Luckily, the Irish like to Party

Parties have been coming at me full force these days (wedding, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a surprise birthday party compliments of The Main Squeeze and Katherine), so I've made a vow to be more proactive ... and be the one talking about and planning parties, therefore righting the universe back where it belongs. St. Patty's Day is next and I do love me some Irish partyin', Me Prince/ss, so I've come up with pure gold for you to get you started on your St. P's Par-tay.

If you're going all formal, start with the invitation. But seriously, how serious can you take a St. Patrick's Day party? It's all about green and beer - that's not a slight in any way, just the part that needs to be embraced. So, how about making new beer labels that you put on a beer bottle and deliver (cold, of course) to your intended guests. How fun is that?! Variations on this idea are handing out beer mugs with info inside (and bring the mug to the party to fill with green beer! You can find inexpensive mugs or frosted mugs at K-Mart) or shot glasses. Evites are my latest preferred mode of inviting folks and they have great Irish themes (http://www.evite.com/).

For decorations, you really don't have to do terribly much as your guests will be drinking and eventually won't care or remember what your decorations were. I suggest green and white balloons and fresh clover (available at supermarkets). I have noticed at the Dollar Store while picking up items for a child's school project that there are tons of things, including large felt Leprechaun hats in assorted varieties. If you want to get a little fancier, I suggest decorating with fresh flowers such as daisies, Bells of Ireland, Emerald Roses, white tulips, or white daffodils. Very shi-shi!

Your soon-to-be -intoxicated bunch need some sustenance, because as much as some people would like to think, you really can't live on beer alone (at least after college). I suggest nibbles and a meal to off-set the alcohol absorption. Start with green M&M's (won't you be the talk?!), guacamole, sugar cookies complete with green food coloring, and cupcakes with green and white icing.

Yet, we professionals realize that finger foods/ bar food doesn't do nearly as much as pure MEAT to absorb alcohol. To that end, I suggest a slow-cooked meat item you and your guests will adore. Please note this is NOT a last minute throw together as the meat must cook forever (but it is TOTALLY WORTH IT!).

Corned Beef and Cabbage
6 carrots, sliced (or baby carrots, but please use more than 6)
2 onions, chopped
2-3 lbs. corned beef brisket with seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced (reduce if there is a lot of garlic in the seasoning pack that usually comes with the c.b. brisket)
a can of beer (See, your theme is in the meat!)
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard (you can use brown mustard, but it could compete with the seasonings that accompany the meat)
1/4 C. brown sugar
1 C. chicken stock
8 wedges of cabbage

Layer the veggies in the bottom of a 4-6 quart crock pot. Rinse the brisket under cold water. Dry with paper towels. Place meat in crock pot and cover with seasoning. Pour beer over, followed by a good mustard coating. In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar and water; then pour it over the brisket. Cover and cook on low for 11-12 hours. Remove meat and wrap in aluminum foil to keep it warm. Add cabbage wedges to the liquid and cook for about 30 minutes.

I suggest serving potatoes and apples as side dishes. Oh, and salad makes a great green side dish as well!

Besides your green and white frosted cupcakes, for the occasion of St. Patrick's Day, I suggest having a luscious dessert beverage .... Irish Cream, but of course!
1 C. light cream
1 14 oz. can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 2/3 C Irish Whiskey
1 tsp. Instant coffee (!)
2 Tbsp. Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract

Combine all ingredients in a blender on high for about 30 seconds. Bottle and refrigerate. This will keep for a few months ... like it will last that long!

Busy Pumpkin, please note that these two centerpieces of your party use only two appliances/pots for cooking. Love that the clean up is minimal!

Your guests will think they've been transported to Glocca Mora after this scrumptious party and feast!

Wishing you much luck, my little Clover!

Sarah theme continued

Frankly, I don't know what it is, but I just can't stop with the Sarah Palin topics. Oh well, here's another one for your perusal, Poodle.

