theredshaker

Bubbly Tales-Pt.1

Champagne/Prosecco, Spirits No Responses »

May 042011

So, aside from our obvious enjoyment of all things martini, the Shakers love a nice sparkling wine. Champagne, prosecco, cava…..each of them do the happy dance on our tongues.

As a bit of a break from the stronger drinks, Shaker One would like to introduce you to the first in a series of all things bubbly. Our favorite brands, tools, storage tips, bubbly friendly cocktail recipes….if it sparkles I’m determined to cover it. The world of bubbly is infinite and magical, so we shall take our time with this journey.

But to begin-Blackberry Prosecco Cocktail:

Blackberry Prosecco Cocktail

Fresh blackberries muddled with just a splash of Cointreau or Triple Sec, topped with prosecco and a bit of orange zest. I also threw in a few drops of Bitters, but if you prefer a sweeter experience leave those out. And of course you can use champagne or cava in place of the prosecco if you prefer.

Oh my, I do love berries in bubbly….as when you’ve finished drinking the liquid you get to fish them out, plump and succulent from their marination. They are the Crackerjack prize at the bottom of my glass.

Summer is just around the corner….the perfect time to stamp your libation passport with as many effervescent trips as you can take. Cheers!

Tea-nis for Two~

martini No Responses »

Apr 292011

As time grows near for Shaker Two to leave Planet LA, we’re revisiting a few of our favorite martinis. Both of us have been craving this one in particular.

The Earl Grey MarTeani:

Earl Grey infused vodka Earl Grey infusion

You’ve seen it here more than once…….a lovely blend of tea infused vodka, lemon, simple syrup, and an egg white for that soft foamy layer on top. All at once soothing and relaxing. Shaker Two wonders if she should consider replacing her English Breakfast Tea with one of these each morning? I say yes, depending on what your day brings.

If you haven’t tried this drink yet, please do so without delay. A five olive masterpiece.

(and for those of you who don’t care to click through the link, quick recipe below:

In a Boston style shaker with ice add: 1 1/2 ozs. Earl Gray Vodka infusion

3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice

1 oz simple syrup

one egg white

Shake vigorously, strain into glass, garnish with a lemon zest or slice. Double for larger martini glass. Now, go click the link for infusion details!)

No scones necessary.

Heads Up!

martini, tips No Responses »

Apr 242011

Shaker One here. I enjoy a good flip. And by flip I am referring to a cocktail shaken with an egg white to create a foamy “head” on top. In addition to the head, you also get a sort of velvety mouth feel to the drink itself. I find it lovely.

But there are many who have an aversion to the idea of using raw eggs in any form. For this there are foaming products which are supposed to create the same result without the accompanying danger of salmonella. I’ve long been curious about their efficacy and on my last trip to The Candy Store (Beverage Warehouse) I picked up a bottle to try.

My liquid guinea pig? The Spicy Lemon Drop. Feeling a bit scientific, I threw a few dashes of our new friend Frothee into the shaker with the ice and ingredients as instructed. <shakeshakeshake>

It poured out into the glass with a somewhat more subdued head than I get with an egg white, but still noticeable. And as I raised the glass to my lips I noticed a subtle smell. Not quite plastic, not quite chemical, but also not quite pleasant. Hmmmm, maybe it just has a bit of an odor. I forged ahead.

Gahhhh~there was that oddness in the taste as well! I got about 1/3 of the way through, trying to tell myself that I’d get used to it. It isn’t overpowering, but because I could smell it as well as taste it with each sip, I found it mildly repugnant. My poor lovely Spicy Lemon Drop, sacrificed down the drain in the name of science. (a moment of silence in deference to his service please)

Conclusion: Frothee-darken my shaker no more. I’d sooner risk raw egg ramifications. If you’re pregnant or immune compromised I would not recommend a flip. But then if you fall under those categories perhaps you shouldn’t be having a cocktail to begin with. I’ll stick to my egg whites to get a good foam.

And now I’m off to wash the taste of Frothee from my lips. Gahhh.

Is this thing on? hello?

Uncategorized No Responses »

Mar 312011

Sadly, both Shakers have had to take a bit of a hiatus from Shaking and tend to other things… but we felt we had neglected the shakers, vodka and our faithful followers long enough so we are sneaking in a mid week oasis of tastiness and relaxation. Yes The Shaker Girls are back! It’s March. It’s 75 degree sundress weather. The sun is setting, casting streaks of deep pink and scarlet across the sky and we are dipping our shaking toes back into the cocktail waters.

In a somewhat unorthodox departure from our martini theme, we are tasting some proseccos. First up: a lovely rose from Mendocino California called Etoile! Bottled by the people at Domaine Chandon, this shy girl splashes into the glass with a pale blush as if we’d told an off color joke. Light, subtle and a fresh compliment to our mini appetizer feast. Oh, did we not mention the tasties?

