Each month, LUPEC NYC holds an event called Broad Appeal, where a female bartender and her "celebrity" male barback make special cocktails and donate proceeds to charity. This month, Ivy Mix and Miguel Calvo, both dog-lovers, will be behind the bar, with proceeds benefitting the wonderful Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue. Ivy and I both got our pups from Badass, and they are an all-volunteer operation, so every bit helps. Sadly, I'll be out of town, but go have a drink and tell 'em Moxie sent you. 8-12 p.m. on Tuesday, August 21st at Macao Trading Company.
Category: Food and Drink
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Booze You Can Use: Drink for the Dogs!
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Booze You Can Use: Have a Tia Mia
Remember this gorgeous specimen of a cocktail? Well you can read all about how it came to be on ShakeStir in my "Story in a Glass" column. Ivy Mix shares both the background and the recipe, so go check it out! -
Notes on a Paella Recipe
This is the recipe I've been using for paella. It often turns out well, and everyone seems to enjoy it when I make it. That said, it's a very poorly-written recipe. It always takes at least twice as long as the recipe indicates, I always have to cook the clams (and sometimes the mussels) separately, and if you follow their directions and add the shrimp and veggies first, they will both be overcooked. The flavors are solid, however, and it's perfect for a crowd. Here are some of my notes on how to improve it.
Ingredients: 1) If you've got lobster stock, use that in place of chicken stock. It's just better. 2) Use dried chorizo, not fresh, as it adds a much heartier, smokier flavor. 3) Skip the red peppers unless you really like them. 4) When asparagus and snap peas aren't in season, substitute frozen peas. Toss them in for the last 5 minutes of cooking. 5) If you want, you can throw some chicken thigh pieces into the mix. Cut them up into about 2 inch chunks, give them a dose of salt & pepper, and brown lightly in olive oil. Cook them along with the rice in the oven as indicated below.
Technique: 1) Recipe is fine for all the pieces you can prep ahead of time, and I encourage you to do so. This saves time in the end, which is especially good if you don't want to be in the kitchen as much while company is over. Make about a cup more broth than the recipe indicates. 2) Combine the broth and rice as written. 3) This is where I'm going to break off from the recipe. I'd say that it probably takes 30-45 minutes in the oven rather than the 15-20 indicated. Taste as you go until it seems to be the right consistency, or a tad under. 4) Use the additional cup of broth to steam the clams/mussels — adding in that order — separately from the rice. Cook them until they open. Do this when the rice just about done. 5) Add shrimp and veggies at the very end — maybe even after you've taken it out of the oven and are letting it sit covered. The residual heat will cook them. You can tuck the cooked clams and mussels in at this point too.
Also note — the recipe probably makes enough for 8-10, not 6. I'll keep reworking it . . .
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Even *More* Tales from Tales
I know — enough already. I promise this'll be the end of it, unless I decide to write an essay on the magnificent fried chicken at Willie Mae's. When Down South: The Sippin' 5 Places to Drink Well in New Orleans — some of my favorite bars/drinks of the week and A Sampling of Bashes from Tales of the Cocktail — a taste of some of the parties I attended.
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More Tales from Tales (This Time, With Video)
One (of many) event at Tales that I didn't attend was the Spirited Awards. Instead, I went and ate dinner at Cochon with some friends. Given the fact that it's historically a long, drawn-out affair with very little food (and the food that is served isn't particularly good), I think I made the right choice. That said, I did miss some hilarious videos made by Tess Mix of Le JIT Productions. Luckily for all of us, she put them up on YouTube for our enjoyment. Here are my three favorites:
American Bartender of the Year
Sh*t Brand Ambassadors Say (Best American Brand Ambassador)
Best High Volume Cocktail Bar
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Tales of Tales
I made it back from NOLA in one piece, and actually feeling pretty good. I had such a wonderful time, and got to spend quality time with some of my favorite people from all across the country, most notably @rockdoggydog, @allanvkatz & @m_quinn. I even got to spend quality time with people I don’t see nearly enough of in NYC, including @jordanarothman, @chriselford, @vinbar44, @livethelushlife, @creativedrunk & @stevierosenyc.
