Happy Memorial Day! A time to reflect all of those brave soldiers and military servicemen and women who have sacrificed their lives and families for the safety of ours. Big applause and respect goes out to them and I’m grateful we have a safe and secure country to live in because of them. Especially now.
In honor of the holiday, I rounded up a few of my favorite recipes to celebrate. Wishing you all a lovely holiday, hopefully filled with family and friends, food and drinks with grateful hearts to our heroes that keep us safe. EVERY DAY. XO
Hey guys, listen up! Summer is almost around the corner and do I have some exciting news for you coconut lovers around the world! CAPTAIN MORGANjust took a bunch of coconuts and turned them into a delicious new shot, CAPTAIN MORGAN LocoNut. This super delicious shot is made with Caribbean rum, coconut liqueur, spice and natural flavors.
It comes in a coconut-shaped bottle, smells like a coconut and yes, tastes like a coconut (and a day on the beach in a glass!) LocoNut is affordable too, just $14.99 for a 750 ml bottle, and it’s coming to a store (and a beach) near you. And, on top of that, CAPTAIN MORGAN LocoNut is also gluten-free!
It’s simply amazing as a chilled shot, but it’s also great simply on the rocks, and a great base for a variety of tropical cocktails or mixed shots, so get creative! I’d love to hear some of your cocktail ideas using LocoNut in the comments below.
Here’s a few cocktail ideas to get your tastebuds singing and a head start on Summer vacay:
Loco & Coco
3 oz. CAPTAIN MORGAN LocoNut Coconut Shot
4 oz. Coconut Water
Directions: Combine CAPTAIN MORGAN LocoNut with coconut water and serve over ice.
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Captain & Loco
2 oz. CAPTAIN MORGAN LocoNut Coconut Shot
0.5 oz. CAPTAIN MORGAN Original Spiced Rum
Directions: Combine CAPTAIN MORGAN LocoNut and CAPTAIN MORGAN Original Spiced Rum and serve over ice.
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Livin’ Vanilla Loco
1 oz. CAPTAIN MORGAN LocoNut Coconut Shot
0.5 oz. CROWN ROYAL Vanilla
Directions: Combine CAPTAIN MORGAN LocoNut and CROWN ROYAL Vanilla into a shaker with ice.
Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan’s whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.
Follow on Twitter for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA.
Celebrating life, every day, everywhere
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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post and I received a product sample from the client to perform this product review on my site. I was not compensated monetarily and all opinions are my own. #ad #spon
Well the holidays have finally arrived – my favorite time of year! I love having some time to rest and relax and enjoy quality time with friends and family, especially around the table sharing delicious food and wine. So to celebrate the season, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite holiday recipes that I’ve created over the years – either for myself or a few of my clients (KitchenAid, Colavita and Seven Barrels), that I wanted to share with all of you. From appetizers, to salads, to desserts, entrees and cocktails, they all have that special magic touch perfect for the holidays.
I’d love to hear in the comments below what some your favorite holiday recipes are too – feel free to post them and share a link below, and if you want to share my recipes online please include a link back to my site and credit to Kristen Hess / The Artful Gourmet and @artfulgourmeton social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr).
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a joyous and prosperous New Year 2017!
I had the opportunity to attend a special preview tasting of Olive Garden‘s new ‘Tastes of the Mediterranean’ menu this week at a lovely event held at Haven’s Kitchen in NYC with a group of other food bloggers, writers and journalists.
We sampled a (generous!) variety of delicious food and wine, and learned more about the new menu ideas and inspiration from the Olive Garden team and Executive Chef, Jim Nuetzi.
Inspired by the flavors of Italy’s Mediterranean Coast, Olive Garden is evolving its popular Lighter Italian Fare menu to the new ‘Tastes of the Mediterranean’ menu, which celebrates the flavors and cooking styles from the popular Mediterranean region of Italy with all entrees under 600 calories.
Beginning Jan. 2, two new entrees – Chicken Margherita and
Linguine di Mare – will be available in restaurants. Following, the fully evolved ‘Tastes of the Mediterranean’ rebranded menu section, which includes guest favorites as well as the new entrees, will be introduced on Jan. 23.
“Healthier dishes at restaurants can often be perceived as boring or unsatisfying. However, our Mediterranean-inspired Shrimp Scampi with its flavorful ingredients was our second most popular entrée on the entire menu last summer,” said Jim Nuetzi, Executive Chef for Olive Garden. “The positive reaction from our guests further showed that we could create indulgent and craveable entrees that just happen to have the added benefit of lower calorie counts.”
