Tag Archives: Peppermint Twist

How to Create and Decorate a Christmas Gift Basket

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One of the most enjoyable of personal or corporate gifts that you can put together is the Christmas gift basket. This type of gift basket can be color coordinated and decorated with ribbons that are in the colors of Christmas. Red and green is a popular color scheme for a Christmas gift basket as are the colors blue and white or red and white. You can also use glitter, snow, and white tufts of cotton to make the basket look more festive.

One very nice idea for a Christmas gift basket is the Peppermint Twist type of basket in which everything in the basket is red and white including foil wrapped chocolates, Christmas ornaments and candy canes. You can also choose items that taste like peppermint to go into the basket such as mint flavored cocoa or chocolates.

You can’t go wrong with a Christmas gift basket that is filled with the traditional foods of the season such as fruitcake, nuts, oranges, candy canes, Christmas cookies, spiced cider and cocoa mix. If you want to add alcohol to the mix try adding Kailua, Bailey’s or cider. One cocktail that is classic for Christmas is Bolls and 7 up which is used to make a drink called the Snowball.

Another great idea for a Christmas gift basket is one for the grandma or mom of the house who likes to bake Christmas cookies. Consider filling a basket with cookie cutters, sprinkles, glitter and cake decorating tubes.

Another nice idea is to fill the basket with Christmas decorations or the pieces for a nativity scene. You can even light up this type of basket by attaching battery run Christmas lights around it.

The corporate Christmas gift basket can include items such as Christmas themed coffee mugs with your branding on it and ornaments to hang on the office tree. Cookies, coffee and cake are also classic additions to this type of office gift.

How to Decorate Cocktails With Creativity II

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Here are some more tips for making a cocktail look absolutely great.
A great substitute for the maraschino cherry in a cocktail is to make your own brandied cherry. All this requires is soaking your favorite type of cherry in a bottle filled with brandy. These brandied cherries can also be used to garnish desserts. You can also try Queen Ann cherries that have been soaked in dry French Vermouth.
To make a cherry tomato flower simply dissect a cherry tomato by cutting it into four slices from the top downwards. However don’t slice through to the base of the tomato. This allows you to fan the “petals” of the cherry tomato. They look great dropped into the bottom of a drink.
Red clover is an edible flower that really goes well with lamb. This is because it has a bit of a licorice flavor. The flower also makes a nice garnish for a glass of Sambuca or Pernod,
Making Sambuca flavored Martini? Try garnishing it with a strip of licorice. Licorice also goes well with milk cocktails.
To add a peppermint twist to a mug of alcoholic hot chocolate or coffee try garnishing it with a candy cane. You can also grind up a candy cane in your food processor until it is powder and use it a rimming powder for your mugs.
Honeysuckle flowers make a beautiful and unusual garnish for just about any type of drink!
A cranberry ice ring can be floated in a punch bowl or simply placed on a plate to keep other items chilled. To make, fill a ring mold with an inch or two of water and freeze. Once frozen, place a pound of cranberries on top of the ice and cover with more water. Freeze until solid and then unmold on a platter or into a punch bowl as desired.
Violet blossoms also look nice frozen in ice cubes to give a drink a dash of purple.

To add a dash of glamour to a glass of champagne sprinkle a bit of edible gold glitter into the glass. Add a strawberry to make it extra elegant.
A smoked oyster paired with a black olive makes a super modern garnish for a modern day vodka martini. In adventurous bars in L.A. the trend is to serve a raw oyster at the bottom of a martini made with pepper vodka.
The next time you serve a rum Collins or any kind of tall rum based drink consider using a long tall stick of sugar cane as a swizzle stick. The sugar in the cane also adds natural sweetness to the alcohol.