Bourbon!

(not my picture, taken by a co-worker)

This weekend a few of my co-workers and I hosted a BYOB/potluck party, prior to the Oscars. It was a great time. We had all sorts of amazing food. I made cassoulet and French bread. Both were scrumptious. One co-worker brought a pre-mixed cocktail. It was DEVILISH! You gotta try it. Be careful, it will knock your socks off! The "shake with cracked ice" is a vital part of the recipe, without it, you will be drinking nearly straight up booze!


Frisco Sour
1.5 oz bourbon
.25 oz benedictine
.75 oz lemon juice
.5 oz simple syrup
1 dash orange juice (.125 oz)

Shake with cracked ice, garnish with a cherry.

Soda/Pop

This is a fascinating and illuminating look at the Soft Drink industry of 2008. Click image to ZOOOOOOM way in. I'm not going to go into any details on what the graph says...click over to Accidental Hedonist for a great commentary.

Doing it the Old Fashioned way

After watching a video on Facebook posted by Maker's Mark on how to make an Old Fashioned, I had to have one...but I had to wait until after work.

Bourbon Old Fashioned

Ingredients:
1 orange slice
2 Maraschino cherries
1 sugar cube
3 dashes of bitters
1 1/2 oz of high quality bourbon (Maker's Mark!)
Sour mix (soda water or Sprite/7-11 can work too)
Plenty of ice

Start by muddling the orange, cherries, sugar cube and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and add the bourbon. Shake until well blended. You want to make sure the sugar is dissolved. I don't have a formal muddler, so I use a wide handled bamboo utensil for a wok.

Pour into an Old Fashioned glass, fill with additional ice if necessary. Top off with your favorite sweet & sour mix.

Garnish with an additional orange segment and cherry. Enjoy!

Woo Hoo Good Free Stuff

It's not often that Eat With Me Headquarters is the recipient of free goodies. It's been years since the last batch of stuff arrived. Mmm, Nutella!

But recently I was offered some free samples via the mail for a new Gatorade product. Sure, why not. I'll give it a shot, I like Gatorade products.



A few days later a package arrived at our door with two bottles of Gatorade's new product, some information and some coupons!

I've been drinking the traditional Gatorade products for years--not having a history with excercise, I usually turned to it when I'm sick or just feeling tired. After 5 years of inviting you all to "Eat With Me," I've found a need to return to the gym and now find myself looking for a little extra boost these types of drinks can offer.

This new brand from Gatorade is made with natural flavors, colors and ingredients. Sounds good to me. But how do they taste?

The G Natural (Orange Citrus flavor) reminded me of straight up Gatorade. I couldn't notice a difference. Good orangey flavor. The G2 Natural (Berry, low-calorie) reminded me a lot of the Vitamin Waters on the market. Both were sweet, with the G2 being of a lighter sweet flavor. The berry flavor was also a touch 'lighter.' I preferred the G2 Natural over the G Natural.

The G2 has 40 calories per bottle (20 per serving) and 5 grams of carbohydrates. The G has 100 calories (50 per serving) and 14 grams of carbs. Considering the obscene amounts of sugar and additives so called "energy drinks" have, this is pretty good.

These beverages were designed as part of Gatorade's G Series line of products for athletes. There is Gatorade Prime 01 designed as a pre-fuel refreshment to consume BEFORE exercise (it looks like a gel). The G Natural and G2 Natural are part of the Gatorade Perform 02 series for consumption DURING physical activity to replace fluids and replenish electrolytes. Gatorade Recover 03 is a post-activity protein & carb beverage to rehydrate and help muscles recovery. Great idea for those seriously into their workouts.

This new beverage is available in five markets, exclusively at Whole Foods stores. The Mid-Atlantic region (KY, MD, NJ, OH, PA, VA, DC), South (AL, GA, NC, SC, TN), Southwest (AK, LA, TX), Florida (It's own region) and Rocky Mountains, starting this month (CO, KS, MS, NM, UT).

At the end of the day, it tastes good. And if it were on the shelf next to a traditional bottle of Gatorade, being a natural product, I would probably reach for it first. Especially the G2 Natural--I like the lighter taste.

