Quick Cinco de Mayo quiz: Where is the margarita more popular, the United States or Mexico? If you guessed the U.S. you win. Margaritas are the number one cocktail ordered in the U.S. In Mexico, the Paloma-- a combination of grapefruit soda, tequila, salt and lime juice -- is the mixed-drink of choice. But north of the border, margaritas reign supreme and, as you might guess, there's no day where margaritas are served more in this country than Cinco de Mayo.

Cinco de Mayo is sort of an odd holiday. Contrary to popular belief, it is NOT Mexican Independence Day -- that takes place in September. No, Cinco de Mayo is simply the commemoration of a battle where the French were defeated in Puebla. In Mexico it is not an official holiday and Puebla is really the only place where the day is observed.

This is not to say you shouldn't celebrate yourself. After all, there's a solid American tradition of embracing other countries' holidays as an excuse for a good happy hour (think of St. Patrick's Day). Plus the weather is so nice in May and there are really no other good party holidays until Memorial Day (yes, there's Mother's Day, but that's really more about brunch). So if you're looking for an excuse to be festive, then today is the day to break out the chips and guacamole and make a nice pitcher of margaritas.

To learn more about this classic Mexican cocktail and tequila itself, I interviewed a couple of experts. Dave Karraker works for SKYY Spirits in San Francisco, which distributes both Cabo Wabo and Espolón Tequila (plus he's a friend of a friend), so I figured he'd be a good person to speak with. I also asked Julian Limon Nunez, a colleague of my husband's whose family owns the Tequila El Viejito distillery in Guadalajara Mexico, to tell me a little bit about tequila.

So here's a little primer on margaritas and tequila for your Cinco de Mayo holiday. Enjoy and remember to call a cab for any friends who are celebrating with you.

Agave tequilana (blue agave). Photo credit: Kurt Stüber courtesy of GNU Free Documentation License

What's the difference between the various types of tequila?
First of all, tequila must be produced in very specific regions of Mexico to be allowed the "tequila" designation. Just as you can't call a sparkling wine champagne if it's not made in the Champagne region of France, you cannot call a spirit tequila if it is not made in Jalisco or a few other designated areas in Mexico.

There are two main categories of tequila.
100% agave -- This is a spirit made entirely from the agave plant.
Mixto -- This is a mixture of agave plus other ingredients which include grain alcohols and/or sugar and food coloring. It must be at least 51% agave to qualify as tequila.

Both Julian and Dave suggest avoiding mixtos if for no other reason than mixed alcohols give you a hangover. Plus the flavor is more harsh and, quite honestly, not all that great. If you've ever had a tequila that made you swear you'd never drink it again, chances are it was a mixto.

There are five types of 100% agave tequila:

• Blanco (silver) -- This tequila is not aged after it's been distilled and has an earthy agave flavor.
• Reposado -- Aged between 2months to a year, reposado tequilas offer a smooth taste without a lot of bite.
• Joven (gold) -- This is a combination of blanco and reposado and is a great choice for mixed drinks.
• Añejo -- Aged between one and three years in oak barrels, this is a sipping tequila. Like a fine Scotch or other aged spirits, it has a refined taste that is best appreciated on its own.
• Extra Añejo -- Aged for three years or more in oak barrels, this tequila is the highest quality available.

Which tequila should you use to make margaritas?
Both Julian and Dave recommend using blanco, joven or reposado tequila for making margaritas. Blanco will give your margarita more of a true agave flavor while reposado is for those who want a smoother taste. Joven is a nice balance between the two.

Don't use añejo and extra añejo as they are too refined to mix with citrus or really anything else and should be appreciated on their own. Plus they're a lot more expensive so it's a bit of a waste to use as an ingredient for a mixed drink.

Why do people salt their margarita glass?
According to Dave, salt opens up the taste buds and the palate, which aids in the tasting experience. Julian thinks the salt neutralizes the sweetness of the cocktail. He says that a lot of Mexican desserts are sweet and salty (like tamarind confections), and salting something sweet is common in Mexico. Plus the salt nicely accompanies the agave and lime flavors and enhances the overall margarita experience.

When salting a margarita glass, be sure to run a lime around the edge to moisten the lip so the salt sticks. Salting your margarita glass is really a personal choice. And, if the salt bugs you, then leave it off.

Should you add other liquors to your margarita?
There are two ways to infuse sweetness into your margarita, adding an orange liquor or including agave nectar or syrup. A recipe using each method is provided below.

Triple sec, Cointreau and Grand Marnier are often used to add a sophisticated orange sweetener to margaritas. They are commonly added in restaurant and bar drinks because they provide a smooth balance to the lime; they also make the drink more expensive.

