Preggatinis... Under Examination

If you like to stay on top of the food scene in Los Angeles, you surely take a peek at LA Food Examiner, penned by columnist Dee Long. She covers all sorts of insider tips from around our fair city, and today she decided to include a review of Preggatinis! Read below to find out her thoughts:

LA Food Examiner: Preggatinis offers healthy refreshment for expectant moms

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Preggie Provençe(C) Satisfies Reviewer

When you throw a party, you spend time making drinks you hope your guests will love. When you write a drink book, you are really crossing your fingers! So, today's post on about.com hailing the Preggie Provence nonalcohlic cocktail from my book "Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-To-Be" made my day! See why they liked it ... and here's the recipe for you to try!

Preggie Provençe

• 5-6 rosemary leaves
• 3-4 white grapes, halved
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 1/4 tsp fresh lavender flower petals
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
• 2 oz lemonade
• 3 oz DRY Soda Co. Lavender soda
• 1 lemon wheel
• 1 sprig rosemary

1. Muddle rosemary leaves with the cut grapes, simple syrup, lavender flower petals, and grated lemon peel in the bottom of a mixing glass.
2. Add lemonade, then shake well with ice.
3. Strain into a cocktail glass.
4. Top with lavender soda, and garnish with a lemon wheel and a sprig of rosemary.

ONE Delicious & Healthy Drink

Every once in a while, even the most ardent cocktail lover reaches for a thirst quenching, healthy, nonalcoholic beverage. Water is great but can be a bit, well, dull. Ice tea is fine but kind of blah. Sodas don’t hold much interest to a more refined adult palate. What to do?

Why not pack an 11-ounce single serving of Coconut Water in your gym bag? Or add a carton of Cashew Juice to your lunch? Perhaps, some antioxidant-rich Açai Juice, or a little sip of Coffee Berry will tickle your fancy? Each of these is available to you from ONE beverages, a healthful alternative for the thirsty-yet- environmentally-conscious consumer.

ONE was started in 2005, and has a lot of things going for it. Besides intriguing (and tasty) pre-packaged drinks, ONE supports the Brazil Foundation (committed to preserving the Rain Forest) and Healthy Child Healthy World (dedicated to protecting children from harmful environmental exposures).

Additionally, ONE has an eye toward renewability and conserving fossil fuels by packaging the drinks in paperboard, whose wood fibers (accounting for about 70% of the Tetra Pak carton) come from responsibly managed forests. (Each tree cut down for use is replaced with a new one.) And, of course, they are recyclable.

I was especially excited to try the Coconut Water and Açai Juice as one of the recipes in my new book “Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-To-Be” calls for them. This Preggatini™comes from the section on CelebriBaby Preggatinis®:

Kingston Krush
(© 2008 Natalie Bovis-Nelsen, excerpted from “Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-To-Be,” Globe Pequot Press)

Ska/pop star and designer diva Gwen Stefani and her hunky hubby Gavin Rossdale rock more than the music studio, as proven by their expanding family. With baby Zuma stealing the spotlight, this drink was created in honor of big brother Kingston, one of the coolest little kiddos in the public eye.

3 ounces coconut water (or 2 ounces coconut milk)
2 ounces açaí juice (or pomegranate juice)
1/2 ounce ginger-infused simple syrup
1/4 ounce lime juice
1/2 teaspoon coconut flakes

Pour all liquid ingredients into a mixing glass, shake with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass. Sprinkle with coconut flakes.

*Photo of Kingston: Flynet

When Crack Ain't Whack...

If you live in LA and don't already follow Caroline On Crack, its about time you get with the program, bubs! Hipster-in-the-know, Caroline spills the beans on coffee, fashion, food, drinks et al. She's a cool gal with a penchant for sharing. (Awww.)

I am also giving her a warm 'thank you' for helping to spread the word about my "Preggatinis" both on her website and on LAist, to which she regularly contributes.

Thanks, chickie. After all, what's a cocktail without a little crack on-the-side?

"Preggatinis" Takes A Ride On American Airlines...

If you're flying on American Airlines for your holiday travel, you can take home three holiday Preggatinis(TM) featured in Haley Shapley's article in American Way Magazine for your festivities!

DIY Nonalcoholic Cocktails for the Holidays!

Watch my appearance on Good Morning New Orleans to pick up some nonalcoholic cocktail tips for your holiday entertaining!!

Preggatinis Gets Props on TalkDrinks.com

Many thank you's to the awesome folks behind TalkDrinks.com for this wonderful mention of "Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-To-Be."

And, did I mention that Partida tequila is one of my favorite tequila brands going waaay back to 2005? (Scroll through these posts for proof!) Keep it mind when you take a Preggatini(TM) and use the "De-Virginize for Dad" directions!

Try the Nolita Heat at the Cocktail Hour

Give your liver a break and try my non-alcoholic cocktail today at Tales of the Cocktail!

