The Cocktail Tree was developed by SushiSamba to enable patrons of the fusion-cuisine restaurant chain (a meld of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian influences) to enjoy tasting portions of different fancy cocktails.

It is popular at SushiSamba restaurants nationwide (Chicago, Miami, New York and Las Vegas) as a fun way to sample the restaurant’s extensive beverage menu.

You now can have a tree of your own.

It isn’t inexpensive, but you get what you pay for: a memorable experience for $250 (the price includes the 12 glasses).

Each handcrafted tree is made from forged steel, with a blackened patina and satin lacquer.

Get yours at SushiSamba.com.

Try different drinks from the tasting tree.
Photo courtesy SushiSamba.

Oh my darling clementines: The sweetest
mandarin orange is also the juiciest.
Photo courtesy Del Monte.

What are those cute little oranges that have been in the produce section since the holidays?

They’re clementines: botanical name Citrus reticulata, for its pebbled skin.

Why should you get to know them? They’re a very sweet, juicy, healthy portable snack. But buy them now: The season is over by March.

Seedless, thin-skinned and very easy to peel, clementines are a user-friendly variety of mandarin orange. They’re the smallest member of the mandarin family, and the favorite variety for their sweetness, juiciness and thinner membranes.

While they have their own distinctive flavor, clementines can be substituted for oranges or tangerines in recipes.

Tangerines (Citrus tangerine), also a member of the mandarin family of citrus, has a thicker, tougher peel and seeds.

The clementine is believed to have originated as an accidental hybrid between a sweet orange and a mandarin orange, planted in Misserghin, Algeria around 1900 by Father Clement Rodier. (It has also been called the Algerian tangerine.)

We bet that Mrs. Sprat is long gone to her reward from heart disease, diabetes, and/or stroke: a result of her high-cholesterol, high-saturated-fat diet.*

Jack? He’s a sprightly senior, still eating lean.

*Our bodies make too much cholesterol when we eat too much saturated fat, which is the type of fat found in animal-based foods, including meat and dairy products.

Take a tip from Jack: Minimize your saturated fat intake from gravy, soups and stocks.

Separating fat can be a messy job, but the OXO Fat Separator makes it neat and easy.

One of the easiest ways to eat healthier:
use a fat separator. Photo courtesy SurLaTable.com

Others use a bulb baster. It’s better than nothing, but it doesn’t make things easy.

Then some savvy person invented the fat separator. Some look like measuring cups; some, which are used at the table, look like gravy boats.

Since fat rises to the top, a fat separator allows you to pour the lean juices from a spout connected to the bottom of the device (see the photo). The fat remains inside.

The OXO Fat Separator adds a mechanism that filters out solid particles, leaving “pure slimmed-down juices” to flow from the spout. It’s available at Sur La Table and other fine stores, and SurLaTable.com; and at Amazon.com in both two-cup and four-cup sizes.

Stock up on this limited-edition bottle.
Photo courtesy Moet et Chandon.

Bring a bottle of the official Champagne!

Moët & Chandon returns as the official Champagne of both the 2011 Golden Globes and the Academy Award. Its limited-edition Gold Award Season Moët & Chandon Impérial bottle is a beaut.

The limited-edition bottle retails for $39 and is available through March 31st wherever Moët & Chandon is sold.

The Champagne will continue to age well for the next 10 years, so you may want to stock up. It’s an impressive gift to give year-round.

• Bone up on the different types of Champagne.
• Make our favorite Champagne cocktail, with St. Germain Elderflower liqueur. It’s amazing!
• The correct way to pour Champagne.

To many of us, this means a lot of grilled, poached or roasted fish and white meat chicken without the skin. And it can look boring, night after night.

But it’s easy to make everyday diet food look glamorous.

• Place your protein atop a bed of vegetables or whole grain. Cabbage, spinach and Swiss chard land watercress are examples of vegetables that lie flat. If the veg is prominently three-dimensional (broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots or cauliflower, for example), use a food processor to pulse it into a chunky purée.
• Alternate the cut of the vegetables. One day prepare them chunky-sliced, one day thin-sliced, one day a large dice, one day a small dice. Chunky slices can be speared onto skewers for some food-on-a-stick excitement.
• Rim the plate with vegetables. Use small broccoli or cauliflower florets, halved cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, carrot slices or other small-size vegetable cuts to create a decorative, edible border.

The most “diet” foods can be presented
beautifully. Photo courtesy Whole Foods Market.

• Vary your low-calorie condiments. Mustard, salsa and savory chutney are examples. Enjoy them straight, or mix with fat-free yogurt to make a low-calorie sauce.
• Snip fresh herbs over the plate. Chives, cilantro, dill, parsley and other favorites not only look great, they pick up the flavor of everything on the plate.
• If you typically use salt, sprinkle the plate with sea salt. The varying colors and textures that are available make a beautiful garnish while supplying salty flavor.
• Include a citrus wedge. It adds color and shape variety on the plate. And a squeeze of citrus juice makes almost anything taste more lively—and adds valuable vitamin C antioxidants.
• Use a peppermill. Don’t buy bulk peppercorns at club stores; they’re usually not as favorful. Instead, treat yourself to the best peppercorns you can find.

And check out our Garnish Glamour suggestions. Soon, you’ll be a glam-food expert.