We are now in what I call the Holiday Donut Hole, which is the brief period of time between gorging yourself at Christmas and gorging yourself for New Year’s. Personally, I’m taking these few days to do some healthy eating, but it’s definitely worth starting to plan for New Year’s, especially if you are throwing a party.
Call me crazy, but I’ve never really been a fan of the New Year’s bar scene – especially in a big city. You just pay a lot for some usually sub-par food and a few glasses of champagne in a packed restaurant. Not really my idea of a good way to ring in the new year. Instead I find it much more fun to hang out with a few friends at a house with food, drink, and games.
If you do happen to be throwing a party (or attending one and willing to lug some ingredients around), it’s always a good idea to have a solid punch. Most punch recipes make a lot of tasty drink for a fairly economical price tag – especially if your alternative is going out on the town.
Over the last week I’ve been browsing through some punch recipes and here are eight favorites that caught my eye!
AB EggNog – I made this great eggnog recipe last year and it’s definitely worth revisiting. Homemade eggnog is so superior to the stuff you buy in the store; it’s not even close. Traditional eggnog is made with raw egg but this version is made with eggs that I pasteurized over a double boiler. Makes it safer and doesn’t really affect the taste.
Pomegranate Champagne Punch – Pomegranates are in season and Champagne is about as New Year’s as it gets! If people bring a lot of cheap champagne to your party this year, feel free to put them to use! Also, this post has a bonus eggnog recipe! (@ Yum Sugar)
Pacman Punch – Ok. So this punch recipe was actually for a recent boxing match, but I think it would be awesome for a party. Looks tasty and I think it probably packs a punch (PUNNY). (@ Burnt Lumpia)
Cotillion Club Punch – This is a crazy recipe that is some sort of Southern concoction involving lots of whiskey. The most impressive thing though is the 300 servings the base recipe makes. You might need to work on your division for this punch unless you are throwing an EPIC bash. (@ Serious Eats)
Jasper’s Rum Punch – Sometimes punches are too packed with sweeteners and have generally too many ingredients. This one, I imagine, tastes like what it’s supposed to taste like: rum. The recipe is the exact opposite of the Cotillion punch recipe. It’s written for one serving. You’ll need to times it by a few dozen to get a good punch recipe ready. (@ Kaiser Penguin)
Wassail – The phrase means “Be Healthy” which is always a good New Year’s resolution. The recipe has some steps, but the result is an awesome spiced wine punch. It’d be great for a cold December 31st night. (@ use real butter)
Mulled Apple Cider – A pretty straightforward recipe involving cinnamon, apple juice and mulled spices. Of course the rum is optional or, if you wanted, just stick a bottle of rum near the punch and people can add it to taste. (@ Phoo-D) If you wanted to pass on the mulled spices, you could make your own from scratch using this recipe (@ Elena’s Pantry)
Cranberry Apple Cider – One more apple cider variation using cranberries. Maybe you have some leftover from the holidays? This recipe is actually without the booze, but you could add it if you wanted. I’d go with a dark rum or whiskey. (@ Pham Fatale)
Those are a few of the punch recipes I’m thinking about trying out this year, but how about you? Leave a comment with your favorite punch!
Photo by AlleyesonJenny.
After a long week of holiday eating, I’m always looking for a quick and healthy meal to combat the holiday pounds! Especially in the few days between Christmas and New Years, it’s nice to get some healthy eating in. I’ve experimented with this spicy broccoli Pad Thai dish a few times now and I love the results. Traditional Pad Thai dishes usually have some sort of meat (shrimp or pork are the most common I think), but this veggie version is a nice change.
The sauce is spicy enough to give tons of flavor to the dish and I don’t really miss the meat!
Spicy and healthy!
This dish is very flexible. I’ve made it twice now two completely different ways. The sauce is very adjustable and I’ve topped it with peanuts or cashews, different kinds of sprouts, and scallions one time and cilantro one time. So go crazy with it!
Continue Reading »
Merry Christmas and a very happy holidays to everyone! Betsy and I are in Wyoming with my family this year. We finally made it after 4 days of delays and canceled flights. Some of it was the weather’s fault, some of it was Delta’s fault. All of it was incredibly annoying. But, we’re here now!
My Mom’s tree is decorated with tons of ornaments from my childhood. My favorite was definitely a photo of me in 1985 that was framed with tongue depressors. The 80′s rocked.
