Some writers have the uncanny ability to imbue their written words with their own voice. My good friend Greg Atkinson is one such writer. His words, penned or spoken, are thoughtful – measured and weighed as carefully as if he were crafting a recipe. And as the very best writers do, Greg’s words evoke powerful sense memories. His newest book, At the Kitchen Table: The Craft of Cooking at Home, is full of deeply personal stories that invite the reader to relate and connect with him. His essay on borscht calls to mind immediately my grandmother’s kitchen; I can smell the earthy beets and the simmering broth as if I were at her kitchen table awaiting a piping bowl.

Continue reading on Amazon’s Al Dente Blog.

Creative cocktails can come from all methods of inspiration. I made this particular cocktail for my dear friends who had their wedding in Tuscany. Rosemary and citrus play well together in both taste and aroma.

This week on Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen™ I make a Tuscan Rosemary Lemon Drop! Fresh rosemary pairs well with Moon Mountain Vodka and housemade limoncello as well as other ingredients. Before serving, rim your cocktail glass with rosemary sugar, made by drying fresh rosemary and sugar together then combining together in a food processor or great blender.

Cheers! -Kathy

From their long and storied history as snake oils and
medical panacea to their modern-day indispensability  behind the bar of any good cocktail program, bitters have been there through the cocktail’s rise in popularity, fall during Prohibition and re-emergence as a key part of today’s thoughtfully-crafted cocktail. Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All by accomplished author Brad Thomas Parsons ushers the reader through the ups and downs of this flavorful favorite. This ultimate guide to the emerging, versatile world of bitters as a cocktail staple is sure to be an enduring resource for bartenders for years to come.

Continue reading on Amazon’s Al Dente Blog.

I’m shaking it up again — Season 2 of Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen^™
I am so excited to have just completed shooting the second season of my cocktail show Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen with Small Screen Network! Keep your eye out for these tasty cocktail episodes, which air every Tuesday!

A sneak peek at my Envy cocktail!

If you’ve seen my recent tweets then you saw some of the inside scoop while in mid-filming. This season is full of great cocktail recipes from inspired classics to fun & inventive cocktails, including a DIY raspberry syrup that I use in a Clover Thyme Club as well as a Whole Fruit Strawberry Daiquiri and a Cherry Chocolate Bourbon Spirited Milkshake! To kick-off the first season, I invited world-renowned mixologist Charlotte Voisey to show us how to make her Port of Mischief Punch. Special episodes also include a fun trip to Eastern Washington and Oregon where I demystify the maraschino cherry and take you on a tour of how they’re made from orchard to jar. I hope you will tune in weekly for some Liquid Kitchen inspiration. Cheers!

Imbibing Books!
If you’re a cocktail enthusiast, then check out these must-have new books! Food & Wine just published their Food & Wine: Cocktails 2011 and is available now. I penned the vodka chapter which is loaded with recipes from myself as well as guest mixologists Anu Apte from the Seattle’s Rob Roy and H. Joseph Ehrmann of San Francisco’s Elixir.  Some of my faves for summer include my Tea’Thyme and Pineapple Pico cocktails.

Spirit Industry icon Gary Regan recently published his Annual Manual for Bartenders, 2011. After careful research and testing, “Gaz” picked his top 101 mixologists recipes!  It’s an amazing book for any mixologist or budding bartender – I’m honored to have my Bollywood cocktail recipe included. If you love cocktails, make sure to sign up for Gaz’s Ardent Spirit newsletter – it’s one of my faves!

More Cocktails at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic
In May, I traveled to New York and imbibed with some of the best mixologists, bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic! Along with famed mixologists Charlotte Voisey and Jamie Boudreau, we led an informative and interesting seminar called “Three Mixologists, Three Cocktails, Three Ways or Cocktail Menage a Trois!” We each took three classic cocktails and put our special spin to them. You can see a video of our demonstrations on Small Screen Network.

IACP—International Association of  Culinary Professionals
This past June my Culinary Associate Heather Jones and I  traveled south to Austin, Texas for this annual conference. This is a worldwide industry event inviting culinary experts from all areas (chefs, restaurateurs, photographers, etc.) to come together, attend seminars and dish out tasty offerings. This year I led a specialty seminar called “Better to be Bitter.” People loved the hands-on a tasting and learning just what bitters are as well as how to use them… it really is better to be bitter!

The IACP cookbook awards are always a must attend event. I am so excited for chef pal Lisa Dupar whose cookbook Fried Chicken & Champagne won Best First Book – a great honor! Congrats Lisa!

After a week of seminars by legends like Shirley Corriher (making her famous lighter-than-air biscuits and teaching us all about baking science) to some fine Texas cuisine demos by luminary Chef Stephan Pyles, it was time to check out Austin’s food trailers (trucks) with chef gal friends Danielle Custer and Lisa Dupar.

My new friend, a Texas Armadillo!

Lisa Dupar and Danielle Custer checking out the East Side King Food during our Austin food trailer foray!

