New Years Party Punch!

This punch has been a huge hit every time I’ve ever served it! When I take it to parties, there’s never any left over, and it’s enjoyed by kids and adults alike! It’s fast and easy to make, too, which is always a bonus! The recipe easily doubles, and the base can stay frozen for a few months before serving! For a fun, festive New Year’s Eve party drink, you can’t go wrong here! Enjoy!

Perfect Alcoholic Party Punch

Ingredients:
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 3-ounce package strawberry gelatin mix
24 ounces pineapple juice
1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup citrus flavored vodka
2-liter bottle of clear soda, or 2 to 3 bottles champagne

Perfect Non-alcoholic Party Punch

Ingredients:
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 3-ounce package strawberry gelatin mix
24 ounces pineapple juice
2 cups orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 2-liter bottle clear soda (lemon lime or ginger ale), or 2 to 3 bottles sparkling apple cider

**If you use the champagne for adults, you can make the punch without the vodka, if you like. just replace it with another cup of orange juice. Furthermore, the directions are the same for both recipes up until the addition of alcohol.**

How to:

In a large sauce pan, combine the sugar, water, and gelatin mix. Bring to a boil and cook for two or three minutes, until all of the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the pineapple juice, orange juice, and lemon juice. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, pour the mixture into a freezer safe container. I like to use gallon zip top bags, then sit them into a larger bowl. Freeze the mixture until almost completely frozen. If it freezes solid, just allow to thaw in the sink for a couple of hours.

Place the frozen punch in a large bowl. If it’s still very frozen, use a large wooden spoon to gently break up the pieces. Try to break down the biggest chunks.

Next, add about two liters of clear carbonated beverage. You can use lemon-lime soda or ginger ale, but my personal favorites are sparkling apple cider (for non-alcoholic) or champagne! That’s right, champagne! Yummmm! When I use champagne, I typically skip any other alcohol additions, though, but that’s your call-the punch tastes great either way!

I dressed my punch glasses up with some little homemade cocktail picks too! These were super easy and make the drinks look a little more festive!

All I did was make a little “Happy New Year” banner (and one that says “2011″) and print them out. I made them so that they could be double-sided, too.

Next I just cut each banner out with pinking shears (they give that pointed edge), folded them in half so the two sides lined up, and trimmed close to the edges with the pinking shears. Next, I wrapped them around a wooden skewers and secured them with a little craft glue. I also added some little streamers at the top, for a little extra punch, but these are still very cute without them.

To make the streamers, I just cut a 2-inch by 1.5-inch strip of tissue paper. Next, I cut thin strips, lengthwise, into the tissue, leaving about three eighths of an inch of uncut paper at the bottom. I spread a small amount of craft glue on the uncut section and wrapped it tightly around the top of the skewer, then glued the banner on normally. Voila! Fun, elegant, and festive cocktail picks!

The streamers add just a little extra something, but the ones I made without them are still adorable! I think these would be fantastic as cupcake toppers too! Plus, you can give them even more pizazz if you want, by adding a little glitter here and there! The links for these free printable picks are at the end of the post! Print away, my friends!

Don’t they create just the right festiveness for NYE celebrations?! I made them on a whim, and I seriously love how they turned out! I’m so glad I decided not to be lazy!

Recipe by Darla
Cocktail pick banners created by Darla

Click on the link(s) below to download, then print on heavy white paper:
2012″ Cocktail Banners
Happy New Year! Cocktail Banners




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Typical English Food and Dishes

English cuisine is known worldwide for its simplicity and minimalism. It usually uses fresh produce, and you will notice that most English recipes don't really need master chef skills to do. These dishes are usually simply boiled, baked, roasted, or fried.

Despite its simplicity, English cuisine's appeal lies in the heartiness it offers in every meal. Here are some of the delicious and filling dishes you can look forward to when visiting the UK:

Fish and chips. This is one of the most common, best loved, and most well-known of all English street food. Fish and chips is simply fish rolled in batter and deep fried then served together with chips or French fries. It is eaten with your fingers.

