Tequila Suzee

I'm always looking for a new cocktail that uses ingredients that I like to keep at home, and the Tequila Suzee is right up my alley :)

Add 1 part white tequila (I like Hornitos)

1/2 part Cointreau

2 parts fresh grapefruit juice (or the Tropicana with pulp)

a teaspoon of sugar

and a grapefruit twist

Shake it all with ice and serve in 2 pretty glasses. I like to add the ice I had in the shaker too!

What are your favorite flavors to add to tequila?

Suzee's Cucumber Martini

I've written at length about my love of the cucumber martini. My favorite is at the Banc Cafe - they make their own cucumber vodka with Ketel One and yes, cucumbers. A kind of mascerated love juice that is so delicious.

I don't think I can maintain a supply of cucumber vodka like the Banc Cafe, and I don't get to go very often, so I'm looking for ways to introduce a cucumber martini more frequently than 2 or 3 times a year. This isn't quite it - perhaps you all have some ideas to make it better.

I made a cucumber juice to create the martini - I blended a whole english cucumber (but I recommend you peel yours) with about a half cup of water. I strained it and used it in this drink. I think next time I would puree the cucumber without the water.

3 parts Belvedere Pink Grapefruit vodka (this is what I have!)

1 part St Germain liquor

4 parts cucumber juice

juice from a wedge of lemon

Shake with all your might with ice cubes!

Then ENJOY!

Sunday Mary Afternoon

Brunch is a religion here in NYC. Restaurants have special menus and cocktail specials, some even offer "all you can drink" options. We like to go to Brunch because it's better than a blue hair special, and if you go late, around 3 or 4, there is plenty of elbow room :) Sometimes, though, we like to laze around in our pajamas for the day, and if we want a brunch like experience, this is one cocktail we enjoy!

The secret is to use Mr. & Mrs T's Bold and Spicy bloody mary mix. It is the only ingredient I use that still contains high fructose corn syrup, but I don't think anyone thinks a bloody mary is health food. It's a treat, so I don't feel too bad about that.

A simple vodka is fine - no need for martini worthy spirits. Add in 3 good shakes of tobasco sauce, and a few grinds of pepper. And one of the most important things is the fresh garnishes. Today I added a couple celery stalks and a couple cucumber spears - the fragrance as you sip the cocktail just puts it up over the top. Seriously.

Mix, enjoy the fragrance, and sip. You won't have any choice but to enjoy :)

The Empire Hotel - Papparazzi Heaven

I went to the Empire Hotel rooftop bar to get this shot of the iconic sign. I reference the papparazzi because I think it is impossible to pick up a rag and not read about some big star partying there the week before. I went at around 7 pm, and I'm here to tell you, this is before blue hair time for the hip and happening for NYC :) Still, I enjoyed my cocktail, and the view :)

Here is my cocktail at the Empire Hotel Rooftop Lounge :)

STRAWBERRY FIELDS - Grey Goose Citron Vodka, fresh strawberries, lemon juice and simple syrup, topped with prosecco

I highly recommend it!

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre

I was just at the store because I needed some sour cream for my soup, and I walked by the beer aisle and this beer called me. "Suzee, Suzee - I am delicious and I won't be here when you come back later. Buy me! Buy me!" So, as you can imagine, I did.

I cracked it when I got home, and wow - it was so delicious! I looked on the Dogfish Head web site, and they suggested to drink it from a goblet or snifter, so I poured it into a wine glass. I was really surprised difference in flavor between a swig from the bottle and a sip from a glass! The ale beery bitterness cut through the lager like initial taste in the bottle. While I was on the web, I found that each bottle has 9% alcohol, and 220 calories (wow!), so take this in to consideration if you decide to have a second one :)

Really, this is a delightful beer - if you see it in the store, fork over that $14.00. You won't be sorry!

Suzee's Blonde Whisper Martini

OK boys and girls, seriously, this is my best recipe ever. If you ever partake, this is the one to try. Way better than a cosmo!

