The Well-Equipped Cook: Essentials for Your Summer Cocktail Party

Equipment for elegant bar service at home. [View in a Web browser.] [The Well-Equipped Cook: A curated collection of equipment with tips, videos, and recipes for the home cook] [Essentials for Your Summer Cocktail Party] Volume 103 Essentials for Your Summer Cocktail Party Relaxing with a cool, refreshing beverage is one of the simplest pleasures of the warm-weather season—but nothing ruins a great drink like a poor ice presentation or uninspired garnishes. By investing in quality tools, you’ll be able to successfully make all your favorite cocktail—and mocktail—recipes at home. In this week’s buying guide, we’ve collected everything you need to set up your own cocktail bar, from the ultimate shaker to a few of our favorite ingredients. If you want to take your cocktail party to the next level, our new book [Foolproof Preserving] contains recipes for homemade garnishes and flavorful extras perfect for your hors d’oeuvre platters, like Quince Paste, Red Wine Jelly, and Beet Pickled Eggs. In addition to 110 obsessively tested recipes, this guide contains detailed information on the science of canning and what equipment you really need to tackle this time-honored tradition. [view guide] Don’t miss these guides Our buying guides contain recommended equipment from our rigorous equipment testings. We post new guides every week, but they’re available for only a limited time. As we often say, we do the testing so you don’t have to. [Eco-Friendly Kitchen Tools] [Cook’s Illustrated Editors’ Favorite Tools] [Manual Tools’ Modern Makeovers] [Gadgets for Cooking with Kids] [Tools for the Eco-Friendly Kitchen] [11 Tools Cook's Illustrated Editors Swear By] [Manual Tools’ Modern Makeovers] [Cooking with Kids: Gadgets That Are Fun and Safe] KITCHEN MUST-HAVE Metrokane Fliptop Cocktail Shaker [Metrokane Fliptop Cocktail Shaker] [buy now] A quality cocktail shaker is essential for any mixologist, professional or amateur. Our [favorite from Metrokane] features a double-walled steel canister that prevents condensation from forming on the outside. Translation? A good, dry grip when you shake it. Plus, the pop-up top locks securely into place, so you don’t have to worry about leaks either. HOW TO MAKE Curry Deviled Eggs [Curry Deviled Eggs] To make this classic bar snack at home, it’s important to start with perfectly made hard-cooked eggs. To achieve this, we place the cold eggs directly into hot steam, which allows the shells to slip off easily. And to give the mashed-yolk filling bright flavor, we add parsley, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and curry powder. [Get Recipe] [From Our Online Cooking School] Watch and Learn Hard-Cooking Eggs [Watch Video] [Hard Cooking Eggs] TEST KITCHEN QUICK TIP Garnishes That Don’t Just Look Good There are three common citrus garnishes for cocktails, each of which adds a different flavor to the drink. A “twist” is a simple disk of citrus peel that enlivens the flavor. It is squeezed into the drink to release essential oils, rubbed around the rim of the glass, and discarded. Combining the same style of garnish with fire will give you sulfurous undertones and a subdued citrus fragrance instead; simply hold a flame between the drink and the peel so that the oils ignite briefly when you squeeze the peel. The third type of garnish, known as a “swath,” is a band of zest with a little pith attached. It is twirled and placed in the drink, adding citrus notes and mild bitterness from the pith. [More Cook's Illustrated Buying Guides] Made in America: Kitchen Tools We Love Celebrate Independence Day this year with a cook’s twist. We present some of the test kitchen’s favorite tools that are high performance and also sport the distinction of being made in America. This is where stars and stripes meet skillets and saucepans. [view guide] Foolproof Preserving A guide to small batch jams, jellies, pickles, condiments and more. Save 25% [BUY NOW] [Foolproof Preserving] EQUIPMENT GIVEAWAY Weber Smokey Joe Gold [Enter Now] [ENTER TO WIN] This smaller version of our favorite Weber One Touch Gold Charcoal Grill shares many of its attributes. The ample cooking surface fits six to eight burgers at a time or a 1½-pound flank steak. Adjustable vents on the cover and on opposite sides of the grill’s body allow plenty of control over the fire. It can be yours! All you have to do is [click here] and you’re done. One lucky winner will be chosen at random each week, so keep reading The Well-Equipped Cook for your chance to win! Follow Us [Facebook] [Twitter] [Pinterest] [Instagram] [Google+] [YouTube] [America's Test Kitchen] America's Test Kitchen is the home of Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines, America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen public television shows, dozens of best-selling cookbooks, member websites, and our online cooking school, America's Test Kitchen Cooking School. We have a single mission: to help you succeed every time you cook. [FORWARD TO A FRIEND] Offer expires July 6, 2016. All prior sales excluded. No substitutions. We sent you this email because our records indicate that you requested to receive email from America's Test Kitchen. 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