The Old Fashioned

On my mission to fulfill Death&Co’s mandate that every good at-home bartender know the Top Ten cocktails listed in our previous post, I came across this how-to for the Old Fashioned by the fabulous Leah & Mary from fabulousonabudget.com.

These ladies know how to get up to no good and share their expertise in fabulously dramatized fashion. Check it out:

Today we pay tribute to the classic Old Fashioned. It’s a Fabulous whiskey drink that may be the first drink to ever be called a cocktail. It’s roots date back to the early 1800′s! As with many cocktails, there are many variations, but we quite like this one.

Ever have one of those days you just need cocktail?

Ingredients:

• 3 dashes of Orange Bitters
• 2 oz. Bourbon or Rye
• Orange Zest
• Sugar Cube
• Ice Cube

1. Put a sugar cube (or 2 if you’re a baby like me!) in the bottom of your glass. Douse with 3 dashes of Orange Bitters.

2. Muddle the sugar cube until it’s good and sandy.

3. Add 2 oz. of whiskey (any bourbon will do!)

4. Stir it up!

5. Add your ice. Purists find this appalling and prefer a splash of water, but we quite like the chilled effect. What can I say? I’m easing into whiskey.

6. Rim your glass with your orange zest.

7. Give your peel a little twist, zesting the fruit essence into your drink.

8. Drop your peel in & Voila! Drink up.

via Tipsy Tuesday: The Old Fashioned.

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Stellar Wine Cellar

Now that’s a wine cellar!

 source

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New Acryclic Coasters-Inspired by Pinterest

This gallery contains 14 photos.

Most of those who know me know that I am a Pinterest A-D-D-I-C-T. So over the weekend, I took a few of my fave sayings from Pinterest and worked them in with my collection of patterns and my FAB selection of mom’s vintage photos to make what I think are some pretty darn cute coasters: […]

Black. White. Gold.

I’m just a tad bit obsessed with white, black and gold. Join me in my obsession:

All original source links can be viewed on my Pinterest board: For Ze Home.

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Z Gallerie Lovelies

A wee bit of inspiration from one of my fave bloggers: Centsational Girl for one of my fave stores: Z Gallerie. Get inspired!

 

 

 

via Centsational Girl » Blog Archive » Z Gallerie Giveaway.

 

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Pomegranate Cooler

For a fantastic drink to serve at indoor/outdoor parties take a looksy at this Pomegranate Cooler: 

Ingredients:

• 1.5  cup pomegranate juice chilled (Or 1/2 cup cranberry juice chilled + 1 cup pomegranate juice chilled)
• A fistful of fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger juice
• Sprite chilled
• Ice
• Sugar or honey to taste
• 1 oz Vodka + 1/2 oz of orange liqueur

Directions:

1. Muddle the mint leaves (with sugar or honey if you are using it).
2. Combine the juices, vodka, and orange liqueur with the mint leaves.
3. Add ice & give it a good shake shake shake.
4. Fill each glass halfway and top off each glass with Sprite.
5. Garnish with mint leaves.

via Pomegranate Cooler | eCurry – The Recipe Blog.

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Ze Perfect Beer Connoisseur Set

Spiegelau‘s new Beer Connoisseur Kit is an instant classic. Whether it’s for a host/hostess gift, a holiday gift for that special beer drinker in your life or for you, you’re not likely to find a simpler and more elegant set of crystalline beer glasses — and for just $49.

Lager is one of the most common beers, and that’s why most people serve all beers in lager-friendly pint glasses. However, the shape of the glass greatly affects the experience of a beer’s aroma and flavor, and not all beers are made alike. If you consider the way the taste buds are arranged on the tongue, it makes sense that the way a beer flows into the mouth will affect the taste. The shape of the glass determines that flow, and there is no one-glass-fits-all for beer.

The kit features, from left to right, Spiegelau’s new Tall Pilsner Glass, Wheat Beer Glass, a Lager Glass (pint glass) and a Stemmed Pilsner Glass, ensuring that you always serve your beer in a shape conducive to expressing the beer’s optimum flavor.

