Out, out damned wine spot!
This drink is blood orange and Campari and port and jealousy, ambition and hidden violence in the night. And psychotic breakdown
Lady MacDeath
1 1/2 oz ruby port
1 oz Campari
1/2 oz blood orange
Cava to taste
Stir the port, Campari and blood orange. Add the Cava. Plot domination.
You guys I promise in a month when GIRLS is over I will get back to posting non-drink recipes. In the meantime…Please make The Bridgid:
Modeled after a cocktail Bridgid really liked at Basic, a bar in Brooklyn.
If you just want the recipe go about 6 minutes 45 seconds in.
Girl on GIRLS is hobbling along. We got to be special guests on a much larger after show last week which was wicked exciting! And this week comedian Rakefet Abergel is our special guest so that’s nifty.
In other acting news I had a part in a legit movie (starring Rosanna Arquette-the Oscar winner Patricia’s sis and most importantly, star of “Desperately Seeking Susan”)
That also was wicked exciting.
And I’m gonna do some sketch comedy I wrote in March. Woot! And wicked. Bridgid will be in that with me so get to the Nerdist theatre in March for some funny.
And then there is just the ample booze to cover my pain.
The Bridgid made up by me with assistance of THE Bridgid
Makes 2 cocktails
First, put just a tiny smidgen of absinthe in each coupe, swirl and dump (or if you are me, drink, the excess). Put in freezer until ready to strain.
Next, stir over ice and strain into a chilled coupes:
1 oz. citron vodka
3 oz. gin
1 1/2 oz. Campari
1 oz. dry vermouth (I use Martini and Rossi)
1 oz. Cointreau
6 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Life is a process. And it is worth it.
As is this cocktail.
And other deep thoughts.
Let us infuse some shit.
But first a shameless plug for my positively adorable in every way improv group:
This is our sexy face.
Improv is a process. It takes a long long long time to not suck all the time. I have recently been trying to really FOCUS and put the time into doing what I do. I am aiming for quality of activities over quantity.
And that was my segue into saying that this cocktail is a process. I saw it posted on The Table Set podcast and I knew I wanted it. It takes about a week of patience. The creator, Nathan Hazard (great name), calls it the December Dilemma and I am calling my minor adaptation December Do. As in “just do it”. Do. DO.
Normally the minute I see a cocktail that requires an infusion, or making a big batch of some alcohol I can only fathom using in one or two instances, I eschew the idea of making it. But I could not run away from this. It was too perfect for the season.
I adore wine. I adore cranberries. And bourbon. And I am madly, madly in love with Campari. You can run off down darkened alleys with Aperol and claim it is preferable all you want, but Aperol will take your money and run.
Campari will be there. Ready to amuse you with it’s bitter wit and dazzle you with it’s colorful personality.
So even though this recipe involves handmade wine-sugar-infused cranberries in lieu of my adored Luxardo cherries, and cranberry-infused-Campari, I could not resist because I began to imagine the many delights I could make with what I decided to call Lux-erries and Cran-pari.
I had to adapt a bit. I wanted to get cracking the night I saw this and it felt too late to be running to the store so I did not use the Manischewitz wine. Instead I used a lovely Ravenswood Zin. I also did not feel like laying out the funds for the Punt e Mes so I used a slightly smaller amount of Martini and Rossi Rosso vermouth plus a bit of regular Campari.
Heaven can be yours if you wait.
December Do barely adapted from this recipe on The Table Set
Starting a week ahead make your:
Cran-pari:
1 cup cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. water
3 cups Campari
Heat the cranberries, sugar, and water over medium until the berries start to pop. Let them cool then add to a jar with the Campari. Store in a cool and dark dungeon like your refrigerator and shake daily for a week. Then strain two times. I strained from the jar into a wide-mouthed glass measuring cup with a spout, then placed the strainer over a funnel and funneled into the original Campari bottle.
Also make:
Lux-erries
1 cup cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups red wine, I used Zinfandel
Heat the red wine until it is reduced by half. Add sugar and heat and stir until it is well dissolved and you have a lovely syrup-y wine. Add cranberries and allow to cool. Allow about a week in a cool dark place, shaking occasionally if the cranberries are rising way over the wine.
For The Drink:
1 1/2 oz. Bulleit Rye
1 oz. Cran-Pari
3/4 oz. Martini & Rossi Rosso
1/4 oz. Campari
Lux-erries
orange zest
Stir the rye, cran-pari, vermouth, and campari in a chilled mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add a Lux-erry or so. Run the orange peel around the rim, squeeze it over the drink and discard. Or don’t. Do what ya feel.
