Here in the south this is a New Years' Tradition, best served with greens and grits...

Use ham hocks or hog jowl in this basic black eyed pea recipe, also known as Hoppin' John.

Ingredients:

2 pounds dried black-eyed peas

8 ounces hog jowl or 2 small to medium ham hocks

6 cups water

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon sugar

salt, to taste

Preparation:

Pick over the peas and rinse well, then soak in cold water overnight. Place ham hocks or hog jowl in large kettle with water, bring to boil, and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Drain peas and add to the hog jowl. Add whole onion, crushed red pepper, sugar, and salt. Add more water if needed to cover peas. Cover tightly and simmer slowly 2 hours or until peas are tender. Serve with hot cooked rice and cornbread. Serves 6-8.

Hate the hassle, condescending barista and cost of those Starbucks lattes! You can make delicious joe to jump start your day with the beat-up old Mr. Coffee in the break room or your kitchen. Off course the big rule is use good coffee and water to start with. Here are the three key elements for brewing your own tasty cuppa...

• Beans: Buy freshly roasted whole beans and grind before each use. If you must make do with subpar grounds, add an extra tablespoon per cup (this will cut down on over-extraction of flavor throughout the grind, thus avoiding MOST of the bitter, acidy taste). Store coffee in an airtight container in a cool, dark place (not the fridge).
• Water: Coffee oil residue produces that familiar rancid tang, so rinse the machine thoroughly with hot water after each use. Also, wet the paper filter under the tap before you add the grounds, and Brew with cold, purified water for better flavor. (I have also been told that a 2% salt water solution, added at one drop per cup will cut the bitter taste, but I haven't tried it myself)
• Vinegar: Eliminate hard-water deposits: Once a month, add 8 ounces of white vinegar to the water reservoir and run the coffee-maker (sans filter) until half the liquid is in the pot. Switch off and let stand for an hour. Dump the vinegar, then run the machine twice with water only.

Enjoy!

Ward off Winter Chills with Homemade Sbiten

If peppermint tea and hot chocolate aren't cutting it for your tummy-warming needs this winter, why not try something unusual? Sbiten is a spicy honey-based hot beverage that gives mulled cider a run for its money.

Sbiten—or сбитень—hails from the icy north of Russia. The drink is prepared hot, served hot, and composed of water—or strong red wine for more merriment—honey, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, blackberry jam, nutmeg, and a touch of mint. Making it is as simple as boiling the water or wine, throwing in all the ingredients, simmering, and then ladling it into cups.

Check out the full recipe at the link below and if you try it out we want to hear about it in the comments—I'm volunteering the Fitzpatrick household for a test run this weekend.

How-To Make Sbiten [wikiHow]

Send an email to Jason Fitzpatrick, the author of this post, at jason@lifehacker.com.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

INGREDIENTS

3 medium, firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or cornmeal
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS

1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place flour, milk, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes.
2 Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 4-6 minutes on each side or until brown. As you cook the rest of the tomatoes, add olive oil as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

SAUSAGE GRAVY

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground pork sausage

3 tablespoons bacon grease

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1 Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Set aside, leaving the drippings in the skillet.

2 Mix bacon grease into the sausage drippings. Reduce heat to medium, combine with flour, and stir constantly until mixture just turns golden brown.

3 Gradually whisk milk into skillet. When the mixture is smooth, thickened, and begins to bubble, return the sausage to skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve with grits and fried eggs, a breakfast that will stick with you...

This is a simple little cookbook of some everyday recipes. Not any exotic dishes but the presentation, although simple, is outstanding ….

http://www.katieshelly.com/2d/picturecook.html

Servings: 2

Difficulty: Easy

Cook Time: 30-60 min

Ingredients

• Shrimp

• 8 shrimp, peeled and de-veined

• 1 tsp. garlic, chopped

• 2 tsp. shallots, chopped

• 1 yellow tomato, peeled, seeded and diced

• 1 tbsp. olive oil

• 1 tbsp. Opal basil, chopped fine

• 1/2-cup dry white wine

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• Salt and fresh ground white pepper, to taste

• Grits

• 2 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter

• 2 1/4 cups chicken stock

• 1/2 cup Charleston Grill stone ground grits

• 1 to 2 cups heavy cream

• Salt and fresh cracked white pepper, to taste

• 1 Tsp. fresh lemon zest, chopped fine

Cooking Directions

Shrimp

Salt and pepper the shrimp on each side. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and then add the shrimp. Cook for one minute on each side and remove from the pan.