Domaine Chandon Etoile Rose

A walk back to some of our favorites: cheezy poofs (petits gougeres), caramelized onion tarts (and Shaker One has finally cracked the perfect pastry crust!) and one new entry-eclectic endive spears with spicy/bacony/slightly sweek smoky filling and a balsamic glaze drizzle. Yeah, we had at them. Yum. (I am not sure how Shaker One comes up with some of these combinations, but I think she would kick the snot out of those TV chef wannabes… and I am not just sucking up because I want more of her cooking. 😀 )

gougere onion tart

And then we moved on to dessert: Sliced strawberries over a pool of meyer lemon curd with fresh whipped cream. And with it?

meyer lemon curd

OMG Shaker Two-where did you find this gem??? One sip and both Shakers flipped. A surprisingly delightful spumante: La Montecchia. You can be sure we’ll both be hunting down more of this. Delicious~!

Overall, the evening was a lovely catch up session and planning of things to come as big changes are in store in Shaker Land. Ought to be exciting and fun… stay tuned and we promise we won’t be away so long next time.

The Spice Market-Saffron Dreams

martini 1 Response »

Aug 112010

The summer of infusions continues with a trip to exotic locales…….in our martini glasses at least. Searching through my pantry the other day resulted in the discovery of not one, but three, containers of saffron. My first question was how on earth did I end up with three containers of saffron? My second question- what to do with all that golden glory. As someone who has no interest in either cooking or eating paella, I was stumped. A lovely risotto will take care of some of it, but I had somehow acquired the motherload and hated the thought of it going to waste. So how does Shaker One dispose of most things in her kitchen?

Why, they become martinis! I did a bit of googling and came up with a long list of martinis using saffron infused vodka and gin. Wow, I had no idea it even existed! I infused some vodka and brought it down to test drive with Shaker Two.

First we tried a Classic Saffron Martini

The saffron vodka has a gorgeous almost glowing color and the smell is really unusual. A few shakes later and into the glass it goes……..

Well, Shaker Two doesn’t hate saffron vodka as much as she does Campari, but it is close! This was aggressively unpleasant. Scary even. No olives.

Undaunted, we plowed ahead with The Saffron Ginger Martini

Um, better but still not really something we would choose to drink. Being generous- 2 1/2 olives.

Shaker One has not given up on saffron martinis……..I shall need to search out some better recipes and get back to you. Now where is that rissotto recipe?

Infusion Profusion

martini No Responses »

Aug 042010

This summer Shaker One has been experimenting with vodka infusions at home. Every summer I make a ginger infused vodka for my ginger lemonade martinis, but this year I decided to branch out and try other ingredients. I started with some familiar friends from my kitchen:

-cinnamon, blueberries, roasted cherries, pineapple and of course ginger.

But I wanted to try something different. Our experiments with both the chai tea and Earl Grey tea infused vodkas were such a success, I looked towards other flavors like spices. Right now I have pink peppercorns marinating, and saffron……..I have plans to go get some cardamon as well. A trip to Penzys should keep me very busy for the rest of the summer.

Of course this means I shall have to find/create recipes to showcase all these fine new friends. But I think I am up to the challenge.

Just a note on infusions: Some ingredients, like fruits, can infuse just about indefinitely without over-flavoring the vodka. however, beware of leaving things like cinnamon in for too long. A few weeks and you have the perfect cinnamon vodka…..any longer and it becomes overpowering. Tea infusions only need to steep a few hours….any more than that and you get a marked bitterness. I recommend that you gently shake the infusion every few days and taste about once a week. Once you reach the desired level of flavor go ahead and remove the solids. Even better, strain the liquid through coffee filters to remove any cloudiness. You can now keep the resulting infused vodka indefinitely. Which generally equates to a few weeks at the Balcony Bar.

Now go infuse something!

Tinis Al Fresco!

garnish, martini No Responses »

Jul 232010

The (belated) arrival of true summer weather is met with varying degrees of enthusiasm from the two Shakers. One thing we can agree on is that dinner tastes better outdoors. Last night Shaker Two put together a lovely spread to officially open the Patio Bar for the season.

We dined on grilled rib eye steaks in a coffee rub (Shaker One was in heaven over this rub), herbed potatoes, grilled corn on the cob and a fabulous salad with candied pecans, goat cheese, mango and a poppy seed dressing…..yum.

We finished up our relaxing meal with a sabayon meyer lemon tart with fresh strawberries from Shaker One.

hope you all enjoy your weekend……oh, what?? You want to know if we had drinks? Why yes, as a matter of fact we did! how did you guess?

Shaker One as been gorging on fresh strawberries this season, so when I came across a couple of martini recipes involving strawberries and balsamic vinegar how could I resist??