SPECIAL ALERT: Californians Turned Off By Wine With Remarkably Similar Name to a VEEP Hopeful

Is this news? I'm leaning towards "entertainment", which is the only reason I go anywhere close to politics.

Diva WineKnow put me on to this topic. Made me laugh. Check out this article on Fox.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/24/palin-syrah-wine-drinkers-balk-at-a-chilean-wine-with-hints-of-alaska/

OK, This is better than that grocery store crap

Inspired by a posting by Cardiac Diva.

Here's a suggestion on how to pass some time watching the hurricane coverage over the next 24 hours. For those of you who don't hear me on the radio, from time to time, I advocate drinking games during coverage of national events to make them much, much more interesting (I'm not about to be branded PC, so why pretend?). I believe these can work for those purposes. If you prefer to lessen the mixing of alcohol, I suggest an alternate game could be that any time you hear the phrases that are the name of these drinks, swill your beverage of choice. You can actually order these drinks in New Orleans at St. Charles Tavern.

MANDATORY EVACUATION
1 1/2 oz. Absolut Ruby Red vodka
1/2 oz. vermouth
ClamatoPrune juice
Combine vodka and vermouth in cocktail glass. Fill remainder of glass with equal parts clamato and prune juice. Stir. Drink. Ask next-door neighbor whose ficus tree blew over and crashed onto your roof-- even though you'd warned him for months to uproot it--if you can use his bathroom. Repeat.

CATEGORY 5
1/2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. tequila
1/2 oz. rum
1/2 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. gin
Sweet-and-sour mix
Splash of fruit juice
Combine vodka, tequila, rum, bourbon and gin in a tall glass. Fill remainder of glass with sweet-and-sour mix and splash of juice. Stir, then garnish with an inverted drink umbrella. Drink during peak storm hours, and vow not to believe anyone who tries to tell you the hurricane that flooded your garage and destroyed your shed was just a Category 1.

CONE OF PROBABILITY
1 oz. cinnamon schnapps
1 sugar cone
Pour the schnapps into the sugar cone. Every time you hear a TV weatherman say, "cone of probability," bite off the end of the cone and down the shot. If you hear Weather Channel StormTracker Jim Cantore say it, drink two shots consecutively. (They should change this to the "Cantore Zone"... damn him.) Have you ever noticed that, despite all the cone of probability talk, if Cantore is parked in front of your house your ass is toast?

FEEDER BAND
2 oz. Midori
2 oz. rum
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
After your home loses power, combine Midori and rum in a cocktail glass. Add a scoop of the vanilla ice cream that is melting in your freezer. Stir, and drink through a straw.

BEACH EROSION
1 1/2 oz. Goldschläger
1/2 oz. apple brandy
1 pack Sugar in the Raw
Combine Goldschläger, apple brandy and sugar in cocktail glass. As you drink, seriously contemplate moving your Yankee ass back to New Jersey where it belongs.

DOWNED POWER LINE
1 1/2 oz. rum
5 oz. Jolt Cola
Combine ingredients in a cocktail glass. Drink while trying to figure out how the heck you're supposed to go two freakin' weeks without television and AC.

FLOOD ZONE
2 oz. Kahlúa
2 oz. Baileys Irish Cream
4 oz. rum
Serve in a 6-ounce glass and laugh-cry deliriously as the mess spills all over the countertop. (Get it? There's a little math involved, Pumpkin!)

LOOTERS WILL BE SHOT
1 oz. Jack Daniel's
Splash of sarsaparilla
Rock salt
Load both barrels of a shotgun with rock salt. Climb to the roof of your house with gun, bottle of Jack Daniel's and can of sarsaparilla. Fill shot glass with Jack and splash of sarsaparilla. Watch for looters. When you spot one, blast his ass with rock salt. Drink shot. Repeat.

I don't know about you, but thanks to Cardiac Diva, I'm going to be a lot more relaxed while watching hurricane coverage from now on!

