Yes, you didn’t read it wrong, it’s called PUSSY.

I’m not sure what I have the biggest issue with.. Whether it’s the fact that an energy drink is called “Pussy” or whether it’s the fact that  ANYTHING for that matter is called “Pussy”..

I mean think about it.. The other popular energy drinks are Red Bull, Rockstar, Monster. There is nothing wrong with these names for an energy drink.. They’re all “grr” inducing, aggressive names. They sound powerful. The branding for these products obviously works well. Indeed, if you want energy, you might want to feel like a bull, rockstar or monster.. But pussy?! I don’t get it.. It’s like having a make-up brand called “Minger”. Or a birth control brand called “Knocked Up”..

I’m not sure that anyone wants to feel like female genitalia or a cat… Am I wrong?! Haha I hope so! I’m not going to go anywhere with the female genitalia part, but on the off chance that they meant “pussy cat”, then why would you want to feel like a cat – a lazy-ass cat?! I feel like that everyday anyway! I don’t need to pay for that feeling!!

AND do they sell it in bars?! Can you order a vodka-Pussy?! The bartender might think you’re calling him a pussy and then what? You end up with a glass thrown at your head?! I just cant with this… The jokes just write themselves..

Omg, and I was looking at the can, and the logo seems to be some kind of crustacean, which at first look I thought was a crab… But, alas, I think it’s some kind of scorpion lobster.. but still, those are crustaceans right?! So you have an genitalia named energy drink with crabs on it.. I mean, come on.

Here is an excerpt from Pussy Energy’s website:

The name Pussy shocks and demands attention – that’s the point. This is a premium energy drink named with confidence.

Ok, fair enough.. You know, if it tasted a little better, I’d  be willing to look past the dodgy name and crustaceans..

Feel free to leave any smart-assed comments below!

All my friends know that I’m not much of a cook. My contribution to dinner parties is normally a few bottles of wine and shrimp ring, but recently, I have been making an effort and trying easy things that are stress-free to make. So I thought I’d give you a few ideas for what to serve at your new year’s party this December 31st.

Punch

I had to start with the drinks first! I love punch! It’s great. You can make it pretty much however you like it. It’s really really hard to mess up punch!
Ok, so one thing you need to do beforehand is to prepare an ice/fruit ring. It’s both functional and pretty!
So you need to find an ice mold that will fit inside your punch bowl. A bundt cake tin is the best, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry! You can use things like tupperware, or even a muffin tray. They will make really cute shaped ice! Just look through your cupboards for something that will work.
Once you have found a mold, fill it with 1/2 inch of water or juice. Make sure you pick a juice that goes with your punch! Juice is good as when it melts, it won’t dilute your punch!
Then place your fruit on top of the water/juice. You can use strawberries, peaches, grapes, lemon, lime, oranges, mandarins, maraschino cherries, mint leaves.. ANYTHING you want basically!
Now put it in the freezer. Once it’s completely frozen, take it out of the freezer and add more water or juice – enough to cover the fruit completely and return it to the freezer.
Now for the punch. This recipe makes enough for around 15-20 people (depending on how much they drink!)

Ingredients:
2 cans of frozen orange juice (thawed)
2 quarts (8 cups) of apple cider, ginger ale or sparkling apple juice
3 750ml bottles of champagne/sparkling wine

Make sure all of the ingredients are cold before you start mixing!
Put the orange juice concentrate into your punch bowl and stir it so that it’s softened.
Stir in the apple juice, apple cider or ginger ale.
Add the champagne and remember to stir gently!!!

When you’re ready to serve your punch, take your ice mold out of the freezer. Quickly dip the mold in hot water to loosen the ice and the invert it into your punch bowl and your punch is ready for your guests!

Always remember when dealing with fizzy things to put them in last and stir the liquid gently so that you don’t lose any fizz!!!

If you don’t want alcohol in your punch, you can use sparkling grape juice instead of champagne. And for this recipe, an ice ring made of apple juice works really well!

Hors D’oeuvres/Finger Foods

Ok, so we’re going with simple and easy.
You will need:
1 baguette
1 big package of smoked salmon
2 tubs of herb & garlic cream cheese
chives to garnish

Slice your baguette, spread on the cream cheese, tear bits of salmon and place them on top.
Dice up some chives and sprinkle on top. Or, you can cut them into 2 inch long pieces and put 2-3 pieces on top of the salmon.

Veggies & Dip

This is really simple, just make sure you have some cute serving dishes and take some time in presenting it nicely.

Buy some baby carrots, a cucumber, some broccoli, red/green/yellow peppers. Wash everything. Cut the broccoli into tinier trees, and slice the cucumber and peppers. Arrange onto a big serving dish, or separate evenly onto smaller serving dishes.

For your dips use the Philadelphia ones. Get a Roasted Red Pepper dip, a Onion dip and a Garden Vegetable Ranch dip. Place the dips into small bowls – don’t just dump the Philly tub on the table! And you’re ready to serve!

