Tastes Like Sangria

Tastes like sangria. That’s what I said to Jeff when I first made this. I bought some Aperol a while back, maybe it was for a David Leibovitz cocktail, 🤔 not sure, but I’ve been making this refreshing cocktail that tastes like sangria! I really like Aperol, it’s similar to Campari but not as bitter. It’s super simple and you can easily adjust with a splash of this or that, I have some suggestions in the recipe below. It’s nice when you don’t want to make a big batch of Sangria and just want a glass or two. We’re in for some more hot weather this week and it’s a perfect way to end a 105°F day. 

I’ve been busy making and selling granola the past couple months. I’ll be introducing a new hazelnut flavor later this week! I partnered with a local hazelnut grower Baird Family Orchard and wow! It tastes so good! I’m working on a website for the granola but for now all updates will be here.

Hope you’re staying cool this summer, this cocktail should help. Enjoy.

Tastes Like Sangria

• White or red wine

• Aperol

• Apple Brandy

• Lime seltzer

• Fresh fruit to garnish

• Ice

Fill wine or rocks glass with ice. Add wine half way up. Add .75oz Aperol (about half a shot glass), a splash of apple brandy and top off with a bit of lime seltzer. Garnish with whatever fruit you have on hand. Here I used some home grown grapes, peach, apple and lime wedges.

Champs Elysées Cocktail

I’ve been watching David Lebovitz’s live instagram stories for the past few weeks, not every day but quite frequently. They start at 6pm Paris time which is 9am pacific time here. That’s Apéro hour in France, the equivalent of happy hour in the U.S. But at 9am I’m not always wanting to think about french cocktails that early. He’s promoting his new book Drinking French, and I’ve been learning quite a bit each episode. 

I saw one not too long ago featuring this Champs Elysees cocktail with his guest Margot Lecarpentier, who owns a bar in Paris. Apparently she’s sort of a rock star in the bartending world. Honestly this drink is so good I can understand why. It’s kind of a sweet and sour flavor, it tastes a lot like a green apple Jolly Rancher candy. I kid you not. It’s so delicious!

Her recipe is all in milliliters so I did my best to translate to ounces, but some ml measurements don’t really translate well into ounces so figured out the teaspoon or tablespoon measurements which worked out a little easier. For example 40 ml equals 1.35256 oz. I rounded up on all the measurements and it worked out fine. 

A few thoughts on liquor because some liqueurs and spirits can cost quite a bit and I didn’t want to spend a fortune trying out a new cocktail.

I did a phone order with a local liquor store and asked for the small bottle of Chartreuse, I think it was 375ml, but when I got there they said they were out of stock so she asked if four tiny bottles (50ml) were ok, and I mumbled underneath my mask that it was fine. These small bottles might be a good option if you just want to try some new cocktails without investing in the larger bottle. I think they were about $6 a bottle. 

Apple brandy. The original recipe called for Calvados which can get a little pricy too, so I ordered E&J apple brandy, it’s inexpensive and tastes very very good! So you don’t have to break the bank to have a good cocktail!

Oh, and the original recipe tops the drink with a dash of Angostura which I’m out of so I skipped it, you can try that if you like.

Hope you are all well as we continue to stay home and keep a distance. I’m being super careful when I go out which is about once a week. And thanks so much to any of you that work in healthcare or in the service industry. Cheers!

Champs Elysées Cocktail

• 25 ml  (1 oz) (about 1/2 lime) lime juice

• 10 ml (.5 oz or 2 teaspoons) simple syrup 

• 15 ml (.75 oz or 1 tablespoon) chartreuse green 

• 40 ml (1.5 oz) calvados or apple brandy

Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with a few cubes of ice, give it a good shake and strain into a small cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon peel. Top with dash Angostura bitters (optional)

Old Fashioned Cocktail

Old Fashioned Cocktail. It all starts with Bourbon. Kentucky Bourbon. We went to Kentucky over the holidays to visit with Jeff’s family and friends, I wish I had more photos to share of the farms, the distilleries, the cows, but it was a more personal trip rather than an Instagram trip. And I’m glad that it was. There are moments that are better left with memories in your heart than photos splattered on Instagram. That said I did have some wonderful food and drink. I want to end this year with a cocktail, as I often do, and bring you the Old Fashioned Cocktail. 

It can be made with either Rye or Bourbon, but I think Bourbon is the best choice in this case. The original way of preparing it is by muddling a sugar cube with the bitters. I didn’t have sugar cubes so I made a simple syrup instead. I also don’t like cocktails too sweet so this made it easier to get the sugar ratio to my liking. 

As with many old old recipes, the origins are not clear. But It has its roots in Louisville, KY which claims to have first invented the drink. From there to New York City, who knows? In any case it’s a wonderful cocktail. A couple things I’ll note, the more orange tasting the better (rub the orange peel on the rim), also it’s ok to go heavier on the Angostura bitters if that’s what you like. It’s sort of like adding salt to food, everyone has their taste. 

This year (well the past few years) has had its share of ups and downs, so I’m looking forward to more ups than downs in 2020, lol. It’s been quite a decade! (egads!) I’ve lived in four different apartments and now in one house that we own, over three states and 3000 miles. I started the blog in January 2013 while I was looking for work in San Francisco, it was a fun creative project and still is. I learned a whole lot about cooking, photography and myself. So I guess I’ll always remember the “teens” as my food blog years. Where will I go from here? I’m not sure. We’re always in a place of self discovery, that will never end. But I hope to share what I’ve learned over the years in some capacity. So we’ll see. I wish you all the very best in the coming year and going forward. Cheers! Bourbon! Yeah! Happy New Year! :)

Old Fashioned Cocktail

• 1 teaspoon simple syrup

• 2 good dashes Angostura bitter (adjust to taste)

• 2 ounces bourbon (I use Buffalo Trace, but Maker’s Mark or Woodford Reserve are good options too)

• Orange twist

• Bada Bing Cherries 

Mix the simple syrup and bitters in a chilled rocks glass. Add Bourbon and stir. Add one large ice cube, or a few small cubes, stir until chilled and properly diluted, at least 30 seconds. Garnish with orange twist on the side of the cube and Cherry.

