Big-Batch Party Punches

Mix up one of these festive drinks at your next get-together! These big-batch beverages will keep you and your guests in high spirits.

Blackberry Mojito Punch

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Ingredients
3 cups blueberry-blackberry juice blend
2 (12-oz.) cans frozen mojito mix
2 (1-liter) bottles club soda, chilled
1 1/2 cups white rum
3 limes, sliced
1 (12-oz.) package frozen blueberries
Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Preparation
Stir together blueberry-blackberry juice blend, mojito mix, chilled club soda, white rum, sliced limes, and frozen blackberries. Serve over ice. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs.

Related: Refreshing Fruit-Filled Cocktails

Southern Pineapple Punch

Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Ingredients
1 (2-liter) bottle ginger ale, chilled
1 (12-oz.) container frozen pineapple-orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 cup mango nectar
1 Tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 cups Southern Comfort (optional)
Crushed ice

Preparation
Stir together chilled ginger ale, pineapple-orange juice concentrate, mango nectar, ginger, and, if desired, Southern Comfort.

Related: Ultimate Party Cookbook

Raspberry Wine Zinger

Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Ingredients
1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry white wine
2 (12-oz.) bottles raspberry lambic beer
1 (1-liter) bottle club soda, chilled
3/4 cup simple syrup
1 pt. raspberry sorbet
1 cup frozen raspberries

Preparation
Stir together wine, beer, chilled club soda, and simple syrup in a large punch bowl. Scoop raspberry sorbet into wine mixture. Add frozen raspberries.

Related: Fabulously Festive Party Trays

Honey-Green Tea Fizz

Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Ingredients
8 regular-size ginger-flavored green tea bags
4 cups boiling water
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 (2-liter) bottle ginger ale, chilled
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Preparation
Steep tea bags in boiling water according to package directions. Stir in honey and sugar until dissolved; cool completely (about 2 hours). Combine tea, chilled ginger ale, and fresh lemon juice. Serve over ice.

Related: Specialty Southern Cocktails

Cranberry-Key Lime Punch

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Ingredients
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
5 to 6 cups chilled club soda
1/2 cup fresh Key lime juice
1 cup vodka (optional)
Garnishes: Key lime slices and fresh cranberries

Preparation
Combine 2 cups fresh cranberries, sugar, and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes or until cranberries being to pop. Pour mixture through a wire-mesh strainer into a large pitcher, discarding solids; cool completely (about 1 hour). Stir in chilled club soda, fresh Key lime juice, and, if desired, vodka. Serve over ice. Garnish with Key lime slices and fresh cranberries.

Related: Easy Entrees for Entertaining (But Will Still Impress!)

Bourbon Margarita Slushies

Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Ingredients
1 (1-liter) bottle club soda
1 (12-oz.) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup tequila
1 cup bourbon
3/4 cup orange liqueur
Lime slices

Preparation
Stir together bottle club soda, limeade concentrate, water, tequila, bourbon, and orange liqueur. Divide between 2 large zip-top plastic freezer bags; seal bags. Freeze 24 hours or up to 1 week. Serve in salt-rimmed glasses with lime slices.

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Tonight's Dorm Room Dinner - Sensational Shrimp Tacos

Brought to you by The Dorm Room Dinner.

Tonight, boys and girls, we have set out to answer an eternal question. What is a taco? 

Well, if you're a white boy from Boston like me, a taco is a lot of things. And more often than not, those things have nothing to do with ground beef, jarred salsa and pre-shredded cheese. Call me what you will, but I have thoroughly enjoyed a corn tortilla stuffed with lemon aioli, sauteed eggplant and spinach. It was delicious.

And yes, I have enjoyed tacos with carne asada and hot sauce. With chicken and salsa. They're good. Very good. I'm not trying to be unreasonable here. I'm just sayin' that traditional tacos aren't the only thing out there. There's a whole world out there.

So, what is a taco?

Playful. A taco should be playful. What you put on top should not be limited to salsa and lettuce. Bright flavors can really take your taco to new places. I like thinly shredded red cabbage mixed with a little oil and vinegar. I like pickled carrots. I like slices of fresh red bell pepper. I like grilled corn, sliced cucumber, avocado, fresh tomato salsa, cilantro, lemon juice, fresh chili peppers.

Meaty. Chill out vegetarians. There are plenty of ways to make a vegetarian taco meaty, and I don't mean withtempeh. For you meat lovers, a grilled flank steak always does the trick. Or some spicy shredded chicken. For the pescatarians out there, shrimp (see below) or seared tilapia fillets (cheap and great for tacos) will do just the trick. And for the true vegetarians, your options are numerous. Try sauteed eggplant, grilled portobello mushroom caps, sauteed potatoes (think home fries, seriously delicious in tacos), or chickpeas/other beans.

