Tag

happy hour

Pineapple Rum Mai Tais

written by Ali

As we are winding down #cookoutweek2018, I had to share my new favorite barbecue cocktail - Pineapple Rum Mai Tais! I’m such a fan of tropical drinks. I’ve had Mai Tais at Trader Vic’s in Las Vegas, while swimming around a pool in Mexico, and while hanging out in the bar at the Tide Table in Majuro (Marshall Islands). I’m sad to confess that this is the first time I’ve made a Mai Tai at home. Part of it was not having the critical ingredient for a Mai Tai: Orgeat or almond syrup. Fortunately, Amazon Prime is my friend and I was able to check out the review for about a dozen different brands of almond syrup and then order the best looking one to make these Pineapple Rum Mai Tais. Which was a good thing, as I’m taking a staycation this week and next and, while the weather is definitely not tropical, I do live on the coast and can at least hear the ocean from our patio if the tides are just right. Pineapple Rum Mai Tais are on my list of cocktails to make several times over the next week.

My other secret ingredient for these Pineapple Rum Mai Tais is the pineapple rum itself. I’m also super lucky to live in the same town as Stillwagon Distellery. Stillwagon makes the most amazing rums - while the pineapple rum is my favorite, I’m also a huge fan of the cranberry rum, as well as the Persian Reed Vodka. Stillwagon Distillery products are available in many liquor stores across Oregon, but if you happen to be on the Southern Oregon coast, it’s a treat to go to one of the tasting rooms in Bandon and in Florence.

Back to the Pineapple Rum Mai Tais. You can definitely make these with other rums - I’d suggest a dark rum for maximum flavor. So shake up a cocktail, relax, and enjoy the summer!

Yum

Pineapple Rum Mai Tais

Ingredients

2 ounces pineapple rum
1 ounce orange liqueur
1.5 ounces almond syrup (Orgeat)
Juice from 1 lime
Juice from 1 orange
4 ounces pineapple juice

Instructions

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and shake. Serve in a tall glass and garnish with fruit.
Serves 1. Enjoy!

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June 29, 2018 1 comment

Beverages Musings

Brandy, Benedictine, and Books

written by Ali

First off, I have to say that if there is ever a book town I want to live in, it’s Three Pines in Quebec. Mostly because I want to curl up in the cafe with a B&B - a brandy and benedictine and just watch all the interesting characters go by.

What’s the book world I’m infatuated with? It’s the world of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache - the creation of Louise Penny. Penny’s books are set between the fictional town of Three Pines and the metropolis of Montreal. The cast of characters are delightful - without a doubt, my favorite (after Gamache) is Ruth - the elderly poet with her duck, Rosa. And I’m not going to tell you what FINE stands for - you’ll have to read the series to figure it out. Safe to say, though, it’s how I feel many a day.

Of course, one of the other reasons I really love this series is the food and drink. Gamache eats (and drinks) really well. There are many descriptions of great dinner parties, not to mention all the croissants consumed at the B&B and cafe. I serial read three books over my break, which is probably why I didn’t spend nearly as much time cooking as I normally would.

One of the drinks referenced many times as an after dinner aperitif is a B&B or Benedictine and Brandy. I’ve had Benedictine lurking at the back of the liquor cabinet for awhile now. I’m not even sure why I bought it in the first place. And I always have a cheap brandy on hand for sangria. Note to self - it’s time to up my game on the brandy, as I think this would taste much better with a higher quality one.

Benedictine liqueur, by the way, is a secret blend of twenty seven distilled herbs and spices (three of which are Angelica, hyssop, and lemon balm). Benedictine has been around since 1510. A B&B is an easy combination of 1 to 1 Benedictine and Brandy, served over ice or served neat. I’m a lightweight these days, so I found that a B&B served neat was a bit overpowering. I opted to toss in some ice.

So the cocktail recipe this week is 1 ounce Brandy, 1 ounce Benedictine and some ice. I highly recommend sipping this with a little jazz on the stereo and a Louise Penny book in hand. Enjoy!

