A yummy Prosecco cocktail that can be adapted into a mocktail. Photo courtesy Harvard Common Press.
Champagne cocktails make any occasion more festive. And they don’t require Champagne, per se, but can use more affordable bubblies such as Prosecco and Asti Spumante from Italy, Cava from Spain and Sekt from Germany. You can also substitute red bubblies such as Italian Brachetto and Lambrusco, sparkling Shiraz and the many American sparklers.
These alternatives work just as well in a “Champagne cocktail,” in which the mixers cover up much of the complex Champagne flavors for which one pays so much more.
Here’s a recipe from the book: the Tiziano cocktail, a “cousin” of the Bellini* that uses grape juice and Prosecco instead of peach purée and Asti Spumante. It’s easy to make an alcohol-free version by substituting ginger ale for the Prosecco.
The grape juice-ginger ale cocktail with frozen grapes is very popular with kids!
________________ *Both cocktails are named for great artists. Giovanni Bellini was acclaimed as the greatest Venetian painter of the fifteenth century. Fifty years later, his former student, Titian (Tiziano Vecelli), was acclaimed as the greatest Venetian painter of the sixteenth century and the father of modern painting. We’re not sure if the Rossini cocktail, below, is named for the great 19th century Italian composer Gioachino Rossini or the 20th century Polish painter, Nicolaus Rossini.
________________
TIZIANO COCKTAIL RECIPE
Ingredients For 4 Drinks
6 ounces white grape juice (not grape juice cocktail)
1. ADD three or four frozen grapes to each flute glass.
2. POUR 1½ ounces of grape juice into each flute.
3. FILL the glasses almost to the top with Prosecco. Serve.
Variation: Change the white grape juice to strawberry juice or strawberry purée and garnish with a strawberry (not frozen) instead of a grape. This drink is known as a Rossini.
If you’re fond of making cheese omelets, chili, pizza, quesadillas and other dishes requiring shredded cheese, you may have noticed that shredding semisoft cheeses can be more taxing than it should be. Cheese gets stuck in the large holes of the box grater, requiring ongoing unclogging.
Here are two solutions:
Spray the grater with nonstick cooking spray.
Pop the cheese into the freezer for half an hour before you grate it.
How To Use A Box Grater
1. Place the grater on a plate.
2. If the piece of cheese is too large, cut off a manageable piece.
3. Rub the cheese up and down across the holes of the grater. Watch your knuckles!
4. If cheese gets stuck in the holes, use a pastry brush or other brush to remove it. We purchased a nail brush from the drug store for this and other kitchen tasks.
What’s New In Box Graters
After 20-plus years, we finally traded up our old, dented box grater—a hand-me-down from Mom—for a 21st-century model. Some of the newer box graters have comfortable, non-slip handles and nonslip bottom rings that make a big difference.
This tip makes grating easier. Photo by Darryl Brooks | Dreamstime.
We chose this box grater, from Cuisipro. We’re glad that we traded up. We love the better grip as well as the lovely aesthetic, and we make good use of the removable ginger grater base.
If we hadn’t seen the Cuisipro first, we’d have purchased the OXO Good Grips Box Grater. The cheese grates right into a plastic storage container and measuring cup. The cup has a lid to store extra cheese in the fridge. A great design concept!
When using a box grater, the fine holes are for grating hard cheeses, such as Parmesan. The large holes are for semisoft cheeses, such as Cheddar, Fontina and Gruyère, which are shredded rather than grated.
If you don’t have a box grater, you can pulse the cheese in a food processor. Cut the cheese into 1-inch cubes. Spray the blades with non-stick cooking spray and pulse in small batches. You won’t get the longer shredded pieces, but if you’re melting the cheese, it won’t matter.
Hibiscus is a popular ingredient in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Mexico. It’s used in beverages, salads, side dishes and desserts, among other things. It’s way overdue to break out in the U.S.
Along with our Top Pick Of The Week—hibiscus iced tea—try this hibiscus punch, known in Egypt as karkadé (pronounced kar-kah-DAY).
It couldn’t be easier to make the punch. If you can boil water, strain out the hibiscus leaves and add sugar, you’re there.
This recipe in the video doesn’t contain alcohol—Islam, the state religion of Egypt, doesn’t permit alcohol.
You can enjoy it as is, add your favorite white spirit (gin, vodka or tequila, for example), or substitute ginger ale for the alcohol.
Watch the video and see how quickly you can whip up an innovative (to Americans) hibiscus punch.
Make a saké hibiscus punch by adapting one of these saké punch recipes, or make the hibiscus punch recipe below (beneath the video).
HIBISCUS PUNCH RECIPE
Ingredients
3 quarts water
1/2 inch fresh ginger, finely sliced
1-1/2 cups dried hibiscus flowers*
1-1/2 cups sugar
Juice from one large lime
Optional: 1 cup alcohol (gin, vodka or tequila)
Optional: Lime wedges for garnish
*Look for them at Latin or Caribbean markets. Also called roselle, flor de Jamaica and red sorrel, among other names. You can also buy it in an affordable bulk size online.
Preparation
1. Bring water and ginger to a boil. Remove from heat and add hibiscus flowers.
2. Slowly stir in sugar until it has dissolved. Let steep 15 minutes.
3. Strain into a large pot or a gallon pitcher. Add lime juice and set aside to cool.
4. Refrigerate. When ready to serve, transfer to a pitcher. Serve over ice.
NIBBLE TIP: You can make ice cubes from some of the punch, so the ice doesn’t dilute the drink.
The last couple of years have seen a bacon frenzy: bacon chocolate, bacon brittle, bacon cupcakes, bacon mayonnaise and more (see our Best Bacon Gifts).
Given that bacon is a favorite breakfast food, why not try bacon in a morning muffin?
Summer saké punch with strawberries and cucumber: delicious! Photo courtesy Geikkekan.
For warm weather entertaining—like Father’s Day—serve something different and unexpected.
Party drinks like sangria and punch are popular, affordable and easy to make.
For a fun fusion, make them with saké.
Saké, which many people think of as rice wine (we’ll skip the technicalities for now), can substitute for conventional grape-based wines in these recipes.
How about saké sangria, an Asian twist on the Spanish original? Refresh yourself with:
Peach & Plum Sangria
Summer Saké Sangria, with watermelon and honeydew
Fruity Sake Sangria, with apple, honeydew and orange
Would you rather serve a pitcher of punch instead of sangria?
The key difference is that punch isn’t chock-full of fruit like sangria, and typically has effervescence added via soda water or ginger ale. Recipes include:
Ginger Plum Punch
Saké Berry Punch
Cool Sparkle Punch, with cucumbers and strawberries (our favorite among the six refreshing recipes)
FOOD TRIVIA: The word “punch” is adapted from the Hindi word, “panch.” In India, panch was made from five different ingredients: sugar, lemon, water, tea or spices and an alcoholic spirit. The word for “five” in Sanskrit is panchan–hence the name. After carbonated water (soda water) became mainstream in the late 18th century, it was added to the punch for some effervescence.