Saucy. If you put a mayonnaise-based "special sauce" at the base of your taco, it will be better. It's that simple. Try mixing with sriracha and lime juice. Or lemon zest and freshly ground black pepper. (You could use sour cream or creme fraiche here as well).

Fresh. I mean this in two ways. (1) Always use the freshest ingredients, especially because the flavor of each ingredient comes through so prominently in a taco. (2) They should have a (saucy) attitude.

There it is folks. The answer to the question you've always wanted to know, deep down in your heart. Where you take it from there is all up to you.

The other night, I made shrimp tacos using corn tortillas, sauteed shrimp, homemade mayonnaise, fresh tomato and avocado salsa with jalapenos, black beans with green onions and some fresh vegetables to throw on top. Recipe below.

Sensational Shrimp Tacos
Serves 2-3

For the mayonnaise:
-1 egg yolk
-1 cup neutral oil, like canola oil
-1 tablespoon lemon juice
-1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-salt and pepper

For the salsa:
-3 large tomatoes, cored and diced
-1 ripe avocado, diced into cubes
-1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and white pith removed, finely chopped
-1/2 small red onion, minced
-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
-juice of half a lemon or lime
-1 tablespoon neutral oil
-hot sauce, optional

For the tacos:
-8-10 small corn tortillas
-25-30 cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
-1 can black beans, drained and washed
-4 scallions, sliced into medium pieces
-salt and pepper
-vegetables for topping, such as sliced cucumber, lettuce, spinach, avocado, cilantro, shredded red cabbage, carrot, etc.
-lemon or lime wedge, for serving

For the mayonnaise:
Place egg yolk in a large bowl. Whisking quickly, add the oil starting with just a few drops at a time. Still whisking, add in a slow steady stream, ensuring the mixture does not break. Mix in the lemon juice, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.
(Note: Great Food52 video explaining how to make mayonnaise/aioli here.)

For the salsa:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl, and adjust seasoning to your tastes.

For the tacos:
First, warm the shrimp on the grill or in a saute pan coated with oil. If warming in a saute pan, simply sear for a minute on each side until browned. Mix the shrimp with about half of the prepared mayonnaise.

Mix black beans and scallions with salt and pepper, adding a touch of oil as well if you want.

Warm tortillas by wrapping them in a damp towel, placing them in a large bowl or ramekin, and microwaving for 45 seconds. 

To serve, place the tortillas, bowls of the salsa, beans and extra mayonnaise, fresh vegetables, cilantro leaves, and lime or lemon wedges on a large platter. Serve to the table and allow everyone to make their own. Enjoy!

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Guide to finding the best American Barbecue

Pit masters spilled the secrets to sniffing out the best barbecue in America: pulled pork sandwiches, racks of ribs and plates of brisket. Hope you're hungry!

Quiz the big guys. When John Markus, executive producer of CBS's The Ultimate BBQ Showdown, is in search of barbecue, he doesn't ask just anyone. "I'll walk up to a guy who could stand to go on a diet," he says. "Even better if he has a toothpick in his mouth." And if nine out of 10 people suggest the same place, he'll go to the tenth. Most folks in Austin know Stubb's, but Markus likes lesser-known House Park Bar-B-Que (houseparkbbq.com) for brisket so tender, it explains their motto: "Need no teef to eat my beef."

Don't get saucy. "It's not that those thick, syrupy liquids aren't delicious," says Bob Kantor, who makes formidable food at Memphis Minnie's (memphisminnies.com) in San Francisco, of all places. It's just that barbecue is about the meat, so why obscure it with a blanket of sauce? "A beautiful woman is a beautiful woman, with or without minks and diamonds," he says. Respectable spots use just enough sauce to enhance the meat—and Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas (kreuzmarket.com), refuses to serve it at all.

Beware of new joints. Old places have a track record and possess the holy grail for 'cue hunters: a well-seasoned pit. Desiree Robinson of Cozy Corner in Memphis (cozycornerbbq.com) has been using the same cooker for more than 30 years. "If you take the grate out and lick it, it should taste like barbecue," she says.

Search for smoke. Without it, there's no barbecue. "Smoke flavor is integral to Southern barbecue, and you can't fake it," says Adam Perry Lang, author of BBQ 25 and co-creator with Jamie Oliver of Barbecoa, London's hot new barbecue spot. The tall stacks of oak beside Skylight Inn, in Ayden, North Carolina (252-746-4113), hint that their whole-hog barbecue has plenty of serious smoky flavor.