NOLitA Heat
(Property of The Liquid Muse Virgin Mixology®)

3-4 jalapeno slices
1/2 ounce limejuice
1/3 ounce Prickly Pear syrup
2 ounces mango juice
Fre alcohol-removed Brut sparkling wine
1 skewered whole jalapeño or Thai chili
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Rim chilled champagne flute with sugar, set aside. Muddle jalapeno slices, limejuice and a pinch of sugar in a mixing glass. Add ice and mango juice, shake vigorously, and strain into the champagne flute. Slowly pour in Prickly Pear syrup, allowing it to settle on the bottom of the glass. Gently top with Fre Brut, and garnish with a skewered jalapeño or Thai chili on the side of the glass.

Planning to Get Pregnant?

Well, then be prepared to keep on enjoying your cocktails with Preggatinis!

You can already pre-order "Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-To-Be" on Amazon.

My baby (the book) is due in December!

Drink and Drive SAFELY this summer!

If you are throwing a party or attending someone else's, why not bring along some alcohol-removed champagne and wine to add a festive sparkle without any risk of DWI?

During my coast-to-coast promotion of non-alcoholic cocktails with Fre by Sutter Home, I appeared on morning shows in Seattle and Rochester singing the praises of non-alcoholic cocktails. In Rochester, Holly and Evan (the dynamic duo on 13 WHAM TV) tied the story to drunk driving around holidays, and I did two segments showing their viewers how to make "safer" drinks for the summer. Watch the segments on their website to see how to make the cocktails and hear more about being a "Thoughtful Entertainer," (the new-and-improved "Hostess With the Mostess!")

And, if you're tempted to whip up intoxicatingly fun non-alcoholic libations for your summer celebrations, here are those recipes:

The Liquid Muse Signature Cocktails
Designed for Fre by Sutter Home, Summer 2008
(all rights reserved by The Liquid Muse, LLC)

Tokyo Dreams (Martini Glass)

1 chopped lychee
1/4 ounce lime juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 ounces mandarin orange juice
3 ounces Fre Alcohol-Removed Premium White
Garnish: 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, 1 whole lychee on a cocktail skewer

Rim a martini glass with powdered sugar. Muddle lychee, lime juice, sugar and ginger in the bottom of a mixing glass or cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, add wine. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. Place the cocktail skewer across the rim of the glass.

Tropical Tease (White Wine Glass)

1 heaping tablespoon diced fresh mango
3 torn mint leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 ounce lime juice
3 ounces Fre Alcohol-Removed White Zinfandel
Garnish: 1 lime wheel

Muddle mango, mint, sugar and lime juice in the bottom of a mixing glass or cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, add wine. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Place the lime wheel on the rim of the glass.

Sparkling Sangria Cooler (Collins Glass)

1 tablespoon Marinated Summer Fruit
4 ounces Fre Alcohol-Removed Brut
Garnish: Sprig of fresh mint and colorful straw

Prepare Marinated Summer Fruit at least 2 hours before a party (serves 10): Dice 8 strawberries, 2 large (peeled) peaches and 3(peeled) kiwis into a large bowl. Sprinkle fruit with 2 tablespoons raw brown sugar, and pour in1 cup of peach juice, Refrigerate.

When ready to serve, spoon 1 tablespoon of Marinated Summer Fruit mixture into each glass, along with at least 1 tablespoon of the liquid from the bowl. Fill glass with ice and top with Fre Brut. Garnish each glass with a sprig of fresh mint and a colorful straw.

Yankee Doodle Candy Cocktail (Champagne Flute)

1 package pop rocks
1 ounce mango juice
1 ounce pineapple juice
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce grenadine
2 ounces Fre Alcohol-Removed Spumante or Brut

Rub the rim of a champagne flute with a lime, then dip the rim onto a small plate sprinkled with pop rocks, set aside. Pour juices into an ice-filled cocktail shaker, shake vigorously, then gently strain into the champagne flute. Slowly add the Fre sparkling wine, then the grenadine. Let the fireworks begin!

Are Preggatinis (TM) Already A Hot Trend?

In Washington DC, this past weekend, Shelley Cohen celebrated her 40th birthday party. The birthday girl sent me an email asking for suggestions of what to drink because in addition to becoming part of the Fabulous 40 club, Shelley is well into her pregnancy!

Here is a photo of the lovely mom-to-be enjoying a liquorless libation and her customized Preggatini recipe in a golden frame for all to enjoy. Happy birthday from all of us at The Liquid Muse, Shelley! (And, after the little one arrives, I'll tell ya how to spike it!)

A little "Vignette" ...

Fade In:

A young man spreads out a white picnic blanket on a grassy field. He sets down a straw picnic basket and begins to lay out its contents as the camera pulls back to reveal his very pregnant wife sitting beside him.

Husband: Darling, I brought all your favorite foods - a little (pasturized) cheese, some hearty whole grain bread and some (fully cooked, mercury-free) salmon on a bed of (organic) greens.

Wife: (looks forlorn and breathes a little sigh) Thank you, honey. That is very thoughtful.

