Manspired Drinks

Some men may think that women are the ones that make all the decisions, but there is at least one area the man can make an important decision... the BAR. Here are some great man-inspired drinks that will make for an amazing groom or male cocktail at the bar.  These are  a mix of some hard liquor and beer drinks, so grab a glass and make a manspired drink {women you can enjoy these too}.


Sidecar

Juice of ¼ Lemon
1 oz. Triple Sec (Curacao, Grand Marnier or Cointreau are also acceptable)
1 oz. Brandy or Cognac

How to make it: Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass


Old-Fashioned

2 oz. Blended Whisky
2 dashes Bitters
1 tsp. Sugar
Splash of Soda
1 strip Orange Peel
1 strip Lemon Peel

How to make it: Muddle the sugar and bitters together in an old-fashioned cocktail glass. Add some ice, soda, and whisky. Stir and garnish with the orange and lemon peels


A Hole In One

1 1/2 oz Johnnie Walker Red Label
1 tbsp honey
3 oz unsweetened tea
1 lemon wedge

How to prepare it: Add the Johnnie Walker Red Label, honey and unsweetened tea in a glass; stir it and serve over ice. Garnish the drink with a lemon wedge


Black Velvet

3/4 pint Guinness
1/4 pint champagne

How to prepare it: Pour Guinness in a tall glass and top it off with champagne

Black and Tan

1/2 pint Smithwick's Ale
1/2 pint Guinness Draught

How to prepare it: Add the Smithwick's Ale to a pint glass, and then add the Guinness by pouring it over the back of a spoon





Manhattan (Dry version)

¾ oz. Dry Vermouth
1½ oz. Blended Whisky

How to make it: Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Serve with an olive








Caipirinha

1 lime 2 ounces of cachaça sugar to taste ice cubes Wash the lime and roll it on the board to loosen the juices. Cut the lime into pieces and place them in a glass. Sprinkle with the sugar and crush the pieces (pulp side up) with a pestle. (We have a long, wooden one from Brazil, made specifically for this purpose.) Just enough to release the juice, otherwise it'll get bitter. Add the cachaça and stir to mix. Add the ice and stir again

Recipes and Photos from:
Ask Men
ciderworks
dc-cdn.virtacore
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2419/1927971789_dc9c6f582f.jpg
The Bar

Super Bowl Weekend

I am a sports fan in general and love football (I even worked for a NFL team for a year) and I L-O-V-E the Super Bowl. Not just for the game and commercials but for the parties and food as well. Being a planner and baker, I love to find easy and new recipes and ideas for Super Bowl parties. Weather you are hosting a few friends or your whole neighborhood, you can easily use these tips and tricks. You can easily but minimal effort into planning a party and still have it be great.

I found these great ideas from NewsChannel5.com from Nashville, TN By Louise Tutelian
From Ideas That Spark
(http://www.newschannel5.com/story/13965469/super-bowl-snacks-that-score-big)

Instead of the same old brew:

Hold a mini beer-tasting. Choose six beers: They can be from different countries or states, and they can range from light to dark -- whatever piques your interest. Supply guests with a menu (a sheet of paper with the name and origin of each beer) and leave space at the bottom so they can take notes.

Instead of take-out pizza:

Set up a build-your-own-pizza bar -- your crowd needs something to do during all those time-outs! Bake packages of store-bought biscuits according to directions, and then split each biscuit in half. Have an assortment of toppings ready: marinara sauce, pesto sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, basil, red peppers, onion and prosciutto. Keep a roll of tinfoil next to the oven and let people heat and melt their creations whenever they're ready.

You can also bake pizza casseroles. First, line a greased casserole dish with quartered biscuits. Cover with sauce, sprinkle with toppings and cheese, then bake at 350 F until the cheese is melted. Serve with extra sauce on the side.

Instead of brownies:

Mix up the flavor with chocolate-chip and oatmeal-raisin cookie sandwiches with Nutella hazelnut-chocolate filling.

Or, make everyone happy with Super Bowl sundaes. Sometime after halftime, put out a few gallons with all the fixings -- grownups and kids alike will be glad you did. 



Love Love Love These ideas... Here are some of my own tips for decorations and games!

Have your own small gambling game and have each guest put down a dollar (or more or less) and choose squares for what they think the end score will be of the big game! Here is a link to the How-To's http://www.ehow.com/how_5664676_play-football-pool-squares.html



When I think of superbowl I think of beer... so get football  beer coozies for everyone at the party and use used beer bottles to make fun centerpieces and vases.  Have football helmets, footballs and jerseys as decoration.



You can go all out and make everything packers and/or steelers colors and have everything with a football theme or make it simple with a few small items. Whatever you choose you will have a great time! Enjoy the game everyone and drink and eats LOTS!