Libation Celebration

As you may imagine, I embrace all things harmlessly fun. In that vein, I bring you what I have discovered lately in my personal search to take beer places they're not generally seen --specifically children's baseball tournaments. Let me just tell you how a mother needs a beer in a lightning storm with children bouncing out of boredom when ordered by umpires to the car for the 5th time in one inning. A diva just HATES to leave her beer unattended to warm without her when the game resumes ... only to be sent back to the car 15 minutes later. I bring you my latest adorable finds. I was specifically searching for beer can-o-flage when I stumbled on other options. Cupcake, these are must-haves and would make wonderful stocking stuffers for that adorable alcoholic in your life!


For $14, you can have this attractive puppy monogrammed for that personal flair. Please note the camo for that outrageous man in your life. None of that polka-dot @#$ for him! There are more selections, so check out http://www.thepinkmonogram.com/ for these coozies designed for the "taller beer cans, sports drink bottles, and baby bottles". I can't stop laughing!!!!


Now, for the serious public place closet beer drinker, these lovely reusable labels can be found on several Internet sites. Search "beer wraps" or "canoflage". Prices range from $5.89 to $12.00 for 4 different wraps. Might as well bulk order because the shipping is generally outrageous. But, hey, these are hilarious. And you can go to that music concert with open container proudly displayed, albeit hidden.

Cheers, my devilish Pixie!!!

The Indy 500

Do you think I had a good time at the 500 or what? I'm telling you, there's never a dull moment around me. I can get myself into pretty much anything.

There's just nothing quite like being in a really fast, really red race car plastered with sponsors. Hugging curves never felt so extraordinary. The engineers, though, leave out the comfort factor in these puppies. I can't imagine driving in that capsule for hours on end for 500 miles. Serious fanny fatigue has GOT to ensue.

The part about the race experience that made me laugh the hardest? People kept telling me that "Indy Car Racing is so much more high-brow than Nascar". The only thing I could imagine that people were talking about on this subject was that in addition to your soda and beer choices, Indy 500 fans can select margaritas at food and beverage stands in the stadium. Please tell me when tequila and triple sec started to qualify as "high brow". Not that I was expecting tails and Kir Royales to abound at the race course, but I'm starting to wonder about some of my racing sources and their lucidity.

One thing people kept telling me before the race is that Indy cars go faster than other race cars (hence, them thinking this race format is superior to the other types of racing; I can't judge as I've only been to a grand total of one race now). All I can say is you need to not blink because you'll totally miss a car going by. You can only detect a blur of color when the car passes you. Sometimes, I just counted the nee-yaa sounds whipping past.

A moment to talk about the spectacular seats we had. Diva Janet, you are a sporting arena goddess!!! The seats were AWESOME. We were about 12 rows from the track, across from the pagoda and stage where EVERYTHING happened. I could plainly watch Kristi Yamaguchi climb the ladder to get on the platform to wave the flag (her jeans, I SWEAR, looked like they were Jordache brand from the 80's!!!). I saw Danica throw down her gloves after she was hit and taken out of the race to try to settle the score. I watched Scott Dixon turn the bottle of milk on himself. The pagentry at that event is pretty cool ... and I could see the scheduled and unscheduled stuff without much aid from the jumbo-tron. Impressive.

The factoid I found most interesting: it didn't smell at all. The cars run on ethanol. Bet you divas didn't know that one. There's always something to learn, Kitten.

Next Party? MARDI GRAS!!!!

Now that I've eaten all those tres delish appetizer foods required at Super Bowl parties, I'm on a "rouller" and eagerly anticipate Fat Tuesday tomorrow. In case you don't know, it's the day that you stuff yourself silly with food and libations before you renew your "what I'm not going to eat/drink" New Year's resolutions and hit Ash Wednesday, the reflective and serious time in the liturgical calendar a.k.a. Lent.

Mardi Gras is technically just ONE DAY (thank GOD!!! Our collective livers couldn't handle it otherwise), not all the days and weeks between January 6th and Fat Tuesday - a common misconception. This time frame is called "Carnival" and is not only celebrated in New Orleans, Mobile, Houston, and other Gulf Coast cities of French Canadian ancestry, but also in Rio, Venice, throuough the Carribean, and Latin America. Almost a global party (OK, primarily limited to heavily Catholic populated countries). But the culmination is tomorrow, Fat Tuesday.

