It’s not too late to invite a few friends over for cocktails. Smack in the middle of Cocktail Hour is the Kentucky Derby.

You can keep it casual, but invite everyone to wear their most festive hats, Kentucky Derby-style.

Here are three recipes to go with the hats.

KENTUCKY DERBY COCKTAILS

 
And they’re off!

This year is the 20th anniversary of the jalapeño popper, a hot little nugget that enjoys a cold beer.

The original poppers were jalapeño chiles stuffed with cheese, battered and deep-fried—a spicy American snack version of the Mexican dish, chiles rellenos (stuffed bell peppers). They were created by McCain Foods for the restaurant/foodservice industry. You can find them in supermarket frozen foods aisles as Anchor Poppers.

Chefs and home cooks embraced poppers, and stuffing variations have expanded to include different cheeses, crabmeat, ground meat, chopped sautéed mushroom and whatever appeals to the cook (we like polenta and sausage). While restaurants tend to serve the battered and fried poppers, it’s easy—and less caloric—to grill them at home.

It’s A Snap!

The video below shows just how easy it is to grill jalapeños. The toughest part (and it isn’t tough) is scooping out the ribs and the seeds from whole jalapeños with the tops cut off, to create the vessel for filling.

To that end, this inexpensive jalapeño corer is a good investment. You can get one “free” when you buy a jalapeño roasting rack to set atop your grill (about $17.00 for both items).

You don’t need either to make the bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers in this video: Simply slice the chile in two, scoop, fill and use a raw bacon slice to wrap the two sides together. Fold in a foil packet and grill.

But if this is your type of food, the grilling rack speeds up the process—and is the green alternative to sending sheets of foil into the landfill.

More Ideas

Dip Or Sauce: Poppers don’t need a dip or a sauce, but people tend to like them. We combine melted pepper jelly with plain Greek yogurt. Salsa, marinara sauce or any favorite will do as well.

Cookbook: There’s also a cookbook for you: Jalapeño Poppers: and Other Stuffed Chili Peppers which has 100+ recipes, from jalapeño poppers to armadillo eggs to stuffed chili peppers galore.
Pop on!

> The history of orange juice.

> The history of oranges.
 
 
USES FOR ORANGE JUICE

1. Basting Liquid. Orange juice adds delicious flavor to beef, pork and poultry.

2. Cake Mix. Replace the water in the recipe with orange juice in vanilla/white/yellow and chocolate cake cake mixes.

3. Cocktails. There are many, including the Mimosa, Sex On The Beach and Tequila Sunrise. But the classic is a Screwdriver: 1.5 ounces of vodka and 6 ounces of orange juice, with an orange wheel garnish.

4. French Toast, Pancakes & Waffles. Add a tablespoon of juice to your batter. This works best with an added teaspoon of orange zest—and is a reason why you should zest citrus rinds and freeze the zest before throwing out the pulp.

5. Ice Cubes. Freeze the juice in ice cube trays—plain or with an added berry, cherry or snippet of sweet herb (basil, rosemary, thyme).

6. Ice Pops. Freeze the juice plain in an ice pop mold, or mix with vanilla yogurt for a Creamsicle effect. You can also make granita or sorbet.

7. Marinade. Add 1/4 cup of orange juice to your regular marinade. For a basic marinade, start with 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon each of two different chopped herbs (parsley and thyme go well with everything), and for some heat, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.

8. Salad Dressing. For a green salad or fruit salad, substitute orange juice for half the vinegar. You can also use one or more tablespoons of juice to thin the mayonnaise in a chicken salad, coleslaw, or any salad that’s bound with mayo.

9. Smoothie. Add 1/4 cup of orange juice to your regular smoothie recipe; or whip one up with 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 cup fresh fruit and 1 container (6 ounces) of your favorite nonfat yogurt.

10. Spritzer. Enjoy OJ with fewer calories. Dilute orange juice with club soda (try 1/3:2/3, then 1/2:1/2) for a refreshing soft drink, with an optional squeeze of lemon or lime.

What are your favorite ways to use orange juice?
 
 
 
 
 

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[1] Baste your chicken with orange juice (photo © Melina Hammer). See more of her beautiful food photography and her award-winning cookbook at MelinaHammer.com.

[2] Add some orange juice to your vinaigrette (photo © Foods & Wines From Spain).

[3] Pour OJ into ice pop molds for orange ice pops (photo © Williams Sonoma).

Punch is a festive and easy way to serve a
crowd. Photo courtesy El Jimador.

If you’re expecting a large crowd on Cinco de Mayo, a bowl of punch can make your life easier. It holds a large amount and guests serve themselves, sparing you from the mixologist job. And, guests love a good punch.

Here are two punch recipes, including a frozen Margarita punch. Separately, here are 10 punch making tips.

The first punch recipe is courtesy El Jimador tequila. It combines tequila with bubbly—in this case, Prosecco.

PUNCH #1: CINCO PUNCH

Ingredients

*You can pick up a plastic punch bowl at a party store for around $10.00. Or, you can use a large pitcher.

Preparation

1. MAKE ICE. The best ice for punch bowls is lump or block ice. It melts slowly, keeps the punch much colder for longer and reduces the dilution. Make it by filling a balloon with water; tie off the balloon and place it in a bowl in the freezer the night before.

2. PLACE BOWL. Place the punch bowl on the table you intend to serve from. A full punch bowl is very heavy to move (not to mention, it sloshes).

3. ADD ICE. Place ice carefully into the punch bowl.

4. ADD LIQUIDS. Next, add all the liquid ingredients. Stir gently but thoroughly.

5. GARNISH. Garnish with raspberries, pomegranate seeds, lime discs and pink grapefruit discs.

HONEY SYRUP INGREDIENTS

Like simple syrup, honey syrup is made in a 1:1 proportion of sugar/honey to water. There are about 3 cups in 750 ml.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. In a small saucepan, heat honey over low-medium heat.

2. Add water bit by bit, whisking until fully incorporated.

3. Cool, then refrigerate until ready to use. Bring to room temperature before adding to punch.

PUNCH #2: FROZEN MARGARITA PUNCH RECIPE

Turn the staple frozen Margarita into a punch with this recipe.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MIX. Combine the limeade, water, orange liqueur and tequila. Freeze at least 8 hours, stirring twice during the freezing process.

2. THAW. Remove from freezer 30 minutes before serving.

3. ASSEMBLE. Break into chunks in punch bowl. Add soda and stir until slushy.

3. GARNISH. Garnish with lime and orange slices and berries.

Some of our favorite brownies are made by artisan bakery, BT Baking.

Moist and fudgy—but never cloying or “too rich”—the brownies are made in four fab flavors:

 
Read the full review, or head to BTBaking.com.

Love Brownies?

Check out the history of brownies.