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31 December 2007

New Year’s Eve Cocktail Recipe

Here is the is perfect refreshment. The Conrad’s new lounge, Level 25 is offering it.

Blue Kiss
Serves one

Ingredients
1 part vodka
1 part lemon or citrus vodka
1 part blue Curaçao
2 parts champagne
Splash of Rose’s grenadine
Blueberry garnish

1. Pour vodkas and blue Curaçao into a shaker with ice.

2. Strain into a champagne flute and top with champagne.

3. Add a splash of Rose’s grenadine and garnish with a blueberry.

Level 25, Conrad Hotel, 1395 Brickell Avenue
(305-503-6529 or conradhotels1.hilton.com).

30 December 2007

Champagne Cocktails

Ring in the new year with a bounty of bubbly drinks! These sassy, classy sips are bound to add a festive lift to any gathering. And if you’re hosting on a budget, Italian Prosecco, Spanish Cava and your favorite sparkling wines can be just as luscious as the pricier French stuff.
3-2-1…YUM!

Kir Royale

- Champagne, Prosecco or Cava
- ½ oz crème de cassis

Pour chilled Champagne into a large chilled wine glass.

Add crème de cassis and stir gently.

Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

Kir Imperial

Follow instructions for a Kir Royale, but substitute raspberry liqueur for the crème de cassis.

French 75

- Champagne, Prosecco or Cava
- 1 oz freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsp superfine sugar*
- 2 oz gin

Shake all ingredients (except Champagne) with ice and strain into a flute or collins glass. Top with Champagne and garnish with a cherry or lemon peel twist.

*Tip: Run regular white sugar through a few pulses of a food processor to make it even finer.

French 76

Follow instructions for French 75, but swap the gin for vodka.

Bellini

- Champagne, Prosecco or Cava
- 2 oz peach puree

Spoon 2 oz peach puree into the bottom of a flute.

Top with Champagne and stir gently.

Ernest Hemingway’s Death in the Afternoon

- Champagne, Prosecco or Cava
- 1 oz absinthe or pernod

Pour 1 oz absinthe into a flute. Add chilled Champagne until absinthe appears milky.

Champagne Cocktail

- Champagne, Prosecco or Cava
- 1 sugar cube
- Angostura bitters

Place sugar cube in the bottom of a flute and soak with several dashes of bitters.

Gently top with Champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.

Mimosa

- Champagne, Prosecco or Cava
- 1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice

Pour orange juice into a flute and top with chilled Champagne.

Black Velvet

- 5 oz Champagne, Prosecco or Cava
- 5 oz stout

Pour stout into a flute.

Gently pour in Champagne so it does not mix, but layers.

Thug Passion

- 4 oz Champagne, Prosecco or Cava
- 4 oz cognac (typically Alize)

Shake Champagne and cognac with ice and strain into a highball glass.

28 December 2007

Johannes restaurant in Boca Raton

A “Real” dining experience!

47 E Palmetto Park Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33432 · 561-394-0007

Reservations
Absolutely Required

Tiny and expensive, Johannes caters to guests with deep pocketbooks and those celebrating special occasions. Austrian chef Johannes employs only top ingredients and even raises some of them. The quality of the cuisine is evident. Impeccable presentation and flavor are hallmarks too, as you’ll realize after sampling cocoa-dusted venison, mirin-lacquered squab, slow-grilled Texas antelope, or blue marlin in a pistachio crust. Everything on the menu is homemade, and top-notch service matches the sublime cuisine. While you can order a la carte, a four-course, prix fixe option is available, as is the 19-part omakase, a carefully orchestrated succession of dishes that exhibits the chef’s well-considered talents.

Hours:
Daily 6pm-Close

Pricing:
Average Main Course Price: $30.00

28 December 2007

Overnight French Toast

This is wonderful for your next brunch!

INGREDIENTS:
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
12 3/4-inch-thick French bread slices
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
confectioners’ sugar
PREPARATION:

For the french toast:
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature 12 3/4-inch-thick French bread slices 6 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt confectioners’ sugar
Spread butter over bottom of large baking pan (jelly roll pan) with 1-inch-high sides.

Arrange bread slices in the pan. Combine eggs, milk, sugar, syrup, vanilla and salt in large bowl; whisk until well blended. Pour egg mixture over bread. Turn bread slices to coat evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°. Bake French bread 10 minutes. Turn bread over and continue baking just until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes longer. Transfer cooked French toast to plates and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Serve hot, with maple syrup or your favorite topping.

source: Diana Rattray

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