Tag Archives: Cocktails

Dec 30 2011

Friday Cocktail Hour | Aperol Champagne Cocktail

Posted in Cocktails

I have been trying to write a post for the past couple days.  One that would reflect on 2011 and wrap it up tightly;  something special to share with each of you.  The words are on the tip of my tongue, but I cannot seem to get them on paper so to speak.  I think I need to continue reflexing these last few hours; absorb the rest of the minutes and then breath.

In the meantime, I am going to share the last post of 2011 with you all.  Something slightly sweet, and slightly tangy.  Festive and bubbly.  Worth making and toasting a new year with the ones you love.

We spent most of this month drinking bottles of champagne.  Oh MY, does that make it sound as if we have a problem?  We were playing around (i.e.. developing recipes) with assorted alcohol and champagne for a champagne cocktail series that Maggie is hosting this week and decided to make a few extras to share with you.  All the champagne cocktails were favorites but this one we really took a liking too.

Aperol – are you familiar with it?  If not, here is a little history on a favorite around our house.  Aperol is an Italian aperitif that was created in 1919 by the Barbieri brothers in Padova, Italy.  It is known for it’s signature orange color and bittersweet taste.  I love how the tang lingers on the back of my tongue. The recipe for Aperol has not changed since the early days;  it is still made with a select list of ingredients including sweet and bitter oranges and other herbs and roots.  As well it is still a secret recipe!  I love that, in the early days, it was being marketed as a liqueur for folks interested in keeping lean and fit thanks to the low alcohol content.  Today it is a classic aperitif that is enjoyed by many, including us.

We usually enjoy Aperol on ice with a wedge or twist of orange, while cooking dinner or on a hot summer day.  This time we decided to play around with using it in cocktails.  The champagne added a nice sweetness to the bittersweet taste, and the bubbles were just plain fun.  It kind of reminded us of a bubbly Negroni.  I am pretty sure this will be served as a pre-dinner drink at many of our upcoming cocktail parties!

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.  ~Benjamin Franklin

We wish each of you a safe New Years Eve and a New Year filled with Joy!

Denise & Lenny

Recipe:  Aperol Champagne Cocktail
  • 1 oz aperol
  • champagne
  • lime swirl, for garnish

In a champagne glass add the aperol.  Top off with champagne.  Garnish with a lime swirl.  Serve. Drink.

 

Posted in Cocktails
Dec 14 2011

Holiday Cocktail Gift Box | A Give Away

Posted in Cocktails

We cannot think of a better time to give a really special gift, than during the holidays.  Maggie, over at Eat Boutique has gorgeous holiday gift boxes, and there is something for everyone on your list.  We are huge fans!  How about a marshmallow gift box for that sweet niece or nephew.  Or a New England gift box for that friend who is homesick for the NE.  Going to visit family or friends over the holidays, surprise them by sending ahead a Holiday Mornings gift box.

It has been way too long, since we have featured a give-away.  We love giving gifts, and want to give you one of Maggie’s gorgeous gift boxes.  The cocktail box we are going to share with one lucky reader is all about making gorgeous cocktails at home.

We love making cocktails at home!  The key to a really fantastic drink, is by using great ingredients, such as homemade bitters, syrups, and dusting sugars.  Eat Boutique is giving us their Homemade Cocktail Gift Box, to share with one of you.  Not only is the packaging gorgeous, but the ingredients are really special.  For instance you will get a chance to enjoy Scrappy’s Bitters.  Their flavors are exotic …. celery, rootbeer, lavender, chocolate, as well as some traditional flavors.  We have yet to try, but have heard amazing things about Scrappy!  You will also receive some Lemonbird and Morris Kitchen simple syrups, that will take your cocktail from exotic to warm and spicy.  The holidays are meant for a little bling, and cocktail bling is very fun.  Didi Davis Food makes special sugars that rim a cocktail glass beautifully.

We cannot wait to share this with one of you!  Simply leave a comment on this post answering this dying to know question:

What is your favorite holiday cocktail to make at home?  Share the Recipe, and we will feature it during one of our Cocktail Hours!  

Hurry though;  you need to leave a comment by 11:59 PM (PST) on December 17, 2011.  We will announce the winner on the 18th of December, after we read through them all, and pick the one that makes us very thirsty.

The gift box will be shipped directly from Eat Boutique.  Due to the nature of this product, this giveaway is only open to residents of the continental USA.  Be sure you enter a valid email address, because if your name is drawn and I can’t get a hold of you within 48 hours, I will choose an alternate winner.

