I’m starting a new weekly post, Cocktail Friday, with recipes for seasonal drinks. So for this Cocktail Friday I’m embracing the fall with a Pear + Rosemary Sparkler. Photos with step-by-step instructions follow…cheers to a delicious start to the weekend!



{Ingredients for 4 servings} :: 8oz Pear Vodka (such as Absolut Pear or Grey Goose La Poire), 8oz Pear Nectar, 4 Rosemary Sprigs, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, sparkling wine.



To make the rosemary simple syrup, heat 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add rosemary and remove from heat. Let stand 15 – 20 minutes, then discard rosemary. Let simple syrup cool completely (syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 month).




In martini shaker filled halfway with ice mix 8oz pear flavored vodka, 8oz pear nectar, and 4 oz rosemary-infused simple syrup (add more/less to taste). Pour into glasses until about 1/3 full. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with rosemary sprig and thin pear slice.




Enjoy the Halloween Weekend…cheers!

Today on the Backyard Baby-Q Bash breakdown, I’m detailing all the food and drink. With 60 people at the shower there was quite a bit of both! If you missed any of the previous posts breaking down this party into the littlest detail, you can check them out here {invitations}, {party overview}, {decor + favors + games}. I had four different “stations” set up with food and beverages. There was a main table with all fall hors d’oeuvres, a beverage table, dessert table and a gourmet burger station. There were also two large cocktail tables with hummus and pita chips.




I made these utensil bags for the hors d’oeuvres table that guests could easily grab, and also had plenty of napkins placed around the other tables.



The name of the shower set the tone for the menu…a barbeque. And given the shower was thrown in October, I chose a very fall-inspired menu. The main food for the shower was the Gourmet Burger Station. There were three burger options for guests: Father’s Office Burger (homage to a famously delcious LA burger joint), a BLTA and a Turkey Spinach Pesto burger. The burgers were made from scratch, and even had custom hamburger buns made by the fabulous Carrie of Bite Sized by Carrie to fit my “baby” burgers which were smaller than regular hamburger but bigger than a slider. And I must say this Burger Station would not have happened with out the amazingly talented caterer, Sarah. She made and grilled-to-order the most delicious burgers for our guests, serving them in kraft paper boxes with kettle chips.




The hors d’oeuvres table had lots of fall foods sized for individual servings. We had Spaghetti Squash with Jalapeño Cream and Jack Cheese; Macaroni and Cheese; a Cheese Platter with Figs and Marcona Almonds; a Persimmon Salad with Goat Cheese, Pomegranate Seeds and Toasted Hazelnuts; and the very popular Pigs-in-a-Blanket.





There was also Butternut Squash Soup Shooters served with Grilled Sourdough topped with Gruyere and Fig, that Sarah plated and hand-passed these to the guests.



There was plenty to drink at the self-serve beverage station, including: an Autumn Sangria with figs and pears, Red and White Wine, Beer, and vintage “Pop Shoppe” bottles filled with soda and stripey straws. I hung an antique wire tiered fruit basket from the tree and filled it with custom-wrapped water bottles. I made three different water bottle labels with fun little notes about the baby’s due date: “diaper duty starts 11.11.11″, “rocking our world starting 11.11.11″ and “baby makes three 11.11.11″.






The dessert table was filled with bite-sized treats…well, except for the caramel apples that were more than a bite! We had brownie bites, chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pie bites and the not-so-mini caramel apples. There was also a coffee station with kahlua and special-sized rock candy sugar stirrers.







All the signage from the party and utensil bags will be available on my Etsy shop later this week and can be customized to fit your menu and theme. Another special thanks to both Sarah and Carrie (visit her website and follow on twitter @CarrieAbbott) who made the burger station happen, and Sarah who was able to come in and seamlessly pick up where I left off on the food preparation!

I was in one of those “blog rabbit holes” the other day and stumbled upon a clever, unique gift idea…A Bourbon Infusion Kit.  Each kit is a bit different and contains an infused-bourbon along with all the ingredients to make the specialty drink noted on the enclosed hand-made label. I love this idea for a groomsmen gift,  as part of a couple’s shower gift (pair it with glasses from their registry), or even as holiday presents (it’s just around the corner!). DIY Instructions are just below the pictures.

