Author Archives: Susie O

NYE 2012 Events and Recipes

MEALS

31 (BISTRO 31, Highland Park Village)
Perks: Enjoy appetizers, cocktails and champagne before your dinner (6-9pm), fixed priced menu
Price: After 10p.m. $25, bottle packages include admission, bottle service, and a table reservation)
Reservations: (214)420-3906 or lounge31events@lfcco.com

ASADOR (The Renaissance Dallas Hotel)
Price: tapas starting at $5
Reservations: (214)267-4815

BOLSA (Oak Cliff)
Time: Reservations 5-10pm
Price: A la carte menu prices on special menu
Reservations: (214)367-9367 or contact@bolsadallas.com

BOULEVARDIER (Bishop Arts District)
Price: a la carte pricing on special NYE menu
Reservations: (214)942-1828 or brooks@boulevarier.com

CAFE DES ARTISTS (One Arts Plaza)
Perks: Live music by Kent and Kay starting at 9pm, champagne toast, party favors
Price: NYE menu available starting at 9pm, $20 entrance after 9pm
Reservations: (214) 217-6888

CAFE PACIFIC (Highland Park Village)
Price: $95 4-course prix fixe menu
Reservations: (214)526-1170

California Pizza Kitchen
1/2 off select bottles of wine (11 a.m.- 9 p.m.)

CENTRAL 214 (Hotel Palomar, Midtown)
Perks: glass of prosecco
Time: Reservations 5-11pm
Price: $70 prix fixe menu (+ tax and gratuity)
Reservations: (214)443-9339

CHEF DAT’S NYE UNDERGROUND DINNER (Deep Ellum)
Perks: Moscow Mules upon arrival, champagne toast, music by DJ EZ Eddie D, professional photography, BYOB
Time: doors at 7pm, dinner at 8pm
Place: Deep Ellum (exact address to be released to attendees)
Price: $113/person + gratuity
Reservations: dat@chefdat.com

COOK HALL (W Dallas Victory, Victory Park)
Perks: Live jazz starting at 8pm
Price: regular menu items offered, bloody Mary kits ($15 small, $30 large + cost of liquor), $12 mimosas
Reservations: (214)397-4111 or wdallasvictory.com/cook-hall-dallas

DRAGONFLY (Hotel Zaza, Uptown)
Perks: admission to NYE celebration
Price: 5:30-6:45pm 3-course prix fixe meal, $75; 7-11pm 4-course prix fixe meal, $150Reservations: (214)550-9500

THE GRAPE
Perks: last seating will have a champagne toast and party favors
Price: Prix Fixe 3-course menu for $65, wine pairings +$20 (+tax and gratuity)
Time: dinner reservations starting at 5pm
Reservations: (214)828-1981

SAINT ANN RESTAURANT AND BAR
Price: $45 3-course price fixe menu (5-6pm seatings); $65 3-course prix fixe menu, includes glass of champagne (seatings after 6pm)
Reservations: 214-782-9807

EVENTS

BIG D NYE
Place: Victory Park
Time: 7pm
Price: FREE, VIP tickets available here
Perks: concerts by five bands, fireworks at midnight, food trucks

CENTRAL TRACK PARTY (Club Dada, Deep Ellum)
Time: 8pm
Price: $18 advance, $25 day of show — purchase tickets here: http://ticketf.ly/OlXiCF
Perks: Music by: BIG FREEDIA, Brain Gang Blue (feat. Brain Gang), Ynfynyt Scroll, Yeahdef, and Ocelot

LIBRARY BAR
Place: Warwick Melrose
Price: $20
Perks: midnight champagne toast, party favors, live music starting at 8pm
Reservations: (214)224-3152

Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights with Somebody’s Darling (Granada Theater)
Price: $24 (GA), $80 (VIP)

Cocktails Recipes

El Diablo
– 1 can (12 oz) frozen limeade concentrate
– 1 1/2 can (18 oz) tequila blanco
– 2/3 can (8 oz) creme de cassis
– 1/2 can (6 oz) water (still, not soda or tonic water)
– 1 1/2 can (18 oz) ginger beer

Mix the limeade, tequila, cassis, and water together in a large pitcher. Immediately before serving, add the ginger beer. Serve over ice. Feeling fancy? Garnish with blackberries. (Makes 12 cocktails)

Sparkling Lemon Lime Margarita
– 3 oz Lemon Lime Sparkling ICE
– 1 ½ oz Tequila
– Splash of fresh squeezed orange
– Fresh squeezed lime

Shake and pour into a chilled rocks glass rimmed in salt. Garnish with a lime slice. Total Calories: 100

Classic Champagne Cocktail
1 sugar cube
4 to 6 dashes
Angostura or other aromatic bitters
Chilled Champagne
Garnish: lemon twist

Place the sugar cube on the bottom of a Champagne flute or coupe glass. Douse the sugar cube with the bitters and fill the glass with Champagne. Garnish with the lemon twist.

