Sweet Blog o' Mine

Recap

I have been slacking on blog updates. Mea culpa. Here's a bit of a recap since my last post. I spent a few days in Sagaponack, NY celebrating a dear friend's 30th birthday, complete with a multi-course Spanish feast (including the deliciousness pictured above), had a lovely dinner at Chez Sardine as a thank-you for dogsitting a few weeks ago, ran 5.5 miles (along with a few shorter runs), biked about 20 miles, attended a rooftop barbecue complete with slow-smoked brisket tacos, peach bourbon punch, and pulled pork sliders, had delicious dim sum at Dim Sum Go Go, had some discussions about what might count for the new 50-hour pro bono requirement for bar admission to New York State, watched friends in Hey Bartender, tried out a new sushi joint, and caught up with good friends. All in all, a good week!

The Perfect View

While eating a lobster roll or fried clams. In case you're wondering, it's the Two Lights Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

(and here's a very off-kilter picture of my delicious fried clams)

Go Read Some Stuff

InSpirer Consulting now has its very own blog! If you want a weekly read about pro bono, check it out. Then again, if cocktails are more your speed, check out my first piece for Wine Enthusiast on bottled cocktails!

Back the Rack!

Speed Rack 5/16. BE THERE.

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

There's a ton of construction going on in my hood (not just in/on my building), and with that construction comes new businesses. There are two that I am particularly excited about, and they're now both open for business. First, Greenwich Project, which offers a cocktail menu designed by John McCarthy, small bites in the downstairs bar area, and a full menu upstairs. Second is the Burger Joint, which I have loved for years in its original location in the Parker Meridien hotel. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Allez Cuisine!

I have been on an ongoing quest to cut down my spending in all aspects of my life. As you may or may not know, I have some mild food-hoarding tendencies (thank you, family), so I have a well-stocked pantry and freezer. It's strange -- when I'm at the beach house, I love the Iron Chef-like challenge of assessing available ingredients and coming up with a meal based on what's around. Perhaps it's because there are fewer alternate options. At home, for some reason, it often seems easier to pick up something on the way home or order in, despite the fact that I like to cook. I am trying to break myself of that habit and turn to my kitchen first. Last night I was ravenous when I got home. The goal? A decent meal in 30 minutes or less from what I had in the house. The end result was a tasty batch of rice and beans, with leftovers to boot!

Booze You Can Use: Whisky Live (with a Discount!)

Over 250 whiskies in one place?! Yep. Come join me Wednesday night at Whisky Live at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers. I'm trying to decide my game plan -- single malts? bourbon? rye? a hodgepodge? Regardless, we'll get to talk to experts, ask questions, and taste some of the finest spirits around. Also, there's Cocktails Live -- bartenders from Ward III, Bar and Books, the Flatiron Room, and other whisky bars will mix their original whisky cocktails. Tickets include a full dinner buffet and there's a special discount for Sweet Blog o' Mine readers -- you'll get 15% off if you use the code wlmedia. See you there!

Booze You Can Use: Have a Negroni Sbagliato

Photo: La Cucina Italiana

Sometimes one little tweak can make all the difference. Given my love for the Negroni and my recent fascination with champagne cocktails, it's no surprise that I enjoy the Negroni Sbagliato. Roughly translated, it means a bungled negroni -- a mistake -- but don't let that fool you. It's a perfect starter to an evening, no mistake about it.

Negroni Sbagliato
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet Vermouth
1 ounce prosecco
Fill a rocks glass with ice. Add Campari, vermouth and prosecco, in that order. Stir and garnish with orange slice or twist.

Reboot

As many of you know, I'm in the midst of a bit of a career reboot right now (if you want details, email me!).  A colleague who recently left my firm to start her own consulting business recommended a wonderful book to me called Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break. I highly recommend it and frankly, wish I had read it a few years ago. The idea is that taking a sabbatical, whether planned or unplanned, can be a good way to take a look at what you really want in your life. It can be eye-opening.

Last night, I got to see a reboot close up. A former associate at my firm left to start her own catering company, TomCookery, which specializes in Southern and Carribean-inspired comfort food. Talking to Tomika about the process of getting her business up and running and getting to taste her delicious food -- jerk chicken wings, macaroni pie, banana pudding and more -- inspired me so much. I'm so proud of her for following her dreams, and I'm looking forward to doing the same.

Booze You Can Use: Have a Seelbach Cocktail

Photo from Drinking Made Easy

Bubbles. They instantly lift the spirit. Sometimes, however, you want bubbles, but you want something a tad more complex than a glass of champagne. Enter the Seelbach. On New Year's Eve, and on a subsequent visit to Pouring Ribbons in the East Village, I kept asking for champagne-based cocktails. There are many, but I was specific -- no citrus. At one point I received the Seelbach cocktail, a lovely concoction that carries the name of the hotel in Lexington, Kentucky where it was created.

Seelbach Cocktail
1 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. Cointreau
7 dashes Angostura bitters
7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Champagne

Stir ingredients over ice, then then strain into a chilled flute and top with champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist.