Sips and Apps

This is my second book choice in my foodie quest. For those of you who do not know what I am talking about please see my blog post on Sept 24, 2013.

This author’s mantra and I quote is “A great drink is just as important as a great dish”.  She considers whipping up cocktails to be liquid cooking.  Don’t you just love her point of view? I am not a big drinker by any stretch of the imagination but I do like a good drink and I am clueless about pairing alcoholic beverages and food. 

Often I like inviting friends over for drinks and “heavy appetizers”.  The problem is I do the same stuff over and over.  Blah, Blah, Blah, Boring, Boring.  That is why this book caught my attention.

She starts out with advice on how to stock your bar, which spirits and which liqueurs.  Then she turns it up a notch by suggesting different ways to incorporate fruits, veggies and herbs.  She then talks about garnishes, barware and equipment.  I made the ultimate mistake a few weeks ago when I had friends over and my martini maker refused to make apple martinis because I didn’t have martini glasses. She was right of course but I thought tumblers would do.  Am I clueless or what!

I also liked her chapter on Techniques and Tricks of the Trade.  And then comes the recipes for all these wonderful cocktails.  One that caught my eye was Hot Mango Love made with a fresh jalapeno pepper and Finlandia mango vodka.  Who would ever think to put a jalapeno in a drink?  Her Grapefruit Cosmo did not look to shabby either.  Oh and did I mention the Fresh Apple Mojito?  That’s just three there are more including the old standards. 

If all this wasn’t enough, there is the second half of the book that contain the recipes for the Apps. By Apps I do not mean software you load on a computer or tablet although this book is available in digital format.  A couple that looked good were: The Bollywood Chicken Skewers with Spiced Yogurt Dip and the Chipolte Deviled Eggs.  One other that caught my eye was the Mini Scallion Biscuits with Smoked Salmon Spread.  Yum!

I have added this book onto my Holiday gift list for some of my recipients who are hard to buy for.  I think this will do nicely.