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World’s most expensive Cognac; the Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne that comes packed in a bejewelled crystal bottle bathed in 24K yellow gold and sterling platinum festooned with 6, 500 certified brilliant cut diamonds. It is retailed at $1,946,617.

The world’s most expensive tequila, the La Ley del Diamante (the Diamond Sterling) available in a hand-blown glass covered with four kilograms of pure platinum and sterling silver. Between 925 and 6,000 brilliant-cut diamond and is priced at $1,547,880. It carries around 42% alcohol.

Following the queue is the DIVA Premium Vodka, retailed at $1,060,000. Produced using natural spring water and triple-distilled, each bottle holds a glass centre packed with precious or semi-precious jewels, counting diamonds.

The world’s most expensive whiskies, we have Nun’s Island, Galway Distillery, 20-Year-Old Pure Pot Still Whisky, each one retailed nearly $194,661.

ABSOLUT VODKA ROCK

The Digitalistas loves cocktails. So we were very happy, when we’ve got invited for an Absolut Vodka party last Thursday. All three of us plus some friends were present!

Absolut Vodka organized a very nice party somewhere in the middle of nowhere (Amsterdam-North, of all places…). It was a long trip to this party, we were very cold, we didn’t like the trip with the ferry and we gasped for a limosine. But when we arrived it was so much fun, because there was a cocktail bar where we could choose between three different cocktails, drink all night long. It was heaven for most of us. (PLEASE NOTE: For all readers under 16, don’t take us as an good example, because we’re all way above the legal drinking age)

The bottle
This year Absolut Vodka comes up with a limited edition bottle in honor of Rock ‘n Roll. And especially this year the vodka brand collaborated with Dutch rockband MeloManics. The packaging of this bottle is made of faux leather, decorated with studs. Last year there was the Masquerade bottle, the year before the Disco bottle and in 2006 there was the Bling Bling bottle. In that year they also collaborated with Lenny Kravitz for the Absolut Kravitz bottle.

While Digitalista K. and Digitalista M. filled themselves with vodka cocktails, Digitalista E. drank a simple Coco Cola. Just because she can’t handle alcohol that much, so it was a fun night with a fun ending (read: no hangover for this girl!). But the end of the evening wasnt that much fun at all. We missed the ferry and Digitalista E. got cranky while Digitalista K. and Digitalista M. were having the time of their lives (read: they were tipsy!). Note: please don’t try this at home…

The Digitalistas with muse E. and friends M. and M.

This is the first time the vodka brand collaborated with a Dutch band. So for all the rock chicks: try Absolut Rock!

Serves two to three as a main.

2 large chicken breasts;

2 or 3 limes, sliced;

3 tablespoons vodka;

1 heaped tablespoon sugar;

Salt and pepper to taste;

1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped;

1 medium red onion, diced;

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.

Trim the chicken breasts and cut each diagonally into four roughly even pieces. Score each two or three times. Mix in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper, parsley, and onion, and set aside to marinate.

Mix vodka and sugar in a bowl and add the slices of lime. Try to ensure the sugar is mixed through the slices and set aside to marinate for an hour or so.

After marinating the chicken and the limes, preheat the oven to 160°C. Heat a griddle pan over a medium-high heat and add a little oil. Remove the lime slices from the vodka and sugar mixture, reserving the latter. Cook the lime slices, turning part-way through so that they caramelise on both sides. Set aside.

Cook the pieces of chicken in the hot griddle pan for about 60 seconds each side, then place in an oven dish. Arrange the slices of lime on top of the chicken, then mix together the remaining marinade with the vodka and sugar mixture, and pour over the chicken and lime. Place the whole lot in the oven and bake for around twenty minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Works well served with rice.

