Pittsburgh Cocktail Week...What a Week It Was!

Before I go any further, let me first thank my designated driver throughout this very first Pittsburgh Cocktail Week...without you this week could never have been the tour de force de cocktails that it truly was. Thanks, Mark! It was a tough job and somebody had to do it. (Glad it wasn't me.)

Although the event ran for an entire seven days, as hard as I tried I couldn't begin to make it to every bar and restaurant participating in the week. Nor could I make it to every special seminar or event, but I gave it my all. There were industry events: an Agave seminar at Verde, Ice Carving at Livermore, a Wigle Distillery seminar on aging, a tour and tasting at Boyd and Blair Distillery.

Boyd and Blair - tour and tasting

Tender hosted a seminar entitled "Drink What You Like and Like What You Drink, led by Johnny Foster and Butterjoint conducted a hands-on class on shrubs and preserves as used in cocktails.

Ground Cherry Pineapple Shrub in process at Butterjoint - Now THAT'S a muddler!

Started at Butterjoint, finished in my kitchen - YUM!

Not to be forgotten, cool events for you and me were held, too. The bartenders at Verde had folks step right up to the bar for a hands-on class in making the perfect margarita, Livermore's Giuseppe Capolupo taught a few basic tricks to carve your own ice at home, Wigle conducted an aged whiskey tasting that SOLD OUT quickly! 

There was a cocktail and food pairing class at Industry, South Seas Thursday at Tiki Lounge with Lucky the Painproof Man and totally amazing, authentic tiki drinks using the best rums and liquors, fresh squeezed juices and handmade syrups. 

(Heads up....Lucky takes over Tiki Lounge and creates these EVERY Thursday from 4 - 9 PM, not just for Pittsburgh Cocktail Week!)

Lucky the Painproof Main, Tiki Bartender Extrordinaire

(I'm not saying this tiki mug got the Pirates into the playoffs, but....)

Probably the most exciting happening during the week (for me, anyway!) was the cocktail competition going on all around the town! Restaurants and bars entered one or more cocktails into several categories. This is where my designated driver came into play...the fun was in trying cocktails in various spots, voting on them via an app called Grail. The developers of Grail, Rhomania, are right here in Pittsburgh! (Check out Grail and all the cool things it does and restaurants it carries right here.) 

At the end of Pittsburgh Cocktail Week, a winner was declared and won $1,000 in barware! Not bad for the very first ever event!  I won't tell you right now who won, but I DID get to enjoy the winning entry early in the week. 

It was impossible to get to every spot and to sample every cocktail...at least for me it was. I did hear rumors that an attempt was made by at least one hardy soul! Here are (some of) the cocktails I tried.

Oaxacan Campfire by Hannah Morris - Verde Mexican Kitchen

The Secret Garden by Erika Joyner - Salt of the Earth

Amelia's Last Flight by Sean Rosenkrans - Tender Bar and Kitchen

Pittsburgh Sour by Chris Matrozza - Franktuary

Billy Porter's Kinky Boots by RaeLynn Harshman & Alyssa McGrath - Dish Osteria

Looks like a whole lot of cocktails...it was...and that's just the ones that were photographed! Then there were those that were shared among we cocktail geeks and afficianados. Fun times! 

As said earlier, I just managed to scratch the surface of the creative libations to be had. Giving it a go EVERYWHERE was impossible! I missed Pittsburgh Cocktail Week specialty drinks at Harvard and Highland, Bar Marco, Livermore, Benjamin's, Tamari in Warrandale, Spoon, Industry Public House, Meat & Potatoes (yeah, I can't believe I didn't get there either!), Butterjoint - but I got there for that fabulous Shrub class!, Toast, Speakeasy, Pino's or Lidia's. NEXT YEAR!

But what about THIS year's winner? That would be the lovely Erika Joyner with her creation using Wigle Ginever, cucumber mint syrup, lime juice and eucalyptus bitters called The Secret Garden. Well deserved, Erika! 

If you didn't get to participate in Pittsburgh Cocktail Week THIS year, start planning for next year. Next year will be even bigger...and hard to believe as it is...BETTER! 'Til next year. (I think my liver will enjoy the break.) 

 

Gin Class at Tender Bar & Kitchen

The sun shone, it was almost noon. A queue of strangers was forming outside Tender Bar & Kitchen in Lawrenceville waiting patiently for the doors to open. 

Passersby may have thought the worst of us. We may have appeared to be overly thirsty for our first drink of the day, but that wasn't the case at all. We were there for a class on gin. We were thirsty for knowledge.

