Happy New Year! I spent a bit of time yesterday reflecting on how much I failed at my intentions from 2014. Maybe I’ll talk about it on an upcoming blog post, but most likely, I’ll just look to the future. I can honestly say, after 2014…I welcome 2015 with open arms.
kimberly ah
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Tag Archives: cocktails
Christmas Food at Karen’s
We spent Christmas morning at Karen’s for a little brunch before we came home and hibernated with gifts for the rest of the day. We had to journey alllll the way across the hall, but it was totally worth it because Karen is always good company and her brunch food was delectable. I was in charge of cocktails. Since it was morning and it’s been so gloomy lately, I chose to make this Winter Sun cocktail. A nice burst of citrus was just what we needed. If you are looking for a breakfast cocktail (because who doesn’t like day-drinking?), I highly recommend this one. It’s kind of a fancy screwdriver…but a thousand times better. (Do people still drink screwdrivers? I haven’t had one since college.) Freshly-squeezed clementine juice, lemon, triple sec…and the citrusy sugared rim on the glass…we might have to make these again for New Year’s Day! 
Karen made an egg casserole (which was delicious) but the highlight of the meal was the “Japanese Pancake”. It’s a long-standing Karen’s family tradition to eat these “Japanese pancakes” on Christmas morning. It’s not Japanese, and the closest thing I could come up with that’s similar is a Dutch Baby Pancake…but oh, is it heavenly! It’s a thin, simple batter poured into a hot cast iron skillet and baked in the oven. It puffs up as it cooks and when it’s done, it’s the perfect blend of light and airy and crispy.
It already is flavored by the butter in the skillet, but you can add jam, syrup, powdered sugar, and fruit, too. I just added a dusting of powdered sugar to mine. It was perfect.
After breakfast we came back home and gave Presley her gift from Karen. It’s a catnip fish that makes water sounds when you swat it. She’s in love. More on the rest of the gifts Friday…
In the meantime, have a wonderful & safe New Year’s Eve! Thanks for spending a bit of your 2014 with me! We are heading back to Golden Steer (for the third year in a row!) with some friends and then coming back home for snacks and cocktails and the countdown to midnight. Happy New Year!
New Vintage Cocktail Glasses
Last week, I was the lucky recipient of some vintage cocktail glasses. They were Karen’s grandparents’ and she remembers seeing her grandfather mixing up a pitcher of Manhattans and drinking out of these. They are tiny…bigger than shot glasses, but not as big as typical modern day glasses. I measured and they are just a tiny bit over three ounces…yep, perfect for a Manhattan. 
We hosted a Hasegawa Happy Hour this week and served up Manhattans. They were perfect, very Mad Men. I am excited to have them in my collection. (Thanks, Karen!!)
Chris & Heather’s Everything BUT Country Calendar Show
On Saturday night we went to see Chris & Heather’s Everything BUT Country Calendar Show at FitzGeralds. Apparently the event is held every year and I’m mad I haven’t gone sooner–it was so much fun! The concert was built around Heather McAdams’s hand drawn calendar of twelve different musical acts, in this case, all kinds of music except country. Different local musicians covered songs for each act in the calendar and then they showed an old 16mm film of the original musicians. 
Hosts Chris and Heather (shown above) were funny and smart. Their enthusiasm for the artists and songs was contagious. We went specifically to see our coworker Sharon Rutledge and her husband Scott Ligon play John Sebastian. (They are pictured at the top.) They were amazing! They sang “Didn’t Want to Have to Do It” and it was beautiful and melancholy and -sigh- just lovely. And then they followed the sadness up with “You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice” and they cheered us all up. 
Seeing the old films was part of the fun, too..crackling, old 16mm concert classics. (Pictured top to bottom: Rolling Stones, Peggy Lee and Slim Gaillard.) 
One hilarious moment was when Robbie and Donna Fulks covered The Carpenters Top of the World and “Grover” sang the chorus.
One of my favorite songs from the night was The Modern Sounds singing Slim Gaillard’s “Potato Chips.” I had to include a clip above because the song is just plain fun. (And I swear it caused our post-concert french fry run to Sub-T.) 
I’m so glad we went and I’m already hopeful that we can attend next year. Yay for live music and for friends with talent!
P.S. If you find yourself craving a classic cocktail, head to the SideBar where the bartenders know how to make a well-crafted cocktail with all of the right ingredients. I had a Martinez and a 20th Century that knocked my socks off!
From the Attic: Vintage Game Birds Shot Glasses
When my parents visited, they brought me an attic treasure–these vintage Anchor Hocking shot glasses. The glasses were wedding gifts from 1972! 
They still have their original box, and aside from being a little dusty from the attic, they are in tip top shape. 
Even their gilded rims are perfect! (Seriously, Dad. Did you even use these?)
