Category — Food & Wine

A friend of mine is visiting Seattle in September and has asked me to guide her in sampling all of the great foods the city has to offer. This is a request I can manage pretty well on my own, but when we decided to do a road trip down to Portland, too, I admitted I wasn’t as well versed in the city’s hot spots as I might like to be. What to do? I could go on an Internet wild goose chase—trying to rustle up the best of the best through various searches—or I could just consult a great resource that is already at my fingertips: Food Lover’s Guide to Portland by Liz Crain.

And consult it I did. In fact, after doing so, the toughest part was trying to narrow down what sounded great to what was reasonable for a short visit! In true Portland DIY style, we will primarily pick and choose ingredients rather than limit ourselves to more formal sit-down meals.

Naturally, we’ll have to hit up the farmers market at Portland State University, which features more than 170 stalls (!) and a huge variety of offerings. We can pick out some fresh fruits and vegetables that might make for a nice picnic.

I’m torn about which bakery to visit and may have to sample the goods from more than one. I think we’ll grab a savory loaf from Pearl Bakery and some sweet breakfast treats from Pix Patisserie. Both earn rave reviews for their quality and specialty items.

We’ll certainly need some cheese to pair with our bread, so a stop at Cheese Bar (formerly Steve’s Cheese) for a staff recommendation will be in order. And then off to Laurelhurst Market Butcher Shop we’ll go for cured meats to top it all. Depending on the time of day, we can either wash the meal down with a coffee from Stumptown or a wine from Boedecker Cellars.

We’ll also have to partake in the booming food cart trend by browsing the pod at Alder Street (near the downtown library). I’m thinking about a garlicky gyro from Aybla Grill, but I could easily be swayed by the other delicious displays . . .

Finally, since I’m a sucker for truffles (and, let’s be honest, any chocolate), I must swing by Moonstruck Chocolate. I dare you to look at Moonstruck’s website and not drool on your keyboard.

Although this list doesn’t even come close to running the gamut of what Portland has to offer, I’m sure both my friend and I will be pleased with what we are able to sample. And anyway, it just means we’ll have to plan future trips to try all of the rest!

Where do you think we should we go next time?

Prosciutto, Sage & Parmesan Pinwheels

Makes about 28 pinwheels

Serve these easy-to-make pinwheels at your first gathering as newlyweds for a crisp, two-bite popper that pairs beautifully with bubbly. They look “gourmet” but are a breeze to put together: I prepared them with our friends’ 2-year-old daughter, Maysun, who adores helping me in the kitchen. If she can do it, so can you!

1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted
3 heaping tablespoons honey mustard
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
3⁄4 cup grated Parmesan
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. On a lightly floured surface, unfold the puff pastry sheet and roll it into a rectangle measuring 11 by 14 inches. Spread the mustard evenly over the entire surface and arrange the prosciutto evenly on top of the mustard. Sprinkle the sage, Parmesan, and pepper evenly over the prosciutto. Roll up one side of the pastry toward the center, jelly roll style, stopping in the middle. Repeat this step on the other side so that the two rolls meet in the center.

2. Carefully wrap the pastry in plastic wrap to help retain its shape. Refrigerate for 3 hours (or overnight) so the pastry has a chance to firm up. (If you’re in a rush, you can instead freeze the dough for about 30 minutes.)

3. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

4. With a serrated knife, slice the roll into 1⁄2-inch pieces and place them on a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet, leaving a bit of space between the pieces so they have room to puff up as they bake. Bake the pinwheels for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they are golden and crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature with glasses of bubbly.

Usually my dinner party planning goes something like this:

1. Invite people over for a dinner party weeks in advance
2. Think about what I’m going to make for weeks leading up to dinner party
3. Have a minor breakdown the night before dinner party about what to make
4. Attempt something entirely too complicated the day of dinner party
5. Spend too much time in the kitchen while guests are enjoying themselves at my dinner party

Solving all of my dinner party woes: Swirl, Sip & Savor: Northwest Wine and Small Plate Pairings

Swirl, Sip & Savor is a great resource for a novice dinner entertainer or an experienced host/hostess. Not only does it cover party food basics like dips, finger foods, and small plates, but a different Northwest winery is featured in each recipe, along with a complementary wine from their collection.

My favorite part of the book is the “Wine Pairing by Varietal” appendix. It allows you to match any varietal with recipes from the book, which comes in handy when you’re working with wines that you already have on hand.
Additionally, the “Wine and Food Pairing Guide” appendix describes what types of foods pair best with different varietals. For example, I learned that Sangioveses work best with simple, rustic dishes while Syrahs are better suited to robust, hearty meals like stews and barbeque.