PEPPER-VODKA-SOAKED CHERRY TOMATOES WITH SEASONED SEA SALT

CarbsPerServing:17 total recipe

Effort:Easy

Ingredients:

1 pint cherry tomatoes — vine-ripened

1/2 cup vodka — pepper-flavored

3 tablespoons sea salt — coarse or

fine

1 tablespoon lemon pepper

How to Prepare:

Store-bought seasoned salt can also be used in the following recipe.Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time. Poke 5 or 6 holes with a wooden pick or skewer in each tomato and put in a shallow bowl. Pour vodka over tomatoes and let stand, covered, tossing occasionally, 1 to 2 hours, or until soaked to desired taste.In a small bowl stir together salt and pepper.S erve tomatoes with seasoned salt for dipping using toothpicks. Makes 2 cups. If you cant find the pepper vodka,, to use red pepper flakes mixed into the vodka.

achei essa receita num blog (o bitchbox) hj…deu uma super vontade de fazer =)

Ingredientes:

- 1 dose de licor de morango

- 1 dose de suco de morango

- 1 dose de suco de laranja

- 1 dose de vodka

Modo de preparar:

- Pegue um copo de longdrink e coloque gelo até em cima em seguida coloque as doses em ordem e não misture, como os liquidos tem consistência diferente não iram se misturar.

- Para beber utilizar um canudo e ir subindo para sentir o gosto de cada ingrediente.

**Atualização:**

ja que a Manu pediu ta ai as calorias…

Calorias:

Suco de morango                1 cálice de 20 ml      08
Vodka                                      1 cálice de 20 ml      48
Licor de Morango              1 cálice de 20 ml       103
Suco de Laranja                  1 cálice de 20 ml       12.8

It’s been 9 weeks since we broke up, and the moments of sadness are becoming much less frequent.

Can you believe it’s been 9 Weeks? Thanks to all of you for reading this and being there each step of the way.

It's Magic!

I feel stronger, happier and I am getting back to the way I used to be when I wasn’t propping somebody else up – it feels good!

My life is all about me, my gorgeous friends and family! It’s ridiculous how liberating it is. I go to the gym 4 days a week now; I’m challenging myself and have even joined a Gym Boot Camp. I would NEVER have done that 3 months ago. In fact, me from 3 months ago would be jealous the new ‘gym going’ me.

Well, the old and unmotivated me can take a hike, I have zero time for that now. I have goals and I have a plan!

Here is some cool shit that I enjoy as part of my new single life:

• Going for drinks and dinner during the week
• Staying out until 5am on the weekends, meeting cool and interesting people
• Viva Mexico on Saturday’s with my Flatmates (best Mexican food in Wellington)
• Playing Pinball and smoking cigarettes with cute boys
• Going to new bars
• Using eye cream
• Flirting
• Calling friends overseas
• Moisturising my entire body – do it ladies (or guys), you will thank me for the results!
• Getting facials/beauty treatments
• Getting my hair done did
• Listening to new music
• I don’t get scared of the dark anymore
• I can sleep alone now
• I enjoy doing only my laundry, not someone else’s
• Going to the Gym
• Being FREE

I hope YOU are having a good day, and remember you never know what is around the corner, it’s your life — make sure you aren’t asleep at the wheel!

Love Lady Jecca xx

Chicken and stringbeans with coffee.  Excellent breakfast.

Quiche for lunch

Bottle service at the Hotel Gansevoort.

Doner kabob

Pizza on 14 St.

Em parceria com a Ellus, a Absolut criou uma nova garrafa num clima Rock’n Roll fez uma edição limitada da vodka Premium. A garrafa custa R$89,90 e é envolvida por uma “jaqueta” de couro com tachinhas!!

Além da capinha, a Ellus também criou uma mini-coleção, a “Ellus Absolut Rock” , que vai ficar nas lojas nos próximos 2 meses e está repleta de jaquetas, tachinhas, camisetas, bolsas, correntes.

Vale a pena dar uma olhada

El cóctel Harvey Wallbanger, conocido también como cóctel del surfista, tiene un origen curioso.

En la década de los 50, vivía en California un surfista llamado Harvey, a quien le gustaba recuperar fuerzas en un bar de la playa con una bebida a base de Vodka, zumo de naranja y Galliano. Un día, al salir del bar completamente borracho, se golpeó (en inglés BANG) contra la pared (en inglés WALL). Desde entonces, la bebida quedó rebautizado con el nombre de “HARVEY WALLBANGER”, como todavía hoy se la conoce en todo el mundo.

Para empezar, cogeremos la coctelera y la llenaremos de hielo. Una vez, ya lo esté, simplemente añadiremos los ingredientes del cóctel, siendo 6/10 partes de Zumo de Naranja, 3/10 partes de Vodka y 1/10 parte de Galliano (licor de vainilla italiano). Cerraremos la coctelera y lo batiremos durante 10 segundos aproximadamente.

