True story: In college, I invented a drink called "The Specialty Drink." The recipe: Shot of rum, shot of vodka, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, splash of orange juice all poured in a pint glass, then fill up whatever space was left with beer. As you might have guessed, I sent many an unsuspecting friend towards the nearest trash can.

Recently however, more discriminating mixologists than myself have been concocting a number of exciting new cocktails utilizing beer as a proper ingredient. Credit increased awareness in the depth of flavors and varieties of beer both domestically and abroad for helping to advance the trend.

This past Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an interesting article discussing recent developments in beer-infused mixed drinks in the Bay Area and beyond, including a couple recipes for readers at home. Try your hand at a "Strange Brew" or "The Great Pumpkin" and let me know how it turns out.

Or maybe you can create the next great beer-accentuated cocktail yourself. Though if your idea of creating a mixed drink is simply tossing everything behind the bar into a pint glass, maybe you best leave true mixology up to the professionals. (A lesson I learned the hard way.) Strangely though, sometimes the pros are a bit unseemly themselves. "Two of our previous bartenders...created [the Strange Brew] in hopes of blowing out one of the kegs for a beer change," a bar manager is quoted as saying in the article. "It was so popular that night that we put it on the menu."

Eh, whatever works.

I don't know about you, but I hate having to stop and scrape down my mixing bowl when whipping up a batch of cookies. Well, I just came across a gadget that claims to solve that problem for good.

It is called the SideSwipe Spatula Mixer Blade. This paddle attachment to a stand mixer is made with silicone fins lining the outer blade. The fins enable the SideSwipe to reach all parts of the mixing bowl, including the bottom, and the design of it pushes ingredients down. Thus the SideSwipe is able to incorporate all ingredients fully and you no longer have to stop and scrape.

The only downside is that it may not fit your stand mixer, as this is a pretty new product. The SideSwipe attachment currently fits the tilting Kitchen Aid, but not the lift model. However, they plan on expanding their line in the current months. The website also goes into much more detail and even offers a video demonstration of the SideSwipe in action. So start mixing and don't stop!

[via BakingBites]

Cook's Country never fails to step up with useful information at just the right time, tacking issues that every home cook - even if that cooking is only occasional - faces. At their website, they have a quick guide to mashing methods, a test of a number of gadgets to see which would produce the perfect mashed potatoes. They were looking for soft, fluffy, lump-less spuds. The electric mixer was the first gadget ruled out, as it turned the potatoes "gluey" with overmixing. The hand masher always left lumps, regardless of how long your mashed. The ricer did a very good job, but the food mill was the most consistent, turning out "super-silky and smooth" potatoes every time.

Personally, I use a ricer when I want smooth potatoes and it works beautifully for me. I wouldn't go out and buy a food mill or ricer just for Thanksgiving if you don't already have one because it's not worth cluttering up your kitchen for a gadget that you're only going to use once a year. If you have potatoes frequently and like them to be smooth as silk, however, there is no time like the present to add one to your utensil collection.

Homemade marshmallows are definitely one of my favorite candies. Unlike store-bought marshmallows, they are like little clouds of sweetness that are soft, tender and melt in your mouth. They are easy to eat, go perfectly with coffee, flavored coffee drinks and hot chocolate, and are ideal for making s'mores. They are also surprisingly easy to make, and very impressive when you bring them out to serve to friends or family. The only real drawback is that you really need a stand mixer to make them, as it allows you to keep your hands free while you're working and has a very large whisk (as opposed to the beaters of a hand-held mixer) that does the job quickly and efficiently.

I really recommend using vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean crush instead of plain vanilla extract because the tiny bean specks really look fantastic in the finished candy. Read on for the recipe, which I have made and enjoyed countless times:

Grenadine is the most popular fruit syrup used by bartenders. Unfortunately, the most popular and easy-to-find brand of grenadine, Rose's, has no acutal fruit in it at all. It's high fructose corn syrup with red food coloring in it.

Yum.

Grenadine is actually supposed to be a sweet syrup made from pomegranate juice, which lends it a distinctive color and flavor, though the corn syrup version has become so prevalent, that a straw poll I did revealed that many people believed grenadine was cherry flavored. It can be difficult to find a bottle of the real thing, but the Sonoma's Syrup Co sells an all natural, pomegranate grenadine that I was able to pick up at Williams-Sonoma, despite the fact that it is not listed on their website. The taste is worlds away from the corn syrup stuff and you can feel good about eliminating one more source of high fructose corn syrup in your diet.

New Year's Eve parties are an occasion to get together with friends and family, reminisce about what has been and wonder what is to come. It's a time to resolve to have more fun, be more successful and get healthier. It's also a time to a have few drinks, which, while not necessarily being unhealthy, may not be the rich way to kick start your resolution to lose those extra few pounds. Making a few cuts in your cocktails is actually a good way to save a few calories.

Earlier this year, a list of the most fattening cocktails was released, so you're off to a good start by avoiding the 650 calories in a Pina Colada and the 780 calories in each Long Island Ice Tea. Try to have a glass of water between each drink to balance out your calorie intake and go for smaller servings, instead of novelty-sized margaritas.

Wine, at about 100 calories a glass, is a good choice compared to most mixed drinks, which have higher calorie counts from the juices and sodas used a mixers, in addition to alcohol. For "lighter" drinks, skip the tonic in favor of club soda as a mixer, a calorie-free alternative, or use diet sodas instead of regular. You can add fruity flavors with a shot or two of one of Torani's Sugar Free Syrup, which come in flavors from vanilla to lemon to Irish Cream. While they work well in warming coffee drinks,  HungryGirl has quite a few creative, calorie-saving cocktail recipes to choose from to get your party started on December 31st.