16 reasons for Irish eyes to smile

Posted on March 17, 2014 by 2eat2drink

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! My friend Kerry said Bushmills 16 Year Old Single Malt was one of his favorite Irish Whiskeys. Given that he grew up very close to the distillery, I reckon he must know what he was talking about. And he does.

Irish eyes smile when they see Irish legs.

The whiskey is aged separately for 16 years; some in oloroso sherry casks, and some in bourbon casks. Then it is blended together and aged in port wine casks for 7 months. This last step gives it the distinctive reddish hue. The sweet smell of honey is the first thing you’ll notice, blending with what might be roasted nuts. The fruit of the port is apparent in the initial taste, followed by the honey and a nice spice. It’s smooth and elegant with a drier spicy finish. Highly recommened by Kerry and myself.

Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

Sláinte!

I want a mojito in Old San Juan!

Posted on February 17, 2014 by 2eat2drink

It’s been cold. (Apparently too cold to do a post since New Years Eve…sorry!) I’m sure everyone is aware that it’s been a cold winter. The polar vortex, or whatever the heck is causing this cold spell, has been all over the news. I feel like this tree.

I want to be warm, walking down the brilliantly sun-lit blue cobblestone streets of Old San Juan with my beautiful wife. We would start towards El Asador on Calle de San Francisco. Along the way we would see a picturesque purple balcony and a few cool cats hanging around. When we arrive, we would sit at a table with a view of the street. The awesome bartender, Daniel, would make us mojitos with Don Q Cristal. They would be super refreshing. Daniel would bring our order of ceviche. It would be excellent and flavorful. We would sit, laugh, and enjoy.

What is your warm thought of the day? Cheers!

Bánh Mi. The perfect sandwich, part 2.

Posted on December 29, 2013 by 2eat2drink

Our Christmas Eve dinner was slightly out of the ordinary for our family. We decided to mix it up and serve a sandwich. But what kind of sandwich? Let’s take a stab at the perfect sandwich, I thought….the Bánh Mi. It was a hit, even with the little ones (although they may have skipped a few of the ingredients).

From the bottom running clockwise, our sandwich consisted of: roast pork loin (marinated in white vinegar, Asian BBQ sauce, chopped ginger, soy sauce), Wegmans Asian BBQ sauce, bacon, sliced jalapeños, cucumbers (marinated in equal parts white vinegar and sugar), Wegmans ciabatta baguette, Sriracha sauce, pork liver pâté, fresh cilantro. Don’t forget a nice spicy Gewürztraminer to go with it. I still think our house white, from Chateau Ste. Michelle, is excellent.

This is a must try. In fact, it’s time for leftovers. Enjoy!

Santa wants beer and cookies

Posted on December 12, 2013 by 2eat2drink

Yes, he does. Specifically this Newcastle Brown Ale and Heather’s chocolate crinkle cookies. I would normally wait until closer to the holiday to do a Christmas post, but the next RAF 20 Minutes and Beer event is calling! And guess who is giving this presentation? Yours truly. I’d give you some details but I don’t have them all planned out yet. Hopefully you can swing by to ~~cheer me on~~ listen and have a beer! My presentation title is… Say No To Stock: Be Original & Let Your Idea Grow. I’ll share my take on stock images vs. creative original photography (which do you think I prefer?). Showing you examples of misused and overused stock images, I’ll try to demonstrate why it’s always better to be original and let your idea grow (so you don’t end up on Santa’s naughty list). Should be fun!

Here are the original photo and the poster. Do you think I would have been able to find a stock photo for my silly idea? Don’t forget to make Heather’s Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. The recipe is down below. Now for that Newcastle (Which is the perfect choice, as they have very original advertising. #nobullocks)….Cheers!

Chocolate Crinkles:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour (I use a little less)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Mix oil, chocolate, and granulated sugar. Blend in one egg at a time until well mixed. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Chill several hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350. Roll about one teaspoonful of dough at a time into a ball and roll in confectioners’ sugar. Place 2″ apart on greased baking sheet (I use parchment paper). Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 28, 2013 by 2eat2drink

Yup, I ate it all. Everything on the plate, and then dessert. It was all delicious…. and for that I am thankful. I’m also thankful for everyone out there who is following along. I hope that you too had a pleasant day filled with family and friends. Cheers!

Let’s try another animation. You may have to click to view. Now where is that couch?

More beer is never bad…

Posted on November 15, 2013 by 2eat2drink

….especially on a Friday afternoon. Let’s skip over the stories that would contradict that statement (just one more!), and go right to the clarification. More beer photos are never bad. Especially when I can use them to help promote the second “20 Minutes and a Beer” event of the fall season, next Monday the 18th.

While there’s no shortcut to creativity nirvana, one can get there by experience, hard work, dedication, and by following some thought provoking non-scientific principles titled “The 12 Creative Rules of Thumb.” Joe Mayernik, former RAF President and Co-Founder/Creative Director of Brandtatorship, will share these 12 principles to live, learn, and be inspired by. The principles will make you rethink, while forging ideas that will help you challenge the creative norm.

