Planning the perfect party or romantic night in? Follow these top dip and cocktail recipes
TURN your perfect dinner party or romantic first date into a swanky affair with these top tips.
Follow these top tips and dip recipes for the perfect evening of entertaining
Finding time to prepare for the ideal night out can be tough, but Radio 1 DJ Alice Levine and acclaimed mixologist Richard Woods may have found the solution to your entertaining needs.
Along with a little help from a tasty new snack from Ritz crackers, the pair have come up with their top tips and recipes to help you plan for the perfect evening of entertaining.
Team their delicious dip recipes and perfect cocktail mixtures with the new Ritz Crisp & Thin for a night that has star appeal for a fraction of the cost.
Ritz Crisp & Thin come in Cream Cheese and Onion, Sweet Red Chilli, Sea Salt and Vinegar and Sea Salt and Black Pepper.
This delicious summer tomato salsa dip goes perfect with Sea Salt and Black Pepper Ritz Crisp & Thin
Summer tomato salsa dip
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
• 20 Baby tomatoes in mixed colours and varieties
• 1 Yellow or green heirloom tomato
• 3tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 Red onion
• 1 Garlic clove
• 1 Lime (juice)
• 1 Red chilli
• Small bunch Fresh coriander
• 2 caps Cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper
Instructions:
• Cut all the tomatoes in half and pull out the watery, seedy middle and discard. This does not have to be exact.
• Finely dice the onion and slice the red chilli (removing and discarding the seeds).
• Add these to the food processor with the crushed garlic, lime juice and olive oil and vinegar.
• Blitz very briefly, retaining a chunky texture. Chop the coriander and stir through.
• Season to taste.
The Lovers Cup cocktail is a rum-based beverage
Lovers cup cocktail
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
• 35ml Light Rum
• 20ml Martini Bianco
• 20ml Tio Pepe
• 2 Tea Spoon Maraschino liqueur
• 1 Tea Spoon Sugar syrup (1:1 caster Sugar:Water)
• 1/2 Tea Spoon Balsamic vinegar infused with strawberries
• Sparking wine//Prosecco//Spumanti
• Stir all with ice cubes and strain into a tumbler or rocks glass.
• Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a couple slices of cucumber.
Instructions:
• Stir all with ice cubes and strain into a tumbler or rocks glass.
• Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a couple slices of cucumber.
Refreshing and cool, this pea, mint and feta dip goes well with Sea Salt and Vinegar Ritz
Pea, mint and feta dip
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
• 250g Frozen peas (thawed)
• 2tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 50g Feta, crumbled
• 3tbsp Fresh mint, chopped
• 1 Small garlic clove (crushed)
• 1tspn Lemon juice
• Salt and pepper
Instructions:
• Blend all ingredients in a food processor.
• Season to taste.
• For a looser consistency add a splash of water.
• Garnish with some chopped mint, a few whole peas and a drizzle of oil.
Try this pea and dill GNT for your night of entertaining
Pea and dill GNT
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
• 225g Sugar snap peas
• 10g Mint leaves
• 20g Dill
• 700ml Gin
For the pea and dill infused gin:
• Into a non-reactive sealable container, pour the gin.
• Add the sugar snap peas once you have broken the shells, as well as the mint and dill.
• Secure the lid and place in the fridge for a min of 24hrs (rolling or gently shaking the mix every so often).
• Remove from the fridge and strain through your home-made filter.
• Bottle and reserve. Mix will keep for 2 weeks if kept refrigerated.
When you are ready for the GNT...
• Fill your glass with ice cubes.
• Add the infused gin to the glass and top with tonic water.
This smokey lemon yoghurt goes well with Sweet Red Chilli Ritz Crisp & Thins
Smokey lemon yoghurt
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
• 500g Total Yoghurt
• 1½ tbsp Smoked Paprika
• 1½ tbsp Sumac
• 4tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Garlic clove
• 1 Lemon (juice and zest)
• Seeds of ½ a pomegranate
Instructions:
• In a bowl stir together all the ingredients, minus the pomegranate.
• Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and and scattering of pomegranate seeds.
If you like whiskey, you will love this sweet and chilli julep
Sweet and chilli julep
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
• 50ml Jack Daniels
• 1-2 Teaspoons Spoons of marmalade
• 8-10 Mint leaves
• Orange zest ribbons
Instructions:
• To your jam jar add the marmalade, mint, ribbons and Jack Daniels.
• Half fill the jar with crushed ice and churn to mix and dilute the flavors.
• Top with fresh ice and garnish
Team the beetroot ripple dip with Cream Cheese and Onion Ritz Crisp & Thin
Beetroot ripple dip
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
• Pack of 4/5 cooked beetroots (not in vinegar)
• 250g Total yoghurt
• 1 Garlic clove
• 1tbsp Ground cumin (optional)
• Small bunch Fresh dill
• 2 caps Red wine vinegar
• 3tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 50g Feta
• Salt and pepper
Instructions:
• In the food processor combine; beetroots cut into quarters, crumbled feta, crushed garlic, cumin, vinegar and dill finely chopped.
• Set aside a tbsp of yoghurt, and put the rest in the food processor.
• Blitz everything in the food processor until it is a thick dip consistency but still has texture.
• Season to taste.
• Transfer to a bowl and very gently stir the remaining yoghurt through so it creates a swirl, like raspberry ripple ice cream.
• Finish with any remaining sprigs of dill.
The mates Mary cocktail is a variation of the Bloody Mary
Mates Mary cocktail
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
• 3g Ground black pepper
• 5g Crushed pink peppercorns
• 3g Sea salt
• 2g Celery salt
• Juice of one lemons
• 15 dashes Worchester
• 500ml Tomato juice
For the consommé:
• Into a non-reactive sealable container, pour the tomato juice.
• Add the other ingredients and stir all - leave to rest for 1hr, secure lid and place in freezer.
• The following morning, remove from the freezer (your mix should now be a solid block)
• Prepare your filter by adding two-fold muslin or a coffee filter to a funnel or large sieve, over a bottle or deep container
• Remove the frozen tomato mix and place in the funnel and allow the frozen tomato mix to drip thaw naturally through your home-made filter. Note: this takes several hours, so place it back in the fridge and return to it to check its progress
• Bottle and reserve clarified juice. Mix will keep for 7 days.
When you are ready for the mate Mary cocktail...
• 50ml Vodka (infused with 15-20gr Basil for 24hrs)
• 50ml consommé
• Pre-chill Martini/Coupette glass. Stir the vodka infusion and consume with cube ice until well chilled.
• Strain into glass and garnish with a floating basil leaf.