Ladies cool off your favorite cocktail by turning it to slush!

Ingredients: serves 6

and fun! Bring on the barbeques, pinics, and sit down soirees. A little red, white and blue can go a long way this holiday. Loving the below window-scape of blue bottles, red poppies and flag, crafty letters spelling out one’s pride, my fav red summertime beverage - watermelon lemonade with a few added patriotic accents, and a berry pie. Pick up a country theme replacing the table setting stripes for bandana squares and using the bandana food flags, which could also be made out of actual bandana fabric cut into small triangles. It’s time to celebrate…happy 4th everyone!

1. poppies in blue vases, Better Homes & Gardens, 2. USA letters, Better Homes & Gardens, 3. drink parasoles how-to, marthastewart.com, 4. flag cake stand, marthastewart.com,  5. celebratory setting, marthastewart.com, 6. food flags how-to, marthastewart.com, 7. pie photo by Susan Sugarman, artistrepinc.com

Watermelon Lemonade, recipe adapted from marthastewart.com

Ingredients:

• 2 lemons, quartered
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 medium seedless watermelon (about 9 pounds), rind removed, flesh cut into chunks
• 1 cup vodka (optional)

Directions:
Squeeze lemons into a large pitcher; add squeezed lemon quarters. Add sugar; mash with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. In a blender, puree watermelon in batches until smooth; pour through a fine-mesh sieve into pitcher (you should have about 8 cups of juice). Stir to combine. (Refrigerate, covered, up to 3 days.) Add vodka, if using; serve over ice.

Like this… see more July 4th fun here

Ever since co-hosting a very merry unbirthday tea party for a friend’s shower, my mother and I have been on the hunt for great tea service in the NE and Tri-State areas. Surprisingly they are hard to come by. Here in NYC I discovered the Ritz -Carlton Cupcake Tea in the Star Lounge, 5 miniature cupcakes and tea for $28 a person. I grabbed an old co-worker and friend and spent a delightful afternoon catching up in leisure. My Mom then found Ferns and Flowers in Warwick, RI and thought what a great way to spend Mother’s Day. For $35 a person they served the 5 of us in a private room: champagne, cheese & crackers, 8 different types of miniature sandwiches (hot & cold), an assortment of pastries and of course tea! There was so much food by the time the pastries came around we were all full and had lots of doggie bag delights. If only all afternoons could be so sweet!

photo courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton

Forget the green beer… here are some tasty cocktails to toast with this St. Patrick’s Day.

1. Jameson & Ginger - recipe courtesy of cocktails.about.com

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 parts Jameson Irish Whiskey
• ginger ale
• squeeze of a lime wedge

Directions: Pour the whiskey into a highball glass filled with ice. Fill with ginger ale. Squeeze a lime wedge over the drink and drop it in.

2. Irish Car Bomb - recipe courtesy of coctails.org

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pint (8 oz, 24 cl) Guinness stout
• 1 oz (3 cl) Jamison Irish whiskey
• 1 oz (3 cl) Bailey’s Irish cream

Directions: Pour Guinness into pint glass. Pour Jamison into shot glass and then without mixing pour Bailey’s into the shot glass. When ready to drink drop the shot glass into the pint, be mindful of spilling.*When the Bailey’s mixes with the beer it will start to curdle very fast,  forcing one to chug the bomb making this drink a favorite among drinking contenders.

3. Irish Coffee - recipe courtesy partyfood.suite101.com, photo gourmetgirlmagazine.com

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces Irish Whiskey
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 6 ounces strong, hot, brewed coffee
• whipping cream

Directions: Pour whiskey into the bottom of a coffee mug. Add brown sugar and hot coffee; stir to combine. Gently spoon several tablespoons of cream over the top of the hot coffee mixture. Do not stir! Serve immediately.

As a passerby, who can resist piles of cookies clustered in a window?  Definitely a draw for me, I had to see what this bakery had to offer. Upon entering I thought I had gone to heaven, Bird Bath Bakery not only smells divine but I learned they are a Green bakery, using all organic ingredients and their space and supplies are as sustainable as they come. The ultimate test was the tasting and I can assure you no crumbs will remain uneaten. The cookie package below contains an assortment of chocolate chip, all chocolate and oatmeal raisin cookies for $15, perfect as a hostess gift or if you are having company over. I brought a set to a superbowl party and within minutes all the cookies disappeared. Go on and let your inner monster have a treat or TWO.

145 7th Ave, btw 10th St & Charles St,  birdbathbakery.com

Dinner Belle Calling: Green is the new red this Valentine’s Day.  So why not take a page out of Cupid’s book and add a little something “angelic”  to your V-day dinner menu?  If you’ve never tried Green Goddess dressing you’re in for a real treat. This recipe turns the delicious dressing into an irresistible dip, perfect for pairing with colorful crudités and crostini as an appetizer.  So go ahead and give this one a try…

photo, marthastewart.com

Green Goddess Dip:

•  2 Tablespoons each of chopped basil, tarragon, dill, chives and flat leaf parsley
• 4 anchovies
• Juice from ½ lemon
• 1 to 2 chopped garlic cloves (pending your affinity for the strong stuff)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup mayo
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Puree all ingredients together in a blender or food processor until completely smooth and the herbs are blended through.  Add salt & pepper as desired and more lemon juice if needed. 