If you prefer a natural agave flavor, then you can simply use an agave syrup, which naturally sweetens the drink and heightens the agave flavor, adding a complexity that other sweeteners diminish.

Margarita Recipes

And now for the part you've been waiting for, the actual recipes so you can get down to celebrating. I've included two margarita recipes here. The first is a Classic Margarita. Recommended by Dave, who says it's the recipe that Tommy's uses, it forgoes the orange liquor and instead relies on agave syrup. With only tequila, lime and agave this is a purist's drink. The second recipe uses Cointreau for a sweeter more refined flavor. Both are a great way to celebrate the day.

My favorite comment about Wise Sons' Saturday-only deli came from my sister, who wrote on Facebook, "Your grandfather, may he rest in peace, he didn't eat at delis that popped up. He married a balaboosta and SHE cooked for him."

Too true! Growing up, everything at our Passover Seders was made from scratch in my grandmother Fae's kitchen, from the gefilte fish to the brisket to the spongecake. (The exception was Passover brownies, which my 7-year-old self loved to whip up from the box of Manischewitz mix. My grandmother was a true balaboosta--Yiddish for perfect housewife & mother--and she knew how to keep a kid out of her hair when she was busy making chicken soup for 20.)

I had high hopes of finally making my own gefilte fish (chilled fish balls, typically made from carp, pike, and whitefish mixed with onion and matzoh meal and poached in fish stock, a kind of Mitteleuropa quenelle) from scratch this year. My mother even sent me the recipe she'd used, torn out of her well-splattered copy of From My Mother's Kitchen by longtime New York Times writer Mimi Sheraton. Time and deadlines, alas, will preclude this from happening for Monday's Seder, but sometime during the rest of the week, who knows? I could have a carp swimming in my bathtub yet.

Gefilte fish cupcake. Photo: J. Pollack Photography

However, you don't need to make your fish balls to present Stefani Pollack's fabulous (or terrifying) Gefilte Fish Cupcakes from The Cupcake Project. Just buy a jar of fish balls, mash them into a cupcake liner, and top with a big, tempting swirl of...wait! That's not strawberry icing, it's HORSERADISH WHIPPED CREAM! Oh, the horror. As my friend Molly said, just start saving for the kids' therapy now.

Passover, like Thanksgiving, only happens once a year, and so I've found that people really don't need something new and wild on the table, especially during the first two festive Seder nights. (The holiday itself goes on for 8 days, so I can understand that you might want to get a little crazy by the 5th or 6th night.) I can vouch for the deliciousness and complete ease of Gourmet's brisket recipe with one suggestion: Ditch the brisket, get the chuck roast. The weird, webby-stringy texture of brisket has always put me off, along with its tendency to dryness. Moist, slow-cooked chuck roast, by contrast, falls apart in perfectly succulent shreds at the poke of a fork. This is an especially good dish for Passover, because it's easily made ahead of time. In a heavy covered pot, it can keep warm in a slow oven for the time it takes to do the blessings and hide the afikomen.

I used to give myself major tsuris trying to reproduce the perfection that was Grandma Fae's spongecake, until I realized that, tradition aside, what everyone at my table really wanted was flourless chocolate cake, made with good chocolate, finely ground almonds, and lots of eggs whipped to fluffiness. This, plus strawberries, a few macaroons and maybe some jelly rings, is all anyone will have room for.

But what about after the Seder? A few days of leftovers, and then, it's a week of Atkins, with only matzoh and potatoes for starch, since all other kinds of bread and grains are forbidden during the holiday. By day five of crumbling tuna-on-matzoh sandwiches, I can well understand why Robin of Doves & Figs might want to soak her matzoh in wine before frying up a Drunken Passover Grilled Cheese.

And then, you probably want to get out of the house and let someone else do the cooking. If you're not strictly observant of the kosher-for-passover dietary laws, several Bay Area restaurants are doing menus this week inspired by Passover dishes from around the world (if by "around the world" we mean Italy.)

From April 19 through April 26, Delfina will be featuring its annual array of Passover-themed dishes. They're not doing a Seder, just adding a rotating selection of special seasonal items to the regular menu. Selections will change daily, but you can probably count on finding some kind of brisket, fried artichokes (a classic of Roman Jewish cuisine), veal tongue, chef-owner Craig Stoll's family recipe for matzoh ball soup, and an "edible Seder plate" with farm egg salad, charoset (apple-walnut dip) and lamb-shank crostini. (But going to Delfina while forgoing pasta? That would take more willpower than I can muster.)

Maror Cocktail. Photo courtesy of The Sipping Seder

And finally, let's not forget the required drinking. Yes, four glasses of wine are mandated at each Seder, but in between, why stick to Manischewitz (or even Baron Herzog) when you can knock back a beet-and-horseradish Maror cocktail instead? As Irwin Keller writes in his introduction to The Sipping Seder,

The seder asks us to retell the story of the exodus from Egypt as if we had been there in person. It’s hard to imagine enduring generations of slavery and a slew of plagues, only to flee our homes in the dead of night and run straight into the sea with the world’s fiercest army in hot pursuit. If we managed somehow to survive the experience, what would we do when at last we reached safety? Perhaps we lack the fortitude of our ancestors, but we can easily imagine being ready for a good stiff drink. Maybe two.

The six cocktails on the site, each of which corresponds to a ritual item on the Seder plate, are the inventions of Rob Corwin and Danny Jacobs. Even better, they're currently working with Umberto Gibin, co-owner of Perbacco, to debut the cocktails at the downtown restaurant during Passover. (To make your own, try searching out our local Distillery No. 209's kosher-for-passover gin, made with sugarcane instead of grain.

Perbacco will also be continuing its tradition of offering an Italian-style Passover meal cooked by executive chef Staffan Terje with former Square One chef and cookbook author Joyce Goldstein on the 3rd night of Passover, Wed., April 20.

Wise Sons is doing a pop-up Traditional Passover Seder at Coffee Bar Monday, April 18 and Tuesday April 19. Tuesday is sold out but reservations for Monday are still available. Saul's in Berkeley will be hosting a prix fixe Seder dinner on Friday, April 22, while Firefly in San Francisco's Noe Valley will turn its whole menu into a celebration of Passover dishes from April 18-26. Mission Beach Cafe will also offer a Passover dinner on April 25. Palio D'Asti is doing a "What Would Jesus Eat?" Holy Week mash-up from April 18-23, whipping up dishes from Italian Passover and Easter traditions.

And to that, l'chaim!

If you're purchasing a sparkling wine this holiday season, it's easy to keep it local. After all, some of the finest American choices are produced in our own backyard. Following is a list of my top-ten local sparkling wine choices. Half of these wineries are set in Carneros, an area that covers parts of both Sonoma and Napa Valley that is perfectly suited for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape growing (the two varietals most commonly used for sparkling wines). The other half are located in other parts of Napa, Sonoma and the Anderson Valleys.

As you'll see, some of these wineries are large and well-known, while others may not be as familiar to you. While creating this list I tried to include a variety of vintners, from multi-nationally owned estates to smaller family-owned wineries. When the information was available, I've included Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast ratings, as well as any major prizes won. For comparison's sake, you'll also find the least expensive bottle from each vintner listed. These are officially priced between $20 - $30, but I've seen many in stores for around $15. Obviously more expensive varieties are also available if your budget allows.

So keep it festive and local this New Year's Eve, but most of all, stay safe.

Note: I'm avoiding using the term "champagne" as it's only allowed for French wines made in the Champagne region. All the wines below are produced in the same way that champagne is created -- by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of the wine to effect carbonation.

Sonoma

Gloria Ferrer
Gloria Ferrer is a standard-bearer for California sparkling wines. According to Wine Spectator, “Gloria Ferrer reliably produces some of California's best sparkling wines.” I had some on Christmas day and can attest to its festiveness. The Sonoma Brut, which is dominated by Pinot Noir, has a 90 2009 Wine Spectator ranking and is priced around $20.

Domaine Carneros
Established in 1987 by Champagne Tattinger, Domaine Carneros is an organic certified winery. They focus on making three traditional styles of sparkling wine: Brut, Brut Rosé and Blanc de Blancs. With consistent rankings in the 90s from both Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, Domaine Carneros provides reliably excellent sparkling wines. Their 2006 Brut Cuvée Sparkling Wine made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay gets a 91 Wine Spectator ranking and costs $26 a bottle.

Iron Horse
A small family-owned winery, Iron Horse has been producing sparkling wines for over 30 years. Wine & Spirits Magazine named them Sparkling Winery of the Year nine times and their wines have been served in the White House since Reagan first had it served to Gorbachev. Their Classic Brut, which is 3/4 Pinot Noir and 1/4 Chardonnay, sells for a little over $30 a bottle with typical Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast ratings in the 90s.

J Vineyards & Winery
I like this winery for a few different reasons. The first (and biased) reason is that it is owned and run by a woman (Judy Jordan), which seems like a rarity in the wine industry. They are also dedicated to sustainable farming practices. And, because taste does matter, it's good to note their Brut Rose was the Sparkling Sweepstakes Winner at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition earlier this year. Their J Cuvée 20 Brut NV sells for $20 a bottle.

Schug Carneros Estate
Founded in 1980, Schug is a family-owned winery. They are dedicated to sustainable winemaking practices, finding the most environmentally friendly and efficient way of growing the grapes, and creating habitats for various bird species (which I really love). Their Rouge de Noirs Sparkling Pinot is $30 a bottle.

