Pink Fizzy Party Punch * Entertaining Food & Drinks

Pink Fizzy Party Punch is my favorite. Adding sherbert to your punch was a big thing when I was a kid. It was served at all the best parties and occasions. Since Rose Quartz is the 2016 color of the year I thought it would be perfect to serve a Pink Fizzy Punch for your Party.

Ingredients:

• 2 liter bottle of ginger ale (alt: use 1 liter of ginger ale add 2 bottles of prosecco for a grown up punch)
• 32 oz of cran-raspberry juice
• 1/2 gallon of raspberry sherbert ice cream

Chill your juice and gingerale for at least 2 hours. In a large punch bowl add first the cran-raspberry juice then the ginger ale. Scoop nice round scoops of raspberry sherbert into the punch. Cheers!

Celebrate * Home & Food

The holidays are all about celebrating. Celebrate family, friends, Christmas, and the New Year with a cup of cheer. Libbey believes every occasion, be it big or small is an opportunity to celebrate life and we do too.
Adding a bit of holiday cheer to your Christmas and New Year's parties with a bit of bubbly is one of our favorite family traditions.
We put together a quick and simple gift giving idea for your party host Most of the items are things you already have on hand. We simply went out into the yard and gather some cedar boughs for the greens and used gift tags and ribbon from our stock for holiday gift wrapping. It adds a sweet touch to your gift too.

Cedar Decorated Gift of Cheer:

• 1 bottle of your favorite sparkling beverage
• Set of 4 Libbey® Glass Perfect Signature™ Auden Flutes
• Cedar Bough Clippings
• Holiday Ribbon
• Floral Wire
• Faux Holly Berries
• Festive Gift Tags

• Cut 3 pieces of cedar about 5-6 inches in length. 
• Layer the cedar pieces then the berries and wrap tightly with floral wire. 
• rim the wire leaving about 3 inches on the end. 
• Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to make a bow with tails. 
• Find the center of your piece of ribbon. Wrap the end piece of wire from the bundle around the center of the ribbon. 
• Tie the ribbon about the bottle in a knot then into a beautiful bow. 

With your stemware in one hand and your festive bottle in the other you are ready to celebrate the holidays!

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

xo

Hot Spiced Apple Cider * Classic Recipes * Food & Drink

The weather outside if frightful. I cannot believe the massive snow storm that has hit Buffalo New York! There is plenty of snow swirling around the country this weekend including here at our home. We are expecting 1-2 feet of snow over the weekend.
With the beautiful chilly snowy weather I like to cozy up with a hot drink. Fall and Thanksgiving are the perfect time for a nice mug of hot spiced apple cider. I hope enjoy this classic recipe from our recipe box.

The Best Hot Spiced Apple Cider

• 1 gallon of fresh pressed apple cider
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 3 sticks of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 whole nutmeg
• 1 bit of cloves (more if you prefer a stronger clove flavor)
• Zest of one orange
• Fresh apple for garnish

In a large stock pot add apple cider. Bring to a simmer. Add fresh nutmeg, cinnamon, whole nutmeg, clove, cinnamon sticks and orange zest. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes to blend spices into the apple cider. Slice apples into thin slices. Garnish each mug of spiced cider with freshly ground cinnamon, nutmeg and a slice of fresh apple.  

SWEET TIP: If you are hosting a party and need to keep the Hot Spiced Cider add your ingredients to your crock pot/ slow cooker to simmer.

For a party spiked Hot Spiced Apple Cider add 1 cup of dark rum to the mix.

Taste Pin * Seasonal Apple Recipes

The apples are ripe our tree in our orchard. There fresh local apples at the market too. It is the season of apple desserts. What do you make this time of year? Do you have a favorite or are you looking for a new favorite. We looked around on Pinterest and found a sweet selection on recipes from our favorite foodie bloggers. 