Here's how to get festive for the 10th annual party at Saucy Diva's house or whatever Mardi Gras party you're attending:

~ The colors are green (faith), gold (power) and purple (justice). Bright and blingy is what you're going for, Poodle.

~ Costumes are encouraged, but not a have-to. Don't leave home, though, without a boa or mask, though it's all about the beads - lots and lots of beads. You can pick up these lovely, cheap accessories at Party City.

~ The music of the evening is either zydeco or New Orleans brass jazz band

~ Want a festive adult libation to get you in the mood to wear that mask all night? Try a hurricane (3/4 oz. Bacardi Limon rum,1 oz. Bacardi light rum,1/4 oz. Bacardi 151 rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, grenadine, sweet & sour mix; to make nonalcoholic use ginger ale or Sprite). Ah, I'm waxing nostolgic about Pat O'Brien's .... Snapping out of it.

~ What's a party-going diva/dude to eat? It is important to have something (preferably A LOT) in your stomach to help absorb all that alcohol. Fill your plate with dirty rice, crawfish etouffe, gumbo, jumbalaya, shrimp creole, or even just good ole' fried chicken. For dessert, it's king cake and Moon Pies. Not so great for that waistline, huh Princess? Party today, repent later, I always say.

I'm off to find my boa, confirm the babysitter, and grab a snooze in preparation for tomorrow's festivities. XOXO

What's a Party Girl to do?

Can you believe all the social things out there right now? Who was it who said that the Christmas season is the busiest? Lordy. I can't catch my breath, but that's another story entirely. Here's a brief run-down in quasi-order:
~ Thursday marks the Western start to the Chinese New Year. It's the year of the Rat and will be year 4076, in case you were wondering where in the hell we were now. Ok, the Year of the Rat embodies hard work, lots of activity, and renewal. The Chinese insist it is a great year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product, or make a fresh start. If your calendar won't allow you a Thursday night Chinese soiree, not to worry, my little Peking Dumpling! It's sort of like Kwanzaa ... er ... kinda' ... in that it goes on for many days (15 to be exact); it's called the Lantern Festival and each night has a theme - and we do love a good theme, n'est pas?! The food you eat each night has significance. Some nights you're supposed to be with extended family; other nights, you get a break. Anyway, red's the color to wear for this fete. Decorate your doorway, give away lucky coins, and hang lanterns should the spirit move you.

~ Sunday, of course, is the superbowl. Eat lots of salty, unhealthy food and you're in like Flynn. If you barbeque something, more power to you. For you divas who aren't into sports, here are the basics to understand before leaving for that "football party thingy": The New York Giants are playing the New England Patriots. Of course, the game is held this year in Arizona. Bonus points, Cookie, if you can talk at length about the stadium, its purpose, AND the regional nature of this particular match-up with supposedly the largest TV viewing audience potential impact despite the game not being played anywhere near either team's hometowns. Wear whatever you want, though red, white, and blue will pretty much cover either team. Drink loads of beer. Go to work Monday morning still drunk. Visit www.espn.com before talking to any Dude prior to, during, or after the game if you haven't been following this season, the Brett Favre heartbreak, the Little Brother going to the Big Game and Big Brother staying home (so to speak) -- just to name a few of my favorite topics of conversation. GIRL TALK BREAK-DOWN of the SUPERBOWL: Tom Brady is that hunky quarterback that broke up with Bridgett Monihan (sp?) right before the baby info was known in order to date the supermodel, but is making attempts, despite a demanding football career and schedule to be an on-the-scene dad. He plays for New England. Eli Manning is the Giants' quarterback. He played football for Ole Miss (as did his dad, I believe - hey, it was before my time, so gimme a break!). His brother, Peyton, is the QB for the Indianapolis Colts - but forget him for right now; they lost a heartbreaker a few weeks ago. Peyton played for Tennessee undergrad. Anyway, the Manning family men have strange looking noses, which does not seem to interfere with their football ability whatsoever. OK. Moving along ....

