Strawberry Smash Cocktail

Happy Friday!  Who's ready for a summer drink?  With this great weather Chris and I have been digging in to the fresh fruits and veggies!

I came up with this light and yummy cocktail when I discovered Marilyn Monroe Strawberry Vodka from Three Olives (lately I've had a Diageo product loyalty because my best friend Holly works there BUT this was an exception).  I LOVE the show Smash which is centered around a Marilyn Monroe Broadway musical.

So when I saw the bottle in the liquor store I thought "MUST HAVE" and "must make a Smash themed drink".  I also thought "Chris is going to kill me if I buy another flavored vodka" as our bar cabinet has an extensive collection of them but hey Marilyn and vodka can't be turned down.  I'm still grappling with the show being cancelled and that the finale was approximately a month ago (it may still be saved on my DVR, no judgements, thanks) but hey it's been a busy spring/summer and denial is the way to go when it comes to TV show cancellations/closures (i.e One Tree Hill, ER...you get the idea).

Strawberry SMASH Cocktail

Ingredients:
- 2-3 fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
- 2-3 fresh mint leaves
- 1 oz. simple syrup (add more or less based on your preference)
- soda water (amount depends on your drink strength preference)
- 1 1/2 oz. strawberry vodka

Instructions:
- Slice strawberries in half or quarters depending on their size. Tear the mint leaves off the stem and tear in half then in half again.
- Muddle strawberries, mint and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker.
- Add vodka and ice then shake until chilled.
- Strain mixture into a cocktail glass over ice (you can scoop a little bit of the mushed up fruit mixture into the glass I just don't love lots of floaty things in my drinks).
- Add soda water and stir once to combine.
- Enjoy!

This is very light and refreshing!  Now that our strawberry patch is producing fruit I can use them instead of store bought.  You could probably puree the strawberries for less of a floating gunk factor but muddling worked for my purposes and if you blended it wouldn't be called a smash cocktail it would be a blended drink (details, details).

I tend to have simple syrup around all summer to make Tom Collins but you could substitute with flat 7up or Sprite.  Simple syrup is easy to make and can be stored in the fridge so here is how you make it:

Simple Syrup

Ingredients:
- 2 parts sugar
- 1 part water

Instructions:
- Bring water to a boil on the stove.
- Stir in sugar until dissolved then remove from heat (do not let syrup come to a boil or else it will be too thick).
- Let cool and store in a well sealed bottle in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

So easy and so much better than using premade mixes.  I mean it is called SIMPLE syrup for a reason, right?!

This weekend is the Kenny Chesney concert so we've got a whole group put together for tailgating!  Then its on to 4th of July week festivities!

Cheers!
Steph

The Brussel Sprouts Experiment: Part 2

Alumni Weekend at Miami was a success!  Lots of great times and great memories made!  Since I can't resist, here's some pictures from the weekend!

Some Young Alumni Council members with Swoop!

Sights of campus!

Waffle fries and pitchers at one of our favorite bars!

Chris and I

Ok back to recipe business!  So as I revealed to you previously, brussel sprouts aren't as evil as a veggie as their reputation implies.  After making the Sweet & Sticky Sprouts recipe I shared I thought I'd give you a follow up recipe with Lemon Garlic Sprouts.  I had a feeling Chris wouldn't totally love this based on the lemon factor and I was (of course) right but he ate them nonetheless.

Lemon Garlic Brussel Sprouts
(This makes two side portions)

 Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. brussel sprouts, ends trimmed, cut in half
- 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
- the juice of 1/4 of a lemon
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- asiago cheese, shredded, to taste


Instructions:
- Over medium high heat, sautee garlic in olive oil until it starts to bubble around the edges.
- Add sprouts and lemon juice, cook until tender.

- Sprinkle in lemon zest and cheese.

- Serve.

I used Asiago cheese because that's what I had on hand but you could certainly use shredded Parmesan or Peccorino if you prefer. The lemon flavor with the zest was pretty overpowering and that's coming from a gal who loves lemon!  Overall Chris and I agreed it was a good side but we liked the Sweet & Sticky ones better.

Up next I've got a summer cocktail to share, stay tuned!

Cheers!
Steph

LFM: The Jury Room

The crazy and hectic continues with meetings, appointments and more!  But I wanted to share a Local Foodie Moment with you before I got too busy to blog!  So after trying Dirty Frank's and Betty's, two of the Columbus Food League's "anti-establishments" I decided Jury Room was next up.