Recipe:
Apple Coffee Cake Muffins
Recipe & Photo by:
Spoonful of Flavor for Oh Sweet Basil

Recipe:
Apple Beignets (doughnuts) with Caramel Sauce

Recipe & Photo by:
Sweet Paul

Recipe:
Fried Apple Pie
Recipe & Photo by:
Today's Nest

Recipe:
Caramel Apple Martini
Recipe & Photo by:
Inspired by Charm

Recipe:
Chopped Apple Cake Recipe
Recipe & Photo by:
Not Without Salt

See more of our favorite #TastePin collected recipes on Sweet and Simple Magazine's TastePin Pinterest Board enjoy!

Peach Recipes * Taste Pin

The trees are full of peaches, so many peaches that we collected some of our favorite recipes on Pinterest to give you some ideas on what to do with them all. Happy Labor Day! #tastepin #foodie #recipes #yum #peaches

Recipe:
Ginger-Peach Pound Cake with Caramelized Peaches
Recipe & Photo by:
Chocolate and Carrots

Recipe:
Peach Frozen Yogurt
Recipe & Photo by:
Just a Taste

Recipe:
Peach Wine Slushies
Recipe & Photo by:
Desserts for Two

Recipe:
Organic Peach Crisp Recipe

Recipe & Photo by:
Whole Lifestyle

Recipe:
Peach Bellini 

Recipe & Photo by:
Eat Drink Love

Icy Summer Drinks * TastePin * Food & Drink

Summer screams for icy cold drinks sipped on a sunny afternoon poolside or lounging in a hammock. We collected some cool drink recipes on Pinterest. Time for some summer relaxation and refreshment. 

Recipe:
Strawberry Mango Coolers
Recipe & Photo by:
Miss in the Kitchen

Recipe:
Blueberry Coconut Sparkler
Recipe & Photo by:
Spiced

Recipe:
Frozen Pink Lemonade Slush
Recipe & Photo by:
The Idea Room

Recipe:
Mango Peach Lemonade
Recipe & Photo by:
Creme de la Crumb

Recipe:
Fresh Pineapple Cooler
Recipe & Photo by:
Pizzazzerie

Recipe:
Handmade Thai Iced Coffee
Recipe & Photo by:
Kitchen Confidante 

Food & Drink * Dirty Dr Pepper

The buzz around town is the dirty diet coke but since I am a Dr Pepper drinker not a diet Coke drinker I decide to give the dirty Dr. Pepper a try. It is surprisingly refreshing like a day on a tropical white sandy beach.


Dirty Dr. Pepper

• Can of Dr. Pepper
• 1 lime
• Coconut Syrup
• Ice

Pout 2 tablespoons of coconut syrup into a tall drinking glass. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime. Add ice then pour Dr. Pepper over ice. Swirl the drink to mix. Sip from on straw while relaxing. 

Summer Party Idea Hawaiian Luau * Home & Entertaining

{cute grass umbrellas tiki huts for Summer Luau Party from parents.com }

Summ summ summ summ summ summ summertime...Kids are out of school and Summer vacation has started. Have you thought about having a start of Summer Bash with friends and family. We are thinking about a Hawaiian Luau. I looked around for some inspiration to create a super sweet party for kids and teens including the decorations, food and party fun.

{easy parasol wreath idea and tutorial from Family Chic blog}

 Welcome your guest to the party with a wreath made from tiki drink umbrellas in a colorful summer rainbow.

{pretty Hawaiian luau table setting from Social Couture- the blog}

Setting a lovely table like the one pictured above would be super easy. Simple solid color place mats, coconut shell drink cups topped with paper parasols, and add a bunch of simple tropical flowers. One of my favorite items is the grass skirt attached around the table. For an evening party add some tikki torches. Don't forget the flower leis to welcome your guest to the dinner table. 

{Hawaiian Luau Burger from Steamy Kitchen- food blog}

Grilling up a teriyaki pineapple burger is sure to be a party pleaser. Looks good to me yum! Love the idea of layering the pineapple and Canadian bacon on the burger. If your not into fruit on your burger offer it as sans pineapple option too.

{Watermelon Raspberry Lemonade recipe from Watermelon.com}

Last but not least refreshing watermelon raspberry lemonade is the perfect drink to fill your coconut cups. Made with real watermelon.

Aloha!