Kudos to whoever found this balance. It is exquisite. An Old Pal makes you feel good-that is if you stop yourself before mixing too many.
Unlike the massive hug of an old pal, which makes you feel good no matter how many.
May I talk about hugs? Hugs save the day. I could really use one.
It’s quite busy here. I acted in yet another lil’ thing today and am improv-ing and throwing together lovely little things for Hello Giggles like this:
Ooh, and I have a new headshot:
Well that’s one of them anyway.
And I’m concocting new things for another one of those pie parties Alice and I throw. So you’ve got that to look forward to.
So I’m not going to blather on right now, and just recommend this simple drink.
One more random thought: I feel like people need to stop beginning every sentence with “I feel like”.
Old Pal from Bon Appetit
3 Tbsp. bourbon
2 Tbsp. Campari
2 Tbsp. dry vermouth
Orange twist.
Stir all liquids in a glass with ice. Strain into a chilled glass. Run orange rind around the rim then twist and drop in. Drop everything for a friend.
Thank you Suilma, for the beautiful blackberry photography.
We now pause for this week’s disgustingly self-promotional blurb:
My latest Blackboard Eats review, of Locanda Positano, just came out. You can read about it here.
No thrilling acting news beyond auditions and callbacks galore and the usual bi-monthly improv madness-next date for that is August 9th, so, um, yeah…file that away in your noggin’ somewhere secure, because we are going to be doing a bit of drinkin’ this week on the Gruel.
I massive life lists. Things to do. Places to go. Recipes to make. Things to write. I cross-list too. With friends who also have lists. And half the time we laugh that we will be lucky if we accomplish one thing. My friend Alice and I are notoriously making plans: to host pie parties (we do do this!), go hiking (happens sometimes), to visit the Jet Propulsion Lab (not yet), to read books in coffee houses and art museum courtyards (we’ve yet accomplish these Public Displays of Literacy yet), to choreograph to various songs, to see the dinos at the Natural History Museum (not yet), and finally there are a gajillon different speakeasies we’d love to explore.
But most of all, WE WANT TO SEE OWLS.
With prominent ears.
It is a long story.
So when I heard there was an art show featuring owl works in Culver City, Alice and I started plotting. WE SHOULD DO THIS. WE COULD DO THIS.
And then maybe we could hike after art. Then we could visit a wine bar, because we had leftover cash on cards to do tasting at Ugo. Then get grilled cheese at Blind Barber , because who doesn’t want to consume melted cheese near where men are being shaved?
So we made these plans then laughed that maybe we would accomplish two of these things. Well we did beyond.
We saw the owl show. Then happened to walk into another gallery with MORE OWLS?!!! WTF where have these strigiformes been all my life?!!
We then did an “urban hike” meaning powerwalking around Culver for a bit. Then tasted about two ounces of wine at Ugo. Then on the the barber. Lemme tell you. You walk through a brightly lit shop into a magical speakeasy where bartenders will muddle tomatoes-make that “heirloom” tomatoes said my charming mixologist, with rye and such, to please your buds. And the grilled cheese was buttery madness. We split the drink, sammich, and soup.
BUT THEN! We did not stop there because we are not quitters, and we had still consumed less than one drink each, so felt the night could cautiously go on. Alice had never seen Oldfield’s, one of my favorite old-timey craft cocktail places, so we dropped by to split another drink and say hello to the effervescent “BC from DC!” who never fails to charm. Or mix a good drink.
That was a good day. One in which I actually was doing the fun things I claimed I’d make time for. Exploring. With a friend. Life doesn’t get much better.
So now that you are thinking cocktails, and friends, I give you two. Because you are going to get thyme to make one, then wonder what to do with all the thyme you have leftover so you will make the other one too. Two. Two times. The first I made with brilliant Suilma, the second I made alone for dessert another night. Less decent photo, but skulls make it all better:
But first things first. Blackberries:
Blackberry-Thyme Margaritas adapted from the July 07 issue of Bon Appetit
16 blackberries
Several thyme sprigs
3 Tbsp. sugar dissolved in 1/4 c. H2O
6 Tbsp. tequila (I used Sauza blanco)
3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. Cointreau
2 cups of ice cubes
1/4 c. Sparkling wine
Put 14 berries and 2 thyme sprigs in a bowl and muddle. Mix in sugar-water (aka simple syrup), tequila, lime juice, Cointreau, and 1 cup ice. Stir to blend. Strain into another bowl. Mix in sparkly.
