Ice Chiller for Wine or Champagne: A Tutorial

I shared how to make this wine chiller last year, but I thought it would be fun to share that post again in case you're looking for something fun for your Christmas table or for your New Year's eve celebration.  It's easy to make...you'll just need a couple of containers, water and cranberries.  Sliced lemons and limes would work, too.

Tutorial:  Make a wine chiller:

Last year I received a catalog in the mail and it showed this pic/ad. I was tempted to order it until I realized the silver bowl was plastic. I remembered I already had a silver bowl, so I decided to try and make the ice chiller with things I already had and save myself $29.00.




The Before:
The only items I had to purchase were a bottle of wine, cranberries and distilled water. You don't have to use distilled water so you could save the expense of buying that, if you like. But I discovered when I made flower ice cubes HERE, distilled water will usually freeze pretty clear, and it's only $1 for a gallon...more than enough for my ice chiller. If you would like your ice chiller more frosty looking like the one in the catalog, just use tap water.




I searched around the house and decided on this tin for my mold. (It measures 6 1/2 wide by 7 1/2 tall.) This worked fine except for two snags. 1. It leaked very slowly, so I had to add a little more water to it after about 45 minutes. It was such a slow leak in the freezer, the water froze as it leaked out, so I just broke it off and tossed it in the sink. I think that could be prevented by running a bead of hot glue around on the inside bottom where it meets the sides, prior to using it.

2. The other little snag is the indention near the top made my ice mold a little tricky to get out. A container that's completely smooth at the top would work better. Just DON'T use glass. If you used glass, it would be very difficult to get your ice chiller out because you'll need to run warm water over it and glass would most likely break.)



I found a plastic container to use in the center...it's an old Tupperware container/pitcher. (Again, please do not use glass for this part either...same reason...it would break with the temperature change.) I placed the wine inside to make sure it was the right size for a bottle of wine. It was perfect. (It measures around 3 1/2 inches wide by 8 1/2 inches tall.)




I needed something heavy to go in the center container so it wouldn't float. Clay cat litter almost worked, but wasn't quite heavy enough. Next I tried pennies from a huge penny jar collection and that worked great. Sand, marbles or even pebbles/rocks would work fine, too.




I stuck the container (filled with pennies) into the cannister and poured distilled water all around, saving just enough room for 1 full bag of cranberries at the top. You can pour some of the water off or add more--whatever you need to do to get your cranberries right up to the top.




After it had frozen overnight, I took the lid off and poured out all the pennies. Next I refilled the center container with warm water, being careful to not get water on the ice inside. In this pic I had just dumped the pennies out into the big container you see on the left. I ran just a little warm water into the center container, it came right out.

I didn't take any pics of me fighting the ice chiller out of the tin container.  It was loose toward the bottom but that blooming ridge at the top of my container got wedged with a cranberry. I kept running warm water on the outside of the container near the top and it finally let go.



After:
This is the only pic I have with the lamp off, and it shows the shape of the ice chiller best. It's the shape of the small tin I had used. Note how much clearer distilled water freezes than tap water.

The rest of the pics are a bit harder to see due to the light reflecting inside the bowl, but I think you'll get the idea.

Wouldn't this be a fun way to serve your white wine for a dinner party, holiday party, or New Year's Eve? I bet there are lots of other things that could be added besides cranberries. Lemons, limes or orange slices?  I'll be keeping my eye out for a better container than the tin one, for the future--but I am happy about saving $29.

Merry Christmas!

A Film for Foodies

Have you seen this 1 minute video? Three guys (Rick Mereki, Tim White and Andrew Lees) traveled around the world for 44 days...and they filmed the food they ate. I don't recognize most of it...but it looks pretty yummy.  Different, but yummy. Well, all except that fried grasshopper looking thing. Yuck.

Click on the tiny 4 arrows in the right hand corner to view the film full screen, then hit escape on your keyboard to exit when done.


EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

How many types of food did you recognize?  Wouldn't this be the life...traveling and eating.  I could do this! Sign me up!  :)

Linking this to Foodie Friday at Design by Gollum.

Quick and Easy Snack or Appetizer for Foodie Friday

Looking for an appetizer or snack that's a little different...not the same old avocado dip or chips and salsa? If you like sweet potatoes...and maybe even if you think you don't like sweet potatoes, here's a great Paula Deen recipe you just might want to try. It's called Sweet Potato Chips and I found it in her cookbook, The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook.




When I had friends over a couple of weeks ago for a cookout, these were a huge hit. We ate so many, we almost didn't have room for our burgers!



I only cut up one good size sweet potato and it made a couple of cookie sheets worth of chips. They aren't really like chips...a little thicker than that. I left the skin on the potato when I made these. Just slice your potatoes about a 1/4 inch thick and then dip them in some melted butter. Hey, you know a Paula Deen recipe is going to have butter in there somewhere!  This pic was taken after the butter treatment.



Chop up some honey-roasted peanuts in your little mini chopper or Cuisinart...and sprinkle them across the tops of your sweet potato chips.



Pop 'em in the over at 450 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. Mine cooked faster than that...so check them often. Here's how they look when they are all done. I forgot the salt sprinkling (at the end) that's mentioned in the recipe...but they tasted great! Seriously...we couldn't stop eating them!

See you over at Designs by Gollum for lots more mouth watering delicacies.

Strawberry Cheese Ring Appetizer

Julia...at Hooked on Houses is having a Hooked on Fridays Party today!  If you haven't visited her blog yet...be sure to stop by...you'll love it as much as I do. Just click HERE to visit Hooked on Houses.