This snack is usually served in a rolled-up plain or brown paper, which is then rolled up again in more paper to serve as insulation so that your snack doesn't quickly go cold.

Fish and chips is often served either with plain salt and pepper or a sprinkling of malt vinegar. This most famous English food is so delectable that it can, in fact, be found all over the world with different variations.

The first fish and chips were served in London during the 19th century. By the mid 1930s, this tasty snack had conquered all of England.

Yorkshire pudding. Yorkshire pudding is a savoury pudding eaten as a starter or as part of the main course. It is made using a simple batter mixture of milk, eggs, and flour, baked under a shoulder of mutton so that it catches the drippings. The pudding is then served hot with the mutton, gravy, and vegetables.

You can also serve Yorkshire pudding with jam and ice cream for dessert.

Bangers and mash. Bangers are traditional pork or beef English sausages. The term "bangers" started back in the World War II, when the sausages rationed to the soldiers had such high water content that if you were not very careful while cooking them, they exploded with a "bang" in the high heat. (Modern bangers are much better behaved, though.)

Mash, of course, is mashed potatoes. The two are served together for a quick, tasty, hearty working-man's meal or pub grub. They are often served with jellied eels, another dish to look forward to in your English culinary escapade.

Toad-in-the-hole. People used to thinking of the English as a stiff, staid people would be very much surprised to hear of this exotic-sounding dish. The exoticness ends with the sound, though, as toad-in-the-hole is merely bangers cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter. The person who named it toad-in-the-hole must have had quite an imagination.

Incidentally, the bangers can be replaced by different kinds of meat. During wartime, it was common to make toad-in-the-hole with pieces of Spam.

Trifle. It's not a meal if there's no dessert. To wrap things up, try this classic English sweet called the trifle.

While the word trifle is usually used to describe "a thing of little value or importance," the dish is hefty, sumptuous, and certainly nothing to be trifled with (pun completely intended).

This dessert is made up of sponge cake spread with jam and soaked in sherry, then topped with fruits such as raspberries and bananas, topped with thick custard, and garnished with whipped cream!

Learn to speak English.

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Bodum Hot Chocolate Maker & Frother

Our deep love of coffee is nearly matched by our long-standing adoration of chocolate: Hot summer days perforated by cool, frothy chocolate milk and windy, freezing nights soothed by a fireside brew of steaming hot cocoa. If you love chocolate as much as we do, you'll add Bodum's Hot Chocolate Maker and Frother to your kitchen -- stat!

Tech Specs
Color: Clear with silver and black accents
Power: N/A
Size: 40oz - 8.8" H x 4.1" D
Body Material: Glass, stainless steel, plastic and silicone

How it Works
Add your desired amount of grounds/leaves into the cup
Put chocolate powder or syrup into the jug
Add cold or warm milk
Put on the lid
Turn the fluted spout towards the handle to securely seal it (no squirting!)
To manually blend, press the spiral rod down and then pull it back up
Continue until powder and syrup are fully blended and a froth is formed
Unseal by putting the fluted spout in place
Pour - Savor - Indulge

Features & Accessories
Get your cocoa fix the new-fangled way with this hot little number from classic press maker, Bodum.

Components & Functionality
Classy like Grandma: While the actual functionality is significantly different, the form hearkens back to Grandma's milk bottle and is multi-functional once the manual blender is removed. Use it to serve your favorite frothed chocolate drink or other anything else, like lemonade or a pitcher of margaritas.
Clever Blender: With a propeller attached to a spiral rod, the manual blender is as fun to use as it is functional. Your chocolate milk will be rich and frothy -- and if you're using powdered chocolate, you won't find any unfortunate lumps in the mix.
Heat-Resistant Glass: Highly durable and heat resistant, borosilicate glass is clear, thin and stronger than traditional glass, plus it won't cloud over time.
Stainless Steel Lid: The lid is manufactured with plastic and a silicone gasket for a tight seal.

Review written by seattlecoffeegear.com




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