Chocolate Vishalo

Let me begin first by saying that their are TONS of chocolate martini drink recipes out there.  Some are strong, some are sweet, some are just right. Which one you prefer generally depends on your taste in liquor and of course, chocolate.  After experimenting with different liqueurs and mixers and all that, this was the one I settled on.  Light, and creamy, with hardly a hint of alcohol taste, this drink is mild enough for even the pickiest of drinkers. Plus, it tastes great!  A lot like chocolate milk in fact. There are three simple ingredients – you may have them laying around your place.  Regardless, this is a great drink to serve at a dinner party because chocolate is loved by all.
Recipe:
1.5oz Creme de Cacao

1oz Amaretto Liqueur

2oz Cream

Mix all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice and strain into a martini glass.  Garnish with whip cream and some sprinkles.

Pink Martini Recipe

                                       This is a very simple and sweet drink to mix up when you just need something pink!  It combines the flavors of black raspberry, pomegranate, and lime, and adds a vodka kick.  Because there are no mixers in the drink (it's straight-up liquor, baby!), I call it a martini

Ingredients:

Chambord (or other raspberry liqueur)
Pama (or other pomegranate liqueur)
Vodka (Tito's is my fave) 
Wedge of lime


                                    The mixing is up to you - experiment with one part each and a dash of lime to finish.  Layer the liqueurs first and top with vodka, or shake with ice and serve up!

Liquorice (licorice) liqueur

Liquorice Liqueur, also called in Italian black soul (anima nera) is an excellent sweet and digestive liqueur with a flavour of black liquorice. If you try it you will love it !!!

You can find the italian recipe on my site http://zenwineandspirits.com/

Step 1: Ingredients

You need the following ingredients:

700 cc of water
40/50 gr of 100% pure liquorice extract
200/250 cc of neutral grain spirit 95%
300 gr of sugar

The liquorice is in the form of small black pieces made only from 100% pure liquorice extract with a bitter and intense taste. When you buy it be sure the only ingredient is liquorice (not sugar or anything else).

Step 2: Procedure

 

 

         We put water in a saucepan and we add the liquorice, then we place the pot on the stove over low heat.
Stir constantly the content to prevent it from burn and to facilitate the dissolution of the pieces. If before we reduce the size of the pieces of liquorice we reduce the times of dissolution, but is not fundamental.

Once all is melted licorice you can add the sugar off the heat and continue to turn to melt it. Cover and let everything cool down.

Once it is cold you can add the alcohol, stirring the whole

Step 3: In the bottle

The liquor is now ready and you can taste it but it is not well blended.
Put it in the bottles. It will take 4 or 5 weeks off so it all builds to perfection.

The recipe given is balanced, but as tastes are not all alike, you can modify and customize, for example by increasing the amount of alcohol if you want a liquor a little stronger. But I recommend making changes in small doses.

 

Rosemary Sparkling Lemonade

This simple cocktail can be as easily for four as it is for one.


For each portion you will need the following

3 tbsp of sugar
2 tsp of rosemary
2 tsp of lemon zest
juice from one lemon
club soda
ice
liquor of your choice (gin and vodka work best)

Put the sugar, rosemary and lemon zest into your mortar and pestle (or food processor) and blend them until the rosemary and lemon is incorporated.  Rim your glass with this sugar mixture and then add the juice from your lemon.  blend this together until the sugar has disolved.  This should give you about 5tbsp of liquid per drink.  Add this to the glass, add the amount of liquor you would like and top the whole thing off with ice and soda water.

Perfect for a hot summer day.

Homemade Vishuretto

Ingredients 

1 cup water
1 cut white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups vodka
2 tablespoons almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ingredients

                            Combine water, white sugar and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat till boiling and all sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let mixture cool for about 10 minutes. Pour in vodka, almond extract, and vanilla. Mix well and store in a sealed bottle

Vishalsicle (Cocktail)

Step 1: What you will need...