Add the garlic and shallots and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and the white wine. Reduce the wine by half and add the cream. Reduce to a sauce consistency.

Return the shrimp to the sauce and add the Opal basil. Salt and pepper to taste and pour this over the hot grits.

Grits

Bring the chicken stock and butter to a boil in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the grits and return to a boil. Reduce the heat, allowing the grits to cook for another 15 minutes at a low boil, and until the grits are thick and have absorbed most of the chicken stock. Stir occasionally to keep the grits from sticking.

Add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to the pot and reduce the heat, allowing the grits to cook slowly for another 10 minutes. As the liquid is absorbed, add more cream, cooking the grits until thick and full-bodied. Add salt and pepper to taste with a total cooking time of at least an hour.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bob Waggoner of the Charleston Grill, in Charleston, S.C.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich, with a bowel of Tomato Soup has got to be one of the all time greatest comfort foods.... Here's some tips on doing it awesome...

Five of Bon Appetit Test Kitchen wunderkind Sarah Tenaglia's tried-and-true tips for making the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

1. Work with the right ingredients. "A toothsome, country-style bread works best, and it can support a range of cheeses," says Tenaglia. "Make sure to use cheeses that melt well, like cheddar, mozzarella, fontina, or jack. Goat cheese has a nice tang, and blue cheese adds sharpness, but neither does that gooey thing you want for a grilled cheese. If you want to use one, just combine it with a 'melty cheese.'"
2. Use a non-stick skillet. "You won't have to use as much fat, so you won't run the risk of a soggy sandwich."
3. Moderate heat is the key. "A good grilled cheese sandwich is brown on the outside and gooey on the inside. This is hard to achieve without burning the bread; make sure to use medium heat. Also, using a mixture of oil and butter prevents the butter from browning too quickly."
4. Add greens later. "I don't like greens wilted ahead of time; there's something about the freshness of certain elements that are not heated through. Split open the sandwich and add the arugula or lettuce right at the end."
5. Finish it off in the oven. "For me, the worst thing is not to have the cheese melted all the way through. If the bread is browning on the stovetop but the cheese isn't gooey yet, stick the sandwich in a 400-degree oven for a couple of minutes."

Here are 4 of Tenaglia's Favorite, Delicious Grilled Cheese Flavor Combinations:

The Classic: Country-style bread and aged cheddar cooked in a skillet with butter.

The Southwestern: Country-style bread, jalapeno jack cheese, avocado, and cilantro cooked in a skillet with olive oil.

The Frenchie: Country-style bread, blue cheese and brie cooked with sliced apples or pears in a skillet with butter.

The Tuscan: Country-style bread, fontina, strips of prosciutto, and sprigs of fresh thyme cooked in olive oil with cracked pepper.

In general, smoky meats are a good counterpart to cheese, and the sweetness in caramelized onions works well, too. And a tip for groups: Forgo the stovetop and try using the oven. "Spread butter on bread slices, place them on a baking sheet, and broil them until brown," says Tenaglia. "Then flip them, add cheese and whatever other ingredients, put another buttered slice of bread on top, and broil that side. You can do six sandwiches at one time this way.

Like to eat? Like to cook? Want to use local seasonal foods? I know I do...

Well check out this website, Keep Alachua County Kitchens Beautiful,

http://kacbkitchens.wordpress.com/ , they're on Face Book too...

As an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, Keep Alachua County Beautiful believes that each of us holds an obligation to preserve and protect our environment. Through our everyday choices and actions, we collectively have a huge impact on our world. It’s really a simple concept, but one with far reaching effects.

Keep America Beautiful follows a practical approach that unites citizens, businesses and government to find solutions that advance our core issues of preventing litter, reducing waste, and beautifying communities.