All the glasses are German-made and dishwasher-safe. If presenting someone with the Beer Connoisseur Kit as a gift, we recommend also gifting them with four imported beers ideal for the glasses, like a Bohemian-style pilsner for the Tall Pilsner Glass, a wheat (or “weizen”) beer, an esoteric lager and a highly-fermented, intense pilsner for the stemmed glass.

Via  theluxist.com, by Annie Scott.

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Beef and Blue Cheese Crostini Recipe

This quick-and-easy beefy bite is the perfect finger food for your next dinner party.

Ingredients

—  Marinade:

• 2  cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2  teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2  teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/4  cup Crisco 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2  pound rare roast beef, thinly sliced

—  Crostini:

• 1/2  cup Crisco 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3  cloves garlic, crushed
• 1  teaspoon Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1  loaf baguette (12 ounces)

—  Blue Cheese Topping:

• 6  ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2  tablespoons blue cheese salad dressing
• 1/2  cup crumbled blue cheese, plus more for garnish
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Prep Time – 150 Cook Time – 15

Instructions

For the marinade:

1. Combine garlic, red pepper flakes, pepper, rosemary and oil in microwave-safe cup.
2. Microwave on HIGH 45 seconds; cool.
3. Slice beef into approximately 2-inch by 4-inch strips.
4. Once cooled, place marinade and sliced beef in a resealable bag; toss to coat.
5. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

For the crostini:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Combine oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a microwave-safe measuring cup.
3. Microwave on HIGH 45 seconds.
4. Slice baguette into 36 (1/2-inch) slices.
5. Brush one side of each slice lightly with garlic oil.
6. Place oiled side up on cookie sheet an bake 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp.

For the topping:

1. Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth.
2. Add salad dressing; beat until well blended.
3. Stir in crumbled blue cheese by hand.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread cheese mixture onto crostini. Top with strips of marinated meat. Sprinkle with additional blue cheese; serve.

via Beef and Blue Cheese Crostini Recipe | Relish.com.

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Entertain Like a Champ: Serving Cake and Ice Cream

Follow these simple tricks from realsimple.com to cut and dish out these birthday party treats quickly:

Slicing a Sheet Cake

A piece of unflavored waxed dental floss makes faster–and cleaner–cuts than a knife does. Hold a piece of floss taut between your fingers (it should be about a foot longer than the cake itself). Drag it down through the cake, then release one end and pull the other end out of the cake sideways. Continue to “cut” in a grid pattern.

Carving a Round Cake

Forget about fussy slivers. You’ll get more pieces in less time with this method: Use a long, sharp knife to cut a smaller circle inside the larger one. Cut the outer ring into wedges, then cut the remaining, smaller cake as you normally would, like a pizza. Give the frosting-laden outer wedges to the kids, and reserve the more lightly iced interior pieces for the adults.

Dicing the Ice Cream

Save minutes (and your poor wrist) by trading in an ice cream scoop for a knife. Place a cylindrical cardboard container of slightly softened ice cream on a cutting board and cut in half lengthwise to create 2 half circles. Turn each portion of ice cream cut-side down. Remove and discard the packaging. Cut each portion crosswise into slices.

Scooping the Ice Cream

To prevent a sticky situation, start scooping before the party starts. Place individual scoops in a cupcake tin lined with paper baking cups and transfer the tray to the freezer for up to several hours. After the cake is cut, remove the scoops from the paper baking cups (or not) and drop them onto the waiting plates.

via Scooping the Ice Cream | Serving Cake and Ice Cream Like a Pro | Real Simple.

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How to Get Up to No Good–The Proper Way

While perusing some of my fave blogs today I came across my new solemates: Dave and Ravi of Death&Co in Lower East Side Manhattan. Their overall aesthetic and general attitude is right up my ally–just take a peek at their menu and you’ll see what I mean. They offer a limited selection of crazy-good gourmet bar food and a butterflies-in-my stomach inducing drink selection.

Wondering about the name?

Let me give it to you in their own words:

“To those who shun the night, we tip our hat. To those who shine after dusk, we offer a warm embrace.”

