Fourth of July

Red, White and Blue Sangria

From the DallasNews.com

Traditional sangrias are luscious, bold blends of fruits, wine and spirits, often served in pitchers or punch bowls. But this wonderfully refreshing summer drink from Spain and Portugal leaves plenty of room for improvisation.

Beverage consultant Kim Haasarud offers dozens of riffs on sangria in her recent "101 Sangrias and Pitcher Drinks," including a New Zealand Kiwi Sangria, which combines sauvignon blanc, melon liqueur, kiwis and pineapple.

In her book, Haasarud also offers tips for speeding up sangria, which tastes best when allowed to infuse at least several hours. If you're short on time, she suggests lightly mashing some of the fruit, which releases the juices.

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Fourth of July Cake

Fourth of July Cake This recipe is actually Ina Garten's recipe for her 4th of July Flag cake. It is one of the BEST tasting cakes and frostings out there.

It was my intention to make this into a flag cake but at the last minute could not find my large star tip for my pastry bag to make the stripes and stars so I improvised and just decorated the cake as is. It turned out beautiful.

If you are having a large gathering this summer make this amazing cake, you can decorate it with anything you like and it feeds an army.

All my fruit came from local farm stands so it was extra delicious. Happy summer entertaining!

Independence Day Cocktails

CAMPFIRE MARTINI

3 parts Three Olives S'mores Vodka
Crushed graham crackers
Chocolate syrup
Marshmallows

Dip the rim of martini glass in chocolate syrup and coat with crushed graham crackers.

Pour Three Olives S'mores into martini shaker filled with ice.

Shake and strain into martini glass.

Garnish with a skewer of three toasted marshmallows!

ROMAN CANDLE

3 oz. Three Olives Berry Vodka
1/2 oz. Cranberry Juice
Dash of Grenadine
1⁄2 oz. Blue Curacao

Shake vodka, cranberry juice and grenadine in a shaker with ice.

Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Pour blue curacao gently down the side of the glass so it settles on the bottom.

Garnish with a lemon twist.

- Recipes courtesy of Three Olives Vodka and Maestro Dobel Tequila

Ribs, Ribs and More Ribs

People who love barbecue really love barbecue, and will go to great lengths to find the perfect ribs. I’m one of those, so I was thrilled to be invited to judge The Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off in Sparks, Nevada.

For die-hard barbecue lovers and novices alike, this kind of cook-off is a slice of pork heaven.

Instead of driving around the country to sample regional styles of barbecue, all I had to do was take a three-block stroll down Victorian Avenue in front of the Nugget for some of the best ribs in the country.

Pit masters competed from all over the country, cooking up slab after slab of pork ribs in pick up-sized smokers and finishing them off on 10-foot-long wood-fired grills. Some hailed from legendary barbecue states like Texas, South Carolina, and Kansas. But many, many others came from states that folks rarely associate with this style of cooking—we’re talking all the way from California to Minnesota, Pennsylvania and, yes, even New Jersey.

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