Seguidamente prepararemos el vaso, que será long drink o también conocido popularmente como vaso de tubo. Le añadiremos los hielos, con tres piezas de hielo para mantener el cóctel bien frío y un par de cerezas rojas, para que destaquen con el color anaranjado del cóctel y lo acabamos de decorar con una rodajita de naranja, que la podemos enganchar en el vaso. También podemos poner unas cañitas para facilitar al cliente tomárselo.

Ou comment la Seattle Craig Diffenbach Company s’est vue contrainte de retirer son produit phare, la Vodka Hendrix Electric, du marché…

Ce n’est pas tout d’avoir une bonne idée, puis de la concrétiser dans un beau produit, au beau packaging avant de la lancer sur le marché. Encore faut-il posséder TOUTES les autorisations, en règle, pour le faire ! Voici l’exemple flagrant d’un échec commercial.

Craig Diffenbach, ami avec le frère du défunt Jimi Hendrix, décide de commercialiser une vodka qui porterait le nom célébrissime guitariste gaucher. Leon Hendrix, le frère, donne son accord.
La vodka est produite, embouteillée dans la bouteille Axel de Saverglass, recouverte d’un décor en dégradé violet reprenant le visage de Jimi Hendrix. Le produit est magnifique et lancé sur le marché.

Vodka Electric Hendrix

Seulement voilà. Craig Diffenbach n’avait pas prévu que la personne qui détient tous les droits sur l’héritage de Jimi Hendrix n’était pas son frère mais sa  sœur adoptive, Janie. Le père de Jimi Hendrix, ayant-droit en 1970 à la mort de son fils, avait stipulé sur son propre testament que Leon ne pourrait pas toucher un centime sur l’héritage du chanteur.
Janie Hendrix attaqua donc la marque en justice au motif que les noms “Jimi Hendrix”, “Electric Experience” sont des marques déposées et  protégées et qu’elles avaient été utilisées sans accord préalable. De plus, elle qualifia l’utilisation de l’image de son frère pour promouvoir une vodka alors que celui-ci est décédé d’une overdose de barbituriques et d’alcool de “sike joke” (comprenez “plaisanterie macabre”) et que l’entreprise ne pouvait cautionner une telle association.

Voici donc une bataille juridique de plusieurs années engagée. Jusqu’à son dénouement en février dernier où la cour fédérale a condamné la Seattle Craig Diffenbach à retirer le produit du marché et à verser de 3,2 millions de dollars (2,1 millions d’€) de dommages et intérêts aux héritiers.

Dommage, car le packaging de cette vodka était vraiment beau, avec son dégradé et son satinage. Et je ne suis pas sûre que ce cher Jimi eût détesté de se retrouver sur cette bouteille. Pas plus en tout cas que sur des vêtements pour bébé, des décorations de Noël ou un parfum d’ambiance (version cigarette qui fait rire?)… Question de point de vue sûrement.

A la semaine prochaine pour une nouvelle histoire.

Well, I’m back from Mexico, unhappily.  I would much preferred to be waking up this morning to a leisurely breakfast followed by a margherita on the beach than to darkness, rain, and … work.  Alas.

As promised, I have posted my recipe for whole-wheat multigrain bread just below this post.  Also, I seemed to have missed my post for Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day (November 19). Stay tuned… I’m going to “bonus blog” it when the moment is right.

After RC wrote up his impressive treatise to cappuccino, I was a bit intimidated by espresso day.  I have not sampled the perfect espresso in coffee shops around the world.  I’m not even much of an espresso drinker, but I do have one of those lovely Italian “twist together” espresso makers.

It was given to me by Clermont Boulanger, the father of a family I lived with in Jonquière, Quebec when I was 16 years old.  Every morning, Clermont would make café au lait for my friend Julie and me, to drink on our way to school.  It was the height of luxury.  Clermont gave me the espresso maker as a parting gift and I think about the Boulangers and my amazing, eye-opening time in Quebec every time I use it.

classic espresso maker

In honour of Espresso Day, I busted out my old faithful in the service of… (if you knew me at all, you’d already have guessed it) … an espresso martini.

In Mexico, I often drank one or two of these before dinner.  After drinking margheritas in the sun all day, I was generally a little groggy.  An espresso martini was the perfect solution: no falling asleep in my guacamole!