“In 1919 the Volstead Act brought a swift end to nightlife, and the refined craft of the American bartender was outlawed. It was thought that to drink alcohol was to live a life shadowed by death. It was thought by some that these were death and company. It’s taken us nearly a century to restore flavor to the drink and class to specialty cocktails […] To those who shun the night, we tip our hat. To those who shine after dusk, we offer a warm embrace. Welcome to the new golden age. Welcome to Death & Co.”

As you can imagine, these purveyors of life’s simple pleasures have a lot to say about stacking the bottles. Today we bring to you a few of Death&Co’s tips on getting up to no good the proper way:

Lesson 1: Reading is Fundamental

Being a good bartender is more than just making good drinks. You have to do your own studying. The essential library includes:

• The Gentleman’s Companion (Volume II) by Charles H. Baker
• The Joy of Mixology: The Consummate Guide to the Bartender’s Craft by Gary Reagan
• The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Master Bartender, with 500 Recipes by Dale DeGroff
• Killer Cocktails: An Intoxicating Guide to Sophisticated Drinking by Dave Wondrich

Lesson 2: The Gear

Here are the basic tools you will need to mix near any drink:

• A shaker set
• A mixing glass
• A bar spoon
• A julep strainer (rounded flat silver with holes)
• A jigger (for measuring)
• A juicer
• A small cutting board
• A pairing knife (to cut fruit)
• A muddler

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Lesson 3: The Booze

The two most important spirits to have are Gin (Tom Collins, Martinis, simple fizzes) and Rye (Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Sazerac). These may not be the most popular, but they are the most classic. After that you should have rum, vodka, tequila, and sweet & dry vermouth.

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Lesson 4: The Top Ten

You should learn how to make the following 10 classic cocktails which will give you the building blocks for every other drink:

• Martini
• Manhattan
• Sidecar
• Margarita
• Daiquiri
• Old Fashioned
• Sazerac
• French 75
• Negroni
• Tom Collins

Lesson 5: Shelf Life

• If it’s 80 proof, it will last. This rule applies to everything other than vermouth, which is a fortified wine and must be refrigerated. Buy the small bottles of vermouth to avoid their turning before use.
• DO NOT CHILL ANY SPIRITS! That business about keeping vodka in the freezer is a mistake. When you are mixing something over ice, you need a certain amount of water dilution to mellow the booze. If the alcohol is already cold the ice won’t dilute the drink enough, and you’ll get a very high alcohol taste in the drink.

“Do not chill any spirits! […] When you are mixing something over ice, you need a certain amount of water dilution to mellow the booze. If the alcohol is already cold the ice won’t dilute the drink enough, and you’ll get a very high alcohol taste in the drink.”

Lesson 6: Ice

Stay away from bagged ice if you can. The best ice is from your home’s ice cube tray: it’s cold and hard and won’t over dilute the drinks.

If you wanna get real fancy, you can get creative with your ice:

• Try pouring water into a muffin tins to make large ice chunks for your Old Fashioned.
• Pouring water into bread pans or baking trays will allow you to chip away and make your own custom ice for each glass you use.

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Lesson 7: Freshness Matters

Never use bottled mixers they sell at the store; JUICE YOUR LEMONS AND LIMES! You can buy $4 Margarita mix and drink a glass of garbage or you can be smart and just buy 4 limes for a buck and juice them.

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Lesson 8: Garnishes

Fresh mint, orance, lemon twists, and lime wedges are enough for the home bar. If it doesn’t add to the drink then don’t add it. When you cut your twists, make sure you don’t get too much pith, or it will be too bitter.

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Lesson 9: Serve It Up

Nice glasses are not the most important thing in the world, but if you want to get it right, you’ll want to have some highballs. It’s also nice to have a set of old fashioned glasses for whiskey boozy drinks. Skip the Martini glass purchase; they are gaudy and spill easily. Rather, let luck come into play and make your own eclectic collection of glasses. Just go to Goodwill or another thrift store as these are the best places to score unique old cocktail glasses.

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