Drink: Concord Berry Sparkle

From Denny: From the folks over at Welsh's comes this non-alcoholic drink that would be just perfect for a Sunday gathering if you wanted something that was just a bit special. It sounds so refreshing! If you wanted to make it alcoholic just add a light white wine.

It's the seltzer that makes it so refreshing. Seltzer is a flavorless effervescent water. Originally, it came from the town of Nieder Selters, located in the Weisbaden region of Germany. Most of us are familiar with seltzer as soda water that is actually injected with carbon dioxide to mimic the one from Germany. Today, soda water as we know it began back in the late 1700's. We still use this basic technology in our soda drinks. Amazing, huh!?


Concord Berry Sparkle

From: Welch’s

Yield: Serves 1

Ingredients:


3 blueberries or 3 red grapes

4 ozs. Welch’s 100% Grape Juice made from Concord grapes

1/2 oz. seltzer water or club soda

1 wedge fresh lime

1 sprig fresh mint


Directions:

1. In a glass, muddle blueberries or red grapes.

2. Add ice to glass. Pour in grape juice and seltzer.

3. Stir to blend fruit juices and sparkling water. Squeeze a little lime in, slosh the glass around and garnish with mint. Serve immediately.

Note: You can make a berry skewer to fancy up the drink for a party or guests.

Appetizer: Warm Pepperoni Pizza Olives

From Denny: This sure looks like a yummy idea for grazing during any sports afternoon and full of protein like olives, cheese and pepperoni. What is so interesting is that it is cooked briefly to infuse the garlic in the oil, olives and pepperoni.

I'm a big fan of Lindsay's large pitted black olives. My husband prefers green olives stuffed with the milder pimento. We usually compromise when it comes to a pizza and do it half and half. Both olive types would be equally good in this recipe, especially if you don't like the spicy jalapeno. And I'd add 2 more garlic cloves as we love garlic in our house!

Suggested is an amber ale beer as a good complement - now the men in the family would agree with that! :)
Louisiana's own Abita Amber would be a good choice.


Warm Pepperoni Pizza Olives

From: Lindsay Olives

Yield: Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 (4.5-oz.) jar Lindsay Jalapeño Stuffed Spanish Olives, drained

1 (6-oz.) can Lindsay Ripe Pitted Olives, drained

1 cup cubed pepperoni (5 ozs.)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsps. dried oregano leaves

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 cup cubed Romano cheese, about 4 ozs.


Directions:

1. Put oil, olives, pepperoni, garlic, oregano and sun-dried tomatoes in small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until garlic is fragrant and oil is hot, about 5 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and leave in saucepan for a few minutes. Add cheese cubes and place in a serving bowl.

Drink tip: A good all-around amber ale is a perfect match to the pizza olives.

Recipe: Irish Mist Cake

From Denny: Following are 4 videos demonstrating how to make this easy cake. Lots of people love Irish Whiskey and this is certainly one interesting way to "drink" the libation! :)

They take their time making the cake as this is an unprofessional video where a couple of regular people enjoy the romp through their version of the Food Network. Amusing as well as instructional.


Photos by stevegarfield @ flickr

Video 2: Irish Mist Cake

Video 1: Irish Mist Cake