Simple Syrup

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup water

In small pot place sugar and water over medium heat, bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Allow to cool. Transfer to jar and refrigerate. 

Homemade Eggnog

Homemade Eggnog! I partnered with Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs for a holiday recipe and knew I wanted to make eggnog. I’ve been meaning to make it for some time now, I usually buy it in the store this time of year, and honestly it’s been so long since I’ve had homemade I wasn’t sure what to expect but I can tell you right now it is so much better!

When I shop for eggs there’s such a vast range in price, even on the organic end, so I generally buy somewhere in the middle, thinking what could be so different? Well, there really are differences. These eggs are definitely high-quality. They have a nice hard shell that doesn’t crush in your hand when you break it - no bits of shell falling into the bowl or pan, and the yolks are vibrant in color with excellent flavor. They are good to their free-roaming chickens and they are good to the earth too. Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs are free from pesticides, added hormones, antibiotics, and GMOs, and they come from small family farms that are dedicated to humane animal treatment, safety, and environmental sustainability. Most of their farms are on the east coast but their eggs are available here in the Pacific Northwest as well.

As I mentioned before the Eggnog tastes incredible, it’s much lighter and creamier than store-bought. The recipe below is a cooked version which is very similar to making a custard, lots of whisking involved but it comes together very quick. After I added the brandy and bourbon I took a whiff and thought maybe it was too boozy! But it’s fine, after it chills the flavors mellow out and I think it’s a perfect amount. Cheers!

This is a paid partnership with Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs, all opinions are my own.

Homemade Eggnog

• 6 whole eggs

• 1/4 cup of sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup brandy

• 1/4 cup bourbon

• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground nutmeg

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 2 cups whole milk

• Cinnamon Sticks to garnish

Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a medium bowl until light and creamy.

In a saucepan whisk the cream, milk, nutmeg and salt, cook over medium-high heat, whisking often until mixture just starts to simmer. Then whisk the milk mixture into the egg mixture a little bit at a time using a ladle or measuring cup, whisk vigorously to temper the eggs, (you don’t want scrambled eggs!) once you’ve incorporated about a half of the milk mixture pour all of it back into your saucepan and return to stove. Over a medium heat whisk the mixture until slightly thickened and it reaches 160°F (about 2-4 minutes). Remove from stove and stir in the vanilla, brandy and bourbon. Pour into pitcher or jar and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or longer) until well chilled. Serve with some freshly grated nutmeg on top and cinnamon stick. The eggnog will stay fresh refrigerated for one week.

New Year’s Cherry Bourbon Cocktail

I was poking around our bookcase the other day and came across the book Imbibe! which I’ve never read, and still haven’t. But it did get me googling the author’s name David Wondrich, which brought me to Imbibe Magazine’s website (what a great site!) There are so many cocktail recipes it’s hard to pick one. I chose “The Dewberry Hotel’s Panic Button” definitely not for it’s name (although it's not hard to imagine a cocktail being named as such in 2017) but that it contained bourbon and two liqueurs that I’ve been wanting to try out for a long time. Amaro Averna, an Italian digestif, and Heering Cherry liqueur. I made the drink exact to the recipe, but it didn’t look like the drink in the article, however it tastes really good. Jeff thought it was sweet, but I didn’t find it too sweet, lots of earthy flavors with a taste of cherry that’s not overwhelming. I recommend using a large ice cube since they melt much slower than traditional ice cubes, here I used Tovolo Sphere ice molds, we have similar size large cube trays but these seemed to work nice for this style glass, plus they look like snow balls. Oh and just about the best maraschino cherries I’ve ever tasted are Bada Bing Cherries. Wishing you all well for the new year! Goodbye 2017, you were a really weird year. Cheers to 2018!

New Year’s Cherry Bourbon Cocktail

• 1 1/2 ounce Bourbon
• 3/4 ounce Amaro Averna
• 1/2 ounce Campari
• 1/2 ounce Heering cherry liqueur
• 1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
• Large ice cubes or spheres
• Maraschino cherries

Shake all the ingredients with ice to chill, then strain into a glass holding a single large ball or cube of ice. Garnish with cherry.

Recipe adapted from Imbibe Magazine

Watermelon Cocktail

I love summer and I love the heat, but it has been a bit crazy these past few days here in Portland with temps reaching 105°. This Watermelon Cocktail is perfect for these warm evenings, it’s so refreshing and one of the nice things about this cocktail is that you don’t need to add simple syrup because of the sweetness of the watermelon. One thing I want to mention is that the flavors (watermelon, lime and mint) seemed to get better as it rested, it might be a good idea to add the lime juice and mint to the watermelon juice before refrigerating it. I made it right in the glass but I could see this being made ahead of time so all you would have to do is add the vodka. I chose vodka because that’s what we had on hand, but I think this would work great with rum as well. Enjoy and stay cool folks!

Watermelon Cocktail

• 4 oz Watermelon Juice
• 1 shot of vodka
• Juice of 1 lime
• a few mint leaves
• Makes one cocktail

Cut up the watermelon into chunks and place in blender a few chunks at a time and blend high speed until liquified, then continue to add the rest until you’re done. Pour Watermelon juice into a container and refrigerate.

Tear the mint leaves a bit and Muddle them in a rocks glass with the lime juice. Add the vodka and watermelon juice and stir well, add ice and enjoy.