~ Mardi Gras is in full "rouller". I will have to do a post just on this. I'm sensing non-sports-minded-potential-diva-overwhelm at this juncture. I'll be gentle, Precious Princess, and let you digest this before moving on to the party that requires two languages, beer goggles, floats, and insane amounts of accessories - er, or not.

XOXO!

Guest Column - a la carte by Diva Wine-Know

Top 10 Reasons to NOT Give up Wine for the New Year
by Jennifer Scarborough, owner, The Wine Cellar, Vestavia Hills

Every January we see a trend in the Wine Biz. May it be everyone is receiving their credit card balances in the mail or people are trying to dry out after the holidays we cannot say. But one thing is for sure…people for the most part stop buying wine! So let me see if I can help you decide what to kick & what to keep for your New Year’s Resolution or Resolutions.

1. Drinking Red Wine with fried foods may counter act the effect of the fat attack. Studies find that people who drink wine daily have lower body mass than those who indulge occasionally; moderate wine drinkers have narrower waists and less abdominal fat than people who drink liquor. That right there is a 2-for-1 on your resolutions!
2. Cancer runs in your family? Resveratrol (antioxidant) helps prevent cancer by limiting tumor growth. Red wine is high in flavonoids (a type of polyphenol), which are antioxidants. One of the most studied antioxidants is resveratrol, which comes from grape skins and seeds. Antioxidants help prevent certain molecules, known as free radicals, from damaging cells.
3. Wine drinkers less likely to get common cold. An investigation revealed that men and women who drank more than 14 glasses of wine each week had a 40% reduction in colds compared with people who drank no alcohol. The association was stronger for red wine and the same findings were not true for people consuming other alcoholic beverages, the report indicates. On average, the men had 1.1 colds per person per year in that time, while women averaged 1.7 colds per person per year. Bottoms up!
4. Wine is expensive & you are cutting down on your spending this year. So not true, at The Wine Cellar we have wines to fit everyone’s budget & a monthly Newsletter with discounts. Also if you buy in bulk you save an additional 5 to 10% on the already marked down items.
5. Too many calories in alcoholic beverages. It is all about portion control & moderation…Red wine 3.5oz - 74 calories… White wine 3.5oz - 70 calories.
6. Forgetful? Wine could preserve your memory. When researchers gave memory quizzes to women in their 70s, those who drank one glass of wine or more every day scored much better than those who drank less or not at all.
7. Just breathe… Researchers have found that men who drink an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per week are only 52% as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as those who do not drink red wine, reports the June 2007 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch. Men won’t need another reason…
8. Have a Uterus? Australian researchers recently compared women with ovarian cancer and cancer-free women; they found that roughly one glass of wine a day seemed to reduce the risk of the disease by as much as 50 percent. Think Prince will sing a song about that?
9. Would you rather eat spinach once daily or drink a glass of wine? On average, women who drink moderately seem to have higher bone mass than abstainers. Alcohol appears to boost estrogen levels; the hormone seems to slow the body’s destruction of old bone more than it slows the production of new bone.
10. Well I believe we covered everything but the most important part…Wine is Delicious! How could you live without it?

Pair it with a meal, loved one, or a night alone nothing makes you feel as Fine as Wine!

Cheers!

Jennifer Scarborough - Wine Know

Crack-pot Crock-pot Rapid Response

Please note the survey to the left and participate. Saucy Diva is dying for cold hard numbers.