Also, a very funky reindeer I made with felt ears and googley eyes!
No poll or links this week people. Get off the computer and go hang out with the family and/or friends!
I’m taking the weekend off from Macheesmo, but I’ll be back in full force on Monday with a healthy recipe to combat all of that holiday junk (amazing) food!
I’ve had a nagging idea in the back of my mind for awhile now about making homemade tots. I’ve only written about the frozen variety once before when I wrote about one of Betsy’s favorite meals: Dogs and Tots. I think that this meal may be part of the reason she decided it would be cool to spend her life with me…
What’s not to like about tots? They are crispy and salty and delicious! But is it really possible to make them at home if you don’t have a ridiculous potato processing plant at your disposal?
The answer is a very big YES.
I made these.
I’m actually shocked at how well these turned out, but I have to give some props to a new restaurant in town that gave me the push I needed to give these a try. Birch & Barley, a new beer shop in town with really fantastic food, has these on the menu and they are filled with mashed potatoes. I had one (literally I just got one and then they were all gone) and I decided I had to give it a shot.
Continue Reading »
I occasionally get emails or questions about a certain pot or piece of equipment in my kitchen so I thought I would just take a post and lay out my very small kitchen and some of the gadgets and oddities that are in it. What are you supposed to learn from this? Probably not much, but maybe it will be entertaining. You will definitely not learn now to keep your cat off of the counters. I’m very, very bad at that.
So let’s get started! The first thing that I see when I enter the kitchen is this wooden sign that Betsy and I got for Xmas a few years ago. It’s kitschy, but cute.
Well howdy partner!
I stuck the sign over the one window in our kitchen (although our kitchen does get a lot of natural light). I also use that window for basic storage for some larger items. When you live in the city, it’s pretty important to use every square inch possible.
Continue Reading »
A few weeks ago I went to a surprise party for a good friend of mine. The theme of the party was sushi and I thought I’d bring an appetizer. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at potstickers or dumplings for awhile now so this was as good a time as any. While I like the steamed variety, potstickers are actually my favorite. A good potsticker is crunchy and browned on the bottom and then steamed on the top so that the filling is cooked through.
These potstickers were actually easier to make then I thought. And they were very tasty.
Made with love.
I really stressed about this recipe. I was worried about the filling and the technique. But the reality of it is that if you just get a few things right, they are going to be delicious. So if you want to make them, try not to get too worried about that stuff. Most likely, they will be very edible and, if you’re feeding friends, they’ll be impressed.
Continue Reading »
No this isn’t about chiseled men and conquering kingdoms. It’s about resolutions! Last year, I made a few resolutions that I wanted to accomplish through 2009. I can proudly say that I accomplished at least one of them last weekend with this post which was my 300th Macheesmo post of the year!
It’s kind of hard to believe that I’ve published that many posts this year. I can honestly say that I’ve learned a lot and still have a ginormous list of recipes and posts that I can’t wait to try.
I’ll probably make some similar goals in 2010 which I’ll post closer to the new year. I might take off a day or two over the next few weeks because I’m going to be out of town for most of the time, but no doubt that you can continue to expect fairly frequent posts throughout the next year.
Here’s a few links!
Blog Envy Holiday Dessert Bake-off Party – Bon Appétit invited 15 awesome food bloggers to NY for a night of baking and eating. Bon Appétit, if you’re listening, I’m keeping my entire 2010 calendar clear in case you deem me worthy of a bake-off invitation next year. Just sayin’… (@ BA)
Here for The Cookies! – Betsy and I are actually considering doing something like this for our wedding. We’re planning on making a bunch of desserts from our childhood and piling them high and deep. Should be a good time. (@ NY Times)
Eater of the Year – Get your bid in now for the 2009 Eater of the Year! I’m thinking Jose Garces is going to take it because WHOA LOOK AT THAT KNIFE. (@ Endless Simmer)
What Matters Now – Ok. So this isn’t food related at all, but I found it very interesting and inspiring so I thought I’d link to it in case you haven’t seen it already. It’s a free PDF mini-book. Each page in the book has a theme and is written by a different author. It’s a great read and makes you think about a lot of different subjects. The authors range from popular bloggers to NY Times best selling authors to just generally smart and thoughtful people. Definitely worth a look. (@ Seth Godin)
Have a good weekend everyone and if you’re traveling, good luck!
Photo by Σταύρος.
Recent Comments