Events
February 14, 2012
February 01, 2012
Give Fur the Cold Shoulder
Penelope Cruz for Peta
January 31, 2012
Cornmeal & Olive Oil Cake with Rosemary Poached Pears
Over the weekend I made my favorite cornmeal and olive oil cake for my mother's birthday dinner. It is a dense, moist cake with notes of honey and lemon. In the summer I serve it with poached peaches, but this time I topped the cake with slices bosc pears I had poached in a honey-lemon syrup infused with fresh rosemary sprigs.
January 30, 2012
January 27, 2012
Puerto Vallarta Orange
The Puerto Vallarta sunsets over the Pacific are breathtaking. I took these photos during Chris and Camilla's beachside rehearsal dinner.
January 12, 2012
January 03, 2012
Grasshopper Cocktail
Photo by Jilda Caccavo
My Friend Jilda recently took a bartending course and she has one of the most well stocked bars I've seen in a person's home. She even has one of those contraptions which makes large, perfectly round ice cubes. One could call her enthusiastic about the art of mixology.
The other night after a delicious and filling dinner at Sandro's Jilda conviced me to join her for a nightcap -truthfully it did not take convincing, but merely suggesting - so she whipped us up a couple of grasshoppers. I'm sure I hadn't had a grasshopper since literally 1982, which is I think six years before Jilda was born. They were festive and tasty, though rather more a dessert than a cocktail.
December 12, 2011
October 26, 2011
Negronis & Carnations
I had my first Negroni last week while waiting for my table at Barbaresco. I loved it so much it is bound to be my go to apéritif for a long time. It's so simple I couldn't wait to make a batch myself. Just shake together equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Compari, strain over ice and garnish with a big slice of orange peel.
October 12, 2011
My Favorite Cocktail
This is my favorite cocktail to make at home. It has only three indredients, and as far as I am concerned it is light and healthy - or at least refreshing and low in sugar. I never measure anything when mixing drinks. For this I simply add some ice to a shaker, fill it almost to the top with vodka, squeeze in the juice of a couple limes and sweeten to taste with agave. A twist of lime might make a nice garnish, but to me it would just get in the way. Agave can replace simple syrup in any cocktail.