On a mission is to beautify, conserve resources, recycle, educate and preserve our community’s environmental legacy.

Blog entries and photography by: Stephanie Panico

Babaganoush, aka: eggplant dip is the current recipe and I can already taste it...

Good Eating Southern Style...

I truly love good BBQ and the Gainesville area is blessed many excellent places. Not to mention I literally live right around the corner from Davids BBQ, I love that place...

Here is an article from the Gainesville Sun about four of the areas best, but not only sources of super BBQ. Complete with tips and recipes...

BBQ CHEFS REVEAL THEIR SECRETS

Four area chefs share their trade secrets for tender, falling-off-the-bone barbecue

by Linda Hallam

Published: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 11:55 a.m.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100714/ARTICLES/100719778?p=all&tc=pgall

Whole Roast Pig ...

Ever wanted to go to a Pig Roast? You know whole pig falling off the bone…

In my time I've been to a couple, mostly using the "Cuban Method" in the post below, a couple in a "Caja China" which is a wooden box with coals on top and once in a bit wrapped in wet burlap with seasoning and veggies, buried and left to cook for about 12 hours (natures crock pot). Never had one on a spit like in the second post.

Also included is post for some sauce recipes for the finished pork…

(Warning…if you're used to buying your meat in the handy little shrink-wrapped packages at the market, you may find some of the photo's in these articles not to your taste. Don't say I didn't warn you…)

Okay, Cuban Backyard style click here…

On a spit click here…

And Three Sauces click here…

If you decide to have a pig roast send me an email and an invite, please…

Enjoy…

The Secret Ingredient (Key Lime)…

Key Lime Shrimp Taco

A few weeks back I published a recipe to make Limoncello, well here's a twist on that used by a friend to make a version using Key Limes and 151 proof rum.

It's fairly easy just substituting Key Limes and rum in the original recipe, she also made her simple syrup using turbino sugar. I had some this weekend mixed in equal portions with real Ginger Beer. It was outstanding.

Here in Gainesville you can get all the ingredients for this and the following recipes at Wards Market with a quick step across the street to the ABC for the rum.

Margaritaville eat your heart out…

Speaking of Key Limes… Here's some super recipes from Serious Eats, read the whole article here and here…

Key Lime Shrimp Tacos

-Serves 4-

Taco Ingredients

12 jumbo shrimp, cut in half lengthwise

2 clove garlic, grated

2 tablespoon key lime juice (from 6 key limes)

4 teaspoons light olive oil

8 small corn tortillas, warmed

shredded green cabbage to taste

Taco Procedure

1. Preheat a grill pan on high, and the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Toss the shrimp with the garlic, lime juice, and light olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Set aside.

3. Wrap the tortillas in foil, and warm in the oven.

4. Meanwhile, make the salsa and crema (recipes follow). Then, to assemble, lay the cabbage in the center of each small warm corn tortilla. Top with shrimp, then salsa, then crema. Serve with key lime wedges.

Key Lime, Avocado, and Mango Salsa Ingredients

2 tablespoon key lime juice (6 key limes)

1/2 jalapeno, finely diced

2 tablespoon fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1 scallion, finely sliced

1 avocado, finely diced

1/2 mango, finely diced

salt to taste

Key Lime, Avocado, and Mango Salsa Procedure

Combine all the salsa ingredients, and allow to sit for a few minutes while you make the crema.

Key Lime Crema Ingredients

Juice of 6 key limes (2 tablespoons)

Zest of 6 key limes

6 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature

Key Lime Crema Procedure

Whisk together all the crema ingredients.

Key Lime Scallop Ceviche

-Serves 2

Ingredients

2 tablespoons key lime juice (from 6 key limes)

1/2 scallion, thinly sliced

1/8 jalapeño, finely sliced

1/4 teaspoon sugar

pinch salt

1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 clove garlic, grated

2 sea scallops (about 1/4 pound), diced into 1/4-inch cubes (or use Bay Scallops, no dicing)

1 plantain, sliced lengthwise 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick

vegetable oil for frying

Procedure

1. In a bowl, mix together the key lime juice, scallion, jalapeno, sugar, salt, cilantro, and garlic.

2. Add the diced scallops, and toss. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

3. Take the ceviche out of the fridge to take the chill off.

4. Meanwhile, fill a cast iron skillet halfway with vegetable oil, and heat to 350 degrees F.

5. Fry the plantains 3 to 4 minutes, until golden and crisp. Drain on a paper towel, and season with salt while still hot.

