Shaken Not Stirred - Guest Post

This time of year it seems as though everyone's dance card is filled with holiday parties and commitments.  It's a chance to dress up and a time to share a little bit of the holiday cheer.  For many years we hosted a big Christmas party and it was a wonderful chance to slow down, enjoy the season, and to share all of our decorations with friends and family.

Since we moved into our new home and have been in almost constant renovation mode, we've only hosted one party, and that was last Christmas.  Our first party was scheduled for the weekend that we got hit with a huge snow storm, but the second date went off without a hitch, and we had a wonderful time.

About a month ago, our daughter sent me an email saying that she and her roommate were planning to host their own Christmas party this year.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree as the saying goes, and she has definitely inherited the entertaining gene from my mother.  My mom loved having a beautifully decorated home this time of year, and a houseful of people to share it with.

This morning, I got a full report saying that my daughter and her roomie/friend had hosted a very successful cocktail party at their new apartment...complete with signature cocktails and a menu no less!  She's never been a drink to excess kind of child...thankfully, so I knew when she said that she would be hosting a cocktail party that it would be more like a Martha Stewart event than a 20 something style fraternity party.  Just to let the girls know we were thinking of them last night, Mr. Tide and I sent a small floral arrangement of fresh greens, white hydrangea and red roses because it's always nice to have fresh flowers when you are hosting a party. 

Today my daughter sent me pictures of the party, and I was so impressed by everything she and her roommate "B" had done to make this a memorable event for those invited.   She also asked me if I would like her to do a guest post to explain the evening and a little bit about how cocktails evolved...of course I said YES...and I hope you enjoy reading it!

Hi I'm Kat's daughter...affectionately known as Angelfish by my parents.  My roommate and I recently moved into a new place in Northern Virginia, and we decided it was high time we threw a cocktail/housewarming party for our friends in the area.  We bought some light hors d'oeuvres, libations, and set up our wonderful party playlist (I highly recommend this New Yorker inspired playlist).  We found cute cocktail napkins, set out some plates, and waited for our guests to arrive.  Though I'm not as legally minded as my roommate, who aspires to law school, cocktail parties still tend to put me in mind of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

You, too?  No?  Don't know what the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution was?  Don't worry, you're not alone. This is probably due to the fact that the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed in December of 1933.  That's right, this amendment, along with the National Prohibition Act, or Volstead Act (as Andrew Volstead was the Senate Judiciary Committee chair who sponsored the legislation), started Prohibition in the United States.  The legislation for Prohibition was vetoed by Woodrow Wilson in October of 1919, but he was overridden by Congress and the law officially went into effect in January of 1920.

From 1920 until late 1933, the citizens of the United States were restricted from purchasing or consuming alcoholic beverages, and the government was to regulate the manufacture, production, use, and sale of high-proof spirits for 'other than beverage purposes'.  As you might imagine, from Prohibition stemmed some grave problems - among them, bootlegging, binge drinking, and organized crime.

Forced to distill and produce their own alcohol if they still wanted to drink, people turned to very creative ways to disguise the taste of the poor quality alcohol they were making (this is where terms like 'bathtub gin' come into play).  Prohibition era cocktails made great use of the mixer, an element of cocktails we consider commonplace today.  Mixers with strong flavors, such as orange juice and cream, became in vogue among those in the speakeasys who were trying to make their drinks palatable.

While my roommate and I were not serving bathtub gin, we are just out of college, and thus top-shelf liquors are not yet within a comfortable price range for us.  Anything with a good mixer is a perfect drink for us.  We found some great cocktail recipes in a book I have that was given to me by a good friend of mine for my twenty-first birthday, called Pocket Guide to Cocktails - The Essential Pocket Book of Cocktail Recipes.  It's a Parragon Publishing book and was first published in the UK; it has a great selection of classic cocktails, modern drinks, and a non-alcoholic section for any teetotalers in the crowd.

I made a bar menu with three 'specialty cocktails' that contained great seasonal spirits and colors that put people in mind of the holidays.  My friend J is an avid 'mixologist', and he helped me behind the bar all evening (he and his wife, D, even brought along their great Boston shaker bar set!).  All three drinks were a huge hit with our guests and I asked my mom if I could guest post today in order to share them with you!

Seeing Red

Ingredients:
1 measure red vodka (we used Skyy, not red vodka, and it turned out well)
1 measure peach schnapps
3 measures cranberry juice (if you're a fan of sweet drinks, regular cranberry juice is a dream.  If you're like me and prefer your drinks on the dry side, try organic cranberry juice with less sugar content)
crushed ice
soda water
frozen cranberries (fresh work just as well)

1. Shake the first three ingredients over ice until well frosted.
2. Strain into a tall chilled cocktail glass, top up with soda water, and float a few cranberries on the top for garnish.

Christmas Cocktail

Ingredients:
1 cube sugar
splash brandy
generous splash cranberry juice, chilled
champagne, chilled (we used cava which is generally less expensive and works well)
fresh raspberries, to garnish

1. Place a sugar cube in the base of a chilled champagne glass.
2. Add the brandy and allow to soak in, then splash on the cranberry juice.
3. At the last moment, top up with champagne and float one or two raspberries on the top.


Cider Punch

Ingredients:
17 fl oz/500ml dry sparkling cider (we used Woodchuck Amber hard cider, but you could use non-alcoholic sparkling cider here for a less strong mix)
5 fl oz/150ml cognac or brandy (we used brandy to overlap with our other drinks)
5 fl oz/150ml Cointreau
ice
apple slices, to garnish
10 fl oz/300ml soda water or dry ginger (I highly recommend using ginger ale)

1. Mix the first three ingredients together and chill in the refrigerator until required.
2. Pour into a large punch bowl with ice, apple slices, and the soda water or dry ginger.
3. Serve in small cups or glasses.

