Punch with a punch: Ruby Port. Photo
courtesy Sandeman.

If you’re having a Valentine’s Day party and are looking for a special cocktail, the ruby red color and luscious flavor of this Valentine punch, made with ruby port, fit the bill.

The recipe was developed for Sandeman Port—whose Ruby Port is a favorite of ours—by mixologist Adam Schuman of Fatty Crew restaurant in New York City.

You don’t need a punch bowl: You can mix the ingredients and serve them from a pitcher (which is a space saver, as well).

RUBY SLING PUNCH

Serves 10-15.

Ingredients

1. Simmer 6 parts of port with allspice, cinnamon and star anise. Cool (you can put it in the fridge to chill).

2. Add remaining ingredients except ginger ale and ice to the punch bowl.

3. Before serving, add ice and ginger ale to the punch. Grate or sprinkle nutmeg over the punch.

 
 
More Valentine Cocktail Recipes.

Bamboo skewers are very inexpensive: six-inch skewers are $1.00 for 50, and you can wash and reuse them. (Make sure you get skewers with pointy ends, not flat popsicle sticks.)

Then, cut whatever veggies you have into a large dice: bell peppers, brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, cucumbers, green beans, sugar snap peas, and zucchini; whole or halved broccoli and cauliflower florets; cherry or grape tomatoes.

You can get creative, adding anything from grapes to olives; but the objective here is not to make appetizer or dessert skewers but to get people to eat more veggies.
 
If you want a dip, serve salsa or nonfat Greek yogurt and your favorite seasonings. Here are three recipes for starters:

 
Serve the skewers on a plate, vertical in a juice glass or other vessel, or stick the pointy ends into a halved winter squash or a melon (and use the squash or melon for the next meal).

March 28th is National Something On A Stick Day.

Find more vegetable ideas and dip ideas.
 
 

If he or she would prefer some fine tea, one of our favorite tea purveyors, Tay Tea, offers these options in bright red canisters containing the finest loose leaf teas;

 
Although many people can give tea alluring names, few can blend such fine teas as Tay Tea’s Nini Ordoubadi.

Whether for Valentine’s Day or just because you deserve some great tea, check out her wares at TayTea.com.

Read our review of Tay Tea.
 
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT TEA?

For starters, visit our Gourmet Tea Section and check out our Tea Glossary.

THE NIBBLE celebrates its eighth birthday this month. Eight years, some 20,000 pages of content and about one million monthly visitors. Whew!

Instead of a cake, we’ve given ourselves a new home page design. Check it out!

Thanks to Andrew, Leah, Luisa and Sue for making it happen.

If you have comments or suggestions, we’d love to hear them. Use the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Cook your cucumbers: They’re even better than when raw. Photo by Monika Szczygiel | SXC.

Halve a few cucumbers lengthwise, remove the seeds and cook them in some chicken broth with a squeeze of lemon juice. You only need enough chicken broth to cover the cucumbers about three-quarters of the way, so the amount will vary depending on the size of your pan. Keep things at a simmer (don’t boil!) to avoid mushiness and disintegration, and season with salt and pepper to taste. After you try this simple recipe, feel free to jazz things up with your favorite herbs and seasonings.

7. Feta…likes it hot! Feta cheese is one of the few cheeses you can grill (halloumi, paneer and queso blanco are others), due to its combination of a high moisture content and solid texture. Man, is it good! Simply cut feta into planks about an inch thick, drizzle liberally with olive oil, sprinkle with dried oregano and freshly ground pepper and slap that baby on a hot grill. Once you have nice, thick grill marks, flip it. Serve the grilled feta topped with some freshly diced tomatoes for a killer appetizer.

8. Lettuce…is tired of being relegated to salads! This is one you may have seen at restaurants, but few people try at home.

Start with a few heads of romaine; pull off the loose outer leaves, trim the stem (but leave it intact to hold the heart together) and split the head lengthwise. Brush the insides with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, then put the romaine on a hot grill (or in a grill pan, in a pinch) for about a minute—just until you have solid grill marks.

Let them sit for a minute, then enjoy. The char is a nice contrast to the lettuce’s natural flavor, and everything ends up tasting, believe it or not, buttery! You’ll never look at your greens the same way again.

When you roast nuts at home, you will really get a sense of what a difference it makes. Toss them in a little olive oil first and then sprinkle with your favorite spices: cayenne, cumin, chili powder, coriander or whatever you like. Just remember to let them cool a bit after they come out to get back to their optimal crunchiness.

You can heat store-bought, pre-roasted nuts in the oven, which is sort of like re-roasting them, but only for a short amount of time or they may burn. You can (and should), however, roast nuts that have been blanched or that are raw, which is how many store-bought nuts come packaged.

10. Steak…tartar at home! Few people are bold enough to serve raw meat in their own homes; it’s usually thought of as one of those things best left to restaurant chefs with the know-how to pull it off. But believe it or not, steak tartare is one of the easier things you can make. After all, it’s just mixing things together in a bowl and letting the flavors mingle.

Just make sure your beef is top quality; sirloin or tenderloin are good options. Grind it yourself, or get it ground by a quality butcher who has a grinder that isn’t used for pork (tell the butcher it’s for tartare). I personally prefer the beef chopped into very small, uniform pieces as opposed to ground. Yes, it’s more work, but I think the texture is much more appealing and has less of a “raw meat” feel to it.

To make a classic steak tartare, combine the following in a large mixing bowl: 1 pound of ground/chopped beef, 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard, 1/2 teaspoon (or more if you prefer) of Tabasco or other hot sauce, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 minced shallot, 1 teaspoon brandy, 1 egg and salt & pepper (preferably white) to taste. Cover and let it sit, refrigerated, for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle; then serve with toasted baguette slices or toast points. I like to drizzle the tartare with a touch of fine olive oil when serving.

There’s the beef—for today, at least.