i think this may have evolved into a cocktail blog! no, i will be back eventually. to be honest, while i love writing and appreciating i am just a little tired of the whole blogging thing. i read a TON of design blogs and lifestyle blogs and everything is …well… styled. and styled to me is starting to get … well … boring. stop gasping. i know – shocker. i want to aspire to something different and i already know what it is. but it’s secret. tell ya later.
now, on to my main squeeze- ROF. happy friday! he’s been doing these awesome cocktail videos for me. you know why? he makes damn good drinks. he makes what we call “sipping” drinks (insert a wide-eyed “KATIE” here!) this is the perfect cocktail to mix for an intimate holiday get-together. it’s festive with green and red coloring and it’s delicious. remember what they say about martinis:
like the margarita, the martini has many great memories for me.
at an early age, i always thought the martini glass was chic, hip + intimidating, all at the same time. as a teenager and in my 20’s, i used to watch clips of the rat pack and james bond – always with a martini in hand and thought there was something cool about it.
i can remember a boss i had when i was 30 telling me: “even if you don’t drink martinis, you need to know how to make one. if you’re entertaining clients, you won’t look like an uncivilized buffoon.” right at that time, i decided that if i was going to make one, i had to actually drink one first. i went into st. pete’s dancing marlin one evening (one of my regular spots) and pete asked: “RO, what can i get cha?” i said: “a martini”. with a smirk on his face, he asked: “what kind?” i replied (painfully honest here) “i have no idea”and then added: “make one that the cool guys drink”.
i watched him chill the glass, mix the concoction, slide it over to me on a bev nap where i took a sip, winced and choked back to him “pete, this is nothing but a cold shot in a big fancy glass.” he laughed, walking away and said “yep, it sure is!”.
take the martini glass, put 6-8 ice cubes + a splash of water and let sit and chill for 10 minutes.
while chilling, fill the shaker with ice + pour 3 ozs of stoli vodka, the smallest dash you can pour of vermouth and a splash (1/2 oz) of olive juice (this is called dirt and i like mine just a little dirty). put the lid on the shaker and shake for 2 minutes. kind of like this:
finish:
take off top of shaker, dump out ice from the martini glass + strain the martini into the glass (no ice in glass) + garnish with two olives.
much like the margarita, this is a sipping drink. do not operate heavy machinery if you’ve had more than 2 of these! but, as they say:
“One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough.” James Thurber
Look no further. The best margarita recipe is here. Once you make this, you’ll never, ever use a mix again. These, hands down are the best drinks to usher out the summer. if you want a plain, delicious margarita recipe, see this. But if you want to shake things up a little bit (that’s cocktail […]
There is nothing like fresh Sangria in the summer! Well, a margarita is pretty good too. Sure, you can buy the premixed Sangria drinks from Costco, and honestly, it’s pretty good. But ROF has been making his own Sangria for as long as I can remember. See video – filmed from vacation in Long Beach […]
Last year, ROF and I went to Hawaii with some close friends. It was my first time in Hawaii and it didn’t disappoint. You know how people talk a place up for so long and it either disappoints, meets expectations or exceeds expectations? This exceeded expectations. Awesome. While there, ROF made his delicious Hawaiian ribeye steaks that […]
This quote is the key to entertaining. Memorize it. I love to have people over. The whole experience should be smooth, fun and lovely not only for your guests – but for you. Why? Because whether you are having friends over for dinner, your spouse’s colleagues around for a happy hour or a baby shower for […]
Since the Cowboys aren’t in the Super Bowl, this isn’t a big deal to me. ROF is rooting for New England. In fact, he is giving us all a refreshing cocktail to sip along with this scrumptious dip or these awesome sliders.