You can study gin?! Yes, you can. Our instructor for the day was Marie Perriello, the Education Director at Tender, assisted by Jeff Catalina, the owner of both Tender and Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina in Garfield. I don't know about you, but I LOVE a bar with an Education Director! The more I know about what I drink, the better I like it.

The long bar in the narrow, former-bank-turned-bar, was lined with 18 students awaiting Marie's cocktail enlightenment. Each of us had our own station and equipment - tins, both a cocktail AND a julep strainer, barspoon, glasses, etc. everything we needed to make our own drinks.  
  
It was a real treat to start off with an old-fashioned, non-alcoholic vanilla phosphate. I hadn't had one of those since I was a kid on a spinning stool at the drugstore counter! Plates of the kitchen's fresh-made potato chips with aioli and bowls of piping hot hush puppies kept up our energy throughout the class.

Marie and Jeff conducted a gin tasting before we started mixing cocktails.  We tasted and learned the differences in taste and the suitability for types of cocktails by sampling Beefeater, Plymouth, Old Tom and Bols Ginever. I couldn't decide if I like the Plymouth or the Bols best - all four were excellent.

The cocktail making began with a Martinez, a stirred gin cocktail. Here's where we used the Haymans Old Tom Gin we had tasted earlier along with Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, Sweet Vermouth and Boker's Bitters. Stirred gently with ice in a circular motion, strained with a julep strainer into a coupe glass and garnished with lemon peel, it was delicious. And beautiful, don't you think?

The Martinez

 
Next we moved to a shaken cocktail called The Last Word - the perfect name for the last cocktail of the day. I chose Plymouth gin...the smooth sweetness would complement the other components of the cocktail. Luxardo was used again, Green Chartreuse (another fave of mine) and fresh-squeezed lime juice. 

The Last Word

After shaking and double straining the liquid into a cocktail (martini) glass, we were ready to raise a toast to the education in gin that we'd gotten in a short, but sweet, two hours. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday at all.

One of the things Marie stressed was the adaptability of a cocktail...how you can swap out one spirit for another, a modifying agent or spirit for another. She gave us confidence to take what she taught and experiment on our own.  

Marie mentioned using Mezcal in place of gin in the Martinez and, in fact, I've enjoyed a cocktail she makes that does that very thing. So I tried messing with spirits and other additions myself and came up with this little number. Here's the recipe first for Marie's classic Martinez.

Want to learn that cocktail confidence yourself? Sign up for upcoming classes at Tender! I'll see you there!

Martinez - Marie Perriello

• 2 oz. Haymans Old Tom Gin
• .5 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• 2 dashes Boker's Bitters

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass. Use a julep strainer and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon peel.  

Mezcal Martinez - my version

 

• 2 oz. Wild Shot Mezcal
• .5 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 1 oz. Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth
• dropper full Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters

    
Stir all in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with lemon peel. 

Mezcal Martinez - my version

Cocktail education really is Marie's specialty. In addition to bartending at both Tender and Acacia, she owns her own cocktail education business, Stir Society. 

Marie conducts demonstrations and classes in homes to delight and amaze your friends or businesses as a team-building exercise or entertainment for clients. Check it out for your next party or business meeting...it will be an event to be remembered!



 
 

Soergel's Orchards Kick Off Good Taste Pittsburgh 2013!

 


What's up around town this weekend? Glad you asked. A good time is sure to be had at Good Taste Pittsburgh! After many years of being held east of Pittsburgh, this long-standing, fun foodie event finally makes it's first appearance in the north at the Cranberry Marriott (just off Rt. 279 North at Rt. 228). Get tickets!
 
The kick off event for Good Taste Pittsburgh was held last week at Soergel's Orchard in Wexford. Why? Because Soergel's will be a big participant in Saturday's event and one of the sponsors! What a party and WHAT A FEAST the kick off was! 

The feast

If you've ever been to Soergel's, you already know the farm produces everything food and garden related that can be imagined, from seeds to plants, to fresh produce, to their own products made from their very own fresh fruits and veggies, to their bakery, deli, and even their own smoked meats. 

Soergel's orchards produce apples that become not only freshly made cider, but their own jarred applesauce. Their tomatoes become some of the BEST barbeque sauce I've had in a very long time! Three kinds...Sweet & Smoky, Caroline-style and (my fave) Spicy.

Before becoming applesauce!

Where did this kick off party happen? In the middle of a field? No. In great big, comfortable McIntosh Hall behind the market. Yes, McIntosh...like in the apple variety. Makes sense!