Gatorade

http://twitter.com/gatorade

http://www.facebook.com/Gatorade

Coffee

It's funny...I always considered Starbucks to be the answer to bad coffee of the days gone by. Then other fine coffees started coming out and I always found Starbucks to be tasting more and more like burnt tar. Now, we have a small cafe in my work place that serves coffee and when I want something other than the free swill we have in the office, I end up with a Starbucks. I don't love it, but I doctor it up enough that I can make due.

Well, for those of you who love Starbucks and don't know what you would do without it, I think there's an interesting option available to you. See, Starbucks recently launched their version of instant coffee. Funny right...Starbucks gained its fame as being THE coffee you go to a cafe for and not the Folgers or Maxwell House or Taster's Choice. Now they have their own instant coffee, Starbucks VIA.

When they launched the product, they had an offer for free samples, and I had to get my hands on some, to see what it was all about. Again, knowing I don't love Starbucks, but do drink it pretty regularly, I have to say, this is a pretty good product. It's not perfect by any meals, but as a substitute to the real deal, it works.


I received two small packets. One is Italian Roast and the other was Colombian. High grade Colombian! If you've seen the small packets of Crystal Light drink mix, these are the same shape and size. Perfect for traveling or storage in small spaces. They can also be purchased for about $10 for twelve 8 oz servings.

With the fine powder poured into my mug. The aroma was their, not really strong, but a good solid coffee aroma. If you don't want to drink the instant coffee, I think it might be a nice addition to baked goods, if you want some coffee flavor??? I don't know, that just came to me, but I could see adding it to some rich chocolate cookies for a rich mocha flavor.

Since the packets are measured out, you need to carefully add the water, so you don't dilute the coffee. 8 oz per packet. The color was there, as was the taste. Like I said, it's not the same as the fresh brewed Starbucks, but when you don't have that, this is/was a good substitute.

For those who know me, you know that I ruin my coffee with lots of cream and sugar. LOTS of cream & sugar. This instant coffee doesn't require as much of either for me, so that's a good thing. With Starbucks, I feel I'm adding those things to mask the bitterness that I don't like.

When all was said and done, I preferred the medium roast Colombian to the dark roast Italian Roast. I'm not going to run out and search for Starbucks VIA, but if it's presented to me, I wouldn't pour it down the drain either.

Don't Make Fun of My Drinking Habit

I know some people will chastise me for having my drink on the rocks, but it feels good on my sickly sore throat. And it's doctor approved! Seriously. Mmmm, feel the burn.

Watermelon Cocktail!

The other day I came home from work and before I had time to change out of work clothes and sit for a few minutes, J-lo was making cocktails! Very enjoyable. See below for his comments and recipe. The good fun: he used watermelon from the farmer's market. So a little tropical fun with local produce!

Watermelon Daiquiri

From J-lo:

This is roughly what I put in, but I messed around with it a few times.

4 cups of watermelon - cubed and frozen
1/2 cup rum
1/4 cup orange liqueur
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
simple syrup
ice

Add watermelon and liquids to a blender. Mix until smooth. Add ice to bring volume back up to top of blender. Mix again. Taste and adjust until you get the ingredients right.

I had no orange liqueur, so I tried orange vodka. That really didn't bring enough sweetness, so I used more simple syrup than you might normally need. Another option would be to try orange juice.

The other idea I would try is to use watermelon flavored rum, which could enhance the flavor and sweetness.

Agua Fesca!

Watermelon Agua Fresca

What a beautiful summer drink. Very refreshing and very easy to blend together. All you need is a blender or food processor. Perfect fresh from the pitcher. Delightful with a splash or rum or any other favorite liquor.

3 lb watermelon (weight includes rind)
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup of simple syrup (based on preference and ripeness of the fruit)

Cut the rind from the water and remove any black seeds. Cut fruit into cubes and add to a blender or food processor. Mix until well blended. Stir in a pinch of salt and any syrup you like. Chill in the refrigerator and serve over ice.

Now, let's talk options...

1-2 limes, 1 to add juice to the watermelon and a second to garnish.

1 tsp Orange extract for a light floral note

Small handful of mint leaves, crushed or muddled in the bottom of the glass. Or add the mint to the simple syrup while that is boiling to extract the minty flavor. Remember; to make simple syrup, you add equal amounts of white sugar and water, boil until the sugar is dissolved.