This is my crock pot. Isn't it ugly??? It's the only thing I own that sports a country style theme. My dearly departed grandmother gave it to me when I was in college. I'd never heard of crock pots before that. I didn't even use it until I was 35 and had moved it approximately 6 times before plugging it in. My favorite things to cook in the crock pot these days:

Artichoke Chicken & Pasta that serves 4-6:
1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 8 oz. package fresh, sliced mushrooms (always a time-saver to buy the sliced variety!)
2 6-oz. jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 tbsp. minced garlic (another time-saver is to buy the jar of minced garlic)
¼ C. white wine (I generally am a bit liberal with this measurement!)
1 tsp. black pepper
1 sprig each of fresh basil, oregano, and rosemary (if you don’t grow them in your yard, use a pinch of each from your spice collection)
Angel Hair Pasta or Spaghetti

Combine all ingredients except pasta in the crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Cook pasta. Put pasta in bowls and ladle the contents over it. It comes out looking like a pasta dish with sauce. Even my kids like to eat this!

You can have instant Mexican Night when you walk in the door compliments of your crock pot with Beef Tortillas (and the kids love this, too!)
1 lb. ground beef
1 (10 oz) can of Italian tomato soup
Pinch of basil
1 C. your favorite chunky salsa
¼ C. milk
6 tortillas
1 C. shredded Cheddar cheese

In advance, brown your ground beef in a skillet. Then place cooked beef in slow cooker. Combine soup, basil, and salsa. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. During last hour of cooking time, stir in milk. Spoon mixture into tortillas; add cheese (or other favorite garnishes) just before serving.

Just last night, Diva Ann emailed me asking, "Diva Marjorie, What is a good recipe for a cold night drink to warm your insides, please? Ann" I emailed her back a quick stop-gap solution. Should you want to share with others, here’s a tasty toddy to raise your crock pot spirits --

Sweet Hot Buttered Rum (you know I do love a festive adult beverage):
2 C. brown sugar
2 C. confectioner’s sugar
½ C. butter
Pinch of salt
3 sticks cinnamon
4 cloves
1 ½ quarts water
4 C apple juice
Cook for 5 hours on low (with the cover on, silly!).
Then, stir in 2 cups rum (I prefer dark, but suit yourself) or rum extract.
Ladle into mugs (with this quantity, Pumpkin, consider sharing). Garnish with whipped cream or a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream and a sprinkling of nutmeg.

Bottoms up!

Halloween Thoughts

Adults are the #1 freak-show for spending for Halloween. (Kids still rack up on the candy, though.) Halloween is gaining on Christmas for the highest spending holiday category. The National Retail Federation expects consumers to spend about $4.96 billion on Halloween cards, candy, costumes, and decorations. That translates to about $60 per average consumer. And that number is up 51% over last year. It’s the 2nd or 3rd biggest party (depending on who’s counting) behind the Super Bowl and New Year’s Eve. So, what’s the scare scoop?

There really is a Great Pumpkin, apparently. Or folks are jumping on the Linus Bandwagon. There is a surge in Great Pumpkin Parties across the nation, complete with “Boo Gifts” from the large round fellow (who in my imagination looks remarkably like Coach Phil Fulmer, but I digress). It seems to me that if this is going to be a trend, there are folks who could burn up some of their spare time volunteering at a soup kitchen – serving, of course, pumpkin or squash soup!

Did you know that Hallmark is producing over 300 different Halloween cards this year?! That boggles my mind.

The largest age group going over-the-top for Halloween consists of folks 18-24. 85% of them are throwing some kind of Halloween-Bash. And please note that Halloween parties aren’t limited to one week anymore – it’s a month-long celebration. Pumpkin, get partying!!!! FAST!

I am starting to wonder when people are REALLY going to get smart and COMBINE Halloween and Oktoberfest. Back to the topic....

After taking the goblins trick-or-treating, it's adult Toddy Time! Here's what I'm whipping up in my cauldron .... Caramel Apple Pie Tini
1-3/4 oz Bailey's with a hint of Caramel
1/3 oz. Smirnoff's Twist Green Apple Vodka (slurp!)
1/3 oz applesauce
Dash of caramel syrup

Pour applesauce in the bottom of a martini glass. Dash your caramel syrup on top of that. Shake remaining ingredients in your dazzling cocktail shaker with ice. Strain and pour yourself into bed. Gotta' rest those tootsies that I crammed into witch boots all day (it's amazing what a girl will do to entertain small children)! Might as well enjoy a cocktail while lounging!