Naoto and I aren’t big shot drinkers (well, not since the crazy days of our youth anyway.) And I use this Anchor Hocking measuring glass for my cocktail mixing. (It’s practically the perfect size for measuring the ingredients for one or a batch of cocktails.) But I’m thinking we could use these for after-dinner limoncellos or sips of other liqueurs. I’m excited to have them as part of the bar collection.
Thanks Mom & Dad!
LWA Social at the Forest Park Library
On Saturday, I attended the LWA Letter Social at my public library (as mentioned in this post.) As usual, I regret not taking more pictures. Kathy and Donovan had an amazing spread of stationery and mail art supplies, an array of rubber stamps and four fantastic typewriters. I used the Tippa pictured above and it typed like a dream! It moved like butter (or buttah!) 
I wrote a letter and two special thank you notes (which I will be sharing soon!) and had a great chat with all of the other women writing letters. (It was all women, a coincidence I just realized.) A few of us came back to our place and enjoyed Negronis and funny conversation. After everyone left, I wrote some more letters and postcards until dinner. I’m officially staying on top of my to-be-returned pile and it feels great!
Naoberly’s Noodle Tour: Slurping Turtle
Our ramen tour continued last weekend with a trip to Slurping Turtle in Chicago. I read about Slurping Turtle in this Thrillist article of the best ramen shops in the country. It didn’t take much coaxing to get Naoto to join me for another ramen adventure on Saturday (even though yet again, it was super hot and humid outside.) 
The nice thing about Slurping Turtle for us is that it is a quick train ride away. It’s in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, which is a quick walk from the Clark & Lake station. We made it downtown in time for an early lunch (which may explain why the restaurant is pretty empty in my pictures.)
The restaurant is very different from Misoya. It is sleek and modern, offering booth seating and a giant communal table in the middle. There is a full bar and the Slurping Turtle menu offers more than ramen–there are appetizers, bao, bento boxes, sushi and rice dishes. We went for the noodles though. 
Because it was Saturday and because we rode the train, we decided to get a drink. Naoto had a Sapporo and I had the Groundhog Day cocktail–gin, Luxardo Bitter Liqueur, Yellow Chartreuse, Grenadine and lime. It was really refreshing and reminded me of a Negroni.
The Trillist article recommended the Roasted Chicken Shoyu Ramen, but unfortunately that was not on the menu. (It seems that Slurping Turtle changes their menu with the seasons, so maybe it will come back?) 
Naoto got the Tonkotsu ramen, which is similar to what he had at Misoya. It had homemade ramen noodles, braised pork, bok choy, pickled mustard greens, braised mushrooms and scallions swimming in the salty pork broth. It was really good, and I liked the braised pork. Though it was definitely different than the grilled pork of Misoya, it was seasoned well and was really moist and tasty. 
As you can tell, Naoto really enjoyed his bowl of ramen. He liked the addition of the chili oil and he loved the homemade noodles.
I went rogue and ordered a cold noodle dish, the Hiyashi Chu-Ka. It had homemade ramen noodles, carrots asparagus, kabocha squash, broccolini, seaweed alongside crab sticks, shrimp, pork and ham gently tossed with a citrus-soy dressing. I am a sucker for anything with a citrus-soy dressing and this dish was the perfect cure for a hot summer day. I loved everything about my dish. It was fresh and hearty. The homemade noodles were firm and held the dressing perfectly. The citrus-soy complemented every bite of noodle, meat and vegetable without overpowering. Between this dish and my cocktail, I was a cool cucumber for the walk back to the train. 
Before we walked to the train, we stopped downstairs to use the restrooms. I had to take a picture of the cutie turtles on the restroom signs. I’m not sure what the fruit basket turtle was all about but the guy in the smoking jacket pretty much stole my heart.
I can’t wait to go back to the Turtle!
Slurping Turtle is located at 116 W. Hubbard Street in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.
Japan Does It Better 16: Canned Cocktails
Drinking is pretty prevalent in Japan. I’m kind of a lightweight there…especially in Naoto’s family where even his mother could drink me under the table. (And, as you know from my happy hour and cocktail posts, I do enjoy my cocktails!) Most often, the drink of choice is beer, especially for picnics or small parties or in the izakaya. At the izakaya, it was easy because I would order sours while everyone else enjoyed their Japanese beers. But in picnic or small party situations, I was worried that I would be left out because I hate beer. (Don’t give me the whole “acquired taste” schpeal…I’ve tried.)
Then, on our first trip to Japan, his sister took me over to the grocery store shelf that held the canned cocktails. Canned cocktails are just pre-packaged cocktails, often made with shochu and fruit juice. They aren’t as tasty as an Old Fashioned or a Tom Collins but they are good enough for a picnic. They are light and fruity and carbonated, easy to drink (and sometimes they sneak up on you…) Canned cocktails come in all sorts of flavors. Naoto’s sisters sent these home with him to give to me. The STRONG brand one is lemon and it is a potent 9% alcohol (hence the name). The Slat brand one is made with the açai berry and blueberry and it contains orange pulp (according to the red label with the orange icon). Slat is a much weaker 3% alcohol…there’s a little something for everyone’s tolerance!
