Golden Autumn

Day 5
On the fifth day of Christmas my bartender made for me one golden cocktail....

This drink is yummy; basically to me anything with bourbon is going to be delicious. Some people might be wondering what St Germain is. It's an elderflower liqueur that is sweet in taste.

I find it to sweet so I usually cut down the amount the recipe calls for, then add more, to taste, at the end. In this drink the sour lime is supposed to counteract the sweet St Germain, resulting in a balanced, perfect drink.


Golden Autumn
2 oz bourbon
1/2-1 oz St Germain
3/4 oz (splash) of fresh lime juice
bitters

Shake all ingredients except bitters. Strain into ice filled glass. Top with two dashes Angostrua bitters.



Previous Cocktails:
Day 1: Bourbon Pear Cocktail
Day 2: Mistletoe Kiss
Day 3: Coco Chanel Cocktail
Day 4: Coco Snowball

Coco Snowball

Day 4
On the fourth day of Christmas my bartender made for me, a drink blue and snowy.....

If you like coconut and Piña Coladas you will love this drink. It calls for Coco Lopez, something I'd never heard of. It was actually easy to find. I bought mine at the liquor store in the mixer aisle as well as my local grocery store in the same place. It's basically the inside of a coconut. When I opened the can the oil was separated from the solid coconut meat. I poured in in a bowl and whisked it up. It stays solid after that. If you can't find Coco Lopez a can of coconut milk will be a fine substitute.


Coco Snowball
2 oz vodka
2 oz Malibu Rum
2 oz Coco Lopez
1/4 oz Blue Curacao

Line rime of glass with agave (or honey), roll in flaked coconut.

Shake all ingredients, strain into serving glass and enjoy!


Source: The Breakers Wedding Blog


Previous Cocktails:
Day 1: Bourbon Pear Cocktail
Day 2: Mistletoe Kiss
Day 3: Coco Chanel Cocktail

Coco Chanel Cocktail

Day 3
On the third day of Christmas my bartender made for me, a drink so fancy and creamy....

This drink will definitely appeal to females. It's like a coffee chocolate cocktail. So good. This drink didn't last long; it was gone pretty quickly between myself and my MIL. The funny thing is that I'm not a big fan of Kahlúa but I really liked this drink.

Coco Chanel
2 oz gin
2 oz Kahlúa
2 oz cream

Shake all ingredients, strain into glass. Sprinkle with cinnamon and/or nutmeg if desired.




Previous Cocktails:
Day 1: Bourbon Pear Cocktail
Day 2: Mistletoe Kiss

Mistletoe Kiss

Day 2
On the second day of Christmas my bartender made for me, a love cocktail for me and my sweetie....

I love pomegranate juice so when I saw this drink I knew I had to try it. It's tart from the pomegranate juice and I drizzled some agave on top & stirred it in to balance out the tartness. But some people like tart drinks so the agave isn't necessary. It's all up to personal taste & preference.

Mistletoe Kiss
3 oz vodka
2 oz pomegranate juice
splash (~1/4 oz) fresh lime juice
splash of grenadine (opt; gives the drink a deeper red color)

Shake all with ice; strain into glass & serve

Source: Stoli via Intoxicology

Previous Cocktails:
Day 1: Bourbon Pear Cocktail

Bourbon Pear Cocktail

Day 1
One the first day of Christmas, my bartender made for me a drink so pear-licious and
bourbon-y ....

If you are like me and love bourbon this drink is for you. I never knew you could buy pear nectar; or the nectar of any fruit. I found mine in the juice aisle, right by the refrigerated single juices (like odwalla, naked, POM, etc). I was mixing it with other liquors to try. So be on the look out for pear nectar in upcoming posts.

Bourbon Pear & Ginger Cocktail
1 oz bourbon
3 oz pear nectar
Agave, to taste

Stir in ice filled glass; drizzle with agave, to taste (1 tsp-1 Tbl)
Rosemary sprig for garnish



Source: slightly adapted from kitchen serendipity

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

My goodness how time flies. It seems like just last week Mr.Surly and I were moving up north. We're still (2 months later) in the process of slowly unpacking and settling in. It's hard to do when I have dr appointments, and now physical therapy appointments, to go to. I rarely know the date or even what day of the week it is. All I know is my phone alerts me when I have appointments.

With that said, I didn't realize how close we are to the end of November. This year will be my 3rd annual "12 Cocktails of Christmas." Needless to say, I better get busy as bartender! This is my favorite group of posts to do each year. This year is no different. I picked out some pretty good drinks, I think; I won't know for sure until I taste-test them.

I doubt I'll have time for any food posts. I really haven't been cooking. Dinner is usually edamame steamed in the pod with granola or something similarly easy. Besides, I need to get up these cocktail posts so everyone has a happy *hicup* holiday season.

Makeup Maven

Good lord, have I been a bad blogger. Ever since my move up north a few weeks ago, it has been non-stop doctor appts. I am currently undergoing treatment for a nerve block to see if that will help my pain. I had my first dose Thurs. Let me tell you it hurt worse than my venogram. And they put the ultra sound screen right in front of you so you can watch them stick a long needle in your spine, find the nerve and inject the cortisone. I don't want to watch that. I was so tense, trying to hold perfectly still, that I stopped breathing and they had to give me oxygen. My doctor is amazing. He went out to the waiting room to talk to my husband, something the nurses told me he never does. Maybe he was telling the truth when he said I was his favorite patient.

I have to undergo probably 2-3 nerve blocks before I find relief. Then they will fumble around trying to find the cause to the pain, my GI issues, and my unknown autoimmune disease. That's fine, as long as there is no pain.

Needless to say I haven't been doing much cooking. But Mr.Surly has a birthday coming up and I want to make him a chocolate cake. I want it to have a ganache filling layer. I just need to find a recipe. It's on my long to-do list.

I have also been a bad girl. As a present to myself for being so brave and a good patient during my nerve block I treated myself to this Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV Redux. I mean, come on, 16 shades of eyeshadow, a full-size Liquid Eyeline, an eye primer, and supercurl curling mascara (we'll see if it really curls) all for $32 how can I pass that up. The only downside is that it's an Ulta exclusive so I had to buy it at Ulta (there were only 2 left when I went to purchase it). I'm not really an Ulta girl, they people are usually rude and non-helpful and I don't like the layout of the store. I'm a loyal Sephora girl, through and through. But I think this Urban Decay collection was worth it. It has "sin" which is my all-time, hands down favorite Urban Decay shade. I don't need anymore makeup; I have tons of eyeshadow palettes, so many I forget what I have. For instance, a month or so ago I ordered the TOO FACED Better Than Sex Modern Matte Collection (from sephora of course). I have used it only a few times. I have it in my makeup drawers (the palette drawer) but I always forget about that drawer. I usually go to the singles drawer filled with individual shades of various brands (MAC, sephora, Urban Decay, etc).

I used to be a hard core makeup maven but after getting sick I don't feel a need to go thru the hassle of applying makeup unless I'm leaving the house; no one sees me. So I'm trying to get back into it; putting on makeup even if I'm not going out. It covers my pale face and bronzing give me a faux "healthy glow." It's all in an effort to feel better about myself and my illness. I hope it works.