happy hour: subtle summer

Wooohooo! It’s a long weekend! We’re planning on chilling out, exploring and making a few cocktails… if you ask me, it sounds pretty dreamy.

This week’s cocktail is a light and refreshing summer beverage. I’m not a huge cucumber fan, but there’s something about the combination of cucumber and sake that just tastes awesomely refreshing. While I haven’t tried making a whole pitcher, I’d imagine it would be great in a pitcher served by the pool on a warm summer day.

Cheers! I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Subtle Summer
makes 1 cocktail

2 oz sake
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
2 slices cucumber, plus more for garnish

1
Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker along with two ice cubes. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds.
2
Strain into a lowball glass and garnish with thinly sliced cucumbers. Cheers!

Filed under happy hour by kelly. May 28th, 2010 . 8 Comments

rhubarb custard tart

Rhubarb mania continues my friends. I promise you I’ll get around to using other ingredients soon, especially since I discovered the first strawberries of the season last week, but until then I have this delicious tart to share. Yes, it’s rhubarb, but it’s super tasty and flexible just in case you have a different fruit in mind.

You can actually thank Aaron for this recipe, as he kindly sent me the link to Tartlette thinking I may be interested in it. Ahhh, he knows me well. I tweaked the recipe a bit by using all-purpose flour and adding a bit of vanilla, but I have to say, the ingredient that sets this recipe apart is cardamom. Like rhubarb, cardamom is one of those ingredients I never really paid attention to until I met Aaron’s Scandinavian grandmother from Northern Minnesota. There’s something about the combination of these two ingredients that bring out the best in one another.

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Filed under eat and sweets by kelly. May 26th, 2010 . 11 Comments

happy hour: hello rhubarb

It’s no secret, I’m into rhubarb. This week I thought, why not use it in a cocktail. The result? Delicious!

I also have to mention that there’s been extra happiness this week as my best friend since 7th grade (hi amy!) gave birth to the cutest baby boy. I am so proud of her and happy to welcome the handsome mr. cameron into this world.

I’m looking forward to checking off a another item on my 30/30 list this weekend. A little hint, it’s a long weekend, which always means a good time. So cheers to amy and all of you!

hello rhubarb
makes 1 cocktail

2 oz bourbon
1 oz rhubarb simple syrup*
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

1
combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with 1 cube of ice.
2
give it a good shake, about 5 seconds worth and strain into a highball glass.
3
garnish with a lemon slice and enjoy!

*to make rhubarb simple syrup:
combine 1 cup rhubarb cut into 1-inch pieces, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Simmer on the stove top until rhubarb has broken down and become mushy, 20-30 minutes. strain out the liquid and discard the rhubarb. tada! you’ve got rhubarb simple syrup.

Filed under happy hour by kelly. May 21st, 2010 . 6 Comments

bourbon barbecue

Warm weather is coming our way and that means barbecue. In fact, I think this may be the summer of barbecue for me. I’ve already become addicted to the orange chipotle sauce, but I was looking for something with a little less spice. That’s when I discovered this genius idea: bourbon barbecue sauce! I love bourbon and I love barbecue, it kind of sounds like a match made in heaven.

I know I say this all the time, but this is easy stuff! Not as easy as squeezing store-bought sauce from a bottle, but it’s pretty close and come on, the flavor you’re going to get in this sauce far outweighs that stuff. There are only seven ingredients, bourbon, ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, brown sugar, shallot and fresh rosemary. All you need to do is mix those up and simmer it on the stove to thicken it for about ten minutes and you’re ready to go. Easy!

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Filed under condiments/sauces and eat by kelly. May 18th, 2010 . 3 Comments

30/30: dance club

The first thing to be marked off my 30/30 list is the dance club. Oh yeah, we’re starting off with a bang. It was an excellent night out with some of my favorite lady friends but I have to say, my feet might be too wimpy for a dance club. I think I’m more the kick off the shoes and dance barefoot in the living room type.

Look out for a delicious barbecue recipe coming up tomorrow.

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Filed under 30/30 list and events by kelly. May 17th, 2010 . 4 Comments

happy hour: fitzgerald

Oh yeah, it’s that glorious day again. It’s been a while since fancy cocktails were served around here, my apologies, but I think you’re going to like this one. I sure I did.

Last weekend Aaron and I took a long weekend and traveled up to the Berkshires for some much needed R&R. We stayed at Porches, a super lovely bed and breakfast, where we tried Berkshire Distillers Gin while relaxing in front of a fire. Ahh… it was perfect. Since I’m a sucker for handcrafted goods, I made sure to find a bottle to bring home.

I hope you enjoy this tasty cocktail that reminds me to sit back and relax. Have an excellent weekend!

