You might think that on Kentucky Derby Day, the day where bourbon reigns supreme, I should be celebrating all things bourbon and not pining away for a real agave margarita. I should be teaching you all how to make authentic mint juleps while I regale you with some madcap horse racing story from youth, no? The […]
The Gold Rush Cocktail
This past weekend’s warm weather forced a brief moment of anxiety upon me as I had to contemplate the impending close of “Bourbon Season”. Saying ‘goodbye’ when I am not quite prepared is always awkward for me but eschewing bourbon for the season can be painful. When temperatures start to heat up I know I […]
May 1, 2013 by 11 Comments
Olive Sablés – Pierre Hermé
French Friday’s with Dorie I say with a degree of certainty that the ‘cocktail cookie’ movement is never going to be one I will join and champion across the blogosphere much less turn my party guests onto by serving them at home. Oh, they’re good. Very good in fact. Some are even great. So great you could […]
April 6, 2013 by 26 Comments
Vermouth Cocktail – A Love Letter from My Aging Liver.
Well, what do you know. I’ve discovered this vermouth cocktail just in time—by which I mean, the exact chapter of life where my tolerance has plummeted and my taste has gotten smug. There’s a sad poetry to it. As I’ve aged, my palate has become more refined (less juice, more nuance), while my body has […]
February 21, 2013 by 16 Comments
World Championship Onion Dip
I am not ashamed of it at all and will speak about it freely with anyone yet I still find that every now and then I will have to make a very specific point of coming out, again. Evidently despite my living a genuine life there is one thing about me not easily pick up […]
January 31, 2013 by 31 Comments
Black Manhattan – Dark, Mysterious Averna!
I have been alternately sipping and staring into this deep, brooding, dark Black Manhattan cocktail for 30 minutes now and yet I still don’t know what I want to say about it. Its gravity pulls in all my thoughts and will not let any of them escape. This deep, dark drink has got to be a metaphor […]
January 25, 2013 by 13 Comments
Cheez-it-ish Crackers
French Friday’s with Dorie Haiku Catch-Up Despite the Grand Dorista Powers That Be trying to be kind with their choices of assignments from “Around My French Table” by Dorie Greenspan due to the holiday season, I have been too lazy or just unable to participate much. I managed recently to cook up these three dishes […]
January 4, 2013 by 40 Comments
Aperol Spritz – Roman Sunset in a Glass!
Check out this seemingly off-season Aperol Spritz! Every food blog post this week starts off with the obligatory acknowledgement of an “autumn chill in the air”. While all the other food blog posts turn toward stew recipes and all manner of dishes ably prepared on stovetops or in hot ovens I’m serving this refresher! For […]
September 23, 2012 by 7 Comments
Duck Fat Popcorn
Now that it has been a few years and we are now getting to be closer friends, I feel safe to share one of my most closely held secrets with you. Here it goes: Duck fat. There! I feel so much better now that I have come out to you and my secret no longer […]
September 17, 2012 by 9 Comments
The Negroni Cocktail
I have been enjoying the Negroni since I was eleven years old. Well, not exactly. “There is a thirty year age difference between us thought Mrs. Stone. Then she was ashamed of herself and by the time Paolo had emerged from the bathroom she had mixed two negronis and placed them on the glass-topped table […]
September 13, 2012 by 12 Comments
Panaché (aka the “Shandy”)
Things here have been a bit slow but I assure this dilatory state has been of my own design and is no reflection on the urgent desire I have to share a Panaché with you. I will forgo, however, the traditional (and somewhat narcissistic) exaggerated apologies many bloggers offer when they fail to post […]
July 21, 2012 by 19 Comments
Rosemary Parmesan Crackers
I ran into an old friend a couple of weeks ago while shopping at the supermarket. Her name is Rosemary and she is someone I knew back in elementary school. I happened to have some fresh rosemary in my shopping basket at the time. It was a coincidence that I found amusing so, true to form, […]
May 7, 2012 by 53 Comments
Horse’s Neck Cocktail – Bourbon Time!
Am I too late to post a New Year’s Resolution? It involves this Horse’s Neck Cocktail. Please don’t hold my resolution tardiness against me — I not resolving to be more timely in 2012 so there! No, I know better than to do something as futile as that. When it comes to resolutions I prefer […]
January 13, 2012 by 15 Comments
The Liberté Cocktail
I know its not considered correct these days to say “I need a drink”. As if “needing a drink” puts you one stop short of addiction. But fuck, I really needed this one. I mean NEE…DED. For medicinal purposes or course. I’m sure my doctor would have prescribed one (or two as the case turned […]
July 16, 2011 by 14 Comments
Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp aka “those shrimp things”
These shrimp things” are orange and rosemary prosciutto-wrapped grilled shrimp marinated in Sambuca — a cult-favorite appetizer with a story, a following, and just enough drama.
September 28, 2010 by 3 Comments