And with the exception of the crostinis and flatbreads, most, if not all, of the recipes in the book are easy to convert to gluten-free; a definite plus if you’re trying to please a group.

Here’s one of my favorite recipes from the book. Try it for your next dinner party:

Lamb Skewers with Yogurt Cucumber Dipping Sauce
Tapteil Vineyard Winery | Benton City, Washington

Makes 12 skewers

1/4 cup lemon agrumato olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves chopped
15 to 20 fresh mint leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds trimmed boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes
12 rosemary branches (to use as skewers), if desired, or 12 bamboo skewers
Yogurt Cucumber Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

Soak the rosemary branch skewers or bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes before grilling.

Mix together the lemon agrumato olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, mint, salt, and pepper in a resealable 1-gallon plastic bag. Shake well. Add the lamb cubes and shake to coat with the marinade. Marinate the lamb at room temperature while assembling the Yogurt Cucumber Dipping Sauce.

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

While the grill heats, place four to five marinated lamb cubes on each skewer. Grill the skewers, rotating them, until nicely brown but not overcooked, about 8 minutes for medium rare. These will cook quickly, so watch them carefully.

Serve the skewers with the dipping sauce and warm pita bread, if desired.

Yogurt Cucumber Dipping Sauce
1 pint Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup diced English cucumber
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium serving bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, mint, parsley, and cucumber. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

WINE PAIRING: Tapteil Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain
An extraordinary violet nose leads to deep flavors of dark cherries, chocolate, and spice that fill the palate. The rich chewy finish lingers lavishly.

My husband and I have pretty standard roles in the kitchen: I love to cook, he loves to eat what I cook. This works well enough for us, and aside from the occasional request for him to help prepare the garlic bread or dress the salad, I don’t ask much of the man who feels pretty out of place near the stove. That isn’t to say I wouldn’t love to share the kitchen more often, especially when it comes to a special meal.

Our first wedding anniversary is approaching in a few months, and I think it presents the perfect opportunity to bridge that gap and make a meal together. If it’s a disaster (unlikely), we’ll have a great story to tell our kids someday. If it’s flawless, we’ll have a wonderful memory of the dinner we shared.

I turned to The Newlywed Kitchen for menu ideas. This cookbook serves up inspiration in two forms: with the recipes themselves as well as through the stories from celebrated food personalities and their spouses. I can find the recipe for Anniversary Pea Soup with Seared Sea Scallops and then smile about Sally and Carl Mohr’s annual tradition of eating beef burritos and champagne to celebrate their special day.

When I suggested the plan to my husband, he was cautiously on board.

“But what if I burn something? Or miss an ingredient?” he asked.

“I’ll be right there with you though, that’s what’s so great!” I replied with enthusiasm.

And it’s true. Whatever happens in the kitchen that day, we’ll be side by side, relishing the other’s companionship. Isn’t that what marriage is all about?

The fun part was selecting the menu. There are so many excellent recipes, it was hard to narrow them down into one attainable, complementary meal. Should we start with Henry’s Famous Spicy Wings (my husband’s choice) or the Zucchini Fritters with Tangy Yogurt Sauce (mine)? Should we have the Creamy Kale Gratin or the Warm Roasted Potatoes with Basil Pesto on the side? And for the main dish, would we go for the Chicken Piccata with Mushrooms and Leeks or perhaps the Pancetta-Wrapped Pork with Gorgonzola Sauce?

My husband and I ultimately decided on the Warm Mushroom Salad with Ginger Soy Vinaigrette, Roasted Parmesan Broccoli with Toasted Bread Crumbs, and Grilled Porterhouse Steak with Blue Cheese Butter. Then we’ll satisfy our sweet tooths by baking Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies (recipe below).

And because we couldn’t stop drooling, we also chose our breakfast for the next morning: Topsy-Turvy Apple French Toast. We can’t wait!

Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Makes 24 brownies

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 3⁄4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3⁄4 teaspoon espresso powder
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup flour
6 ounces chocolate chips (semisweet, bittersweet, or white)
1 1⁄2 cups chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Grease a 13-by-9-inch glass or light-colored rectangular pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the unsweetened chocolate and bittersweet chocolate with the butter. Microwave in 20-second intervals, until about 80 percent of the chocolate has melted. Stir the chocolate mixture—the remaining chocolate will melt from the residual heat. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, vanilla, espresso powder, and salt. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the flour, chocolate chips, and the nuts.

Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Don’t overbake the brownies—they should be slightly soft in the center when you remove them from the oven. For cleaner slices, wrap the brownies in plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour before slicing. The brownies will keep, well wrapped, in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Try this adaptable and delicious recipe for fresh greens from the Farm to Table Cookbook by Ivy Manning. Just out in paperback and bursting with delicious recipes and beautiful photographs, this timely cookbook offers loads of ideas of what to make with farm- or garden-fresh foods.

A Versatile Recipe for the Hearty Greens You Don’t know What to Do With
(2 to 4 servings)

Just about every visit to the farmer’s market or delivery from a CSA will yield one big, bushy bunch of greens. I suspect that too often these gorgeous greens are just discarded. Whether attached to beets, kohlrabi, turnips, or just simple kale, those coarse-looking greens are indeed edible, and I don’t mean in that bland macrobiotic-steamed-brown-rice kind of way. They are really yummy, especially prepared in this simple Japanese-inspired style. There are no quantities here; each batch of greens will have a different flavor and quantity; just sprinkle the other ingredients sparingly on the greens until you get a flavorful blend.

Ingredients
1 bunch hearty greens—kohlrabi, beets, turnips, or kale
toasted sesame oil
Good-quality soy sauce
Furikake or toasted sesame seeds*

Tear the leaves from their tough ribs and stems. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the leaves, and boil until tender, 1 to 3 minutes depending on the type of greens.

Drain the greens in a colander and push on them to remove as much water as possible.

Roughly chop the cooked greens and place them on a serving plate. Sprinkle lightly with sesame oil and soy sauce; toss to coat. Sprinkle with the furikake and serve as a side dish or salad.

* Furikake is a Japanese condiment made from sesame seeds, nori seaweed, and sea salt that’s used as a seasoning for rice and salads. It is available at most Asian grocery stores; you can substitute toasted sesame seeds and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Understanding cooking as a communal act is a central premise in Patricia Tanumihardja’s The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook. That’s why when I first decided to tackle making a dim-sum favorite from scratch, I didn’t attempt it alone. I asked my friend and neighbor, Jeanette, someone more experienced in the art of Asian cooking than I, to join me.

Jeanette is also the one responsible for my newfound love of the 99 Ranch Market. Mark my words. Do not be intimidated by your local Asian grocery. Explore. Enjoy. If your trips are anything like mine, they will undoubtedly yield simple treasures (pristine portobello mushrooms for significantly less money than seems reasonable) and unexpected delights (red bean ice cream!—who knew?). The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook is also an informative resource for those who are unfamiliar with the staples of Asian cooking. Hint: White pepper and sesame oil are versatile must-haves for your pantry!

So after rigging a makeshift steaming operation using a mismatched skillet/basket/lid and investing some time prodding and primping the skins . . . the gloriously authentic result is pictured here: Our shiu mai was a hit!

Though my grandmother happened to be Norwegian and not Asian, I know she would be proud of our accomplishment. Like many of the women who inspired Tanumihardja’s collection, my grandmother knew the value of a well-cooked meal and wasn’t afraid to spend extra time and effort making something special to nourish her family. Maybe your grandma taught you how to make Norwegian rømmegrøt, or oyako donburi, or nothing at all. Regardless, The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook offers a wealth of ethnic specialties that are accessible to the modern home cook. And whether they’re of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, or Indian descent, it’s clear that all of these Asian grandmothers have something delicious to add to the mix. So follow their lead: Take some time to slow down and savor the legacy of another generation’s or another culture’s culinary favorites. You won’t regret it!

Shiu Mai (Pork and Shrimp Cups)
Dried black mushrooms give these tidbits an earthy flavor while water chestnuts add crunch. And this dim sum staple is easier to make than you may think. Look for fresh or frozen round shiu mai skins in Asian markets—the thinner the better. If you can’t find shiu mai skins, thicker gyoza or wonton skins (trim off square corners before using) will do. The skins come in packs of about 50.

Time: 2 1/2 hours
Makes: 3 dozen (10 to 12 servings)

1 pound ground pork
6 medium dried black mushrooms, rehydrated and finely chopped (1/2 cup)
8 ounces shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped with a food processor or cleaver
1/3 cup finely chopped water chestnuts (about 5 canned pieces or 3 peeled fresh pieces)
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions, white and green parts (4 stalks)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
12-ounce package dumpling skins

In a large bowl, combine the pork, mushrooms, shrimp, water chestnuts, green onions, cornstarch, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Set the dumpling skins on a floured work surface and cover with a damp towel. Make a circle with your left thumb and index finger (right if you’re left handed). Place a dumpling skin over the circle and scoop 1 tablespoon filling into it. Let the filling drop halfway through the hole and gently squeeze your hand to shape it into a cup, leaving the top open. Put the dumpling on the work surface and gather the edges of the skin around the filling, pleating the edges to form petals. The top should remain open. Stand the dumplings upright 1/2 inch apart on a greased plate that will fit in your steamer. (The size of your steamer will determine how many dumplings you can steam at a time.) Repeat until all the filling is used up. Brush the tops of dumplings with oil.

