PSST – there’s a new kid in town.  Revolver Brewing is opening in Granbury, TX next Saturday!  See some of their information below.  

Why not make a weekend out of it?  See what the CVB has to offer!
 

FROM REVOLVER:
The grand opening will include tours of the brewery and free beer tastings. The Agave Tamale Company, The Rib Shack, and Geppeto’s Pizza Truck, will have food available for purchase. Fish Fry Bingo will perform and there will be games and other family activities. Admission is free.

Saturday, October 20, 2012 | High Noon to 4 pm.
Ribbon Cutting at 1:30 PM.
5650 Matlock Road; Granbury, TX 76049

ABOUT REVOLVER BREWING
Revolver Brewing is the first craft brewery to be built in Hood County, Texas. The brewery is housed in a 6,000-square-foot new construction building and holds a 30-barrel brew house, fermentation tanks and packaging equipment.

The father and son team of Ron and Rhett Keisler has teamed up with Grant Wood, who returned to Texas after 16 years as brewmaster for the Samuel Adams brand.

Revolver’s beers are available in craft beer loving restaurants and pubs in Granbury and the Metroplex. A full list of locations is available at www.revolverbrewing.com. 

ABOUT THE EVENT
Once in a blue moon, I attend an event that changes my outlook on Dallas.  I feel like I know and “get” my city, and then I find out that I really don’t.  Case in point: I was invited to an event celebrating Giving Through Growing, in which they celebrated a community garden in Dallas, the Woodbridge Giving Garden, sponsored by Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi.  After this event, it occurred to me that there is so much of Dallas that I have yet to discover.  As for my personal life changes, I made a decision to cook with more fresh ingredients and get my butt to the Farmer’s Market more often.  Why go frozen when you can get fresh?

The cooking demonstration was at DUO (Inwood and Lovers) and was hosted by the effervescent Giving Through Growing National Ambassador, Candice Kumai (more about Candice below).  An overview of the program explained that Woodbridge sponsors five gardens throughout the US, and Dallas was home to one.  The Woodbridge team spent the afternoon in the garden, the Live Oak Community Garden, picking produce for our dinner (no kidding), and then spent the evening with bloggers, press, etc. over a fresh and extremely delicious meal and Woodbridge wine.  We were even treated to a cooking demonstration by Candice (picture above).

Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi’s program gives a grant of $8,000 to five gardens across the U.S.  The money given to the gardens is meant to facilitate the production of more food, all of which is to be donated to local food banks.  More on Giving Through Growing.

ABOUT THE GARDEN
The Dallas garden employs about 10 families living in Dallas, mainly from Cambodia, Vietnam, and other Asian nations.  The garden’s produce is sold at the Dallas Farmer’s Market, and the garden itself is open to the public — the addresses and contact information are listed below.  The garden produces about 7,000 pounds of produce per year right now, and with the grant from Woodbridge, will produce more than 9.000 pounds a year and will employ more than 30 families.

Live Oak Community Garden
Find them on Facebook
4819 Live Oak (corner of Live Oak and Fitzhugh)
Contact: Don Lambert | 972 231-3565

ABOUT THE AMBASSADOR (and all-time coolest chef)

Now, a bit about one of my new favorite people, Candice Kumai.  Dubbed “The Stilhetto Chef”, she is a “Top Chef” alumnus and author of two cookbooks that bring healthy recipes using fresh food to the “normal person’s kitchen” (my words) … not to mention she’s hilarious and incredibly nice.  

Candice’s recipes aren’t extremely complicated and they don’t require ingredients that you’ll buy once and will sit in your pantry.  Her first cookbook, Pretty Delicious, has gotten a workout in my kitchen since it arrived on my doorstep.  Her newer cookbook, Cook Yourself Sexy, is on its way (it was released October 2, 2012 and it makes a great gift)!  Get your own copy of Cook Yourself Sexy

Something poignant Candice said during the demonstration is, “Food is like men… You have to keep the ones you get something good from.”  Amen, sister.

Product Review: POPTAILS

We live in Dallas … and let’s face it, it’s hot.  With the rule and not the exception being 100+° days, we’re all in need of some relief, and this handy dandy handbook delivers just that in the form of alcoholic popsicle recipes.

POPTAILS by Erin Nichols is a guide to 60 boozy treats-on-a-stick that will help make this warm effing hot summer a bit more bearable.  Erin created recipes for everything from a margarita or root beer float to the “Triple Berry Threat” and “The Highbrow Pear”.

