Cheese Pairings with Spirits, Cocktails and some latest work

Happy Friday and now it’s time to take a break and treat yourself to some spirits, cocktails and good cheese!

A few months ago we received a photography work request from a client all the way in Europe. The best part about this project is that it entailed working with spirits, cocktails and cheese for Alexander and James. This assignment was a breath of fresh air because the week prior, we were shooting lots of salads and salmon. Now don’t get us wrong, we love salads and salmons. Photographing healthy and fresh is super fun to play with bright colors, textures and ingredients. But sometimes, just sometimes, it’s fun to work with some spirits, mixing cocktails and a whole platter of ripe and beautifully stinky cheese. Best of all, these subjects are all completely edible and drinkable. Trust us, nothing went to waste.

Our work with Alexander and James and our lovely editor, Kate, entailed a shot list of spirits and cocktails in some very gorgeous Alexander and James glassware. We developed some cocktail recipes, taste tested them till they were perfect and photographed them to the story that worked best for the theme of the month.

It’s a hard job, but someones got to do it. We really do love our work.

So, treat yourself to some cocktail recipes and visit the site to get a peak at some of our work and learn about some awesome pairing information from our editor! We learned so much already from this assignment and our cheese pairings are now going beyond wine!

British Cheese and Spirits – Learn how to buy, store and pair cheese

Pairing Rum and Cheese- learn how great rum pairs with triple cream &  rind washed cheese

Pairing Gin and Cheese- bring out citrus notes and botanicals in Gin with great cheese

Pairing Whiskey and Cheese- these pairings are fantastic

Talisker Peach Smash Cocktail Recipe

 

Ciroc Coconut Cocktail - Love grapefruit? you’ll enjoy this one.

Strawberry Daiquiri- a cocktail to please a crowd

There’s more recipes and images soon to be published on their site, so keep checking back to their magazine. Have a great weekend everyone!

-diane and todd

View the original article here

Malibu Spiced Rum Cocktails + Giveaway

We tried three cocktails: Malibu Spiced and Diet Cola, Spiced on Ice (Malibu Island Spiced with crushed ice and an orange twist), and Sparkling Spiced (Malibu Island Spiced with soda water).  They all went well with our food, including steak quesadillas, tuna tacos, mini cheese burgers, and chips and guacamole. However, during dinner, we got to thinking which Asian dishes the cocktails would go well with, since Asian cooking is the theme of this blog. (It was difficult to get good photos in the dark restaurant, but somehow we managed!)

A couple years ago, while researching the history of Chinese food in America for my cookbook, I found out that in the 1950s through the 1970s, Chinese restaurants and tiki bars alike often served rum cocktails like Mai Tais and Scorpions alongside dishes such as sweet and sour chicken and fried rice. With light tropical flavors and sweetness, rum cocktails are a natural pairing for Asian food.

Here's what we came up with as good pairings:

Malibu Spiced and Diet Cola — The cola and lime flavors remind me of a Cuba Libre. Thai and Vietnamese dishes with bold flavors would definitely be great with this sweet drink, including pad Thai, Thai red curry mussels, Vietnamese grilled pork, and clay pot chicken. Filipino coconut chicken adobo would also be a tasty dish with this cocktail.

Spiced on Ice — This drink is strong! With just spiced rum over ice and a hint of orange, the smoky drink needs foods that aren't too heavy and have a tinge of sweetness or spiciness. I'd go with cold sesame noodles, kung pao chicken, or steak teriyaki.

Sparkling Spiced — This drink was very light, so I would go with summery foods with mild flavors. Vietnamese summer rolls, vegetable dumplings, cold soba noodles, and sushi would be great to have with this cocktail, preferably outdoors in a backyard or on a deck. All in all, it was a great evening catching up with my friends over good food and good drinks. And thinking up these cocktail and food pairings definitely flexes the mental muscles more than the usual Friday night out! 

Leave me a comment telling me what dishes you like to enjoy with rum cocktails for your chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card! 

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner  will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 6/13/13 – 6/30/13.

Visit Malibu Island Spiced Rum on Facebook to get more drink recipes and join the brighter side of spiced rum!

And be sure to visit the Malibu Island Spiced brand page on BlogHer.com to read other bloggers’ posts!

SIP EASY. ENJOY MALIBU RESPONSIBLY.