Joe is a terrific speaker, and I hope all of you in the Rochester area can stop by the Back Nine Grill. The Facebook event page will give you more information. Joe has a great blog which I suggest you follow as well.

Now for the beer! I couldn’t help but highlight a few local brews: 12 Horse Ale and Fyfe & Drum from Genesee, and Magic Hat’s #9. Cheers!

Happy Haunting from the Vieux Carré

Posted on October 31, 2013 by 2eat2drink

All Hallows Eve will be filled with hauntings, especially in the Vieux Carré, or French Quarter. But…we will be protected with our voodoo doll for protection from evil spirits and phantoms. While we drink sazeracs (and eat candy.)

I thought a Halloween post would be the perfect way to introduce the Sazerac, a drink that is as much a part of New Orleans as Halloween celebrations are. Its roots can be traced back to a French Quarter apothecary, Antoine Peychaud, in the early 1800s. But the drink was modified to its current recipe in the early 1900s to feature Rye instead of Cognac. It’s extremely flavorful and highly recommended.

Our voodoo doll came from Marie Laveau’s House Of Voodoo on Bourbon Street. It’s a great little shop with many voodoo dolls, talismans, and charms.

There are many variations on the Sazerac recipe, but I chose to base mine on Vieux Carré Absinthe Supérieure, an excellent absinthe from Philadelphia Distilling. Start by chilling an old fashioned glass by filling it with ice, then gather your ingredients.

2 oz. rye whiskey. I used Russel’s Reserve small batch.
1/2 oz. simple syrup
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Vieux Carré Absinthe Supérieure
lemon

In a separate glass, over ice, mix the rye, simple syrup and bitters. Stir until chilled. Dump the ice from the old fashioned glass and give it an absinth rinse. Pour in enough to coat the entire inside of the glass, dumping if there is a lot of excess. Strain other ingredients into glass. Garnish with some lemon peel twisted over the glass. Sip to appease the spirits (and yourself). Á votre santé!

Typical French Quarter halloween decorations adorning 2 balconies. The top photo is complete with a bubble machine. The bottom photo is complete with an undead Boston Red Sox fan, which is very fitting for today. Congratulations to the World Champions!

The end of October. Uh oh.

Posted on October 30, 2013 by 2eat2drink

So, it’s rare these days for me to do posts on consecutive days. Not because I don’t want to, just because work has been very busy! (Thank you!) I have lots of things stored up to post, but figured once October was over it wouldn’t make much sense to post an Octoberfest! Some of you may have noticed it appear in my header a few weeks ago. That’s when I did the shots to be used on an event poster for a Rochester Advertising Federation event, “20 minutes and a beer.” It’s a Samuel Adams Octoberfest, which is my go-to favorite. Let this serve as your reminder to go get your favorite before ~~someone else drinks them~~ it’s gone. Cheers!

PS: Look for a Halloween post tomorrow. 3 days in a row!

Drink like a local. Welcome to NOLA!

Posted on October 29, 2013 by 2eat2drink

Welcome to New Orleans! Heather and I just had an opportunity to take a quick honeymoon over Columbus Day weekend. So thank you, Mr. Columbus, for discovering our world and providing us with a long weekend!

When we visit somewhere, I really do try to drink in the local culture. Our first day, it was an Abita Amber that fit the bill. It was smooth and malty with a touch of caramel. Excellent! Perfect to sit back, relax and listen to some local jazz at The Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street. I’m sure there are many great local brews, but this was one of my favorites.

As we wandered into the colorful little club with tons of character, Rites of Swing was letting it all hang out. Yvette Voelker jumped in for an awesome vocal performance. I highly recommend that you track them down.

More posts from NOLA coming soon. Cheers!

Mean and Nasty. Add Choklat. Not so mean and nasty.

Posted on August 29, 2013 by 2eat2drink

Here I go messing around with those “usual” pairings again. But I had the beer…and I had the cheese, and I thought….why not??? It turned out to be a really good idea!

In this case, the cheese came first…..from a June trip to the Thousand Islands. How can you resist a cheese called Mean and Nasty? It’s a super aged cheddar from River Rat cheese. (Even thought I can’t find any information on their website.) Our oldest son spotted it in a gift shop in Alexandria Bay, saying he’d had it before and liked it. He wanted us to try it, so we picked it up. It sat in the fridge until the right pairing came along. The cheese has a definite sharp bite, but being a fan of sharp cheddar It’s hard to call it nasty. It has a lot of creaminess hidden under the sharpness and plenty of calcium lactate crystals hidden throughout.

The river brought back lots of great memories for me, from the many months I spent on the river during my youth.

I discovered the beer during a photo shoot. (Yes…I love my job!) I poured 9 different beers for the shots and since there was a touch left in each bottle I got to try them all. The Southern Tier Brewing Choklat was a standout for me. It’s a stout brewed with chocolate….and it’s delicious on its own. The scent of chocolate and caramel fills your nose as you bring your glass up. The taste is very creamy to start, with caramel malt, and finishes with bittersweet chocolate and hops. Together…..it’s creamy chocolate bliss. The bite of the sharp cheddar pairs well with the hops. The creaminess in both blend together, while the chocolate shines through. Yum!

Here are a few highlights from our trip!