Husband: Why do you look unhappy?

Wife: (whistfully) I am just so dang tired of drinking mineral water! What I wouldn't give for a sip of something more exciting to complement this lovely meal...

Husband: (with a little smirk) Ta-da!

He unwraps a white linen napkin to reveal a bottle filled with a honey-colored carbonated liquid.

Wife: (with a hopeful gasp) What... is that?

Husband: This is Vignette. Its an alcohol-free Wine Country soda, made from all-natural ingredients, sweetened with sun-ripened Chardonnay grapes and finished with an effervescent tingle on the tongue.

Wife: You mean... it's a sparkling, liquorless juice made from the same grapes as my favorite wine?

Husband: Yes, darling. That's exactly what I mean. There is even a Pinot Noir version for when you have a craving for red.

Wife: My Hero! (she gives a sly smile, and crooks her finger) Now, get over here, you clever, clever man...

The End.

Fade Out.

The (Deceptive) Liquid Muse Breakfast

-or- How A Muse Spends Her Mornings…

One perk of my Musey career is trying cool beverages, and sharing them with you. And, I get a generous pile of new products to try. So, in an attempt to catch up on my liquor reviews, I’m squeezing in several per day. Starting early in the morning.

Now before y’all start planning an intervention, let me assure you that I’m not hitting the hard stuff at 8:00 am. I am, however, reveling in products that make help me be more efficient by allowing me to drink with breakfast, without getting carted off to rehab!

Fre alcohol-removed wine is already available in most places you shop. You may not have noticed it, as it is usually shoved off to the side of the wine aisle – somewhere between the bottled sweet-n-sour and the sparkling cider. And, that is a shame because this product rocks. Unlike many other alcohol-less products I’ve tried, Fre actually tastes good! The bottles are packaged to look like the ‘real thing.’ And the label has style.

Moving on to what really counts, what is inside the bottle is particularly compelling. The White Table Wine is light and crisp. The Chardonnay is so dang delicious, I could sip down a whole bottle in an evening (and wake up without a hangover!). The White Zinfandel is slightly sweeter, of course, but just think what a pretty gift if would make for a very pregnant lady who is sick to death of mineral water and bubbly apple juice. The Red Table Wine goes down very easily, which is fine ‘cuz like I said… no hangover! And, the Merlot has a deeper flavor, which stands up to things like chocolate cake. Not that I would know about that, or anything…

I am particularly impressed with the sparkling Brut. Such a far cry from what I expected. And, the Spumante is slightly sweeter … and goes quite well with peach puree or pomegranate juice, for fancy alcohol-removed “sparkling cocktails.”

In case you aren't already aware of it, I design non-alcoholic cocktails for modern-moms-to-be. Check out a little info on that at The Liquid Muse Preggatinis ™ Blog. Fre alcohol-removed wines don’t position themselves to be served to pregnant women, as there is a tiny bit of alcohol left (something like 1%). So, it is purely my opinion that in the third trimester (when mnay doctors give the "green light" for a tiny bit of regular wine, champagne or beer to pregnant ladies) a glass of Fre could be a welcome relief to a deprived wine-lover.

I have just created a line of alcohol-removed cocktails using Fre, and I’ll be touring the US for two weeks, in December, giving cocktail demonstrations on how to make some fab hangover-free refreshments for the Holiday Season. (more to come on that later…)

In the meantime, keep in mind that while a picture is worth a thousand words, it may in fact be masking a delicious secret…

Presenting Preggatinis(tm)!

Non-Alcoholic Cocktails for Stylish Moms-To-Be

You know when you have a secret and you're just dying to tell everyone but you have to hold back a little but its just killing you not to tell?

That's how I have felt about my line of Preggatinis (tm). I've been sitting on these butt-kicking "mocktails" for months now, as I worked on a book proposal for my Preggatini concept.

Things move quickly in the cocktail fast lane and I have since re-structured my cocktail book to focus on alcoholic drinks (duh, right? I am The Liquid Muse, and the world of spirits is where I draw so much inspiration...) But, there will be some Preggatinis(tm) in my book.

Preggatinis(tm) are perfect baby shower cocktails (aka: Preggatini Parties(tm)). They are also great for anyone laying off the sauce (with or without an inhabited uterus...) I started a new blog devoted to Preggatinis(tm), which I encourage you to check out often, if you or someone close to you, is expecting!

Here is one, to get you started:

Pamper Me Preggatini(tm)
1/2 oz. Freshly squeezed mandarin orange juice
2 oz. Guava nectar
Orange-flavored mineral water
Grenadine
2 tsp. fine sugar
sprig mint

Pour a small amount of grenadine onto a small plate. Pour sugar onto another small plate. Take a champagne flute and dip the rim into the grenadine first, and then the sugar. Let it dry for a few seconds. Pour mandarin juice and guava nectar into the flute. Slowly add the orange-flavored mineral water until glass is full. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

(*alcoholic version for non-pregnant friends: top with sparkling wine instead of orange flavored mineral water)