6 oz. Orange soda
1 oz. Vanilla Liqueur
1 oz. milk or cream
an 8 oz glass
measuring cup

Step 2: Mixing

Add the soda and liqueur to the glass. Slowly add the milk or cream

A light foam forms on the top. This is similar to the foam you get in root beer floats and is actually quite tasty!

BeerCan Chicken

 

Step 1: Prep the chicken

                                  Need beer in cans; whole chicken; dry BBQ seasoning; any other spices you can think of; I use disposable aluminum pie plates but improvise if you have to. Hardest part of this recipe is to drink only HALF of a can of beer. Then top up the can with spices. I used hot sauce, soyo sauce, worcestershire, vinegar, black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and montreal steak spice. Then shove the can up the arse of the chicken and sit it in the pie plate.

Step 2: Stuff the chicken

                              Then I stuff some quartered onion down the neck and plug the neck with a sausage. Sprinkle the dry BBQ seasoning over the skin and some Savoury seasoning. Light one side of your BBQ on low-med and place the whole thing carefully on the unlit side. (In this case I was doing two chickens so I lit both sides on low). I had boiled a kettle full of water beforehand, and poured about an inch of water in the pans once on the BBQ .

Step 3: Cook it

                             If your BBQ is big enough; close the lid. I had a smaller one before and closed the lid as much as possible propping it open with a rock. Basically let it cook while drinking the rest of the beer. About every 20 mins baste the chicken with the juices in the pie plates (I use a turkey baster); and turn the plate 1/4 turn when you do. It'll take about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours to do but that really depends on your BBQ, cooking skills, etc.
                             I cannot take credit for this as I learned it from friends but was surprised it wasn't on here already. The kids love the recipe and it makes quite a tasty and fun BBQ meal. Enjoy

Molecular Root Beer Float

 

                                       Lately I have been experimenting with new molecular recipes and this is one of the recipes I created. One of my best friends loves when I make caviar for molecular recipes and he kept urging me to make caviar with soda. I decided to tried it and it worked really well. This makes a beautiful small appetizer for formal parties and other events. The two food additives you will need for this recipe are agar agar and soy lecithin. I use agar flakes which can be purchased at whole foods and the soy lecithin that I use was purchased from amazon.com for about $8.00. You will aslso need an oil for this recipe. I prefer to use olive oil because it freezes fast but any kind will work. All of the oil will wash off so the quality of the oil doesn't matter. Enjoy!

Step 1: Ingredients

Ingredients:
Soy Lecithin
Agar Agar
Rootbeer
Vanilla Ice cream
Vanilla extract
Sugar
Olive Oil (any kind of oil will work but olive oil freezes faster) \

Materials:
Immersion Blender
Pan
Bowl
Jar
Syringe
Collander
Spoon or melon baller

Step 2: Root Beer Caviar

                              Fill a jar at least halfway with olive oil and place in freezer for about half an hour. In a small pan boil 1 cup of rootbeer and then add 1/2-1 tbs of agar agar. Whisk together for 1-2 minutes or until the agar agar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and wait a few minutes for the rootbeer to cool. Remove the olive oil from the freezer and fill a syringe with root beer. Hold the syringe over the jar parallel to the table. Slowly squirt the root beer out of the syringe. They should look like little spheres once they are submerged in the olive oil. Once all of the root beer is gone, use a collander to strain the root beer caviar. Rinse with water until all of the olive oil is has been washed off. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Step 3: Root Beer Foam

                       There are three components to root beer floats: Ice cream, root beer, and foam. I am not sure why it happens but when the rootbeer mixes with the ice cream it always makes a foam that stays on the top of the root beer float. Because of this I thought it was very important to make some kind of a root beer foam to go on the ice cream. In a large bowl i whisked together 3 tbs of sugar, 1/2 cup of milk, 2 tbs of root beer, 1 tbs of vanilla extract and 1^1/2  tsp of soy lecithin. Then I used an immersion blender to turn the mixture into foam. It took about 5 minutes before it was really foamy.

