As promised, I am posting the recipe for this dessert before the end of the radio program!  I do apologize for not updating my blog more often.  I promise I will be better in the future!

 

Clementines from Morocco is in season now, and you will be able to find them for less than $5 a box.  Besides enjoying them fresh, clementines can also be used in many recipes.  I found this recipe on Metro's Food at its Best insert, I think you will like it!

 

13 oz (400g) frozen puff pastry, thawed

4 clementines, peeled and separated

5 Tbsp (75ml) whipped cream

1.5 cup (375ml) custard

zest from 1 clementine

 

NAPOLEON PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 375F

2. Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut into 16 rectangles 1 3/4" x 3" (4 cm x 8cm)

3. Transfer to baking sheet and bake until golden brown. Cool.

 

ASSEMBLING NAPOLEONS

1. Spread 8 puff pastry rectangles with 3 Tbsp custard and zest, dividing evenly.

2. Add a few clementines supremes and top with another rectangle.

3. Place the 8 Napoleons side by side for icing.

4. Using a fork, dribble lines of icing in lines on Napoleons.  Gently lay a few more pieces of clementines on top.

5. Decorate each napoleon with a clementine supreme and a whipped cream rosette.

6. OPTIONAL: puree 2-3 peeled clementines and drizzle before serving for added color and taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel lucky to know Canada's most respected wine writer Tony Aspler personally, having met him first at a tasting event at the Four Season's Hotel, and then again at Vinexpo in Bordeaux.  I admire his professionalism, diligence, and most of all, his being so impressionable.  He has a new book in the market, and I hope he wouldn't mind if I just copy and paste its description directly from his website, www.TonyAspler.com.

 

 

"Wine and cheese. Cheese and wine. Almost like love and marriage when the partners are carefully chosen."
—Tony Aspler

In The Definitive Canadian Wine & Cheese Cookbook, Tony Aspler and Gurth Pretty combine their knowledge to create mouth-watering harmony between wine and cheese. Tony Aspler is an international wine consultant, educator, and judge. Gurth Pretty, chef and cheese connoisseur, is the author of The Definitive Guide to Canadian Artisanal and Fine Cheese. Put the expertise of these two together and beautiful things happen.

This stunning volume is packed with the most current wine and cheese information fit for wine lovers, foodies, cheese afficianados, and home cooks. Gurth provides delicious cheese recipes accompanied by Tony's suggestion for the perfect wine/drink pairing for each dish.

Some of the delectable recipes and drink pairings include:

• Queso Picante with Mushrooms with a Viognier wine
• Lamb Burger with a Dragon's Breath with an Ontario Riesling
• Duck Breasts in Cognac with Grizzly Rosti with a BC Meritage
• Port Cheddar Apple Tarte Tatin with Quebec Ice Cider

In addition to 100 recipes, Gurth and Tony provide a cheese glossary, a guide to buying and storing cheese and a section on the principles of matching cheese and wine.

Gurth and Tony have produced a truly essential guide to Canadian wine and cheese that is a must-have for anyone interested in exploring the fun and tantalizing world of cheese and wine.

 

 

This is where I tasted my first flight of Bordeaux top growths and got to know the wonderful Cheese Boutique. 

1,200 wines and spirits, numerous food stalls, if you haven't been, you should.

 

Admission: $15.

Dates: Nov 15 - 18

Venue: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Website: www.foodandwineshow.ca

 

Tip: There is a post card inside the December issue of the Toronto Life magazine that offers 'buy one gets one free' admission!

 

If you know the answer, reply by clicking 'Comments'.  You may win the latest CD or DVD 'Shanghai' from the 12 Girls Band!

 

Hint: it's a white wine from France

Good luck!

Venus said in my guest book that she would like to know the difference between house wines and table wines.

 

House wines typically refer to a specific wine chosen by a restaurant as their general choice, typically based on taste, price and the preference of their customers.  They can be red, white or rose in color.  Most restaurant would choose moderately priced wines as their house wines, and frequently they would not advertise the name or brand.  If you are unsure what wine to order with your meal and do not feel like consulting the waiter, a glass of house wine is your easy choice.

