Tag Archives: drink

Happy New Year! (Old world style)

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This may be an unconventianal New Year’s Eve post, but it really makes sense. Don’t we all ring in the new year by thinking about some highlights from the previous year? And pledging to do more of what makes you happy in the upcoming year? (And kissing your someone special as the ball drops in Times Square!) So….these pictures are from our 5th Anniversary honeymoon trip to Old San Juan — a definite highlight during this past year. And Heather and I call every trip we take together a honeymoon….which I hereby pledge to do more of this year! (Along with kissing her at midnight!)

This latest honeymoon was about eating and drinking in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a lot of cool sights in between sips and bites! I took so many pictures over the course of 4 days that it will end up as multiple posts. Here are a few highlights to get us started!

Garita at sunset.
Heather at Café Puerto Rico, overlooking Plaza Colon.
El Batey wall.
Purple balcony.
Ceviche at El Asador.
Paseo de La Princesa music man.
San Cristobal sunrise.
Old San Juan red door.
The Captain.
The iguana king.
Ceviche on the mezzanine at El Convento.
The view from El Morro.
Sunrise over El Morro.
Tranquil morning on the wall of El Morro.
Sunrise over La Perla.
Angel from Cementerio Santa Maria Magdalena De Pazzis.

So here’s to a happy, healthy, prosperous new year to you all. Cheers!

Café Puerto Rico cheers. Happy new year!!

Café Puerto Rico cheers. Happy new year!!

Have yourself a merry little pomegranate martini!

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The pomegranate: that beautiful red fruit that you walk by in the store and think, “I have to buy one.” And then you get it home and think, “what am I supposed to do with this!?” I’ve never had much luck getting a lot of juice out of one, so I’ll heavily suggest you purchase a bottle of POM Wonderful to go along with it. Cutting the pomegranate apart and grabbing some of the seeds to garnish your merry little pomegranate martini is a lot easier, albeit messy!

102-2eat2drink-pomegranate

In a cocktail shaker over ice add:

  • 2 oz. Tito’s vodka
  • 2 oz. POM Wonderful juice
  • 1/2 oz. simple syrup
  • 1/2 oz. meyer lemon juice
  • 8 dashes Fee Brothers orange bitters

Shake until chilled and pour into a martini glass. Toss a handful of pomegranate seeds in the glass and garnish with a meyer lemon twist.

Make enough for all and toast to your family and friends. And we’ll toast to you all having a safe and happy holiday season. Cheers!

The merry little pomegranate martini. Cheers!

The merry little pomegranate martini. Cheers!

Happy Halloween! Beware the Clemenstein!

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What could be better for Halloween than a blend of clementines and Frankenstein? Introducing…the Clemenstein! At least Frankenstein is blended into the name…..not into the drink <insert evil laugh>. The reference seemed appropriate as it’s a little bit margarita, a little bit tequila sunrise, a little bit clementine, (and a little bit mad scientist).

The drink consists of a blend of 2 ounces of reposado tequila (I used my trusty bottle of 1800), 1 1/2 ounces fresh squeezed clementine juice, 1 ounce of triple sec, and a 1/2 ounce grenadine. Oh….and I can’t forget…a chunk of dry ice to create the jaw dropping, eerie smoke effect! The dry ice prevents you from having to stir, as the violent bubbling reaction will mix up your drink for you….turning it almost blood red  <insert evil laugh>. Garnish with a twist of clementine….skin  <insert evil laugh>, serve and have a safe and happy Halloween!

**Be careful not to touch (or consume!) the dry ice…it will burn you. Use a straw to help prevent accidentally swallowing some. More info here.

The clemenstein!

Double Rainbow Sangria

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Why, you ask? Why is this post called “double rainbow” sangria? It’s just due to my wish to occasionally include pop culture references in my posts. Even somewhat dated pop culture references. But really, doesn’t the garnish on the glasses kind of remind you of a double rainbow? It wasn’t originally intentional; just fortuitous garnish karma.

So this is what we did with the Salmon Run Chardonnay that was left over from our tasting get-together. Throw some fruit, whole cloves, a splash of creme de cacao, and 3-4 oz. of brandy in with the wine….let it sit in the fridge for a day or so….and it really kicks it up a notch. Along with the blend of citrus fruits, I think apples are the key fruit addition. The raspberries were overpowered by the rest, but added a nice touch of color (and they tasted great when the sangria was gone).

