This Round’s on Cooking with Caitlin

We met to raise our glasses to the libations that color our nights and weekends. We traded everything from outstanding recipes to hangover cures.

This Round’s on Cooking with Caitlin

Shaken, stirred, and syrupy sweet – these just about describe how I’m feeling after today’s Foodies’ Night In #fni Twitter party on Cocktails. It was 5:00 somewhere, and we knew it.

Today we gathered, as we do every Monday afternoon (and will again next Monday afternoon), with our partners in foodiedom, @savvyhost, our sponsor @CrispinCider, and truly expert crew including @Intoxicologist, @Cocktails_365, Cincinnati’s own @winemedineme and infinitely entertaining Queen City duo behind @Hoperatives, around the stools that dot the Twitter tiki bar.  We met to raise our glasses to the libations that color our nights and weekends.  We traded everything from outstanding recipes to hangover cures.

Oh, and we gave away some really dazzling gifts as well.  Thanks to The Savvy Host Market for the BarBasics-In-A-Box and Crispin Cider for the party packs.  Talk about swag, baby…

Favorite Foodie Tweets

Ooh, it was an excited bunch this afternoon!  One might think there was some imbibing going on before the party even started…hmmm.  Any way you look at it, we entertained a whole slew of saucy tweets.  Some of my personal favorites:

@CocktailDeeva: I did a fab [infused] bacon vodka..took 3 days..Wasabi infused takes about 20 min.. #fni
@intoxicologist: My favorite cocktail of all time is The Pink Squirrel. #fni
@Hoperatives: Avoid the morning after by alternating one beer, one water and be religious about it. #FNI /C

And, finally, as anyone who’s been to a Third Thursday event knows to be true, Caitlin herself weighed in from @cookingwcaitlin, “I love serving little cups of cocktails as both appetizers and desserts. It’s a fun way to start and end a party. ^C #fni ”

Foodies’ Night In Questions

Here are the questions that kept the lot of us thirsty foodies coming back for round after round:

Q1. What is your favorite cocktail? Is it sweet or savory? Does it help you wind down or get fired up? #fni
Q2. Who makes your fave cocktail best – you, your other half, a neighborhood watering hole, a restaurant chain? #fni
Q3. What is the most versatile liquor to start with? The best mixer? What about packaged cocktail mixes? Share recipes? #fni
Q4. What’s your favorite “mocktail?”  Best drink for a punch bowl? Ice cream drink or slushie? Recipes to share? #fni
Q5. What’s the best drink menu for entertaining? Combo of cocktails/mocktails? Do guests serve themselves or do you hire a bartender? #fni
Q6. How do you dress up your cocktails with garnishes and homemade ice cubes? Clever uses for glassware? Serving platters? #fni
Q7. What is the must-have barware? What brands make the best? Are there any everyday kitchen utensils that double in the bar? #fni
Q8. What’s best food for a cocktail party? Is it infused with the spirit of the signature drink? How to use liquor/beer as ingredient? #fni
Q9. What’s the best food for the morning after a cocktail party (wink, wink)? How to avoid that not-so-hydrated feeling the next day? #fni
Q10. How do you create desired ambience at a cocktail party – menu, music, start time? Does it begin with invitations and guest list? #fni
Q11. What does your fave drink say about you? Are you a party girl, the designated driver, or do you have to wear an ascot to sip it? #fni
Q12. In three words or less, what is your state of mind with regards to food (and the drinks to wash it down)? #fni

Hungry for More?

First, you’ve just got to fix for yourself one of these super tasty beverage recipes —Sweet Sangria, Chocolate Martini, or even a mocktail, Tina’s Crabby Ginger.

Then, check out Caitlin’s notes on selecting the perfect cocktail—What I Know About a Good Cocktail—and Kelly’s on a Sweet & Sour cocktail with a secret ingredient— Thirsty Friday?.

And before you go to bed, sign up for August’s Third Thursday event.  It just happens to be sponsored by Francis Ford Coppola Wines and will be an awesome lesson on how to turn your favorite cocktail into an ingredient, how to carry it from the kitchen to the table in all new ways.