1.5 shots Belvedere Pink Grapefruit Vodka (yes it matters)
.5 shot of St Germain liquor
squeeze 1/6th of a lemon into the shaker

Shake it like you mean it, and pour into a martini glass.

Voila!





Remember what my friend Darryl says - here he is in his natural habitat (blue shirt in the front)

I prefer to think of him like this when I quote him though :)

Just because he looks like this does not mean you should not listen - definitely listen!

Martini's are like boobies - one is not enough, but 3 are too many.

Enjoy!

Amber's Hurricane

In celebration of Friday's Hurricane (Earl):
1 oz vodka,
1/4 oz grenadine syrup,
1 oz gin,
1 oz light rum,
1/2 oz Bacardi® 151 rum,
1 oz amaretto almond liqueur,
1 oz triple sec,
grapefruit & pineapple juice.

Pour all but the juices into a hurricane glass 3/4 filled with ice. Fill with equal parts of grapefruit & pineapple juice.

Suzee's Birthday Evening!

After work on Thursday, we had reservations for a recommended restaurant on Open Table at 7:30 - just enough time to stop sweating, freshen up on put on some special duds! We strolled down the street to Marcony. Now I've passed this unassuming entrance many times, but my goodness, I had no idea what magic happens beyond those front doors!

We were offered our option of tables, and we selected the back balcony for our meal. We were able to look at the entire dining room, and enjoy the gorgeous handmade chandelier. And amuse busche was brought out immediately - homemade cheese ravioli which had been toasted and dressed with a light marinara. Oh my - nice bites :)

We ordered cocktails to start, and I have to tell you, these are truely works of art. I selected the TRE VOLTE – It was described in the menu as a lovely blend of Ketel Citroen, falanghina bianco, limoncello and muddled basil. It was very lovely, and and such a wonderful melange of flavors. Rick selected the Elana Cocktail – a combination of Grey Goose Poire, a touch of elderflower and a topping of prosecco. It was lovely as well - I thought it might be overly pear like, but no, subtle hints of flavors - nothing hitting you over your head. The person who created these cocktails is a true mixologist in my opinion.

 
For appetizers, I selected the grilled shrimp and avocado special. The shrimp was fresh and perfectly cooked, and the avocado was a beautiful pale green, nary a blemish, and smooth and savory.

Rick selected the beet salad - it was very fresh, and he enjoyed the golden and red beets.

Now, there were a number of specials this evening - a list so long that I could not remember them. If I were to give any feedback at all to this lovely restaurant, it would be to leave a hard copy of the specials after they are verbally delivered.

At any rate I asked the server for help deciding between the branzino special and the chilean sea bass which is on the regular menu. The branzino it was, and the fish was perfectly cooked, and fabulously fresh. You all know how hard I look for fresh seafood, and how I'm not easily pleased in the city that doesn't sleep. I was very pleased this evening! The branzino was fresh fresh fresh and perfectly cooked :)

Rick ordered the black angus sirloin steak, medium rare. The steak was very flavorful, but definitely more on the medium side, which is great for Rick. It's just always good to know how the chef views medium rare vs medium or rare. The dish came with a light mushroom gravy that he did not care for at all. I thought it was tasty, but I do like my mushrooms.

With our meals, a trio of complementary tastes were brought - roasted new potatoes which were very hot, and then cool sauteed zucchini and a cool eggplant dip. Very tasty!

I wore this ring and bracelet set with my birthday dress - I bought these when we were at York Beach, Maine at the Daisy Trading Company. I've gotten so many complements, and the bracelet is a nice size so it's nice and loose :)

After Marcony, we decided to go out and party a little more - it was a celebration after all :) We ordered some wine at the Banc Cafe and chit chatted about love and life. When the wine was gone we were ready for dessert, and ordered this apple torte. It was not as good as mom makes, but it was nice to have a little something sweet to share.