Blackberry Apple HINT Martini
– 1.5 oz Green Apple Vodka
– 3 oz Sparkling Apple Cider
– 2 oz HINT Blackberry Water

In a cocktail shaker, combine green apple vodka, sparkling apple cider, Blackberry HINT, and ice; shake until well combined. Strain into chilled glass. Garnish with an apple wedge; serve immediately. Total Calories: 145 calories

The Gold Rush
– 3 tablespoons honey
– 2 tablespoons boiling water
– 1/2 cup (4 ounces) bourbon
– 1 1/2 lemons, juiced, about 4 tablespoons

Pour honey into a small jar or mixing bowl. Pour in the boiling water and whisk vigorously until they form a thin syrup. Whisk in the bourbon and lemon juice. Mixture can be refrigerated until ready to serve.

To serve, shake vigorously with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain over a big ice cube in a rocks glass. (Makes 2 drinks)

Strawberry-Kiwi HINT Mojito
– 1.5 oz Rum
– 2 oz Club Soda
– 3 oz Strawberry-Kiwi HINT Water
– 10 mint leaves
– 1 lime

In a cool tall glass, gently crush mint leaves and add lime juice from one lime. Fill glass with ice. Add rum, club soda, and Strawberry-Kiwi HINT water. Stir well. Garnish with a lime wedge, a few sprigs of mint and enjoy! Total Calories: 103 calories

Sparkling Raspberry Vanilla Dreamsicle
– 1 ½ oz Vanilla Vodka
– 4 oz Black Raspberry Sparkling ICE

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with fresh berries. Total Calories: 115

Crown Maple and Bunnies of the Playboy Persuasion

This past Sunday, while I was busy spending the afternoon with my (lovely) grandmother who was visiting from PA, people with less responsibility were seen at Sfuzzi … with free Crown Royal Maple flowing .. and a Playboy Bunny. Jealous? More so about the CR Maple, but yes, I was jealous.

Apparently they all had a blast, and the drink below was the hit. I’d like to say I got to try the CR Maple that was (so kindly) sent to me, but cousin decided that it should be his … I only got a taste … but that’s all I needed. I may or may not be planning to buy a handle of it this evening.

MANITOBA
1 1/2 oz Crown Royal Maple Whisky
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
top with Ginger Beer

Shake ingredients and strain into a highball glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

RECIPE: Apple Pie Bourbon

I got a wild hair about a month ago and decided that this year’s holiday gift would be homemade infusions. I decided to make jalapeño vodka, lavender gin, and (wait for it) apple pie bourbon.

: Ingredients … ready to go!

: Bottles from SpecialtyBottle.com

: Final Product

The bourbon was very easy to make. I began with Jack Daniels, a middle-of-the-road liquor without any wild flavors in it. I began with a recipe for small batch infusions and ended with the proportions below.

APPLE PIE BOURBON
1.75L bourbon
3-4 Golden Delicious apples, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 sticks of cinnamon (roughly 3-inch sticks)
roughly 1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup simple syrup

Place apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg in an airtight container. Pour bourbon over ingredients, ensuring the ingredients are covered by the bourbon. Seal the container and let sit at room temperature for three days. Shake or stir periodically to agitate the ingredients.

After three days, take a sip to test your infusion (it’ll be a bit bitter). Add more ingredients if necessary, and seal for another day. Test one more time after four days (total). Some infusions may take up to five days.

When you’ve achieved the desired flavor, strain the solid ingredients out of the bourbon using a colander. To remove the small sediment, strain the mixture using a cheesecloth. Add the simple syrup and stir for at least thirty seconds.

Bottle your mixture in an airtight container. I ordered swing-top bottles from specialtybottle.com and painted them using chalkboard paint. For gifts, I added a tag with recipes to use the bourbon. Your apple pie bourbon can be stored for up to two months in the refrigerator.

Holiday Drink Recipes

Peppermint HINT Martini
2 ounces HINT Peppermint water
1.5 ounces vodka
1 ounce 100% cranberry juice
Approximately, 1 ounce seltzer water
Ice cubes
1 lime

Fresh fruit In a cocktail shaker, combine vodka, Peppermint HINT, cranberry juice, and ice; shake until well combined. Strain into chilled glass and top with seltzer water. Squeeze lime into mixture and use as a garnish, along with some fresh fruits!

