Boozy popsicles - Dairy Foods

{Photo credits: Bakers Royale}

Homemade popsicles with a bit of booze sound like a really good idea, don't they? I'm going to give these a try for my Hoedown BBQ on Sunday. 

Recipes:
Honeydew cucumber margarita popsicles
Blackberry prosecco popsicle

Spicy grapefruit margarita - Dairy Foods

{Photo credit: Bon Appetit}

I am a huge fan of margaritas.  I especially love sipping them on patio on a nice, summer day.  So when I saw this one in the latest issue of Bon Appetit magazine I was intrigued, habanero chiles in margaritas? 

What do you think, yes or no? 

Spicy grapefruit margarita (recipe from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons tequila
1-2 habanero chiles, halved
Kosher salt
6 cups fresh pink grapefruit juice

Preparation

Mix tequila and chiles in a large pitcher. Let steep 3 hours, or longer if a spicier tequila is desired. Discard chiles. Cover; chill.

Pour enough water onto a small plate to cover. Pour enough salt onto another small plate to cover by 1/4". Dip rims of eight 12-ounce. glasses into water, then into salt to lightly coat; fill with ice. Add grapefruit juice to pitcher with tequila. Fill with ice; stir until cold. Divide drink among glasses.

White sangria - Dairy Foods

Yummy...an ice cold, fruit-filled glass of sangria is a perfect summery drink, great for BBQs.  I love making a big batch in a pitcher, it's pretty and delish.

White Sangria (recipe adapted from Real Simple)

Ingredients

6 cups Sauvignon Blanc
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 cup white grape juice
1 orange, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 cup white grapes, skewered on a toothpick
1 cup club soda

Preparation

In a large pitcher or other container, combine the wine and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients, excluding the club soda, and mix well.

Place the pitcher in the refrigerator and let the sangria sit for at least 1 hour (and up to 4 hours). The sangria will sweeten with time, so the longer it sits, the better.

Just before serving, stir in the club soda and ice cubes.

Scotch. Bacon. And other manly things. - Dairy Foods

Erik and I had an awesome, long weekend.  One of my favorite events was a BBQ with our good friends Kiefer and Diane.  Diane and I drank cocktails, the boys had scotch and I tested a new, very easy appetizer recipe (bacon-wrapped lil' smokies, Erik's idea!).

Kiefer was a natural in front of the camera.
Quick back story.  Diane and I became friends through work.  Diane met Kiefer (one of Erik's best friends) and they immediately hit it off.  Unfortunately, Diane had plans to move to NYC shortly after they began dating.  So now they're seeing each other long distance, but it's working well.  We love hanging with them when Diane is visiting MN. Kiefer is potentially moving out to NYC so they can be together but Erik and I secretly (or not-so-secretly) hope they eventually settle in MN so we can have hundreds more BBQs like ths one.

Diane made Palomas, these were refreshing and perfect for sipping on a patio. 

Palomas

Ingredients

3 oz fresh grapefruit juice
3 oz club soda
2 oz silver tequila
Lime juice (from half a lime)
1 teaspoon agave nectar

Preparation

Mix all ingredients and pour into a glass with ice. 
Villeroy and Boch sent me these awesome scotch glasses and Erik was THRILLED.  We decided to do a "manly" post and I asked him to think of appetizer idea.  He said anything wrapped in bacon would suffice but we wanted to try something new. We've had bacon-wrapped shrimp, bacon-wrapped chesnuts, bacon-wrapped scallops, etc.  So he thought of lil' smokies.  GENIUS. 

Ok so bacon-wrapped lil' smokies don't really pair well with scotch but the scotch drinking happened before dinner.  The guys loved the glasses and the scotch. They would be a great Father's Day or birthday gift for the dudes in your life. 
Can you believe how cooperative they were with my annoying blog antics and all the picture-taking?  I suppose since they got bacon and scotch out of the deal they were fine with it.

It was Erik's idea to drizzle BBQ sauce over the smokies.  