January 19, 2018 0 comment

Beverages Holiday Recipes

Meyer Lemon Curd Martini

written by Ali

Confession time - my meyer lemon curd martini may just be my latest cocktail crush. I could drink one of these just about any day of the week, but I’m working on being healthy this year, so I’ll save it for the weekend.

My inspiration for this beauty of a cocktail started with Meyer lemon mini-tarts that I made for New Year’s Eve dessert. Every year, I aim for a fancy dessert at New Year’s. It just seems like the right way to end, and start, the year. 2015 ended with Kahlua cheesecake; 2016 ended with tiramisu; and 2017 was all about the Meyer lemon. I bought mini tart pans just days before the end of the year (yay for Amazon Prime!). I made my own pastry crust. And then I made the lemon curd. It was tart and sweet and perfectly creamy and I had way more than I had expected to make.

First week back at work after New Year required curd in my yogurt. Yes - required. There was still leftover Meyer lemon curd. So I obviously started thinking about cocktails.

All this meyer lemon curd martini takes is some curd (here’s a great recipe for making your own)., some gin, and meyer lemon juice. If you like your cocktails on the sweeter side, feel free to add a spoon or two of simple syrup. Otherwise, be prepared to pucker up and enjoy.

Yum

Meyer Lemon Curd Martini

Ingredients

2 ounces gin
Juice from 1/2 Meyer Lemon
2 tablespoons meyer lemon curd

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain and serve in a martini glass. Enjoy!

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January 12, 2018 1 comment

Beverages Holiday Recipes

Classic Dry Martini

written by Ali

Sometimes, it doesn’t take more than a classic dry martini to celebrate the end of a week. This particular martini also welcomes a much needed break. The house is all decked out for Christmas. I’m almost done with my Christmas shopping. And I have two weeks off . Two glorious weeks of sitting around the house, listening to Diana Krall, and wandering the beach. Definitely in need of a classic dry martini to celebrate all that!

Sometime over the course of this past year, I read a delightful book called Dinner with Edward for the Cook the Books . I made mini strawberry chocolate galettes for the Cook the Books Club, but also started using the martini making technique described in the book. It’s easy as can be - mix the gin and vermouth together in a small glass. Freeze until thoroughly chilled. Chill the martini glass. Perfect classic dry martini.

I’ll admit to a little bit of creative license here. I did add a strip of lemon peel and twisted it to get just a bit of lemon oil into my martini. For those of you who are long-term Fix Me a Little Lunchers, you’ll note that one of my all time favorite podcasts is Martinis and Murder. I love that Bartender Matt is always adding a twist of lemon to the martinis he makes for the hosts. Given how terribly far behind I am on listening to that podcast, it looks like I’ve got something else to add to my holiday to-do list.

Yum

Classic Dry Martini

Ingredients

2 ounces gin
1 ounce dry vermouth
1 slice lemon peel

Instructions

Combine the gin and dry vermouth in a glass. Freeze until chilled. Freeze the martini glass at the same time. Pour the gin and dry vermouth into the chilled martini glass. Twist a lemon peel over the top and use to garnish. Enjoy!

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December 15, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Dark and Stormy Grave Digger

written by Ali

A Dark and Stormy Grave Digger is a great adult drink for Halloween. I can’t believe Halloween is just a few days away. I’m a little sad, as I’ll be traveling for work on Halloween, so didn’t bother decorating this year. I’ve been binge watching past seasons of The Simpsons though, and enjoying each season’s Treehouse of Horror. I have to say that my all-time favorite is still one of the very early ones when James Earl Jones narrates Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. When the Bart-raven bonks Homer on the head with a censer, I still laugh aloud. Yep – I’m that much a nerd.

Back to the Dark and Stormy Grave Digger. I’d wanted to make an appropriately Halloween-y cocktail for a few weeks now. At the same time, I’m also still obsessed with the pineapple rum from Stillwagon Distillery. I thought it might be fun to make a Dark and Stormy using pineapple rum and ginger beer. The problem is that I haven’t been able to find ginger beer anywhere here in our tiny town. Fortunately, we were up in the Portland area for work last week, so I did a run to my favorite liquor store in Vancouver, WA and stocked up.