And, on the way home, we saw the Empire State Building was lit up for a celebration. Looks like many people were having a good time in the city.

Jimmy Juice - Beloved Ferry Landing Fave!

Grab a delicious Jimmy Juice and enjoy the sun at The Old Ferry Landing in Portsmouth, NH or make it yourself at home!




3 oz Captain Morgan's Rum

3 oz Mount Gay Barbados Rum

5 oz pineapple juice

3 oz orange juice

1 oz cranberry juice

1 oz floater of Goslings Black Seal Rum

Lime garnish



Combine all ingredients in a 16 oz pint glass with ice. Garnish with a slice of lime.

Suzee's Afternoon Tea

Grey Goose L'orange with iced tea (yeah, diet.) Need to account for those darn vodka calories! This is a little bit of citrus tea heaven :) Serve with an orange slice or lemon wedge if you have it!

By the way - do you notice the size of my counter? Ah well - If there is not too much space, I tend to keep it clean :)

Suzee's Citrus Cooler

Today I was in the mood for something fun to drink. We are heading to the Hudson Terrace tonight for a fireworks viewing party, so no brunchy brunch cocktails today. This cooler is insprired by the orange aide my mom used to make when I was little. She'd fill up one of the old glass tropicana orange juice bottles with 3 lemons and 3 oranges - cut them and juice them, and add the rinds to the bottle. Then she'd add 2 cups of sugar and fill it with water. She admitted she stopped making it because of all that sugar.

So, today, I sliced and juiced a lemon and a juicing orange, adding the juice and 4 packets of splenda to 2 12 oz cans of sparkling water and lots of ice. Delicioso! Give it a try!

Everyday Rapture on Broadway

I got some last minute tickets from Theater Extras to see this new musical comedy. This show was cool logistically because even on a Friday night, it started at 7:00 pm. It ran an hour and a half, so they skipped the intermission (which was a little stressful - people actually got up toward the end to go to the bathroom).

I'm not surprised though - they had special cocktails for people before the show. Yes, I tried the Everyday Rapture, and yes, it was amazing!

The show is about a menonite woman's remeniscence of her childhood - a kind of 50's coming of age story. The music and talent were really good, and it was an enjoyable show. I laughed out loud a LOT!

Chimay Grand Reserve Ale

I made this picture extra large so you could read the label on the bottle.

I found this recommended gem at (get this) Duane Reade (our local drug store). My cousin Judy commented on my post about the Rasberry Lambic earlier, and when I saw the bottle, I figured I had to at least try it ;)

I am not usually a fan of ales - I think they are sometimes bitter and I prefer a sweet lager.

This Grand Reserve, however, was not the least bit bitter. I would even venture to say it has a lightly sweet finish. Even Rick likes it :)

If you are ready for a special new brew for a nice evening, give this one a try!

Suzee's 30 Minute Meals

I love watching Rachel Ray – I think she makes cooking very accessible for many folks who may not try some of the cuisines, spices or combination. Lots of people say that watching Food TV is Food Porn. I disagree. Life is to short to have meatloaf every Monday night of your life, and Spaghetti and Meatballs every Wednesday.

But her meals always take me longer than 30 minutes. Mostly because I count the very important part that she doesn’t. The Clean Up. I hate cleaning, but I hate a dirty kitchen even more. Cooking on a weeknight should be no more than 30 minutes of active time in the kitchen, and that to me includes what happens after you eat.
There are key pieces of equipment required for Suzee’s 30 minute meals.

The first is a heavy professional sheet pan. I almost always use the sheet pan for my 30 minute meals.

And I line my pan with tin foil. (note to self – I have now removed the need to wash my pan – that’s worth 5 minutes right there).

I also judiciously use my dishwasher. I will put everything that I think will possibly come clean in it. The good news is my dishwasher is freaking amazing. When I do the remodel the kitchen, I sure hope I’m able to afford a dishwasher that actually heats the water and steams the dishes prior to washing them. I hope they still make such a luxury.