The guest-favorite Shrimp Scampi, which was introduced to the Olive Garden menu last year, has exceeded any other Olive Garden lighter fare entrée in popularity. Many guests were surprised that the flavorful and satisfying dish was only500 calories.
The guest reaction to the Shrimp Scampi inspired chefs to explore additional ingredients that would excite guests in the same way, leading them to the cuisine of Italy’s Mediterranean coast. The region is long known for healthier lifestyles and cooking with light, flavorful ingredients such as seafood, olive oil, fresh vegetables, whole grains and Italian spices.
The ‘Tastes of the Mediterranean’ menu features:
NEW! Chicken Margherita: Grilled chicken breasts topped with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, basil pesto and a lemon garlic sauce. Served with parmesan crusted zucchini.
Shrimp Scampi: Shrimp sautéed in a garlic sauce, tossed with asparagus, tomatoes and angel hair pasta.
NEW! Linguine di Mare: Shrimp and mussels sautéed with homemade pomodoro sauce and whole grain linguine.
Herb-Grilled Salmon: Filet grilled to perfection and topped with garlic-herb butter. Served with parmesan-garlic broccoli.
Chicken Piccata: Grilled chicken topped with a lemon garlic butter sauce, sun-dried tomatoes and capers. Served with parmesan crusted zucchini.
Tilapia Piccata: Delicate white fish baked in a lemon garlic butter sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and capers. Served with parmesan crusted zucchini.
Entrees on the rebranded menu start at $14.29.
And last but not least, we enjoyed a gorgeous dessert, Warm Chocolate Baci Cake with coffee..simply divine.
..and got some take home goodie bags with a bottle of wine and some wine glasses!
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ABOUT OLIVE GARDEN
Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment with more than 800 restaurants, more than 96,000 employees and more than $3.8 billion in annual sales. Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants, Inc., (NYSE: DRI), which owns and operates more than 1,500 restaurants that generate over $6.8 billion in annual sales. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., and employing more than 150,000 people, Darden is recognized for a culture that rewards caring for and responding to people. Olive Garden is committed to making a difference in the lives of others in the local community. As part of this commitment, Olive Garden restaurants have donated more than 35 million pounds of food to local community food banks across the country.
PAIRED Champagne and Sparkling Wines is a gorgeous cookbook by Australian Photographer Fran Flynn and Wine Expert David Stevens-Castro. The book is filled with tons of information on champagne and sparkling wines and how to pair food and recipes accordingly.
They break up the book into different sections based on the different types of wines (Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, New World Sparkling Wines, etc.) with a background on how the wines are made, from what regions, the differences between them which make it easy to understand.
Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and New World Sparkling Wines all have different fermenting processes from different regions (France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand) with varying bubble sizes, flavors and characteristics which is absolutely fascinating! They review the wines at a glance describing the different classifications of sparkling wine, what grapes are used, flavors and types of wine. Then they go into more detail with each type of wine suggesting cheeses and recipes that pair well with each based on their flavors.
The food photography by Fran is absolutely gorgeous and mouthwatering, and the way they match the recipes to the different types of sparkling wines is brilliant and well thought out based on matching and balancing flavors of the food with the qualities of the champagne and sparkling wines (sweet paired with sweet, salty paired with sweet, reds vs. roses vs. whites, spicy paired with Asian, tangy paired with dry, etc.)
There are delicious recipes for cheese and charcuterie boards, appetizers, main dishes, salads and desserts, and I love how they also created specialty tasting menus at the end to help the reader plan a party pairing different wines with different foods for a unique experience – Light and Luxurious Lunch, Rich and Decadent dinner, All that Sparkles, Distinct Pleasures and Latino Influenced.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about Champagne and Sparkling Wines and to refer to it for their next tasting adventure and party or gathering with family and friends. And it’s perfect for the holidays where bubbles are celebrated and enjoyed the most!
Hey friends, Happy Halloween! It’s my favorite holiday of the year (well, besides Thanksgiving and Christmas) and what better way to celebrate than making some spooky and delicious cocktails for your #Halloween party!
I love Captain Morgan Caribbean spiced rum, and they have a new kid in town – Jack-O-Blast! It’s the same delicious rum but has all the seasonal flavors of Fall incorporated like pumpkin spice and cinnamon..yum! I wanted to share a few cocktail recipes with you to try with this delicious elixir that will spice up your #Halloween festivities this year.
And actually, it’s so darn good, you could sip it on ice all by itself! But pick some up quick because it’s limited edition meaning they only sell it in the Fall. Hope you have a Jack-O-Blast time whatever you’re doing for the holiday! Enjoy 🙂
DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients in a glass filled with ice, stir and serve.