Pics From:

DCBeer.com

billbrady.wordpress.com



Give Thanks for Thanksgiving

I absolutely love Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season! Thanksgiving is a holiday with warm colors, warm yummy food and football! Any holiday with football is the best! Every family has their Thanksgiving traditions, and by no means do I think any family should change tradition, but if you are trying to think of some great Thanksgiving décor or want to throw a pre-Thanksgiving themed party {or even a Thanksgiving wedding}, here are some great ideas! Use the warm fall colors are your palette for the event, and don’t be scared to use some pumpkin décor either… it is not just for Halloween! Also use apples, pears, corn and leaves to decorate.

Many catering companies have holiday themed food, so go through their menus to get some great ideas… one of my favorite are mini pumpkin pies and turkey and cranberry slider sandwiches. I love stuffing as well, use small serving spoons, the ones caterers use to serve stuffing and gravy on! Another favorite of my family is cinnamon apple cheesecakes! It screams Thanksgiving and fall with the warm cheesecake and spiced apples! Don’t forget the caramel apples… or try caramel pears for a change! Of course you need some drinks! For the adults make mulled apple cider or mulled spiced wine (some local wineries have mulling wines and spices). There are great winter lagers out as well… and what is football without a little beer? For the kids in the family, hot apple cider and a cranberry and ginger ale drink for some fizzies!

Here are some of my favorite fall décor and food pictures! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Photos From:

http://blog.thecelebrationshoppe.com/

http://www.thepartydress.net/

http://athome.kimvallee.com/

http://makemerryevents.com/

http://blackeiffel.blogspot.comhttp://blackeiffel.blogspot.com

http://www.kenlauher.com/

http://rlake.smugmug.com/

http://potterybarn.com/

http://www.thepartydress.net/

Lets Take a Flight

You got to love Mondays... here in DC it is muggy and rainy and gross outside. Made me want to stay home in my PJ's, watch a movie and crack open a beer or bottle of wine. Unfortunately, I got up and made my way to the train and got into work. Thankfully though I get great newsletter emails from many different wedding sites and received one that just tickled me pink. TheKnot.com had a great story on new wedding food ideas and I could not resist but to read it. I love almost all of them and will share more and more of my thoughts and what I have seen in the coming days. I chose to pick one of the most interesting and best ideas I saw.

Beer and/or Wine Flights!! Oh my I am in love with this idea. Weather you have an open bar or not this is still a great way to incorporate your love of beer and/or wine into the meal and have your guests experience great food and wine/beer pairings. You can do either beer and wine or chose one for all your guests or have everyone get to do both! If you do both but are having your guests choose one, have your guests choose which flight they want when sending in their food choices so that you know how much you need to buy alcohol wise. I think doing both but having your guests choose one is the most money efficient and fun, since your guests are not stuck to one thing if they do not like it. I also love that if you are having some kids or underage people at your wedding to get some great flavored sodas and juices to have them experience it as well. They won't really understand the food pairing part, but what a great way to keep kids involved and interested during the meal and not felt left out. You could also have this choice for people who maybe are not drinkers so that they as well do not felt left out.

The wine/beer is served in smaller tastings, not a whole glass but enough for a couple sips, allowing guests to get the tasting experience. You can work with your planner/caterer or by yourself to pair different wines and beers (and soda/juice) with different foods. This is easiest if you have maybe 3, 4 or 5 courses...anything more than that and it may be overwhelming. You can do a soup or appetizer courses, regardless of if you already served apps, salad course, main meal course (or 2 if you want), and a dessert course. I think chocolate and beer/wine pair great together, so the chocolate course can be something small or even just a small bark of chocolate you buy from the store for the guests. With each course pair what you like and what is said to fit with the food selection. With beers, go with some great micro brews or local beers, and with wines as well choose wines you like and try and get some local wines into the mix.

If you and your fiance are like me and my boyfriend we love trying new beers and wines and pairing foods with them. We also have friends who love it as well, or at least the beer and wine drinking part. This is great for guests to be involved in the meal and you can print out cards that say what beer and wine go with what dish. With local wines and brewery's, call them and tell them what you are doing, they may be able to get you a discount or something special since you are featuring them at your wedding. It never hurts to call and ask and most places are super nice! This is also a great thing for both you and your fiance to do together during the planning process and should be relaxing and fun... go to wine festivals or beer festivals or look into visiting winery's/brewery's to find some great drinks and see how they recommend pairing.

I hope someone puts this into their wedding... I already know I will when it happens!

(if you are subscribed to TheKnot.com the story is called "15 Creative Menu Ideas").