Getting to Know Your Bitters

Bitters, types of alcoholic (and sometimes non-alcoholic) beverages that are strongly flavored and often unsweetened, are a staple in any bar. Common ingredients in bitters range from orange peel to cassia, angostura, gentian, cascarilla, and quinine. Other spices and herbs from black pepper to cardamom may also be utilized. The resulting tonic is intense and extremely aromatic, and often just a small shake to a 1/2 teaspoon full is plenty for most cocktails and drinks. Bitters are also quite affordable, running between $6-$10, and a bottle will usually last for years for most people.

Still, there are plenty of different brands and each has its own unique flavor profile. New brands are constantly being created and the classics have cult followings so finding the right one can be confusing for the novice bartender. The following is a simple breakdown of four of the more popular bitters out there.

Angostura Bitters: The classic bitters required for Manhattans and Champagne cocktails, this bitters' recipe is a closely guarded secret. While it may not possess quite as sunny a disposition as other bitters, the heavy spice and muted flavor of Seville orange peel produces a refined flavor that most cocktails can appreciate.

Peychaud's Bitters: Flavored heavily with gentian, this bitters is sweet and quite floral. Many people regard it as having a slightly cherry-like flavor. A must for the famed Sazerac cocktail, its bright pink color is favored by mixologists.

Stirring's Blood Orange Bitters: A sweet, non-alcoholic bitters, Stirring's presents an option that is mellow and requires a heavier hand when mixing lest it get lost in the drink. The one-note, bittersweet flavor of blood orange prevails.

Regan's Orange Bitters No.6: Reminiscent of freshly zested orange peel and the heady aroma of a fresh spice cake this bitters packs a decent punch. However, the smell is more pronounced than the taste. Dry flavors of gentian, cinnamon, and cardamom prevail here.
For more info- http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2011/01/getting-to-know-your-bitters.html

Preparation for Chocolate Covered Cherries

If there is a chocolate treat that has been there for long, it is the chocolate covered cherries. Back in the 19th century, some candy making companies invented this wonderful recipe. Many people have already unanimously accepted that its taste is mellow. All the persons that have commented about it have kudos for this great sweet. Available are a number of recipes from different chefs giving directions on how to prepare these coated cherries.

Here is just one of those preparations not forgetting that there exists many others. Some of the few constituents responsible for producing these yummy sweets definitely include cherry as the major ingredient. To get started, have with you several maraschino cherries with their stalks still intact. Others may include softened butter, corn syrup, sifted confectioners sugar and partly sweet chocolate. With these few components at hand, its time to learn exactly what happens to come up with the amazing tasty treats.

Mix corn syrup and butter in a large bowl making it into a soft combination. To the mixture, add the sifted sugar and stir well manipulating it to dough. In order to make it thick, freeze it first. Take the cherries by their stems one at a time coating them in dough. Let them cool down and solidify until they become compact. Melt the chocolate and continue stirring until it becomes smooth. Grasp the cherry by the stalks dipping them in the chocolate as you place them on baking sheets. Let them cool down storing them in well-closed containers. Now you already have your chocolate covered cherries just as you wanted them.

During the festive seasons, one can treat their family to these special delicacies. One can also add other flavors like the vanilla; milk, rum and you may choose milk and dark chocolate. With the Christian festivities just around the corner, there is no other way of showing your family love than to give them these specialties as gifts. Prepare them and let your family enjoy the season.

People have good things to say about this creative work of cooking. All the recipes suggested by experts are quite mouth watering. People just have to involve their mental imagination to create something unique and delicious. Why not try to be innovative enough to come up with something that will satisfy your taste buds. If you love cooking, do a justice to these cherries and you will love it.

One may also choose other beautification additives to make the cherry even tastier. These simple constituents include the almonds and the icing gel. Depending on the creativity of the cook, one would come up with amazing sweets to lift the kids' spirits. The chocolate covered cherries are some of the best rare delicious tastes. Most people who have used these products attest to this and even congratulating some of old companies that specializes in them. It does not have to be Christmas for you to try these special candies. Any time of the year could be the best for you to experiment in cherries and they are a great fascination to all.
For more info- http://ezinearticles.com/?Preparation-for-Chocolate-Covered-Cherries&id=5544665

Eat Ginger Cookies. You'll Feel Better

Two hours ago I was about to crawl back into bed, since Christmas hugs and kisses always seem to lead to New Year's colds and flu. But then I made my second batch of Alice Medrich's amazing triple-ginger cookies and a miracle happened: I'm well (almost). This recipe, in her enticing new "Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies," calls for no less than three-quarters of a cup of diced crystallized ginger plus two tablespoons of minced fresh ginger plus two teaspoons of ground ginger. Talk about a decongestant.

I thought I was imagining things, but I see in the late Maggie Waldron's great "Cold Spaghetti at Midnight" that ginger is good for nearly anything that ails you. It's famous as a stomach soother (my in-law equivalent hates the crystallized kind because she remembers it as a seasickness antidote on whale-watching trips), but apparently it will also "curb flatulence." And it does help with colds and flu, Waldron says, prescribing a tablespoon grated into a warm cup of water to beat a cough and a few slices to be chewed to sweat off a fever. I was fine with raw cookie dough.

(The best detail Waldron offers is that pharmacists in the 16th century (presumably in Europe) were "given a monopoly on gingerbread after it was decided that it was actually a drug made from ginger. Angry grocers fought back and eventually won the right to sell it, but the memory of the furious battle can be found today in fairy tales where the wicked witch almost always lives in a gingerbread house.")

I know we're supposed to be thinking about dieting right about now. But cookies are fine for medicinal purposes.....
For more info- http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2010/12/eat-ginger-cookies-youll-feel-better-.html

Kids' Cereal: 41% Sugar?!

OK, I know Froot Loops aren't healthy, but I admit I didn't know that they are 41% sugar. Like many parents, I started my kids off on low-sugar, healthy cereals. At some point, however, that pretty much fell by the wayside, and I was just glad to get the accompanying milk into them.

Cereal is so expensive and so sugary, and so cleverly marketed to kids. Bright colors! Cartoon characters! Catchy jingles! Eye level in stores!

Now that I've read Divine Caroline's piece on 10 Sugary Cereals to Avoid, I'm determined to make some changes. And to think that I'd been fooled by the reduced-sugar Frosted Flakes - only 26% sugar compared to the regular version's 37%.

Can anyone recommend healthier cereals that will pass the kid-approval test? Any tricks to help make the switch less traumatic?

Collected from- http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2010/11/kids-cereal-41-sugar.html

In Your Face, Winter

There's an old, stupid joke whose punchline is "chili today, hot tamale." The joke itself isn't worth repeating, but on a recent prowl through the Epicurious recipe database I discovered a repeat-worthy Sunday stew recipe, Tamale Pie, that features a cheddary cornmeal topping over a really delicious chili (the cocoa powder, I think, is what makes it work so well).

The problem? When I made the recipe on Sunday, it was a balmy 55 degrees here. What a dish this savory, warm, and fragrant needs is a harsh, cold, blustery, snowy winter day. Get out here, winter! Prepare to meet your match! Give me an antagonist worth defeating!

Wait. What am I saying. Never mind, Winter. Forget I said anything. In fact, um, forget you ever knew me. I'll just be sitting here minding my own business, with this nice hot bowl of chili...sweating.

Anyone else have a favorite winter dish you secretly can't wait to bring back into the rotation?

Collected from- http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2010/11/in-your-face-winter.html