To make an espresso martini, you need:

• 1 ½ oz freshly brewed espresso
• 1 oz perfectly cold vodka (I know there are better kinds, but for mixed drinks, I go with plain ol’ Alberta vodka)
• 1 oz Kahlúa

Pour espresso over ice in a martini shaker.  Add vodka and Kahlúa.  Shake like hell.  Garnish with a few coffee beans as desired.

Espresso Martini

Cheat: you could always buy a bottle of Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka and just shake it over ice.  It’s delicious. But I prefer my version.

Eva

Saturday 21 November was my last night working at Ric’s Bar. It was the last Saturday night before the new owners took over.

They did not give my job back.

It wasn’t just a matter of losing a job. I’m sure I’ll find another one soon enough. It was about the death of my favourite bar. I was never a regular, but there’ll always be a special place in my heart for one of the first bars I ever drank at, the vodka-fuelled shenanigans and the great time I had working there.

Part One – Meeting Ric’s
2007. Age 18.

The house party wasn’t very interesting, so I sat in the front yard talking to my friend Amy.

I was in tragic post-breakup mode after, um, a breakup. My head was a mess. I needed to do something fun instead of moping around the house and writing depressing things. No, I don’t miss being an angsty teenager.

Amy suggested that I forget about my worries with a night out on the town. Freshly 18, I hadn’t yet had a proper night out in this mystical place called the Valley that my older friends had told me so much about. A drink or two at various pubs, sure, but not the all-night dancing boozefest that everyone else seemed to do. To a kid from the outer ‘burbs whose nightlife consisted of underage house parties that taste like Bundy and Coke, the Valley is the most exciting place ever.

“I’ll take you to Ric’s,” she said. “You’ll love it.”

One Friday night we wobbled down Brunswick St, suspicious waterbottles in hand, towards Ric’s. It was certainly different to any other bar I’d seen. Instead of steel and plasma TVs and laser lights, Ric’s was old and wooden. The neon sign out the front looked like it had come from a 1950s American diner. And wow! There was a pinball machine and old school video games inside! The nerdy and the vodka-loving parts of me were united at last.

Out the back and up the dangerously steep stairs was the dancefloor. The first song I heard was an acoustic cover of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle”, one of my favourite songs of all time.

I liked this Ric’s place instantly.

But the dancefloor was empty. Sitting on the balcony overlooking the Brunswick St Mall, Amy explained to me that people don’t usually go out to the Valley at 9 o’clock. I didn’t really understand why.

So we decided to visit some other pubs and nightclubs. After a man danced thrustily at me in Birdee Num Nums I decided we should head back to Ric’s.

When we returned, a band was playing downstairs. An all-girl band had the crowd enthralled with sexy guitar riffs and shouty choruses. It was the first “local” band I ever saw and I’m annoyed that I can’t remember their name. We applauded their last song and headed back upstairs.

The dancefloor upstairs was full. The little balcony we were sitting at earlier was completely packed.

“See what I mean?” said Amy.

After ordering a few vodka and lemonades, we found a little space on the bouncing dancefloor. And danced. This place was my mp3 player. Yes, I was that annoying, screechy young girl who constantly yelled “OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS SONG”. Gotta love 18-year-olds in pubs.

We must have danced for hours, but the only song I remember is Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” with much terrible singing and dramatic poses.

Later on we went downstairs to sit at the Galaga machine. The DJ was playing The Grates. I danced with a cute Asian boy. He offered to buy me a drink, but I didn’t want to leave Amy behind.

“What’s the time?” I asked her.

“It’s… oh my god! It’s 3 o’clock! We’d better catch the bus home!”

After a ridiculously long journey back to Amy’s house where the bus seemed to drive down every street in Manly, I woke up with make-up caked on my face and kicked myself for not getting the boy’s phone number. Damn.

Part Two – Too Much Vodka
2007. 18 and a bit older.

It was the night before Good Friday. My intentions were simple: get drunk and hook up with someone. I am one classy broad.

As it usually happens when groups go out, people inevitably end up getting lost, distracted and separated. I somehow ended up with an ex-boyfriend (not the one in pt. 1) and a fellow from uni.

But then it was 11 o’clock and the pubs were shutting at midnight.
Except…

“Wait! Ric’s is open past midnight tonight! Let’s go!”

