The signature cocktail for the German-Swiss Dinner Party was a blend of cranberry juice, Grand Marnier and Prosecco. If I had more time and energy I would have dressed it up with a few fresh cranberries and a sprig of thyme or rosemary.

But you know what? Those accouterments prevent one from quickly downing their cocktail, they just get in the way. Now that I think about it, I’m glad I didn’t dress it up!

Here are most of the guests, some with cocktails in hand, celebrating Tram & Steve for being named Best Power Couple in the October “Best of Phoenix” issue of Phoenix Magazine. I know they were a bit embarrassed that I placed an issue of the magazine on each table and then made them pose for me. What can I say? I’m proud of them!

Plus, it’s such a great photo of an amazing couple! Congratulations Steve & Tram! Love you to pieces!

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Our friends, Lori and Jonathan Vento, were in town last week. We wanted to get together with them along with Tram and Steve, but none of us felt like cooking. Come on – It’s August – It’s hot – Our energy level is low, at best!

I offered our house for Friday night and Lori had the great idea of just getting take-out. We decided the thing to do was a Chinese Take-Out Pot-Luck Dinner Party.

Coincidentally, my friend, Chef Joshua Hebert of Posh was selling some excess kitchen and dining wares he’d recently acquired from a restaurant that closed. I met him at a hangar at the Scottsdale Airpark on Thursday and purchased some lovely Asian dishware.

One little thing like this is all it takes for me to go all out with a theme! Now it’s ON like Donkey Kong!

The Ventos are former neighbors of ours, so as a surprise for them, I invited two other neighbor couples, the Codys, and the Cavans. On Thursday afternoon, I learned that Friday was Lori and Jonathan’s 27th wedding anniversary. Now we really did have a party! Tram and Steve picked up a cake, and everyone brought their favorite Chinese take-out to share and an anniversary for the adorable couple!

Since I was hosting, I didn’t want to leave the house to get take-out, so I made a cocktail, soup, and a fruit dessert. Today, I’ll share the cocktail recipe. Tomorrow we’ll have another entry for the new weekly Travel Tuesday feature. Then, on Wednesday I’ll post the soup recipe, and Thursday I’ll share the dessert (no oven, no-bake, in other words – the perfect dessert!) recipe.

Chinese Take-Out Pot-Luck Dinner Party Menu

~Orange-Ginger Sake Champagne Cocktail

~Lemongrass-Ginger Coconut Chicken Soup

~ Tram & Steve brought Chow Mein and Beef & Broccoli from Nee House Chinese Restaurant

~ The Anniversary couple also brought Chow Mein, along with Orange Chicken, from Chop and Wok and some cookies and candies from Sprouts. (which I forgot to put out, so I have them all to myself! Just kidding, I gave the cookies to my dad and the candies are destined for Connor’s house.)

~ The Codys picked up Chicken Lettuce Wraps from P.F. Chang’s, which Whitney beautifully served on a lovely wooden tray with a vintage covered serving dish and a stoneware pitcher for the sauce. They also brought a big bowl of fortune cookies. It’s not a Chinese dinner without fortune cookies!

~ The Cavans brought Fried Rice from Yume Sushi Grill, which Dana transferred to a big chafing dish to keep it piping hot. Smart girl!

~ Tropical Fruit stuffed Pineapples with Coconut Yogurt Sauce

~ Chocolate Mousse Anniversary Cake

It was all delicious! Even having two types of chow mein was fun since it was great to taste them side-by-side and compare.

I have a TIP to share for this cocktail recipe. Actually, it’s a good tip for any recipe where you are using herbs in the body of the dish and again for garnish. When removing the leaves, in this case, the mint leaves, strip the leaves below the tip of each sprig and save the tops, the tip of each sprig, for garnish. Too many times, people strip off all the leaves and realize too late that they need some pretty pieces to use at the end of the recipe. Get in the habit of always reserving the pretty tips and you’ll never have that issue again.

Orange-Ginger Sake Champagne Cocktail

• 1 bottle sake, chilled
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, plus 8 to 10 sprig tips for garnish
• 5 navel oranges, divided
• 1 bottle champagne or sparkling wine, chilled

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If you live in Arizona, you try to get out of town over the 4th of July weekend. If you are one of the unlucky few who are stuck here – welcome to the exclusive, yet unhappy, club.

