What did you want to cook, eat, and read about through the months of 2013? We always find it instructive and entertaining to look back over the past year and see what you loved.
We are always on the hunt for a good cocktail – something refreshing and cold for summer or something warm and moody for winter. This year we tried new drinks and rediscovered old favorites, including a wonderful limoncello gin cocktail or an orange old fashioned. Here are 10 popular cocktails from the past year that I think you’ll love – something to sip and enjoy into the new year.
Q: My brother sent me three cans of haggis recently, and I’m planning to go for it — I like “fresh” haggis just fine, so I won’t shy away just because it’s in a can. The serving suggestion on the back of the label says to pair the haggis with potatoes, turnips (neeps + tatties?), crusty bread, and of course, a great beer, but no real recipe!
Earlier this month my husband and I hosted a cozy-glam winter cocktail party for friends in our Boston apartment. Yesterday I shared the party plan and menu, and now it’s time to get a peek at how it all went down!
Buoyed by our friends’ festive mood and attire (I encouraged everyone to wear something that made them feel “dashing,” and was thrilled to see sparkles and bow ties around the room!), we lit candles and popped sparkling wine bottles; we played records, snacked on sugared cranberries, and ran out of the cheddar olives. It was a little crazy pulling it all off, but also exhilarating. After all, this is it — the final episode in our Gatherings from The Kitchn for the year — so why not go out in style, with a glass of boozy punch in one hand and a bacon-wrapped date in the other?
4.76 / 5 Stars | 15 Reviews
by Mary Beth
“A good cranberry sauce for those who are avoiding a lot of sugar, which is usually abundant in cranberry sauces. Originally submitted to ThanksgivingRecipe.com. ”
It’s tough to make a drink that can please both those who abstain from and those who imbibe alcohol. Many mocktails are no more than sugary juices with a bit of soda water added. For Cambria’s winter glam cocktail party I was tasked with coming up with something a little more interesting — a mocktail that had the edgy notes of a grown-up drink without any of the alcohol. But it had to accommodate a splash of stronger stuff, too, for those who wanted a boozy punch.
My solution? This festive cranberry fizz — which I’m told was a hit. Want to see what’s in it?
When the weather outside is frightful, you throw a cocktail party. (I’m pretty sure those are the original lyrics to that song.) Last January when the other editors and I planned The Kitchn’s Gatherings for the year, it fell to me to host our very last party of 2013 — a winter cocktail soirée with bubbly drinks and appetizers.
So with a Pinterest board full of glitzy party decor ideas and a menu of bite-sized indulgences, my husband and I set out to create a sparkly, slightly retro, cozy-glam evening for our friends, all of whom work very hard and deserve a night to dress up, get out, and get down with a good drink and a lamb meatball slider. Today I’ll share the party plan and the full menu, which may or may not include chocolate cake bites, bacon-wrapped dates, and perhaps the greatest cranberry-ginger-rosemary punch ever. (Ok fine! Those are all included! I have a terrible poker face.)
We all start our days in different ways: a breakfast pizza with sunny-side up egg for me, a green smoothie for you, and ham-cheddar egg bakes for a friend. (Unless, that is, we’re all sharing a plate of lofty buttermilk pancakes doused in maple syrup.)
This past year, we talked about all sorts of ways to super-power our mornings with an extra dose of protein and nutrition, and here are fifteen favorites. These are the breakfasts that make us excited to get out of bed and leap into the day!
