A well-crafted cocktail (or mocktail) is a refreshing start to dinner. You can’t go wrong by following the seasons and employing ingredients that speak to whatever nature is serving up, so local apple cider is the star of this fall beverage.
And just like that, it’s summer. We may have a month to go by the calendar, but when the temperature climbs and air conditioners kick on ( with more than a little grumbling that it’s May, dangit, and why can’t we wait until June?), we long for great outdoor dining adventures. Pretty lights strung up between trees, the first fireflies of the season and a light breeze rustling the leafy trees. Yep, it’s time to dine and entertain on the deck, in the yard and on the screen porch.
Blood orange season is mercifully brief. Don’t assume I dislike this deep red tart fruit, but its short run at the markets assures that I indulge while available and pine for its presence once it disappears from the market shelves. I like seasonality and I like to miss things and not take them for granted. Moro oranges are like that for me. I suppose I could purchase the juice in a jar, but then I would miss the opportunity to slice into ruby flesh and fill my kitchen with the unmistakeable aroma of winy blood orange. Continue reading
Do you love ginger beer with its nose-tickling heat and sweet? You will love this cocktail. Tis the season for holiday entertaining and this cocktail pairs well with crunchy, creamy, salty, chewy nibbles of all kinds. Your guests will think you’ve been toiling for hours, but just a little prep ahead of time makes for a last minute assembly of a stunning libation. Continue reading
Is it summer yet? The calendar may not agree with my assessment, but in Richmond summer appeared sometime in February, when we passed the 80 degree mark, and in April when we soared into the nineties. A stout refusal to turn on the air conditioning (in April!) got me thinking about ways to cool off in front of a fan on the back deck as I fired up the grill.
Forget everything you ever heard or read about moonshine. Forget the still-in-the-woods scenario, the comical backwoods fellers trying to stay one step ahead of the revenuers (think Andy of Mayberry), the shadowy figures skulking around parking lots peddling their hootch.
When you cook, you sometimes make mistakes. I cook a lot, and I make a lot of mistakes. It’s how I learn. Those cute little refrigerator magnets say it succinctly : Always Make New Mistakes.
Have you noticed the full page of craft cocktails at your favorite restaurants? No longer content to offer the usual manhattans and martinis, bartenders are upping the game with seasonal ingredients and herbs and homemade bitters, tempting with signature drinks to start your dinner with flair.
Last weekend, lemonade stands were manned by kids and their families across central Virginia under the Anthem LemonAid program to benefit local pediatric cancer treatment centers. My buddy and neighbor Sam operated a stand in front of our neighborhood market Little House Green Grocery and netted a tidy pile of funds for VCU Medical Center’s pediatric oncology program. Yay, Sammy!
When there is a chilly bite in the air, it’s time for winter citrus. I enjoy lemon in my summertime tea, and lime juice in warm weather salsas and salads, but winter is when the perfume of pink grapefruits, tangerines, Meyer lemons and blood oranges is at peak and best enjoyed.