We are in town because we leave for a European river cruise in two weeks.  I know, I have nothing to complain about, except the heat!

Anyhow, I decided to make the best of it and host a Pot-Luck Pool Party. I invite 48 adults and their families. All but 12 of the aforementioned adults (along with two toddlers) are escaping the heat. Those lucky dogs!

That’s okay, the 12 of us are going to endure as we float in the pool, sip on this light and lovely rosé sangria and indulge Tram’s twins, Zak & Zoey, with all sorts of love and attention.

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Steve and Tram are building a new home. Their house recently sold and they have to be out in a month. They love to entertain but haven’t been in the position to do so for months now. The reason? Well, many of us know how difficult it is to keep our homes clean and ready to show at the drop of a hat. Imagine trying to do that with two full-time jobs and 2-year old twins. Talk about stressful!

Saturday night, the overachieving duo hosted an intimate dinner party. Steve was the stellar chef and pitmaster and Tram was the dessert queen.

It’s bittersweet to sell the house you brought your babies home to, so Tram lovingly called the evening The Last Supper. I call it a Housecooling, you know, the opposite of a Housewarming.

I created a new cocktail for the occasion, so in honor of Zak and Zoey’s first home, I’m attaching that moniker to the drink.

I’m already looking forward to the Housewarming Party!

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When I entertain, I want everyone to feel special and loved. That means not only taking dietary restrictions and food preferences into consideration but also thinking of those who don’t imbibe. Often people think that individuals “of age” don’t drink because they have been through AA. But there are many reasons your guests may choose not to drink. A guest could be pregnant or trying to become pregnant (fun!) or it may be they’ve given up alcohol for Lent or for a diet. Or they could just be taking a break from it after one of those, “I’ll never drink again!” weekends.

No matter the reason, you want to offer them something more special than water, tea, coffee, Coke, or soda water. You want them to feel like they are part of the party … because … they are!

I created this mocktail for just such an occasion. The best way to make all feel included is to create a full-flavored and well-rounded drink that tastes just as fabulous without alcohol as it does with it.

Not all cocktails can be turned into a mocktail. For instance, a dirty martini doesn’t make the cut. Your non-drinkers would basically be drinking olive juice with a couple of olives on a pick. That’s not going to happen!

This drink makes the cut and then some. I’ve named it after the nickname that Steve and Tram gave to my backyard because the main ingredients, pink grapefruit, and rosemary, come from there. I’m calling the virgin recipe a Spritzer and the alcoholic version a Gin Fizz. Oh, and please don’t be intimidated by the length of the recipe. It is not at all difficult or time-consuming, it’s just my rambling instructions.

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The week leading up to Easter and now a couple of days since have been wrought with angst and issues.

What sort of issues?

1. Missing cats (found after 4+ hours of searching)

2. Connor’s 1:30 AM backed-up kitchen sink – which led to apartment flooding, stinking, and day-long cleanup (not his fault, came from the apartments above him)

3. Connor’s car problems – are still ongoing … now into day eight

4. Quadruple water bills at our house (obviously a leak, but not one that has yet been found)

5. Ongoing care for a parent who had surgery and a subsequent fall

With all that and the fact that I gave up alcohol for Lent, it should come as no surprise that the first recipe I’m going to share from our Easter dinner is a cocktail recipe!

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Yesterday we had Lori’s Honey Paloma Cocktail, today it’s Jonathan’s turn.

Now I can share with you that this cocktail was our unanimous favorite. Lori’s was good but side-by-side, this lemonade won, hands down!

I will also let you know that since I have both navel orange and blood orange plus lemon and Meyer lemon trees in my backyard, we used a mix of all four citrus varieties for our juice base. It’s possible that made all the difference… or maybe it’s just a good recipe no matter which citrus varieties you use.

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This selfie was taken in December at The Bean in Chicago during the trip that Tram and I took to visit Lori and Jonathan Vento.

Lori and Jonathan provided the cocktails for our Friday night soirée.