Divide ice in two cups and then our mixture over. Garnish with remaining blackberries and thyme. Toast with a friend and watch “Girls” while talking about boys.
Now the raspberries. Dessert.
Raspberry-Campari Float adapted from Bon Appetit July 2013
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
Thyme sprig
1/4 cup Campari
1 1/3 cups raspberries
1 pint vanilla ice cream (mine had maple flavoring)
2 12 oz. bottles of club soda
Bring water, sugar and thyme to boil. Take off heat and cover for 15 minutes. Remove thyme. Let cool stir in Campari. Divide between four glasses. Add raspberries and muddle. Add ice cream then pour in club soda, and more Campari to taste.
Eat alone and relish your grand success.
Gearing up for a busy weekend, I am. Two improv shows and a friend in from out of town. Summer is well on its merry way.
It feels like a while since I gave you drinks. But since I want your brains to be equally invigorated, I’m also gonna give you some summer reads.
You probably want to read before imbibing.
I’m in the midst of Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl”. It is worth the hype. I can’t stop.
I also was drawn deep into “Wild”, by Cheryl Stayed. Even if you don’t like to hike thou shalt diggeth it. It’s her memoirs of hiking the rather epic Pacific Crest Trail.
Have I told you before of the incredible-ousity of Smithsonian Magazine? Yes, I am a huge dork who adores learning. You get science, history, arts, and more. They shouldn’t hire me to write ads for them because that description was terribly dry. But really, this magazine rocks. And this month’s issue was the food issue so it’s a good time to jump in! And you also get to read about dark matter. The goth’s favorite type of matter.
If you’ve never read “A Tale of Two Cities” it’s time to put down everything else and read my favorite book evah….
Phew, you’ve been schooled. Moving right along.
I give you your summertime drink.
It is pretty. It is lovely. If the Campari hits too hard you can change the amounts of club soda and vino.
If you are hanging with aforementioned smarty goths they will not only love the deep red nature of it, but you’ll score extra points if you use skull and crossbones ice cubes. Woot!
I’m sorry if I’ve been less amusing of late. I’m thinking its summer so you probably have less time to waste online, when you could be out drinking Campari and mind-gobbling great books. So do.
The Bicicletta from Bon Appetit May 2008
2 ounces Campari
1 1/2 ounces dry white wine
1/2 ounce club soda
Lemon slice
Stir Campari and wine. Add ice and club soda. Garnish with the lemon slice. Done and done. And done.
Whoa. Like, whoa.
So much to share. I shall serve it up like a long tasty dinner. I swear it is worth it. There is a drink recipe at the end your reward. The dessert for this post.
Before I even get to what’s first, I redid my dramatic reel, y’all:
Now the real first course. The reel was the amuse bouche.
Next up we have an appetizer of comedy (very funny), a soup course of party (quite fine). Then a beverage and a main coarse of pie and brains. Yes, brains!
And dessert.
Appetizer: Last weekend I did a wee bit if stand-up. Me likey. People laughed a lot. Tis interesting that I hated being laughed at as a kid. Yet being laughed at is now my chosen form of crack. That was 7pm Saturday.
I rushed home for the soup coarse of this post, a party.
Let me explain the soup, a fine melange of friends, food, drinks, and celebration. Garnished with hugs.
Yes, I had another party with pie. The party was to celebrate 3 years of still being alive after I had that accident from which I incurred some smashing (literally) good injuries. That last link will also hold the recipe for delightful vegetarian Scotch eggs, incidentally. Delightful.
I digress. I am alive and more or less well and grateful for life. I wanted to get down, get down, and party.
For the occasion, and this post’s main course beverage, I cracked a red bubbly recommended to me by Whitney at DomaineLA that was more robust than sweet.
Yes please may I have another? Twas a manly red sparkler.
My amazing neighbor brought this post’s main course side dish, a very smart centerpiece:
Oh, jello molds!
And the entree! Just in time for pi day tomorrow! Get a little 3-14 in your maw!
I made an English Cheddar Farmhouse Pie from the cookbook by Greg of Sippity Sup. His book from which I got this recipe is called Savory Pies and I’m not giving you the recipe because I think you should get the book. Greg, if you are reading I was tempted to invite you to the party but I sort of had performance anxiety over serving you your recipe…
I barely got to taste the pie. I swear it it demolished so rapidly. I got a sliver while slicing it then ran off to make cocktails for my friends and turned around and it was gone. I gotta make this one again so I actually get a full on slice.