After trying some of the recipes myself, the “Moscow Mule” (surprised?) and “Mom’s Apple Pie” are definite recommendations.  So you don’t make some of the mistakes I did, I’ve come up with some tips:

  • Follow directions!  Don’t try to be a hero —- Erin has slaved over these recipes to hone the perfect proportions
  • Let them freeze completely.  Cutting corners and trying to consume these delicious nuggets of icy alcohol is not recommended because the alcoholic elements may take longer to freeze than the rest, making it a sloppy mess if you get too anxious.
  • Distribute napkins with your poptails
  • Use popsicle forms that allow you to use real popsicle sticks instead of plastic ones (the wood grabs the pop better making it easier to remove)
  • Make sure you prepare the alcohol as directed
  • Be patient when removing the poptails from the forms

My lovely (not) pictures are to illustrate how lovely they turned out. (I didn’t even make any of the pretty ones with fruit inside.)  Popsicle forms are easy to find (Wal-Mart has some or you can go with a disposable tube option like Zipzicles), but you can also rig some of your own.  Note: they were not only pretty (IRL), but also stinkin’ delicious.

The book is available on Amazon, so get to ordering and get some in the freezer STAT!

Wine is one of the agreeable & essential ingredients of life.

Julia Child

I was so pleased to hear that the W’s Living Room Bar is featuring a new set of cocktails showcasing pear and other summery flavors.  I was easily pear-suaded to come in and try some of the new options, and made my way into the W with a new friend.  We settled into one of the comfy banquettes next to the small water feature, made friends with our waitress, and began our tasting adventure.

The first drink I tried was the new signature drinks for TLRB, A State of Bliss (Ketel One Citron vodka, cucumber, fresh mint, gimme syrup).  It had a familiar taste to it, and was so incredibly refreshing that I almost wished that we’d decided to sit on the patio … and then I remembered that it was around 102 out.

Next came the Ultimat Summer Blast (Ultimat vodka, fresh kiwi, Asian pear, St. Germain Liqueur, prosecco) was a bit less refreshing, but still is a great summer drink.  I’m not a huge fan of prosecco, so this wasn’t my favorite of the night, but I wouldn’t NOT drink it again.  I really loved the simple garnish — it almost looked like a cupcake with a tiny decoration on top.

Asian “Pear” Suasion (Absolute Pear vodka, Mathilde Pear liqueur, gomme syrup, fresh Asian pear, prosecco) was another cocktail that passed across the table.  The pear puree lent a nice texture to the cocktail and made it a bit interesting.  Since I’ve always been a fan of pear vodka, I enjoyed this little diddy, too. 

To finish the tasting session, I capped the evening off with a few sweet sips of the Nuts About the W (Stoli Vanilla vodka, Godiva White and Godiva Dark liqueurs, Frangelico, walnuts).  Let’s talk about this slice of heaven … if you’re a fan of dessert drinks, this is your new go-to.  It is plenty rich and not too heavy.

In the process of trying all of these great drinks, we opted to try a couple of food options — the mushroom flatbread and the cheese tray.  The flatbread was incredible — I did my best so be a gracious friend and allow my cohort to have the last piece, but unfortunately I wasn’t generous enough to let her have the last piece (sorry, Josie!).  The cheese tray (pictured above), was very simple (no honey or other fanciness), but it came with olives, nuts, and plenty of crackers.  It really hit the spot.

The TLRB’s other new drink features are:

Cucumber Mint Cooler – Belvedere Vodka, fresh cucumber, mint leaves, gomme syrup, sparkling water
Georgia Woodford Peach – Woodford Reserve, peach purée, Orange Bitters, splash of sprite
Hendrick’s Experience – Hendrick’s Gin, St. Germain Liqueur, cucumber, fresh lemon juice
Raspberry Serrano Paloma – Patron Silver Tequila, fresh raspberries, grapefruit juice, Serrano pepper
Strawberry Basil Mojito – Bacardi Rum, fresh strawberries, basil leaves, fresh lime juice, sparkling water
W Peach Martini – Ciroc Peach Vodka, peach purée, topped with Proseco

Things to know:

  • The new drinks are available through September (the State of Bliss is always on the menu)
  • The Living Room bar is open seven days a week
  • The W offers complimentary valet parking if you’re going to TLRB
  • The food is delicious
  • TLRB has live music each Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
  • Thursdays are Havana Nights (a complimentary hand-rolled cigar when you purchase drink flights of premium Scotch or rum, mojitos are $10)