The Local Yolk food trailer … so cute!

The temperature was HOT for these NW gals … but we trekked on to taste quite a few of the city’s best street grub.

Gourdough’s was my fave — and the naughtiest! Giant doughnuts topped with crazy and oh-so-tasty things! Funky Monkey: grilled bananas and cream cheese icing. Porkey’s: Canadian bacon, cream cheese & jalapeño jelly. Mother Clucker: fried chicken and honey butter. Yes, quite a gut bomb, but oh-so-good!

Gourdough’s BIG FAT DONUTS!

Other food venders ranged from Korean barbecue to fish and chips with curry sauce to killer Texas-style BBQ. I’m full just thinking about it!

Tales of the Cocktail
Tales of the Cocktail is probably the biggest of the cocktail events this year. Every July, mixologists, spirit producers and enthusiasts from all over the world convene for a week of amazing parties, liquor tastings, spirited dinners and seminars. This year I did a seminar with internationally renowned Modern Mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim on H2O Cocktails. We discussed the how’s and why’s of water–based cocktails using flavor–infused waters with complex–character vodka. Master Distiller Thomas Kuuttanen from Purity Vodka joined us to answer all those geeky questions that we couldn’t. TOTC is open to the public so you don’t need to be a pro to party with the professionals. Stay tuned for my next newsletter to hear all the imbibing details. In the meantime, check out an episode of Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen to see how to make a Purity Watermelon Habanero H2O Cocktail — so perfect for summer sippin’!

On-Air with Kathy Casey! Dishing with Kathy Casey on KOMO New Radio
I’m excited to announce that you can catch me on Seattle’s KOMO News Radio AM 1000/97.7 FM! Art Sanders will be Dishing it up with me every weekend. I’ll cover what’s hot in Seattle from seasonal treats (cherry mojitos, anyone?), new restaurants and festivals (check out this lavender lemon soda) to entertaining at home. Catch me throughout the day and evening every weekend on KOMO!

Buzzin’ Around Town
As the summer months take over, I’m happy to announce that my bees are back with the addition of another hive! That’s right, I have two hives now! The bees love zooming around our urban garden and deliciously feed off the wild fennel blossoms and blooming edibles.  I can’t wait to taste this year’s batch of yummy honey. You too can have a taste for yourself and order yourself a jar of my special Liquid Kitchen 5130 Honey!

Don’t forget to check my column D’lish with DList Magazine, my posts on Amazon’s Al Dente blog and keep your eye out for my upcoming column in in the new Sip Northwest Magazine, where I’ll be covering the newest NW Spirits and Bars!

I’ll be headed out California soon for the Flavor Experience then off to Canada for the Canadian Club Whiskey distillery tour! Stay tuned with my tasty tweets.

Wishing you a wonderful and d’licious summer! – Kathy

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Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@KathyCaseyChef), Dishing with Kathy Casey Blog or find Sips & Apps on Facebook for all my tasty travel tidbits.

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With its ambience firmly rooted in the classic train
stations of Europe, stepping into Chef Michael Mina’s newest endeavor, RN74, is the perfect respite from the bustle of downtown Seattle. Mina has come home to Washington and his culinary roots to lead us on a gastronomic tour along ‘Route Nationale 74’, the main thoroughfare through France’s Burgundy region and the restaurant’s namesake. The bar, booths and the gentle clack of the flipping “Last Bottle” list, styled after retro train arrival and departure boards, all unite to leave you thinking your train will be arriving just as soon as you finish your glass of wine. And indeed, wine is a big part of the concept at this new hotspot; Mina has teamed up with Wine Director Rajat Parr to shine the spotlight on red and white Burgundy wines as well as local wine producers and various New World offerings. Of course, great wine needs great food and RN74 has absolutely no shortage of that. Elegant but unpretentious, Mina offers up classic French fare made with locally-sourced Northwest ingredients and his signature California flare.

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Northwest chef Becky Selengut knows a thing or two about fish and in her new book GOOD FISH, she shares some of that wisdom with more than a little light-hearted humor and lots of insightful anecdotes. Selengut cares as much about the delicately balanced flavors in her recipes as she does about the denizens of the deep and being a thoughtful steward of them and their home. Addressing everything from seasonality, raising and harvesting methods to buying tips and questions buyers should ask their seafood seller, Selengut is handing the home cook the ultimate guide to sustainable seafood cooking.

Continue reading on Amazon’s Al Dente Blog.

My good friend Gaz Regan has spent his fair share of time behind a bar, so he knows a good cocktail when he sees one. Luckily for us, he’s compiled his top picks from bartenders the world over into Gaz Regan’s Annual Manual for Bartenders 2011. Part bar-tested philosophy, part recipe book, the Annual Manual will not only give you an idea of what some of the world’s top mixologists are making, it’ll keep you well entertained with Gaz’s quirky ruminations and insights into the world of libations.

Continue reading on Amazon’s Al Dente Blog.