Total Calories: 122

Peppermint HINT Blueberry Blitzer Mocktail
3 ounces Peppermint HINT
2 ounces 100% cranberry juice
1 ounce seltzer water
Ice cubes
Approximately ¼ cup blueberries
1 mint leaf

Muddle blueberries and add to a chilled glass. In a cocktail shaker, combine Peppermint HINT, cranberry juice, seltzer water and ice; shake until well combined. Strain into chilled glass; serve immediately. Garnish with a mint leaf.

Total Calories: 46

Basil Hayden’s® Holiday Spice (Joaquín Simó)
2 parts Basil Hayden’s® Bourbon
3/4 parts Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 part Maple Syrup
1/4 part Amaretto
3 dashes Angostura® bitters

Combine Basil Hayden¹s®, lemon juice, maple syrup, Amaretto and bitters in a mixing tin with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Grate a cinnamon stick over the top as garnish

Cali Wonderland
1 1/2 oz Caliche Rum
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 tsp Granulated Sugar
1 bar Spoon Maraschino Liqueur
1 dash Aromatic Bitters
1 Lemon slice for garnish
Additional lemon juice and granulated sugar for garnish

Rub the rim of a festive old-fashioned glass with lemon juice and then dip it into the sugar and set aside to dry. Stir all ingredients over ice in a mixing glass and strain into the crusted glass. Garnish with the lemon slice.

Cali Kiss
1 1/2 oz Caliche Rum
3/4 oz St Germaine elderflower liqueur
1/2 Lemon cut into quarters
1 oz chilled Prosecco (or any dry sparkling wine)

In a mixing glass muddle the lemon, Caliche and elderflower liqueur, fill with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into an ice-filled flute and top with sparkling wine.

Recipes from Bow & Truss restaurant in North Hollywood:

Un bon cocktail est un cocktail qui se boit sans soif!

A great cocktail is a cocktail one drinks without thirst! – Chef Philippe Schmit

December 5th marks the 79th anniversary since the Repeal of the Volstead Act which ended Prohibition. The Standard Pour will be hosting a party with classic libations, champagne fountain, music from the era, and more. Festivities begin around 9pm.

2012 Holiday Gift Guide

Boozy Advent Calendars
We’ve all done the chocolate calendar, but this is a fun twist to gift to the alcohol aficionado in your life. Each little door reveals a 3cL sample of different alcohol (you can pick whisky or gin). By December 24, you’ll have swigged 72cL of delicious spirits . BONUS: one whisky door holds a 50 year old single malt Scotch. This gives the term “holiday spirit” a whole new meaning. Order ASAP so they don’t miss a day!

$128.01 (gin) or $240.08 (whisky) per calendar
MastersofMalt.com

alcohol advent calendar

BevShots Scarf
Why not make your drink a fashion statement? Bevshots has items, from coasters to canvas prints, adorned with your favorite drink’s picture … magnified. The scarves are large enough to be worn many ways and are available in many different drink prints (shown on the right in “Black Russian”).

$44.99 per scarf (currently on sale for $37.99)
Bevshots.com or (850)807-0507

bevshots scarf

The Original Whiskey Ball
A whiskey ball maker is a staple for any whiskey drinker’s bar (err … freezer?). A larger piece of ice means your beverage will stay cold longer, without melting the ice as fast (therefore, no more watery whiskey!) I have a set of these and LOVE them. I always keep a couple frozen balls on-hand … because you never know when Don Draper could stop by.

$23.95 (set of two molds)
TheWhiskeyBall.com (a cheaper alternative to last year’s)

Original Whiskey Ball

ALTUZARRA Collection from the Target + Nieman Marcus CFDA Collaboration
A luxurious-looking glass makes a drink taste more intriguing (or does it?). Get a great set of glasses from Zara Home. Take a tip from Southern Living and mix-and-match!

Black Tray – $79.99, Double Old Fashioned Glasses – $49.99 (set of 4), Cocktail Shaker $49.99
Target stores starting December 1 or on Target.com starting December 1 at 12:01am

Homemade Infused Liquors
A personal and thoughtful gift. Use your imagination to come up with flavors. Southern Living’s Apple Pie Infused Bourbon sounds tasty, no? Here’s how I made it.

Get unique bottles from SpecialtyBottle.com

Cynthia Rowley Flask Bangle
C’est magnifique! Available in gold or chrome, this statement piece has been souped-up and made functional (well, functional for a boozehound). At Fashion Week in NY this year, Cynthia Rowley showed off these boozy bangles in her Spring 2013 line … and I swooned. If anyone wants to gift one of these to me in gold, I’d be forever grateful.

$225 per bangle
CynthiaRowley.com

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Booze.
A never-fail gift, giving someone a thoughtfully-chosen spirit is sure to raise his. My go-to liquor store is Sigel’s on Greenville. Ask for Ruben. Don’t forget the bow.

Sigel’s, 5757 Greenville Ave