Diva Doins

Alerting you to the latest cool Diva thing to do TODAY:

Young Birmingham Diva, Jennifer Adams will be at Jonathan Benton Booksellers (Mtn. Brook) from 4:00-6:00 p.m. signing her new book, Mixing New Orleans, two topics near and dear to my heart: Mixed drinks in New Orleans. Now, this is research I HAVE to know about!! Jennifer took a leave of absence from her "real" job, moved to New Orleans, and literally drank her way through it!!! With intentions to benefit the good of the group. WOW! Impressive.

Can't make it today? No worries. Call Jonathan Benton Bookseller at (205) 870.8840 to reserve your copy and have it signed while she's there and pick it up as you're able. This book makes a great gift for the holidays for the special Diva or Dude in your life!

The drink on the book cover photo is a Pimm's Cup. "I discuss the Pimm's cup and the city's most famous location for drinking them (The Napoleon House) in the book. The Napoleon House is widely considered the best place in New Orleans for a Pimm's Cup and they go through hundreds of them a day," she told me. Jennifer's recipe is:
1 3/4 ounces Pimm's No. 1
7 up
Cucumber Slice
Fill tall Collins glass with ice cubes. Add Pimm's and fill remaining with 7 up. Stir and garnish with a cucumber slice.

Jennifer told me that her favorite drink lately is a mojito. "The Mojito in the shot that I am holding is Fresh Berry Mojito from the Marigny Brasserie on Frenchman Street in New Orleans. The place is not in the book because, well, it's not old. But, it is a great off-the-beaten-path place to grab a drink and their mojitos are legendary." Just special tips for you, my fabulous readers! By the way, doesn't Jenny look like a toddy expert you want to hang out with?!

When I told Jenny that the mojito in her hand here didn't look like any mojito I've had the pleasure of encountering, she responded, "The recipe for the one I am holding I don't have, but it is basically fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries and blackberries) macerated and soaked in Champagne overnight. Then those are added to a glass with mint and a little sugar. They are then muddled in the bottom of the glass and ice and light rum are added and some soda water. It is garnished with a slice of strawberry."

'Scuse me while I run out for ingredients, this great toddy book (supporting a LOCAL bookstore), and to make reservations on Express Jet to The Big Easy. Cheers!

Raise a glass

In keeping with the Adult Beverage theme set by Attorney Diva yesterday, AND in showcasing my timely topic ability, we are going to celebrate National Rum Punch Day in style! I know! Try to keep the outbursts and squeals to a minimum so everyone can hear, please Kitten!

As a beautifully aging party girl AND a two-time visitor to the Bacardi Factory, I consider myself at the very least "well-informed" on this subject, especially after the last trip when I made pals with employee in Guest Relations, Jesus (not THE J.C.; it's pronounced "hey-Zeus", like the pagan god). Anyway, after learning about his extended stay in the Boston area and plans to return to Washington, DC, he imparted amazing morsels of info about what to put in rum drinks.

First of all, you gotta' know your rums. He said that there's Bacardi and then there's every other rum. Start with a good quality rum. Light rums are generally combined with fruity drinks. Divas dig fruity drinks such as ....

Marjorie's Rum Punch
Splash of lemon juice
2C light rum
2 Liters ginger ale
1 qt. fruit juice
1 qt. pineapple juice

Instructions?? Well, mix it together and serve over ice, silly! Garnish with seasonal fruit - because you know rum drinks were perfected in the tropical areas. I'll drink to that any day of the week!

The other Bacardi-Jesus tip that I have incorporated immediately in entertaining was to purchase the frozen Bacardi Mojito mix (grocer's freezer) and follow the instructions EXCEPT substitute Sprite for the club soda ingredient. I also use mint from my garden. Rave reviews are promised. If not, let me come over and help you get rid of your mojito left-overs, m'K?!