 

Table wine is a completely different genre.  It generally refers to non-sparkling wines of normal alcohol strength, i.e. 14% or less, but different places have different interpretations.  In Europe, for instance, where wines are classified qualitatively based on their geographical appellation/denomination, table wine refers to the lowest classification, and is drunk by many as an everyday wine.  The origin or variety of the grapes is not mentioned, but different wine houses usually keep a fairly consistent style.

 

I hope I have answered your question!

 

Cheers,

Leslie

 

Riesling is my favorite Ontario white wine, and here's one that I recommend you try.  It was a pleasant surprise from a lot of wines I was to review for Asian Wave Magazine, and I think it was the star of the lot. 

 

Here's what it looks like:

 

 

Here's the description from www.ReifWinery.com:

The price is only $10.45.  Not bad, eh?

Today's Toronto Star has a feature about Matcha Green Tea.  They have also listed a simple recipefor you to make your own Matcha Latte. 

 

To Health!

 

 

If grapes have dreams, then the Chardonnay will certainly dream of traveling around the world.  It has got all the makings of a globe trekker: robust, adventuresome and supremely adaptive.  British wine guru Jancis Robinson easily sums up the allure of the Chardonnay:  ‘the grower loves to grow it, the winemaker loves to fashion it, and we all love to drink it.’ 

 

This is the reason why I was so excited when I received, whether by design or coincidence, four Chardonnay samples from four different parts of the world.  Churchill Cellars sent a 2005 Robert Mondavi Private Selection from California Central Coast and a 2005 Marcus James from Mendoza, Argentina, while Corby Distillery Ltd. sent a 2006 Jacob’s Creek from South Eastern Australia and an environmental-friendly tetra pak of 2005 French Rabbit, a Vin de Pays d’Oc from France.

 

Immediately, I called up a couple of wine loving friends to set up a blind tasting, challenging ourselves to see if we could identify the origins of each wine by sight, smell and taste alone.  The result was quite interesting, but before we raise our glass, some primer on the Chardonnay grape and its various production regions.

 

Setting Roots Around the World

Its fame originates from Burgundy in France, where varietal white wines made solely from the chardonnay grape could fetch astronomical prices.  But it is quite happy to wander away from ‘home’.  It has set down roots in a wide range of much warmer or cooler climates all over the world, including Australia, South America (Chili and Argentina), the US (California) and more.

 

The grapes ripen earlier than most, making it perfectly practicable in climates with a short growing season.  More importantly, it has good resistance to cold weather, which makes it yet more suitable for wine regions with harsh winters, such as Niagara in Canada.

 

International Darling

Chardonnay’s popularity becomes more obvious when it is brought from the vineyard to the winery.  It is difficult, almost impossible, to make a poor wine from it.  It can be relied upon to produce a wide range of different, yet decidedly high quality styles of wine.   Its intense flavour profile compensates well for high acid in cooler climates like Burgundy and Champagne, and excellent ageing potential makes for many exciting bottlings in warmer climates, as with some of Australia and California’s best.

 

The most interesting thing to note about the Chardonnay is its affinity for oak aging, lending a heightened ‘buttery’ character to the finished product.  This, together, with a naturally high pigmentation in the grape skins and the wide practice of skin contact, makes Chardonnay wines unusually easy to spot with the aid of the eye alone.  It is usually brightly yellow, with gold or straw undertones.  Give it a swirl in the glass, and tell-tale aromas of peaches, melons and a touch of butter will usually unveil its true identity.

 

Global Culture

Many people judge the Chardonnay with its most aristocratic incarnation: the great white burgundies.  They can be the finest, subtlest, and most complex dry white wines in existence, and this glamour would rub off on other corners of the world.  Combined with the effect of different climate and geological influences from different parts of the world, the globe trekking Chardonnay is like a well-traveled prince who would don different costumes at a whim.

 

Australians have their very own rich and fruity style.  Californians favors more weight: they are known to make the ‘fattest’ versions, i.e. the oakiest and most extracted, although in recent years producers have tamed down their love of oak.  French vignerons still prefer the traditional way, keeping things light and reserved.  As for Argentineans, the style is more old world than new, with an elegance that cannot be missed.

 

And The Tasting Begins…

After a whirlwind tour of the world of Chardonnay, let’s begin our blind tasting.  Here’s how we did it: the wines have been already chilled to approximately 10’C and ready for drinking.  The table is set with some bread, crackers and a cheese plate with cheddar, camembert, triple-cream Brie and Roquefort.  One person is responsible to shroud the bottles.  Another person poured each wine into one of four marked glasses.  This is to ensure the tasting is ‘double blind’- no one knows which wine went to which glass. 

