06December

{Gift Guide 2012} Gifts for the FOFoodie or Oenophile

Fill their cups (and bellies) with cheer this holiday season. Here, FOFoodies share 10 scrumptious gift ideas.

Plus, enter to WIN the Cookies for Grown-Ups cookbook or Corkcicle Wine Chiller by answering this question in the comments below: Which would you most like to win?

1. Corkcicle Wine Chiller, $25

"Keep white wine at perfect pouring temperature." -Lovey Dash

2. Cookies for Grown-Ups cookbook by FOF Kelly Cooper, $16.31

“Cookies for Grown-ups offers 95 new cookie recipes deliciously suited for the discerning palate and paired with drinks ranging from cocktails to beer and wine to tea. I'm an FOF and also the author of the book. Try: 'Dark Desire' with bittersweet chocolate and fresh thyme or 'Mediterranean' with feta cheese, dill, sun-dried tomato and lemon.” --FOF Kelly Cooper

3. Rabbit Wine Aerating Pourer, $30

“With this nifty little gadget, no need to wait while your bottle breathes. It's a wonderful hostess gift or smart tool for any home bar.”--FOF Celeste Crago

4. The Table Comes First, $10.85

“Longtime writer for The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik’s latest book, "The Table Comes First" has just come out in paperback, an ideal gift for the true foodie in your life. From the first restaurant in—where else–-France, to famous names in gastronomy through the ages, to current day food trends, localism, organic farming, sustainable living, you name it, Gopnick explores it all. Call it a conversation with the reader about the meaning of food.”--FOF Annette Gallagher Weisman

5. Breakfast Cookies by Morning Sunshine, $29 for a bucket of 12

“These breakfast cookies taste great, are made with healthful ingredients and some are even gluten-free. They make a satisfying, easy breakfast and you can freeze them, too.” --FOF Vicki Dunn

6. The New York Times Book of Wine, $14.91

“Kick lack of knowledge and pretension to the curb, and buy yourself (or any wannabe wino in your life) "The New York Times Book of Wine." Encompassing 30 years of vintage writing by Eric Asimov, Frank J. Prial, Florence Fabricant, Frank Bruni, and many more, all in the capable hands of esteemed editor Howard G. Goldberg, this book is a treasure chest filled with opinions about wine.”--FOF Annette Gallagher Weisman

7. Perl Girl Rugelach, $25+

“The best I have had, ever. I usually buy mine at the grocery store where they are pretty hard; not these. These were chewy and incredibly yummy!” --FOF Michele W.

8. Pine Street Market Meat of the Month Club, $120+

“Smoked in house from locally-sourced pigs all their meats are to die for. But, the bacon is the showstopper!” -FOF Mary Holland

9. Neilsen-Massey Mexican Vanilla Extract, $21.95 for 8 fl. oz.

“Any FOFoodie would love to have a bottle. It is cited as the best vanilla in the world. Very flavorful.” --FOF Patricia Bell

10. Caramels from Eclat Chocolate, $26.50 for a 12-piece box

"Won't they be surprised when they chomp into this delicious chocolate and find that it oozes with luscious dripping caramel! An experience that is unexpected and simply outrageous!"--JoJami Tyler and Deborah Boland

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Answer this question in the comments below for a chance to win the Cookies for Grown-Ups cookbook or Corkcicle Wine Chiller: Which would you most like to win?

Two FOFs will win. (See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes December 20th, 2012 at midnight E.S.T. Contest limited to residents of the continental U.S.

90 comments

04January

{My Story} Resolutions of a newly-minted (FOF) bartender

[Editor's note: The essay below, by FOF Cheryl Rich Heisler, is part of a series of personal blogs from our readers. Have your own story to tell? Email your "What I Know Now" idea to geri@faboverfifty.com.]

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By profession, I am the president and founder of a career consulting business for attorneys frustrated by their traditional career options. By formal education, I am one of those self-same attorneys. But, by avocation, I am what I perhaps should have always been—a mixologist.

