Tis The Season

The parties are starting and the drinks are starting to flow. I made this a couple of weeks ago and it went SO quickly that I didn't have time to take a picture.

It actually comes from Cooking Light, which is not the publication I usually get my drinks from.

I will be making this OVER and OVER again! And you should too!


Pomegranate-Rosemary Royale

This simple twist on the traditional kir royale blends tart-sweet pomegranate juice with subtle herbal notes from a rosemary-infused syrup. Float rosemary leaves on the drinks for a pretty garnish.

Ingrediants:
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
2 cups Champagne or sparkling wine

Directions:
1. Combine 1/4 cup water and sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Add rosemary; let stand 30 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids.
2. Pour 2 tablespoons pomegranate juice and 1 tablespoon rosemary syrup into 4 Champagne glasses. Top each serving with 1/2 cup Champagne. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 115 ; FAT 0.0g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.0g); CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9.5g; SODIUM 4mg; PROTEIN 0.1g; FIBER 0.0g; IRON 0.1mg

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2009

There's no party like a Russian Restaurant Party

If you've never been to a Russian Restaurant evening, you are truly missing out. It is an amazing mix of food, alcohol (vodka or cognac - no mixers), music and the most AMAZING people viewing you have ever seen.

My closest friend came in to town and we all decided to go to The Russian Restaurant (I hadn't been in about 3 years)

This experience is best told through pictures - because it sounds pretty unbelievable otherwise. And the old adage is true - "When in Rome, do as the Romans". Translated into Russian Restaurant speak - "When at a Russian restaurant, you MUST do shots".

The evening starts between 8 and 9pm. We got there at 9m. We sat down to a FULL table of food - the appetizer course.

This included a trout head:

There were 2 or 3 more rounds of appetizers that were delivered (all sorts of cold cuts, hot potatoes, beef pelmini, sauteed shrimp, and many, many more).

Between the courses of food there was dancing. Just to give a glimpse into what people are liable to wear:

The outfit would not be complete without a big white bra underneath:


I'm wearing my religion on my back - OH WAIT! I'm Jewish!!:


Spotted! The Russian Cougar wearing leopard print:


The obligatory picture with shots of vodka (this was not far in to the evening, since we all still look sober, and yes the shots are meant to be taken in one fell swoop, and yes they are BIG shots):


In between eating and dancing and drinking, there is usually a balcony where people go to smoke.

This shot displays an outfit that can easily be taken from day to night just by unzipping the skirt:


Damn! She's sexy:


Entrees are served anywhere from 11pm-12am. It sounds like a late dinner, but with all the dancing and drinking, the timing is just right.

A typical Russian entree - something in a birds nest made of potato smothered in mayo or sour cream:


Coffee was served at about 12:30am. The night is over at 2am! Sunday is spent recovering and reminiscing about what we saw, who was wearing what, who was drinking what, who was saying what to whom and deciding when we will get together again.