We did the epic City to Valley trek, chatting to other drunken groups along the way. And the neon sign and wooden bar and video games and warm red glow of the lights inside appeared like a beacon among the dingy trash of the Valley. It was very quiet upstairs for some reason. The DJ wasn’t playing classic rock or alternative tunes, but some sort of funk crossed with hip hop. Whatever. It was past midnight and the drinks were still flowing. The fellow from uni suggested that I add lime to my vodka and lemonade. What a great idea. So I ordered more. And more. And more.

I decided to sexily seduce a boy at the bar wearing a Nintendo shirt. Unfortunately instead of saying, “Hi there. I like your shirt”, I said something like “bleeeurghghhh cool shirt blaarghhh” and got glared at by a girl who I now realise must have been his girlfriend. I shuffled back over to the boys in sheer embarrassment, and bought another vodka.

I laughed. I danced. I started to sway. I saw all the lights and the people blur together. I blinked hard but still couldn’t see properly. And things started to go horribly wrong.

Two pairs of hands were helping me down the stairs, out into the somewhat fresh air of Brunswick St.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah yeah. I’m fine.”

“Are you going to be sick?”

“No, of course not.”

I narrowly missed my ex-boyfriend’s shoes.

“Oh my god. I’m sooo sorry.”

The boys picked me up and frogmarched me back towards Ric’s to get water. The security guard took one look at me and shook his head.
The boy from uni took me back to his apartment in the Valley. No not like that! Get your mind out of the gutter. I leaned against him and hoped the world would just be quiet and sit still. He decided the best course of action was to call my parents so they could take me home.

“Noooo! Nooooo!” I groaned.

But he did. And my parents drove all the way over to the Valley from Alex Hills at stupid o’clock in the morning to take my disgusting drunken self home. The next morning I was supposed to go to a family lunch but could not do anything except lie around in bed, moan and wallow in my brain-shattering misery. Luckily my family was quite amused by the whole situation.

“My niece is growing up,” my uncle said proudly.

Interlude
2008. Age 19.

Sometimes when I finished work at the pub at 2am or so, I’d drive into the Valley, buy a kebab and watch the drunks stumble around.

I hadn’t been to Ric’s for a long time. The particular circle of friends I had at the time never wanted to go there.

“Their drinks are too expensive,” they sneered. “And it’s full of pretentious hipster wankers.”

But one night I sat out in the mall just outside Ric’s, sour cream spilling through my fingers. The entire pub was howling along to “Hang me out to Dry” by the Cold War Kids. I love that song. And I missed going to Ric’s.

Part Three – The End of an Era
2009. Age 20-21

The new bar I’d just started working at decided that they couldn’t afford to pay me. What a load of crap.

“Why don’t you apply at Ric’s?” my good friend Nathan suggested.

“I can’t! I got way too drunk there once. What if they remember me?”

But I was desperate, so I e-mailed them.

I went in for a trial shift. There were a lot of staff working in such a small bar. I spent most of my shift trying to find somewhere to stand where I wouldn’t walk into somebody. I got the job.

For the first few months, I was a bit intimidated by it all. I hate being the new kid. I barely spoke to anybody. I felt awkward not knowing the little protocols around the place, especially after working at a certain debaucherous pub at the Gabba for such a long time.

But after a while, I figured it out. And I started to love it.

I liked dancing with my workmates.
I liked eating the famous $4 breakfast on my breaks.
I liked trying not to laugh as Matty (aka Harvey Satan) danced at customers at the bar when they weren’t looking.
I liked how the DJs played everything from 80s hits to new tunes to old school punk to hip hop rap to guilty pleasure pop and especially Nick Norton’s (aka DJ Up Yours Grandad!) habit of playing songs like “Dick in a Box”.
I liked knockoff drinks at the Galaga machine, bitching about rude customers and gossiping about the cute ones.
I liked the regulars: the guys who drink Jack Daniels and Scotch, the pretty girls with cool makeup who drink vodka or gin, the old rocker dudes who came to see the bands, gin-lime-and-soda boy who always tipped me because I remembered his drink, the middle-aged ladies who rivalled Matty’s outrageous dancing. Tight jeans and shaggy rockstar hair and eyeliner and fake nerd glassesand tattoos and piercings and that one fellow who looks and dresses exactly like Prince.
I liked that all my friends drank there and I still got to see them on weekends.
I liked gleefully telling obnoxious nightclubbing types that we did not sell Jagerbombs, Red Bull, XXXX Bitter or Bundy Rum and watching them throw a hissy fit.