What would you add?

Recipe from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison

Hot Hot Hot Stuuuufff!

HOLIDAY CHOCOLATE ALERT!
HOLIDAY CHOCOLATE ALERT!
HOLIDAY CHOCOLATE ALERT!

The other day I caught a food network special on holiday food gifts. Tyler Florence made Hot Chocolate and I really wanted to try it.

Couldn't be simpler and is perfect for a chocolate lover. Rich. Warm. Spicy. Earthy. Not cloyingly sweet!

Let's get started:

3/4 cup dried milk & 3/4 cup sugar

Add 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/2 cup of cocoa powder.

Mix the ingredients and add 2-4 oz of bittersweet chocolate pieces. The recipe called for 4 oz and I wanted to use 2 oz...use what you prefer.

Add 3 heaping tablespoons of the mix and add 1/2 cup of very hot water. Mix until blended. Add another 1/2 cup of hot water. Stir.

Add some marshmallows....if you like....I do.

Curl up on your couch in your favorite pajamas and enjoy your 'stories.'

Each recipe gives you about 6 cups of hot chocolate...depending on how much mix you use for each serving. Store in an airtight container.

Now What?

You're back from vacation...now what? Back to work. Well, in preparation for going back to work, we had Piña Coladas!

Piña Colada

For two large cocktails:
4 ½ oz white rum
3 oz coconut creme
6 oz pineapple juice
1 ½ trays of ice cubes

Whiz all together in a blender until smooth and frothy.
Garnish with cherry and pineapple!

The Rum is Don Q. The native Puerto Rican rum. Bacardi may be the world's best selling and from Puerto Rico, but the founder of Bacardi actually started making his rum in Cuba, before moving to P.R. Don Q has always been manufactured in P.R. But their sugar comes from the Dominican Republic. Shhhhh. Don't tell anyway. The guy who gave us the tour of the Castillo Serralles told us that.

The pineapple and cream of coconut. Shake that stuff up. The can of coconut will probably be separated and in need of a hardcore shake. I had to spoon and pour the whole thing into the cocktail shaker and spend a few minutes shaking to get the solids and syrup to come together.

Mama* needs a cocktail...

...and what's better and more mama friendly than a
Chocolate Martini?!!?

Pay no mind to the brands, its what I can get cheap & good (Ryan's cream), or what my local liquor store has (Cask & Cream),...but gather your ingredients: vanilla vodka, Irish cream, chocolate cream liquor, chocolate syrup and heavy cream. Gather your equipment; martini glass, cocktail shaker and jigger. And you need Ice!

Fill your cocktail shaker with ice. Measure your booze. For two cocktails add two jiggers each of the vodka, Irish cream and chocolate liquor. Add half a jigger of cream and a squirt of chocolate syrup. Cover and shake!

If you want to be fancy...and why should you not be fancy...drizzle some chocolate syrup into the glass, then gently poor your cocktail in your glass. Cheers.


*...and by "Mama" of course I mean me!

On The Go Flavor

The other day I picked up a box of these On The Go beverage mixes. Really GOOD! I hope I can find the mix that is more 'bulk' so I can make a gallon of the tea instead of using up these little tubes.
I would recommend this for anyone who likes a flavored sweet tea.

Sangria

So I made the Sangria this weekend. I received so many recommendations here on the blog, via email and out in the world wide web....my recipe below follows a few different recipes.

It was delicious and tasted like a whole lot more!

Here’s what I did...

Sangria
1.5 liter bottle of dry red wine (Alice White 2006 Shiraz)
1 cup spiced rum
½ cup dark rum
¼ cup triple sec
⅓ cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
1 orange,sliced and quartered
1 lemon, sliced and quartered
1 lime, sliced
1 apple, sliced and quartered
1 pear, sliced and quartered

Mix the booze and sugar, until sugar is dissolved. Add the fruit and refrigerate over night.

Chill your bottle of wine. Two hours prior to serving, mix the wine, orange juice and fruit/booze mixture.

Allow to mellow for two hours prior to serving. Pour over plenty of ice.

This was the second batch (there were three!)...sorry for the blur, my senses had already been impaired at this point!

Be careful if you plan to eat the fruit! It's Potent!