Carbo’s Berry Iced Tea

Mark T. Carboni shares his Cookin With Carbo party recipes with Shindigz

Looking for something different to serve at a dinner party, a Father’s Day gathering or an afternoon beverage? Look no further as I have one drink recipe that is certain to make your family cheer.

I do love a nice refreshing beverage that can be enjoyed by everyone. This can always be heightened with the addition of a rum or vodka!

Carbo’s Berry Iced Tea

You can make this Berry Tea for the kids, or the adults this summer!

1 quart of strawberries
1 pint of red raspberries
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup of sugar
32 oz of iced tea – black tea

In a blender, place the strawberries, raspberries, lemon juice and sugar and puree. Strain out seeds and mix the berry mixture and the iced tea mixture. Serve over ice.

This is the time when you would add your spirits.
The passion for cooking was inherited through Carbo’s maternal grandmother who inspired Mark T. Carboni (Carbo) to bring joy to friends and family through the act of preparing food and celebrations. Carbo and his partner travel to sample and learn regional and cultural differences in food. The experiences allow him to make new and exciting recipes that can be reproduce in your own home using every day products and equipment in a short amount of time. Carbo provides private cooking lessons, authored his first cookbook and keeps a highly interactive Facebook page that showcases food-talk and fun. www.facebook.com/carbocooks.

Hot Toddy

Celebrate National Hot Toddy Day January 11th!

• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 ounces boiling water
• 1 1/2 ounces whiskey
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 slice lemon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

Pour the honey, boiling water, and whiskey into a mug. Spice it with the cloves and cinnamon, and put in the slice of lemon. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes so the flavors mix, then sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg before serving.

New Year’s Eve Classic Champagne Cocktail Recipes

Chilled champagne combined with simple mixers allow you to serve up New Year’s with a delicious twist. Use flutes to preserve nose-tickling bubbles and these three easy steps:

1) Go with a medium-quality dry champagne or other sparkling wine.

2) Use well-chilled champagne, mixers and glasses.

3) Combine the champagne and mixers gently, pouring slowly and stopping for a few seconds if a fizz starts up.

That’s it! Now you are ready to mix champagne cocktails at your New Year’s party. Here are three classic, yet simple, champagne cocktail recipes for you:

Black Velvet: This is nothing more than sparkling wine added to beer — a stout or aged porter, actually, and enjoyed by Londoners for ages. The amount of each ingredient depends on the beer you choose; start with 1 part stout or porter to 4 parts sparkling but don’t hesitate to play with the proportions up to a 50/50 combo.

Kir Royale: Add ½ ounce crème de cassis to your sparkler. Crème de cassis is a black currant liqueur, so the kir is quite amenable to experimentation with other berry and fruit liqueurs. Garnish with a berry or twist of lemon rind.

Poinsettia: Put in ¼ ounce of Cointreau and a splash of cranberry juice. Finish with a careful pour of your sparkling wine. You’ll love the festive color as well as the flavor.

Looking for special flute stemware for champagne cocktails at your New Year’s event? See our selection of custom glassware to mark the occasion.

Rye Manhattan

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup rye whiskey
• 2 tablespoons sweet vermouth
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 maraschino cherry

Preparation:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Pour in the whiskey, vermouth and bitters. Shake until frosty, about 15 seconds then strain into a Manhattan glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Perfect Martini

Ingredients:

• 1/2 fluid ounce dry vermouth
• 4 fluid ounces gin
• 2 pimento-stuffed green olives

Preparation:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the vermouth, followed closely by the gin. Shake while counting to 30. Divide into 2 cocktail glasses. Garnish with 1 olive each.

Witches Brew

Ingredients

• 1 (6-ounce) package lime gelatin
• 2 cups boiling water
• 3 cups chilled pineapple juice
• 1 (2 liter) bottle chilled lemon-lime soft drink or ginger ale
• 2 cups chilled vodka, optional

Directions
Pour the gelatin mix into a large bowl. Slowly stir in the boiling water. Stir at least 2 minutes, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in the pineapple juice. Let cool to room temperature.

Pour the drink mixture into the punch bowl. Slowly add the chilled vodka and lemon-lime soda or ginger ale. Stir gently to mix