Fitzgerald
makes 1 cocktail
from The Essential Cocktail by Dale Degroff

1 1/2 oz gin
1 oz simple syrup
3/4 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
2/3 dashes Angostura bitters
lemon wedge for garnish

1
Combine the gin, syrup, lemon juice, and bitters in a mixing glass with ice and shake well.
2
Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with the lemon wedge.
3
Cheers!

Filed under happy hour by kelly. May 14th, 2010 . 0 Comments

my 30/30 list

Sooo, this year I turn the big 3-0. While some people really dread this birthday, I’m pretty excited about it. I feel like I’ve had a good run in my twenties, I’ve done a lot (graduated college, met and married my best friend, moved to nyc, started this blog…), met amazing people and generally had fun. Oh but wait, there are a few things I want to do before the big day arrives, so I decided to make a list of 30 things to do before I turn 30 (inspired by Nicole’s list). Some things are little, some things are big, but they’re all fun. Also, I’m not saying in any way, shape or form that these things can’t be done after 30, in fact I’m hoping some of them will continue well into my thirties (hello dance class and delicious margarita making).

I have 28 weeks to complete my list and I hope you’ll come along on the ride. I’ll be posting updates as I complete them and when November 26th rolls around, we’ll have a celebration. Oh, what would you put on your list?

drum rolls please:

1. Take a knife skills class
2. Go to a dance club  5/14/10 ladies night
3. Interview my 92 year old grandmother
4. Make mayonaise 8/08/10 seriously easy!
5. Watch a burlesque show
6. Have a dinner party
7. Take a dance class
8. Finish the kitchen 10/16/10 cabinet is built!
9. Perfect my margarita skills 7/05/10 it’s all about the Cointreau!
10. Spend a day above 59th street
11. Get an asymmetrical haircut 9/12/10 woohoo!
12. Have a picnic in Central Park 8/14/10 super dreamy!
13. Visit the doughnut plant 6/13/10 coconut creme & vanilla blackberry… yum!
14. Eat sashimi 8/18/10 …i like it!
15. See a ballet/dance performance
16. Enjoy a tasty cocktail or two at PDT Have drinks at Tipsy Parson. 10/09/10 Food & drinks were delicious!
17. Enjoy a tasty cocktail at Angels Share 6/26/10 amaaazing!
18. Try wall climbing
19. Sleep in past 11am
20. Visit Kitchen Arts & Letters
21. Spend a day in Greenpoint 7/31/10 Um… it’s awesome.
22. Try 5 new vegetables 1 fava beans, 2 butter beans, 3 cranberry beans
23. Empty the long-neglected storage unit in MI 7/16/10 so glad it’s done!
24. Go to Shipshewana 7/14/10 whoa! that place changed… junk city!
25. Take time to relax  5/22/10 Block Island
26. Cook duck 10/31/10 It was so easy & delicious! used this recipe http://tinyurl.com/cqvedv
27. Make friends with the farmers at my new market
28. Drive in Manhattan
29. Ride my bike  5/30/10 biked ride to red hook, 8/14/10 biked to central park & back
30. Go to Paris

Filed under 30/30 list and events by kelly. May 13th, 2010 . 24 Comments

rhubarb + red onion chutney

I’m on a roll with rhubarb. I have to say, it’s put quite a pep in my step and boy did I need it. While I love rhubarb in desserts (you haven’t seen the last of rhubarb desserts!), the other thing I like to make with it is chutney. Spread on a piece of bread or on a nice prosciutto sandwich with a bit of cheese, it’s a little piece of heaven. For my first chutney of the year I whipped up a little number I’ve been calling rhubarb and red onion chutney.

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Filed under condiments/sauces and eat by kelly. May 6th, 2010 . 9 Comments

rhubarb sponge pudding

Oh how I’ve been waiting for the day that I would arrive at the farmers market to find ruby red stalks of fresh rhubarb being sold. I’m not sure why it felt so torturous, not seeing it there for so long, but you should have seen the smile that crossed my face last weekend when I finally saw those stalks. I guess for me, rhubarb signals the end of boring and brown at the market and the beginning of new arrivals each week, delicious things to try and challenges to conquer. Basically, rhubarb makes me very, very happy.

Once I got home, I thumbed through a few cookbooks and recipe cards, contemplating whether I should make a tried and true recipe or something new. I decided to be brave and try something new that I found online, perhaps a good omen to start out the season. I landed on this recipe for rhubarb sponge pudding, something I’d never heard of, but after reading the recipe, it sounded like a cousin of the crumble, a dish that’s super versatile and always a hit. The sponge pudding did not disappoint.

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Filed under eat and sweets by kelly. May 3rd, 2010 . 19 Comments