2008 Food Blog Awards: Nomination Period Open
Now is the time to nominate your favorite food or drink blog for the 2008 Food Blog Awards. All the details can be found on our main site.
Craft Of The Cube
So, on the topic of mixing drinks, many people are realizing that big cubes work exceptionally well (harkening back to the bartender’s tools of old…you know, the icepick and whatnot). I’ve already mentioned the Tovolo trays in the past, but you may notice in the photograph above that one cube is infinitely more pleasing to the eye than the other. The way to get your cubes to look like the one on the left is to…ready for it? Boil them. So, if you can afford a Kold Draft machine, you really don’t need to read this post, but if you tend bar at home, grab youse some Tovolo trays (just so y’all know, the blue trays are straight walled and the purple ones are textured) and boil up some water. Another point of note is that I use (and recommend that you do as well) distilled water. More on that later.
Photography by Emily W. Kincke.
Champagne Twists for New Year’s
I like Champagne but I really like to mix with it, so you know what I’ll be doing on New Year’s Eve. I’ve been gearing up for the holiday by collecting a few new Champagne cocktails, which are far more interesting than the average Bellini and Mimosa - these are truly elegant and perfect for your New Year’s Eve toasts.
When it comes to choosing a Champagne to mix with I prefer to go with the opposite of the rest of the drink. If it’s mostly made of sweet mixers (like the Accomplice below), I like to go with the drier styles like brut or extra dry, but when it comes to the cocktails with drier ingredients, a great demi sec sweetens everything up.
- 1 oz simple syrup
- 2 oz Stolichnaya vodka
- 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
- Champagne
- 3 strawberries
- superfine sugar for rimming
Muddle three strawberries and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add the vodka and lemon juice. Shake well. Strain into a sugar-rimmed martini glass. Top with Champagne.
Beautiful Boat (pictured)
- 40 ml Rose Champagne
- 50 ml Cape North Vodka
- 2 mint leaves
Shake the vodka and mint in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Float Champagne over top.
- 1 1/2 oz Finlandia Vodka
- 1 1/2 oz Korbel Champagne
- 3/4 oz Chambord
- red sugar for rimming
Rim the glass with red sugar (use food coloring). Pour vodka and half of the Chambord in a martini glass. Top with Champagne. Pour the remaining Chambord over the back of a spoon to make it float.
- 1 1/2 oz St. Germain liqueur
- 1 1/2 oz pear vodka
- Champagne
- super-fine sugar for rimming
Rim a cocktail glass with super-fine sugar. Shake liquors in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into the prepared cocktail glass. Top with Champagne.
Holiday Break
Thank you so much for making our site a part of your regular routine. Without you, we wouldn’t be here. We will be taking a short break to celebrate the holidays with our family and friends, and will resume regular postings on Monday, January 5th (the official kick-off of the annual Food Blog Awards!).
Happy holidays!
Good Wine for Under $20
With the holiday season in full swing, entertaining is getting quickly under way. When it comes to wine bottle purchases though, you don’t need to break the bank. Can you still find a good bottle of wine for under $20? Absolutely, says Stephen Phillips, host of Fine Living Network’s Great Cocktails. Here are his suggestions:
1. Many quality wine makers produce more affordable versions of their top-of-the-line wines. Ask at a wine shop for “second label” recommendations.
2. Find a wine by-the-glass that you like in a restaurant. If it sells for $40 a bottle there, you can usually find it in a store for half that.
3. Throw a tasting party. Ask guests to each bring an under-$20 bottle and find what’s best. It’s fun and everyone gets great recommendations.
Zen Latte - A Winter Delight
This is an irresistible hot drink that is both subtle and satisfying. The Zen Latte is rich and features the wonderful new(er) liqueur, Zen Green Tea. Naturally this one would be perfect for hot cocktails and the mix of the intoxicating herbs with steamed milk is absolutely fantastic. It is truly worthy of getting all cozy in front of the fireplace with a good book on a chilly winter night while the snow slowly falls and piles up outside and you forget about all your cares.
Zen Latte
- 1 1/2 parts Zen green tea liqueur
- 6 parts steamed milk
- matcha powder for garnish
Build in an Irish coffee glass or your favorite mug.
However, the beauty of warm Zen doesn’t stop there. Try it in a toddy too. All you need is a shot of Zen and some hot water, although I’ve been inclined to add rye whiskey and a bit of simple syrup for a slightly more interesting version.
Sangiovese With Food
That great little book by Brian St Pierre, The Wine Lover Cooks Italian, has several suggestions for matching Sangiovese with food.
His Tips to Successful Matches with Chianti suggests
- The Tuscan specialty crostini - thin slices of toasted bread rubbed with olive oil and spread with chicken liver is a perfect match, as is calves’ liver and caramelized onions.
- Roast lamb, especially cooked over charcoal, double-thick grilled lamb chops and thick grilled steak with mushrooms
- If there’s any Chianti left over after diner, it’s a perfect match with some aged cheeses, such as Pecorino Romano or aged Gouda or Cheddar
Jockamo
Those of you that have ever been to New Orleans have, no doubt, come across Abita Amber. It essentially replaces Budweiser in most places that serve draught beer. I wouldn’t say that it is an especially great beer, but it has enough going on in it that makes it quite enjoyable.
On the other end of the spectrum, Abita has hit us with a one-two punch of hops in their latest brew: Jockamo IPA.
Much more robust than their amber, Jockamo has a nose of cherry and birch with a silky mouthfeel. This one is excellent a bit warm, not super frigid like most beers are served. The bitterness it presents is quite pleasant, not overwhelming like some IPA’s and barleywines can be.
For those of y’all that are uninformed, it takes its name from the song Iko Iko. Something that’s also fun about the name is that you can replace “fin année” with IPA and the rhyme still fits.
Be sure to enjoy this one sittin’ by da fay-o. It’s truly delicious.
Photography by Emily W. Kincke.
Winter Wonders: Whispers of the Frost
Whispers of the Frost is one of those great forgotten cocktails that I found in The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book and adapted to modern proportions. As the name suggests, this is a perfect drink for warming you up and is wonderful mix of whiskey, sherry and port. While there are many options, I like to use either a blended or rye whiskey and an extra dry sherry with a port like Sandeman Founders Reserve.
- 1 1/2 oz whiskey
- 1 1/2 oz sherry
- 1 1/2 oz port
- 1 tsp sugar
- variety of fruit for garnish
Pour the whiskey and wines into a wine goblet filled with ice. Add sugar to taste, stir and garnish with fruit.
Offered as part of the Spirit World’s Winter Wonder cocktail recipe series.
2008 Food Blog Awards Kick-Off
On Monday, January 5th, we will put out our call for nominations in fourteen different categories, and this is your chance to nominate the food and drink blogs that you think are the best of the best. The nominations period will close on Friday, January 9th, 11:59 pm, EST, giving you five full days to nominate your favorite blogs. Any nominations after that period will not be considered.
On January 19th, we will post the Top 5 nominations in each of the fourteen categories. These spots are decided by our judging panel, and only blogs nominated the week before will be considered. The amount of times a site is nominated does not have any bearing on its placement, it only puts it in the running.
Once the top 5 sites are announced for each category, the voting begins. Voting will be open from Monday, January 19th until 11:59 pm EST on Friday, January 23rd. You will have five full days to vote for your favorite site, determining the winners. The winners will be announced on Monday, January 26th.
During the rest of this pre-Food Blog Awards time, we will be unveiling our distinguished panel of judges, the official rules of the Food Blog Awards, and the list of prizes donated for the winners from our very generous sponsors.
Go on and spread the word … and let the fun begin!
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