Nightschool’s Drinking Lessons continues with celebrity chef and mixologist, Kathy Casey tonight at 6 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. at the Sorrento Hotel’s Hunt Club bar. Considered a pioneer of the bar-chef movement, Kathy will educate and entertain 24 lucky attendees while serving up what’s hot in cocktail culture. Kathy is the owner of Kathy Casey Food Studios® and Liquid Kitchen™. She is the author of nine cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-nominated Kathy Casey’s Northwest Table.

Nothing could coincide more perfectly for the cocktail revolution happening today than her most recent release, Sips and Apps, a sexy cocktail and appetizer cookbook.

Follow along on Foodista and Nightschool Twitter and on the Nightschool Blog for real time reporting of Kathy’s creations. All the cocktail recipes Kathy shakes up tonight will be available on Foodista.com.

Possibly Related Posts:

• The Great Stuffing Debate!
• Wine from Scratch: Wine in the Kitchen
• The 2,000 Pound Rib Feast
• Sustainable Found Food Artist
• Waiting by the River at Dawn

Recently, I posted a blog about non-alcoholic Halloween drinks for kids but as we all know, Halloween is just as much a holiday for adults as it is for kids. Instead of bringing spooky cupcakes or Halloween truffles to your Halloween gathering this weekend, mix up some creepy cocktail concoctions to share with your adult guests.

Dressing up? Bring a special potion that goes with the theme of your costume. For example, if you are going as Don Draper, you should probably bring the ingredients to make an Old Fashioned. Going as a vampire? A Bloody Mary is more than fitting. Want to bring enough for a crew? Here is a list of  Halloween cocktails that are to die for!

More Cocktail Inspiration
Cocktail Culture- Absithe Cocktail
Sloshed!- Hard Pumpkin Cider
Nightschool-Professional bartenders share their secrets
Vintage Cocktails on Facebook

Above photo by TangoPango

Possibly Related Posts:

• More Than You Want to Know About Cranberry Sauce
• The Most Disgusting Thanksgiving Dishes
• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• What do vampires eat?

Once again, the Foodista team will belly up to the bar for another Drinking Lesson, this time the teacher is Erik Hakkinen, a bartender at Seattle’s infamous  Zig Zag Cafe , the same bar you will also find legendary Murray Stenson shaking things up.  Hakkinen will be stirring, muddling and mixing to a sold-out crowd tonight at the Sorrento Hotel’s Hunt Club bar. He may be young, but he has already made quite the name for himself. Check out why bar nerds are taking notice of Hakkinen.

Follow us tonight on twitter, the hash tag #drinkinglessons and we’ll also be posting on the Night School blog: http://www.foodista.com/nightschool/

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• Tonight Chef and Mixologist Kathy Casey at Nightschool
• Halloween Cocktails
• Halloween Drinks for Kids

Drinking Lessons, a Night School event continues this Sunday, September 20th with Robert Hess behind the bar at the Sorrento Hotel in Seattle. At 6 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. Hess will mix, muddle and stir for 24 lucky attendees sitting around the smooth mahogany bar at the Hunt Club that is inside the swanky Sorrento Hotel.

Seattlite Robert Hess is founder of the Chanticleer Society, author of The Essential Bartender’s Guide: How to Make Truly Great Cocktails and operator of Drink Boy.com.

Want to go? Email nightschool@hotelsorrento.com for reservations.

Can’t go but want to follow via the virtual bar? Go to http://www.foodista.com/nightschool/ on Sunday night!

Cheers!

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• The 2,000 Pound Rib Feast
• Tonight Chef and Mixologist Kathy Casey at Nightschool
• Waiting by the River at Dawn

What do you get when you puree a delicious, succulent peach and marry it with a lovely dry Prosecco? A glorious tasting Fresh Peach Bellini, the perfect complement to a warm summer evening. We kept our puree a bit thick (not unlike the consistency of baby food – in fact, the puree itself would make great baby food!) as we wanted to retain all the sweet and juicy flavors of the fruit. The result was an almost smoothie-like beverage (for an adult, that is!). Frothy and refreshing! Just another great way to use all those scrumptious peaches that are now in season.

Other tasty peach recipes to tickle the tongue:

Dana McCauley’s Food Blog: Peach and Tomato Salad
Julie Jam’s Delicious Summer Peach Crisp
Whisk’s Honey-Peach Ice Cream
Cafe Fernando’s Peach Tart With Almonds and Maple Syrup
Patty’s Pantry Peach Salsa

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• Tonight Chef and Mixologist Kathy Casey at Nightschool
• Halloween Cocktails
• Halloween Drinks for Kids

I am addicted to Mad Men. The first few episodes though I found myself yelling at the men’s chauvinist behavior and encouraging the women to stop biting their tongues (”Tell him to kiss off!”). If I had been an adult during that era I’d like to think I’d have been a bra burner, or maybe just have had the courage to deliver a proper tongue lashing to a sexist fool. I’d love to travel back in time and tell a handful of them where they can stick their 11 a.m. Scotch.

