Cocktail Friday: Basil Gin Fizz

I feel it is important that you all know something about me: I drive a minivan. Really, it's true. This time last year, it was all Tokyo trains and taxis and bicycles and walking. Now it's a minivan. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have a vehicle to drive since public transportation is not really a thing 'round these parts. But a minivan? Yep.

I drove my minivan from Denver to Boulder on Wednesday and met Jen from Use Real Butter for lunch. It was great to sit and chat about blogs, food, black labs, and life in general. We ate at a great restaurant called The Kitchen, which I'm pretty much in love with after just one visit. The food was delicious (I had a Colorado lamb burger that was perfectly cooked) and the atmosphere is pretty much exactly what I would want my own restaurant to look like. Rustic sophistication might be the best way to describe it. When we were done with our lunch, I was planning to head to a coffee shop somewhere to do some blog work, since the rug rat was spending the day with Grandpa. So, I walked to my mini-van, hopped in to get some of my things together, and decided it would be easiest to take it all out from the passenger side of the car. I jumped out of the van, closed my door, went to the other side and...

Oh no...

Locked.

Please tell me I didn't just lock all the doors.

Yep. The driver's side was also locked. I could see my keys perfectly on the other side of the glass, sitting next to my laptop and purse on the passenger seat.

It's official. I'm locked out. Or my keys are locked in. Or whatever.

I called Brad and he, by some miracle, was able to make the 45 minute drive from Denver to Boulder to let me in so we didn't have to spend a bazillion dollars on a locksmith. Hallelujah!

But wait...there's more.  As I sat waiting for Brad to unlock the minivan, a guy walked up to the front of my car and stands there for a moment.

What is that guy doing standing in front of my minivan, you might ask? Um, he's giving me a parking ticket because my receipt is expired. I explained that my keys are locked in the car along with my purse and if I had my wallet I would happily buy another 2 hours of parking time. I'm not sure that he cared.

I'll be checking the mail obsessively for a parking ticket over the next few weeks.

But I guess that's cheaper than a locksmith, right? Hopefully...

Needless to say, the rest of my day did not go as planned. By the time Brad got to Boulder, it was time for me to head to another meeting, so I was able to blog for exactly zero minutes when I had anticipated almost 2 hours of free work time.

I'm going to go ahead and say that if I had this cocktail with me while I stood outside under a strangely cloudy Colorado sky, shivering and trying to look on the bright side of this situation, my wait would have been much more pleasant. I could have imagined that it was summer and I was spending all this time outdoors for a good reason. Not because I did something super flaky.

Did you have a rough week? Or perhaps you just want to welcome Friday evening with something sparkly and vaguely reminiscent of summer. Maybe Spring is making itself sparse even though it claims to have begun already? Regardless of where you find yourself this weekend, this fast, easy cocktail is sure to please. The bright basil with the piney gin and sparkling soda water is a match made in heaven. Just a little step up from the traditional gin fizz and perfectly appropriate for this time of year.

You can use almost any herb for this- mint, thyme, rosemary...I wouldn't even rule out cilantro. A Gin Fizz is like a blank pallet of sorts, so if you're looking to experiment with your own cocktail inventions, this is a great place to start.

So cheers to minivans, husbands who save the day, and the weekend.

Basil Gin Fizz

Adapted from Cookie + Kate's Rosemary Gin Fizz recipe

Makes 1 cocktail

3 or 4 basil leaves, torn

Juice from 1/2 a small lemon

1/2 teaspoon honey

1 1/2 oz gin

3 oz club soda

In the bottom of a Collins glass, muddle the basil with the honey and lemon juice. Fill the glass to the top with ice, then add the gin. Stir with a stir stick to fully incorporate the honey into the gin. Top with the club soda. Serve with a stir stick and garnish with basil leaves and/or lemon wedge.

Cocktail Friday: Spring Fling

This time last year, I was organizing all of our things so that they could be packed and shipped from our Tokyo apartment to our new home in Denver. Riley was only 3 months old and I was still trying to figure out what it meant to be a mother (still working on that one), let alone what it meant to move my family back to the United States. Needless to say, life was a bit crazy. The only respite from it all was walking at Kinuta Park, which was within walking distance of our apartment. The trees lining the path had to have been hundreds  of years old and there was always this kind of mist over everything.

Kind of like in the computer game Mist.

Did you ever play that? I always got stuck. Somewhere misty.

Anyway, I remember the serenity of being amidst ancient nature in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world. There was something about that feeling that I haven't been able to capture yet here in Colorado. It took me 3 years to find it in Tokyo, so I guess I still have time.