Want some Extra Chances of Winning?
In addition to the main comment, leave a separate comment for each bonus entry:

  • Follow @chezus and tweet the following:  I just entered to win a Homemade Cocktail Gift Box  from @eatboutique and @chezus! Enter here:  
  • Like Chez Us on FaceBook!  Come back here and tell us you did (we do check – smiles)
  • Like Eat Boutique on FaceBook!  Come back here and tell us you did!
Photos were styled and photographed by Maggie Battista and Heidi Murphy.   + White Loft Studio.
And the winner is …..  (drum roll please)  Tami of Run with Tweezers!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Cocktails
Aug 25 2011

Friday Cocktail Hour | Helen

Posted in Cocktails

Apricots have finally shown their smiley red cheeks at our neighborhood market, and we have been enjoying often.  I am really hoping they still around for a bit as I have some great ideas that I want to try out.  Just one of them happened to be this cocktail, The Helen.

We named this cocktail after my grandmother Helen, as it was her small but humble apricot tree that made me fall in love over and over every summer.  My sister and I use to run around the back yard, making up stories and playing for hours.  I remember spring time days, when the blossoms would gently scent the back yard.  A quick run under the tree would stop my tiny feet in their tracks, so I could inhale the perfumed air.  I loved that smell, and to this day, it grabs me whenever it may be floating by.  I anxiously use to wait until that first “perfectly” orange apricot arrived, just waiting for me to pluck it off the branch and stuff it into my tiny mouth, nibbling away, rolling the pit between my teeth;  savoring every last fiber.  They were so perfect, still warm from the sun kissing it’s flesh, still slightly firm from barely just turning orange and sweet like nectar.

My grandmother never made cocktails out of the apricots nor did she feed us Rye;  there there was an occasional shot of brandy or apricot schnapps to cure what ailed us.  Instead she made delicious jam out of the bounty of apricots, which to this day, I still miss.  It was so fresh that I would sneak it by the spoonful.  I am sure if she was still here with us, we could talk her into joining us for a Helen, and that she would enjoy every sweet sip just as I enjoyed that first bite every summer.

Do you have a favorite cocktail using Apricots?

Recipe:  Helen

* serves two

  • 2 apricots, cut in half and pitted
  • 4 ounces rye
  • 2 tablespoons simple syrup
  • 1/4 lemon juiced
  • 1 tablespoon thyme
  • crushed ice
  • apricot for garnish
  • triple sec
In a blender add the apricots and 2 ounces of the rye.  Blend until smooth.  Set a sieve over a bowl and strain the apricot mixture;  just to remove some of the pulp from the puree.  Put the thyme into a shaker and gently muddle just to slightly bruise the herb;  then add a handful of ice, the apricot puree, 2 ounces of rye, lemon juice and the simple syrup.  Give a couple generous shakes, the outside of the shaker will begin to ice a bit.  Stain into 2 cocktail glasses add a floater of triple sec and garnish with a slice of apricot.  Serve.  Drink.
Posted in Cocktails
Jul 15 2011

Friday Cocktail Hour | Sunshine

Posted in Cocktails

YEAH!  We are trying to get on a regular schedule to start posting cocktails for happy hour every Friday.  We missed a couple weeks due to a fun little road trip we took.  Don’t fear;  we cocktail-ed while away!

Summer in San Francisco has settled in, which means foggy days or as we like to call it “June Gloom”.  We both associate summer with sunshine, and miss it terribly once it shows it’s ugly face here in the city.  After all, isn’t summer meant to be half dressed, drenched in glistening sweat beads, sitting on the back porch or a stoup, sipping a cool cocktail.  Instead, we are usually bundled up in pea coats and cable knit sweaters, drinking hot-toddys!

Our first summer together in SF – 4th of July (we were so young)

We have had enough of it, and will be bringing back a little sunshine to the back porch this week with “sunshine”.  Sunshine is made with limoncello, St. Germain and a little tonic.  We are fans of St. Germain, it is slightly floral, and little sugary sweet;  great in a cocktail such as this or even on it’s own, when you want a little pick-me-up.   An amazing compliment to a tart limoncello.  The tonic, just adds some fun bubbles!  Sunshine is really sweet, as in gushy cute sweet;  like slowly sipping summertime!

Happy Friday!

Recipe:  Sunshine

*makes one cocktail – use slim glasses, such as the ones made by Roost

  • 2 ounces limoncello
  • tonic, we like fever tree (Denise) or schweppes (Lenny)
  • st. germain
  • ice
  • lemon peels

Fill a glass with a couple ice cubes;  our slim glasses fit 4 small ice cubes.  Pour in 2 ounces of limoncello, fill the glass with tonic, leaving about 1/2″ from the top;  pour a st. germain floater on top.  Garnish with a lemon swirl.  Serve.  Drink.

If you like this recipe made you thirsty, check these out:

Limoncello Champagne Cocktail

Limoncello Gin Cocktail with Grilled Thyme 

Campari Limoncello Spritzer 

 

Posted in Cocktails

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