Set up your steamer.

Fill the steamer pan half full of water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium until you are ready to steam.

Return the water in the steamer to a rolling boil. Set one plate of the dumplings in the steamer basket or rack. Cover and steam over high heat for 15 minutes, or until the pork is no longer pink. Pierce a dumpling with a sharp knife to check doneness. Turn off the heat and wait for the steam to subside before lifting the lid. Lift it away from you to prevent scalding yourself and to keep condensation from dripping onto the dumplings. Carefully remove the basket or plate and set the dumplings aside to cool. Repeat as many times as necessary.

When the dumplings are cool, transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.

Instead of going out for Valentine’s Day, create an intimate evening for two with recipes from the Best Places to Kiss Cookbook. Romance your special someone with something sweet!

Decadent Chocolate Mousse

8 servings

This is a great company dessert because it looks elegant, everyone loves chocolate, and you can make it ahead. Think of fun ways to serve it-funky tea cups, martini glasses, or long-stemmed wine glasses with iced tea spoons!

Ingredients:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into 1-inch pieces
2 3/4 cups heavy cream
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1⁄2 cup sugar
Whipped cream for garnish (optional)
Fresh raspberries (optional)
Chocolate curls (optional)

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler; set aside. In a separate bowl, whip the cream to medium stiff peaks; set aside.

2. In a large stainless steel bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar. Place the bowl over a hot water bath and whisk until the mixture reaches 140°F; remove from heat. With an electric mixer, whip the heated mixture on high speed until cool, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the melted chocolate. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Pour the mousse into 8 individual serving cups (about 5 ounces). Chill until set, about 1 hour.

3. To serve, garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, raspberries, or chocolate curls.

Planning a special evening with your honey? Inspire amore with this romantic recipe for Dungeness Crab Mac & Cheese from the Best Places to Kiss Cookbook and let us know what you think!

Dungeness Crab Mac and Cheese with Hazelnut Crust

4 servings

This takes comfort food to a new level! The flavor is awesome and
the presentation is beautiful, especially if you opt to bake it in real crab
shells (see the variation below). Either way, this is a delicious and fun way to enjoy Dungeness crabmeat.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated white cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 pound Dungeness crabmeat (from a 2-pound crab)
Dash of Tabasco
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup hazelnuts, roasted and finely chopped
Lemon wedges (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Cook the pasta in boiling water, following
package directions, until it is not quite al dente. Drain and let cool.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a boil over high heat. As
soon as the cream boils, add the cooked pasta. Bring back to a boil
and stir in the cheeses and mustard. Bring the mixture back to a
boil and add the crabmeat, Tabasco, and salt. Remove from heat and
season to taste with pepper.

3. Put the crab-pasta mixture in a greased casserole dish and sprinkle
with the hazelnuts. Bake until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.

Variation For an attractive presentation, bake the crab macaroni and cheese in clean crab shells. Ask your neighborhood fishmonger to save four crab shells for you to clean and bake in. Preheat the oven to 400¯F. Place the shells on a baking sheet, carefully fill with the
crab-pasta mixture, and sprinkle with the hazelnuts. Bake until hot
and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.

Last week I met up with my good friend Amy at the Flying Apron Bakery. We got together to chat and catch up, and Flying Apron is a good midpoint between our houses. But really, the thing that brought us together on that rainy Saturday afternoon was the thought of treats . . . baked yummy treats. We knew that Flying Apron would be making delicious autumn goodies, and for both Amy and I, the magic of walking into a bakery and knowing that we can eat anything in it is something neither of us ever gets over.

Flying Apron Bakery in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle

Amy has celiac disease, which means that her body reacts to the protein in wheat, barley, and rye (gluten) with inflammation and damage to the small intestine. This damage leads to malabsorption of nutrients, which can lead to a whole host of problems from anemia to skin problems to abdominal issues. The only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet.

I have a gluten intolerance (also called a sensitivity or an allergy). I don’t react to gluten in the way that you traditionally think of as an allergic reaction—hives, swelling and trouble breathing—I just end up with a really bad stomachache for a couple of days. My reaction to gluten is strong enough that I find it entirely worth it to avoid gluten altogether.

