Frosting Cocktail Glasses In 3 Easy Steps In my opinion, you have to have frosted glasses if you're having cocktails! They just take a normal cocktail to whole new heights. The good news is that if you have never frosted your own glasses, it is so easy, take no time at all and will totally impress your guests. If you can get your hands on some coloured sugars, or dessicated coconut you get a little bit more creative, but for now just use a little caster sugar to practice!
1. Run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass twisting as you go. 2. Pour caster sugar on to a small plate. 3. Dip the glass in the sugar and voila, a perfectly frosted cocktail glass!
I am not a big alcohol drinker, I never have been, mainly due to being a complete lightweight, who feels the effects of it after one glass! Unlike many other fellas my age I don't love beer and generally stick to spirits if I am drinking on a night out. Which leads me on to my little confession... I have a, not so secret, penchant for cocktails! I have no shame in ordering an apple martini or a mohito while everyone around me is skulling pints and generally don't care if the glass is frosted with pink sugar or if a tropical mini umbrella has been elegantly plopped in the glass. I just feel if I am going to spend money on alcohol it might as well be worth it and have a sense of occassion about it. Probably one of the best things I have done for nights in, with friends over has been, to create my homemade versions of my favourite cocktails. Check out this quick and easy recipe for Strawberry Daiquiris. If you aren't big on specific measurements think of the recipe as, half rum, half apple juice, a handful of strawberries, a tablespoon of caster sugar and a handful of ice cubes- blitz and enjoy!
Simple Strawberry Daiquiris In my opinion nothing is more impressive than a good cocktail at a dinner party, to get a great night started! Now although strawberry daiquiris may not be the most manly of cocktails, they are my drink of choice and this is my recipe for foolproof super tasty daiquiris. Though I have to add, this recipe does come with a warning, once you learn it, you may find yourself making them all too often! I use frozen strawberries here as it is so convenient to have a few packets of them stocked up in the freezer. Using frozen berries means you end up with a really delicious slush and you can also use any other frozen berries in this mix, so experiment with the ingredients!
Serves 6 400g strawberries, frozen 300ml white rum 300ml pressed apple juice 1 tablespoon of caster sugar A small handful of ice cubes
Place the strawberries and ice cubes in a food processor, pour in the apple juice, rum and sprinkle in the sugar. Blitz for about 30 seconds until you get a smooth slushy mixture. Taste a teaspoonful as you may need to add a little more sugar to taste. Serve in frosted cocktail glasses, it's the only way to enjoy them!
Last Twinnerparty recipe today! Hope you are all set for tomorrow night, I will write a few tips later on to save time, like the things you can make ahead and so on. A huge thank you to Julian from Bubble Brothers who has posted his suggestions for wines to go with the full meal, so if you are into your wines, head over there to see which wine goes with what! Kick off time for the twinnerparty is 7pm, with an aim to serve the first course at 7.30pm, but as we are all mostly from Ireland, timing of things normally goes out the window, but sure we'll see!
Beetroot, Goats Cheese, Pine Nut and Rocket Salad
This is a really tasty starter dish which is perfect for preparing the ingredients ahead of time and simply assembling them at the last minute to create a pretty impressive salad. If you don't want to roast the beetroot yourself, you can by precooked vac packed ones in the supermarket.
Serves 6 6 medium sized beetroot 75g pine nuts 250g goats cheese, cut into bitesize pieces 60g rocket leaves 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard Half a clove of garlic, minced A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
You can cook the beetroot ahead of time if you wish, simply wrap them in tinfoil, place on an oven tray and bake for about an hour at 190C/Gas Mark 5 or until you can insert a fork smoothly. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, then peel with knife and slice into quarters. On a large frying pan, over a medium heat, toast the pine nuts, until golden brown, make sure to keep an eye on them as they can burn quite easily. In a large bowl whisk together the Dijon mustard, oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and set aside. When you are ready to serve the salad, arrange the beetroot quarters and goats cheese pieces on each plate. Toss the rocket leaves in the dressing and place a little on each plate. Finally scatter each plate with the toasted pine nuts and serve straight away!
I had planned to post both the chicken recipe and the roast beetroot starter but the terrible weather means low light conditions which in turn means terrible photos, so I will be shooting the starter recipe for the twinnerparty tomorrow morning and posting it before 12!
Yesterday both Market Kitchen and Nationwide aired and although I wasn't nervous doing them, having sit through them was another story! But thankfully it went quite well and everyone I have spoken too has been only complimentary, so I am relieved. I don't think you can see Market Kitchen online but the Nationwide interview can be seen here and here.
Herby Roast Chicken and Honey and Thyme Parsnips
Normally I make this herb paste for a full roast chicken, but I find pre-portioned chicken legs and thighs are perfect for entertaining as you don't have to fuss around with carving. The great thing about this dish is that you can prepare the two trays a few hours ahead of your guest arriving and pop them in the oven just before they arrive! If you don't grow your own herbs you can pick up little packets for about €1 in most supermarkets which are really handy for one off dishes. I love roasting whole garlic bulbs but if it's too much garlic for you just leave these out.
