Coffee – Elvis Sips!

Make A Delicious, Sweet-Cinnamon Coffee Cocktail This Holiday Season!

The Holidays are here! The days are speeding by and I still have so much to do! Shopping, baking, gift wrapping, decorating… this is such a (wonderfully) busy time of the year!

I love coffee, period. But in December – with its short days and full calendar – I need an extra afternoon jolt to help get me through the day. But it’s DECEMBER! The HOLIDAY SEASON! It can’t be just a regular coffee! I want something special, with a holiday twist!

The Cinnamon Dulce Café – is the perfect coffee (cocktail) for all of your December needs! A Christmas or New Year Brunch – An afternoon of gift wrapping – Tree decorating – Card writing – Cookie making – and so much more!

This cocktail is a favorite of mine and I’m sure you’ll love it too! Remember that a recipe is just a guide – if you don’t like bourbon, use vodka! If you’re not a coffee fan, you can use hot chocolate! If you prefer real cream instead of oat milk creamer, do it! So, without further ado, let’s get to the good part!

Cinnamon Dulce Café

1.5oz Cincinnati Distilling Bourbon
.5oz Disaronna (amaretto)
2oz Coffee (cold brew, or strong brewed hot coffee cooled to room temp)
.75oz Cinnamon Syrup*
1.5oz Oat Milk Coffee Cream
.5oz Maple Syrup

In a cocktail shaker (mason jar, Tupperware with tight fitting lid) add your Bourbon, Disaronna, Coffee, and Cinnamon Syrup.
Add some ice and shake it up.
Strain it into a martini glass.
In a small pitcher add your Oat Milk Creamer and Maple Syrup, using a Milk Frother or Immersion blender, blend until it has doubled in volume (or use a clean shaker/mason jar/etc, and shake shake shake until doubled in volume).
Gently pour over the top of your cocktail.
Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon. And enjoy!

Option 2 –

Serve it over ice!

Follow step 1, but add a little more coffee. Shake it up, strain into a glass filled with ice. Follow steps 4-6 and enjoy!

Option 3 –

Some Like it Hot!

In your favorite coffee mug, add Bourbon, Cinnamon Syrup, and Disaronna. Top with hot Coffee (or Hot Chocolate), and give it a stir. Follow steps 4-6 and enjoy!

*Cinnamon Syrup – it’s super easy to make – 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil stirring often to fully dissolve sugar. Once a boil is reached, remove from heat and let cool. Remove cinnamon stick, and store in a sealable container in the refrigerator.

Or…. Go to the grocery store, Monin makes a very nice Cinnamon Syrup. You can usually find it in the coffee section.

Make Mother’s Day Great Again!

Mother’s Day is here! And after weeks of lockdowns, quarantines, homeschooling, working from home, and more, the Mother’s in your life deserve something extra special. I’m going to walk you through mixing up two very special cocktails that mom is sure to love!

When I was growing up my mom didn’t necessarily want gifts. Don’t get me wrong, if we didn’t get her a card and something special to open, she would not have been happy. But more than THINGS she wanted to make MEMORIES with us. I don’t remember ever going to brunch or making breakfast in bed. What I do remember is when my brother and I were little we would go to Kings Island, our local amusement park. It was usually our first visit of the year and because it was Mother’s Day the park would be almost empty.

When we got a little older my mom decided that she wanted to go to the horse track and bet on the ponies. I remember perfect, warm spring days sitting the sunshine while watching the races all day. And other years, we would go for just one or two races because of the cool, rainy spring days we can have. We make $2 bets and have nachos and popcorn. It is fun and silly. And that is a tradition that we’ve carried through to this day.

Well, not this day, technically. See we’re still in lockdown, stay-at-home, social distancing, and whatever else you want to call it. The racetrack isn’t open. Restaurants aren’t open. We’re still not allowed to gather together to celebrate. Like so many of our celebrations, Mother’s Day is looking a little bit different this year.

One thing that I (and you) can do, is drop a gift, a meal, a treat, and (of course) a cocktail off to mom. Do what you can to make this an extra special day. Really celebrate HER and all the hard work she has done.