Bacon-wrapped lil' smokies

Ingredients

1 package bacon
1 package lil' smokies
BBQ sauce
toothpicks

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Cut the bacon in half. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and coat with cooking spray.  Wrap each smokie with half a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.  Bake for about 45 minutes or until the bacon is cooked to your liking.  Dip in BBQ sauce.

Disclosure: the scotch glasses were given to me by Villeroy and Boch, but the opinions expressed are my own.

Wine country - Dairy Foods

The wine country bachelorette party can only be described in one word.

Perfect.

The weekend in pictures...


The view outside the deck of our rented villa. 

The pool was an oasis and the weather was so beautiful.  We spent a lot of time out here. 












We had a private wine tasting followed by a picnic at Cline vineyard. 





Domaine Carneros, a sparkling wine vineyard.


The sparkling wine tasting flight. 




Modeling the bling.


This Brut Rose was lovely.




The gorgeous bride to be.

Champagne Friday - Dairy Foods

I feel like celebrating simply because it's Friday...it has been a long week. What better way to celebrate then with one of these lovely champagne cocktails?

{Photo and recipe credits: Martha Stewart, recipes (from left to right): top row, red currant champagne cocktail, mandarin cocktail, semifreddo bellini. Bottom row: pear and cranberry belllini, classic champagne cocktail, frizzante mojito}

Eat Drink Pretty's blogiversary is next Friday (4/23). I have a fun project that I am working on and will announce on that day so stay tuned!!!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Easter dinner inspiration - Dairy Foods

{Photo credits and recipes: Cooking Light. Top row from left to right: tablescape, deviled eggs, strawberry layer cake. Bottom row: champagne limoncello cocktail, asparagus and spring greens, proscuitto melon bites}

I'm spending the Easter holiday with my husband's family in North Dakota. German food is served throughout the weekend and on Easter we'll have a pretty traditional meal with ham.

If I was hosting Easter I'd serve a spring-inspired meal with some of the elements pictured above. If you are still planning your Easter menu check out these recipes from Cooking Light. How gorgeous is that strawberry cake?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Champagne and sparkling wines - Dairy Foods

For those of you who read my blog (thank you so much, by the way) you know that I love champagne, sparkling wine and all types of sparkling/champagne cocktails. They taste amazing, bring out a spirit of celebration and are absolutely lovely-looking.

Check out this awesome post from The Kitchn (another great food blog I visit daily) about all things champagne and sparkling wine. It gives a nice history and offers a robust list of bubblies you should check out to ring in the New Year.

I think I will try out this Prosecco:

2008 Prosecco "Bellenda" Brut, $18 – A serious Prosecco. Pretty, floral with exotic fruit and persistent lively bubbles.

I love the description of "persistent lively bubles"!!!

{Photo credit: The Kitchn}

If you have a favorite champagne, sparkling wine or champagne cocktail, please share it with me! Send me an email to eatdrinkpretty at gmail dot com.

I will be posting over the holidays so please check back!

Very merry cranberry cooking class - Dairy Foods

If you love to cook and can't exactly afford to quit your day job and go to culinary school then Whole Foods cooking classes are the way to go. They only allow a small number of attendees so the classes are intimate and are led by their awesome culinary director, Ani Loizzo.

Last Wednesday I took a Very Merry Cranberry cooking class with friends/coworkers Maija and Brooke. We figured it would be perfect to have a few new, seasonally-appropriate recipes going into the holidays. The class was a lot of fun and best of all, you get to sample all the food throughout the class. And these classes are reasonably priced, this one was only $28 and ran an hour and a half.

Recipes at the end of the post.


These mock cosmopolitans were made with 100% cranberry juice and were a little too tart for my taste. I will probably add some symple syrup (equal parts water and sugar and boil until the sugar melts) when I make these. They are a perfect cocktail (or mocktail) for any upcoming holiday party.