Chat up the man (or woman) behind the meat. Pit masters are traditionally gregarious. "You can only make barbecue with a hog that's 200 pounds when he's dancing," quips Ed Mitchell at The Pit in Raleigh, North Carolina (thepit-raleigh.com). Listen closely, because there's wisdom in his rant: "I like meat that has some marble—I'm a big guy, so I know that fat is flavor."

ORDER UP THE BEST!
Come home to a box of 'cue, straight from the source.

• Texas brisket from Snow's BBQ ($50 for a 4- to 5-lb. brisket, snowsbbq.com)
• Memphis ribs from Corky's ($82 for 2 slabs, corkysbbq.com)
• Burnt-ends combo from Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue ($70 for 2 pounds, jackstackbbq.com)
• Mutton from Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn ($6.50 for 1 lb., moonlite.com)

BBQ STYLE: A REGIONAL GUIDE
Gobbling pulled pork in Texas would be as incongruous as eating a slice of pizza in Shanghai. Get to know the regional specialties.

Texas: Brisket
Sliced salt-and-pepper rubbed brisket
Try It: Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor (louiemuellerbarbecue.com)
Or make ours: Get the recipe for Texas-Style Brisket »

Kansas City, Kansas: Burnt Ends
The crispy, fatty pieces from barbecue brisket, with molasses tomato-based sauce
Try It: Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue (oklahomajoesbbq.com)
Or make ours: Get the recipe for Baked Beans with Burnt Ends »

Kentucky: Mutton
Chopped sheep's meat, smothered in unctuous brown vinegar "dip" sauce
Try It: Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn in Owensboro (moonlite.com)

Memphis, Tennessee: Ribs
Pork ribs, both dry (caked in spices) and wet (slathered in tangy sauce)
Try It: Interstate Barbecue (interstatebarbecue.com)
Or make ours: Get the recipe for Memphis-Style Baby Back Ribs »

Eastern North Carolina: Whole Hog
Whole pigs, chopped, with thin, vinegary sauce
Try It: Wilber's Barbecue in Goldsboro (wilbersbarbecue.com)
Or make ours: Get the recipe for North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork Sandwiches »

Western North Carolina: Pork Shoulder
Pork shoulder, chopped, with ketchup-and-chile spiked vinegar sauce
Try It: Lexington Barbecue in Lexington (336-249-9814)

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Home-style Pizza: How to Make Your Own Dough (Cheap and Easy!)

Homemade Pizza Dough

If you have kids, chances are you often have pizza. Mine seemed to have been born loving it. Fortunately, they don't discriminate between takeout and homemade pizza, and so I can control what goes into it. Once you get the hang of making your own dough it's easy to mix up a batch when you get home from work and let it rise while you change and play with the kids and get ready for dinner – then you can roll or pat it out (kids love this part too), top it and cook it in a hot oven or on a preheated grill in minutes. (It also freezes well, so you can make a large batch and freeze balls of it to thaw as needed.) Pizza from scratch is cheaper, easier and better than takeout, and a great way to use up small quantities of leftover meats, cheese and veggies. And it's a great thing to teach kids that pizza comes from flour, yeast and water, cheese and tomatoes and fresh basil from the garden, rather than from the guy at the door with the insulated pizza bag.

If your family has varying tastes, you can let everyone make their own and all will be happy. If you're having a crowd over for a party – kids' or otherwise – it's a great way to feed a crowd. Just set out balls of dough and bowls of toppings and let everyone go to town. (Have them make them on a piece of parchment, and mark one corner to keep track of which belongs to whom.)

To make flavored pizza dough, add a generous pinch of chopped fresh or dried basil, rosemary or oregano, a clove of minced garlic, a few finely chopped olives or sun dried tomatoes (if they come packed in oil, use it in place of the olive oil) or 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper along with the flour. Flavored pizza dough makes great breadsticks – roll the risen dough into sticks as thin or fat as you like, sprinkle with coarse salt or grated Parmesan cheese and bake until golden.

Related: Craving potato chips? 12 healthier crunchy alternatives

To bake your pizza, roll it out thin on a parchment lined or cornmeal-dusted baking sheet (it will rise again in the oven), top it with your choice of toppings and bake in a preheated 450F oven until golden and bubbly.

Basic Pizza Dough

1 pkg. (or 2 tsp.) active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar or honey
2 1/2 – 3 cups flour – all purpose, whole wheat, or any combination of the two (I usually use about 2 3/4 cups)
1 tsp. salt
a drizzle (1 tsp. – 1 Tbsp.) olive or canola oil
In a large bowl, stir the yeast and sugar into a cup of warm water; set aside for 5 minutes, until it's foamy. (If it doesn't get foamy, either your water was too hot and killed the yeast or it was inactive to begin with – toss it and buy fresh yeast or try again!)

Related: Super-cool! The world's 10 most incredible restaurants

Add 2 1/2 cups of the flour, salt and oil and stir until the dough comes together. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 8 minutes, until it's smooth and elastic, adding a little more flour if the dough is too sticky.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat all over. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for half an hour to an hour, until doubled in bulk. If you want you can let it rise more slowly in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. Makes enough for 2-3 large pizzas.

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Summer Berry Crisp

I love spending time in the kitchen, but summer heat and hectic schedules sometimes make me less than enthusiastic about slaving away in front of a hot stove. Luckily, there's a solution to my summer baking blues - this beautifully simple dessert. This elegant crisp creates the illusion of lots of time spent in the kitchen, and showcases the freshest of summer berries. The reality is about ten minutes prep time and 30 minutes in the oven, and you can use any combination of berries (fresh or frozen - be sure to thaw first) that you have on hand.

Fresh, in-season berries and the cool, clean flavor of coconut oil make this a light and reasonably healthy dessert that's perfect for summer. This 'crisp' contains some unusual spices (black pepper, anyone?) but, trust me, they're guaranteed to bring out the best in your berries. Did you know that cloves and black pepper can make a late-summer raspberry taste even sweeter? You don't have to take my word for it - try this simple desert and see for yourself!

Summer Berry Crisp

fills a 1 1/2 quart casserole

3 cups fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries and raspberries work well)

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup butter

3 Tablespoons coconut oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper*

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

*fresh ground works best, especially with the cloves

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a deep 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Place berries in dish, drizzle with lemon juice and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and spices. Cut butter into flour mixture with a fork and stir in coconut oil until well blended. Mixture may be lumpy. Add oatmeal and stir until just combined. Crumble mixture over fruit, taking care to cover evenly and all the way to the edges. Bake for 20 minutes covered, then uncover and bake for 10 minutes more, or until topping is lightly browned and slightly crispy. Serve hot or cold, with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or a drizzle of pouring cream.

A few notes: This recipe varies greatly depending on the fruit used. If you're using tart or slightly sour fruits, like raspberries or blackberries, you may wish to dust them with sugar before baking. For a crisp made of sweet fruits (i.e. strawberries, peaches or plums), you can reduce the sugar in the topping to 1/2 cup.

The thickness of the fruit filling also varies with the fruit used. If you're worried that your crisp will be too syrupy (this sometimes happens with blueberries), you can coat the fruit with a bit of cornstarch beforehand or bake it in a light syrup of cornstarch, lemon juice and sugar.

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9 Extraordinary Uses for Objects in the Kitchen

1. Hair dryer as salad drier
If you have rinsed and spun your salad, but the leaves are still wet, set your hair dryer on a cool setting and wave it gently over the leaves.

2. A teaspoon as a ginger peeler
When you find it impossible to peel ginger without losing some of the flesh, try this. If you're right-handed, hold the ginger in your left hand and, using a teaspoon, firmly scrape the edge of the spoon along the knob with your right. The papery skin will peel straight off.

3. Dental floss as slicer
Held taut, fine floss can slice layer cakes, soft breads, soft cheeses, butter and plenty of other soft foods more effectively than a sharp knife.

4. Plastic drink bottle as a funnel
Cut off the top third of the bottle and turn it upside down. Now you can easily funnel left - over sauces, gravies, kidney beans or even grease into containers for storage or disposal.

5. A coffee filter as a gravy strainer
Beef and poultry drippings from a roast make the most delicious, flavoursome base for gravy, but are often packed with grease. Save the flavour and lose the fat by straining the cooking juices through a paper coffee filter.

6. Scissors as herb chopper
Use clean household scissors to snip fresh herbs and spring onions into salads or mixing bowls. Scissors are also perfect for cutting steam vents in the crust of a pie before it goes in the oven.

7. Flowerpots as kitchen tool caddy
Store serving spoons, whisks, tongs and other kitchen tools in flowerpots on the benchtop. To make the pots more decorative, you could paint each one in a different pastel or bright color.

8. Wood rasp as lemon zester
A clean, fine metal rasp from a toolbox works perfectly as a zester for lemons, limes, oranges and other citrus fruit. Its tiny raised nubs scrape the fruit's skin to create perfect zest.

9. Shoehorn to remove corn kernels
A clean shoehorn has at least two uses in the kitchen: scrape the wide end along a cob to remove the kernels and use the narrow end to gently release baked goods such as cupcakes, small pies or muffins from their tin.

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