Good luck & Happy Hosting!!!

It’s Pimm’s O’clock people!

I love Pimms.. It’s deliciously yummy in the summer and great for those long cold winter night! I managed to get my hands on a bottle of Pimm’s No. 1 – which was quite a feat considering I’m not in the UK – and I decided I’d try to wing a few recipes. They turned out GREAT so I thought I’d share them with you!

Anyone for Pimms…?

Pimms & Ginger

5 cans of ginger ale
5 shots of Pimms No. 1
4 shots of cognac or brandy
2 shots of calvados (add more cognac if you don’t have!)
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves

Gently warm the ginger ale, when it’s steamy – but not boiling, add the shots of alcohol and the spices.
Do not boil it – as the alcohol will evaporate – which defeats the object completely!
Serve warm – you can garnish with cinnamon sticks or apple or orange wedges.

Warm Apple Pimms

1 part Pimms No 1
3 parts clear apple juice

Warm the apple juice and add the alcohol
Do not boil!!!
Serve warm and garnish with a cinnamon stick, or apple or orange wedges.

It’s best to use Winter Pimms No 3 as it is brandy based, whereas Pimms no 1 is gin based. You don’t taste the gin in the recipes above. But they still tastes really great and is lovely to have by the fire this time of year! Also, you can add other seasonal spices, like nutmeg to give a more rich flavour. Yum!

Enjoy these lovely winter drinks this Christmas with your families!

Please enjoy responsibly!!!

Please enjoy responsibly!

With winter here, there is nothing better than nice warm drinks with a kick to get you feeling the holiday spirit!! Here are some alcoholic winter drink recipes for you to try this at home holiday season. I’ve given party sized ingredient lists – they can be reduced or increased accordingly.

Bear in mind that when you are chosing a wine for these recipes, don’t think that you can get away with the cheapest one because you’re mixing a whole bunch of other things with it. If it tastes awful normally, it will probably taste even worse when its warmed up – even the spices won’t be able to disguise it! Make sure you pick a decent wine that you like!

For non-alcoholic drinks, check out some virgin recipes here

Also, a VERY important point to remember is that when warming alcohol, you cannot let it boil – otherwise the alcohol will evaporate, which sort of defeats the object!!! So just warm the liquid slowly and gently and make sure it does not boil!

Please enjoy responsibly!

Glogg with Raisins

Glogg is a Scandinavian recipe that dates back to medieval times. Its origins are from mulled wine, but has more sugar and a greater alcohol content. This makes it the perfect drinks for those long cold winter nights!

It goes really well with cinnamon rolls, gingerbread and friends and family!

• 4 bottles red wine (suggestions: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot)
• 4oz dried orange zest
• 4oz cinnamon sticks
• 40 cloves
• 2 lb blanched almonds
• 2 lb raisins
• 1.5 lb sugar
• 10 oz brandy

Warm the wine in a pot. In a cheesecloth, put the orange, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Tie and warm in pot for 15 minutes. Add in the almonds and raisins; warm for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add in sugar and brandy. Stir, and remove spices. Serve hot.

Spiced Apple Champagne Punch

This is a lovely fruity mixture that will be a big hit at your holiday parties this year!

It is a nice alterantive to mulled wine, and still has those great spiced flavours.

• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 Tbsp grated orange zest
• 12 oz frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
• 3 bottles white wine
• 1 bottle Champagne, chilled

Fruit Garnish.

• 1 lb pineapple chunks
• 2 orange, sliced into rounds
• 8 oz maraschino cherries, drained

Put the spices, orange zest and apple juice into a pan. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat.In a large container, mix the warm juice and white wine. At this same time, prepare the fruits.Strain the liquid, and put into a large punch bowl. Add in the Champagne. Top with the fruits and serve.

Winter Mulled Wine

The word “mulled” means heated and spiced. Mulled wine is a traditional drink from northern European countries that dates back to medieval times. This drink was believed to keep people healthy during the long cold winter months. Just like it’s cold counterpart, Sangria, there are a lot of variations to mulled wine. This is a basic mulled wine recipe that is easy to make. Share this lovely winter drink with your friends and family this holiday season.

• 4 bottles (750 ml) of red wine (suggestions: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot)
• One peeled and sliced orange (keep peel to add zest to taste into cooking pot)
• 1/2  cup of brandy
• 8-10 cloves
• 1 cup honey or sugar
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tsp allspice

Combine all ingredients in either a large pot or a slow cooker. Gently warm the ingredients on low to medium heat – make sure you don’t boil it, for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure that the honey or sugar has completely dissolved.

Classic White Winter Mulled Wine

This is a spin on the classic mulled wine recipe as it uses sparkling white wine. There is a bit of prep time involved with the oranges, but it’s worth it!