6. Serve the scallop ceviche with the hot, fresh plantain chips.

Finally my own Key Lime Pie Recipe…

Key Lime Pie

-Serves 6-8

Crust

16 graham crackers, crushed

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cube (1/4 LB) butter

Pie

4 large or extra large egg yolks

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh Key Lime juice (approximately 12 Key limes)

2 teaspoons grated lime peel, yellow-green portion only

Meringue topping

Egg whites from above

4 tablespoons confectioner sugar

1teaspoon Cream of tartar

Crust:

Mix the ingredients and press them into a 9" pie plate. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 10 - 12 minutes until lightly browned. Place on a rack to cool.

Pie Filling

Use an electric mixer and beat the egg yolks until they are thick and turn to a light yellow, don't over mix. Turn the mixer off and add the sweetened condensed milk. Turn speed to low and mix in half of the lime juice. Once the juice is incorporated add the other half of the juice and the zest; continue to mix until blended (just a few seconds).

For the meringue whip egg whites while adding the sugar and cream of tartar until stiff and fluffy.

Pour the mixture into the pie shell top with meringue and bake at 350F for 12 minutes to set the yolks and kill any salmonella in the eggs.

Enjoy...

How to Make Pentagon-Style Brownies…

Well it turns out I've actually eaten these brownies in MREs, owah…

The Pentagon's brownie recipe is 26 pages long. Just grab a copy of document MIL-C-44072C and gather your ingredients: water that conforms to the "National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (Copies are available from the Office of Drinking Water, Environmental Protection Agency, WH550D, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20460)," and some eggs in compliance with "Regulations Governing the Inspection of Eggs and Egg Products (7 CFR Part 59)," and you're ready to go!

3.3.2 Brownie preparation. (NOTE: The contractor is not required to follow the exact procedure shown below provided that the brownies conform to all finished product requirements in 3.4.)

a. Whip eggs in large bowl on high speed until light and fluffy.

b. Combine sugars, cocoa, salt, and leavening; add to beaten eggs, and whip on high speed until thick.

c. Add shortening slowly while mixing on low speed.

d. Scrape bowl and whip on high speed until thick.

e. Mix flour, nuts, and flavors together and fold into batter; mix until uniform.

f. Pour batter into pan at a rate that will yield uncoated brownies which, when cut such as to meet the dimension requirements specified in 3.4f, will weigh approximately 35 grams each. (Experimentally, a panning rate of 14 to 16 grams per square inch was used.)

g. Bake at 350F until done (30 to 45 minutes).

3.3.3 Brownie cutting. The brownies shall be cut to the appropriate size when cool (see 3.4f).

Wondering about adding walnuts? Simply consult section 3.2.5.3 from the "30 April 1990 SUPERSEDING MIL-C-44072B 9 December 1987 W/CHANGE 12 February 2003 MILITARY SPECIFICATION COOKIES, OATMEAL; AND BROWNIES; COCOLATE [sic] COVERED."

3.2.5.3 Nuts, walnuts, shelled. Shelled walnut pieces shall be of the small piece size classification, shall be of a light color, and shall be U.S. No. 1 of the U.S. Standards for Shelled English Walnuts. A minimum of 90 percent, by weight, of the pieces shall pass through a 4/16-inch diameter round hole screen and not more than 1 percent, by weight, shall pass through a 2/16-inch diameter round hole screen. The shelled walnuts shall be coated with an approved food grade antioxidant and shall be of the latest season's crop.