Napa

Domaine Chandon
If you're looking for something distinctly French, Domaine Chandon is a great local choice. Founded in 1973 by Moët -– the champagne winery -– it was the first French-owned sparkling wine venture in the United States. Consistently ranked in the 90s by both Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator, Domaine Chandon provides a classic sparkling wine choice. The Brut Classic, which has a 90 point Wine Enthusiast 2009 ranking, is priced at about $20.

Mumm Napa
Located in Rutherford along the Silverado Trail in the Napa Valley, and started by the French G.H. Mumm company (one of the largest champagne producers in the world), Mumm Napa is one of the largest local sparkling wine producers. Their Brut Prestige, priced at about $20, ranks 89 for Wine Spectator and 90 for Wine Enthusiast.

Schramsberg Vineyards
Located in Calistoga, Schrambsberg Vineyards is the oldest sparkling wine vineyard in California and is also a certified Napa Green winery. Consistently ranking well for both Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, Schrambsberg is a great local choice. A bottle of Mirabelle multi-vintage brut costs a bit over $20.

Anderson Valley

Scharffenberger Cellars
Scharffenberger Cellars is one of the largest sparkling wine producer in the Anderson Valley. With a history that includes being previously owned by John Scharffenberger of Scharffenberger chocolate fame. Scharffenberger Non Vintage Brut received a gold medal from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition earlier this year. Their Brut is 2/3 Pinot Noir and 1/3 Chardonnay grapes and sells for just under $20 a bottle.

Roederer Estate
Set in the Anderson Valley, Roederer Estates is the California branch of the French company Champagne Louis Roederer, which has been making champagne for over 200 years. In 2009, Wine Spectator Magazine gave their Brut NV a Recommended – Top Wine ranking. It sells for about $20 a bottle.

It's almost New Years Eve, and you know what that means -- a lot of folks will be getting their drink on. If you have a gluten sensitivity, it doesn't mean you need to miss the revelry. A lot of hard alcohol is naturally gluten-free, and for those not into hitting the hard stuff, there are quite a lot of companies making gluten-free beer and cider.

Gluten-Free Liquor Selection
Most hard alcohols don't contain gluten, so if you prefer to make mixed drinks, you're in luck! Here is a list of alcohols that are generally gluten-free and safe to consume if you have a gluten sensitivity. Note: Product recipes can and do change, and some brands may add caramel coloring to their liquors, which may contain gluten. Be sure to check the label before imbibing! Only you can be responsible for your gluten intake.

• Absinthe
• Bourbon
• Brandy
• Cognac
• Gin
• Grand Marnier
• Grenadine
• Jägermeister
• Kahlua
• Mead
• Ouzo
• Rum
• Sherry
• Southern Comfort
• Tequila
• Triple Sec
• Vermouth
• Vodka
• Whisky

Gluten-Free Champagne
The traditional drink of the evening for New Years Eve is Champagne or sparkling white wine, but is it gluten-free? Traditionally, sparkling wines are not made with any gluten-y ingredients, so it is usually safe to consume. As with any food or beverage, you should still check with a manufacturer before buying a bottle to double-check that they haven't added any non-standard ingredients to their product.

Gluten-Free Beer
A great default drink if you're just looking to have a mellow night is beer. Anyone with a gluten sensitivity will tell you that beer is a sore point -- until recently, gluten-free beer options were few and far between. These days, there are almost too many varieties to count! Here are a few of the best gluten-free beers, at least a few of which you should be able to find in most large natural grocery stores:

• Green's
• New Grist
• Redbridge
• O'Brien
• Glutaner
• Bard's
• Rampano Valley
• Mission Amber

Gluten-Free Cider
Cider is a lot of people's drink of choice, since it's sweet and relatively low alcohol. Standard ciders often contain caramel coloring or other gluten-y additives, so it's important to check the label before drinking cider. The following brands are know to contain no gluten products, and have proven safe to drink in the past:

• Ace Cider
• Blackthorn
• Blue Mountain
• Cider Jack
• Fox Barrel
• Magner's
• Newton's Folly
• Original Sin
• Spire Mountain
• Strongbow
• Woodchuck Granny Smith
• Wyder's

Where Can You Buy Gluten-Free Beer and Cider?
Here in the Bay Area, we're lucky enough to be surrounded by shops that provide a huge selection of gluten-free products. Here are a handful of places you'll find a variety of gluten-free alcohol beverages. When you shop, be sure to let the manager know you appreciate the fact that they stock gluten-free products!

