Classic Cocktail Recipe With Brandy and Champagne

Climb aboard the time machine! This week's happy hour cocktail comes to us from 1950's The Bar Guide, published by TRUE, The Men's Magazine. Get ready for Hell and High Water!

Glendora's Favorite Things

Fans of Glendora, our favorite cousin: I'm pleased to report that she now has her very own Pinterest board! Click here to follow her board, which will be updated often with her favorite things. She may love her luxury, but her heart will always be true to Franzia!

Boxed wine, baby!

Accessories become classier when filled with wine.

Cocktail Recipe with Rum and Chocolate for Valentine's Day Plus Fondue!

Our Valentine's Day episode is all about our love for our viewers, with some chocolate, booze and cheese thrown in for good measure! If you're seeing this, thank you!

My Secret Shame: The Closet Edition

I've had a few requests to peek into my closet. I have nothing to hide, clothing-wise, but my closet is kind of a disaster, as you'll soon see. By nature I'm organized and love having things in tidy piles. However, we happened to purchase a home with no closets, with the exception of a tiny closet in the bedroom the width of a door, which houses Paul's clothes. We got creative and built a "closet" in the bedroom by running a bar across most of the width of the room, which has curtains to hide everything. I love the curtains (really tablecloths from Target, into which I sewed channels for the closet bar), but we need more closet space. My ultimate goal, closet-wise, is to build a cedar closet in the attic. In the meantime, here's what I'm working with!

This section is normally hidden by a curtain. That green ceiling and reed wall will soon be hot pink!

This poor closet unit came from IKEA about 20 years ago. It is very close to the foot of the bed and difficult to completely open! Have I mentioned our bedroom is small?

Necessity is the mother of invention in finding hanging spaces in this house! I do love those curtains, though.

I'm in upgrade mode with our house lately, so I'll be sharing some more shots soon!

Let's Serve Cocktails!

It seems that every one of our vintage recipe pamphlets and bar guides has a story behind it and Let's Serve Cocktails... is no exception. Published by The Taylor Wine Company (not to be confused with Taylor Family Vineyards, in Napa, CA), this mighty booklet has everything a person could ask for in a mid-century cookbook (Chicken Pufflets? Hammonaise? The opportunity to send for a copy of "Leaves from the Table of George and Martha Washington?"), but also raises the question: does The Taylor Wine Company, Inc. still exist? Sadly, no, and apparently there is an entire book about their demise (read about it here - I can't even find a mention of them on the Constellation Brands site). So, if one were inclined to whip up any of these recipes, wine substitutions would need to be made. However, it's a small price to pay for recipes this fabulous! Ready to dunk slices of chicken, turkey or pheasant in wine?!

Bon appetit!

Valentine's Day Elegance

Valentine's Day can be a real challenge. Restaurants often raise their prices and require reservations, leaving those who might be inclined to take their sweetheart out for a night on the town in a bind. Who wants to overpay when it's just one night out of the year? You could go the next night and save big, allowing for twice as much celebration! If you do that you might also want to do something on the 14th to mark the occasion. Fortunately, there are lots of recipes you can whip up to show you care! Here are some pretty desserts that require no skill whatsoever to make, from the Better Homes & Gardens Holiday Cook Book (1959) with a bonus for Washington's birthday!

Here's the recipe for French Pastries, just in case you're inclined to make Washington Pie:

Staying home and saving a few dollars is even more pleasant with a couple of bottles of wine. That just happens to be what's included in the Strawberry Punch from Anchor Hocking's Party Starter Punch Recipe Book! 

Here's to love!

Alco-Haul and Happy Hour Announcement!

I picked up some new bottles for the liquor larder last night and am looking forward to sharing the cocktails we're creating with them in future episodes! I'm really pleased with all of them! The Azteca Azul tequila was just under $20 and was recommended as a great bargain, which I agree that it was. And, yes, I made sure it's 100% agave, which all unadulterated tequilas are. The Clear Creek Distillery cranberry liqueur is lovely. I tried it in a margarita in place of orange and loved it! And the St. George spiced pear liqueur is heavenly. It is wonderful by itself, but you know I need to make cocktails! It will be fabulous with bourbon, brandy and more!

And I have an announcement! Our happy hour episodes, which we've been uploading every Friday morning, are moving to Thursday evening! This will give anyone planning weekend cocktails more time to prepare and shop. You don't want to rush happy hour! So look for this week's happy hour episode tomorrow evening!

Our latest alco-haul