Things to Drink – In Good Taste

Fall-Themed Brunch Party & Sparkling Apple Cider Sangria

Maris Callahan — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 19:23:35 +0000

If you love to entertain, but want to do it within a conservative budget, a festive brunch party is a great way to play hostess without breaking the bank. With the holiday season approaching, a fall-themed brunch party is the best way to start a weekend day. I don’t consider brunch to be a B-list meal. In fact, if you do it right, weekend brunch can be the only meal you need to eat all day. You can eat sweet and savory foods together and you can drink cocktails before noon. What could be better? As we look ahead toward the holiday weekend, I’m going to hazard a guess at some point between now and the end of the year, you’ll spend a least one weekend morning skipping your usual “stay-in-bed-til-noon” routine in favor of preparing or attending a meal that is equal parts social and juuuust substantial enough to make you want to follow said meal with an immediate nap. The staples of any brunch party menu, whether you’re throwing the party or bringing a dish to a potluck, are pretty consistent: Something fresh, like a bright green salad with all of the seasonal fixings. In the fall, I like to toss mixed greens with walnuts, blue or […]

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Apple Cider Whiskey Cocktail

Maris Callahan — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 19:12:28 +0000

This apple cider cocktail is a perfect beverage to serve on Thanksgiving or at a holiday party. The holiday season is my very favorite. As much as I love the summer, I love even more the festivities, parties and excuse to do some no-holds-barred online shopping during the most wonderful time of the year. It’s also a great time of year for cocktails. Although I don’t like most sweet cocktails (poolside mojitos not withstanding) I will make an exception though for an apple cider cocktail — especially when it’s spiked with apple whiskey for extra flavor.Earlier this month, I impulsively purchased Leopold Bros. New York Apple Whiskey from Foxtrot Market. They had a recipe for an apple cider cocktail that looked so festive and seasonal — perfect for entertaining — and I knew I would need to create my own so I could be festive and seasonal too. Although Brad and I rarely drink hard liquor at home, we do keep a well-stocked bar for entertaining and this is definitely a fun whiskey for mixing cocktails. I’d also like to try to make an Apple Old Fashioned, and I bet this would make a really delicious syrup for baking, too. If […]

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Strawberry Rosé Lemonade

Maris Callahan — Sun, 05 Aug 2018 21:35:21 +0000

Spiked strawberry rosé lemonade is a refreshing cocktail to accompany brunch, patio parties or as a casual dinner party apertíf all summer long. Rosé season has been in full swing for a few months now and I make no secret of the fact that the much-beloved “summer water” is not my beverage of choice during the months of June, July and August. Although there are plenty of rosé wines to drink during patio season, I’ve always preferred Sauvignon Blanc or an occasional Oregon Pinot Gris. That is, until I discovered rosé lemonade. Spiked rosé lemonade, to be more specific. In Chicago we have a lovely chain of local markets called Foxtrot Delivery Market. Think: your cutest local organic grocery + coffee bar + gift shop tied nicely together with an app that allows you to order anything for delivery in an hour or less. Now, there are a lot of delivery apps that claim one hour or less service, but they often lie. Foxtrot is pretty punctual and perfect for entertaining needs that extend beyond your local Aldi or Trader Joe’s (we live above an Aldi but there are certain things you just won’t find there and gourmet cheese and artisan […]

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Chicago: Dyeing the River Green for St. Patrick’s Day

Maris Callahan — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 06:00:49 +0000

There are very few things that will get me out of bed at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday. Among those reasons: a television segment, a flight and probably the fire alarm. St. Patrick’s Day has never before fallen under that category. Luckily I’ve never had to test that theory. Now we can add a fourth thing to the list: dyeing the Chicago River green in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day with Country Financial. First, I have a confession to make. Until this year, I’ve never been to Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration. For the first couple of years I lived here, I was out of town for the festivities. For the past few years, I’ve celebrated with my friends by going out to brunch, or doing some good old fashioned day drinking in the afternoon. I had never been to the river dyeing, a tradition since 1961 that attracts hundreds of thousands of people each year. According to Mental Floss, the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local was instrumental in the inception of the tradition. In the early days of his administration as Mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley was a man on a mission to develop the city’s riverfront area. There was just one problem: The river […]

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Bailey’s Irish Iced Coffee

Maris Callahan — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 06:00:40 +0000

Last Christmas, my friend Anita introduced me to Bailey’s Original Irish Cream. I’d never tried it before because I’m not one for sweet or sugary cocktails, I’ll take a glass of dry red wine over a frilly martini any day. Even so, around the holidays, we’re all a little uninhibited when it comes to trying new things and I obliged her a cocktail that she had made with vanilla vodka, Bailey’s Original Irish Cream and ice cubes made from freshly brewed coffee. After all, spending the holidays with friends means exposure to new family traditions and who am I not to participate in Christmas spirit? (That is, I am talking about actual Christmas spirits here) So, I did the polite thing to do, I tried it and well, holy hell. I love coffee and this super creamy, spiked java concoction was so delicious it put my daily morning cup to shame. Granted, there are a lot of good reasons why I shouldn’t replace my morning cup of coffee with a splash of 2% milk for this sinfully creamy cocktail version of coffee, but it wouldn’t be fun to dwell on that fact before we talk about your new favorite holiday beverage. […]

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