The Wine Mine
5427 Telegraph Ave, Ste D1
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 547-9463

Mollie Stone's Market
Mollie Stone's supermarket has eight locations around the bay, and each location carries a good selection of gluten-free beer and cider.

Whole Foods Market
With locations all around the Bay Area, there is probably a Whole Foods near you.

Take Care!
No matter what you're drinking, don't forget to take care of yourself by eating a big meal early in the evening and drinking lots of water throughout the night. And if you wake up with the obligatory hangover on New Years Day, there are always hangover cures to help through.

Happy New Year!

Boozy Eggnog. Photo Credit: Kelly Carambula, Eat Make Read

Admit it. We've all been there. You want to do something different than champagne and you can't bear to look at another pomegranate cocktail. Where to turn? What to do? Well my family's a big drinking family around the holidays and between the five of us, lots of tipple research occurs. I wanted to share with you today a few recipes that are easy to throw together in a pinch. Perfect for unexpected company or those looming late night gift-wrapping marathons.

1) The Old Pal: How can you not love a drink that's named The Old Pal? And even better: it's a strong whiskey, Campari, Vermouth blend reminiscent of a Manhattan that takes less than 5 minutes to shake up. CHOW introduced us to it recently, and we've been enjoying them ever since. For a long night with the relatives, this is the one to turn to. Guaranteed to loosen everyone up.

2) Bourbon Gingersnap: Real Simple's Bourbon Gingersnap is the perfect warm-me-up cocktail for a night in at home. And there's something seemingly healthy about its blend of fresh juices, grated ginger, bourbon and honey that helps assuage the guilt of overimbibing.

3) Boozy Eggnog: Kelly Carambula's blog, Eat Make Read, is always a winning resource for fresh, seasonal cocktails (she posts a new one each Friday) and this past week she rocked the spiked eggnog. It's not quite homemade--it's really store-bought eggnog with a glug of whiskey and a few spices, but it's a busy time of year and this does the trick for me.

4) The Poinsettia: The Kitchn posted a simple holiday recipe for a champagne-based cocktail made with a little cranberry juice and Cointreau. It takes all of ten seconds to throw together, is pretty and festive, and has holiday written all over it.

5) Tea-Spiked Cocktails: Impress the neighbors this year with something a little new from Ready Made Magazine: a variety of great drinks made with tea. The La Valencia, made with lemon, chamomile-infused rye whiskey, and sherry is my personal favorite.

6) Blood Orange Punch: O.k., o.k., I turn to Martha not just for baking advice. She has mean cocktail ideas, too. And this year was no exception. We generally do some version of heavily-spiked punch at Thanksgiving because it works well for larger crowds and it's easy to manage. The Blood Orange punch appealed to the young and old this year: not too sweet and not too strong. When a punch is in order, this is a safe and delicious bet.

7) Vita Coca Crantini: Coconut Juice is all the rage these days and recently In Style Magazine decided to add a little vodka, frozen cranberries, and cranberry juice to the refreshing tropical juice and call it a day. The result is a martini that's almost creamy, bright, and crisp. I'd never thought about using coconut water as a mixer before stumbling upon this recipe, and now I'm hooked.

8) Hot Peppermint Patty: When you've had enough of the eggnog and fruity cocktails, sometimes a spiked hot chocolate is in order. And Bon Appetit's version is to die for: With whole milk, bittersweet chocolate and crème de cacao, it's the perfect indulgent drink for a rainy winter night. I love making these after dinner when friends are just sitting around chatting. We do them with a little whiskey or kahlua (or both).

9) Hot Toddy: You can't talk about spiked holiday cocktails without mentioning the Hot Toddy. That just wouldn't be right. And for those of you who have lived in states with real, bitter winters -- you know the magic of a Hot Toddy come February. But even here in the Bay Area, nothing sounds better to me on occasion, and Jamie Oliver's recipe is my favorite due to his addition of malt powder and real vanilla pods. This one takes a little more time, but it's absolutely worth it in the end. A keeper in my holiday cocktail arsenal.

10) Hot Mulled Spiked Cider: Elise's recipe for hot apple cider over at Simply Recipes is really quite perfect. She uses a blend of allspice berries, cloves, and cardamom pods. While I realize these aren't necessarily ingredients you have laying around the kitchen at all times, with a little pre-planning this cider is a special treat guests won't forget. Elise mentions adding rum, bourbon, or brandy to spike it. I also think Tuaca would be nice.

What did we miss? What are you favorite holiday cocktails that you enjoy and rely on year after year?

There's nothing I crave more than a steaming cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter's day. This is especially true during the holiday season, when cooking with whole milk and whipped cream seems de rigueur. Once November hits, I give up all hope for eating a low-fat diet until January. Between apple and pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving, eggnog in December, and all the cookies I'll eat at Christmas, what's the point in cutting back on calories?