And of course, I liked the bands. The creativity and talent in Brisbane is underrated, amazing and sometimes quite bizarre. I’m looking at you, robot-dancing dude who sang along to a looped sample of “Hollaback Girl”.

The last Saturday night was packed. It was busy, hot and I was grumpy. Then the vodka shots appeared. My 18-year-old self roared through the door, screaming and dancing for one last time.

There was hugging, crying, dancing on tables, throwing ice, resolving of sexual tension, graffiti-ing of all the walls and the amazing manager Trina crowd-surfing through the pub.

And I still managed to close the bar and clean up at the end of the night. I should put that on my resume. Skills: Able to work and party at the same time.

I walked out the big blue door for the last time to the sun shining and people setting up stalls for the Valley Markets. And I had the last late night/early morning Fat Boy’s breakfast I will ever have, kindly bought for me by a regular.

RIP Old Ric’s. We will miss you.

I make these every Thanksgiving.  There is some work involved, but well worth it.  I make two pitchers, so that you can bar tend and socialize too.

The original recipe came from Sunset magazine.  I’m sorry that I don’t have a picture of this stunning red drink in a frosted glass with frozen cranberries as a garnish, but hopefully you’ll take my word for it and that it is beautiful and oh so tasty.

A day or two before the party make the syrup and the mint tea.  The night before mix all the ingredients and refrigerate.  Two or three hours before super chill in the freezer.  Also freeze some cranberries for drink garnish and your glasses.

I always make a double and sometimes a triple batch.  Only once did I have leftovers and those I popped in the freezer and served the next weekend or get together. (I do have a picture of that.)

Mint Tea
Pour 4 cups of boiling water over fresh mint leaves, steep for 10 minutes, strain and cool.

Cranberry Syrup
In a saucepan bring 2 cups cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup water to a boil, remove from heat, mash, strain, and cool. (Serve the mashed cranberries with your turkey dinner)

For One Pitcher (12 cocktails) Remember make at least two pitchers.
4 cups mint tea
1 1/2 cups cranberry syrup
3/4 cup Limoncello
1 1/2 cups vodka (Kettle One is my favorite)
1/3 cup lemon juice (it must be fresh squeezed)

When your guests arrive take the pitcher from the freezer.  Fill your shaker with ice and drink, shake and serve in a frozen glass with three to five frozen cranberries.  You could also garnish with a sprig of mint

I admit it. I love cocktails. I do. I like them limey and sweet. Tart and refreshing. Icey and strong. Please hold.

Sorry, I had to go make me one. I’ve tried a few different things in trying to recreate this drink. The first time I had it, I was on a business trip. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I was or the name of the restaurant where I had it. I do know it was a walking city, because I walked back to my hotel… not always in a straight line, but I tried.

It’s a delicious cocktail, it was a hit at one my recent girl’s in out evenings. It packs a heavy ginger punch, but if you enjoy ginger, you’ll love this one. You do need some prep time to make some ginger simple syrup ahead of time. I make a big batch of the syrup and keep it in the fridge.

For the ginger simple syrup: In a medium saucepan combine 3 cps sugar, 2 cps water, 2/3 cp peeled ginger, chopped. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until ginger is soft when pierced with a knife. Allow it to cool, then put it in the blender to puree the ginger. That’s it, put it in a resealable container.

Cocktail hour
Juice from 3 limes
2 oz ginger syrup
3 oz vodka
Diet ginger ale
Ice

Mix lime juice, syrup and vodka. Strain it into 2 tumblers with ice, pouring the cocktail up to 3/4 of the way. Top off with ginger ale, stir and enjoy!

This is a keeper, trust me!

My sister Kateri sent me this Lobster mold and I wanted to use it right away so I made a lobster jello for yet another Scorpio birthday, Jacob’s. This orange jello lobster with pistachio D’gari jello base is actually a remake of the original jello made for the party that did not turn out looking quite as expected.

