Nonalcoholic

Editor's note: This recipe is from Michele Adams's and Gia Russo's book Wedding Showers: Ideas & Recipes for the Perfect Party. Floating petals on top of this pretty punch adds color to the buffet table. Make sure you choose flowers that haven't been sprayed with chemicals.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Michele Adams's and Gia Russo's book Wedding Showers: Ideas & Recipes for the Perfect Party.

This is our version of chai-shop chai, flavored with a little cardamom and mellowed with hot milk and sugar.

This was a popular nonalcoholic drink at the Rainbow Room.

(Sharbat-e gol-e Mohammadi) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Najmieh Batmanglij's's book New Food Of Life. Batmanglij also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Batmanglij and Persian cuisine, click here.

Don't stress if you can't stop your Self from sipping this lip-smacking shake: One glass provides more than 60 percent of your RDA for bone-building calcium. Another perk: The rich chocolate taste is strong enough to satisfy even your most intense cravings. Milk shakes — they do a body good.

Alicia Silverstone, who follows an organic vegan diet, sips this nutritious elixir, which personal chef and friend Lesa Carlson mixes for many of the star's private affairs. It's a tasty health potion: The mint, fresh peach juice, and honey deliver cancer-fighting antioxidants.

Sunday snack. From Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley, Arizona. A (barely detectable!) hit of flaxseed oil transforms this smoothie into a treat for your digestive system. (Flaxseed aids regularity.) The oil is rich in healthful omega-3 fatty acids.

Be sure to prepare the syrup at least a few hours before making drinks so that it has plenty of time to chill.

If you normally take your coffee with milk, you'll find this particular recipe for black coffee a welcome change—the molasses and cinnamon give it a warm and slightly exotic depth that's simply irresistible. Be sure to use coffee that is not finely ground.

Flavored teas such as Meramieh are served mainly in the afternoon when friends come over to visit. The tea is presented on a tray, surrounded by small colored or clear delicate glasses or tiny cups and saucers. Sugar and spoons are placed on the tray for each guest to add as much sugar as he or she likes.

Not all juicers are created equal — the amount of juice extracted varies from brand to brand. The weight ranges for the ingredients below will ensure that you have enough juice.

Healthy bonus: Antioxidants from tea, 5 calories per glass

Homemade ginger beer is concentrated, dry, and noncarbonated, making it ideal for mixing directly into cocktails. The ginger beer's appearance will be cloudy; this is natural.