Making cranberry sauce is so much easier than I thought. I always think of my sister, Kat, when I think of cranberries. She is the only one at Thanksgiving that really cares about cranberry sauce and loves it, even right out of the can. I will definitely make this homemade sauce for her next year.

Homemade scones! I'm not sure it gets much better than a warm scone right out of the oven. They were surprisingly easy to make and cranberries can be substituted for almost any fruit or even ham, cheddar and chives if you want a savory scone.

This salad was amazing, and easy! It was the perfect sweet and savory combination with the dried cranberries, cranberry vinaigrette and gorgonzola.

Now for the recipes (recipe credits to Whole Foods and Ani Loizzo):

Mock cosmopolitans

Ingredients

4 cups cranberry juice
2 cups club soda
Squeeze of fresh lime juice (1 lime per four cosmos)
Ice
Reserved lime peal, for garnish

Directions

Add cranberry juice to a pitcher and squeeze in the juice of one lime (remove peal first with a vegetable peeler). Top with club soda and stir. Pour into glasses filled with ice and garnish with lime peel. Serves 4.

Note, I would add vodka to the mix here!!! Set a bottle of vodka next to the pitcher and let people fill their own, to taste.

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Whole berry cranberry sauce

Ingredients
1 pound cranberries, about 4 cups
¼ cups EACH orange juice, water and sugar

Directions

Bring all ingredients to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 10-15 minutes. Either serve whole, mash and serve chunky or blend until smooth. Makes about 3 cups. Freeze leftover portions up to six months.

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Spinach salad with gorgonzola and cranberry vinaigrette

Ingredients

¼ cup each cranberries and balsamic vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon each sugar, Dijon mustard and chopped onion
12 cups baby spinach
4 slices pumpernickel bread, cubed and toasted
1 cup each gorgonzola, toasted walnuts, and dried cranberries (we used dried cranberries sweetened with apple juice)

Directions

In a food processor, combine cranberries, vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard and onion and pulse to puree. Slowly drizzle in oil until it forms a smooth emulsion. Add dressing to the bottom of a large mixing bowl and add dried cranberries and walnuts. Toss to coat. Serve topped with gorgonzola. Serves 6-8.

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Cranberry scones

Ingredients

1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Zest of two lemons
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) chilled butter, diced
1 cup dried cranberries
½ - 1 cup half and half

Direction

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and lemon zest. Add in chilled butter and mash with your fingertips to form a mixture that looks like bread crumbs. Mix in cranberries. Add 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, then add half and half until a soft dough forms. Divide dough in half. Pat each half into a six inch disk and cut into wedges with a pizza cutter. Arrange on a cookie sheet and brush with remaining lemon juice. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 18 minutes or until nicely browned. Makes 12 scones.

Pomegranate-rosemary royale - Dairy Foods

It is a snowy-mess outside right now in MN. I am dreaming of sitting in my living room with a blanket wrapped around me, candles-lit and sipping this lovely cocktail below. Instead, I am preparing to step outside into the blizzard to wait for the bus.

I love the idea of this drink because it is similar to a Kir Royale (which happens to be in my top 3 favorite drinks of all time) but with a twist. The rosemary garnish adds a unique touch.

Pomegrante-rosemary royale (recipe from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
2 cups Champagne or sparkling wine

Preparation

1. Combine 1/4 cup water and sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Add rosemary; let stand 30 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids.

2. Pour 2 tablespoons pomegranate juice and 1 tablespoon rosemary syrup into 4 Champagne glasses. Top each serving with 1/2 cup Champagne. Serve immediately.


{Photo credit: My Recipes / Cooking Light, Ellen Silverman}

Classic (homemade) eggnog - Dairy Foods

This recipe is very season-appropriate, though maybe not super appropriate for a Monday morning post. Oh well. Bookmark it for a holiday party or a festive brunch. I am definitely going to try this sometime within the next few weeks. I am a huge fan of eggnog, especially eggnog lattes or using eggnog in my coffee instead of cream. My best friend Amy LOVES Fa la la la lattes from Caribou. Everytime she gets one she calls and says, "I'm drinking a Fa la la la la la la latte!"