I have kitchen shears which come apart and go in the dishwasher. I use these to cut open the vacuum locked meats I usually get from Fresh Direct, and to open veggie packages. I wash them after every use. I got them from my Cutco Sales Kit I bought at least 25 years ago when I was a kid trying to make a buck. Really good shears if you have a kid in your neighborhood trying to make a buck.

I have a pair of OXO tongs and an OXO spatula– both get tossed in the dishwasher and come out gorgeous after I’ve used them to remove roasted meats and veggies from the pan.

I have a porcelain oven to table dish – simple white, and whether I serve in it or bake/broil in it, the dishwasher always makes it clean. It may not be shatterproof like corning wear, but I’d rather have the easy clean anyday.

So those are my tools.

My 30 minute meals are simple, generally involving a 350 degree oven, some protein and some fresh vegetable.

Proteins include boneless, skinless chicken breast (25 min), pork tenderloin (20 min at 400) or white fish (10 min at 400). The point here is simple protein, off the bone for quick cooking. I add one of the myriad of spices out there to make it taste a little different from the last time. McCormick’s Montreal Roasted Garlic Chicken Spice is a favorite on Pork, Tarragon and garlic powder is tasty on chicken, and to fish I’ll add a bit of Jamaican Jerk seasoning. Or I’ll add a relish or sauce, such as salsa, cilantro cream sauce or jarred marinara sauce (heated gently in an easily rinsed out and dishwashed pan) at the end just before serving.

On my tinfoil lined sheet pan, I’ll add a veggie – lately it’s be asparagus, or brussel sprouts, or broccoli, or cabbage ribbons, or onion, or fennel, or zucchini – or some combination there of. Sprinkle a bit of olive oil on and roll it about a bit, and add either a dusting of parmesan cheese or sea salt. The veggies are done in 20 min in 400 degree oven or 30 in a 350 oven. Notice all these choices stay pretty well in the fridge for a few days. If I add a sweet potato or butternut squash, I pre-bake in the microwave so it’s at least ½ - ¾ of the way done (5 min on high or so), and bake them with the other parts of the dinner on the sheet pan.

So – most times I’m able to plop it all on the pan, and go enjoy a cocktail with my feet up for the next 30 minutes or so. Prep is less than 10 minutes. When it comes out, I let the meat rest while I set the table ( 5 min), and then I slice and serve on the individual plates for the meat, and add a home style bowl if there are more veggies than our luncheon plates can really hold.

After we eat, it’s maybe 5 minutes to rinse plates and fill the dishwasher, and put away anything ( like that sheet pan) that needs put away. This includes prepping the coffeemaker for tomorrow.

Should I rename this entry to Suzee’s 20 minute meals? Nah – I like it when you think you got a time bargain :)

Pershing Square Outdoor Cafe

 Rick called me Thusday after work to see if I was interested in an apres work cocktail alfresco. He saw that there were tables open at Pershing Square where the street is blocked on the southbound side of Park between 42nd and 41st. It's right across from Grand Central Terminal, with lots of space.

I put my clothes back on since I had already changed in to my cozies, and took a stroll over to find Rick and the table he was saving for us. When I arrived the waiter quickly brought drinks and let us peruse the menus. They have a bar menu and a dinner menu. Lots of great snacks to choose from, Rick decided on the chicken tenders, and I was going to have the shrimpcargo (essentially a scampi minus the pasta I believe), but the waiter sold me on trying the soft-shelled crabs. Now, despite spending many summers on a lobster boat where we caught many blue crabs as well, I'd never had this delicacy. So I figured as a seafood goddess, I should at LEAST try them.

Now, soft shell crabs are crabs which have recently molted. I remember seeing lobsters with paper thin shells, but not any crabs. That doesn't mean there weren't any, just that I didn't see them from my perch in front of the windshield where my parents could be sure that little feet didn't get caught in the ropes and pulled overboard.