There is a path near our house that I am getting acquainted with. It runs parallel to a stream and through the branches, at least now when there are no leaves, I get the occasional glimpse of the Rocky Mountains. An added bonus is that there is a park just off the path where Riley loves to swing and take hand fulls of wood chips and drop them over his head. Someday soon I hope that I'll be walking down that path feeling the same peace that I did at my park in Japan.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to warm days with bright sunshine, green grass, colorful flowers and nights with friends spent watching the sky turn from blue, to orange and pink, to starry and black. When I think of days like that, I also think of bubbly, citrusy drinks. Typically I reach for a gin and tonic when the temperatures rise, but it's fun to mix things up a bit. This cocktail, made with a floral-flavored whiskey, sparkling raspberry juice, and fresh lemon and lime juice, is the perfect way to introduce something new into the mix. It isn't super sugary like a Margarita or Piña Colada, but still has the appeal of drinks we dream of sipping in the summer sun all winter long.

So, no matter where you find yourself this weekend, take a moment to sit back and think about what gives you a sense of peace and serenity in the midst of a very busy time of year.

Sometimes peace can be found in the most unexpected and obvious places.

Spring Fling

Makes 1 cocktail

1 1/2 oz whiskey (Stranahan's and 2 Gingers work well)

Sparkling raspberry juice

Fresh lemon and lime juices

ice

Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour the whiskey over the ice. Fill the rest of the glass with the sparkling raspberry juice and top with fresh lemon and lime juices. Stir lightly and serve.

Cocktail Friday: Rosemary Infused Cosmopolitan

For those of you who followed Tokyo Terrace, you will remember Cocktail Friday. Every Friday, I'll share a cocktail recipe with you all just in time for your Friday night shenanigans or weekend entertaining.

Before I get into this Cocktail Friday post, I have to say that I am humbled at the response to Set the Table. It is amazing knowing how many of you stuck around while I sorted things out. Between moving away from Japan, moving into and renovating a house, and everything that goes along with a huge life transition, I needed that extra time. The past few months have been strange and full and overwhelming. But the support you all have shown has been the silver lining. So, thank you.

Alright. On to the much anticipated Cocktail Friday!

Once in a while, I am blessed with an afternoon that is filled with nothing but a couple free hours, bright sun, and a good book. It’s not often that all of these factors align, but when everything falls into place, it's pure bliss. If it's warm, which I'm realizing is not unusual this time of year in Denver, I sit outside in my backyard soaking in the deliciously warm sunshine. The only way an afternoon like that can get better is with a cocktail to sip on. Usually I’m imagining that I am tall and impossibly elegant, sipping daintily from my glass. In reality I’m still my short self, wearing jeans and a sweater and most likely spilling a drop or two...or three...of my drink.

I’m awesome that way. 

Rosemary

While I’m a fan of classic cocktails, I also enjoy creating my own recipes. Sometimes, inspiration strikes and I can create something from the bottom up. But the most successful concoctions are simple and sometimes based on tried and true recipes already in existence. If you’re new to cocktail-creating, it’s best to start out with something familiar, adding a little twist to make it your own. My rosemary- infused cosmopolitan is one example of how an iconic cocktail can be changed ever so slightly to make a new, personalized invention.

The only thing I did here was add a dash of rosemary simple syrup. And here’s the deal with me and simple syrup: I don’t like to use too much because of the additional sugar.While developing this recipe, I figured out how to infuse the simple syrup with a strong rosemary flavor so that I only needed a small amount. It seems obvious, but it took some time for me to figure it out. Here’s what I did: I added 2 big sprigs of rosemary to the simple syrup while it simmered on the stove and then...here’s the secret...I took two more sprigs of fresh rosemary and added it to the finished syrup. Then they got all cozy...or chilly I guess...in the refrigerator overnight. The result was a wonderfully fragrant, woodsy, piney flavor.

Cocktails should appeal to all your senses. So, of course, this drink is garnished with rosemary. It’s beautiful. But wait! Before you add that final sprig of rosemary, slightly bend or crush a few rosemary leaves to bring out the herbal aroma. As you bring the glass to your mouth, take a deep breath through your nose before the first sip. It really is cocktail perfection.

Rosemary Garnish 1

Rosemary Infused CosmopolitanMakes 2 cocktails

• 4 oz. cranberry juice (I prefer the unsweetened kind, especially since there is simple syrup in this recipe, but you can use either)
• 4 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 4 teaspoons rosemary simple syrup (recipe below)
• Ice cubes
• 2 fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish

Combine the ice, cranberry juice, lime juice, vodka and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Cover and shake for about 30 seconds until thoroughly chilled. Pour into chilled martini glasses.

Take the rosemary springs and bend 5 or 6 of the leaves, not enough to break them but just enough to release their scent. Place one sprig in each glass. Serve immediately.

Rosemary Simple Syrup Makes 1 cup

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large rosemary sprigs

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, add 2 of the rosemary sprigs and barely simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the remaining 2 rosemary sprigs and allow to cool. Once cooled, transfer the syrup with the rosemary sprigs to an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. Strain before using the syrup.

*Syrup will stay fresh for 1 week in the refrigerator.