• 3 bottles Sparkling Wine
• 400ml (3/4 pint) Blackcurrant Syrup
• 5 large Oranges
• 30 Cloves
• 4 Cinnamon Sticks
• 4 tsp All spice

• Vodka or Gin to taste (optional)
• 600 ml (1 pint) Fruit Juice (optional)
• Sugar to taste

Preheat oven to 180°C: 350°F: Gas 4. Stick 3 cloves in each orange and place the whole oranges in a deep ovenproof dish, bake for around 20 minutes.

Slice the oranges into a bowl. Heat the wine, but do not allow to boil, (adding the fruit juice if using) with the cinnamon and all spice. Add the blackcurrant syrup and the oranges and cloves and continue heating. Sweeten to taste, then add the vodka or gin. Serve immediately.

Homemade Amaretto

If you’re feeling really ambitions this winter, here is a recipe for home made liqueur. It makes a great addition to your holiday get-togethers or you could give it as a home-made gift.

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups vodka
• 2 cups brandy
• 4 tsp of almond extract

Bring the sugar and water to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes until it becomes syrup-like in consistency. Cool the syrup at room temperature and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Pour the mixture into seal-able glass bottles and let it age for at least one month before consuming.

If you’re making this last-minute as a gift, make you you let the recipients know they should wait for a period of time before opening the bottle!

Sometimes you might want to enjoy the seasonal tastes of the classic holiday drinks – but without the alcohol. Here are some virgin recipes that are great for family gatherings this holiday season. The kids in the family will feel so grown up drinking these “adult drinks”!

Check out some winter drink recipes with alcohol here.

These recipes are party sized, and can be reduced or increased as needed.

Virgin Mulled Wine

This is a great drink for family functions and the children will love it.

• 3 litres non-alcoholic grape juice
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 lb sugar
• 15 whole cloves
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• The peel of 1 orange and 1 lemon
• 1 crushed nutmeg seed
• 2.5 cups of hot lemon/lime juice

Heat the water and add the sugar, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and peel. Boil for 5 minutes and leave to simmer for 5 more. Strain this syrup into a large pot and add the citrus juice, heat until it is gently bubbling. Add the 2 litres of grape juice and keep the mixture on a low heat, serve with a slice of  lemon.

Hot Cranberry Cider

• 3 litres unsweetened apple juice or cider
• 1 litre cranberry juice
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick

Mix the apple juice, cranberry juice, cloves, and cinnamon stick in a large pot and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the cloves and cinnamon stick before serving. Serve warm.

Fruity Winter Punch

• 2 litres apple juice
• 1 litre orange juice
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 5 tbsp honey
• 5 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine apple juice and orange juice in a pot. Heat over medium heat until steaming hot – but not boiling. Remove from heat and sir in lemon juice, honey and cinnamon. Serve hot.

Tropical Winter Warmer

• 1.5 litre apple juice
• 1 litre pineapple juice
• 1/2 litre cranberry juice cocktail
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• 6 lemon slices

Combine all of the ingredients in pot and simmer 10 minutes. Serve hot. Simple!!

Non Alcoholic Hot Toddy

(makes 1 serving)

This is great for if you have a cold, or aren’t feeling too good. And if you like the original Hot Toddy and want all the taste without the alcohol, this is for you!

• 1 mug hot tea
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• grated cinnamon
• ground cloves
• grated nutmeg
• lemon wedge for garnish

In an Irish coffee glass pour the honey, lemon and spices. Top with hot, brewed tea. Stir to make sure everything is mixed. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Ingredients:

• 2 80g tins of tuna (drained and flaked)
• 1 tomato – diced
• 1/2 cup corn
• 2 garlic cloves – finely diced or pressed
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• oregano
• pepper
• dash of lemon juice

Mix the tuna, tomato, corn, garlic and mayonnaise together. Add a dash of lemon juice – this is optional, but I find a dash of lemon juice makes any fish taste better; even if it is just humble tinned tuna!

Add the oregano and pepper to taste, and it’s ready to serve!

Serve with warm toast cut into triangles, and cubes of cheese.

Bon Appetite!

• 200 g / 4 cans of tuna (drained and flaked)
• 200 g mashed potato
• 4 spring onions (chopped)
• 100 g / 1 cup of frozen peas or petit pois (defrosted)
• zest of 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 4 tbsp bread crumbs
• 3 tbsp olive oil

For the Mayonnaise

• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Pinch of red paprika
• Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, mix together the first six ingredients. Slowly add enough egg to bind the mixture together.

Wet your hands, so that the mixture doesn’t stick to you, and shape it into patties – make them roughly the size of your palm and about 1 inch thick. Lightly cover each one with breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over low-medium heat and cook the tuna-cakes for a few minutes on each side. Be careful when turning them!

In the meantime, mix together the ingredients for the mayonnaise – add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the hot tuna-cakes with a lemon wedge, the lemon mayonnaise, some green salad and a glass of cold Chardonnay. Bon Appetite!

* You can substitute the tuna for tinned salmon.