These rules are for brownies destined for MREs, so it makes sense that Department of Defense wants to make sure they're getting uniform brownies with staying power. And many of the pages of regulations have to do with durability of packaging. But any sympathy I might have had for the whole brownie specs enterprise dissolved when I got to section 4.5.1.1, "Ingredient and component examination," which included this gem:

If necessary, each ingredient shall be examined organoleptically.

Sound like some kind of fancy scientific process, right? As in: "Put those walnuts in the Organoleptatron3000 to test for radioactivity." But in fact, testing "organoleptically" means that tasting, smelling, or looking at something. It's not clear whether you're allowed to decide if a batch of walnuts are OK by nibbling on a few before or after passing you pass them though a "2/16-inch diameter round hole screen" and coat them with "approved food grade antioxidant." All that and yet they can't spell chocolate or reduce fractions?

To answer the obvious question: No, there are no standards for the production of "special brownies."

(more, here)

Shrimp and Grits ....

S.N.O.B. chef Frank Lee's shrimp and grits are soupy and spicy, a melding of two Southern favorites: classic shrimp and grits and highly seasoned Frogmore Stew.

Saw this super recipe on the web and had to share it...

S.N.O.B.’s Spicy Shrimp and Grits with Tomato, Country Ham and Cayenne

(adapted from chef Frank Lee’s recipe for Maverick Grits from Slightly North of Broad)

To serve four

Ingredients for the grits:

1-1/4 cup stone ground yellow grits (see note)

4 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup cream

Method for the grits:

1. Rinse the grits in a large bowl of water. With your hand, scoop out any bran or hulls floating on top of the water. Drain well.

2. Combine the water, salt and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the grits and stir. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 28 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the grits stick to the bottom of the pan, reduce the heat and stir more frequently. As Bill Neal notes, “a long slow cooking is necessary to produce the correct, creamy consistency which is still punctuated by a slight pebbly contrast.”

3. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Keep warm.

Note: Check the directions on the back of your bag of grits. I used Carolina Favorite Stone Ground Grits, which called for 28 minutes of cooking time, which seemed about right once the grits were done. Other brands may take longer. It also called for more salt, but I used Lee’s recommended 1/2 teaspoon.

Ingredients for the topping:

2/3 pound shrimp, 26-35 ct.

2 tablespoons butter

4 ounces country ham, julienned

4 ounces smoked pork sausage, or one link andouille sausage, cut into rounds

1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped

Pinch of Cajun spice, or cayenne pepper (optional)

1/2 cup fresh tomato, seeded and diced

4 tablespoons green onion, tops only, chopped

1/2 cup chicken stock or water

Method for the topping:

1. While the grits are cooking, peel and devein the shrimp. If desired, swish the shrimp in a bowl of cool, salted water to remove any impurities. Repeat. Finish with a cool water rinse, drain and set aside.

2. When the grits are ready, prepare the topping. In a large skillet, sauté the shrimp in a tablespoon of butter over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until they are just cooked through. Remove and set aside.

3. In the same skillet, sauté the country ham and sausage for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked through. Taste the sausage for spiciness.

4. Add the garlic and cayenne, if using, and sauté 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and green onions and sauté 30 seconds.

5. Return the shrimp to the skillet, add water or chicken broth and simmer briefly. Swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter.

6. To serve, spoon four equal portions of the grits into four bowls. Place 5 or 6 shrimp on top of each portion of grits and spoon on equal parts of the topping, including some of the liquid. Serve at once.

I can't wait to try this on, Enjoy...

Shrimp on the Barbie…

Shrimp are graded by size with 30 different grades from very large to (under 5 per pound, often called Prawns) to very small (72-100 per pound).

Basting Sauce

1/4 LB real unsalted Butter (one stick / not margarine)

2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 teaspoon Lemon Zest

Shrimp

1 LB large shrimp (10-15 count) or larger.*

Oil for grill

First prepare the basting sauce. Melt the butter on low heat in a small saucepan and skim off the white stuff. You now have clarified butter. Add the lemon juice and zest let it stand as you prep the shrimp.

Using a sharp knife split the shrimp shell and rinse out the dark vein, but do not peel the shrimp.