Today I present you with Lori’s cocktail. Tomorrow I’ll post Jonathan’s. Then I’ll fill you in on which was our favorite.

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Let’s be honest, the best part about a Moscow Mule is the copper mug.

Without the mug, the Mule is just vodka, fresh lime juice, a bit of mint, and ginger beer.

With the mug, the Mule is the most refreshing drink on a hot day. It almost makes it worth it to be sweaty in the summer … almost.  It has become the “it” drink in recent years.

I became interested in Moscow Mules when I purchased this serving set at Sweet Salvage last year at about this time.

The Mule was introduced in 1941 as a way to promote Smirnoff vodka. For the full history of the drink and a recipe that is slightly sweeter than mine, check THIS out.

Since I’m lucky enough to have the copper pitcher and serving tray, I love to make a batch of the lime juice and vodka mixed together and then leave instructions for guests to add a 1/3 cup of the vodka mixture to an ice-filled mug, then top off with 1/2 bottle of ginger beer. Finish with a stir, a garnish, and drink with a straw.

The recipe below is for one drink. To make a batch, just multiply the ingredients by the number of mugs you have, set out a tub of chilled bottles of ginger beer, write out the directions and let your guests have fun making their own.

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The original craft that Tram planned to bring for the Craft Party was a very cool black and white-painted harlequin pumpkin. She and I looked at several options on Pinterest and we were both quite excited about it.  Then… time passed and well, if you’ve read this blog for more than a few months, you know that Tram has adorable 7-month-old twins, Zak & Zoey. 

Yeah, I know! They are just about the cutest thing on this Earth! And to think that when they start talking up a storm, they will be calling me “Aunt Linda” – I’m super excited about that!

Anyhow, Tram has her hands more than full. As the party approached, I decided to take the pressure off and offer an easier craft option. One that I could help her with and one that was close to her strength. One with coffee! You also probably know that Tram and her husband, Steve, own Press Coffee Roasters.

So… I found some awesome bottles. Here are the bottles we used. Next, I gathered up all the ingredients needed – except some cinnamon sticks, and the coffee, of course, which I left to the expert! Somehow, between the two of us, we came up with the most popular craft at the party.

Photo courtesy of Tram Mai

Cocktail Infusions!

And not just one flavor, but three delicious options!

Shopping Notes: All of the dried fruits were purchased at Trader Joe’s.  The whole spices can be found at any grocery store. The brown sugar cubes at Cost Plus and the rock sugar at an Asian market.

They come together in no time and make THE perfect hostess gift for the holidays. Or just a super cool thing for your own bar. Enjoy!

To make the Cranberry Infusion:

Gently remove the cork topper.

Place about 5 of each of the three varieties of cranberries in the bottle. Add 2 brown sugar cubes and 8 white rock sugar pieces. Tear 2 of the large pieces of the dried Mandarin fruit into the bottle.

Return the cork topper and add the Cranberry Infusion label.

 (Trader Joe’s carries at least three varieties of cranberries. All have slightly different coloring and textures, so I bought 3 packages for added interest. You can use just one variety and drop in 15 cranberries of the same type.)

To make the Ginger-Cardamom Infusion:

Gently remove the cork topper.

Place 4 pieces of the Crystallized Ginger and 6 pieces of the Uncrystallized Ginger in the bottle. Add 2 brown sugar cubes and 8 white rock sugar pieces. Add 1 tablespoon of Cardamom seeds to the bottle. Tear 2 of the large pieces of the dried Mandarin fruit into the bottle.

Return the cork topper and add the Ginger-Cardamom Infusion label.

(Same thing with the ginger. It would be perfectly fine to just use either ginger, but the two add a better look to the bottle with more variety and interest.)

To make the Espresso Infusion:

Gently remove the cork topper.

Place 2 tablespoons of coffee beans (preferably Press Coffee!) in the bottle. Add 2 brown sugar cubes and 6 white rock sugar pieces. Next, add 1 piece of vanilla bean (cut a vanilla bean in thirds and just add 1/3 of the bean) plus 1 piece of cinnamon stick, and 3 whole loves.

Return the cork topper and add the Espresso Infusion label.

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