 

Each person takes turn in tasting and describing each wine.  Since there is no preconception for any of the wines, we just tried our best to describe what we taste, and then try to match the geographical characteristic profile.  Here’s an excerpt of my tasting notes: 

 

Wine 1: Light golden yellow.  Prominent melon rinds and pineapple aromas.  Subtle tea fragrance that can be described as spicy but not assertive.  Crisp and steely in the mouth.  Low acidity.  Slight creaminess.

 

Wine 2: Brilliant yellow with greenish rim.  Fragrant honey dew melons and citrus flowers.  Soft and fleeting on the palate at first, with a mouth watering rush that follows.   

 

Wine 3: Brilliant golden yellow.  Most intense color of the lot.  Honey and biscuit-y like pastries.  Fruity aromas include nectarine and peach.  Minerally on the palate.  A rounded finish with slight bitterness on the back of the tongue.  A very classic Chardonnay.

 

Wine 4: Light golden with watery rim.  Pears and green apple peels in the fruit profile, plus a creamed corn aroma that seems to be characteristic of Ontario Chardonnays.  The wine tastes almost sweet, perhaps due to its intense fruitiness.

 

Answers revealed

How helpful was my notes?  Perhaps you should try these wines yourself to draw your own conclusions.  Curious to know the answer?  Wine 1 was Marcus James from Argentina, its reserved elegance stumping three out of us four.  Wine 2 was Jacob’ Creek from Australia, and this time two people got it right.  Wine 3 was easy.  All four of us correctly guessed that is the French Rabbit.  Wine 4 was a close call, with half of us declaring that it had to be Robert Mondavi’s sample.  I was quite happy that I was the only one who got a perfect score!  (Happier still because I haven’t wasted all that time and money I spent on my sommelier diplomas!) 

 

(Article published in the June issue of Asian Wave magazine)

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMARO

 

It is interesting to note that both the red wine and the distillate contains the word Amaro.  This word means 'bitter' in Italian.  Amarone is made with semi-dried grapes and the taste is very concentrated, and the higher alcohol content may lend a slight bitter mouthfeel, hence the name.  As for the distillate, the 'bitterness' comes from the orange peel used in the the distillation process.

Here are the two white Bordeaux I recommended in my program this morning:

 

CHATEAU ROQUETAILLADE LA GRANGE BLANC 2005 VINTAGES 240374 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 14.15 Wine, Still Table Wine, White Still Table Wine 12.0% Alcohol/Vol. Made in: Bordeaux, France By: B.D. & P. Guignard, Vitic.-Récolt.   Description Winemaker Pascal Guignard brings a racy freshness to this blend of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. His wines are always exceptional values, perfect for sipping or with a roast pork or grilled stuffed eggplant.   Availability As of 10:45am, April 18, 2007, there are 15 bottles at the Markham and Bullock LCBO store and 22 at te Bayview Village store.          CHATEAU MARJOSSE BLANC 2005 VINTAGES 2204 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 15.55 Wine, Still Table Wine, White Still Table Wine 12.0% Alcohol/Vol. Made in: Bordeaux, France By: Pierre Lurton Description This property is owned and operated by Pierre Lurton, the famous Bordelais ?flying winemaker?. In fact, it is considered his ?home base?. Château Marjosse produces very well-balanced, aromatic white wines. Working with Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc, Lurton produces wines that are simultaneously round and crisp. Try it as a palate refresher or match it to simply prepared pasta or white fish.   Availability As of 10:45am, April 18, 2007, there are 56 bottles at the Bayview Village LCBO store.        My Pairing Suggestion for these 2 white wines: Try it with Chiu Chow delicacies like cold crabs with red vinegar dipping, smoked duck with white vinegar dipping, baby oyster congee and oyster omelette with preserved vegetables.

 

I love cheese.  I love meat.  I love pasta.  So, it is just natural that I'd like lasagna!  Unfortunately, I have never really tasted any great ones at resaturants.  If you know of one, let me know and I will be happy to try it.  As for making it myself... I have never made one that I liked.

