{the essential cocktail tools}

We make a lot of cocktails around here and have a pretty healthy bar situation filled with interesting spirits, bitters and cocktail accessories.  While I love cute little embroidered cocktail napkins, fun drink stirrers and gold plated bar accessories those just aren't the things that make a good cocktail.  Today I thought I would round up the essential tools that are the work horses of creating cocktails in our house.  Check out below for how we use each of these and where to buy!

1.  Boston Shaker & glass: Just don't bother with regular cocktail shakers like this- a classic Boston shaker is what you want in your life.  Build the cocktail in the glass side, add ice to the metal side, pour liquid into metal side, firmly close together and shake like your life depends on it.

2.  Barspoon:  We picked up this one in Paris and I'm obsessed it.  Besides having a nice weight to it and the perfect twist on the handle it also includes small measurement in the spoon area.  This little guy makes negroni cocktails possible and that is important to me.

3.  Julep Strainer:  This type of strainer is generally used for stirred cocktails along with the Yarai mixing glass (see #9).  You do not need to spend a lot of money on this tool (although like most things in life the luxury option is available). 

4.  Jiggers:  We have three sets of jiggers, but these two are the ones we use constantly for getting that perfectly measured cocktail.  One is sized 1oz to 2oz and the other is sized 1/2 oz to 3/4oz.  I find that those sizes suit my needs pretty well along with the barspoon for even smaller measurements.  Like the strainer above- you don't need to spend a ton on these, but I would recommend getting something a bit nicer as a heavy weighted jigger will make it easier to use. 

5.  Hawthorne Strainer: This little guy is the boyfriend to the Boston Shaker (#1) and you will need it to make drinking shaken cocktails possible.  Since it will be used in most of the cocktails you make, it would be best to get a nicer quality strainer- the good news is that this one is $7 and works like a dream!

6.  Garnish picks:  I bought these on a whim at Crate & Barrel and they were accompanied by a large eye roll on Chris' part, but we actually use them all the time.  I love their classy and simple look- perfect for spearing Luxardo cherries in a Manhattan. 

7. Straw-spoons:  This is another case of something that was bought more as gimmick, but has also proven to be a staple.  The perfect marriage of stir spoon and straw in one- I use these for almost every cocktail served in a highball glass. 

8.  Citrus Juicer:  They make these for limes and oranges as well- I would definitely not waste your time buying the lime one since limes fit in the lemon one.  Even though limes and lemons would fit in the one made for oranges I don't prefer to use the orange one as it is pretty large and unwieldy. 

9. Yarai Mixing Glass:  Just look at this thing- do you even need me to tell you what I use it for to want it? Probably not- it's pretty cut crystal you'll want to buy one of these just because.  It's used for stirred cocktail FYI.  Could you make stirred cocktails in the glass side of the Boston Shaker? Yes.  But the height and size of the Yarai mixing glass makes it perfect for getting your stir on with plenty of ice.  We use it for negronis, manhattans and sazeracs.

10. Wood Muddler: There have been times when I can't find our muddler and have had to make a mint julep or caipirinha with the back of a wooden spoon. That situation is wrong and it makes me appreciate having a nice muddler on hand- you should too. 

11. Champagne stopper:  This. Guy. Is. The. Best.  While its not actually a cocktail accessory, I do find myself using champagne in a lot of our cocktails and this little puppy really extends the life (aka bubbles) of a bottle.  Why not get it in gold while you're at it?

Not pictured:  I realized after grabbing all our tools, I forgot one of the most important things: ice molds.  We use three different ice molds on a regular basis.  Small square for mixing, Large Square for old fashioned glasses and Long Rectangle for high ball glasses. 

If you didn't notice- I love to use Amazon to buy most of the items on this list (as well as just about everything else in life), but my favorite site for cocktail accessories is by far Cocktail Kingdom.  I hope this round up helps you build your home bar better and enjoy making cocktails on the regular!

{brunch for ten}

I love posting about the different parties we host on this blog, but I don't always get to go in depth about what it really takes to host each one. This past weekend we hosted a little brunch for 10 people at our place and I thought it would be fun to give a little insight into everything you need to host your own brunch for 10 people.  A lot of the difficulty in entertaining is the guesswork involved in how much of each dish you should make or how many bottles of what you need.  We have hosted brunch at our place quite a few times over the years and I think we have finally nailed a good menu that tastes great, but also allows us time to enjoy ourselves with our guests. So here it is!