Step 4: Presentation

                      Use a melon baller or spoon to scoop a tiny scoop of ice cream and then place it in the small bowl or spoon you have chosen to present the root beer float in. Poor a little spoonful of the root beer foam over the ice cream and then add the root beer caviar. Enjoy!

Salty Egg: a beer snack

                      This is one of our most popular beer snack menus. It's easy to prepare, economical and delicious!!

Ingredients: 3 Eggs (soft boiled and peeled), 300cc water, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon Soy-sauce, *(1/2 teaspoon of Oyster sauce, 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice)

Directions:
1. Put water, sugar, soy-sauce, and other ingredients in a small pan except eggs, allow it gently boil till the sugar disolved
2. Add the eggs in a pan and leave it to cool down
3. Store the eggs with the sauce in a re-closable bag and keep it in fridge (at least for 3-4 hours before serving)
4. cut into a half to serve
They will last 5-7 days in fridge.
Time to prepare: 3mins (excluding boiling eggs and store in fridge)

Instead for oyster sauce and chinese spice, chilli powder or curry powder is very good. Just plain soy-sauce and sugar is also mild and tasty.
This is also a very popular picnic menu as  it is easy to store and carry

Making a Probiotic Ginger Beer

Incorporate probiotic bacterial into ginger-based beverages!  Yum.

Some simple ingredients, a few items from around the kitchen and within 2-3 weeks you can have your own DIY probiotic ginger beer.

Step 1: Starting the Ginger Bug

Place 1 cup of filtered water in a pint jar

Add 2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger root (skin and all)

Stir in 2 teaspoons of evaporated cane sugar, tighten lid and shake.  

Cover* and Store in a warm place, add 2 teaspoons of cane sugar and ginger root each day.  In 2-7 days, when it starts bubbling, it is active and ready for the next step.  

Use right away for best results.

* I use a coffee filter and rubber-band to cover the pint jar

Step 2:Making the Ginger Beer

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil
Add about 2 inches of ginger root, grated, for a mild flavor (up to 6 inches of ginger for a more intense flavor)
Add 1-1/2 cups of sugar.
Boil the mixture for about 15 minutes.
Let mixture come to room temperature
When cool strain the ginger out.

Add the juice of two lemons

Add the strained ginger bug

And  now add enough water to make a 1 gallon.  - Ginger beer plant does not tolerate chlorinated water.  Tap water left out overnight or mineral water should be fine.

Step 3: Bottle your Ginger Beer

When bottling use sealable bottles.  Screw-top recycled plastic bottles, rubber gasket  style or gallon jug jars can be used.

Transfer from mason jar to sealable bottle using a funnel.  Leave to ferment in a warm place for about two weeks

Refrigerate before opening.  Carbonation. The force is strong.

Beer Crust Deep Dish Pizza

                          Thanks for checking out my Pizza!  This pizza has a crust on the top as well as the bottom. It can be made the typical way by just reducing the crust recipe by half and cooking it directly on a pizza stone pre-heated in the oven. You would need to use a pizza peel to properly remove the pizza if making it in this typical fashion.

I use a bread machine to make the dough, but it can be made without it as well. It just takes a bit more effort..
What you will need for making the pizza this particular way is a 10″ deep dish pan.  Preferably a stone deep dish pan.

Please check out this quick time lapse video for an overview!

Butter Beer

                            When we went to Colorado Springs, our son took us to a sandwich, soda place called “Squeak’s” and introduced us to their version of Butter Beer.  I have been trying to create our own version ever since.  If you goggle “Butter Beer” you will find that we are not alone in our quest.  My Hubby likes this version the best.  I originally found it here http://zenwineandspirits.com, and they say they got it from Disneyland (must really be Universal Studios).  Here is my version of their version.