My lovely gal pals and I had plans to see Wicked downtown(side note: It was super good, sing it Elphaba, sing it girl!  And Glinda is my Broadway alter ego next to Elle Woods from Legally Blonde: The Musical.  You have to have "Popular" stuck in your head by now....of which I will NOT apologize for!).  Since it was a Friday we decided to get drinks and dinner before.  Jury Room is only a couple blocks away from the theater and their happy hour specials last until 7.

We walked in around 6 and were able to be seated right away. First things first, cocktails!  I ordered The Hung Jury: your choice of local vodka or gin (I chose gin) with St. Germain liquor and fresh lime juice.  Kourtney ordered the Bordello Bubbly: local Stone Fruit vodka, Chambord, champs & bitters.  Last but not least, Emily got the Jury Juice: rum, lime juice & 7up.  We were all very pleased with our choices, once we decided on those we had to get serious about the menu!

Clockwise from the left: The Hung Jury, Bordello Bubbly and Jury Juice!

Since appetizers are half off during happy hour we decided to split two, the Gouda Bites and the Fried Green Olives.  The Gouda Bites were sinfully good!  They were paired with a spicy ketchup that added just the right kick.

Gouda Bites (aka guilty pleasure!)

The Fried Green Olives were stuffed with blue cheese.  These were good but the saltiness of the olive overpowered everything and you couldn't really taste the blue cheese.  Slightly disappointing but we still managed to make a good dent in them!

Fried Green Olives

Inside of the Fried Green Olives, stuffed with blue cheese!

We decided since we got appetizers we would go with sandwiches for dinner so that we could all get the truffle fries (BIG truffle fans here!).  Between the three of us we ordered one of the Veggie Melt, the Beer Battered Fish Sandwich and the Grilled Mac-n-Cheese Brisket Sandwich.  I snapped pictures of the Veggie Melt and the Fish Sandwich but was far too hungry to fuss with taking any more pictures! 

Veggie Melt with a side of truffle fries

Beer Battered Fish Sandwich with a side of truffle fries

All of us were extremely pleased with our meals.  The truffle fries were fabulous, they had a little sprinkling of parmesan cheese and a side of spicy mayo.  We all had leftover halves of our sandwiches as the portions were sizable!  

Our servers were great, very patient with us since it took us some time to finally decide on what we wanted.  The atmosphere is quaint, a little "hole in the wall" feeling with probably only 10 tables inside and 5 or 6 on the patio.  It is right down the street from the courthouse so I imagine its a good place to go after work.  With the great happy hour specials its definitely a place to try!    

Next up, the other brussel sprouts recipe I promised and a summer cocktail!  Chris and I are headed to Miami this weekend for Alumni Weekend!  I have a meeting and he is (gladly) along for the ride.  We are hoping to sneak in a few wedding errands while we are there but we are really excited to spend the weekend with friends in one of our favorite places!

Cheers!

Steph

The Brussel Sprouts Experiment: Part 1

Well here we are, I haven't posted all week!  Last weekend Chris and I rounded out graduation season with the last of our eight graduation celebrations (yes eight, we really should stop hanging around such high achievers).  Then this week was busy, busy and the weekend was no exception!  This weekend my mom and I went wedding dress shopping (ekkkk!) and celebrated Father's Day with my awesome Daddy!

A little throwback pic of Daddy and me!

Anyways, enough of the excuses, lets get to the food!  So I willingly made a food that has a terrible reputation, yep that's right, brussel sprouts.  Spare me the "ick face" I went out on a limb here!  In trying to eat healthier I saw this recipe on Pinterest (I tweaked it a little to our tastes) and decided it was worth a shot as I was getting tired of our typical side salad with dinner.  I will happily share that both Chris and I did not choke from these widely refuted little veggies.  They were actually quite delicious!  It also goes to show that dousing just about anything with garlic, honey and wine can make it rather delish.

Sweet & Spicy Brussel Sprouts
(this makes two side portions)

 Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. Brussel sprouts, sliced in half with ends trimmed
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 to 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- sprinkle of red pepper flakes
- splash (a couple Tbsp.) white wine
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- sprinkle of sesame seeds

 
Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat with oil, garlic and red pepper flakes.

- When the garlic starts to sizzle and bubble around the edges add brussel sprouts.

- Make sure the sprouts have some room to cook, spread them out with a little shake of the pan. Keep in mind the moisture from the sprouts reacts to the heat so you'll hear a few pops and cracks, a little sprout dancing if you will.  (They are just so excited to shed their bad rap they are dancing in the pan!)
- Add soy sauce and lightly stir.
- Cook for 10 minutes or until sprouts have caramelized around the edges.
- Deglaze the pan with wine.
- Cook another 2 to 3 minutes, lightly stirring or tossing in the pan.
- Add honey and cook another 2 to 3 minutes until sprouts are tender. Add any additional soy sauce or pepper flakes if necessary.

- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Chris really liked the sauce to this, he wants to try it on something else in the future.  He gave the sprouts a surprisingly good, make again but not all the time rating.  These were pretty easy and the sauce is delicious, sweet with a little spicy to it.  Next time I'll have to not cut the ends so high because I had troubles with my sprouts falling apart.

All in all our first brussel sprouts experience was a good one, I don't know what all the fuss is about!  Since I bought a whole pound of sprouts but only used half for this recipe rest assured there's another B-sprouts recipe to come!

So I hope to be better this week about getting some posts up!  With the excitement of dress shopping I guess I just lost track of blog time!  For dress shopping advice hop over to The Bear Necessities for my friend Danielle's wedding dress tips, they were very helpful in our recent excursion!

Cheers!
Steph

Local Foodie Moment: Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace

Happy Friday everyone!  After an interesting car problem saga yesterday (four hours of mini meltdowns, two tow trucks sent my way and partridge in a pear tree and I came to realize I was using Chris' car key in my car, insert slap forehead moment here)  I think its safe to say this week has been a doozy so why not make it better with another LFM?!

My friend Kourtney and I were headed downtown for a concert (Brett Eldredge, who is kinda great...look him up, just do it!)  and wanted to grab drinks and dinner before.  Downtown isn't always our destination for hang outs so we asked Siri for some restaurant ideas.  She gave us 18 ideas.  Having to pair those down while driving was a smidge tricky but we landed on Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace.  Kourt had been there, I had heard of it but had never been.  At the thought of trying a "new to me" local spot plus their specializing in hot dogs I was totally giddy!  Once summer rolls around I'm a BIG hot dog fan, slightly picky (if its charred too much I don't eat it, and I'm a little brand loyal) but big fan nonetheless.

It took me close to forever to decide on a hot dog, there are so many combinations and everything sounded so good!  They even have vegetarian and vegan choices!  I finally landed on the Zippity Zam which is a hot dog with roasted red peppers and Sriacha cream cheese.  Sounds totally weird, but it was totally delicious!  I got the mac and cheese as a side which was no exception (since this was a wedding diet splurge meal I thought go big or go home when it comes to sides, my abstaining from such goodies made this choice well worth it).

Zippity Zam!

Kourtney got The Doginator, a bacon wrapped hot dog topped with beef brisket, BBQ sauce, cheddar & onion rings with tater tots for a side.

The Doginator!

For cocktails I got the Joe Asbury (or something, I can't remember entirely) and Kourt had the Ride the Lightening.  Mine was a spiked sweet tea lemonade that was nice and refreshing after a warm day working at the Memorial Tournament.  Kourtney's was a kicked up version of lemonade, I snagged a sip and it was almost like lemon lime gatorade, very yummy!

It's a smaller place but the atmosphere makes it really cool, there is all kinds of paraphernalia on the walls from baseball player caricatures to rock and roll bands.  We sat at the bar and the bartender was really helpful and very patient with my indecisiveness.  The food came out fast but I suppose that's the advantage to the type of fair they make.  We were both pleased with our selections and everything was very tastey!  The hot dog had a good snap to it (HD aficionados you know what I'm talking about, that  delicious pop of the casing being cooked just right), the bun was nicely steamed and the toppings were the right proportions.

They have different flavor infused liquors that I'll have to go back to try, like their peanut infused vodka!  Dirty Frank's is actually owned by the same restaurant group (Columbus Food League) as Betty's, a restaurant I shared with you not too long ago!  Kourtney and I will actually be going to another one of CFL's restaurants tonight with Emily before we see Wicked.  Review of the Jury Room to come!



Have a great weekend!

Cheers!
Steph

LFM: Frezno Bar and Grille, Brewery District

Well time for another Local Foodie Moment on WWSV!  Chris and I had a Miami alumni event in the Brewery District and found ourselves needing a late dinner afterwards.  We asked a friend who lives in the area what he'd suggest, he said Frezno and conveniently it was right next to where we were.

Understandably so it was a little dead given it was later on a Thursday night and the weather was far too chilly to enjoy their patios.  We took a seat at their copper bar and started perusing the menu.  One of the owners, Kevin Ames, was there.  He helped us choose beers, offered tastes before deciding and had a nice chat with us.  We learned that he and his wife had just opened the restaurant a couple weeks ago but they are seasoned restauranteurs having owned other Columbus hot spots such as The Press Grille and Dagwoodz before selling them in the early 2000s.  The original Frezno restaurant was in the Short North where the Union Cafe is currently.  He said he does most of the management while his wife runs the kitchen.  