My Dark and Stormy wasn’t nearly as dark and stormy as I’d hoped. However, with a hefty sprinkling of black sanding sugar, these cocktails look positively like they are from the grave.

Yum

Dark and Stormy Grave Digger

Ingredients

4 ounces rum
Juice from 1 lime
1 bottle ginger beer

Instructions

Put ice in two cocktail glasses. Divide the lime juice and ginger beer between both glasses.. Add 2 ounces rum to each glass.
Serves 2. Enjoy!

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October 27, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Dill Pickle Dirty Martini

written by Ali

If you are looking for the perfect fall martini, look no further than my dill pickle dirty martini. I have always been a fan of a good dirty martini. The briny quality of olives combined with gin and dry vermouth makes me so happy. However, on a Wednesday night, when I’ve already had a long week of meetings, and I’m completely out of wine, I might just turn to the gin and Vermouth. And if I’m out of olives…

Last Wednesday was one of those Wednesdays. First, there was the tragedy in Las Vegas. Then, the news that Tom Petty had died of a heart attack. I was sad last year when Bowie and Prince died. But I am devastated by Petty. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been constants in my life. I saw them in concert at Red Rocks and again at the Matthew Knight Arena several years ago. I grew up listening to the Traveling Wilburys and enjoyed the character of Lucky on King of the Hill. When the world looked really bleak for me a few years ago, I queued up the best of Tom Petty and rocked out to Last Dance with Mary Jane. So it’s safe to say that last week was rough.

Mid-week, I was out of wine (not because I drank too much but because we hadn’t made a Grocery Outlet run the weekend before). To cure my obvious grumpiness, hubby suggested I make a mixed drink and my initial meh became a bit more enthusiastic when I realized I had gin, dry vermouth, and pickle juice.

A dill pickle dirty martini doesn’t cure all the problems in the world, but it can improve one night. I queued up the best of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and made myself a drink. Something about the sweet and salty of this drink just makes me happy. All the better that I have homemade pickles, so that means I have homemade pickle brine with the right combination of allspice, bay leaf, cloves, and dill to make this drink.

So if you are out of olives, don’t despair. A really good dirty martini is still an option. So tonight, I’m going to make myself a dill pickle dirty martini. I’ll sit on my patio and say cheers to Tom Petty in heaven.

Yum

Dill Pickle Dirty Martini

Ingredients

2 ounces gin
1 ounce dry Vermouth
1/2 ounce pickle brine
Dill pickle slices to garnish

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake. Strain into a martini glass and enjoy!

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October 13, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Pineapple Rum Piña Colada

written by Ali

I know it’s October and I know that there are parts of the US where snow is just around the corner. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s always the right season for a Pineapple Rum Piña Colada. Mostly because I just discovered a new favorite spirit – pineapple rum from Stillwagon Distillery. Stillwagon Distillery is, for us, local. They have a great tasting room in Bandon, Oregon and another in Charleston, Oregon – so basically in our little coastal backyard for both.

Stillwagon crafts very unique rums, including cranberry, feijoa, mocha, and pineapple rum. They also distill spiced rum and other types of rum. I’ll confess that when I went rum tasting last weekend in Bandon, I only managed tasting five flavors. I’m a little bit of a light weight when it comes to hard liquor. I loved everything that I tasted though, and finally landed on pineapple rum as the one I wanted to start with to create drinks for the blog. First off is Pineapple Rum Piña Colada. I can pretty much guarantee there will be other drinks showing up here in a few weeks.

I especially like the local aspect of this rum. I’m encouraged by how many craft distilleries and breweries are popping up everywhere in Oregon. There’s an artisan quality to what’s produced that makes for extraordinary drinking. I can definitely see sitting down with a glass of rum on ice just as easily as making use of this rum in a cocktail. I’m definitely seeing a Mai Tai in my future. I opted to start simple and go with a classic: Pineapple Rum Piña Colada.

Conveniently, I had frozen coconut milk from a recipe a few weeks ago. I combined some coconut milk, some pineapple juice, and pineapple rum, then shook it up with some ice and called it good. This was a perfect cocktail for snuggling up with the dog and watching Project Runway. I’m all about the guilty pleasures.

Yum

Pineapple Rum Piña Colada

Ingredients

4 ounces pineapple rum
4 ounces pineapple juice
2 ounces coconut milk

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake. Pour into martini glasses and enjoy!
Serves 2

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October 7, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Last of the Season Sangria

written by Ali

We are already in the middle of September, and to celebrate, I’m sharing this last of the season sangria. We’ve had sunny lovely days the last few weeks. But the nights have just a touch of autumn in the air and rain is in the forecast again. I’m a seasonal wine drinker: when it’s above 60 degrees, I’m much more inclined to drink white wine. When the temperatures dip consistently below that, I hibernate and start drinking red.

The last of the season sangria is the last hurrah for white wine. I used my favorite nostalgia wine for this sangria: Bridgeview’s Blue Moon Riesling. I’ll admit that the first time I bought Blue Moon Riesling, I was totally attracted to the bottle design. I knew it was a white wine, but had no idea the difference between a Riesling or a Chardonnay or any other wine in between. I just thought the bottle was pretty. I also call this my nostalgia wine because it always reminds me of my very first trip to Oregon, nearly twenty years ago. I had no idea at the time that I would eventually end up living in this beautiful place, much less living on the Oregon coast. I didn’t have any idea I’d also develop a deep appreciation for Oregon wines, but here we are.

This last of the season sangria has the velvety flavor of caramel. I combined brandy, orange juice, and Riesling for the base of the sangria, and then tossed in the fruit I had on hand. In this case, it was the stragglers from the last blueberries from the farmer’s market, a lemon, slices of orange, and slices of apple. You could also make this with plums, pears, etc. I highly encourage you to make this last of the season sangria, sit back on the patio on a warm autumn afternoon, and enjoy!

Yum

Last of the Season Sangria

Ingredients

1 bottle slightly sweet white wine (Riesling or similar)
Juice from one orange
1 cup brandy
Assorted fruits (apples, oranges, lemons, blueberries, pears, etc.)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a large jar or carafe. Refrigerate for a few hours. Serve over ice.
Enjoy!

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September 15, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Coastal Sunset Martini

written by Ali

This coastal sunset martini combines several of my favorite cocktail ingredients: gin, grapefruit bitters, and Aperol. I realize that I really enjoy bitter as a flavor profile for my cocktails. This makes Aperol the perfect addition to many a drink.

The inspiration for this week’s cocktail is two-fold. Last week, I had to go to Eugene for a meeting. I knew the weather was going to be much warmer inland than it has been here on the coast. What I didn’t realize was that we were going to be driving into the record-breaking heatwave that plagued much of the I-5 corridor all along the PNW last week. It’s quite a shock to the system to go from a temperate 65 degrees to 100 degrees. The worst part was that I just felt lethargic – it was all I could do to drag myself out of the hotel to find dinner. (Ok, ok – I was enthusiastic enough to go shopping at DSW. After all, shoes).

We ended up at the new Pastini in Eugene. Pastini is a fun Oregon chain that we used to go to sometimes in Portland. They serve mostly pasta dishes. They also make some fun cocktails – I couldn’t resist checking out the Vespa, a combination of gin, Aperol, and grapefruit soda. It was a great anecdote to the miserable heat.

I was so happy to be heading west after my meeting was over. The temperature dropped thirty degrees between Eugene and the coast, and I was finally back in my comfort zone. One of the really awful parts about the heat this past week is that it didn’t help the many wildfires that are currently burning in the PNW. I later found out that Eugene’s air quality was really bad – the heat, the air stagnation and all the wildfire smoke contributed to a nasty mess. I always feel a little guilty enjoying the spectacular sunrises and sunsets that occur this time of year, because I know we are getting them because of all the smoke in the air. I was, frankly, surprised to see one of those sunsets this far west this past weekend.

