Here in Austin, the weather has been bright and ...]]> Yes folks, everyone’s favorite weekday has arrived. Which means its time to take a break from the computer, stretch our legs a bit, and mix up the Friday afternoon cocktail. Today, my friends, I present to you the Ginger Smash!

Here in Austin, the weather has been bright and glorious. Birds chirp, and the sun shines through my home office window beckoning me to “come outside,” “relax on the patio,” “have a drink.” If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, then this is the cocktail you’ll want to make. Blue agave tequila mixed with the sweetness of kumquats and the bite of ginger. It’s refreshing, smooth, and way too easy to drink.

If you’ve never had a kumquat, it’s like packing all the flavor of an orange into a small bite-size orb. Then it finishes with a potent sour zing that’ll make your lips pucker. So delish. If eating them straight up, you’ll want to remove the outer skin – which like an orange is a bit bitter. When mixing with this drink, however, we leave the skin on because that bitterness adds complexity and balance.

Here’s the recipe, adapted from the Speakeasy cocktail book.

Ingredients (makes 1 good sized drink or 2 smaller ones)

• 4 thin slices of peeled ginger root
• 4 whole kumquats (I took care to slice off the little stem)
• 2 tsp superfine sugar
• 2.5 oz Silver Tequila
• 2 oz Gran Marnier (or if you can find it, use the more complex Rhum Clemente Creole Shrubb)
• 1.5-2 oz freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

Directions:

Muddle the ginger, kumquats, and sugar in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Make sure you’re doing a good job on the smashing part of this recipe, releasing the juices and oils of the kumquat and ginger. It’ll look marvelous, but don’t sip just yet…ok, I won’t tell anyone if you lick the muddler.

Then add in your spirits (tequila, gran marnier (or Shrubb)) and lime juice. Top that shaker with ice, and give it a good rigorous shake down until it’s nice and cold.

Pour unstrained into a glass and enjoy it outside under the sun. Want a little fizz too? Then top off with a touch of Topo Chico. It’s your drink and your life, make it grand.

You see, outside right now are A/C repair technicians installing a new A/C unit to the above-garage studio ...]]> It’s Friday! Which means it’s time for another afternoon cocktail recipe. I’m looking forward to this particular one because of the pretty stressful and expensive week this turned out to be.

You see, outside right now are A/C repair technicians installing a new A/C unit to the above-garage studio apartment. The unit stopped blowing cold air Monday, and two separate service technicians agreed that the compressor was fried and the best thing to do was replace the 16 year old unit with a brand new one. Ouch!

That’s why today’s featured cocktail is meant to pack a whallop of flavor – to balance the whallop dealt to my wallet. This recipe comes from my good Peruvian friend who knows authentic Pisco Sour’s are made with egg whites for a frothy top. Yum!

Pisco is a peruvian type of brandy that has pear and herbal flavors. The lemon juice adds the acidity, and sour, while some agave nectar sweetens things up a touch so its easy on the palate. If you haven’t tried one before, you’re in for a treat.

This recipe is simple to make too – allowing you to whip one up quickly during downtown for lunch (like myself) or just as easily whip up a few batches for friends at this weekend’s gathering. It’s sure to be a hit.

Ingredients (Makes two) :

• 3 oz Pisco
• 1 oz Agave Nectar
• 2 oz lemon juice
• 1 egg white
• 2-3 drops of Angosturo Bitters

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add all ingredients.
Shake vigorously until the shaker is almost too cold to hold (like the Ghostbusters).

Strain into glass and enjoy! Cheers!

This is something fun I do that provides a slight boost of energy, and gets ...]]> As some of you know I have the pleasure of working from home. This comes with it’s share of perks and one I’d like to share with you today is the Friday afternoon cocktail.

This is something fun I do that provides a slight boost of energy, and gets the gears moving for a fun weekend ahead. If you work from home you can give it a try yourself – just remember to limit yourself to one or you can toss productivity for the rest of the day out the window. For everyone else, there’s nothing stopping you from making this cocktail in the evening or, as this week might dictate, for enjoying on your outdoor patio in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

This recipe was found from my Food & Wine Cocktails book (2009 version). The chef who inspired this concoction enjoys using fruit preserves or compotes to add flavor to his drinks. This particular recipe involves my spirit of choice (Tequila) and an orange marmalade to put a fun delicious twist on the margarita. It’s so easy to make it’ll be hard to limit yourself to just one.

Flor de Jalisco

Ingredients:

• Ice
• 2 oz blanco tequila (we used sauza hornitos)
• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 oz agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon orange marmalade (or other jam or your choice, a quince one could be nice)
• 1 orange twist

Directions:
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
Add all of the remaining ingredients except the twist and shake well.
Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with an orange twist.
Enjoy responsibly!

We brainstormed for quite a bit to come up with the menu and decorations shown in today’s post on TheKitchn.

I put links to the recipes we used in the post, which you can also find on my ...]]> Christy turned 30 last month and we held a novel-themed “Wordy Thirty” party.

We brainstormed for quite a bit to come up with the menu and decorations shown in today’s post on TheKitchn.

I put links to the recipes we used in the post, which you can also find on my site here in the entrees, desserts, and drinks sections. Those darn Turkish delights took for-eeeever but they came out amazing. My personal favorite was the yummy Plum cake though, which is something I think we’ll be making again and again. Mmmm….cake.

‘A dry martini,’ he said. ‘One. In a deep champagne goblet.’ ‘Oui, monsieur.’ ‘Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?’ ‘Certainly monsieur.’ The barman seemed pleased ...]]>

‘A dry martini,’ he said. ‘One. In a deep champagne goblet.’
‘Oui, monsieur.’
‘Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half
a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold,
then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?’
‘Certainly monsieur.’ The barman seemed pleased with the idea.
‘Gosh, that’s certainly a drink,’ said Leiter.
Bond laughed. ‘When I’m…er…concentrating,’ he explained, ‘I never
have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that
one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made.

We made ours as shown in the cocktails book, Speakeasy

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Charbay vodka
• 1 ounce Plymouth Navy Strength gin
• 3/4 ounce Lillet Blanc
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 lemon twist, for garnish

Directions:
Pour the vodka, gin, Lillet Blanc, and bitters into a mixing glass.
Add large cold ice cubes and shake vigorously.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with the lemon twist.