 

To the rescue: Tuscan Meat Lasagna from Compliments Sensations.  Remember I hosted a wine tasting session for Red Dragon White Doves at Pantages Hotel back in November last year?  Anson was working that evening, so he couldn't be with me.  After the tasting, I went for a little bit of shopping at Eaton's, then drove home along Yonge Street.  As I got to Yonge and York Mills, I thought I'd drop by my favorite Sobey's store and see if they had anything nice there, like duck breast or foie gras.  Turned out that they didn't, but they were preparing something that smelled very good.  I hovered around the tasting station until someone returned.  I asked them what they were making, and they said 'Lasagna!'  My stomach growled in response.  So, I sticked around a few more minutes until it was ready and had quite a plateful - it was late, so the gentleman gave me a particularly generous portion.

 

Hm... bubbly cheese that wasn't too salty, cotton like lasagna pasta that wasn't soggy, chunky Italian sausages that was bursting with herbs and a fresh tasting tomato based sauce.  I am sold!

 

So, dropping my usual disdain for frozen packaged foods (except frozen pizza), I took home two boxes of this frozen pasta.  It is so good, I might just serve it in one of my dinner parties in the future.  It takes a while to cook it: 60 minutes in an oven, or 22 minutes in the microwave, but I tell you, it's the best.  If you like lasagna, or if you haven't tasted any great lasagna, you should try it!

 

You may already know that brandy is made from grapes and whiskey is made from wheat.  Do you know what tequila, Mexico’s favorite liquor, is made from?  A lot of people mistakenly think that tequila is made from cactus.  In reality, it is made from the blue agave (pronounced a-ga-ve).  Drawings of this plant frequently appear on tequila bottles.

What is the Blue Agave?

The blue agave looks like the aloe vera, with dusty blue-grey and long spiny leaves sprouting directly from the ground.  However, on closer examination, you will find that the leave of the agave is not plump with juices like that of the aloe.  That is because despite the close physical resemblance, the agave is not related to the aloe vera.  Rather, it is a member of the Lily family.

Those of you who have planted lilies know that the root of the lily is a big fleshy bulb with multiple ‘petals’.  Chinese people cook the roots to enjoy the nutty and sweet flavour, which are purported to have health benefits.  The agave plant is similar.

For the ancient Mesoamerican natives, the agave is a sacred plant that provided them with a great variety of items useful for daily life: for building the roofs of their houses, and making needles, hole-punchers, nails, paper and ropes.  Besides, the dry stalks are used as fuel and its juices are used to cure wounds.  Most importantly, the root of the plant can be made into a highly alcoholic drink, which is offered to the gods.

How Tequila is Made

The best agave is, not surprisingly, from the mountainous region of Tequila in western Mexico.  The region is characterized by reddish volcanic soil, warm humid days and cool breezy nights to allow the plants to grow up to 12 feet in diameter. 

The root of an agave will be ready for making tequila when the plant is between 8 and 12 years old. If it is harvested too soon, there won't be enough sugars to do the job; too late and the agave's sugars will have already been used to form seeds.  Harvesters called ‘jimador' would chop off all the leaves with his special long knife called ‘coa’ to expose the root, which looks like a giant pineapple.  In fact, that’s what Mexicans call them: piñas (Spanish for pineapple).  The roots weigh an average of 40 to 70 pounds, but occasionally, some weigh up to 200 pounds.

Traditionally, the piñas are cooked for 2 days in a steam oven in order to convert stored starches into sugars.  Then, after slowly cooling down for a day, they are mashed by stone wheels pulled by mules or donkey until they resemble a pulp.  At this point, you will already be able to smell the honey and citrus aromas that make tequila so popular.  The juice is collected and transferred into wooden vats with the remaining fibres to enhance fermentation and to provide extra flavor.  After about 30 to 48 hours of fermentation, the liquids are separated from the solids and distilled twice to produce a colorless but high aromatic alcohol at 70 to 110 proof, which is then blended and matured in different ways, depending on the style of final product to be made.  Approximately 15 pounds of agave piña are needed to produce one liter of tequila.

Modern production methods are similar to traditional ways, except that various processes are sped up with high pressure valves and auto machinery.  Of course, true aficionados prefer their tequila made the old way.

The 3 Different Styles of Tequila

There are three main styles of Tequila being made in Mexico.