The key to a successful brunch menu is choosing dishes that won't take over your entire Saturday prepping food and losing out on a fun weekend.  I would estimate that we spent about an hour and half prepping all the food together.

For the french toast- we followed this recipe which we made one and half times the recipe.  This was way more than we needed for 10 people so I would say you are actually safe to follow the recipe as is without doubling it unless you think you will have some particularly hungry eaters!  (Also let me just warn you that this french toast is like crack and it tastes so good it almost feels wrong, but definitely not wrong enough to not finish your entire plate and maybe seconds.)

For the potatoes we purchased 4 pounds of red potatoes for 10 people.  The potatoes were cut into bite size pieces, boiled until tender and then stored them in the fridge overnight the night before our brunch.  The morning before guests arrived we tossed the potatoes in some oil, salt and pepper then roasted them at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes. Bonus points if you wanna add some truffle oil to them!

The strawberries were simply a pound and half of strawberries which I sliced the night before and stored in their serving bowl til the next morning.

The biggest part of the meal was the baked eggs which required our guest's involvement in creating their own dish.  This is a great brunch addition because it takes a lot of work off the hosts and your guests can prepare their eggs exactly to their liking. Here's what you will need to set that up:

• 2 to 3 eggs per person
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 bunch chopped green onions
• 12 slices of bacon, cooked & chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped & sauteed  
• sriracha

optional toppings if you wanna get real fancy:

• truffle oil
• avocado
• arugula
• soyrizo
• ham
• pancetta

Each of the above items should be portioned, cooked and placed into serving bowls the night before then stored in the fridge. Before guests arrive, lightly spray each ramekin with cooking spray and place all the toppings selections out  (extra points if you make cute labels for each of them!).  Each guest will fill their ramekin with their desired toppings then crack 2 to 3 eggs on top.  To discern which ramekin belongs to who, have guests write their name using a sharpie directly onto aluminum foil and cover their prepared ramekin.  Bake ramekins for 25 minutes or until the eggs are set at 375 degrees.  See more information about baked eggs in this previous post. 

Once the eggs are about 10 minutes from being done, pop the french toast and potatoes back into the oven to warm them up.  With this many guests, we usually set all the dishes out and allow people to serve themselves with the exception of their individual ramekins.  

{a little snapshot from last weekend's brunch}

 {1.carafes for orange juice & water, 2. simple champagne flutes, 3. highball glasses- to serve bloody marys in 4. metal straws for the bloody marys, 5. ten individual baking ramekins, 6. pyrex dish}

Obviously to pull this meal off you will need plates, forks, knives, water glasses, pots, pans and etc. for 10 people, but you will also need some more specialized items that you might not already have available.  These are all items that will prove useful for many menus and occasions to come besides just this simple brunch.

Entertaining guests in our house wouldn't be complete with a few cocktails!  While I love mixing it up and trying interesting cocktail combinations, when it comes to brunch I like to keep to the classics.  A simple mimosa which I like to use Korbel's Brut for and a DIY bloody mary bar using our "doctored up" bloody mary mix are the only two drink options you need!  For 10 people, you will need 2 bottles of champagne and one carafe of fresh orange juice for the mimosas.

For the bloody mary bar you will need:

• one fifth of vodka 
• two bottles of bloody mary mix- preferably Trader Joe's version
• 10 celery stalks
• a bucket of ice
• 6 limes, cut in half and then quartered
• bottle of sriracha
• bottle of tabasco
• container of horseradish
• bottle of worchestershire sauce
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper
• small bowl of olives

As for coffee, we simply used our Kuerig machine for guests to use as they pleased, but one pot of coffee should get you through the event. 

 {our bloody mary tray from last weekend- check out a cuter Bloody Mary set up from our "breakfast for dinner" party we threw last year}

{1. gold flatware makes everything better, 2. paper straws would make a festive alternative to the metal ones, 3. a vintage trophy champagne bucket to keep the bubbly cold, 4. crystal decanter for the vodka,  5. labels from Sugar Paper LA for the baked eggs toppings & bloody mary bar, 6. colorful cocktail napkins from Crate & Barrel}

These are just some fun items that will punch up the decor of your get together- you certainly don't need any them to host a great brunch, but they do make everything look a bit more fancy!

{our set of gold flatware from our wedding registry that I try to use as much as possible}

I hope you have enjoyed hearing a little bit more about the process behind entertaining for a large group in way that the hosts can still enjoy themselves as well.  Brunch is one of my favorite meals and I look forward to the next time we get to cook host this meal for our friends!