Oil the grill over a bed of coals, dip the shrimp in the Lemon Butter and set on the grill a few at a time. Grill for 4 minutes baste, then turn and grill until they turn done, basting once more, no more than another 4 minutes. Watch them closely at the end so you don't over cook and dry them out…

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce…

* if you use medium shrimp put them on bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water, this makes handling easier.

Enjoy...

Sangria...

A summer favorite…

1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja reds, Zinfandel, Shiraz)

1 Lemon cut into wedges

1 Orange cut into wedges

2 Tbsp. sugar or Splenda

1 Shot brandy

2 Cups club soda (optional)

Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon and orange into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and add sugar and brandy. Chill overnight for best flavor. Add club soda and a block of ice just before serving.

Artillery Punch...

Here's an old recipe that’s lives up to its name…

2 pint strong black tea

2 pint rye whiskey

1/2 bottle red wine

1/2 pint Jamaican dark rum

1/2 pint brandy

1 jigger Benedictine herbal liqueur

1 pint orange juice

1/2 pint lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a couple pitchers with a block of ice. If found too dry, sugar syrup may be added. Decorate with twists of lemon and lime peel.

I've also seen this recipe with Irish Whisky instead of Rye.

How to Make Pitcher Drinks Tastier, Less Diluted...

Now that spring has made itself comfortable and Memorial Day is only a couple of steps away on the calendar, the season of outdoor entertaining is pretty much upon us. During the indoor months, preparing drinks for your guests can be as simple as splashing some whisky over a few cubes of ice. Or as complex as knocking together a number of well-considered cocktails.

But when everyone's hanging out on the deck with the smoke from the grill rising above the yard, you want liquid refreshments a bit more in tune with the season.

In today's Washington Post, Jason Wilson tackles the sometimes sticky topic of pitcher drinks. Pitcher drinks have a lot of appeal during the warmer time of year: you can ideally prepare them before guests arrive, then simply add ice and place the pitcher on a table with some glasses and encourage guests to help themselves.

But pitcher drinks are also often flaccid, with many recipes too reliant on fruit juices that quickly go watery, fizzy mixtures that rapidly go flat, or bottled mixers that are about as culinary appropriate as using cream of mushroom soup in your party casserole.

But there's hope out there for those seeking to prepare drinks for a crowd, without spending the whole party stuck inside with a cocktail shaker. As Wilson notes, one way to give a rum-based drink recipe a little vavoom is to replace the white rum with cachaca, a Brazilian sugarcane spirit that's in many ways similar to the more familiar rum but has a bit more rugged character that holds up well when mixed with strong flavors and served with a good slug of ice.

In addition, vintage punch recipes have caught on in a major way among the craft-cocktail crowd, and many older recipes, think pre-1950s recipes, before 7-Up and orange sherbet came to be considered appropriate punch ingredients—are made with flavor (and alcohol) potency that may be overwhelming if the mixture were to be served as a cocktail. But after sitting for a few minutes with a good dose of ice, they're as tasty and engaging as you might hope.

A couple of other points on mixing pitcher drinks:

Don't overdo it with the ingredients. There's a temptation to take the "more is better" approach, putting every juice and fizzy mixture at hand into the pitcher. Avoid it, as this almost invariably leads to murky drinks with unidentifiable flavors.

Also, think about your ice: in general, the smaller the ice pieces, the more rapidly they'll dilute the drink. Some dilution is desired, of course, but it's a fine line between "just right" and "too much."

Try preparing a large block of ice that fits right into the pitcher, using perhaps a plastic mold or a container that once held orange-juice concentrate, fill it with water, then leave it in the freezer overnight. This will melt slower than typical ice, extending the life span of that pitcher drink on the table.

These are just a few tips on preparing pitcher drinks. What are your suggestions on preparing warm-weather drinks that are suitable for a crowd? And do you have favorite pitcher drinks?

About the author: Paul Clarke blogs about cocktails at The Cocktail Chronicles and writes regularly on spirits and cocktails for Imbibe magazine. He lives in Seattle, where he works as a writer and magazine editor.

Read more: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/05/how-to-make-pitcher-drinks-summer-cocktails-recipes.html#ixzz0oCMCoqyL