Blanco or Silver
This is the traditional tequila that started it all. Clear and transparent, fresh from the still tequila is called Blanco (white or silver) and must be bottled immediately after the distillation process. It has the true bouquet and flavor of the blue agave. It is usually strong and is traditionally enjoyed with lime and a dash of salt or as ‘tequila pop’ shooters.

Reposado or Rested
Blanco tequila that has been kept in oak barrels for more than two months and up to one year is called Reposade, or rested. Oak-aging gives it a mellowed taste, a pleasing bouquet, and its characteristic pale gold colour.  It still exhibits typical  agave aromas but is gentler to the palate.  Typically enjoyed neat or with a chaser (such as tomato juice with lime or orange juice), these tequilas have experienced exponential international demand and high prices.

Añejo or Aged
It is Blanco tequila aged in oak barrels for more than a year.  Special Reserva style is keep in oak casks for up to 8 years!  Tequila made in this way shows a warm amber colour and has toasty flavours from the oak, and the best ones rival expensive whiskeys and brandies.  It should be enjoyed in a snifter glass as an after dinner drink.

(This article will appear in the February issue of Asian Wave magazine.)

 

Some call it fire-water.  Some say it is the Quintessence, the true essence.  I say it is a crystal brandy, for it is made almost the same way, and its sparkling translucency evokes the brilliance of crystals.  Welcome to the world of grappa!

A Chance Encounter

I was very honored to be invited by the Italian Trade Commission to attend their 10^th annual signature tasting event, held at the Carlu in November.  This year’s event, for the benefit of the 700 expected guests, also marks the largest number of participating producers, with a record 93 wineries who will be showcasing their products.

 

I chatted with Canada’s first and only Master Sommelier John Szabo and Italian Trade Commissioner Paolo Ponti, who in turn introduced me to Ms. Maria Erhard, representing Nonino from Fruili Venezia Giulia, one of the best grappa producers in Italy.  Let me share with you now the wonder of this innocent looking gem!

 

From A Poor Man’s Drink…

Grappa has a very humble beginning.  It was first made between the 12^th and 15^th centuries to prevent wastage by using leftovers called pomace: skins, pulp, stalk and seeds from winemaking, extracting every last bit from the grapes.  The result was a cheap, high-alcohol (40 to 60% alcohol by volume) drink for peasants, which is harsh enough to knock their socks off.  At its worst, it resembles something better suited for removing paint or powering internal combustion engines rather than human consumption.

…To a Sparkling Jewel

Fortunately, Italian producers realized that they must increase export to survive, and to do that they have embarked on ambitious improvement programs, replanting the vineyards with better strains of grape variety and improving cellar technique.  One of the producers, Nonino, went so far as to introduce a line of grappa which was made from the pomace of individual growers.  That is, instead of mixing it all together to make one giant batch, pomace from each grower was kept separate, and information such as the source of the pomace, the year, and the number of bottles produces that year was included on the label.

The success of single-vineyard grappa prompted the next logical step: single-varietal grappa, made from the local picolit grape.  Again, this was pioneered by the Noninos.  33 years ago, in 1973, the Noninos invented the first Grappa Cru Monovitigno.  In addition to the contents, the packaging was also revolutionary.,  Instead of the standard indistinguishable one- or two- litre bottle, they presented it in an elaborately hand-blown cruet, thus giving rise to the new tradition of bottling grappa in jewel-like collector bottles.

‘Tis the Season to Collect Grappa

As mentioned earlier, grappa is made from pomace, and it is highly perishable. Consequently, the production of grappa should be a seasonal activity: actually the Noninos distill only during harvest period from September until November. Unfortunately other producers distill until February/March, and the industrial distilleries which represent 80% of the total Italian Grappa production distill even until May, and their products could be of dubious quality.

Not surprisingly, the popularity of grappa also falls into the same months, and is most sought after during the Christmas and New Year’s season.  You can find beautiful bottle designs in your local LCBO stores that will delight your friends and party hosts.  Your stomach will love you for a light dousing after a heavy meal too!

How To Serve a Grappa

A well-made grappa should be zesty, clean tasting, and with a heady fresh fruit and berry bouquet.  Most grappa is clear, indicating that it is an unaged product, though some may retain very faint pigments from their original fruit pomace.  Lately, aged grappas have become more common, and these take on a yellow or reddish brown hue from the barrels in which they are stored.