Feel free to use low fat or fat free mayo & sour cream for a lighter (and still tasty) version.

Enjoy!!

Credit: Food Network Magazine. See more from Dinner Belle here.

One of my favorite game day snacks is spinach and artichoke dip. It is delicious & dangerous and by dangerous I mean the guilt we can feel by taking in all those extra calories. Well no more! Bethanny Frankel has made a healthier version of this go-to game time dish with just a few simple and extremely still edible substitutions. I have tried it myself and my stomach wouldn’t lie to you folks, it is very yummy. So go on and cheer for your team, hoping your only guilty pleasure is a victory.

image spotted on bfeedme.com

Guilt-free Artichoke and Spinach Dip, recipe courtesy of Bethenny Frankel from her book The Skinny Girl Dish

Ingredients: serves 6 (see ingredient variations & more on hollywoodlife.com)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine all of the ingredients except 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan in a large bowl or food processor. Blend or pulse until mostly smooth, but leave some artichoke chunks for texture.

2. Pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish or casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through and just starting to bubble. Let the dip sit for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm with thin slices of baguette, raw vegetables, baked tortilla chips, or crackers. (I like crostinis or bagel chips also)

Celebrate in sugar with groundhog cupcakes.

Recipe courtesy of Family Fun Magazine

Ingredients:

• Baked cupcake
• Almond Joy candy
• White frosting
• White jelly beans

• Black decorators’ gel
• Watermelon slice candy
• Brown M&M’s Minis
• Chocolate cookie

Directions:

1. Remove a piece of cake the width of an Almond Joy candy from the center of a baked cupcake. Set the candy upright in the hole, then spread a layer of white frosting on the cupcake.
2. For the groundhog’s eyes, trim the ends from a white jelly bean, stick them in place with frosting, then dot them with black decorators’ gel. Add a tiny triangle cut from a watermelon slice candy for a nose, brown M&M’s Minis for ears and cheeks, and a tiny rectangular piece of white jelly bean for teeth. Sprinkle chocolate cookie crumbs around the partially emerged groundhog, and he’s ready to greet his fans.

Why didn’t I think of this before?  I keep Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa in my cupboard for baking. Why not make a delicious cup of hot cocoa from scratch?!  Craft Lovely gives us this simple recipe a few helpful tips, see full post here. YUM!

Hot Cocoa, recipe derived from Droste

Ingredients:
• 2 tsps cocoa powder
• 2 heaping tsps sugar
• 1 cup milk

Directions: Mix cocoa and sugar in a cup or mug. Add just enough milk to stir into a paste. Add hot milk and stir until mixed.  (*Heat milk in a small saucepan on low heat, stirring constantly so the bottom doesn’t burn).

1. Black Devil Martini

Dark & mysterious… use dark rum and a black olive garnish to give this drink its midnight hue. Orange sugar on the rim will add some Halloween spice.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. dark rum
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• Black olive

Preparation: Stir and strain into chilled martini glass, garnish with olive.

Recipe courtesy American Professional Bartending Schools of Illinois in Chicago, fineliving.com

2. Vampire Cocktail

Scream with fright and delight drinking this vanilla ice cream, tripe sec and white crème de cacao concoction with grenadine blood dripping down the sides of the glass.

Ingredients:

• 1 scoop vanilla ice cream
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 1/2 oz. white creme de cacao
• Drizzle of grenadine

Preparation: Blend all ingredients except grenadine until smooth, pour into a stemmed cocktail glass. Drizzle grenadine over top.

Recipe courtesy American Professional Bartending Schools of Illinois in Chicago, fineliving.com

3. Cemetery Slime Punch

Even goblins may be grossed out at this grave yard worm punch.  Non-alcoholic, with diet root beer and frozen yogurt it won’t add to the sugar highs of the young ones.

Ingredients: Serves 12-15

• 2 liters diet root beer
• 24 gummy worms, plus more if desired
• 1 pint low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt
• 1 pint low-fat chocolate frozen yogurt

Preparation: Arrange the gummy worms in a 12-compartment ice tray, letting them hang out over the edges of the tray. Fill with root beer and freeze at least 4 hours or overnight.

With a small ice cream scoop, fill the bottom of a one gallon punch bowl with scoops of both frozen yogurts, using the full container of each. Very slowly fill the punch bowl with root beer; it will foam up.

Float the wormy ice cubes in the top of the punch. Fill each punch cup with a scoop of ice cream and an ice cube. Float additional worms on top of the punch or in each glass.

Recipe courtesy Wes Martin, New York, N.Y., fineliving.com