This was splendid, but the same as with red wine (see our fruity, spicy, dangerously smooth version), there are many variations you could use to make white sangria. Do you have a favorite recipe? Please share while we have a sip…..cheers!

Salmon Run Sextet

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We recently held a small gathering to taste 6 different Salmon Run white wines. Okay, it was really small – just us and Chef Mark. And six bottles of wine. Yup, we had a good time!

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe……which to pick first? They all look so appealing!

Wanting to start with the driest, we first sampled the Pinot Grigio. This wine’s light straw color – almost clear – would lead you to believe that it was less flavorful than it actually was. Its aroma, with a touch of citrus, was sweeter than its flavor. On the palate, it blended a bit of grapefruit with strong notes of apple, peach, and apricot.

The Chardonnay was very straw-like, both in color and flavor. It had a scent of apple, with a flavor hinting at sour apple and artichoke. Reading this over, it sounds horrible…but it wasn’t. It was good, just not our favorite of the bunch.

The Chardonnay/Riesling blend had us intrigued. It had the sweetest scent of the bunch, with an abundance of honey and peach, as well as a hint of grapefruit. The taste was slightly creamy and sweet to start, followed by a touch of cedar, and a crisp, dry finish. We liked it.

The Rkatsiteli’s scent was a blend of fruit and asparagus, which may not sound like a good start, but this wine ended up being our unanimous favorite. The taste was of peach and apple with a bit of orange creaminess. It was a good blend of flavors that led to a “delightfully crisp finish.” This quote is actually in our tasting notes, but we can’t really remember who said it…

The Gewürztraminer had a touch of pear to start, a bit of creaminess, and a nice spice to finish. It was our second favorite of the bunch. Okay, so our notes got a little thin near the end…

The next night, we were lucky enough to have some Gewurzt left to pair nicely with our grilled swordfish and mango salsa.

We saved the Riesling for last, thinking it would be the sweetest. It was, but not overly so. It had a nice blend of peach, grapefruit, melon, and lemon. We think. My handwriting was a bit hard to read by this point.

Mysteriously, all the corks ended up next to the Riesling bottle….

Cheers to Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars to a wonderful collection of Finger Lakes white wine!

Splendidly spectacular skirt steak

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It takes every ounce of my being to chew slower.  Slow….down….absorb….flavor. Do you ever try to do that when something tastes really delicious? I bet you’ll have a hard time with this splendid combo. If I were to tell you that a skirt steak comes from the diaphragm muscle, please don’t let it creep you out. And if it did creep you out, pretend I didn’t tell you. You should definitely try this….seared on the grill in what seemed like no more than a minute due to it’s thinness….to medium-rare. Cover it with a little guacamole, and serve with a nice red wine. The steak was super tender, delicate and extremely flavorful.

Skirt steak draped in guacamole. This was delicious.

The 2010 red from Pesquie Terrasses brought a stunning 94 points (Wine Advocate) of Rhone Valley Grenache (70%) and Syrah (30%) to the table for less than $15. We picked up a nose of pepper, spice and plenty of red fruit. On the palate was pepper, cherry, strawberry, blueberry, anise, and spice that all lingered nicely. “We need to buy more of this,” Heather said.  It was a perfect match for the delicate steak, and the creaminess of the guacamole really blended everything together…with the jalepeno kicking up the spice in the wine. Try to chew slower…I dare you. Cheers!

2010 Chateau Pesquie Terrasses from the Rhone valley. 94 points from Wine Advocate.

Chillin’ with red wine at the lake

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We recently had the chance to sample two of Montezuma Winery’s reds. I’m not usually a sweet wine kind of guy, but these were perfect to have chilled on a warm day at the lake.

The Fat Frog Red was the sweeter of the two, and Heather quite liked it. In fact, when I asked her what she thought it would pair with, she said that sweet wine goes with anything!

Even though the Frog was a hit, we both actually preferred the Cranberry Bog. This wine was sweet yet tart, almost like a cranberry vodka cocktail. We thought it would be a great addition to Thanksgiving dinner. It would also make a great autumnal sangria, and I believe we will give that a try soon!

Both wines were nice to enjoy on the cottage porch while taking in the sunset over Keuka Lake. Cheers!

Keuka Lake at sunset.

Disney during the “value season” – a dream come true!

