Holiday Brunch Ideas

On Sunday, we went to Robert Verdi's Holiday Brunch at his to-die-for Luxe Labs in New York. Every time we go there, we get a little green over his decorating skills (no one, and we mean no one, can mix prints and colors like Robert can). This time around, we got a little green food and cocktail envy, too. The party was sponsored by Bud Light Lime and all the food and cocktails were made with Bud Light Lime. Are you sitting there scratching your head? We were a little skeptical at first ourselves, too, but converted pretty quickly. (Considering Hope's new love of Bud Light and our obvious affection for Robert Verdi's party, you might mistake us for Bud Light Girls. But no worries-we're still bubbleholics at heart!)

We're still salivating over the Chilled Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops dish. The lobster was boiled in BLL and the shrimp was poached in it. This one is a no brainer--we've been cooking our crabs in beer since before we were the legal drinking age. The more advanced beer dish was Lime Spiked Tropical Fruits--a medley of papaya, mango, pineapples, lychees and more with a "vinaigrette" of BLL, candied ginger, mint and cilantro. We're planning on serving a version of this crowd-pleaser on Christmas morning.

Culinary creative brilliance was in the spotlight with the Limetails, cocktails made with Bud Light Lime. Our fave was the Light White Cosmo--a cosmo made from BLL, vodka, white cranberry juice and framboise liqueur (this is the drink the hunky bartender is pouring in our video montage). Also served up was the Lime Shandy, BLL with sparkling ginger lemonade (that's the drink Anna Ortiz and Robert are drinking) and a Bellini (BLL replaced the Prosecco).

Besides being a novelty and a great excuse to throw a party, the benefit of using Bud Light Lime in your cocktails is a way to save money--it's a heck of a lot cheaper than Cointreau or bubbly. It could cut the calorie count--and who can't use a few less of those these days? It's also potentially lower in alcohol, which makes it better for morning events, like your next holiday brunch.