The Importance of a Flavorful Cocktail

Yikes, it's been a week since I last wrote, and I apologize for that. There were leftovers to be used up, after-work plans, and just some plain old relaxation this past week, so I got a little lazy. But, I got down to it yesterday, posted a new menu for the coming week, and did the food shopping! We're back on track!

You may have noticed I've started including a "Cocktail of the Week" on my menus. You may also have thought, that's not food, and there's no cooking involved in drinking, but I don't see it that way. I love a flavorful cocktail, something that pulls together interesting flavors, and pairs nicely with a meal. In a way, it's still cooking, or concocting. You have to get the right flavors, and pair them correctly, in order to have a successful cocktail, and that skill is intricately entwined with all things cooking. So there...it's cooking...sort of!

I always find myself printing off, or cutting out, recipes for cocktails and have gathered quite the collection...all drinks I've never tried. So, in an attempt to minimize the pile of paper sitting in my kitchen, and continuing in my endeavor to digitize my recipes, I've been trying to make a new cocktail each week. This project has expanded my bar collection, and my taste buds!

For this week's cocktail, I chose The Limonsecco, one that had been published in a magazine awhile back, from a restaurant, I believe in NYC. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, so it was a perfect choice since we had pleasantly-unexpected house guests on Saturday night! The drink consists of an ounce of Limoncello (which I LOVE), 2 dashes of orange bitters, a splash of rose water and Prosecco. It was so easy to make because there was no shaking involved - just pour the first three ingredients into a glass, and top with Prosecco...could it be any easier? And tasty too! It was a great way to finish off an evening, but would be an equally good way to start off an evening. It's refreshing, and fancy enough to make for a nice cocktail at the beginning of a dinner party, light enough to move on to wine at dinner. The rose water adds a very interesting tinge to the taste of the concoction, and you all know how I love trying an ingredient in a new way! Cheers!

My Favorite Way to Eat Cucumbers

During recent weeks, I've been all about eating simply and easliy due to the hot summer weather. Tonight is no exception, as we returned from a weekend in Vermont visiting our dear friends Matt and Sarah, and their adorable daughter, Finn. We stopped at Whole Foods to get some grilling necessities, but I knew I had some cucumbers at home, and wanted to incorporate them into the meal. My favorite way to eat cucumbers is an Asian-inspired dish, and it is simple, yet extremely flavorful and refreshing.

I picked up a red onion to complete the list of things that I needed for this dish...it's really just cucumbers, red onions, rice vinegar and some salt and pepper.

I used a mandoline slicer to get an even slice (and a thinner slice, at that) on the pieces of cucumber and red onion. It's a fast, easy way to slice a large amount of something in a very quick, effective manner. Once the cucumbers and red onion are sliced, toss them in a bowl with a healthy pour of rice vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit until the rest of your meal is ready...the more it sits, the more the flavor will incorporate into the cucumbers and onions so don't be afraid to make it the day before you want to use it if you want a really flavorful salad!

Mmmm! Crisp, refreshing and flavorful! It goes great with fish, meat, noodles, rice...you name it, it pairs nicely, and did you see how simple that was!?