I had a much better time at Tales this time around. I’d say that part of it was that I knew what to expect, part of it was that I had fewer obligations, and part of it was that I skipped a lot of things on my tentative schedule, focused on the things I wanted to do and the people I wanted to see, and generally just rolled with it. This mentality started when my direct flight out of NYC got cancelled and I ended up taking a three-leg trip just to make sure I escaped the vicious weather that was predicted for much of the East Coast. That bit of ridiculousness paid off, and I made it to NOLA well before my luggage did — it was on the flight on which I was originally rescheduled. I landed and went straight to Coop’s, where festivities were already in progress.
Highlights of the trip included a visit to Willie Mae’s Scotch House, dinner at Arnaud’s, Cochon & Maurepas Foods, drinks at Cure, Belloq, and SoBou, Pig & Punch, and shenanigans with friends near and far.
Points of note:
– I ignored my own advice and went out one steamy night without my trusty water bottle. That night, I was dying for water, and it was hard to come by. Until I found some, I made do with a glass of ice-cold champagne.
– Sometimes, a frozen Irish coffee from Erin Rose totally hits the spot.
– Always keep an open mind at Tales — take advantage of a last-minute invite, taste something new, and be welcoming to strangers. You’ll have a much better time that way.
– Chicken tastes even better when it’s hand-fed to you by the farmer who raised it.
– If there is a zombie apocalypse and/or a drought, you want @rockdoggydog to be your roommate; he’ll make sure all the supplies are covered.
– I didn’t hang out much at the Old Absinthe House this year, and I didn’t really miss it. I also went to bed pretty early my last night after a lovely dinner and a few drinks, which made for a much more pleasant re-entry to NYC.
See y’all next year!
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Gearing Up
Given the size of the bag I'm packing for Tales of the Cocktail, I'm starting to wonder which requires more gear (and more stamina): Tales or the NYC Triathlon? I am going to give the carry-on-only thing one last try (with a spare bag for carrying home swag), but odds are slim. I'm usually very careful about never checking bags; the last time I had used my enormous suitcase was — you guessed it — my last trip to Tales. This picture is from the trip home. Maybe I'll ship some stuff . . .
Already planning/plotting out my NOLA eats, and I can't wait to see so many good friends down there!!
The next question is, of course: which requires the longer recovery time?
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Booze You Can Use: Have a Daiquiri
photo by Nora Maynard
Apparently yesterday was National Daiquiri Day. Yes, there is such a thing. A daiquiri is one of those classic cocktails that is ideal for the summer, and it's simple as hell — fresh lime juice, white rum, and either superfine sugar or simple syrup. I'm actually fortunate enough to have a nice selection of white rums around the house at the moment, including Flor de Cana, Plantation 3 Stars White Rum, and Brugal Extra Dry, so perhaps I'll make a mini daiquiri flight with each to see which I prefer.
Daiquiri
2 ounces white rum
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp of superfine sugar or 1 tsp simple syrup
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Sip & enjoy, preferably at the beach. -
Mixologist
Dedicated to my brother.
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It’s a Dog’s Life
Miss Moxie had a bit of a rough weekend — she got her dew claw caught in a puppy friend's harness while they were playing on Thursday night and it tore down the the quick, so Friday I had to take her to the vet to get it clipped off. She had to be sedated and was a druggy mess on Friday night. She's still wearing the cone of shame so that she won't lick her paw and she's on antibiotics which seem to be taking away her appetite, but is otherwise in good spirits. At the very least, she's better than another of her dog park friends, Winston, who we ran into at the vet. Winston, a daschund, had burned his nether regions on some hot asphalt . . . Here's to a speedy recovery for everyone, but especially Winston!!
In other news this weekend, Mox & I had a lovely visit to Smorgasburg, I joined the 8th Street Winecellar for their 5th birthday celebration after a BYOB Italian dinner in the East Village, and I had a fun Sunday at the SuperDuper Market (Shorty Tang sesame noodles and Humphrey Slocumb ice cream!) before heading off to the Bastille Day celebration on Smith Street. Wound up the weekend with a few episodes of Breaking Bad Season 4. Not too shabby!