It really IS National Clam Chowder Day! And to any Seattle and Pacific Northwest native, nothing says great clam chowder than Ivar’s! To celebrate today, Ivar’s is doing a fabulous promo: buy one cup of chowder, get the other free!

Now if that puts you in the mood for soup and you have a great recipe for chowder, why not enter the 4th Annual Razorclam Fest Chowder Cook-Off Competition down in Ocean Shores on Saturday, March 27th? You can print out an application here. This year’s clam-tastic event will be hosted by me and you’ll sure enough see a lot of tweets about all the crazy fun!

While zooming around Twitter this week I heard about the Cyclone Cocktail Shaker and was featured on The Examiner. It’s kinda crazy …just add your cocktail ingredients, cap, and push a button then in seconds, instant cocktail! This handy gizmo is perfect for those novice shakers. Plus, you won’t have to worry about it slipping out of your hands since the Cyclone Cocktail Shaker does its mixing upright and stationary! It’s fun, kooky and would make a great gift. Though I’m still sticking with my traditional Boston Shaker set up: a shaker glass, tin and strainer!

And to start your weekend off right, try shaking up this great coocktail from cocktail guru Tony Abou-Ganim featured in my book, Sips & Apps . 

Sunshine Sour

Known as the Modern Mixologist, Tony Abou-Ganim is a leader in creative cocktails and has been a cocktail competitor on Iron Chef. Tony’s sour recipe typifies his style and his dedication to continually improving the art of the cocktail.

Makes 1 drink

1 1/2 ounces Finlandia grapefruit vodka
1/2 ounce Aperol
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 ounce fresh orange juice
1/2 ounce Clover Honey Syrup (recipe follows)
1 small egg white or 1 tablespoon pasteurized egg whites (optional, but gives the drink a rich, creamy, frothy head)

For garnishing: Orange slice, Long lemon-zest twist

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Measure in the vodka, Aperol, juices, and syrup. Add the egg white, if using. Cap and shake vigorously. Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with an orange slice and a lemon twist.

*Clover Honey Syrup
Makes 1 cup

1/2 cup clover honey
1/2 cup warm water

Combine honey and water and stir to mix. Cover and refrigerate, for up to 2 weeks, until needed.

Recipe from Sips & Apps, C 2009 by Kathy Casey, Chronicle Books

Come see me and Columbia Winery at the Seattle Food & Wine Experience on Sunday, February 28 from 12:00 – 5:00 pm at the Seattle Exhibition Center Exhibition Hall!

I’ll be chatting all things wine and food at the Columbia Winery Booth, plus giving away free autographed copies of my books!  Click here for detailed event info and ticket prices.

My Valen’Thyme Clover Club is the perfect cocktail for Valentine’s Day: Slightly pink, frothy and delicious! Traditionally made with gin my version incorporates fresh thyme and is shaken up with half gin and half vodka —  a great introduction to botanicals for the gin shy cocktailer.

So toast your sweetie with my classic twist on this classic cocktail. 

Valen’Thyme Clover Club

Makes 1 cocktail

6 fresh raspberries
1 sprig fresh thyme
3/4 oz vodka
3/4 oz gin
3/4 oz Housemade Honey Syrup (see recipe)
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1 organic egg white

Garnish: fresh raspberry, fresh thyme sprig

Drop the raspberries into a cocktail shaker, bend and drop in the fresh thyme. Measure in the vodka, gin, Honey Syrup, lemon juice and egg white. Fill shaker with ice, cap and POWER shake – enough so the egg white becomes frothy and the raspberries are broken up.  Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with raspberry skewered on a fresh thyme sprig.

*Housemade Honey Syrup
Mix together 1/2 cup honey with 1/3 cup hot water. Mix to combine and store refrigerated.

Recipe © Kathy Casey Food Studios® – Liquid Kitchen™

Have a great Super Bowl party with some tasty beer cocktails from this Liquor.com article! Have a quick read and you’ll find a recipe for my Marvelous Frothy Margarita!

It has been about a week, since I’ve been back from fabulous Miami, Florida! Earlier last week, I had the privilege to be invited to attend and present at this year’s Cheers Beverage Conference in Miami. I was excited to the idea of getting to go to Miami (and soak up some Florida sun!) and meet up with all my industry friends!

My fabulous team!!!! (Jill Benson, Cameo McRoberts, me, Keith Waldbauer)

I brought along a great powerhouse team: Executive Chef, Cameo McRoberts, my Associate mixologist, Keith Waldbauer, and my Executive Assistant, Jill Benson. The four of us tackled on Cheers and had a great time doing it! Cameo and I lead a super hands-on seminar all about bitters. Keith and I chatted it up at a seminar we led on cocktail trends.

 
I’m on ice as a Celebrity Bartender for Cheers!

Then it was on to the Bar Stars event where we all shook up Bellini Manhattans!
I hope you enjoy shaking up some of your own!

Just about to shake up some yummy Bellini Manhattans!

Bellini ManhattanMakes 1 cocktail
1 1/2 oz (rī)¹  rye
1/2 oz Monin Peach Puree, or homemade peach puree
3/4 oz red vermouth
3/4 oz – 1 oz splash Chandon Brut Champagne

Garnish: gold gilded cherry on a pick (recipe follows) 

In a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and measure in the rye, peach puree and vermouth. Cap and shake vigorously. Strain into martini glass and top with a splash of Champagne. Garnish with gold gilded maraschino cherry on a pick.

Gold Gilded Cherry
1 cup maraschino cherries – DRAINED WELL and then dried on paper towels
1/4 -1/2 tsp. Gold Luster Dust (3 g) *available at cake decorating stores or on-line

Make the cherries in the container in which you are going to store them. It is important that the cherries be very well drained. Place the cherries in the container and add the luster dust. Stir gently to coat cherries in gold.
Do not over stir. Store refrigerated for up to one week.

© 2010 by Kathy Casey Food Studios® – Liquid Kitchen™

Fun article on Liquor.com featuring Carry-on Cocktails! Who says you can’t shake up some fun while in mid-flight and off to your next destination? Take a peek at the article and you’ll find recipes for my Sky High Sling and my International No-Groni!

Fellow foodies, bloggers, and food photographers, Sally and Poppy have joined forces to create the Mixed Greens Blog! Their blog focuses on living and eating sustainably, which can be found in their blog posts, recipes, and fantastic photo gallery. With that as their focus, the Mixed Greens Blog even shares links to local vendors supporting a sustaianable living and how to continue living a sustainable life style.