First up was the Balsamic Vinegar Martini:

Simple and very pretty, but basically a vodka martini up with a lovely garnish. As written 2 1/2 olives.

The Shakers decided to muddle this up with some extra balsamic and it was tasty! 3 1/2 olives muddled.

Next is the Balsamic Martini by Jacopo Falleni:

4 1/2 olives. This is a must try.

I must admit this sounded like a rather odd combination to me, but I was curious enough to mix it up. Shaker Two and I each took a sip and our eyes grew big and round. Mr. Falleni- you are a genius. This is beyond delicious. The vanilla and lime (I used vanilla vodka instead of the vanilla rum he recommends) marry perfectly with the strawberries and balsamic and the balsamic glaze adds the perfect touch. This is a fabulous martini, really creative and well worth the bit of effort in assembling/muddling. Oh, we skipped making the cute sword garnish from the rind of a spaghetti squash like he did.

The Shakers are off to discover more recipes that embrace the flavors of the season……check back soon for more summer mixing and muddling~

An Unharried Host(ess)

martini, tips No Responses »

Jul 212010

So you’re having a party and want to serve a signature cocktail, but you can’t bear the idea of being locked at the bar all night mixing and pouring. What to do……Hire a bartender? Why yes, that’s a fantastic idea (especially if he’s hot and wearing a bow tie), but perhaps not so practical in these budget conscious times. The more clever and frugal alternative?

Why, make your ‘tini base up ahead of time! Simply select a signature drink (or two), and pre-mix all the alcohol and juice ingredients in large pitchers the night before. At party time, pop them out of the fridge, pour them over ice in a shaker, give them a quick shake and strain and into the glasses they go. Of course, be sure to save any carbonated ingredients to add at the last minute. Does this take a bit more time than pouring glasses of wine? Certainly. But a signature drink can really make your party special.

What about the hostesses who aren’t such a whiz at math? *Shaker One raises her hand here*

I actually sit down with a pencil and paper and convert the ounces in each ingredient to cup measurements on my pyrex measuring cup. First, pick a drink recipe. Next, multiply each ingredients’ ounce volume by the number of martini servings you want to have available for your guests. Convert the total ounces of each ingredient to the corresponding cup volume (my measuring cups have them all printed on the sides). I suggest you do a taste test and make any adjustments necessary……..it might need a little extra lemon juice or simple syrup for example. And I wouldn’t make them up too far ahead of time-the day before at the earliest. You don’t want your ingredients to taste stale or flat from sitting.

As for glassware- I do not recommend those plastic martini glasses you see at party supply stores. They are flimsy and cheap and tend to tip over from the weight of the liquid. You can purchase simple glass martini glasses cheaply at Target or Bed Bath and Beyond type places. A restaurant supply even has heavy duty acrylic martini glasses which would be perfect for an outdoor or poolside party. If you don’t want to invest in reusable glassware, go for basic clear plastic disposable cups. And don’t forget to garnish (make these up ahead of time,too).

With just a little planning and preparation, you can be a relaxed host(ess) while still making your guests feel special. Now go send those evites!

Happy Bastille Day!

martini No Responses »

Jul 142010

So since Les Shakers Deux are a bit too busy with work stuff to do an official Bastille Day shake, we would like to remind you of two French themed martinis you may enjoy on this day:

Pour La Coquette:

The French Martini

A bit sweet, a bit girly perhaps….but a lovely drink.

Pour Le Sophisticate:

The Parisian Martini

A favorite of both Shaker One and Shaker Two, including two of our best used players- St. Germain and Lillet Blanc. This is a must try if you have never had one.

Whichever you choose, enjoy your celebrations.

Vive Le Martini!

Turbo Muddle!

Gadgets, martini, tips No Responses »

Jul 142010

Many martini recipes using fresh fruit or herbs call for you to muddle the ingredients in the bottom of the shaker before adding the ice. For soft fruit/herbs, like strawberries, this is fine. But when the item to muddle is made of tougher stuff a simple traditional muddler just may not extract all the flavor you need for the drink.

The Shaker solution? Whip out your handy immersion blender! Just a pulse or two will really bring out any flavors you want. It is a tremendous time saver as well. Now this would not work for more delicate items- such as basil. But for certain citrus and even ginger or other tougher shaker guests it’s the way to go. Be sure to adjust quantities a bit when you use the immersion blender……it will extract much more flavor so you don’t want to overdo it. And use a Boston shaker with a separate strainer to keep the bigger chunks out of your drink without clogging up the top of a built in strainer.

Your immersion blender is also the best tool for making whipped cream for those dessert martinis. And you can even pre-whip your egg whites a bit before adding them to a flip for more body in your drink.

An immersion blender is an excellent addition to your bar. And fun to use, too.

Older Entries Newer Entries