Maybe the American equivalent of a canned cocktail is a Mike’s Hard Lemonade (gross) or a wine cooler (double gross), but trust me…the Japanese versions are tastier and I love that they include real fruit.
Portable options for non-beer drinkers…Japan Does It Better!!
To see more JDIB posts, go here.
Scenes from Hasegawa Happy Hours-June Edition
June is in the books and another month of Hasegawa Happy Hours is behind us. We only had three happy hours but each one was good fun…quality over quantity, right?
To start, we invited our friends Laura and Scott over for mojitos. We know Laura through the community garden, so we met them at the garden and showed off our plots and talked about vegetables. Then we all came back and enjoyed Laura’s first radish harvest and other snacks. We made mojitos with Laura’s mint (my balcony mint wasn’t big enough at the time) and sat outside on the balcony.
The next week the temperatures dropped and the cooler weather called for a cozy cocktail. I found a recipe for Pendergast cocktails (bourbon, Benedictine, vermouth and bitters) and they fit the bill. They are a new favorite, more fitting for the fall and winter though under normal circumstances. 
Finally, last week when Naoto got home, I made us Mai Tais…real Mai Tais, not the sickly sweet ones tiki bars try to pass off as cocktails. The real version isn’t sweet at all, it’s more tart and rummy with a hint of almond. I used this Mai Tai recipe from the New York Times. There are a few different versions of “original Mai Tai recipes” but this one used both dark and light rums and it was well-balanced, so tropical and so delicious.
For the Mai Tais (and some other cocktails I’ve been researching), I made my own orgeat syrup. There are slightly more complicated recipes for making your own orgeat syrup, but most of them made too much for my use. It only lasts a couple of weeks in the refrigerator and I didn’t want to waste anything, so I found this easy orgeat recipe from Craft Cocktails at Home and tried it instead. It worked like a dream and tasted delicious. I’d like to try making my own the “hard way” with whole almonds eventually, but to start, the Craft Cocktails at Home recipe is easy experimentation.
Easy Orgeat Syrup (barely modified from Craft Cocktails at Home)
6.5 ounces plain almond milk (Pacific brand is recommended, and brand matters. See Craft Cocktails at Home for more details.)
~6 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon (or 8 drops) almond extract
1/16 teaspoon (or 4 drops) orange blossom water
Add ingredients to a jar with a tight fitting lid. It works best if the almond milk is at room temperature (as in, a new carton fresh from the grocery store) so the sugar dissolves easily. Shake vigorously to combine and dissolve the sugar. Mine kept in the refrigerator for a little over two weeks without any problems.
You can use orgeat syrup in many different cocktails. So far I’ve made Mai Tais and Japanese cocktails and I have a few more up my sleeve in July.
For now, I’m trying to dream up something festive for Independence Day on Friday.
For more Hasegawa Happy Hours, go here.
Scenes From Hasegawa Happy Hours-May Edition
Hasegawa Happy Hours are still happening, but I need to get back into making them happen in a big way. And documenting the happenings better…like when we have special guests, getting a good picture of all of us together. (Special guests, you’ve been warned.) Hopefully I can find a good groove this summer.
So in May, we hosted our special guest James. We had so much fun with him, even though I only have a picture of the meat and cheese and roasted grapes to prove it. We made the Pining for the Queen cocktail for James and it was a big hit. 
I also finally shared my Barrel Aged Martinez with Naoto. I have to say it was really awesome and easy to have a ready-made cocktail on hand. No measuring needed. We also had roasted vegetables and frozen appetizers this night, so it just may have been the laziest HHH ever! 
In mid-May, Naoto brought home a new bourbon for me to try and I found a new favorite website. I found the recipe for a Fancy Free cocktail there and it was a hit. It’s similar to an Old Fashioned but the Luxardo replaces the sugar and the fruit. The best part of the Fancy Free for me is that it is the cocktail version of those quick meals you can make from your pantry. All of the ingredients are bar staples (bourbon, Luxardo, Angostura bitters and orange bitters)…there is no need for citrus (unless you count the garnish) or herbs or making simple syrup. You can enjoy this one without going to the grocery store. 
The Fancy Frees were our first official HHH cocktails enjoyed on the balcony and our first enjoyed with our new cocktail napkins from Marissa. 
And for our final May happy hour, I made Kentucky Monks, which had the most ingredients ever in a cocktail. It was really refreshing and light for a bourbon cocktail–a good one for summer afternoons.
Cheers to June and more cocktails, more evenings with friends and more Hasegawa Happy Hours!
For more Hasegawa Happy Hour posts, go here.
kimberly ah 