But as long as we're indulging, why not throw in some adult libations as well? Of course there is the standard Peppermint Schnapps for a tried and true candy-cane flavored holiday aperitif, but what about some amaretto, Frangelico or whiskey to liven things up? Or, as Fred McMurray says in the classic Double Indemnity, "I wonder if a little rum would get this up on its feet?"

When making festive hot chocolate, think about your favorite holiday bonbons. Kirsch makes for a drink that mimics my favorite Christmas treat, chocolate-covered cherries, while Kahlua makes it taste like a coffee truffle. But it's your drink, so add in whatever liqueur or alcohol you'd like.

Some general guidelines when making hot chocolate are:
• It's best when made with old-school ingredients. Forget skim milk and packaged hot cocoa mixes (or even worse, a packet of Swiss Miss in a cup of hot water, God Forbid!). Real hot chocolate needs full fat milk, and if you're feeling really festive, some half and half or a bit of cream.
• Use dark chocolate. As you're adding in whole milk and cream, there's no need to use milk chocolate (even if that's your favorite) because the sugar and milk products you'll add will lighten and dilute anything you use.
• For a superior beverage use high-quality chocolate.

And speaking of good quality dark chocolate, we have some amazing local hot chocolate and cocoa choices, including:

• Ricchiutti -- Dark Hot Chocolate Pistoles
• Charles Chocolates -- Signature Hot Chocolate - Original Dark
• Williams-Sonoma – This store has a few products, but the one I've tried is a tin of their chocolate shavings, which is lovely. Williams-Sonoma Hot Chocolate
• Tcho -- Hot and Cold Drinking Chocolate

So now that it's December, it's time to curl up in a chair with a steamy cup of spiked hot chocolate. What will you add to your drink?

Spiked Hot Chocolate

Makes: 2 servings

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk (or ½ whole milk and ½ half and half for a really rich beverage)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped or ½ cup your favorite chopped chocolate
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 oz liqueur or whiskey

Preparation:

1. Chop chocolate into small pieces.

2. Heat milk in a sauce pan on medium-low heat, being sure not to let it boil over.

3. There are two ways to melt the chocolate:

• Place the chocolate pieces in a metal bowl that will fit securely over your sauce pan. Reduce the heat for the milk to a low simmer and then place the bowl on top of the pan. Stir until the chocolate is melted.
• Place chocolate pieces in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir chocolate to help distribute the heat. If chocolate has not thoroughly melted, heat for another 20 seconds and repeat until chocolate is melted through.

4. Add chocolate to the heated milk along with the sugar and vanilla extract and stir thoroughly to incorporate everything together. I like to use a whisk, which creates some froth.

5 Top with whipped cream.

6. Serve.

Twilight, True Blood, and Vampire Diaries are just three of the newest examples of how vampires refuse to go dustily into that good night. And they're also why I found myself researching and writing VampireSmarts ("The Question & Answer Game that makes learning about Vampires before dating them easy & fun!") and digging up some of the wildest information about vampires a few years ago.

According to Rosemary Ellen Guiley's book The Complete Vampire Companion, there is some guy named Damien Vanian who is living la vida muerte in London. Damien Vanian, aside from having a name that's the undead equivalent of Amelia Bedelia, is supposedly "London's most famous living vampire." I didn't learn a whole lot about the guy, but I did learn that he came up with a blood substitute recipe.

There Will NOT Be Blood*

1 part tomato juice
1 part orange juice

Additional tasting notes on this recipe are that you should drink this cocktail warm -- ideally 98.6°F, because that's body temperature. Also, Vanian believes this effectively mimics both the taste and appearance of clotting blood, so you get all the blood bang without the worries of coming down with the Black Plague. Oh, yeah, that's another fun fact I learned when researching vampires: don't drink human blood. Not only can it be bubbling with bacteria and diseases, it might also act as an emetic.

I should note that since my primary source was published about 16 years ago, I have no idea if this guy is still living (or still living-dead, as it were), so if this concoction makes you vomit, don't blame me.

(*Trademark me. Damien-Banana-Fanna-Fo-Vanian did not come up with that cool-ass name.)

Now, if you're totally grossed out by that drink, but still feel the need to ape the vampiric lifestyle, consider stocking your bar with these delicious blood-like beverages:

• Clamato, cranberry, and pomegranate juice: those health-improving antioxidents are very important, even to vampires.
• Red wine: try a bottle of something from Vampire Vineyards. Because it means "blood of Jove," I'm sad they no longer make a Sangiovese.
• Mineral water: helps thin out the tomato-based drinks and brings a little sparkle back into your life.
• Bloody Mary mix: duh.

