. Some garnishes are almost a required staple, such as celery
and olives, as well as mint and cocktail onions.
Surprisingly a large amount of drinks can be made either on the rocks or blended, which means that
a blender will be a wise choice
to have on hand as well
as an easy to use bottle opener and a variety of cocktail
glasses. Other equipment to keep on hand would be
coasters, which can be as simple as cocktail
napkins, or as complex as engraved
silver disks. Also a sink and bar towel
are good to have close by so you can clean up spills and glasses when needed.
If you don’t want or
can’t afford to have a large
variety of drinks on hand then
you can also keep a menu type board posted above the
bar so that everyone knows what type of drinks you have
the ability to
make. Another thing to consider is to make it a drink themed bar. You could use
anything from a wine bar to a martini bar, which would
significantly cut down your supply list and you could
just stock up on a good list of mixers for the different flavors.
0 Comments