Weekend Cooking: Cocktail Time by Sandra Lee

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Although I'm not a big cocktail drinker (preferring wine or scotch), I have always been intrigued with Sandra Lee's cocktails. They are generally beautiful to look at and feature fruit flavors. Thus I was excited to get the chance to review her book Cocktail Time.

The subtitle says 218 Cocktails & Appetizer for the "Best Time of the Day." I didn't count the recipes, but the book is chockfull of great drinks and small foods for every time of the year.

In the opening pages, Sandra gives advice for stocking a bar--from glassware to mixers--and offers some tips for what types of food to serve.

The chapters are divided by month, which is a great way to organize this kind of book. Hot drinks for the winter months, lovely red drinks for February, and light and refreshing drinks for summertime. The index is very well organized so you'll always be able to find what you want.

One thing I particularly like about Cocktail Time is that Sandra offers several alcohol-free drinks that make fun and pretty alternatives for you, your guests, and your kids.

I made two of the drinks and found them easy to put together and delicious to sip. I picked the cocktails based on what kinds of spirits were already in our cabinet. The drinks are not inexpensive when you think about buying all the different mixers and liqueurs.

The finger and snack foods all follow Sandra Lee's "semi-homemade" style, which means they rely on spice mixtures and ready-made products. The foods look very appealing, but I generally cook from scratch. I made her Ginger-Garlic Shrimp (p. 40), basing my from-scratch version on her recipe. The shrimp were a hit, and I'll be making them again (if I can remember exactly what I did!).

Here are the two cocktails we tried and will be making again. Note that Cocktail Time suggests brand names, but I am listing generic ingredients.

Paradise Martini

Makes 1 drink

Ice cubes
1 ounce vodka
1 tablespoon cold water
½ ounce creme de cassis
½ ounce amaretto
1 lime wedge
Maraschino cherry

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the vodka, water, creme de cassis, and amaretto. Squeeze in the lime juice. Cover and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled glass Garnish with cherry.

Beth Fish Read's note: We left out the cherry.

California Lemon

Makes 1 drink

1¼ ounces gin
1 ounce lemon drop cocktail mixer
¼ ounce blood orange bitters
Ice cubes
1 lemon wedge

In a cocktail shaker, combine gin, mixer, and bitters. Add ice, cover and shake until very cold. Strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with lemon wedge.

Cocktail Time at an Indie

Cocktail Time at Powell's
Cocktail Time at Amazon
These 3 links lead to affiliate programs.

Published by John Wiley & Sons / SL Books, 2009
ISBN-13: 9780470554876
YTS: 17
Source: Review copy (see review policy)
Rating: B-

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Weekend Cooking: So Easy by Ellie Krieger

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

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So Easy by Ellie Krieger is subtitled Luscious, Healthy, Recipes for Every Meal of the Week. The recipes do indeed look yummy, healthy, and—best of all—easy.

I love the way the book is divided into fast and leisurely recipes for each meal. That means there are two chapters each covering breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. So, for example, the first breakfast chapter is for "grab and go" meals and the second breakfast chapter is for sit-at-the-table mornings.

The introductory chapter explains Krieger's perspective on food and health, how the nutritional information was calculated, and how to stock your pantry. Throughout the book are tips and tricks and fun facts.

Krieger clearly defines what healthy means to her. Basically, she advocates eating minimally processed foods, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and lean meats. But she also believes that "no food is ever off limits. Rather, I categorize food as Usually, Sometimes, or Rarely" (p. 11).

The meals are based on a 2000-calorie-per-day diet, allowing a few more calories for dinner than for breakfast or lunch. Only one dessert (as far as I remember) is more than 300 calories, and most are between 150 and 200 calories. I was happy to see that the desserts include fruit and that there are plenty of appealing choices for about 100 calories or less.

All the ingredients should be easy for most people to find at a good grocery store, and the majority of them will be familiar. Adventuresome cooks will be happy to find recipes calling for watercress, arugula, mission figs, quinoa, and porcini. I found the balance of recipes between causal and fancy, quick and slow, everyday and gourmet to be perfect; this is truly a book that I will use often.

Each recipe comes with clear, simple instructions and nutritional information. The directions are not at all intimidating and really are easy. Just about every recipe includes a photograph. The index is thorough and very well put together.

Here are some of the dishes that caught my eye:

• Breakfast: Cheddar-apple quesadilla; Cinnamon raisin toast with honey-walnut spread; Blueberry-almond French toast bake
• Lunch: Greek salad pitas with feta spread and turkey; Curried chicken salad; Grilled beef, jícama, and apple salad
• Dinner: Pork & mango stir-fry, Garlic-basil shrimp, Ratatouille with red snapper and herbed goat cheese crostini
• Dessert: Apple brown betty; Powdered sugar crisps; Fig and ginger truffles (100 cals each!)

I can't resist sharing this easy, easy dessert. All measurements are U.S. standard.

Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream

Makes 4 servings (2 peach halves = 90 calories)

• 4 ripe but firm peaches
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• ½ cup light vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
• 8 small sprigs of fresh mint

Preheat a grill or nonstick grill pan over medium heat.

Cut each peach in half and remove the pits. Brush the cut side of each peach half with oil. Place the peaches cut side down on the grill or grill pan and cook until the peaches soften slightly and grill marks are formed, 2 to 3 minutes.

Place a tablespoon-size scoop of ice cream in the center of each peach half. Garnish with mint and serve.

I can't wait to try this next August when the peaches are plentiful.

Ellie Krieger has a website where you can learn more about her and her recipes. You'll also find a few informative videos.

So Easy at an Indie

So Easy at Powell's
So Easy at Amazon
These 3 links lead to affiliate programs.

Published by John Wiley, 2009
ISBN-13: 9780470423547
Challenges: 100+
Source: Review copy (see review policy)
YTD: 2
Rating: B+

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