Wednesday Mixology: Strawberry Greyhound Cocktail….

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Courtney Out Loud

This time last week, I was preparing to leave to sunny Palm Springs for some R&R. Today, I am staring at a grey, wet day filled with a long overdue bathroom install at a client’s condo. So it’s not that illogical that I am dreaming about what cocktail I will be having tonight as The Partner and I catch up over our day. I thought in tribute to Palm Springs and to try to extend the warm vacation fuzzies as long as possible, I would whip up a batch of Strawberry Greyhounds, a twist on the traditional greyhound cocktail…..

STRAWBERRY GREYHOUND COCKTAIL

Makes 8 cocktails

Ingredients:

2.5 cups fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
12 strawberries
1/2 cup vodka (vary to taste)
simple syrup

Instructions:
1. Place whole strawberries in bottom of pitcher and muddle with wooden spoon.

2. Pour in vodka and grapefruit juice into pitcher and stir lightly.

3. Before serving, pour mixture into shaker with whole ice cubes and a splash of simple syrup. Shake vigorously until shaker is frosty. Pour into glass and serve with a strawberry slice.

Ahhhhhh…..I feel better already thinking about this. Now I just have to get through the day!

Salute!

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New Year’s Eve Entertaining With FOLK Magazine….

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Courtney Out Loud

I think everyone should have a signature drink. For myself, my usual “go to” drink is an extra dirty vodka martini with 3 olives. Maybe it’s my inner James Bond trying to get free but this drink of choice has been my main stay for several years now and I don’t envision it being dethroned any time in the near future.

However, when a special occasion does arise…..say New Year’s Eve, I typically find myself with a flute of champagne in my hand. But a whole evening of champagne can be a bit boring. So when FOLK Magazine asked me to contribute a piece for their blog I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try out three new champagne cocktails my mixologist friends have been raving about….

I am sharing three recipes for champagne cocktails that even your champagne purist friends will love. Go over to FOLK Magazine and check them out! Cheers!

Credits – Styling: Courtney Lake//Photography: Adrienne Aubry

Check me out on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Insta.gram for musings on design, food and just plain randomness.

Drink Recipe: Orange-Cardamom Manhattan

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Courtney Out Loud

This weekend, The Partner and I threw a little shindig to celebrate the anniversary of my 29th birthday. I am not necessarily fond of the fact that I am aging so birthdays are a bit depressing. A few years ago when I was turning 30 and could not handle the reality that I was no longer in my 20s, I opted to have an “anniversary party” rather than a birthday party. I decided that rather than celebrate turning 30, I would celebrate the anniversary of turning 29. While this weekend was not my birthday, it proved the perfect weekend to have a party since The Partner’s cousin was in town from New Jersey and our dear friend “JC” was on break from Harvard.

We planned a quick and easy menu, stocked up on liquor and invited a bunch of friends over for what turned out to be a great evening. One of the things I tend to like to do is create one to two signature drinks for the evening when throwing an event. It provides an easy way to keep your liquor costs in check, relieves the host (aka me) from playing bartender and gets your guests involved. For this party, “JC” helped us create a signature drink based on his love of old-fashion libations. After playing around with what we had in our pantry and bar, we created a signature drink using an orange-cardamom infused simple syrup that we called “The Harvard” – a twist on the classic Manhattan cocktail.