12Nov/100
A la recherche du Punch mariage parfait
In Search of the Pefect Wedding Punch
For our wedding celebration I am in pursuit of the best wedding punch ever. I have been scouring the internet and talking with friends and family to try and find THE recipe for us. We are trying to incorporate a French or Parisian feel to as much of our party as possible and the punch is no exception. Last year I had some friends over and prepared a "Champagne Punch." This is a definite possibility since we can easily make it with French Champagne. It is really something special. The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2/3 cup superfine sugar
- 1 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup limoncello
- 2 teaspoons vermouth
- 1 (750 ml) bottle chilled dry Champagne or sparkling wine
- Ice
- Lemon twists, for garnish
Directions:
Combine the lemon juice, sugar, vodka, Limoncello, and vermouth in a large nonreactive bowl and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, 1 to 2 hours. Add the Champagne and stir to combine.
Another of my favorite punches is terrific for a fall reception or party. Called a "Tart and Bubbly" punch the star of this drink is cranberries:
Tart and Bubbly Punch:
Ingredients
- 2 (6 ounce) cans frozen pink lemonade concentrate
- 1 (6 ounce) can frozen pineapple juice concentrate
- 1 gallon cranberry juice
- 2 liters cranberry ginger ale
- 4 cups crushed ice
Directions:
In a large punch bowl, mix lemonade concentrate, pineapple juice concentrate and cranberry juice. Add ice and slowly pour in the ginger ale.
Over the next several weeks I will be trying out several other punch recipes. I am looking for something sophisticated and delicious! If you have any suggestions please post and I will give them a try.
10Nov/100
Capital de la Romance
Capital of Romance
Divided into a right and left bank by the River Seine, Paris is a regal city that exudes savoir faire. It is a city brimming with bridges, sidewalk cafés, and endless promenades that never fail to reveal some hidden treasure. The famous Parisian flair for the beautiful and dramatic is on display throughout, from the broadest café-lined boulevard to the narrowest cobbled side street. Entire days can be spent in the pursuit of whatever new marvel may lie just around the corner.
Everything about the City of Light-its grand monuments, its cathedrals, its haute couture, art, and cuisine-acts as a kind of elixir to the soul. It is truly the capital of the romantic world, and nothing else compares. Go to Paris with nothing but a few bucks (euros) in your wallet and you'll still feel like the richest couple in the world.
Winter, spring, summer or, fall, Paris is an ideal place to stroll. Rich with history combined with modern convenience the city never disappoints. Vintage, royal and tre chic even the most mundane in Paris still greets you with opulence. It is in the sidewalk cafés, restaurants, and bars that true eloquence of involvement is found in Paris. Even a simple picnic of fromage et baguette (with accompanying vin rouge, naturally) at the Place des Vosges rivals the most sumptuous dining at any five-star New York restaurant. It is in such elemental pleasures that you'll truly discover your version of Paris and have a lifetime's trove of memories from which to dip.
9Nov/100
Pistoles De Marie Antoinette
Chocolate Coins for Marie Antoinette
Sulpice Debauve was the royal family chemist. One day, when he visited the queen with a new concoction, she complained that most of her medicines tasted too strong and quite unpleasant. She suggested taking them with the hot drinking chocolate she was accustomed to enjoying for so many years in Vienna. To put medicine in hot drinking chocolate, however, was not a good idea, as the result would be even worse since the heat would increase the taste and the smell of the medicines.
Thus came about the idea that they would put medicine in solid chocolate, not the chocolate used to make drinking chocolate (in thick liquid form), but a new kind of solid chocolate devised to be eaten solid with the medicine inside.
The Pistole was founded by the Queen herself when she saw the first ones in a coin shape (more beautiful as such when displayed on a tray). She enjoyed nice conversations over them with the Spanish nobles visiting her.
The Pistole was first made of cocoa, cane sugar, and medicine mixed together. However, because the queen was a chocolate fan, she asked for more, though with an even further improved taste. Thus S. Debauve simultaneously became a chocolate chemist (manufacturing Pistoles with medicine according to the orders of the king's doctor) and a "chocolatier" because he produced Pistoles with pleasant flavours such as orange blossom, almond milk, Orgeat cream, coffee, vanilla, etc., according to the queen's wishes. We believe the queen's favorite was almond milk.
After the Revolution, S. Debauve opened his first chocolate shop and decorated the front with a quote from Horace: "Utile Dulci," referring to the mix of the health benefits of cocoa and the pleasure of enjoying chocolate. Pistoles De Marie Antoinette are available today from the same company estabilished after the French Revolution. Click here to order and enjoy!
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