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Boozing It Up All Month
On Saturday SE cocktails contributor Paul Clarke finished his ambitious booze-blogging project "30/30" (30 cocktails in 30 days) on the Cocktail Chronicles. No. 30: the Prescription Julep. Hope that hangover's not too bad....Is Vodka Dead?
©iStockphoto.com/YinYang Eric Felten, the drinks columnist for the Wall Street Journal, seems to think so. He cites this year’s edition of Food & Wine’s annual cocktail compilation, Cocktails ’09, as proof of vodka’s demotion in the cocktail world. This year’s book has only ten vodka-based drinks, Felten notes, whereas the 2005 edition had 60. He openly celebrates the decline of all kinds of -tinis in favor of drinks based on gin, brandy, and other intensely flavored spirits. “As a way to inject unobtrusive alcoholic content into sugary drinks,” he writes of vodka, “the spirit is unsurpassed…But vodka's neutrality and uniformity would seem to be at odds with the slow-food crowd's embrace of robust flavors reflecting specific locales.” Is vodka...Writer Gives Up Wine for a Month as a 'Sobering Exercise'
Photograph from TheBusyBrain on Flickr Somewhere in between alky and non-drinker, there's a community of social sippers that could have another but typically knows when to say nah. Nina Caplan, part of this group, decided to give up wine for a month and write about it for Intelligent Life, a quarterly magazine by The Economist. It’s not difficult. Just dull. I felt unsociable. I missed the glow of self-satisfaction that alcohol brings, and the clear division it offers between work and recreation. I would cook dinner for a friend, watch her down half a bottle of wine and feel guilty for not joining her. Her conclusion: stone-cold sobriety is overrated. She was still tired, lazy, and guilty of overeating...Serious Grape: Mixing Up a Case of Wine for Spring
Photograph from jesiehart on Flickr Now that spring is here, most of us are starting to make the switch from the heavier, richer, comforting tastes of winter and onto the lighter, brighter flavors of spring. Take a trip to the wine store and pick up a mixed case of affordable red and white wines that will see you through all of the season's meals and special occasions between now and summer. I'm recommending buying two bottles of each of the varieties here. And be sure to ask your merchant if they give an extra 10 percent discount on a case of wine. Most do. For Salads, Fish, and Tuning Up Your Taste Buds Spring's lighter, greener foods pair perfectly...In Videos: Rachel Maddow Mixes Drinks with Jimmy Fallon
MSNBC political commentator Rachel Maddow appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night. She called out Fallon on his cocktail of choice—a gin and tonic—telling him she thinks he "can drink a more manly drink." She mixes him a Bijou (gin, vermouth, and chartreuse). "Sounds like a little dog," Fallon says. Mixing cocktails while guesting on other shows seems to have become a bit of a shtick with Maddow, but who can blame her? Half the people in the audience probably don't agree with her views, and making drinks is a nice way to avoid talking politics....Umami Mart's Sparkling Sake Lemonade
Umami Mart's Happy Hour column offers up a two-part primer on simple syrups. In this week's installment, it explores fruit-infused simple syrups and offers several recipes, including this "spring-beckoning" cocktail: If you're as ready for spring as I am, you'll enjoy this next recipe which incorporates the Meyer lemon syrup and sparkling sake for an amazingly refreshing drink I call a Sparkling Sake Lemonade. Even if you don't booze it up, the rambutan or Meyer lemon syrups would be great just mixed with a glass of seltzer. [via David Lebovitz]...Serious Grape: New Year, New Wine
On Fridays, Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 drops by with Serious Grape. This week, she suggests some resolutions to expand your wine repertoire in 2009. Photograph from poolie on Flickr It's 2009. With the new year we make all kinds of resolutions—to lose weight, balance our checkbooks, spend more quality time with friends. Some of these resolutions we keep. Most we forget before the end of January. I make a new set of wine resolutions every January to help lift me out of any wine ruts I've fallen into over the past year. If you're interested in making some wine resolutions of your own, I've got three suggestions to help you think your way to a whole new...In Videos: 'Girl Drink Drunk' by The Kids in the Hall
Sometimes the social pressures of drinking alcohol are just too overwhelming. In this Kids in the Hall sketch, Dave Foley becomes hooked on girl drinks at the hands of his boss, Kevin McDonald. You know what they say: After you drink that first Chocolate Choo-Choo, you can never go back. Soon you'll be blending drinks on the sly in your office's supply room. A sad, sad tale. Watch the video after the jump....The Best Bubbles: A Guide to Affordable Holiday Sparklers
On Fridays, Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 drops by with Serious Grape. This week, the best in bubbles. Photograph from Gaetan Lee on Flickr I can't seem to get my fill of bubbles this time of year. The holidays seem a bit more special with some sparkle in them. Just in time for pre-dinner sipping, post-shopping relaxing, holiday brunch mixing—and of course toasting the New Year—I've got my buying guide for the very best, affordable bubbles in the market. None of these sparklers should be hard to find, and they will add a festive note to whatever you're doing, even if it's just wrapping gifts. NV Soligo Prosecco Brut (find this wine for $11-$18) Really well made with...Hot Topics: Technique of the Week | The Food Lab
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8 Delicious Chocolate Cakes and Pies for Valentine's Day
Some might say that chocolate on Valentine's Day is about as unoriginal as you can get. We all remember the first heart-shaped box of overly sweet chocolate bonbons from grade school Valentines. But chocolate gift-giving needn't be a cliché. This year, let's bake our sweethearts chocolate cakes and pies instead! Here are 8 delicious recipes perfect for celebrating your love (of chocolate.)
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