The best way to appreciate the colors and aromas of grappa is to use the right glass.  It should have an open tulip shape in order to capture the aromas.  Top quality grappa should be served at a temperature between 10C and 14C, and it should never be frozen.

When tasting multiple samples, it is important to start with the distillate with the lowest alcohol content and work up in sequence towards higher alcohol content.  In the correct tasting order, those samples with particularly delicate flavours should be tasted first before moving on to any which are ore aromatic and ultimately concluding with any specially old examples.

How to Appreciate Grappa

Pour about 10ml of grappa into your glass, then, without swirling the liquid, pick it up and raise it to your nose and sniff the most volatile part of the drink.  Try to discern the delicate perfume of fresh fruit, berries or grapes. 

Next, swirl the contents of your glass gently and breathe in the bouquet once more.  Again, try to pick out the many different aromatic qualities.  Take a deep breath of fresh air before taking a small sip of the wine.  At this stage, you will experience almost an explosion of aromatic flavors with spicy, warming effects.  This extraordinary and intense combination of flavours will stay with you for several minutes!

Aids Digestion and Other Ailments…

In Italy, grappa is primarily served as a digestivo, which is an after dinner drink.  This is indeed quite appropriate as the high alcohol can help burn off some calories from heavy Italian meals.  Some like to add it to espresso coffee, and the resulting drink is called caffe corretto: coffee – the right way!  Another variation of this is the amazza caffe, coffee-killer: first you gulp down the espresso, then  follow with a few ounces of grappa served in its own glass.

Besides being an aid to digestion, according to a 14^th century manuscript, grappa can also be used to disinfect wounds and cure toothaches.  When mixed with white wine and honey, it helps to improve memory.  In cold compress, it can even cure ailments of the breasts.  Well, perhaps after a few cupfuls, you will invent even more creative uses!

 

 

 

Prince Charles is joining the greatest artists of the 20th century as he becomes the latest painter to feature on Chateau Mouton-Rothschild's label.

The Prince ?a well-known watercolourist who delights in capturing rural scenes around the royal residences of Balmoral, Sandringham and other retreats both at home and abroad ?now adds his name to a list which includes Braque, Picasso, Miró, Chagall, Henry Moore, Warhol, Francis Bacon and Balthus.

The chosen watercolour, of pine trees at Cap d'Antibes on the Cote d'Azur, was not painted specially for the chateau, but was selected personally by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild.

A spokesman for Mouton told decanter.com the choice of the Prince was intended to mark the anniversary of the Entente Cordial between France and England, which was celebrated in 2004.

It is inscribed, 'To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, Charles 2004'.

The 2004 vintage of Mouton Rothschild has just been bottled and is launched this week, at around £80 (€120) per bottle.

The chateau is famous for its labels, which since 1945 have each year been designed by a different contemporary artist. The tradition began with the iconic 1945 'V' for Victory bottle designed by Philippe Jullian. All are exhibited in the wine museum located at the Pauillac estate.

Prince Charles has a history of exhibiting in the area. In 2001, a selection of lithographs based on his paintings, each one signed and dated, were displayed in the Cave d'Ulysses in Margaux village, a wine shop owned by John Kolasa of Chateau Rauzan Segla.

Plum Saketini

 

Add a touch of Oriental flare to your next dinner party by serving this elegant martini.  Sake, a rice wine from Japan, dons the luxuriant smoothness of a silk obi, and plum wine, also a Japanese favorite, paints the accents.

 

INGREDIENTS

 

2 oz vodka

2 oz clear sake

1 oz sweet plum wine

3 paper thin cucumber slices

 

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass.
2. Shake vigorously with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.
3. Garnish with the cucumber slices.

Concubine’s Delight

 

Concubine Yang in the Tang Dynasty adored lychees, and had the emperor send his fastest horses to expedite these succulent and sweet jewels from southern China to the Imperial Palace.  This rose-colored frozen drink will surely delight the ladies in your party, who may all be secretly yearning for the pampered life of ancient concubines!

 

INGREDIENTS

2 oz lychee liquor

1 oz lime juice

1 cup shaved ice

1 oz grenadine syrup

 

 

1. In a blender, mix thoroughly the lychee liquor, lime juice and ice.
2. Transfer to a chilled martini glass. 
3. Pour grenadine syrup and serve with a short straw.