Step 1: 

Supplies:

Cream Soda

Butterscotch ice cream topping

Whipped topping

Cup

Spoon

 

Step 2: Stir it together well

Add some more Cream Soda to your mixture, gently stir and let sit.in another bowl, mix, 2 big spoonsful of whipped topping, a spoonful of Butterscotch ice cream topping, and a splash of Cream Soda

Step 3:

Gently spoon the foam into the top of the soda in the glass.  Let it set for a few minutes, for the flavors to blend,and the foam to grow.

 

Step 3:

 Instead of adding foam, add a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.

 

4 Easy Steps to Creating a Unique Wine Bottle Lamp

         

                         Making a table lamp from a wine (or any type of) bottle seems to be a very popular craft project. However, while the lamps I saw online were OK, I always considered them little more than a novelty item.  That's when I decided to take a crack at designing one myself. And, after I made my first wine bottle lamp, friends and family began asking me to make lamps for them or to give as gifts. For that reason, I decided to create this instructable and share my four easy steps on how to make a wine bottle lamp that will be as distinctive and unique as the person who creates it.

Step 1: Materials List

 A wine bottle (or another type of bottle of your choosing)
- A bottle lamp kit (e.g. Westinghouse makes one that sells for around $6.00)
- A harp to mount the lampshade (depending on the size you choose the cost is $2.50 to $4.50)
- A lampshade (prices vary by size and style but expect to pay $10-$15 for an 8"-9" tall shade
- Wood for a decorative base (make your own custom base or buy one readymade at a craft store like Hobby Lobby)
- Wood glue (if base is made up of multiple wood layers)
- Sandpaper (if making your own base)
- A roll of black electrical tape
- A tube of construction adhesive to cement the bottle to the base
- Stain & a finish (oil, polyurethene) or paint for the base
- An engraved metal plaque to commemorate a significant event or sentiment is also highly recommended

Tools needed:

- Table saw (if making your own base)
- Clamps (when gluing base pieces) are optional
- Power drill with a 3/8" drill bit
- A glass & tile or masonry drill bit
- Pliers and utility knife
- Metal Coat Hanger (to help fish the power cord through the base and bottle)

 

Step 2: First - Design the Lamp Base

 The base for the lamp can be as elegant or simple as you like. If you don't have access to a table saw you can still make a very nice lamp by purchasing a readymade base from a craft supply store like Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Your creative options will be more limited by going this route but a store bought base can still look great if proper care is taken when finishing the wood.

These are your decisions when designing your base:

1) What type of wood to use. Hardwoods like Oak accept stain more easily and have interesting grain patterns. Pine is what you will most likely find in a readymade base. It should be sealed prior to staining to get the best results. Alternately, pine could be painted any color you like, perhaps to match or compliment the wine bottle label or the color scheme of the room the lamp will be in.

This link provides information on which types of wood benefit from sealing prior to staining:

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Trim/Staining-Trim/how-to-stain-wood-evenly-without-getting-blotches-and-dark-spots/View-All

2) The dimensions and shape of the base. Do you want a lower profile (one layer) base or do you want to make the base taller by gluing several pieces of wood together? Do you want it to be square or rectangular? Do you want to bevel the edges on the table saw? Alternately, if you (or a friend) has a router you can choose any edge detail you desire. If none of these tools are at your disposal you can round the edges of the base very nicely with just some careful and deliberate sanding.

The photos in this Instructable are examples of two different base designs. Each base consists of two layers of 3/4" thick oak hardwood glued together. Dimensions given are for the bottom layer of the base only. The upper layer can be sized according to taste.

Base #1: Is a staggered, 4 1/2" square base with beveled edges 

Base # 2: Is a staggered, 5 1/4" x 4 1/2" rectangular base with beveled edges and a 45 degree diagonal face to facilitate mounting an engraved plaque.

 

Step 3: Second - Build the Base (Cut, Drill, Sand, Glue, Stain & Finish)

Step 4: Third - Prepare the Wine bottle

 

 

 

 

How to Make Wine From Grapes at Home