"Applewood" Bill Maxwell with beautiful, gleaming smoker

 Tables laden with trays upon trays of their famous pulled pork - yep, smoked for 16 hours in the HUGE smoker on wheels that sat gleamingly out front; slices of juicy Black Angus beef (yes, their own farm-raised, hormone-free cattle), their own potato salad, pasta salad, green salads and fruit salads. Even the greens came from Soergel's own greenhouses - tomatoes and fresh lettuces (and more) grow there year round. (If I have you craving any of this, you know the deli is handy...pick some up! Or have them cater one of your events either at the Orchard or your own venue.)

Source of that sweet, sweet smoke

 


Soergel's emphasis on fresh and natural is especially evident at their gluten-free and organic foods store, Naturally Soergel's, located near the market. You all know by know about my gluten issues...and how frequently I mention Soergel's as the source of a lot of the products I use. THIS is the place to buy gluten-free in the Pittsburgh area! 

Besides carrying everything gluten-free you could possibly want, the staff is friendly, knowledgeable and happy to help you learn your way around eating gluten-free. If Amy (last name Soergel, of course) is around, be sure to say hello. 

Amy knows her stuff. Her degree in Public Health is from venerable Johns Hopkins University and her Masters in Epidemiology is from Pitt! What piqued Amy's interest in the gluten-free lifestyle? Amy was diagnosed with celiac disease many years ago. Amy lives what she teaches.

 
One more interesting note. During the presentation part of the kick off evening, it was announced that Soergel's would be growing their own hops this season. I looked over at Amy and kind of silently said to her, "Gluten-free beer?" She nodded yes. Following the presentation, I got the further scoop....and here it is.
 
Amy is engaged to Doug Foster who is a partner in the brand new Aurochs Brewing Company. Aurochs is the area's FIRST gluten-free beer, and is located on Route 65 in Emsworth.  Soergel's hops are being grown for Aurochs! Look for Aurochs Gluten-Free beer sometime later this year. Oh...and just where did Doug and Amy meet? Naturally Soergel's, naturally. Doug is celiac, too.
 
Be sure to stop and see the good folks from Soergel's at Good Taste Pittsburgh on Saturday and pick up information on what's happening all year 'round in Soergel's orchards and their markets and shops in Wexford on Brandt School Road just off Rt. 910.

 
Saturday's Good Taste Pittsburgh highlights include:
 
- Chef Keith Fuller of Root 174 in Regent Square and Chef Kevin Watson of Savoy in the Strip District will both be speaking and demonstrating their widely celebrated culinary skills.

- Cookbook author Lindsey Smith (Junk Foods & Junk Moods will talk about the importance of nutritious easting.

- Caroline Wright, Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute Meals, will be making 3 of her recipes and signing her cookbook.

- The stars of Farm Kings - The Great American Country Network's (GACN) reality television show about the daily lives of the King Family from Freedom Farm in Butler County will actually be shooting a segment for broadcast! Don't miss this!

- Vendors, flower arranging, creative crafts and much more. 

See you there!

Food With Friends in Annapolis - The BBQ Edition

The weather report in Annapolis last Saturday was gloomy. In fact, as we Food With Friends pals gathered at Donna's home on the banks of the Severn River, that's exactly what we encountered. Blustery, cold, overcast. And then...as the lump charcoal and wood chips were lit, the clouds parted, the sun emerged, temperatures rose. Magically, the day transformed into Springtime! Who knew BBQ smoke has miraculous properties?

This time the theme of our quarterly get-together was BBQ. Our Georgia gentleman, Greg Blanton, pit master extraordinaire, manned the Webers and created heavenly flavors out of pork butt, chicken and salmon. 

As hours of tending slowly smoking proteins passed, many jokes were told, cocktails sipped, laughs shared and friendships forged more solidly while the aroma of smoking proteins rode the wind. Watching Greg work his magic was quite the treat, but nothing compared to the smoked delights that graced the dinner table. That man knows his way around a smoker! 

Greg (front and center!), Bonnie (supervising (?) in the background)

That beautiful weather? As the fire and smoke went out, so the sun slid behind darkening clouds. We were dry and toasty inside as the wind blew and rain pelted the deck and windows outside. Good timing, Greg!
 
Here's the line up of everyone's deliciously BBQ-appropos contributions to the day:

Appetizers
While the 'Cue was smoking happily away, appetizers were served to the hungry throng. 

