White Sangria - Summer's Magical Elixir

Summertime is officially here, and the best way to celebrate is with a lovely drink. Here's a delicous white sangria recipe from Heidi Swanson's new cookbook, Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways To Incorporate Whole & Natural Ingredients Into Your Cooking. Give it a whirl - it might inspire you to experiment with healthier alternatives in your bar and kitchen!

White Sangria with Agave Nectar and Drunken Peaches

Makes 1 large pitcher, enough to serve 6 to 8

2 or 3 peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into eighths
3 cups seedless grapes of mixed colors, halved
1/ 3 cup agave nectar
2 (750-ml) bottles sauvignon blanc
¬Ω cup apricot brandy
1 (1-liter) bottle sparkling water

Combine the peaches, grapes, agave nectar, wine, and brandy in a 1-gallon jug. Stir gently so the fruit doesn’t break up, then chill in the refrigerator for a few hours or, even better, overnight.
Serve in tall glasses, making sure each has a nice assortment of the wine-soaked fruit; top each with a generous splash of sparkling water.

Reprinted with permission from Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways to Incorporate Whole & Natural Ingredients Into Your Cooking by Heidi Swanson. Photographs by Heidi Swanson. Copyright 2007. Published by Celestial Arts.

Enjoy!

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Mastering The Art Of Cocktails With Tony Abou-Ganim

Perfect for a Father's Day gift, nationally acclaimed mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim has recently launched an informative DVD, "Modern Mixology: Making Great Cocktails at Home" that demonstrates what every drink enthusiast needs to stock a home bar. From recommending the proper bar tools (and showing viewers how to use them) to dishing out expert tips and secrets on executing the perfect cocktail, Tony's DVD also has a special feature on demonstrating the most popular cocktail recipes. Easy to follow and fun to watch, you can view each cocktail recipe at your own pace. Soon you will be confident at whipping out cocktails, becoming the star host of your parties.

Available at www.Themodernmixologist.com or Modernmixologydvd.com; you can also purchase Tony's bar tools (TAG BAR) at www.ultimatebarchef.com

See you at the bar,

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Summer Baking Fun With Williams-Sonoma's New Gadgets

Super fun for both kids and adults, the new baking gadgets from Williams-Sonoma are just some of the latest baking innovations for amateurs and experts alike. Not only are these great for summer entertaining, kids will have a blast navigating the kitchen with their summer baking projects:

The Backyard Bugs Cakelet Pan is the most adorable thing I've laid eyes on this season - it's quickly becoming the reigning favorite cake pan in my kitchen. This cute baking pan features four pairs of your favorite garden critters (bees, butterflies, ladybugs and dragonflies), all perched on a leaf-shaped mold. Remember to use the attached vanilla cake recipe, as it will churn out 16 delicious cakes for decorating. The sturdy cast aluminum construction allows even heat distribution, ensuring perfectly browned cakes each time. Another big plus is the superior nonstick coating, which guarantees an easy release between each batch.

Say goodbye to messy pastry bags! Easy to handle and control, the new Mechanical Pastry Bag is a much-needed decorating tool for the home baker. This awesome pastry decorating kit comes with ten professional stainless-steel decorating tips to embellish birthday cakes, cookies and cupcakes galore. Fun to use and easy to clean (dishwasher-safe), the kit also comes with an instruction booklet to ensure perfectly executed swirls of icing.

Check them out at: www.williams-sonoma.com

-See you in the kitchen!

The Sweet Life

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XUXU - The Heavenly Bavarian Kiss

Get a splash of summer fun with the new Bavarian import, XUXU. A 'heavenly kiss,' it's a refreshing vodka drink made with farm-fresh strawberries. Containing 66% fruit puree, this versatile German favorite is great on the rocks, or drizzled over ice cream and cakes. It's also ideal to mix it with sparkling wines and in other fruity cocktails (see recipe below).

XUXU Royale

Ingredients:

6 cl Sparkling Wine (e.g. Blanc Foussy)
2 - 4 cl XUXU

Preparation:

Pour chilled XUXU in a sparkling wine glass and fill it up with sparkling wine.

For more recipes, check out www.xuxu.de

See you at the bar,

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