The Whiskey Sour | How To Combat Awkward

Hey, Friends! Let me introduce you to the peanut butter to my jelly, the spaghetti to my meatball, the polar bear to my top hat! This is Peter. He is my husband. He usually sits idly by eating my recipes and humoring me by laughing at my jokes. Today he wants to talk to you about booze. Take it away, Pete…

I didn’t grow up drinking hard alcohol. To be clear, I also didn’t grow up (from childhood) drinking. I’d probably be surlier and have more scars. When I started drinking, it was generally beer that went down my gullet, probably due to the Dutch blood pumping through my veins.

It wasn’t until I met my wife’s parents for the first time that I really acquired a taste for something more refined. Sure I’d downed some watered-down vodka tonics and dabbled with gin in college. I even insulted an old, Danish family-friend by suggesting his 30-year old Scotch tasted like rum (I was all of seventeen at the time). In essence, my alcoholic reference shelf was stocked with beer until my mid-twenties.

Gina first introduced me to her parents far before any standard of social norm or traditional scheduling. We’re talking about three to four weeks after our first date. And this wasn’t a matter of “hey, my parents are in town would you like to come to dinner?” Rather, this was “hey, I’m 400 miles from home and I’m sitting awkwardly across from your imposing, Italian father in their beautiful home.” […]

Cranberry Ginger Simple Syrup | A New Year’s Eve Cocktail

 

It’s nearly New Year’s Eve and although I don’t have any fancy plans, I DO intend to be holding a fancy drink when the clock strikes twelve (Midnight. Not noon. Unless I have one at noon. It’s a holiday)

I’ve made you a cranberry and ginger simple syrup and cocktail to match. Actually, I kind of made it for me. I am currently sipping on the one pictured above. I had to test it for you. Make sure it wasn’t awful (It’s not.).  You’re safe. Drink away.

I had never made my own infused simple syrup before, and it turns out it’s totally easy (perhaps this is why they call it “simple” syrup). Boil some water and sugar, add your desired infusing ingredients, let it all cool and you are in business. It’s not a lot of work, and you will seem super fancy. Nay, you ARE super fancy. No seeming about it.

Let’s make some simple syrup! […]

Apple Cinnamon Whiskey | Musings From A Birthday Girl Mess

This is the whiskey that turns a non-whiskey drinker into a friendly, sloppy, whiskey-filled birthday girl mess.

It is delicious.

You’ll think it’s good enough to drink by the half glass. Don’t bother with what your mother taught you…that whole “Stick with one kind of liquor” nonsense. What does she know? You are twenty-eight now. Total grown-up. You can make decisions. When your girlfriend asks you to have a Skinny Girl Margarita with her, you do it. It’s your freaking’ birthday, right? So what if you switch from tequila to vodka? That should be fine. You are twenty-eight. You know what you are doing. Not your first rodeo.  So what if you’re not a big drinker? You just want to play Dance Central and show off some moves.

How do I know all this? I might have been this birthday girl (yup).

Flash forward to the next morning. […]

Gin & Juice With Pomegranate and Lime

So, we did it.  We made it to the weekend.  *Clicking heels together!!*
Maybe you had a rough week.  Maybe you felt like you couldn’t get ahead.  Maybe you got egg yolk in your freshly washed hair…twice.  Maybe you made a holistic decision to try and cure your sinus headaches with peppermint oil.  Maybe you used too much.  Maybe you somehow managed to get that peppermint oil  not only UP your nose, but also all over your lips and in your eyes.  Maybe the only way to remedy the burning in this situation was to put Greek yogurt on a couple of Q-tips and shove the Q-tips up your nose.  Maybe (definitely) your dog insists on humping your leg if you look at her the wrong way.   The mother and daughter relationship starts to get weird. She’s five months now, and her hormones are flowing free.  You wish you could just leave a copy of “Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret” in her crate, but she never learned to read human. […]