It was that rarest of all rare birds, a San Francisco summer day that started warm and stayed that way through sunset and into dusk. Indeed, last Wednesday evening was balmy as Brooklyn, a day for sundresses and sandals, popsicles and a tall cool drink after dark. Inside the dim environs of Bourbon & Branch, it was downright tropical, with a sweaty summer heat not even a couple of jumbo-sized fans could mitigate.

Still, no one at the launch party for Left Coast Libations: The Art of West Coast Bartending: 100 Original Cocktails was complaining. After months of miserable chilly fog, it was finally, finally tank-top weather, just for a night. Against a backdrop of flocked wallpaper, rows of books, and gleaming liquor bottles, Ted Munat and his co-author Michael Lazar were making the rounds of the room, showing off copies of their brand-new, self-published paen to the West Coast's most inventive bartenders.

Now a snappy, 160-page hardcover, the book started out as something more like a church cookbook, a little self-produced tome created by Munat and his brother Charles, with a handful of bartenders' bios alongside recipes for their favorite original creations. Munat, who blogs about cocktail culture at Le Mixeur, passed around the first version at Tales of the Cocktail, the boozy New Orleans celebration & cocktail conference. Naturally, the bartenders loved to read about themselves. The only problem was the recipes; while other pros could usually decipher the often cryptic instructions, the average guy with a shaker and a bag of ice wasn't going to get a good-tasting drink out of these jottings. Enter Michael Lazar, a high-tech guy turned cocktail obsessive, who jumped in to spend some 2 years testing and refining the recipes to make them workable even for amateurs.

Then again, this is definitely a bartenders' book for bartenders. As a snapshot of a particular moment in cocktail culture, it's invaluable. And in a few years, just like the outfits in Flashdance or the haircuts in Liquid Sky, it will be a cautionary tale, an artifact of a sleeve-gartered, molecular-mixology, pre-Prohibition-obsessed post-post modernism where bitters reigned, gin ruled, St. Germain elderflower liqueur flowed, no one ever asked for a Cosmo or a vodka tonic, and recipes for Smoked Cider Air, Basil Foam, and (yes, really) Smoked Ice were given with complete sincerity.

And then there's the Thomas Keller factor: just like hot-shot chefs, top-shelf bartenders often have the freedom (and budget) to ferret out obscure liquors and create labor-intensive, in-house garnishes and flavorings. A glossary with sourcing information would be very helpful; instead, if you don't already have bottles of Velvet Falernum and Amaro Montenegro in your cocktail cabinet, it can take a close reading of the notes attached to specific cocktail recipes to figure out what they are or how to find them.

However, for those wondering what cocktails tasted like before artificially colored, high-fructose corn-syruped mixtures took over, the back-of-the-book appendix is very useful, with recipes for all kinds of cool stuff from the basic (grenadine syrup, Earl Grey tea-infused gin) to the nifty (banana-flavored rum, agave ginger syrup, strawberry tequila, thai chili tincture) to the fancy-pants (maple syrup gastrique, saffron sharbat, pear foam).

The cocktails, photographed by Jenn Farrington, glow with promise. They all seem to be what Raymond Chandler describes as "the first quiet drink of the evening in a quiet bar -- that's wonderful," in his perfect LA noir, The Long Goodbye. (The same character later insists that, "A real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's Lime Juice and nothing else. They beat martinis hollow.")

The writing, well, it's bloggy. Every bartender is a star, and Munat uses every slangy superlative (and then some) to make sure the reader knows what fantastic craftsmen, artists, and all-around bon vivants/shy geniuses/supermentors these guys are. (And yes, they are almost all guys. Out of some 50 bartenders, only 6 are women, and 4 of them--Brooke Arthur, Jennfer Colliau, Christine D'Abrosca, and Jackie Patterson-- work in San Francisco.) How much you can take of this kind of hero worship may depend on how much of your happiness depends on getting that perfect Negroni, Corpse Reviver, or Blood and Sand.

Then again, those Saffron Sandalwood Sours were awfully good. Cheers to the West Coast, and may your mustache never lose its twirl, nor your sleeve garters their snap.

Saffron Sandalwood Sour. Photography © Jenn Farrington 2010

Saffron Sandalwood Sour
Created by Anu Apte of Seattle's Rob Roy. Recipe adapted from Left Coast Libations.

1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz Saffron Sharbat (see below)
1 barspoon Angostura bitters
1 egg white
Sandalwood, for garnish

1. Using a cocktail shaker, dry shake all the ingredients except for the sandalwood.

2. Add ice and shake again. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

3. To garnish, sprinkle powdered sandalwood over the top of the drink. You can also grind sandalwood chips in a spice grinder, sifting the result through a fine strainer to lay a "dusting" over the top of the drink.