My friends were totally forgiven for Bogarting the pie, as thy brought me offerings of books, music, crack (aka cookie butter, not pictured) and pseudo health crap (the “powerberries in the pic).
And have I mentioned how I LOVE getting girly flowers?
LOVE. Take note.
And now the dessert, my gift to you, a beverage I invented playing on the many Negroni themes. I’ll call it the Clifford Negroni. Maybe someone invented this already but I googled and haven’t found it. It’s great if you crave a slightly less alcoholic Negroni with more flavor than an Americano.
Ginger ale. The happy gin.
The Clifford Negroni
1/2-1 oz. Campari (aka my lifeblood)
1/2-1 oz. sweet vermouth
Ginger ale (I wish I could say I was loyal to my childhood Vernor’s but I’ve recently been taken by Hansen’s)
Orange twist
The amounts depend on the size of your glass and how much you already drank. I’d had champagne at my party so I had smaller amounts of the Campari and sweet vermouth. Pour these into a champagne flute, top with ginger ale. Run twist around rim then twist the twist to express some oil and drop it in.
Toast to your exquisite life. If you are lucky enough to have life, it is exquisite and worthy of many toasts.
It’s a two-fer! You get a drink, and a dish. An some random facts about me.
The “American” salad got me thinking about this here country, which got me thinking about race issues, which got me to pondering how I seem to have an affinity for being the minority, which is somewhat of a feat for a white girl from the Midwest.
I grew up in a school where being white put me in the minority. In college I played taiko drums, so I hung around a lot of Japanese folks. I acted with the St. Louis Black Rep (token white chick?). So when I moved to LA I moved to Koreatown because it felt good to be in the minority. Now I’m just East of K-town, almost downtown, in a pretty diverse neighborhood.
In general I think I am accustomed to not quite fitting in, to the point that I am actually more comfortable feeling like I am not blending in.
The exception being a trip to, say, Whole Foods, where white English speakers abound but no matter how nice I thought I looked before going I will never measure up to the super-hip clientele in all their lululemon glory. I may be in my demographic but I’m itchy as all get-out.
I get my chia seeds and run.
Safely at home I might just mix up some nibbles. And an almost-a-Negroni drink to make myself feel better. Which is inevitably dumped out before I’m done because I cannot drink too much alone. Nor should I drink whilst trying to chop potatoes for a nice potato salad and simultaneously working on scenes for an audition.
And so it goes.
Americano from The Ultimate Bar Book by Mittie Hellmich
1 1/2 oz. Campari
1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
3 oz. club soda
Twist of lemon peel
Twist of orange peel
Stir Campari and vermouth over ice, strain into glass of ice. Add club soda. Stir. Twist peels over and drop in. Salute. And salud.
American Potato Salad (adapted from The Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary Edition)
1 pound potatoes (not the starchy type)
1 celery rib, dice dice baby
A couple Tbsp. diced bread and butter pickles
6 Tbsp. reduced fat mayo
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. brown mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle of dried parsley
Boil taters in salted water until cooked. Drain, chop into whatever bite-sized means to you. Toss with remaining ingredients. Put in fridge until cool.
Chupa, meet your cocktail namesake:
Chupa was an excellent pet. Not my pet, but one I became close to over the last several years. There was nothing like being woken up by the Chup-ster. Someone in St. Louis put your hands over Java’s eyes lest he see that. I swear cats can read only the things you don’t want them to.
I came across a recipe for a drink called the chupa cabra and thusly made it in her honor. Then I googled it and found a lot of different chupacabra recipes, all wildly different, but they all had tequila. So even if you don’t make this, do a shot and send some cat love.
Here’s to you, Chupa!
Chupa Cabra(slightly adapted from the Mixology app)
2 oz. white tequila
1/2 oz. Campari
1/2 oz. lime juice
3/4 oz. ruby red grapefruit juice
1 tsp. sugar
Dash of angostura bitters
Slice of lime.
Shake everything but the lime slice with ice then strain.
Got two recipes for y’all but you have to go over to the lovely Jessica’s site to see my guest post there. Click here: The Hostess Handbook
You get a recipe for a loving long-distance friendship, and the recipe for Campari Champagne Cocktails, i.e. the Woman’s Girly drink. Girly color, manly bitter taste. Good stuff!
Scrumptious Gruel 