Everything at the Flying Apron Bakery is gluten free, vegan, and made without soy or processed sweeteners. Having a restrictive diet, whether you’ve made the choice to cut out certain foods or because your body has made that choice for you, can be tough. It means that you have to read every label, interrogate every server, and field multiple calls from friends before going to their places for dinner. But it also means that you think about your food differently, you appreciate your food more, and you get a certain strength from making choices that you know will directly affect the way you feel.

I felt really lucky as I sat there with Amy and ate my cupcake. I felt lucky to have a friend to talk with endlessly about food . . . and we do talk endlessly about food. I felt lucky to be in a cozy bakery on a cold and wet day. And I felt lucky to work for the publisher that has teamed up with Jennifer Katzinger, founder of the Flying Apron Bakery, to create the beautiful Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking Book.

The book is filled with recipes for the delicious cookies, cakes, muffins, scones, breads, and pies that the Flying Apron Bakery makes for its customers. In addition, the first chapter is an informative introduction to cooking with the whole grains, natural sweeteners, and cold-pressed oils that are at the heart of the bakery’s food philosophy.

Here is the recipe for the maple bar that Amy had and that I stole several bites of—yum!

Maple “Butter” Bars

2 3/4 cups brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut oil or palm oil
1 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the brown rice flour and salt in a medium-size bowl. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla until well mixed. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture a little at a time until well mixed, about 3 minutes.

Spread the batter evenly into a parchment-lined 9- by 12-inch baking pan. Bake until edges harden slightly, about 15 minutes. While the dough is still hot, score it into 12 pieces with a knife. After it has cooled, slice it the rest of the way through and remove the bars from the pan.

Yield: 12 cookies

Bad Day: Gave Totally Wrong Gift

Good Drink: Lonely Night

3/4 ounce coffee liqueur
11/4 ounce Baileys or other Irish cream liqueur
11/4 ounce hazelnut liqueur
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
Whipped cream

I have always been someone who gets joy out of finding the perfect holiday gift for those I love. There is something about putting in the time and effort to make someone else smile that fills me with that warm-butterscotch feeling associated with the holidays. Thought goes into the wrappings, and my anticipation grows until I get to watch my loved one unwrap their gift. It is the season of giving, and I get something out of seeing other people happy. But not every gift can be a homerun, and I cannot help but be reminded of the not-so-jolly Christmas I received a blender.

That’s right, a blender.

Disclaimer: Men out there, you may be scratching your heads at this, but believe me; unless your main squeeze blatantly says “I want a blender,” do not get her one.

On Christmas Eve, as the Yule log burned cheerily in the fireplace and the tree glowed with hundreds of tiny twinkle lights, my boyfriend and I gathered to exchange presents as snow fell softly outside. All was right in the world. Or at least it was until I found the plastic Wal-Mart bag he had plopped down at my feet. As I looked in the bag, it was impossible for me to hide my disappointment. While I had been expecting something with a dash of romance, what I got was a blender. A blender? As I looked down the barrel of the blender, I saw a theoretical house in the ‘burbs and 2.7 kids waving at me from between the blades. Not only that, but he hadn’t even wrapped it. And I already had one at home.

Do you see the 2.7 kids down there? Look closer...

The commitment-phobe inside me shrieked with terror, and in a moment of speechlessness, I forced out what turned out to be a laugh. Note: If mistake #1 was the blender, mistake #2 was the laugh. No wait…mistake #1 was not even bothering to wrap the gift.

Later, when he was justifiably angry that I had laughed at his gift, I earnestly asked the boyfriend what had made him think I wanted a blender. This was his reply:

“You like smoothies. You can make smoothies.”

Needless to say, he is now my ex-boyfriend. And, to give credit where credit is due, that summer I did make a lot of smoothies.

And so, gentlemen, do not give your girlfriends a blender.

And ladies, try to mask your disappointment better that I did. Your love life will thank you.

We all know the holidays are tough, and thanks to Kerry Colburn’s new book, Good Drinks for Bad Days: Holiday Edition, there is a cure-all for every holiday cringe-worthy moment-from holiday travel woes, to being snowed in, to going stag on New Year’s Eve. For every bad holiday, there is a good drink to numb the pain!

Kerry will be appearing at a number of events this holiday season. Come by and get your “drink” on:

Tuesday, December 8th, 5pm-7pm
Holidate at University Village

Participants receive a free drink at Sonrisa Mexican Restaurant (ticket purchase required). Books will also be available for sale.

Wednesday, December 9th, 5pm-7pm
Happy Hour for Hope at Agua Verde

Support a great non-profit organization, enjoy discounted food and drink, and maybe even win a prize!

Saturday, December 19th, 4pm-5pm
Hotel 1000 presents 12 Days of Christmas Holiday Fireside Chat

This FREE event includes a drink demonstration.