Classic eggnog (recipe from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

• 2 quarts whole milk
• 2 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
• 16 large egg yolks
• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 1/2 cup dark rum
• Freshly grated nutmeg, for sprinkling

Preparation

• Heat milk, sugar, and vanilla bean and seeds in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking until sugar has dissolved. Whisk yolks in a large bowl. Pour hot milk mixture into yolks in a slow, steady stream, whisking.

• Return milk-yolk mixture to pan, and cook over medium-low heat, whisking often, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes (do not let simmer). Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard bean. Whisk in cream, bourbon, and rum. Let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour (up to 1 day). Serve sprinkled with nutmeg.

{Photo credit: Martha Stewart}

Palomino's happy hour - Dairy Foods

I rediscovered Palomino's happy hour a couple weeks ago with a group of coworkers. I used to go to Palomino all the time when I first started working downtown Minneapolis. I remember drinking way too many cosmos and staying out too late on a weeknight. But hey, I was in my early 20's and that's the kind of stuff you can get away with at that age, right?

Fast forward a couple, er six years and I found myself back at Palomino, but this time I drank a beer and left at a reasonable hour.

The pretty drink below is a cranberry mojito (My coworker Amelia's drink of choice) and it was only $4. We also got a pepperoni pizza (all pizzas are only $5 during happy hour) and a platter with pita bread, roasted garlic, blue cheese and tomato chutney. That was half off and I believe it was only $6-$7ish. We had great service, the food was delish and the bar area had a cool vibe.

Happy hour is all day Sunday-Thursday, Friday and Saturday 4pm-6pm and 10pm to close. Check out the menu here.

Pretty pink cocktails - Dairy Foods

One blog I visit almost daily is the Hostess with the Mostess Blog, it is packed with great ideas for party planning, recipes and other entertaining tips. I had to pass along these fabulous, pretty pink cocktails that Jen (the Hostess blog writer) posted the other day. I haven't tried either recipe, but they look delish and also lovely. These would be great signature drinks for any bridal shower or birthday party.


PINK MARTINI

Ingredients:
2 oz good-quality gin (I would probably use vodka)
½ oz guava nectar
½ oz fresh orange juice
orange twist (for garnish)

Directions:
Shake the liquid ingredients vigorously with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Run the orange peel around the rim, twist it over the drink, and drop.

RASPBERRY MOJITO

Ingredients:
2 oz rum
.5 oz Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
6-8 fresh mint leaves
2 lime wedges
1/2 tsp sugar
club soda

Directions:
Add sugar, mint leaves, lime wedges and a splash of club soda to a tall glass. Muddle until sugar is dissolved. Add ice to glass. Add rum and Chambord. Stir to mix. Top with a splash of soda.

More pretty cocktails - Dairy Foods

Check out these "so gorgeous they blow my mind" champagne drinks from Martha Stewart Weddings. As beautiful as they are, it's just a simple touch/embellishment that adds such visual impact.

From MarthaStewardWeddings.com: Tiny roses add an elegant detail to your champagne toast. To make the garnishes, insert a toothpick into the base of each blossom at an angle of a little less than 45 degrees. Cut the stems cleanly about 1-inch shorter than the length of the toothpick; you may have to adjust length depending on the weight of the bloom. Place each toothpick just inside of a rim, letting the roses balance delicately on top.

From MarthaStewardWeddings.com: Offered as an aperitif or for a toast, this aromatic drink evokes the romance of the South of France with each sparkling sip.

Why I love Cafe Lurcat - Dairy Foods

Hopefully these photos speak for themselves because they represent why I absolutely adore Cafe Lurcat.

It is a gorgeous space with the most beautiful chandeliers you've ever seen, the best-tasting french fries you've ever had and a "close your eyes after you take a sip it's so good" Ruby martini. The salted caramel ice cream was not too shabby either.