It can be a bit difficult to purchasing the perfect wedding gifts for a newlywed couple, but for my cousin and his bride, I bought them this great serving set and champagne glasses. Some couples will buy their own before the ceremony, but more times than not, they are so busy with every other major detail, that something as simple as serving sets will be forgotten.
My cousin and his wife were no exception and there was brief panic at the reception, until I ran out there with my box in tow, and they were able to cut the cake and drink champagne with this customized present. Luckily for me, they also have great taste, and their wedding favors left nothing to be desired.
In recent years, there has been a plethora of sushi establishments opening in my community, and with good reason. Despite there being a sushi restaurant on virtually every street corner, the lines at these eateries still go out of the door on a Friday or Saturday night. Tired of the long waits and exorbitant prices, I have recently endeavored to learn how to create my own sushi.
Admittedly, my first few attempts were feeble at best. However, after some trial-and-error, I have become adept at making the basics like maki and nigiri. I’ve even done some experimenting and developed a few of my own original dishes. This weekend I am going to invite a few friends over to serve as guinea pigs for my raw cuisine, and I’ll probably breakout a couple of my traditional sake sets to ensure the party is a success.
Not everyone has the time or inclination to create the social event of the season. When you invite friends to your house, you just want to enjoy their company without the hassle of trying to impress. With proper serveware and glass barware your problem is solved. Even simple food comes out elegant and seemingly labored upon for hours. It lends the professional touch that will get oohs and aahs from your guests.
Complete your dinner with stylish serving bowls and platters; no more chipped and broken pieces. Because of this, this serveware should not only be reserved for guests. They can be used for daily meals as well.
I moved into a new house last month, and some of my friends suggested that I have a housewarming party. It seems a little odd to me that after I sink thousands of dollars into a home that I should be the one obligated to throw a party; shouldn’t my friends be the ones throwing one for me?-but I digress. Since it was my first soiree in my new abode, I wanted to make sure that it was spectacular.
Not only did I hire a DJ, have professional lighting and bring out my best acrylic glassware, but I also splurged and decided to buy caviar. When the guests arrived, they were visibly impressed, especially by the caviar and smorgasbord of delectable cuisine. Although I am not cheap, I informed my friends that after my extravagance, they would be the ones hosting the holiday parties this year.
The first type of kegerator is a purpose-built appliance specially designed to store, chill and dispense beer. This type of kegerator is very similar in appearance to a standard refrigerator and is often found in the wet bar area of a home. The refrigerator style kegerator is able to hold a keg of beer and has the necessary hardware to dispense the beer on tap. Some kegerators may have the beer tap on the top of the appliance while others have the tap in the door or on the side. Proper barware is important to your home.
Another common type of cooler kegerator is a refrigerator that has been modified to function as a kegerator. These are popular do-it-yourself projects for the beer enthusiast. There are special conversions kits on the market that provide the necessary hardware and instructions to modify a refrigerator. It should be noted that creating a kegerator from a refrigerator does require time, patience and some expertise and may require the use of tools such as electric drills, pliers, hand saws, and screwdrivers to perform the work.
A third type of cooler kegerator is a picnic style cooler that has been modified to serve as a portable kegerator. For beer drinkers interested in the convenience of bringing ice-cold draft beer wherever they go, the picnic cooler kegerator can be an effective way to do so. As with the refrigerator style kegerator, there are conversion kits with the hardware and instructions necessary to make a kegerator from a picnic cooler.
A cooler kegerator may refer to several appliances whose main purpose is to store beer at a cold temperature and then allow the dispensing of the cold beer from an attached tap. While warm beer is a tradition in certain areas of the world, the majority of beer drinkers prefer beer that is served cold. In addition, many beer drinkers also believe that draft beer, served from a tap, tastes better than beer that has been canned or bottled. A cooler kegerator allows consumers the ability to enjoy ice-cold draft beer on tap in the convenience of their homes. This appliance is a welcome addition to your home bar. And makes it convinient for pouring into your glassware.
Pint glasses come in a wide array of shapes and designs, but two shapes of beer glassware are most common. Nonic-shaped pint glasses are found everywhere. Also referred to as conical glasses, they slightly taper out at the bottom, and then bulge more widely near the top. Tulip glasses are also popular. They have a similar shape to the nonic glass, except that they are curvier with a more exaggerated flare — almost like an hourglass — and often taper in slightly at the very top.
