Sweet Blog O'Mine

Author: Laren

  • Booze You Can Use: Have a Collins to Action

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    The Tom Collins is a traditional, lively spring refresher made with gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and topped with club soda. This week I had the privilege of attending a cocktail class with Eben Freeman, who not only showed us his secrets to efficient and precise jiggering, but taught us about basic cocktail formulas and how, putting them to use with a bit of creativity, one can produce a staggering number of cocktails. The Collins family of cocktails is merely a basic sour (spirit, citrus, sweetener) topped with club soda. His Collins to Action is a Tom Collins variation peaturing PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur, which adds a perfect sweet/tart element to the drink. These would be perfect for brunch and/or a lazy afternoon in the sun. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture.  Pictured above is A Bird in the Hand, which we also made during the class. You can find the recipe here.

     Collins to Action
    1 oz. PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
    1 oz. gin
    1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
    1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
    1 tsp. simple syrup
    Club soda
    Combine all ingredients except club soda in a shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain over fresh ice in a Collins glass and top with club soda.

  • Smiles All Around

    I was tickled to see the piece I wrote framed on the bar at one of the bars I highlighted!

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  • Weekend Wrapup

    What a great weekend. On Friday night I went over to Sarah and Arlan's to catch up over a delicious dinner of mushroom papardelle, salad, and decadent cookies and ice cream for dessert.  Saturday morning I took Moxie to obedience class where we worked on "heel" and walking on a loose leash, then headed out to Ba'sik to be an extra for an ice cream commercial — free drinks and ice cream — not a bad way to spend an afternoon! For the evening, I joined Kim and John for a trip out to Red Hook to visit our friend Jim at Cacao Prieto, where we tasted their wares before heading to dinner (and karaoke!) at Hope and Anchor. We finished of the evening at Sunny's, where we listened to live music from the dozen or so bluegrass musicians who gather there every Saturday night. I had a relaxing Sunday morning with Moxie, then met up with Matt for brunch before seeing Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway — having been in a production of JCS is college, it was a welcome trip down nostalgia lane. Afterwards, we had drinks at the Rum House. After a quick stop at home, I caught up with another Matt (this one is a high school friend in town from Texas) before heading to a feast at Maharlika with Lindsey, Caitlin & Jenn. Full and happy, I went home to sleep before starting out another busy week.

  • Booze You Can Use: Have a Moonlight Cocktail

    My Mom emailed this one to me the other day with the subject line "use up that Creme Violette." Now, I don't have Creme de Violette, but I do have Creme Yvette, so I made myself one. Or two. I should have snapped a picture as it was a lovely color as well as tasty. Thanks, Mom!

    The Moonlight Cocktail
    1 1/2 ounces gin (I used Plymouth for the first and NY Distilling Company's Dorothy Parker for the second — much more floral and complex)
    1/2 ounce Cointreau
    1/2 ounce creme de violette (I used Creme Yvette)
    1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
    Pour ingredients into a mixing glass, add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass and enjoy.

  • Don’t Pass Over Passover

    image from instagr.am
    I learned this weekend that, despite having been at most of the same Seder tables I've been at for the past 30 or so years, not everyone in my family has the same understanding of Passover as I do. As I've mentioned in the past, I'm the Jewiest Jew in the family, which isn't saying much, but I do recall the story of Passover from year to year, and have hosted my own Seders.  After a heated discussion based on this recent NYT article in which a new father questioned his own knowledge of Judaism and decided to proactively learn more to teach his son (and decided to write a new Hagaddah in the process), we abandoned The Concise Family Seder, used another, almost too-basic, Hagaddah as an outline for our Seder the following night.

    The result was a hodge-podge, somewhat crowd-sourced Seder where we bounced back and forth from our remedial Hagaddah to my friend Peter and I telling the story of Exodus with fill-ins from the group. It was somewhat unruly — not ideal for a ritual that literally translates as "order" — but fun nonetheless. I was told by some that they got more out of it than our usual Seder — but we'll see how much they remember next year. Maybe I'll draft a brief quiz.

    The following came up over the course of the evening as good sources for basic and/or additional information about the Seder, the story of the Exodus, and Judaism in general:

    The Brick Testament, particularly the story of Exodus.

    The Prince of Egypt – Passover simplified.

    Seder in a nutshell – there is a structure to a Seder. It includes the telling of the Exodus, but there are a few other things we're supposed to do as part of the evening.

    And, my favorite, Google Exodus.

    If you're interested in deeper knowledge of the history of the Jews from 1500 BC to shortly after the destruction of the 2nd temple, you can watch this PBS Documentary:
    http://video.pbs.org/video/1354541084
    http://video.pbs.org/video/1354542849
    http://video.pbs.org/video/1354548543
    http://video.pbs.org/video/1354559410

    Next year, in Jerusalem!!

  • Booze You Can Use: Drink, It’s Pesach!

    Gotta love a holiday which involves a requirement to drink four glasses of wine. If Manischewitz isn't your style, I'd suggest cocktails from The Sipping Seder, which mirrors the elements of the Seder plate, but in liquid form, or some of these thoughtful cocktail creations and Kosher spirits from @winenshine. Either way, L'Chaim, and a happy Passover (and/or Easter) to you and yours.

  • Fresh Air

    After some hemming and hawing about having to remove the bracket on my window that holds up my A/C unit, my superintendent has informed me that my windows will basically be sealed for the next 4-5 months while demolition is being done to the exterior of my building. Given that I keep my windows open at least a crack year-round, I am not pleased. Already feeling suffocated . . .

  • Booze You Can Use: Tequila

    Mark your calendars for these two upcoming events benefiting the Tequila Interchange Project. First, a four course spirited dinner at Mayahuel on Sunday, April 1st with cocktails by Jim Meehan of PDT, Misty Kalkofen of Brick and Mortar, Bobby Huegal of Anvil, and Philip Ward of Mayahuel. Dinner is $75, and you can RSVP at Mayahuel: 212-253-5888.

    If you can’t make it Sunday, head to Astor Center on Tuesday, April 3rd from 7 to 10 for an evening of tequila and mezcal cocktails. Your $25 ticket entitles you to try drinks made by Bobby Heugel (Anvil, Houston), Misty Kalkofen (Brick & Mortar, Boston), Don Lee (Cocktail Kingdom), Joaquin Simo (Death & Co.), Kelley Slagle (Cocktail Kingdom) and Phil Ward (Mayahuel), and benefits the important work TIP is doing to ensure the sustainability of biodiversity and culture in agave distillate production. Tickets are available online: http://www.astorcenternyc.com/class-tips-for-tip-fly-by-night-agave-bar.ac

    See you there!

  • Pro Bono Fest!

    Off to DC this morning for 2 1/2 days of the Pro Bono Institute Annual Conference, where I get to spend time and share knowledge with some of the best people I know. See you there, pro bono peeps! And never fear — making time for food and drink too. Just have to figure out when I can sleep and go to the gym . . .

  • History

    I saw a friend this weekend whom I hadn't seen in probably three years, although we Skype from time to time. Over the course of our visit, we came to the frightening yet strangely comforting revelation that we've known each other for close to twenty years — we met in 1995. So much has happened during that time, both in our own separate lives, and in the evolution of our relationship, yet it's still such a comfort to spend time together and know that we're still there for each other.

    I feel so lucky to have Christopher and many others who have been in my life for 20+ years — here's hoping we'll stick it out for at least another 20. Love you all!