But I am mad about Mad Men. I love the show. Now my yells are at the end of each episode – “More! More!” It’s brilliantly written, the costumes and coiffed hair are fabulous, and the cocktails (swilled with reckless abandon) I believe are creating a stir (pardon the bartending pun) amongst the vintage beverage-loving set. I include myself in that category.

To celebrate another episode (yes, it indeed is worth celebrating) we mixed up some Don and Betty favorites. For him, an Old Fashioned, for her a Gimlet. Did you know the Old Fashioned was the first drink to be called a cocktail?  And the Gimlet was named after a naval surgeon, Gimlette, who encouraged his sailors to drink the concoction to prevent scurvy. Tough medicine! Both are counted amongst the six basic cocktails.

Here’s to the Drapers, and here are the recipes:

Photo: thebittenword.com

Others as mad as I about Mad Men:

The Food Librarian: Mad Med Dutch Cinnamon Apple Cake from 1963 New York Times
Ezra Pound Cake: Mad Men Premiere Party Menu
Brokelyn: Scary food from the Mad Men era

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• Tonight Chef and Mixologist Kathy Casey at Nightschool
• Halloween Cocktails
• Halloween Drinks for Kids

It’s not surprising that a food renaissance should naturally bring with it a drink renaissance. For several years now, a bar or restaurant’s signature cocktail has become more than an over-priced martini with a fancy name at the top of the drink list,  a bar’s signature cocktail is  now as important as the day’s menu specials and just as creative. Today’s liquid infusions are methodical recipes crafted by professionals. Just like chefs experimenting with reductions, bartenders/mixologists are creating just as much of a stir when it comes to developing flavors.

At 5:50 and again at 8:00 p.m. tonight at the Sorrento Hotel, Ryan Magarian, one of America’s top mixologists  will be measuring, mixing and shaking things up for a very lucky audience of 12 for an ongoing cocktail class series aptly called Drinking Lessons, a Night School event inspired by Seattle artist Michael Hebb. If you can’t fly or drive into Seattle to sit at Sorrento’s 100-year old bar and watch and learn from the nation’s best cocktail creators, you can follow each Night School bartender at www.foodista.com/nightschool and see photos, interviews and get recipes in real-time via Foodista.

If you are planning to be in the Seattle area and want to get your hands onto some Night School tickets, email the Sorrento at nightschool@hotelsorrento.com

Above Photo: Mixologist Ryan Margarian

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• Do your food choices determine your political views?
• The Great Stuffing Debate!
• The 2,000 Pound Rib Feast

It’s Friday and you know what that means. It means we get to kick back, put our feet up, and pat ourselves on the back for doing such a fine job all week. What better way to celebrate your goodness (and take a well-deserved load off) than to sip a lovely cocktail in your sunny backyard. I’ve got the drink for you (the yard is up to you). It’s a delicious Lemon Lavender Martini.

What inspired me was the beautiful lavender bushes in our yard. I looked longingly at them one evening, knowing that soon I would have to cut them back, and commented on how they looked pretty enough to eat (or drink!) So we cut off a bunch of stems and made a lavender infused simple syrup. With our simple syrup we mixed in vodka, a splash of fresh lemon juice, and gave it a shake with ice. Adjust the syrup citrus ratio according to taste.

Now there’s some lemon lavender love for you.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• Tonight Chef and Mixologist Kathy Casey at Nightschool
• Halloween Cocktails
• Halloween Drinks for Kids

Instead of a cool berry daiquiri for a hot summer night, Mark and I tried a new combination of flavors; cool cucumber, cantaloupe  and fresh mint blended with ice,  lime and rum.  I think this little cocktail might be that much better with vodka or gin.

Here’s the recipe:

Pulse it in the blender until smooth. Then strain the juice into a martini glass and garnish with a cucumber and cantaloupe slice. Cheers to summer!

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• What do vampires eat?
• 5 Food Games to Help Burn Off The Turkey
• The 2,000 Pound Rib Feast

Since summer is officially here, lets have a toast! Another way to celebrate summer herbs besides eating them in your salad is to infuse them into drinks.  I like to make a recipe that is grilled peaches brushed with lavender simple syrup and stuffed with gorgonzola dolce and since we just happen to have extra lavender simple syrup I made some vodka soda drinks adding the leftover lavender simple syrup for added sweetness and flavor and they were delicious! I just had to share it with you all.

Vodka Soda with Lavender Simple Syrup
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. dried lavender blossoms
ice
4 oz. vodka
12. oz soda water

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Add dried lavender, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool. Into each pint glass, add ice, 2 tablespoons lavender simple syrup, 2 oz. vodka and fill with soda water. Stir. Depending on your sweet scale, you may want more lavender simple syrup.

Cheers!

Photo by Lakobos

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• What do vampires eat?
• 5 Food Games to Help Burn Off The Turkey
• The 2,000 Pound Rib Feast