Let’s start with the perfect brunch/breakfast in bed cocktail. If you want to keep this drink alcohol free, just sub her favorite coffee creamer for the Bailey’s. And if you don’t have Hot Chocolate Mix, you can substitute Chocolate Syrup or even Fudge topping for ice cream!

Mother’s Day Mocha

1.5oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
1tbsp Hot Chocolate Mix
A few drops of Vanilla Extract
Fresh Brewed Coffee
Whipped Cream
Chocolate Shavings, optional

In her favorite coffee mug combine Bailey’s, Hot Chocolate mix, and Vanilla. Stir well to combine. Add Coffee to an inch from top of mug. Stir again, make sure everything is combined. Top with Whipped Cream and Chocolate Shavings.

*Tastes best served in bed.

This cocktail is one of my favorites because it is super customizable! It works beautifully with Vodka, Gin, Bourbon, Tequila, of Rum (but I would stick to white rum, like Bacardi). So, grab a bottle of mom’s favorite spirit, a handful of her favorite berries, and her favorite mixer and let’s make this

Mother’s Day Smash

1.5 oz Hendrick’s Gin Midsummer Solstice (or her favorite Spirit)
2-3 Strawberries (and/or blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)
2-3 Basil Leaves
.25-.5oz Honey (sweeten to taste)
Half a Lemon (more or less to taste)
Club Soda, Tonic, or Sparkling Wine

In a Mason Jar add berries, honey, and squeeze in the juice from the lemon. Muddle to release juices and to combine ingredients. Add Gin and ice. Put on the lid and shake to combine. Add a more ice to fill and top with Club Soda, Tonic, or Sparkling Wine. Garnish with a lemon wheel, fresh berry, and basil leaf.

*Best enjoyed with her feet up, in the sunshine, while someone else is preparing dinner.

Middletown, OH #Research

This past Sunday was the first one of 2020 when I wasn’t packing for a trip, unpacking from a trip, out of town, working a special party, or otherwise just trying to catch up on life. So, this was the first #SundaysAreForResearch of the year! My Partner in Crime actually surprised me with this research outing. He got me in the car and just started driving. And I never expected to end up where we did.

Middletown, OH. About 30 miles Northeast of Cincinnati, population of 48,813, it became a city in 1886, and it was the perfect location to spend a beautiful February afternoon.

We started at Gracie’s for brunch, and I highly recommend it! The restaurant is light, bright, and airy with a wonderful blend of modern fixtures and what appeared to be original details. After chatting with our server, we found out that the building was originally a JC Penny’s and it now houses the restaurant and a B’n’B on the top floors.

I started with a Mimosa, on the server’s recommendation, and it was not traditional. I enjoyed it, even though I’m still not sure what exactly I was drinking. My Partner in Crime went with a Breakfast Burrito with hash browns, and I couldn’t pass up the Breakfast Gnocchi and we decided to share an order of Grits (I can never pass up grits).

Our food took a little longer than expected, so our wonderful server surprised us with an order of Gravy Cottage Fries – and it was amazing! The sausage in the gravy had an amazing flavor and it wasn’t as heavy as I expected it to be. Partner in Crime loved his burrito. My Gnocchi was very good, unfortunately it arrived to the table on the cool side which took the experience down a couple of notches for me. The grits were really well made and Partner in Crime and I were fighting over the last spoonful! We found out later that they are pretty new to Brunch, but I would highly recommend Gracie’s to anyone who is in the area.

After brunch we wandered down the block to the Triple Moon Coffee Company. Partner in Crime is not a coffee drinker, but for me, #coffeeislife. Their menu was extensive and honestly, I was a little overwhelmed. I went with my go-to Vanilla Latte. It had such a rich, warm flavor without being overly sweet. The shop itself is a bright open space, with lots of tables and booths, and a lovely book/toy/game corner for kids of all ages. Even though it was mostly full, the volume wasn’t loud and I could easily see myself holing up there for an afternoon of writing, reading, and caffeinating.