My crabs came looking something like this photo. I pulled them apart a bit - the legs stay attached to the body sections that are filled with crab meat, and you just pop the whole thing in your mouth. It was nice - essentially I think the draw to these little buggers is that you can deep fry them. Crab meat is too delicate to fry normally - it would just fall apart. So the papery skin that would eventually be a shell contains the sweet meat so it can be rolled around in egg, flour and/or bread crumbs. People do eat the crabs whole in sandwiches, but frankly I didn't really see the purpose of eating the top shell as mine were sitting on my plate with a small hearts of palm salad next to it (I don't care for hearts of palm). I would have these again sometime, perhaps at a chinese food place as they can have some interesting preparations.

I imagine we will definitely hit the outdoor seating at Pershing Square again too.

Framboise Lambic, Belgian Framboise Beer

I was at the store and peeked this bottle in the beer cooler. Lately I've been giving belgian beers a break. I went through a phase where they all tasted like Heinekin (barf - smelliest beer on earth), but after finding Blue Moon, which is a spiced belgian ale, I've been giving it a little more of a try.

The last one I tried was Hoegaarden (bleck), and even though I didn't care for it, I was still ready to try this one.

Today when opening it, I was surprised to find the bottle had a cap requiring a bottle opener as well as a cork. Seriously. And when I poured it in my glass, it had a big pink head of bubbles, and a rich color rivaling a kool-aid.

I took a sip, and WOO HOO was it sweet. You know those little hard candies shaped like raspberries with soft centers? You know - your Memere probably had them in a candy dish each time you visited.

Well - this tastes exactly like those candies, but with BUBBLES!

So, if you open one of these lovely bottles, know that you should serve it in a champagne glass, and have many friends with whom to share it. Really only one glass is enjoyable :)

Smuttynose Star Island Single

During my last visit home, Ann and I found the Star Island Single at Market Basket, and although it didn't really say on the bottle what style of beer it was, it does indicated a "spiced" flavor, and we figured, OK, what the heck. We'll give it a try.

Boy, I'm glad I did :) I wish I'd found this one earlier :) It's tasty!

If you find a Star Island Single in your local convenience store, don't pass it up - it's a tasty find!

St Germain Liquor and Suzee's Summer Cocktail

After finding out more about the White Cosmopolitan at Daniel's, I did some web research on St. Germain Liquor (you know - I typed it in the google box, and read some of the links that came up on the first page). So, I found this is a new liquor made of the elder flowers found in France at the foothills of the Alps for 2 or 3 weeks out of the year. These flowers are like corn - the timer starts ticking when you pick it, so farmers work hard to get the flowers to the distillery ASAP. There are lots of recipes which use this new liquor which some feel is the "hot cocktail" for summer 2009. Good thing I found it before summer was over. You can read about the different cocktails, but here is the one I made tonight with inspiration from my research.

2 oz of Grey Goose

1 oz of St Germain
a squeeze of a quarter of a VJL (very juicy lime)
1/2 oz orange juice (what? It's all I had in the fridge!)
and shake with ice

Pour into a champagne flute with the ice, and top with sparkling water

Suzee's summer cocktail is quite an adventure I recommend!

White Cosmopolitan at Daniel's

I found recipes on the Daniel website, and was pleased to see that they published the White Cosmopolitan I had!

White Cosmopolitan, by Xavier Herit, Bar Manager
Makes 1 Cocktail
2 oz Absolut vodka
1 oz St Germain liquor
1/2 oz lime juice
1 oz white cranberry juice
Orchid eatable flowerShake all the ingredients together with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. As a garnish, use a orchid flower inside a ice ball.

Rick's Christmas Cocktail

Over Thanksgiving Rick came up with this very fun punch. The bonus is you don't have to make a big bowl of it - you can just make a glass :)

Captain Morgan
Orange Juice (lots of pulp)
2 marachino cherries
a couple of teaspoons of cherry juice

Sweet and delish :)