Celebrity Chef and Mom Gail Simmons Debuts Quick and Easy Recipes for This Holiday Season! + a #Giveaway

To celebrate the changing season, Pure Leaf Iced Tea teamed up with celebrity chef and Mom Gail Simmons and entertaining expert and Mom Camille Styles, author of new book "Camille Styles Entertaining: Inspired Gatherings and Effortless Style” to share simple cooking and entertaining ideas for this holiday season. 

                                                                                                                                                          

Gail created some exclusive recipes that are both seasonal and simple to make and will impress your guests this fall. Recipes for a Lemon-Ginger Tea Pomegranate Sparkler and a Shaved Fall Vegetable Salad with Tea-Pickled Radishes 

Top Chef’s Gail Simmons shops Pure Leaf Iced Tea’s indoor Farmers Market at the New York Botanical Garden 

Top Chef’s Gail Simmons shows attendees how to pickle radishes with tea at Pure Leaf Iced Tea’s Fall Luncheon at the New York Botanical Garden 

Pure Leaf is real tea brewed from fresh-picked leaves with only pure &  simple ingredients. No preservatives, no added color, no artificial flavoring.  Pure Leaf teas come in a variety of flavors! Pure Leaf flavors available nationwide include Unsweetened, Sweet, Extra Sweet, Lemon (Diet and Regular), Raspberry, Peach (Diet and Regular), Not Too Sweet Peach, Not Too Sweet Honey Green Tea and Tea and Lemonade.  They are not only great to drink but you can use them in recipes as well! The Pure Leaf master blenders hand-select the leaf tea from gardens in India, Africa and South America for their smooth, distinctive flavor. Our quality tea leaves are harvested at their peak.

My favorite is unsweetened.  When you drink Pure Leaf unsweetened you get get a mouthful of flavor. No extra added flavors just a nice strong tea flavor.  Reminds me of summer! Well the temps are too cool here to put out sun tea.  Now I get my tea whenever I want it!  The peach tea is tangy and sweet! It is a sweeter tea, so those who like the sweet kick will enjoy this tea.  I have enjoyed all the teas but unsweetened is the one I keep coming back to!

In 2014, Pure Leaf’s Share the Love of Leaves program supported real food with a $150,000 donation to Wholesome Wave, a nonprofit focused on making fresh, locally grown food accessible to all.

Camille Styles Tips for Creating an Orange Garland 

•  Cut two large oranges into 1/2” thick slices

•  Lay each slice flat on a baking rack that’s nested in a sheet pan, and bake in a 200 degree oven for 6-12 hours, or until oranges are fully dry

•  To allow air to circulate completely, leave oven propped open a few inches throughout the drying process

•  Once orange slices are dried, easily string each slice onto a long piece of thick jute twine

Gail Simmons Recipes

Lemon-Ginger Tea Pomegranate Sparkler

By Gail Simmons

Serves 2

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, thinly sliced

1 cup Pure Leaf Iced Tea with Lemon

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

Cold club soda

2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds, for garnish

2 cinnamon sticks, for garnish

Instructions: In a saucepan, combine the ginger and Pure Leaf Iced Tea with Lemon and bring to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to steep, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool in an airtight container in the fridge.

Fill two highball glasses with ice. Pour 1/2 cup ginger-infused tea, then 1/4 cup pomegranate juice into each glass. Top each with club soda, garnish with a tablespoon of pomegranate seeds and a cinnamon stick to stir.

For alcoholic version, add 2 ounces gin or bourbon before adding tea.

Shaved Fall Vegetable Salad with Tea-Pickled Radishes

By Gail Simmons

Serves 4

FOR THE TEA-PICKLED RADISHES:

1 cup Pure Leaf Sweet Tea, warmed but not boiling

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 cup apple cider vinegar

8 small radishes, thinly sliced or 4 large watermelon radishes

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Instructions: In a medium bowl, combine the tea with the salt; stir to dissolve. Add the vinegar along with the radishes, garlic and peppercorns. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour or overnight. Drain the pickled radishes, reserving 1Ž4 cup of pickling liquid for use in vinaigrette. Set aside.

Note: The drained radishes can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

FOR THE SHAVED VEGETABLE SALAD:

1/4 cup reserved picking liquid

1 tablespoon honey

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced

2 sweet, crisp apples, such as Gala or Fuji, cored and thinly sliced into half moons

2 small heads radicchio, thinly sliced

4 celery stalks, thinly sliced on a bias, leaves reserved for garnish

2 tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Tea-Pickled Radishes, see recipe above

Instructions: Pour the reserved pickling liquid into a large bowl. Add the honey and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Slowly add olive oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly to emulsify. Add the fennel, apple, radicchio, celery, parsley and pickled radishes to the bowl and toss all ingredients together to coat. Season with more salt and pepper if desired and garnish with celery leaves before serving. 

GIVEAWAY

One lucky reader (US only) will win a giveaway package will include samples of Pure Leaf flavors, Pure Leaf voucher and a couple of Gail and Camille's hand picked essential items for cooking and entertaining. The package retails around $50.

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I received 6 bottles of teat for free in exchange for this post.. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Full Disclosure Policy