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January 2nd through mid-February is Value Season at Walt Disney World. We’d never pulled the boys out of school for a vacation, but with junior high looming ahead of us soon, this past winter seemed like our last chance to take advantage of the value season. In addition to the rock-bottom room rates, we were able to find amazingly cheap airfare AND a special offer for a free Disney Dining Plan, making this vacation offer too good to refuse. So, the boys and I dragged Rich away from his computer (yes, he was retouching right up until the last second!) and headed for the airport just ahead of a snow storm. What perfect timing!

Waffles a la Chef Mickey, Contemporary Resort.

Some of the dining highlights of this trip were: hot dogs at Casey’s Corner in the Magic Kingdom (our first-night-at-Disney-World tradition!), brunch at Chef Mickey’s (who can resist Mickey-shaped waffles?), lunch at Hollywood Studios’ Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (great food and cool ambience), and pizza & pasta at Via Napoli (located in Epcot’s Italy Pavilion).

Pasta & pizza (and dessert!) at Via Napoli, Italy Pavilion, Epcot.

Some highlights from Epcot: Rich’s view on Test Track, hanging with Chip at the Land Pavilion, our son’s picture of Chinese lily pads, me & my crew, Spaceship Earth.

What did we learn by visiting Disney in January? We learned that the Value Season rocks! I know that winter weather in Orlando can be a little unpredictable, but ours was perfect. It was sunny with temps in the 70s during the day, the evenings cooling down just enough to make us perfectly comfortable in light jackets. Crowds were better than during our summer trips to Disney World, allowing for much more interaction with the Disney characters and shorter wait times for rides and shows. Because we snagged the free Dining Plan, we were able to eat at a few places that are normally beyond our budget, such as Chef Mickey’s and Via Napoli (and we loved them both!) We also learned that the best place to watch the Wishes fireworks show (in the Magic Kingdom) is behind Cinderella Castle, just in front of Mickey’s PhilharMagic.

Wishes Nighttime Spectacular at the Magic Kingdom, lunch at Hollywood Studios’ Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom.

Visit the Walt Disney World site to plan your vacation or to peruse their current special offers. If you’ve ever considered Disney World in the off season, but you’re just not sure – go for it! You’ll be oh so glad you did!

Our view on the way home. Can’t wait till next time!

Get the fever for the perfect combination of spicy and sweet!

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Every new drink begins with an inspiration.

In this case, the wicked cool bottle of Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon premium tonic water inspired us. Made with spring water, cane sugar, lemon juice, and natural quinine, the beverage itself is as cool and fresh as its packaging.

Oh… we’re feeling feverish.

It was a natural mixer for our favorite, the classic gin and tonic. However, we decided to kick it up a little. Hence the creation of the Ginger G&T.

Over ice, mix 3 oz. Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon tonic, 2 oz. Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, and 1 oz. Bluecoat American dry gin. Stir and enjoy. It’s kind of like drinking a sweet tart, but with a gingery kick. Cheers!

The Ginger G&T!

The “crazy good” bacon sundae. Believe.

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I can’t believe how good this is. But really…..you need to believe. As Heather said, “This is crazy good.”

Flash back to our 2010 trip to New Orleans, and our second night at the Green Goddess, a tiny little gem of a restaurant in the French Quarter. We had come back on the last night of our trip, based solely on Scotty’s (the excellent bartender) recommendation to try the “notorious” bacon sundae: pecan praline ice cream with a creamy bacon caramel sauce carrying a bit of both pink Himalayan & black lava salts, micro-planed Nueske’s applewood bacon, layered with whipped cream. Sounds good, huh? It was! So….thus our attempt to recreate the experience.

The “crazy good” bacon sundae. Sign me up for that!

It worked! We did it! Well, it wasn’t an exact replica…but it was still crazy good! We used Edy’s Slow Churned Butter Pecan ice cream, topped with La Salamandra Dulce de Leche Milk Caramel, a touch of French sea salt, diced applewood smoked bacon, whipped cream, and chopped caramelized pecans.

Not your average caramel. La Salamandra Dulce de Leche Milk Caramel, all the way from Argentina! (By way of Wegmans.)

Bacony goodness!! Can’t you just smell it??

To give props to Scotty once again….the Trader Vic’s Macadamia Nut Liqueur is an excellent pairing. It offers a smooth, sweet, nutty, caramelly taste. It’s very mellow, but has a nice warming effect.

Trader Vic’s Macadamia Nut Liqueur. Warm me up, Scotty!

Go….you must make this now! Please comment and let us know what you think. Cheers!