MALIBU ® Caribbean Rum with Coconut Liqueur & Natural Spices, with Truvia® Sweetener. 30% Alc./Vol. (60 Proof) ©2013 Imported by Pernod Ricard USA, Purchase, NY

Truvia® and the Truvia®  logo are registered trademarks of the Truvia Company LLC.

PER 1.5 FL. OZ. SERVING. AVERAGE ANALYSIS: CALORIES 70; CARBOHYDRATES less than 1 gram; PROTEIN 0 grams; FAT 0 grams.

*when mixed with your favorite zero calorie mixer. Limes and other garnishes may add calories

View the original article here

Malibu Spiced Rum Cocktails + Giveaway

As a food writer and cooking teacher, I spend a lot of solo time in the kitchen testing recipes and solo time at my desk researching and writing. So recently, when I got asked by BlogHer and Malibu to go out for a night on the town with friends to sample cocktails, I was more than happy to deviate from the routine.

My friends Barb and Colleen joined in on this girls’ night out to try out cocktails at Prohibition on the Upper West Side, one of the places in New York that serves the new Malibu Island Spiced rum. Sweetened with Truvia®, a natural sweetener, Malibu Island Spiced is infused with coconut, vanilla, and cinnamon flavors. The weather in New York was finally starting to warm up, so it was the perfect time to try out these cocktails made with Caribbean rum.

We tried three cocktails: Malibu Spiced and Diet Cola, Spiced on Ice (Malibu Island Spiced with crushed ice and an orange twist), and Sparkling Spiced (Malibu Island Spiced with soda water).  They all went well with our food, including steak quesadillas, tuna tacos, mini cheese burgers, and chips and guacamole. However, during dinner, we got to thinking which Asian dishes the cocktails would go well with, since Asian cooking is the theme of this blog. (It was difficult to get good photos in the dark restaurant, but somehow we managed!)

A couple years ago, while researching the history of Chinese food in America for my cookbook, I found out that in the 1950s through the 1970s, Chinese restaurants and tiki bars alike often served rum cocktails like Mai Tais and Scorpions alongside dishes such as sweet and sour chicken and fried rice. With light tropical flavors and sweetness, rum cocktails are a natural pairing for Asian food.

Here’s what we came up with as good pairings:

Malibu Spiced and Diet Cola — The cola and lime flavors remind me of a Cuba Libre. Thai and Vietnamese dishes with bold flavors would definitely be great with this sweet drink, including pad Thai, Thai red curry mussels, Vietnamese grilled pork, and clay pot chicken. Filipino coconut chicken adobo would also be a tasty dish with this cocktail.

Spiced on Ice — This drink is strong! With just spiced rum over ice and a hint of orange, the smoky drink needs foods that aren’t too heavy and have a tinge of sweetness or spiciness. I’d go with cold sesame noodles, kung pao chicken, or steak teriyaki.

Sparkling Spiced — This drink was very light, so I would go with summery foods with mild flavors. Vietnamese summer rolls, vegetable dumplings, cold soba noodles, and sushi would be great to have with this cocktail, preferably outdoors in a backyard or on a deck. All in all, it was a great evening catching up with my friends over good food and good drinks. And thinking up these cocktail and food pairings definitely flexes the mental muscles more than the usual Friday night out! 

Leave me a comment telling me what dishes you like to enjoy with rum cocktails for your chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card! 

Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner  will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 6/13/13 – 6/30/13.

Visit Malibu Island Spiced Rum on Facebook to get more drink recipes and join the brighter side of spiced rum!

And be sure to visit the Malibu Island Spiced brand page on BlogHer.com to read other bloggers’ posts!

SIP EASY. ENJOY MALIBU RESPONSIBLY.

MALIBU ® Caribbean Rum with Coconut Liqueur & Natural Spices, with Truvia® Sweetener. 30% Alc./Vol. (60 Proof) ©2013 Imported by Pernod Ricard USA, Purchase, NY

Truvia® and the Truvia®  logo are registered trademarks of the Truvia Company LLC.

PER 1.5 FL. OZ. SERVING. AVERAGE ANALYSIS: CALORIES 70; CARBOHYDRATES less than 1 gram; PROTEIN 0 grams; FAT 0 grams.

*when mixed with your favorite zero calorie mixer. Limes and other garnishes may add calories

View the original article here