Today is also, Foodie Friday, sponsored by our dear, Gollum, AKA, Michael, at Designs by Gollum! Every Friday you can see some of the most incredible dishes and get some great recipes! Click HERE for a Foodie Friday extravaganza!

For Foodie Friday, I thought I'd share a yummy appetizer that I've made several times and is always a big hit. Plus, it's super easy and fast...can't beat that!

The recipe comes from Paula Deen's cookbook, The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook...it's a great cookbook with lots of good Southern cooking. You can find it on Amazon.com, if you'd like a copy.



This appetizer is a Strawberry Cheese Ring...I know, sounds kind of weird...but it sure is tasty! :-) If you click on this pic, it will enlarge A LOT, so you can copy down the recipe.



Here are the ingredients you will need...



Just throw them all in your mixer...





Follow the directions in the recipe to shape the cheese mixture into a ring...



I go one extra step. I like to add chopped pecans all over the surface...I just think it looks prettier this way. :-)



Then add your strawberry preserves into the center...and you're all done!


Don't forget to stop by Designs by Gollum for more links to some fabulous cooking!

Game Night with Trivial Pursuit... Welcome to the 26th Tablescape Thursday & the First Ever Foodie Friday!

It's game night, grab a Coke and come join in. In pursuit of some fun, I'm hoping you won't think it too trivial if I share this little tablescape, and a little tale of a night I'll never forget. :-)


Many, many years ago, when my DH was a mere Captain in the U.S. Army, Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG Corps), we were invited to dinner at the home of one of my DH's superiors, a Colonel, who was also an Officer in the JAG Corps. After dinner, the Colonel and his wife eagerly suggested a game of Trivial Pursuit.


They suggested we team up..."them" against "us." Though I knew my DH was one smart cookie, so was the Colonel and his wife. He was an Attorney, like my DH, and she had her PhD in Psychology. Plus, they were both licensed pilots...we were just a little bit intimidated.


You could sense their excitement...they made a point to tell us they had NEVER, EVER lost a game of Trivial Pursuit. Well, up until that night, neither had my husband. I, on the other hand, have a memory like a sieve! (LOL)


I knew I was probably going to be next to useless, in answering questions throughout the game. However, I had complete confidence in my DH. I had often accused him of being a "walking set of encyclopedias." This was before the days of Google or would have accused him of being a "walking Google!" :-)


The game commenced and we were holding our own...thanks to my DH. Each couple was allowed to confer with their partner when their turn came up. As I had anticipated, I was of little help to my DH throughout the game.


We had been playing for what seemed like FOREVER! The Colonel and his wife were getting edgy because we were tied, neck and neck.


We had each been in the center once. And now, as the dice was rolled by my DH, we were in the center again, needing just one last pie slice to win the game. With raised eyebrow, the Colonel read the question...you could have cut the tension with a knife!


I don't remember the exact wording of that final question...but it basically went like this: What substance, sometimes used as a sweetener, can also be used as an antiseptic for a cut or wound?


FINALLY, I KNEW ONE! I eagerly leaned over and whispered into my DH's ear...it's "honey"...the answer is "honey." He looked at me like I was nuts and asked, "Are you sure?" "YES, yes," I whispered. "The answer is honey!"


My DH didn't know what to think; he slowly and somewhat reluctantly turned to the Colonel and his wife and asked, more than stated, "honey?"


I will never forget the look on their faces. It was all we could do to keep from jumping onto their table and doing a little jig right there! As my Father-in-Law was often known to say, "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then." That would pretty much describe my talents at Trivial Pursuit. :-)


Hope you enjoyed this tale of Trivial Pursuit. Please take time to visit each of the tablescape links posted above. I can't wait to see all the wonderful tablescapes on this Tablescape Thursday! :-)

(Several folks have asked about the Trivial Pursuit paper plates and napkins used in this little tablescape. I'm sorry to say, I'm not sure now where I purchased those because they were bought so many years ago.)




Friday is the first Foodie Friday and I'm joining in with my Tablescape Thursday post. Ok, I know I'm just serving up good ole Coca-Colas and Popcorn...but I can't miss out on the first ever Foodie Friday, hosted by our dear Gollum, at Designs by Gollum. To view some wonderful foods that weren't popped in a microwave or poured from a bottle :-) just click HERE.

If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click on the pink TT logo in my sidebar for detailed instructions.

Please copy and paste the Tablescape Thursday logo button to your computer. Then you can upload it to your side bar and use it in your tablescape post so your visitors will know you are participating.

Please link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting your blog, find the other wonderful tablescapes posted on this Tablescape Thursday.

Please do not add your link below, until your tablescape post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs have beautiful tablescapes awaiting your visit:

Photography That Will Make You Hungry...

Take a look at these amazing pics! Nice, huh? Well here's the shocker...all the items shown in these pics are actually FOOD! These scenes are the work of Carl Warner and they are all created using only food! If you look closely you can identify the food used to create them.

Is the river (or ocean) chocolate milk? :-)

Can you imagine the time it took to do all these?! I read at the artist's website (link at the end of this post) that different sections of the scenes are arranged and photographed. Then Mr. Warner puts all the photographs of the different sections together for the final picture. Otherwise, the food would all wilt before the whole thing could be fully assembled and photographed.

Aren't these all so clever! Is that a pasta tablecloth above? I think the mountains below are bread...what do you think?

Don't you love the broccoli trees? I think I see a radish and lime hot air balloon!

What is the truck made from? Do you think the trees are parsley or celery leaves?


Carrot stalactites...brilliant!

Here's the address for Carl Warner's website: http://www.carlwarner.com/warner.html
Enjoy! :-)