Pint glasses may also be found in a number of stylized shapes and designs. The most common of these is a boot shape — hearkening back to some cultural practices of drinking from a wooden shoe. Some pint glasses also contain a metal lid of some sort that can be flipped up, like a traditional beer stein. Etchings, dimpled glass, and coloration are all variations that may also be found on pint glasses, though modern pint glasses tend to be fairly Spartan in their appearance.
There’s nothing better than a glass pitcher of iced tea in the summer months, and it’s so simple to make that there’s no reason not to keep a pitcher in the refrigerator at all times. You can make iced tea with all varieties of tea, though some seem to taste better cold. For example, raspberry, lemon, and peach teas are summer favorites amongst iced teas. While it’s possible to use green, black, and mint tea for iced tea, these varieties tend not to capture the same flavor when iced. You’ll need to adjust the amount of teabags used depending on the size of the picture. For two liters, 5-6 tea bags are appropriate, for one liter, 2-3 tea bags will work well. You might also want to add sugar, but be sure to stir the sugar in and continue to taste the tea; there’s nothing worse than a tea that is ruined because it is too sweet.
Keep adding crushed ice to the tea for the best taste, and remember not to add too much ice otherwise it will dilute the flavor of the tea.
A Tom and Jerry is a variation of egg nog. This is the recipe from the famous Trader Vics in California. Also check your local grocery store or liquor store as they will usually have some of this batter already premade. Serve in a glass barware mug.
Tom and Jerry Single Serving - Home made batter
Makes: 1 serving
I N G R E D I E N T S:
1 egg, separated
1 teaspoon bar sugar
1 ounce dark Jamaica rum
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 ounce brandy
Hot water
I N S T R U C T I O N S:
Beat egg yolk with sugar, rum and allspice until smooth and thick. Separately beat egg white until stiff. Fold white into yolk mixture. Put mixture into a preheated mug. Add hot water to fill mug 3/4 full. Stir gently. Add brandy. Dust with grated nutmeg.
Drink Mix From Prepared Batter -
1 heaping teaspoon prepared Tom and Jerry batter
1/2 ounce Jamaican rum
1/2 ounce brandy
Boiling water, hot coffee or hot milk
Preheat a 6 ounce Tom and Jerry mug with hot water. Add batter, rum, brandy, and stir. Fill mug with boiling water, hot coffee or hot milk. Stir.
This is just a sampling of simple drinking toasts from around the world. Some are impossible to find in language dictionaries as they are colloquial phrases, slang or in dialect. I apologize in advance for spelling mistakes: I’m no linguist. Meanings have been included when I could find them. Fill in the blanks if you can. Some are just a general ‘cheers’. If you were making a bet on possible translation, you wouldn’t lose money by suggesting that every one of these toasts is wishing the recipient continued health and general well being. My spell check is about to go wild! So raise your highball glass to one of these listed below.
za vashe zdorovye (Russian)
slainte duine a ol (Irish) to your health
genatzt (Armenian)
a sua saude (Portuguese) good health
a votre sante (French) to your health
banzai (long life) (Japanese)or
kanpai (dry glass!) (Japanese)
bud mo (Ukranian)
cin cin (chin chin) (cheers) (Italian) or
alla salute (in good health) (Italian)
proost (Dutch) cheers
vivat (Polish) revival, survival
tervist (Estonian) general greeting
skal (Danish) cheers
here’s looking at you (kid, optional) (American/Bogart)
kia ora (Maori) all purpose greeting
egeszsegedre (Hungarian) to your health
Iechyd da (Welsh) good health
I sveikas (Lithuanian) your health
kippis (Finnish) cheers
le’chaim (Jewish) to life
na zdravi (Czech) to your health
noroc (Romanian)
prosit (German) here’s to you (and your health of course)
wen lie (Chinese)
salud (Spanish)
bahkt tu kel (Romany/Gypsy) good luck and health be on you
Here it is folks – oogy wawa (Zulu)
(wawa means ‘fell’, oogy wasn’t listed, any ideas?)
We should all feel well cheered and healthy after all that!