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As a career consultant, I get a great deal of satisfaction helping people uncover their passions. But this past year, I decided I hadn't realized one of my own lifelong passions--becoming an expert at making cocktails. I have poignant memories of heart-to-heart talks with my Dad over the tops of chilled martini glasses, and I get a wicked kick out of mixing and matching libations of all flavors and colors to create something new, different and kind-of clever.

However, giving up my day job to pursue this passion wasn't a sacrifice I was willing to make. As an FOF, I realized you can have your cocktail and drink it too. While I continued my career consulting business--meeting clients in the mornings and in the afternoons--I studied for my mixology license. I love the reaction I get when I tell people I passed a second “Bar” exam. It was one of my major highlights of 2011.

But now it is 2012: how will each of us expand our horizons over the year ahead?

The lawyer in me suggests prudence: plan better, save more.

The career coach in me says add more play, uncover a new passion, take those horseback riding lessons I’ve been thinking about.

And the bartender in me? She says lighten up, life is short. Have a drink. Toast to health and happiness and all the unpredictable, wonderful surprises that a New Year can bring.

Start the New Year off right with this refreshingly sweet n’ spicy cocktail shot:

6 comments

29June

{Cocktails} 4 summer spirits for the 4th of July

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Shake things up this FOFourth with anything-but-ordinary summer spirits from FOF cocktail guru Cheryl Heisler. (Plus, have your own cocktail question for Cheryl? Ask it, here!)

What you'll need:
Ice
1 part grapefruit juice
1 part Pinot Grigio
Splash of Campari
Wine glasses

Preparation:
Prepare a large white wine glass with ice. Fill 1/2 with grapefruit juice, 1/2 with Pinot Grigio. Add a splash of Campari. Mix gently and enjoy.

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What you'll need:
Ice
Seasoned pepper
Sea salt
1 part scotch whiskey (Try "Scottish Leader" or another "peaty" flavored brand)
2 part Bloody Mary mix (medium spicy)
Highball glasses
Corn on the cob (for garnish)

Preparation:
Prepare lowball glasses by wetting the rim in a little water and then twisting them on a small plate with a mixture of sea salt and seasoned pepper. Fill with ice. Pour 1 part scotch whiskey into the glasses and roughly 2 parts Bloody Mary mix. Stir.
To garnish, oil and season an ear of corn on the cob. Grill until grill marks show. Remove from fire and slice horizontally into one inch disks, cutting a small notch in each disk. Allow corn to cool to room temperature then garnish the lip of each glass with a corn disk. (Note: garnish should be made in advance to allow for cooling time.)

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Note: If you make this as an individual drink, "1 part" should equal 1/4 oz.; keep the percentages the same and you can blend up a whole swarm at once!

What you'll need:
ice
1 part vodka
1 part gin
1 part light rum
1 part tequila
1 part triple sec
4 parts sweet and sour drink mix

Orange juice
Cherries (for garnish)
Pitcher or tall glass

Preparation:

In a shaker or blender, combine ice plus vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, and sweet and sour. Strain into a tall glass (or divide and strain mix equally into multiple glasses). Fill each glass to the top with orange juice. Garnish with a fresh stem-on cherry.

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What you'll need:
1 part Kahlua
1 part Bailey's Irish Crème
1 part white crème de cacao (you can also use dark crème de cacao -- the flavor will be the same, but the drink will retain more of a coffee color)
3 parts cream
Cocktail or martini glasses
Cinnamon sticks or whipped cream and shaved, dark chocolate (for garnish)

Preparation:
Pre-chill a stemmed cocktail or martini glass. In a shaker, combine Kahlua, Bailey's Irish Crème, crème de cacao and cream. Shake well. Strain into chilled glass. Garnish simply with a cinnamon stick, or, if you are feeling decadent, top with whipped cream and shaved, dark chocolate!