To makes these kits, you’ll need the following:

• Kraft boxes from Uline
• Infused bourbon of choice, here’s an easy orange-infusion recipe
• Small glass flasks (for infused-bourbon)
• Small jam jar (for vermouth or mixer)
• Orange (or the other cocktail components)
• Labels for your ingredients
• The specialty cocktail recipe, here’s the 1974 cocktail recipe

This can be really personalized to a cocktail that your recipient loves or perhaps you’ve shared together. Not a bourbon drinker? Infusions can be done with any liquor, just follow the same steps listed for the orange-infusion recipe above. During the summer I make cucumber-infused rum for my mojitos, and I just pour equal parts rum to sliced cucumber and let sit for 48-hours in the fridge. Good luck!

{Source} Photographs are copyright of Victor Sizemore, who makes this as gifts for his friends and family.

Hard to believe it is the “end” of summer this weekend…but Labor Day Weekend will be here this Friday. So in honor of the upcoming holiday weekend, here is a little food inspiration for a weekend picnic – a few of my favorite summer-time flavors to enjoy before the season officially passes us by! So plop down a blanket in your backyard and invite some friends over for some food, drinks and end-of-summer fun!

{Sources} 1. Grilled Burgers with Meyer Lemon Butter | 2. A Sweet Tea Sipper Cocktail | 3. Grilled Corn | 4. Jones Soda Pop | 5. Roasted Sweet Potato Skewers with Jalapeno Cilantro Aioli | 6. Roasted Peach Ice Cream Sandwich

Today is Part 3 of my Rooftop Wine Party breakdown {click on the links to read about Part 2 (The Decor) or Part 1 (Overview)}. So let’s talk about the wine and food, the crux of the evening! A little background first, my husband and I love taking a 2-hour drive to Central Coast California to visit the wineries in Santa Ynez and Los Olivos. It was during a day trip up there earlier this year we decided we wanted to share some of our favorite wines with our friends.

Now there are SO many vineyards in that area, it was hard to choose the wines…but here was our line-up: Cold Heaven Viognier 2009, Demetria Grenache Rosé 2010, Alma Rosa Pinot Noir 2009 and Rusack Santa Rita Hills Syrah 2008.



But before I dive into the pairings, let me back up to the beginning of the night. Upon arrival, guests were greeted with a glass of sparkling wine. There was also a cheese, dried fruit and nut platter in the lounge area. I served a blue cheese, drunken goat cheese, aged Gouda reserve and Italian black-truffle cheese…I had most of the cheese cut into bite-size pieces so guests were able to eat easily.




Once everyone had a chance to drink some sparkling wine and nibble on some cheeses, we moved to the dining tables. I wanted everything to be casual and relaxed – so I had no seating assignments and no sommelier. I did my research by talking to the wine makers and tasting room stewards at the vineyards, and also referenced Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. I had short description of each wine in frame on the buffet, so guests could read about the wines in advance of tasting.



Okay, now onto the food and wine pairings! This is where most of my research came into play…knowing which wine to pair with which types of food. For this tasting portion of the evening, guests tried 4 different wines paired with 4 fresh, farmer’s market dishes. The 1st pairing was the Viognier paired with Grilled Nectarines, Burrata, Toasted Hazelnuts and garnished with mint. The 2nd pairing was the Rosé paired with Homemade Pizza, Fresh Basil Pesto, Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions. The 3rd pairing was the Pinot Noir paired with Salmon topped with Lime Butter Sauce and Sautéed Asparagus. The final pairing was the Syrah paired with Grilled Flank Steak and a Spicy Pepper and Watermelon Salad.





The food was brought out one at time, as it was finished (pretty much every 30 minutes). Loving to cook myself, I knew it would be impossible to host and cook…especially since everything needed to be brought to the roof! I did as much food preparation myself, and then hired the most wonderful caterer to do all the final preparations and cooking and bring up the food. He did an amazing job with all the food and I couldn’t have done the night without him. The food was served tapas style, so guest could remain seated and pass around the platters of food.

As if that wasn’t enough food, I made a dessert buffet filled with homemade mini-brownies, mini red velvet cupcakes, dark chocolate chip cookies with sea salt and a not-so-mini rice crispie treats! I’ll follow-up later this month with some recipes from this party.