french 75-ish [porter]

Next week is our first anniversary! What better way is there to commemorate than share the drink I was enjoying on the big day? Here it is, folks: the French 75. Our best man concocted on of these babies for me in the limo between the ceremony and the reception. It was refreshing and sophisticated--just what I needed to toast the day. Upon ample sampling in the past year, I can report that it wasn't just the excitement of the day: this drink brings an air of elegance whether for a fancy-schmancy cocktail party or a casual night in.

Ingredients:
Champagne (dry)
Gin
Orange or Lemon twist (sliver of peel)

The how to:
Fill champagne flute 3/4 full with champagne. Add a splash of gin--if you are a measuring type, use 1/2 jigger of gin. Twist the lemon or orange twist over top of glass to release the oils from the peel and drop in. Drink up!

Side notes:
The real French 75 includes simple syrup and cucumber and is served over ice in a tall glass.  See here from Gourmet. The original recipe was first published in 1930 in the Savoy Cocktail Book and is named for a French 75 millimeter cannon. Be sure to drink slowly because it might hit you like a cannon :) Enjoy responsibly!

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honey-peppered pear + prosciutto bites [porter]

Unbridge club -- where a group of my mother's friends get together and play anything but bridge -- is starting to encompass the younger generation: the daughters and nieces of the core group. It was my turn to host last night and amid the concern of having a spotless house and the worry that 50 and 60 year old women would enjoy laser tag (like I said, anything but bridge!), I knew I needed to have simple, filling and delicious finger food that would hold to my nickname of 'Martha.'

I do not have endless hostessing experience. One of my best friends LOVES to play hostess, so the majority of our casual get-togethers take place at her house. Pulling together a menu other than take and bake pizza that would allow me to interact with my guests immediately upon their arrival requires a bit of planning ahead and avoiding foods that are still delectable when not piping hot.

I bring you to pear + prosciutto! A quick, tasty, and surprising appetizer/snack/finger food that will earn you some serious host/hostess cred.

Ingredients:
makes 32 bites [serves 8-10]
4 bartlett pears
1/3 lbs, very thinly sliced prosciutto [8-10 slices, some tend to go missing in the process :) )
1T honey
1/4 c warm water
2 t fine black pepper, plus plenty for finishing presentation plate

The how to:
Heat oven to 375. Slice the pears into 8 equal segments, removing the core from each slice as you go. In a medium to large bowl, combine the honey, warm water and 2 t black pepper, stirring until uniformly combined. Add pear segments to the honey-water and toss to coat. Let sit while prepping prosciutto. Cut each prosciutto slice into 4 even strips, as best you can. I ended up with some odd shaped pieces and it worked out fine as long as the pieces are long enough to wrap around a pear slice. Wrap each pear slice with a strip of prosciutto and place seam down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, let cool slightly and arrange on a serving platter. Sprinkle the whole platter uniformly with pepper.

Side notes:
First and foremost, I apologize for the lack of photo. In the midst of hostessing, snapping a picture unfortunately did not cross my mind. Now on to the real notes. I left the prosciutto off of a few of the slices to accommodate a vegetarian who was attending; it turns out that the honey and pepper work surprisingly well without the salty offset. To keep the pears warm until guests arrived, I kept the serving platter on the stove top to absorb some of the peripheral heat. These are still good when not super hot, or even warm, but I did not enjoy them as much 3 hours later at room temperature. Luckily, they will probably be gone by then (I had reserved some on the side for my hubby).

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