Marti outdid herself warming up our tastebuds! Boursin-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Dates kissed with just a touch of smoked paprika - these marvels were sweet and salty perfection; Baked Bean Dip...what's a BBQ without baked beans? From scratch, homemade baked beans with her very own BBQ sauce, whirled into hummus-like consistency and served with corn chips absolutely stole the show; Manchego Rosemary Fricos - these were my go-to addiction on Saturday; Coffee-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin Squares adorned with a dynamite Chipotle Cherry Sauce. Oops! I almost forgot the Smoked Cheddar Puffs...wow!  


Cocktail
Marti designed her appetizer selection around the cocktail created for the event which was created to pair with BBQ. (It's so good to conspire and work so well together!) What goes with BBQ, but bourbon?!

Bourbon HumZinger is the name I came up with for my cocktail. Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Canton Ginger Liqueur, orange blossom honey rosemary syrup, lemon, a splash of seltzer and a garnish of fresh rosemary served casually in a pint Mason jar nicely complemented the smoky BBQ flavors.

Why the cocktail name? The bourbon part for obvious reasons, the "Hum" part for the honey and the "Zinger" for the ginger.  Maybe for the tickle of the bubbles in those cool antique seltzer bottles, too? (Where do you get seltzer the way it used to be done? Pittsburgh Seltzer Works! More about them in another post.)
 

Bourbon HumZinger

• 2 ounces bourbon, Buffalo Trace
• 1 ounce Canton ginger liqueur
• 1 ounce simple Sugar Syrup, Orange Blossom Honey Rosemary syrup, see recipe below
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• soda water, splash
• fresh rosemary sprig

Fill a tin 3/4 of the way with ice. Add bourbon, ginger liqueur, syrup and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Cap, shake until the tin is frosted and strain into a Mason jar filled 3/4 of the way with ice. Top with a splash of soda.

Place the rosemary on the palm of your hand slap sharply with your other hand to release the fragrant oils. Garnish and enjoy!

Syrup:
In a pan, bring 1 cup honey and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce heat, add 3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and stir. Remove from heat and let cool. Take out the rosemary and store the syrup in a covered container in the fridge.

 

Proteins 
While Greg did the smoking, both he and Donna provided the proteins that were the focus of the day.

Salmon with a sweet and spicy, red rub and smoked quickly to produce a moist and tender filet; chicken rubbed with yet another (secret mixture); pork butt with yet another rub, smoked for many hours to ensure a moist and tender butt that fell into shreds. (There was a fig BBQ sauce to slather or to dip the butt in, but there was no need for gussying it up at all. I DO wish I'd tried the sauce though...FIG? How did I forget to try that one).

Bonnie's Green Bean, Grape & Pecan Pasta (L), Greg's Smoked Chicken (R)

 

Greg's Smoked Salmon in the foreground (There was plenty more in the kitchen!)

In addition to the smoking, Greg also whipped up a huge batch of authentic Southern Brunswick stew and the most wonderful (authentic again) Shrimp n Grits I've ever experienced! (Yes, the recipe and pic of this one will be coming later!)

Side dishes 
Deviled eggs (yay Iris! delish!); Fruits Baked with Port and Southern Rice and Pea Salad by Maria; Kale and Tender Greens by Donna (our gracious and patient hostess); Spring Rolls by Brian; and Bonnie made a particularly amazing Grilled Blue Cheese and Bacon Potato Salad and also a Green Bean, Grape & Pecan Pasta Salad. Bonnie, I WANT the potato salad recipe! Please?

 

Grilled Blue Cheese and Bacon Potato Salad by Bonnie

Desserts
Sweet temptations of all variety overloaded the sideboard.  Sherron devloped a smoky, sweet, good-for-you (sort of) Maple Bacon Granola to adorn Peach Cobbler with Sweet Biscuits to be made on-site and I brought a Bourbon Pecan Praline Sauce to further gild that lily. Peanut & Pretzeled Texas Sheetcake with vanilla ice cream (and more of that Bourbon Pecan Praline Sauce) was another planned dessert. 

We ended up not doing the Peach Cobbler as there were more desserts than could ever be consumed.  Maria brought Pumpkin Chiffon Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, Pecan Pie with Chocolate Chips & Kahluah and more than I can even remember. Thank you, Maria! Our sweet tooth(s?) were more than satisfied.

Far more dishes than mentioned above were brought by more members than were mentioned here...sorry for any omissions...I ran out of space! 

We don't have a date yet, but we do have a theme for our next shindig. It's a Baby Shower for Sherron! We're all thinking tiny things, little things...BABY things! We're "expecting" yet another wonderful Food With Friends!