Given that it was late and they had recently opened I wasn't expecting much but I was beyond pleasantly surprised!  We ordered the Short Rib Tacos and the Parma Prosciutto Pizza.  These are not really a likely pair but our friend who suggested the restaurant said he loves the short rib tacos and the Parma Prosciutto sounded good to us.  We'd have to go back to test the speed of service when they are more busy but that night the food came out very fast.

The tacos were pretty good, a very tiny bit on the dry side but we attributed that to the meat probably being cooked earlier in the day.  Great flavor and texture with the shredded and marinated veggies on top.  I'm pretty sure there was some jicama in the mix which gave it a fabulous crunch.  Typically I don't like tacos without heaps of cheese and salsa but the slight crunch of the veggies and the flavor of the meat made me not miss it at all!

Short Rib Tacos

The pizza, oh the pizza!  This was fabulous!  I love pizzas with greens on top (and I've been a little obsessed with arugula lately) so the fresh arugula with balsamic drizzle and shredded parmesan cheese was great.  The crust was just right, not too crunchy not too soft with a good fluff factor (I sound like the Goldilocks of pizzas over here).  Ample cheese and pieces of prosciutto plus asparagus and you've got yourself a gem.  I LOVED the added crunch of the asparagus with the saltiness of the prosciutto!  (Can you tell I want this pizza again?  Like right now preferably.)  As you can see from the pictures its a little dark around the crust but it doesn't have the charred taste that comes with pizzas made in wood or coal fired ovens.  This makes me even more of a fan because I strongly dislike the taste of carcinogens on my food (if you've ever grilled a hot dog for me you'd understand).

Parma Prosciutto Pizza 

Kevin shared with us that they were starting to offer Sunday Brunch and gave us a peek at their upcoming brunch menu.  Just the mention of Gingerbread Pancakes and Foccacia French Toast we told him we'd be back!  Unfortunately our weekend schedules have us rather busy and not in town most Sundays but its definitely on the foodie wishlist!

Overall, friendly and speedy service plus delicious food left me one happy foodie.  Everything seemed very fresh and the menu has a lot of creative muscle behind it.  I can't wait to go back!  If you are in the area, give it a try!

Cheers!
Steph

Red, White & Blue Jello Shots!

Happy Monday everyone!  With the beginning of pool party season and on the tails of Memorial Day festivities I thought it'd be fun to share these Red, White & Blue Jello Shots!  I made these for my brother's 21st birthday party (what says 'Murica better than patriotic spiked jello? Absolutely nothing).

Red, White & Blue Jello Shots
(Makes about 32 shots)

 Ingredients:
- 2 c. berry vodka ( I used 1 c. UV Blue Raspberry vodka for the blue and 1 c. Three Olives Berry for the red)
- 2 c. water
- 1 pkg. red raspberry jello
- 1 pkg. blue rasberry jello
- 1 pkg. Cool Whip
- 1/4 c. or less, vanilla vodka
- small shot cups (I like the ones with lids for easy transport and easy stacking)

Instructions:
- Make the blue raspberry jello first.  Boil 1 cup water then pour over jello powder.  Stir until sugar is dissolved and let cool a little bit so when you add the vodka it doesn't steam off.  I'm entirely too impatient so I create an ice bath for my jello bowl to help cool it down faster.
- Pour in 1 cup vodka, stir until well combined then distribute into cups, about a third of the cup.  Place in refrigerator for at least a half hour or until firm.
- Take thawed Cool Whip and mix in vanilla vodka.  You want it to stay fluffy so just add a splash of vodka at a time and mix until desired strength.
- With a spoon, scoop spiked Cool Whip into cups, leveling it out on top of the blue layer.
- Put cups in the freezer to make sure the Cool Whip is solid, about a half hour.
- Make the red raspberry jello. Boil 1 cup water over the stove, remove then pour over jello powder.  Stir until sugar is dissolved and let cool.
- Pour in 1 cup of vodka, stir until well combined.
- **This is an important step!!  Let the jello cool until it becomes thicker but not to the point of setting up.  Once it is cooled down, pour over the other two layers in cup.  If the jello is too warm it will cause the Cool Whip to melt around the edges and float up and ruin your patriotic creation.
- Put in the fridge until red layer is set up.
- Share and enjoy!

These were a hit with my brother and his friends!  They were a little more time consuming than regular jello shots but the fun result was worth it!    

We celebrated our Miami friends Elena and Zach's wedding this weekend!  It was so great to be around college friends and celebrate their love!  This week it's time to get back to business on wedding planning for Chris and I's big day next year!  But I've got some Local Foodie Moments to share so stay tuned!

Cheers!
Steph