Mutiny Mule
1.5 oz. Captain Morgan Jack-O’Blast
3 oz. ginger beer
0.5 oz. lime juice
DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients in a glass filled with ice, stir and garnish with a lime wedge.
Captain’s Cauldron
1.5 oz. Captain Morgan Jack-O’Blast
2 oz. orange juice
1 oz. cranberry juice
Optional: 1 oz. club soda topper
Lemon wedge – squeezed
DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients in a glass filled with ice, stir and garnish with a lemon wedge.
I’d love to hear what fun and spooky cocktail recipes you all are making (or would make!) too..cause, you can never have enough delish cocktails in your life, right? Please comment below!
Over a century ago, the Whiskey Sour originated as one of the simplest cocktails, with variations of whiskey, lemon juice, and sweetened with sugar. The mix lost attention after the prohibition era, but it resurged with the heightened interest in craft cocktails. Thanks to whiskey’s newfound status and the use of fresh ingredients, the Whiskey Sour has made a strong comeback.
Because sours have a higher ratio of alcohol to mix than your typical cocktail, the “unofficial” holiday appeals to the summer beverage interests of men and women alike.
Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Grate nutmeg for garnish (optional).
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More about Bulleit Bourbon:
Distilled in Kentucky from the highest quality ingredients, this new variant is a barrel strength version of Bulleit Bourbon with the same high-rye mash bill – roughly 2/3 corn and 1/3 rye. In April, Bulleit Barrel Strength received a Gold Medal from the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, continuing Bulleit’s history of sharing award-winning whiskeys.
More about Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye:
With more than 75 years of experience producing quality Canadian Whiskey, Crown Royal introduces its first-ever blended rye whiskey, Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye. Crafted from 90% rye whiskey, the new blended whiskey from Crown Royal is produced at the brand’s distillery in Gimli, Manitoba, where the distinctive Northern winters create the perfect conditions for a deliciously flavorful, extraordinarily smooth whiskey.
More about George Dickel No. 12:
A 90 proof Dickel whiskey that uses older whiskies to create deeper, more assertive flavors and an incredibly smooth finish. The taste is refined with hints of vanilla and a dry crisp finish– a result of their charcoal mellowing process. Concentrated flavors of rich oak and subtle vanilla lead to a long finish with hints of maple, butter and smoke. It’s a whiskey with enormous depth, range and personality – considered by many to be the gold standard of Tennessee Whiskey.
Pi Day, the mathematical holiday, is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159.
And even though it’s a less common holiday to be celebrated, it’s simply another great reason to whip up a cocktail. And what better to include in your Pi(e) Day drink than PIEHOLE Whiskey?
In honor of the occasion, I’d like to share three delicious spring cocktails, created by the National PIEHOLE Sweetheart (and New Orleans Bartender) Brooke Flaherty.
Lucky Apple
1.5 oz. PIEHOLE™ Whiskey with Apple Flavored Liqueur
3 oz. Ginger Beer
A splash sour mix
A splash of lemon-lime soda
Garnish with lime wedge
Cherry Punch
1.5 oz. PIEHOLE™ Whiskey with Cherry Flavored Liqueur
4 oz. Ginger Ale
.5 oz. Pineapple Juice
.5 oz. Orange Juice
Juice from half of a lemon
Garnish with a cherry and orange
Pecan Sweet Tea
1.5 oz. PIEHOLE™ Whiskey with Pecan Flavored Liqueur
I just got back from a lovely 2 week vacation in Upstate New York (Rochester) visiting family and friends, which I normally do in the Summer, my family and I go camping with a tent from Survival Cooking every year. Not only is it the 4th of July holiday, but my Sister’s and Dad’s birthdays and a time to celebrate Summer!
I decided to make my Dad a pie for his birthday because I know he loves them..he usually loves Lemon Meringue Pie but I thought I’d surprise him with a lovely Lemon Icebox Pie with a Blueberry-Raspberry Filling in a Graham Cracker crust.
The pie is made in a buttery graham cracker crust and has a light and luscious creamy lemon filling made with eggs, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest that is mixed with condensed milk, buttermilk and whipped egg yolks. It’s topped with a homemade Blueberry-Raspberry Filling made with fresh berries, sugar and lemon zest and cooked into a yummy warm syrupy topping, along with some fluffy whipped cream to top it off.
It’s really easy to make and has a creamy tangy flavor that is balanced by the sweet berry topping a crunchy graham crust. Delicious! Here’s how to make it in a few easy steps:
Prepare the crust by mixing crushed graham crackers with melted butter, sugar and salt and pressing into a 9 inch pie pan. Bake at 325 for about 10 minutes until lightly browned, set aside to cool on wire rack.
Next make your lemon icebox pie filling by zesting some lemons,
and whisking the lemon zest and lemon juice with the condensed milk.
Next you will beat your egg yolks for about 5 minutes until ribbons form, and gradually whisk in condensed milk mixture and buttermilk, and pour into prepared graham crust.
Bake the pie for about 20-25 minutes at 325 degrees F, and let cool completely on a wire rack for about an hour.
While the pie is cooling, make your fresh berry filling by adding 2 cups of fresh berries (I used raspberries and blueberries, but you can use any berries you wish) to a medium saucepan along with some lemon zest, sugar and water. Cook the berry mixture on medium-low for about 10 minutes until the berries breakdown and a syrupy texture forms.
Let the berry filling cool completely and keep cool in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Let the pie freeze for about 4-6 hours (make sure to spray some plastic wrap and cover well first). Once ready to eat, just top pie with mixed berries and whipped cream and let the party begin!
A Birthday Pie for Dad: Lemon Icebox Pie w/ Raspberry-Blueberry Topping
Total Time: 6 hours, 15 minutes
Yield: 8
A luscious and light lemony pie in a graham cracker crust with macerated raspberries and blueberries topped with whipped cream.
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Lemon Icebox Pie Filling:
1 (14-ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup buttermilk
Raspberry-Blueberry Topping:
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Dash of vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare Pie Crust:
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Pour graham cracker crumbs in a large mixing bowl and add sugar, salt and melted butter.
Mix well and press into the bottom of a greased 9-inch pie pan.
Bake crust for 8 to 10 minutes and let cool completely on a wire rack. (Can also freeze for up to an hour while preparing pie filling and topping).
Prepare Lemon Icebox Pie Filling:
Whisk together lemon zest, juice and condensed milk in a mixing bowl, set aside.
In another large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks with a mixer on high speed, until ribbons form and they become pale (for about 5 minutes).
Whisk in condensed milk and lemon mixture slowly and gradually until thoroughly combined, then whisk in buttermilk.
Pour mixture into cooled graham cracker crust and bake at 325 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes until filling is set.
Let pie cool on a wire rack for an hour, then cover with a greased saran wrap and freeze at least 4 hours.
Prepare Raspberry-Blueberry Topping:
Place all the berries and rest of ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Once berries come to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes until berry mixture thickens (stirring often).
Let berry topping cool completely and store in the fridge (covered) until ready to use.
Top the pie with berry topping and whipped cream.
Notes
You can substitute any berries you like for the pie topping, and also use cracker crumbs, vanilla wafers or gingersnaps in place of the graham crackers for the crust.
Recipe adapted from Lisa Donovan, Southern Living Magazine - June 2015
I recently hosted a super fun Dine in the Dark Event at CitizenM hotel in Times Square NYC. They invited me to host the event by presenting some delicious nibbles and foodie creations to serve to a great group of food bloggers to do a blind tasting.
The idea was to pair flavors and tastes that the bloggers had to experience and guess, which were all revealed at the end of the dining experience by me.
I made 7 different small bites for the bloggers to do the tasting of: Blue Cheese, Apple and Walnut Salad in Endive, Manchego & Fig Jam Tarts, Sesame Sriracha Chicken Bites, Prosciutto, Melon & Feta Mini Skewers, Strawberry-Watermelon Coconut Rum Shooters, Smoked Salmon with Chive Sour Cream & Dill on Cucumber Rounds, and Tart Cherry Pistachio Honey Energy Balls.
CitizenM is a lovely modern hotel in the heart of Times Square, who let us have the space to do my event. They provided us afterwards with cocktails and more nibbles up on their rooftop CloudBar, where I gave a food styling and photography discussion and Q&A with the bloggers.
Everyone had a fantastic time and got the opportunity to learn some of my tips and tricks on food styling and food photography and how to break into the business. The group got to sample some tasty food, sip some delicious cocktails and meet new blogger friends from the city. All and all we had amazing views and it was a fun, lively evening for all.
Thanks to CitizenM for being such a lovely and accommodating venue! And thanks to all the bloggers* that came and made the event a smashing success! *see list at end of post
Happy Summer and Cheers to all! Enjoy some photos from the event below and I’ll post my recipes soon – stay tuned! 🙂
All the Food Bloggers — thanks for coming and making the #DineintheDarkNYC event at #CitizenMnyc a fun time for all 🙂
