Van Gogh Gin is a premium gin in a beautiful bottle showing the canals of Amsterdam. Just the bottle alone takes four countries to produce. First the bottle is made in Germany, then it is etched in France, silk screened in Belgium, and the corks are Portuguese. Then the gin is made and bottled in Holland. It is distilled twice in a column still to remove any bad congeners (bad by products if distillation) and then a third time in a pot still to 47%abv / 94 proof. Made in small batches the botanicals are distilled separately, mixed carefully, and then aged to bring all the flavors together. The ten botanicals used are angelica, coriander, grains of paradise, almonds, lemon, liquorice, juniper, cassia, orris, and cubeb berries.

The aroma is deep and complex, with a quick dark and spicy hit buoyed up by fruit and citrus, with a juniper finish. Very pleasing with unusual notes that keep me going back to sniff repeatedly. The taste starts off with a sudden, strong, tangy and spicy note, sort of like a spiced fruit that then turns citrusy. Then there is the long finish with a whole mélange of spices coming along one after another, so fast it's hard to name them. Finally it settles down to juniper, lemon zest, and faint hints of cassia and liquorice. The finish was very long and minutes later I can still taste the lingering botanicals on my tongue. Straight up in a snifter or on the rocks are my thoughts for enjoying Van Gogh. I am not so sure about in a Martini or GnT, since I never got that far, but it has the potential to mix very well if it doesn't get overpowered. This is an elegant and refreshing gin that keeps me pouring excitedly.

One of the appealing things about cupcakes is that the individual serving sizes are incredibly convenient when you are serving them to company. There is no "I'll just have a sliver" or "I want a piece twice that size!" Each person gets one. But you don't always want to make cupcakes because, in part, no matter how trendy they are, they're still not exactly the most elegant way to serve cake. The Buttermilk Mini Cakes with Lemon Frosting, from Jenjen at i love milk and cookies, demonstrate a great way to take advantage of pre-portioned cake servings without opting for cupcakes. The cake is baked in an ordinary rectangular pan, then cooled and sliced before frosting. Jenjen used some beautiful sugar crystals to top hers off, and for a closer look, take a look at this photo.

The Godiva G collection is the ultra-gourmet line of chocolates made by the popular chocolatier. For Mother's Day, they have introduced a limited release 20-piece set of chocolates. Each collection is packaged in an elegant pink gift box and, in honor of the jeweler Aaron Basha, a free travel jewelry case is included with each purchase. Unfortunately, no jewelry is included, but speaking of jewels, each candy in the collection looks like one, with unique and vibrant coloring topping of each of the decadent, intense truffles. The box is $65 and will only be available through May 14th.

There are fifteen unique flavors in the G collection, which you can read about here. I loved the Key Lime Pie and the Salted Caramel, but the Thai Coconut and PB&J, neither of which I had the chance to try, sound fantastic, as well.

When you think about wedding cakes, chances are that you envision a tall, elegant dessert. It has sleek sides and might be adorned with splashes of sugar roses and pounds of buttercream frosting. Even if the cake is simple, ungarnished with excesses of sugar sculpture and fondant shapes, a wedding cake will always be elegant.

At least, almost always.

More and more couples are moving away from the traditional wedding cake model, having cupcake towers so that each guest can have an individual, elaborately decorated cake. The cupcakes maintain the elegance of tradition, but allow for an infusion of fun. Even further from the standard, however, is the snack-food cake. A snack food cake can be made of anything from Twinkies to Snowballs and chocolate donuts. What I didn't realize was how much the trend towards down-market "cakes" was catching on until I saw a "cake" of homemade Ding Dongs in the New York Times wedding announcements over the weekend.

Would you have wanted this at your wedding? Are you considering it for the future? I can't say that I would want it, but I would definitely serve ice cold milk, and not champagne, if I did.

[Image NYT] 

Petit fours are classic party treats. True, they are seen more often on a plate of pastries at an elegant hotel then they are at an at-home party, but that shouldn't be the case. They are easy to make. You can see that I left one of mine only half covered in chocolate so that it would be easier to see the components.

Start with a store-bought pound cake or sponge cake. Cut it into one-inch cubes and then cut those in half lengthwise. Spread a thin layer of jam in between the cake slices and stack them back up. Melt down some white chocolate and dip the cake square into it. Place the dipped petit fours onto a sheet of wax or parchment paper to dry, topping them with sprinkles or other small decorations while they are still sticky. This is a great activity for kids because the chocolate can be melted in the microwave and they definitely won't mind getting their fingers sticky in the chocolate!

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

Millefeuille is a French term meaning "one thousand layers." It is most often used to describe a dessert made with layers of puff pastry and sweetened whipped cream that is also known as a napoleon, but, more generally, it can be applied to any dish that is stacked in layers. This gorgeous millefeuille is from the Tartine Gourmande and though the name sounds fancy, it is not a difficult dish to construct a home, or even to make your own variation on. It is essentially a stacked salad with avocado slices, grapefruit slices and lightly cooked shrimp, drizzled with olive oil. The colors make this an ideal springtime dish, bright and sunny, and the perfect thing to serve at a garden party.