After my coffee break, we started walking in the beautiful sunshine. After about 3 blocks my Partner in Crime announced we had arrived! I looked around and finally saw they sign for “White Dog Distilling Company.” In we went to a long narrow bar, about 15 bar stools, a handful of tables, and one of the best bourbon collections I have seen in the state of Ohio. Partner in Crime went with a PBR, because you can never go wrong with a PBR. As for myself, I was overwhelmed. The incredibly kind owners let me sample their Vodka, Gin, Rum, and Agave Spirit. I enjoyed them all, but the Gin stood out to me as being incredibly smooth and well flavored while not being overly juniper/piney.

I ended up going with a Cosmo (I never have Cosmos and I’ve been craving one for a few weeks now) because I wanted to see out the Vodka mixed. It was a very nice drink, well balanced, and almost exactly what I had been craving. While I was enjoying my first cocktail two other guests ordered a Margarita made with the White Dog Agave spirit, and they looked good. So that was my second drink. It was nice, and again the spirit mixed well, but almost immediately I found myself wish that I had picked a drink that didn’t cover the spirit as much.

The owners were engaging, and their story is truly a unique one. I’m hoping to visit again soon, and definitely once they start producing their whiskey. If you see White Dog at your local liquor store (I know for sure they are in Jungle Jim’s) do yourself a favor and pick up the spirit of your choice.

On our way home we made a last-minute decision to take home a pizza from Dons Pizza. We basically didn’t have a choice. We had parked across the street from them and the sign Pizza is Life was taunting us. We ordered a cheese pizza to go and it was different, but very good. A thin crust, with a solid base of thick but not watery sauce and a rich, blend of cheese. It was cut into 1-2 bite squares, perfect for snacking. And a perfect way to end a beautiful February Sunday afternoon of #research.

Research (Part 1)

research

[ˈrēˌsərCH, rəˈsərCH]

NOUN

the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions

I am always looking for ideas. I have found that some of the best sources of inspiration come from my own area. Visiting other bars, restaurants, breweries, gives my mind a chance to rest and just enjoy what other people are creating. Which, in turn, gets my own creative juices flowing. My research outings are something I look forward to. They stretch from the brewery 3 minutes down the road to a little brewery in Dublin that you may have heard of, Guinness. A simple trip to the grocery store can be research. Or the food network. Or a cookbook. Or a farmer’s market. Or a bakery. You can find inspiration everywhere, if you are open to it.

So, this is #research post 1. I know there will be many, many more.

I recently visited Locoba by Platform Beer in Cincinnati, Oh. (Yes, I know that Platform was just acquired by InBev. But they are still transitioning into this acquisition. And InBev claims that they will leave these guys alone, that they just wanted a couple of recipes. Time will tell what happens to them, but for today I really enjoyed my visit.)

Locoba. Bright, airy, and very open feeling, even though they don’t have a ton of space. I’m a sucker for a living wall and they’ve got one! They also have several plants No more than 15 seats around the bar, a couple of tables, a private room, and a patio. It seems like they do a fair amount or takeout business- either to go coffees or folks grabbing a six pack on the way home.

I was intrigued by a few of the hard seltzer options they had on tap, but ultimately chose the Rosellini- Peach Rose Apple Cider. It was a delicious, crisp, not overly sweet cider. As it warmed up more of the peach flavors shone through and I very much enjoyed it.

My Partner in Crime went with the L.E.D. American Light Lager. He liked it so much he had two of them! The clean, hoppy presence perfectly complemented the rich malty notes of this beer. Very well balanced, and as far as lagers go, this one was interesting to drink. He liked it so much the bar (O’Neal’s Tavern) may be putting this on tap.

We did not have a chance to eat there, but the food offerings, while limited, looked very good (sandwiches, pretzels, chips). I’m hoping to return soon, possibly for brunch. Then I will be able to sample some of the coffee they brag about. Honestly, the place smelled amazing! Fresh ground coffee in all of its glory! I just wasn’t in the mood for coffee (which is rare for me). Next visit, coffee is a must.

Ok. I’m going to keep #research post 1 short. Post 1 is more about explaining my research approach. If You have any suggestions of where my research should take me, PLEASE share!