Saffron Sharbat
Makes enough for 16 cocktails, but keeps indefinitely. It can also be used to make a refreshing non-alcoholic drink with fresh lime juice and sparkling water.

1 tbsp boiling water
1/4 tsp saffron threads
1 1/4 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup rosewater

1. Crush saffron threads between your thumb and forefinger. Bring 1 tbsp water to a boil, the add saffron to the hot water. Let saffon steep for 15 minutes.

2. Mix 1 1/4 cups water and sugar in a small, heavy saucepan. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

3. Add rosewater and saffron mixture to sugar syrup.

4. Simmer over medium heat for five minutes.

5. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer to a jar or plastic container and store, covered, in the refrigerator.

The San Francisco Launch Party for Left Coast Libations will be held at Heaven's Dog, 1148 Mission St, S.F. on Sept. 18th at 9pm.

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors is considering imposing a fee on alcoholic beverages, which would go to pay for programs associated with alcohol abuse. But critics say the fee would burden businesses in already tough economic times.

Host: Michael Krasny

Guests:

• John Avalos, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
• Rich Higgins, brewmaster at Social Kitchen And Brewery and president of the San Francisco Brewers Guild

I started watching The Big C last week. With Laura Linney as the lead and a tagline of "Grab Life by the Balls," how could I not love this show? The gist (without giving anything away) is that the main character finds out she has cancer and begins to lead a much less structured, sensible life. One night she deliberately pours red wine over the expensive sofa she'd previously obsessed over and at dinner one night with her husband, proclaims "I'm only having liquor and desserts." I knew I'd love this show. A woman after my own heart.

So this week--I bring you liquor and desserts in the form of boozy milkshakes. What's not to love about a thick, simple shake spiked with your favorite booze? I actually experimented and made more of these than I care to admit, but I'm sharing my two favorites with you today. One will appeal to all of you simple vanilla folks out there and the other will call to you chocolate, coffee, butterscotch types. The yin and the yang of the 'liquor and desserts' world. It's kind of perfect timing seeing that summer has finally decided do descend in, oh, the end of August. Right when school's back in session and fall clothes appear in shop windows--that's when summer decides to show its face in the Bay Area. But we'll take it. It's all good. And even better with boozy milkshakes.

Laying out the Ingredients for the Whiteout Milkshake

Let's start with what I'll call the Whiteout Milkshake. I have a fondness for really fabulous vanilla ice cream. It's obviously great plain, on top of berry pies or right beside a piece of chocolate birthday cake. Well it turns out, it's also the perfect base for a boozy shake.

Scooping Vanilla Ice Cream

Häagen-Dazs happens to be my favorite vanilla. What's yours? I like that you can actually see the vanilla flecks throughout. I was shocked to discover that yes, indeed, it takes an entire pint of ice cream to make a single shake. But let's not spend too much time contemplating that minor detail--just think of all the calcium!

The Whiteout Milkshake

And here you have it. We mixed up some premium ice cream, a little Kahlua, some Stoli Vanilla Vodka and just a touch of milk and topped it with a generous portion of canned whipped cream. There's something very diner-y and perfect about canned whipped cream that seemed fitting for these shakes.

Laying out the Spiked Malted Coffee Ingredients

Now the next milkshake is essentially the polar opposite. It's edgy and dark. It has very different flavor profiles that somehow compliment each other perfectly. It has bourbon. Enough said.

Scooping and Blending : On Our Way!

Mix in a bit of bourbon, some malted milk powder, coffee ice cream (or feel free to use chocolate if you like) and top with whipped cream and butterscotch sauce. Seriously, kind of magical.

Voila: Spiked Malted Coffee Milkshake

Below you'll find both recipes. The nice thing about going the liquor and desserts route is that you can't really go wrong. If you're a big Bailey's fan, throw some in. Love Irish Cream? Add it. A good rule of thumb is to work slowly, taste as you go, and--like me--you just might find some new summertime favorites.

The Whiteout Milkshake

If you just have plain vodka on hand, that will work just fine. And I add the milk slowly and don't use all that much because I like my shakes rather thick. Feel free to add another splash so the consistency is to your liking.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream (essentially, 1 pint)
1-2 Tbsp. whole milk
1 oz. Stoli Vanilla Vodka
1/2 oz. Kahlua

Method:
Blend together, top with whipped cream, and serve immediately.

Makes: 1 generous shake

Spiked Malted Coffee Milkshake
Ingredients:
1 1/5 cups coffee ice cream
2 Tbsp. malted milk powder (like Ovaltine)
1 oz. bourbon
1-2 Tbsp. milk

Method:
Blend together, top with whipped cream, and serve immediately.

Makes: 1 generous shake.