New Year's -

by Emily

Back on the Health Train: Red Kale & Quinoa Salad

Red Kale Quinoa Salad

Well, it’s time… all of us who overate and overdrank during the holidays (probably everyone reading this, right?) now turns toward the new year with dreams of doing better. Eating better. Being better. And you know what that means… salad. Lots and lots of salad. Luckily, if anyone knows how to make salad not totally depressing, it’s me. And famed Texas chef David Bull, apparently.

This is a recipe I enjoyed in the finishers village after the Fit Foodie 5K in Austin in September 2014. I liked it so much I asked the event organizer if I could share the recipe with all of you. They graciously agreed, so now we can all make this kale salad together and try to wash away those blurry eggnog memories.

Red Kale & Quinoa Salad

by BS

Cocktail O’Clock: A Greener Bloody Mary

(Photo courtesy of Noah Fecks)

When you’re in your 20s you spend the week before New Year’s planning out your drinking schedule for the big night.

When you’re in your 30s you’re more concerned with how you’ll treat the hangover the next day.

Fortunately, we’ve got that one solved for you. Putting a Southern spin on America’s favorite brunch cocktail, the Green Bloody Mary mixes up Ole Smokey Moonshine corn whiskey with tomatillos, pickles, and plenty of spice for a New Year’s Day drink that will kick your 2015 into high gear.

Green Bloody Mary

6 tomatillos
1 dill pickle
3 garlic cloves
2 yellow heirloom tomatoes
1 serrano chili (seeds remove)
1 oz. Ole Smoky Original Moonshine
1 1?2 tablespoon preserved lemon
1?2 teaspoon each sugar, salt and pepper
Juice of 1?2 lime
3 dashes Tabasco

In a blender, puree ingredients. Fill glass with ice and strain in blended mixture.

To salt rim of glass: Put 1 tablespoon each salt, pepper, sugar and Aleppo pepper (optional) in a saucer. Wet rim with lime wedge, dab in saucer.

*Cocktail recipe courtesy of Distilled NYC

by BS

And the Beat Goes on…

I know, I know. You guys are only just picking up the pieces from Christmas, shaking off your candy cane martini hangovers, and surfing in the desperate hopes that you will never have to go back to work again. But I”m sorry, it”s time.

No, not time to start talking New Years resolutions (I wouldn”t do that to you yet) but time to start talking New Years drinking.

So…what”s on your menu this year? Here are a few ideas from the ES archives to get you started.

1. Champagne in a Can? Oh Yes You Can

2. Champagne plus ice cream = yes

3. Cocktail O”Clock: New Year”s Gin

(Photo Above)

1½ parts Hendrick’s Gin
½ part St. Germain
¾ part lime juice
¼ part simple syrup
1½ part soda water
1 dash lavender
Cucumber spear

Mix all ingredients excluding soda water and cucumber spear. Ice, shake well and strain into iced long glass and top with soda. Garnish with cucumber spear and serve in a long glass.

in Drinks / Holiday 0 comments

by Emily

Getting Real About New Year’s Resolutions

Well, another year has flown by and now it’s 2012. For many people, this means it’s time to put those New Year’s resolutions into action. Many classic goals involve improving exercise and diet habits. While we would like to support these resolutions in theory, let’s get real. People make the same resolutions year after year because they never stick! Instead of the tried-and-true, tried-and-failed resolutions of yore, we’ve come up with suggestions to spice up your eating and drinking in 2012… and yeah, be a little healthier, too.

Here’s a look at the four classic New Year’s eating/drinking resolutions…and the ES fixes

1. Drink Less Alcohol

What? No. We can’t even to begin to explain why this plan is destined to fail. But for starters, let’s get real, we even infuse our popsicles with booze. So… come on.

ES Says: Vow to try new alcohols. We’ve all had vodka, but have you tried akavit? Lillet? Aperol? Or, learn to love an alcohol you don’t like. Maybe you had a bad experience with gin in college, but it’s time to give your least favorite spirit the ol’… college try.

in Holiday / Lists / Personal 3 comments

by Russell Warnick

New Year’s Food Resolutions for the Beginner and the Brave

Once the holiday season is over and we’ve finished indulging in turkey, ham and stacks of gifts, there are slightly less exciting things to look forward to: resolutions. We are all forced to make them, and of course we’ll eventually break them before January is out. But in the spirit of all things new again, here are some New Year’s resolutions for both the beginner and brave food lovers.

Tell us how you will resolve to make 2011 a better food year.

New Year’s Food Resolutions: The Beginner

By Brit

Try Something New
Skip the #34 Kung Pao Chicken and choose something new, something that scares you, something that’s blue.

Meatless Monday
It’s no secret that we’re a fan of Sid Lerner, the pioneer of Meatless Monday. For one day a week you can avoid meat and eat a little healthier, save a little cash and reduce your carbon footprint.

Cook More
I love eating out as much as the next person, but there’s nothing more satisfying than cooking and enjoying your own meal.

in Holiday 2 comments

by Roo de Loo

What to Drink on New Year's Eve? Make it Rare

We”re not usually huge wine snobs here at ES, but New Year”s Eve is that one night when you can”t show up to the party with a jug of Carlo Rossi and expect everyone to cheer. And sometimes even Champagne in a can isn”t enough to impress. So we”ve asked a genuine vino expert to share some tips on how to kick your NYE wine selection up just a little bit.

I recently stumbled across MCF Rare Wine, Ltd., a bespoke wine shop in Manhattan”s West Village offering a carefully chosen collection of wines and an unapologetic attitude that emphasizes old-fashioned customer service and honesty. You won’t find a bottle of Sutter Home or Yellow Tail here, nor the obligatory hard liquor mini-bottles for your next flight. What you will witness is owner Matt Franco researching the next great find, unpacking a delivery, printing shelf labels, sweeping the front stoop—and if you’re really lucky—offering his soft-spoken but decidedly opinionated take on any of the eighty or so wines that adorn the tiny shop. Matt offers ES-ers an inside track for that perfect New Year’s bottle that will ensure 2011 is a year to remember:

ES: Last year everyone recognized my cheap bottle of Prosecco, in spite of the foil bag and curly ribbon. Their reaction—“Oh, I’ve had that before (sigh).” Thoughts for a special bubbly that won’t break the bank?
MCF: Domaine Taille aux Loups Montlouis Petillant “Triple Zero” NV $25
Winemaker Jacky Blot does some amazing stuff in the Loire Valley in France and this is one of his most interesting creations. Made from fully ripe Chenin Blanc grapes, the “Triple Zero” refers to the fact that there is no sugar added at any of the three traditional times during production. Crisp, aromatic and expressive, this is more interesting than Prosecco and more wallet-friendly than Champagne.

in Drinks / Holiday 1 comments