Serves 6 6 Chicken legs and thighs 4 red onions, peeled and quartered 2 bulbs of garlic,with the top sliced off 4 cloves of garlic 40g or a large handful of fresh herbs, basil, rosemary, thyme 6 medium sized parsnips, peeled and quartered A few sprigs of fresh thyme 1 tablespoon of honey A good drizzle of olive oil A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
In a pestle and mortar or a food processor, blitz the mixed herbs, garlic cloves, and a little olive oil. Add a little more olive oil until you have a loose paste. Place the parsnips on a large roasting tray with the thyme, drizzle with honey and oil and spoonful of the herb paste. Toss together until everything is combined. On another roasting tray arrange the chickens pieces, garlic bulbs and red onion. Add the rest of the herb paste and toss everything together until the the chicken and onions have a nice coating of herbs. Place both roasting trays in the oven at 190°C/Gas Mark 5, for about 45-50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked right through. The parsnips will cook slightly quicker than the chicken so you may need to take them out of the oven before the chicken. Serve the chicken straight away, with the parsnips, red onion, garlic and an little drizzle of the juices.
Well I did think my plan to have a party on Saturday night, based purely on drinking Mohito's, was good one, however it's now Monday and my head still hurts. After not drinking for almost two months, the alcohol had me in a pretty bad way, and the drinking games most certainly did not help! (Damn you Paulie!) But I have to say the one thing that tickles me pink about having people over, is making dainty party food! It can come in so many different forms, a large sit down meal, a buffet style banquet, and even my favourite, finger food. Entertaining for me has to be easy, it has to be quick, and it's gotta be tasty! I have some more recipe's from Saturday night but here is just one of the quick snacks I came up with:
Basil Pesto with Roasted Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes on Toast
For the Pesto:
One large handful of basil leaves.
One large handful of pine nuts.
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
One large handful of grated Parmesan Cheese.
A good sprinkle of Sea Salt and freshly ground Pepper.
You can either do this by hand in a pestle and mortar, or in a food blender, I have a handy little attatchment for my Braun hand blender which does the job nicely. Bung all the ingredients together in the mixer and blitz for about 10-20 seconds. Then depending on the texture of the green paste add more or less oil, different mixes will require different amounts, so don't be afraid to experiment. The pesto can be used straight away or kept in a jar, in the fridge, with a covering of olive oil.
For the Roasted Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes:
Two punnets of Cherry Tomatoes.
2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
1 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar.
1 tbsp of Dried Oregano.
A pinch of Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper.
Half all the tomatos and tumble into a roasting tray. Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar over them, making sure not to allow the insides to fall out. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and oregano on top and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes at 200oC. Simple!
To finish the dish, toast slices of good hearty bread under the grill, and allow to cool. Spread the pesto generously on the bread, and add a few of the cherry tomatoes on top. Garnish with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and serve! Delicious!
Although the Irish summer hasn't really been good to us so far- it does provide the odd worthwhile day of sunshine, when untanned arms and legs get out for the day and prove, they too can work a pair of shorts and a t-shirt! Yesterday was one of those days, and instead of missing the opportunity we jumped in head first to summer. We even kidnapped a dog!
Well almost, James, his owner was down at the Oxegen festival so we took pity on him and brought him with us. Sofie and I were joined by Michael and Senan on our little road trip which ended up at the hill of Tara. Now being the Swedish viking, my girlfriend is, she was highly unimpressed when we showed her the magic of one of Ireland's premier tourist attractions, a hill of mud. But she did set herself up for disappointment as we walked towards the hill, when she claimed she hadn't been that impressed with the Colosseum in Rome! I'm sorry to say that there is something fairly reminiscent to the hill of Tara and an episode of "Father Ted" when they all go to a funfair in "The Field" the whole place is even watched over by a flock of sheep...
For the picnic itself, I finally got to use my handy dandy food picnic carrying thing, which was one of the presents I got for my birthday. It was my mom's interpretation of the bento box I posted about back in Febuary, but the containers are way too big for just one person, so it's ideal for feeding about 4 people.
And after all that food what better activity to enjoy on a picnic than a spot of Kite Flying. Well the enjoyment only came after a long process of trying to get the bloody thing in the air, but when we finally got it up, it was great craic.
As for the food, I made some really quick and easy Mexican Quesadilla's (recipe below), tagliatelle with homemade tomato and basil sauce and the one desert recipe I can always put my faith in, Goeey Chocolate Puddings.
These Mexican Quesadilla's are not that healthy but they are a perfect party or snack food and even a simple little starter. You can spruce them up with whatever you like, a bit of chicken, sliced peppers but this is just the straight forward way of making them:
Mexican Quesidilla's
6 Wholemeal Flour Tortilla Wraps.
130g of Red Cheddar Cheese (Or enough to cover).
6 Tbsp of Homemade Spicy Salsa Sauce (Store bought works just fine here too).
1 Red Onion Sliced thinly.
This recipe is basically all preperation. Spread 3 of the tortilla wrap's with the salsa sauce, scatter the red onions and sprinkle the cheese. Cover them up with the other 3 tortilla wraps and heat a large frying pan. If you have a non stick pan you don't even need oil, if not add a drop of vegetable oil. Each Quesidilla will take about 2-3 minutes either side on a medium to high heat.
Serve straight away or save for later, either way they still taste great!
