[1] Saké, shochu and lychee liqueur combine with fruit to create Saké Sangria from Kabuki restaurants (photo Kabuki | © Flavor & The Menu).

[2] Organic saké from SakéOne, brewed in Portland, Oregon (photo © SakéOne).

[3] Haamonii shochu, a premium brand Here’s more about it (photo by Katharine Pollak | © The Nibble).

On weekends, we try the cocktail recipes we publish. It’s tough work, but someone has to do it.

Last weekend’s cocktail was an amped up version of a saké-based sangria from Kabuki restaurant. Saké, Japanese rice wine, is substituted for the red or white wine in a Spanish-style sangria (here’s the history of sangria).

But that’s not all: This recipe adds sochu (also spelled shochu), a distilled spirit like vodka, but with a much lower proof.

We’ve never been to a Kabuki restaurant. They’re located in Southern California, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.

But after we perused the innovative sushi on their Facebook Page, we put it on our “must go” [when in the area] list.

Until then, we adapted a sangria recipe from Kabuki’s Master Saké Sommelier, Yuji Matsumoto.

Matsumoto’s Saké Sangria is a long-time favorite at the restaurant. It started as a limited-time-only drink, but was such a hit that it became a mainstay on the menu.

The recipe is below, but first:
 
 
WHAT IS SAKÉ SANGRIA?

Made with seasonal fruits, saké, shochu, and lychee liqueur, the drink is light and refreshing—just right for summer.

If you don’t want to buy sochu, use the vodka you have—especially a fruit-flavored or vanilla vodka.

Kabuki Signature Saké Sangria (fresh fruits, sake, shochu, grapefruit & cranberry juice)
 
 
RECIPE: KABUKI-STYLE SAKÉ SANGRIA

This recipe is an approximation: We didn’t get the recipe from Kabuki.

However, sangria recipes are very versatile: You can use different ingredients in different proportions.

Want pineapple or cantaloupe? Toss it in!

Want more juiciness? Add cranberry, grapefruit, pomegranate, or whatever juice you favor.

No lychee liqueur or elderflower liqueur like Saint-Germain (which tastes much more lychee-like than the SOHO Lychee Liqueur we tried)? Use Grand Marnier.

Other additions/substitutions: plum wine, hibiscus syrup, starfruit, fresh lychees in season, and so on.

Since it’s summer, we used summer fruits. In the fall and winter, we’ll switch to apples, pears, and blood oranges.

Prep time is 5 minutes, the infusion is 8 hours or longer. Kabuki infuses the fruits for 72 hours!

Ingredients For 5 Cocktails

 
Preparation

1. ADD the fruit to a pitcher and top it with the liqueur, saké, and shochu. Gently stir, cover, and allow the fruit to marinate for 8 hours or longer. (At Kabuki the sangria is infused for 72 hours!)

2. TASTE and adjust the shochu and liqueur as desired.

3. GARNISH as desired and serve in a red wine glass.

Sochu, also spelled shochu, is a neutral grain spirit like vodka. But at half the proof of vodka, it’s a great solution to keep a crowd sober, longer.

Shochu has a 24% alcohol content (double the alcohol content to get the proof), compared to vodka at 40% and saké at 15%.

If you use vodka often, we highly recommend trying it. Here’s more about sochu.

 
WHAT IS KABUKI?

Kabuki is a form of traditional Japanese theater that originated during the 17th century, during Japan’s Edo Period.

Theater troupes dressed in extravagant costumes and supernatural makeup, and acted stories of love, moral conflicts, and historical events.
 
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*Thanks to Kabuki and Flavor & The Menu for the inspiration.

We love this idea from Little Park restaurant in the TriBeCa neighborhood of New York City.

The chef created Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream: cinnamon ice cream topped with cinnamon toast croutons. Building on that idea, we say:

Celebrate July, National Ice Cream Month, with an Ice Cream Cake Sundae.
 
Make the easiest ice cream cake ever, with ice cream and loaf cake layers in sundae dishes, and toasted cake croutons for the topping.

We served it over July 4th weekend, and guests are clamoring for more. Perhaps it’s time for us to start a tradition of ice cream socials.

 
 
RECIPE: ICE CREAM CAKE SUNDAE

Ingredients

 
Optional Toppings

 
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*Both dessert sauce lines are NIBBLE Top Picks Of The Week. Here’s the Somebody’s Mother’s review and the Kings Cupboard review.
 

Preparation

[2] Buy or bake a loaf cake (photo © Driscoll’s Berries).

[3] Reddi-Wip flavors (photo courtesy ConAgraFoods).

2. SLICE some of the loaf cake(s) into 1/4″ to 3/4 inch slices. These are the cake layers, and the number you’ll need depends on the number of guests and how many slices fit in each serving dish. Wrap them in airtight plastic and set aside.

3. CUT the remaining loaf(s) in as many 3/4″ to 1″ slices as you’ll need. Lightly toast the slices and let cool completely. Then cut them into the crouton size you like (we cut 3/4″ squares), and store them in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve.

4. SERVE: Per the order of each participant, we scooped ice cream on top of pound cake layers. Don’t worry about exact size: You can push the layers into the sundae dish.

5. TELL participants to go forth and garnish!

[1] Chicken enchilada fixings in a hot dog roll (photo © KingsHawaiian.com).

[2] Pepperoni pizza ingredients in a hot dog roll (photo © SimplyStacie.net).

[3] Salad on a hot dog roll (photo © Bitemore.com).

[4] Peanut butter, bacon and banana on a hot dog roll (photo © Huffington Post).

When you have extra rolls without hot dogs, brats or other sausages to grace them, you can stick them in the freezer.

You can also turn them into bread pudding, panzanella (bread salad), croutons or bread crumbs, and any number of recipes requiring bread, from gazpacho to romesco sauce.

But today, we’ve thought outside the box in terms of fillings, and present 20 alternative fillings for your hot dog rolls.

TIP: If the preparation doesn’t already require toasting/grilling, most of these preparations will be better with toasted or grilled rolls.
 
 
TRY THESE SANDWICHES

Food 101: Anything served in a roll is considered a sandwich (thus, burgers and hot dogs are sandwiches).

 
We avoided ideas like these cheese fries in a hot dog roll, as well as spaghetti rolls and chicken chow mein on a hot dog roll. But you still can have fun with it: See the Frog Sandwich photo below.
 

Whatever you put into your hot dog roll, consider garnishes to top it:

You may have noticed that we use the word roll instead of bun to denote hot dog-specific bread.

There is no official difference: Both are single-serve breads, and the FDA only stipulates that buns and rolls weigh less than one-half pound (loaves of bread must weigh one pound or more).

Manufacturers and retailers use whichever term they want. However, the American Institute of Baking uses this distinction:

 
 
HOT DOG RECIPES (WITH ACTUAL HOT DOGS)

[6] Use extra hot dog rolls for your sandwiches (photo © GlutenFreeDairyFreeNJ.Blogspot.com).

[7] Have fun: a cheese sandwich on a hot dog roll (photo © TheChaosAndTheClutter.com).

*“Sop” indicates a piece of bread or other solid used to wipe up a liquid food: gravy, sauce, soup, stew, etc. It is the source of the words supper, soup and sopping (drenched). It evolved from the Old English soppian, “bread soaked in some liquid.”