So, between the Vespa cocktail in Eugene and the glowing orange sunset the other night, I couldn’t resist making my own Aperol and grapefruit martini. And because I really like my cocktails with a bitter kick, I used grapefruit bitters to rinse my glass and cut way back on the grapefruit soda so that it wouldn’t be overly sweet. Feel free to adjust the amount of soda to meet your taste.

Yum

Coastal Sunset Martini

Ingredients

3 drops grapefruit bitters
3 ounces gin
1 ounce Aperol
Grapefruit soda to top

Instructions

Swirl the grapefruit bitters in a chilled martini glass. Add the gin and Aperol and stir. Top with grapefruit soda. Makes 1. Enjoy!

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August 11, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Pink Grapefruit Martini

written by Ali

A pink grapefruit martini is my contribution to July’s Food ‘n Flix. First off, I’ve been absent from Food ‘n Flix for several months now. The whole move and new job thing really slowed down my ability to keep up within anything that didn’t involve packing, moving, and getting oriented to work. I’ve missed being inspired by food in movies, though, so decided no matter the movie, I needed to jump back into it in July.

Except…sigh…the movie was Dirty Dancing. I vaguely remembered watching Dirty Dancing with my mom when I was in my early teens. I don’t think I got any of what was actually going on. I do recall being mildly annoyed by the plot, even as a pre-teen. I wasn’t impressed by Patrick Swayze and didn’t think much at all of Baby.

Very little in my reaction has changed since 1987. Still don’t think Swayze was all that. Really hate the character of Baby. Not impressed with all the dancing. Granted, I now at least have a clue about what was going on with the blonde, and spent half the movie wondering if Baby had considered birth control. The only thing that plucked a little bit at the nostalgia strings was the music. I did love listening to Hungry Eyes and I’ve Had the Time of My Life, though I have to confess, I did keep waiting for Unchained Melody to play and then realized I’d conflated two lame Patrick Swayze movies into one. Let’s just leave that there.

This is also the kind of movie I would have watched on my own when I was still in a job that required a lot of travel. However, I’m not in that job anymore, so my husband had to watch this one with me. At least I wasn’t suffering alone. I did dutifully take food notes throughout - my list looked like this: pot roast, maybe with Asian inspired flavors; watermelon; salami; pudding; pickles; toasted bagels; grapefruit; manly breakfast; danishes. The more I thought about the juxtaposition between the father eating a real breakfast (eggs? sausage? I couldn’t entirely tell) while the women ate grapefruit, the more I realized that what I really needed while watching this movie was a stiff drink. And frankly, if I’m going to have a grapefruit, it’s probably going to be a component of that stiff drink, and thus, the pink grapefruit martini was born.

I don’t love the movie, but I do love that I was inspired enough to make this drink. I decided that this must be why the mother in the movie was so checked out with what was going on with her daughters: she was busy drinking pink grapefruit martinis all day long.

The thing that makes this pink grapefruit martini special is adding a step at the start and broiling the grapefruit with a thin coat of demerara sugar over the top (you could definitely substitute brown sugar). Once the grapefruit was broiled and all caramelized on top, I let it cool for a bit and then juiced it. The sugar nicely complements the tartness of the grapefruit. A little gin and a little St. Germain and you have a perfect cocktail for getting through any movie from the 80s.

Yum

Pink Grapefruit Martini

Ingredients

1 grapefruit, sprinkled with demerara sugar or brown sugar and broiled for 10 minutes or until caramelized on top.
2 ounces gin
1 ounce St. Germain liqueur

Instructions

Squeeze the broiled grapefruit once it's cool. Combine the juice from the grapefruit with the gin and St. Germain in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain and serve.
Enjoy!

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July 26, 2017 5 comments

Newer Posts

Older Posts

...and a little cocktail, too

happy hour

Pineapple Rum Mai Tais

Brandy, Benedictine, and Books

Meyer Lemon Curd Martini

Classic Dry Martini

Dark and Stormy Grave Digger

Dill Pickle Dirty Martini

Pineapple Rum Piña Colada

Last of the Season Sangria

Coastal Sunset Martini

Pink Grapefruit Martini

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