Rex & Regina’s Blog

These adorable wrapped beverages, featured on Donna Hay, would be perfect for a baby shower! They would be so easy to create — and to customize. Choose fabric and pins that coordinate with the gender of the baby and the theme. Izze sparkling beverages would be a perfect bottle to wrap. Too cute!

Bottle wrappers, featured on Donna Hay

Izze sodas

I am a big fan of Arnold Palmer… the drink, that is. (Though the golfer is pretty great, too!) Half iced-tea, half lemonade, the Arnold Palmer is refreshingly sweet — particularly during a heat wave like the one we’ve been having here in DC.

This month’s Bon Appetit features a fun “spiked” version of the drink, created by Damon Boelte, bar manager at Prime Meats in Brooklyn. The drink combines gin, jasmine tea, limoncello, lemon juice, and grapefruit juice. Delish!

The "Leland Palmer"; photo by Nigel Cox

Ingredients

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup hot water
3 cups freshly brewed jasmine tea, cooled
3/4 cup gin
3/4 cup limoncello*
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
1 cup chilled club soda
Ice cubes
6 lemon slices (for garnish)

Preparation

Stir honey and 1/2 cup hot water in small bowl until honey dissolves. Cool completely. Combine honey water, jasmine tea, gin, limoncello, lemon juice, and grapefruit juice in large pitcher. Add club soda and stir to blend. Fill six 1-pint mason jars or 6 tall glasses with ice cubes. Divide tea mixture among jars; top each with lemon slice.

* Limoncello, a lemon-flavored liqueur, can be found at many supermarkets, at Trader Joe’s markets, and at liquor stores.

Football fans everywhere, are you ready for the 2010 NFL Draft?  Starting tonight and through the weekend we’ll watch, wait, and pray as our favorite teams make their picks. (Patriots, don’t do me wrong!)

So as you are watch the painstakingly long and often nail-biting process, you may want to invite your friends over to enjoy another kind of “draft”… of the “hops” persuasion.

Instead of bottles and cans at your Draft Day party, why not try a beverage dispenser (or, using a term I haven’t heard since college, a kegerator)?!

The Krups Beertender at $99.00 is a nice, entry level, accessible model. It’s small enough to fit on your countertop and can be easily stored away when you aren’t using it. One downside is that you can only use it with Heineken 5L DraughtKegs. But if you like Heineken, you can’t go wrong. It’s an easy way for guests to serve themselves and it is likely to be a good conversation piece!

Krups Beertender

If this model is too “pedestrian” for you, you can always go for the cadillac of kegerators: Viking’s 24″ Built-in Beverage Dispenser. It can accommodate a half barrel of whatever beer you can order.

Viking's Built-in Beverage Dispenser

After you’ve setup your beverage dispenser, you’ll want to set out some glassware for your guests. Chilled mugs are always appreciated. I particularly love these pint glasses from Sur La Table.

Pallino Ottimista/Pessimista Beer Glasses from Sur La Table

Baccarat and beer seem like an unlikely pairing to me … but, nonetheless, these Baccarat Oenology Pilsner-style beer mugs are beautiful.

Baccarat Oenology Beer Mug, available through Geary's

Finally, I remember traveling in Belgium years ago and being amazed at how each brand and type of beer was served in its own special glass designed specifically by the brewery to ensure optimal flavor.  While not quite to that extent, this collection of glasses follows that line of thinking. The set includes a glass each for pilsners, wheats, ales, and stouts.

Mikasa "Brewmaster's Collection" Varietal Glasses, Set of 4, available at Macy's

With all of our “Draught Day” equipment, I think we are ready to watch Round One and hope for the best for our teams…

Go Patriots! (Skins fans, no taunts or jibes, please!)

When I work a wedding, one of the things I always bring with me in my emergency kit is a pack of drinking straws. The straws are helpful in making sure the bride and bridesmaids don’t smudge or wear off their lipstick after they’ve had their makeup done.

I recently came across these fantastic reusable straws. While they may not work for my kit, I couldn’t help but think how helpful they would be at home — especially for families with children. Cool looking AND eco-friendly — sipping has never been so fashionable!

stainless steel straws from Always Brilliant

Festive Family set of straws, from Strawesome

beautiful bend straw from Glass Dharma

pink glass straw from Strawesome

Are you a chocoholic? Do you have friends that are chocoholics? Then you should not read further at the risk of completely falling off the wagon.

I mean, what could be more sinful and delicious than hot chocolate — on a stick!! Simply stir the chocolate into a cup of hot milk and enjoy. I love it! What a great gift these would make for the chocolate lover on your list this holiday season.

hot chocolate on a stick

Hourglass Beverage Jars from Sur La Table

Aren’t these Hourglass Beverage Jars from Sur La Table absolutely adorable? They’d be great for

• summertime outdoor entertaining
• poolside drinks
• outdoor kitchens/bars
• serving water or lemonade to guests at an outdoor summer wedding…

…and the list goes on. I’ll take three, please!

Round Pond citrus syrups

On Saturday I hosted a brunch for my Bible Study. I served a bell pepper frittata, hash browns, french pressed coffee, and an adaptation on bellinis. 

I poured a small amount of Blood Orange Syrup from Round Pond into a champagne flute and topped it off with prosecco. (My husband and I picked up a bottle of the syrup on a recent visit to Napa and are so glad we did!)

Springtime is a wonderful season to serve bellinis because they are so refreshing and lite. Think about setting up a bellini bar for your guests to enjoy; it’s interactive, fun, and deliciously divine. Or just serve individual bellinis with a new twist — like with a lovely syrup from Round Pond.

Bellinis are great not only for at-home brunches, but for wedding or baby showers, bridesmaids lunches, and even engagement parties.

Salud!