Note: We found that we had to add more ginger ale than it called for, to avoid the mix tasting too much of Cointreau.  To alleviate this problem without adding more ginger ale, simply reduce the amount of Cointreau (unless you adore the taste of Cointreau, in which case, have at it!).

Yesterday evening was quite a success, and now we're going to have to throw another party to share all of the lovely bottles of wine our guests brought.  I hope that you all are having a wonderful holiday season, and next time you settle down to a nice cocktail, turn on some Prohibition era jazz, dance the Charleston, and think about how lucky we are not to be drinking liquor made in someone's bathtub!

A Little Taste of Sunshines

A few Saturdays ago, after spending the day with my dear friend Connie, I headed back towards home for a local beach party in the quiet town of Leonardtown, Maryland.  Mr. Tide had phoned me as I was making my way back home to ask if I wanted to go to the party, and it sounded like great way to cap off a perfect day!

A bypass put in years ago, which re-routed traffic away from the historic downtown shopping district in Leonardtown, nearly sealed the town's fate.  But those who had grown up in the area refused to let that happen, and over the years small businesses, residents, and area officials have worked together to bring life back to this once booming small town.

And one of the ways they've sought to inject Leonardtown with a sense of community and economic welfare is to host several annual events which are centered around the town's square.  Vendors, musicians, and our local fire and rescue departments all gather on the square for the various events where fun can be had by all.

And although many of the original businesses are no longer located on the square in Leonardtown, many new and thriving ones have come in to take their place.   You can find everything from a local pub to a wonderful used book store.  And you can even find a place to take cooking lessons or purchase a piece of fine art created by local artisans.

And of course there are wonderful places to dine.  One of the new kids on the block, and a favorite for Mr. Tide and me, is The Front Porch.  It's located in a historic home once owned by the Sterling family, a prominent local name.  The house remained in the family for many generations until it was sold, completely renovated, and turned into a wonderful restaurant.

I love the casual family friendly atmosphere of The Front Porch.  The decor inside includes a trip down memory lane as the walls are filled with items and photos of Leonardtown from years gone by.  And I love this vintage bicycle with petunias spilling out of the basket!

And true to its name, The Front Porch does indeed have an inviting front porch where you can dine on great food or simply sit and have a drink overlooking the town.  And if you're feeling up to a little friendly competition, you can play a game or two of croquet on the restaurant's well manicured front lawn. 

By the time we arrived, the sun was getting low, but that didn't stop the children from having a fun time in the water provided by Leonardtown's Volunteer Fire Department.

And what kind of beach party would it be without some sand and water?!  It was a hot day that day so kids weren't the only ones enjoying the cool mist!

Crazy for Ewe is one of my favorite stores in town.  Not because I knit, but because the windows are adorned with the most wonderful sheep paintings!  It is a great knitting store to boot though, and they even offer lessons!

There are so many great places and cool old buildings in Leonardtown.  And the evening light was perfect!  Duke's, which was once a notorious watering hole (they had a drive-thru window where you could order a mixed drink!), is now home to Cafe Des Artistes, a wonderful French restaurant.  Owners Karleen and Loic Jaffres are gracious proprietors and their profiteroles are to die for!  And don't forget to try my personal favorite, the European style hot dog served in a banquette with yummy mustard from their lunch menu!

And Leonardtown is blessed with not one but several wonderful floral shops, so flowers are never hard to come by...my kind of town!

Even the bank is located in a gorgeous old building!  Unfortunately it's no longer locally owned and operated like so many banks which have fallen on hard times, but they can never take away the history and craftsmanship that went into the building itself.

And check out the beautiful Maryland seals that adorn its brick facade!  I have made many a deposit at this old bank when I worked for local attorneys in town many years ago during my summer breaks from college.

But it wasn't just the chance to wander around the historic old buildings, beautiful homes, say hi to our son, and to mingle with a lot of friends that brought us to Leonardtown that night.  We had heard from a reliable source that one of our favorite catering companies was going to be selling their wares at the beach party that night!

You see, we had it on good authority from our friend and painter extraordinaire Jeff (he's on the left in the blue shirt) that there would be yummy BBQ to be had!

Sunshines Catering is located in Hollywood, Maryland and is owned by Patrick T. Michael, but most people just call him Chef.  They are well known throughout southern Maryland for their delicious food, and the steady stream of customers buying their BBQ at the beach party was certainly happy to see them!

And if the heavenly smell of their BBQ and other yummy food doesn't help you find them, well you can always look for their one of a kind truck!

Imagine Jimmy Buffett and a pirate/artist/biker chick had a love child...that's Sunshines Catering.  Laid back, fun loving, and oh so good!

And waiting in line becomes a real treat when this great catering company is serving up the grub!  They don't just set up a booth, they do it in style!

I just love their quirky sense of humor and I'm not going to argue with a bull and a bun!

I will argue that the sliced beef BBQ, fries, and soda I had that evening were second to none though!

And that the artwork on their truck is amazing!

These folks agree too!

I'm pretty sure if there really are pirates with chests full of booty, then this must be the greatest booty of all!  If you are ever in the area, keep an eye out for the bright blue truck for your own little taste of Sunshines!

And if you live in the area and are in need of an amazing painter, email me and I'll give you Jeff's contact information.  Just don't become too popular Jeff or I won't have my favorite painter around when I need him! ;-)

There is so much more to the town of Leonardtown then what I've been able to show you here, so I hope that if you're ever in southern Maryland that you'll venture down this way and stop by for a visit!

Thank you everyone for your kind comments about Mary Beth's wonderful artwork in her son's nursery, I know it made her happy to see such lovely things said about the room she worked so hard on!