In addition to Jacob’s birthday, the party was also to celebrate Hoover’s one year anniversary of living in our Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint.  To commemorate the occasion I made him these little green points of pineapple jello died green with vodka and topped with sweetened condensed milk.

Coconut Dreamz 2009 Holiday Edition continues…

Do you remember my post about the apple galette? That was the first time I ate a pie (okay, it was close enough to a pie) with the crust.

I am not joking.

I have, for nearly all of my 24 years, hated pie crust. Whenever I was served pie, I always scraped the filling out of the crust. I was teased mercilessly by my family for this. It also meant double-crust pies were entirely out of the question.

I blame refrigerated and frozen dough for this. I am pretty sure the number of times I have consumed a homemade pie crust can be counted on one hand.

However, I volunteered to cook the pies for my two Thanksgivings this year, and I do not do things in halves. I hope you all know this about me by now. This means I am making the pies entirely from scratch. I decided to break up the stages of preparation so that the prospect of baking between 3 to 5 pies is less daunting than if I made them at the last minute. Sometimes I’m such a perfectionist!

So today I am just going to introduce to you the pie crust. There is one secret ingredients in my pie crust, and it’s the best EVER.

Vodka!

So you all know I studied in Moscow in college, and that meant I drank a lot of vodka, so I am pretty well-versed in what vodkas are the best. I brought back three bottles of Russian Standard (Русский стандарт), and that is what I am using in my crust (you can get it in the US too). I imagine you could use any brand you want – as long as it’s 80 proof – but I am a vodka snob and so only the best will be used in my pie crust!

The rationale for using vodka, as well as the recipe itself can be found here. It’s a Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen recipe, which means they use things like science in developing their recipes. You can use your own recipe for pie crust, or replace the 1/4 cup of vodka with 2 additional Tablespoons of water. I am just a sucker for marketing and a sucker for things like cooking with alcohol!

A good mise en place is important to the success of your pie crust!

Okay, so this is what you do, in addition to following the recipe EXACTLY as printed:

• It is perfectly acceptable to pour out a shot or two of the vodka for your own immediate consumption.
• Bake at 400F/205C for 15 minutes.
• Line with foil, then pour in a bunch of pennies (I used a secret blend of pennies, euros, and rubles) or a bag of dried beans that you don’t plan on using later.

• Beyond Salmon has a beautiful guide to making pate brisee/pie crust (they are the same thing) in a stand mixer. Here is part one, and here is part two. This is where I learned how to make pie crust with a KitchenAid, and I don’t think I could explain it as well as Helen has.

Tips before you begin:

• This makes TWO crusts! Don’t forget to halve if you only need a single crust pie!

• You can use all butter instead of shortening. In my run-through I used shortening because I had the exact amount on hand. When I make it for realz I will use only butter.

Notes on mise en place and beginning:

• Cut up your butter into little cubes, then pop them in the freezer for 15 minutes. This is the same whether you are cutting them in by hand, with a pastry blender, or a KitchenAid (but I think if you have a food processor, then you aren’t supposed to put rock-hard things in there? I think).

• Assemble all your ingredients, utensils, and bowls beforehand.

• If you have a kitchen scale – one of my indispensable tools – it might be easier to just weigh out your flour.

• A lot of recipes call for deep-dish pie plates, so keep that in mind!

While you are preparing the dough:

• Since most people have the heat on right now, the air is drier and you might need a few extra drops of water to make everything come together. The comments I’ve seen for this recipe all say that 1/2 cup of total liquid seems like a lot, but I thought I might have needed to add more!

• You can refrigerate this according to the times mentioned in the recipe (at least 45 minutes), but if you wrap it in plastic wrap several times and ziploc baggie it up, you can freeze it for a few days too! Just remember to defrost it in the fridge first!

• The diameter of your pie crust should be like 3 inches more than the diameter of your pie pan! (So, for a 9in pie = 12in)

After you place the dough in the pie pan:

• Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes after you’ve transferred it to the pan and pressed into place. (This is a good time to preheat the oven!)

• After the chilling period, you can crimp the edges. Here is a good video to explain how it’s done.

If you are making a single-crust pie:

• You can blind-bake the crust before filling, so that it gets done on the bottom!

I need to work on my crimping skillz!

Next up on Coconut Dreamz 2009 Holiday Edition: Filling the pie… with pumpkin and chocolate pecan!