gather. week 5.

I am so behind! Our lovely friends came over like 2 weeks ago!

We had a blast hosting dinner  as always. 

It was the first time inviting over brand new friends and it was so much fun! I feel like I actually got to know so much about them and we were able to relax and talk and share a meal! We also bonded over our mutual love of boston terrier dogs...I am trying my hardest to convince them that they NEED one!

Because it was new friends I decided to do a make your own pizza bar. That way I could get a feel for what our new friend's likes & dislikes were without having to stress about if I made the "right thing" or not!! It was a lot of fun and we all ended up having different combinations of toppings!

 {The dough ended up looking a little ahem...rustic}

While our pizzas baked we had a little charcuterie and before dinner drinks. I know what you are thinking...it looks like a lot of meat, cheese, and bread was consumed this night. Well you are right. And it was delish. 

I blogged about these drinks earlier but for the girlies I made Peach Gin Fizz  & for the gents I made Rosemary Vodka Martinis which we also featured at Greg's 28th birthday party bash back in August.

We finished the night off with our usual coffee & dessert. Our gracious guest brought these delicious chewy cookies from Whole Foods and a vanilla bean ice cream. Hello!

peach gin fizz & rosemary martini

I'll admit, along with many, many other 20 & 30 somethings I am obsessed with Mad Men. 

I made this drink based on the show because my favorite character, Joan, orders it in a bar and it just sounded so fun and feminine I had to give it a try!

We had friends over last night and decided to offer two different cocktails  - one more feminine and one more masculine to cover our bases. 

{Gin, lime, peach, tonic water, shaker, ice, & mason jar}

*Makes two servings*

I started out making an infused gin base.

Cut up half the peach and slice one lime

{add 4 oz of gin to the mason jar with half of the peach, sliced and the juice of one lime}

{chill in the fridge until time to serve the drink}

The mixture will take on a slightly pink hue.

{When time to serve add all contents of jar to a shaker with ice. Strain equally into 2 small glasses}

{Add tonic water on top, garnish with a peach slice or lime wedge}

YUM-O!

For the Gentlemen we did a more "masculine" cocktail, whatever that means! I mean James Bond drinks martinis so it has to be like the ultimate man drink right??

We did a vodka martini, but martinis are traditionally made with gin. 

{Vodka, dry vermouth, rosemary sprig, green pimento stuffed olives, shaker, ice}

*makes 2 drinks*

Fill shaker with ice, 4 oz of vodka, 1 oz dry vermouth, and 2 sprigs of rosemary.

Shake vigorously to infuse rosemary flavor

{Strain equally into two small martini glasses. Garnish with rosemary sprig and one green olive}

I also like to offer 2-3 options for before/after dinner drinks. It give the guest choices but doesn't leave them overwhelmed with options. I try to make a more fruity, lighter drink and a straighter, stronger drink with a common/neutral in the mix as well. 

the essential bar cart

About 3 years ago my mother brought me this adorable little yellow cart she had found at a school estate sale - she is a thrift hound.

For a long time, ever since we got it actually, our teeny-tiny dish washer has been sitting on top of it with various storage baskets on the other 2 shelves.

I have always wanted to create a bar cart out of it but up until now I didn't have anything else so oddly shaped to fit the dishwasher!! So this weekend I moved the coffee bar to the laundry nook,  the cart to the dinning room, and a rolling cart from outside to the coffee nook. Haha. There was a lot of mess + chaos+ frustrated husband comments this weekend. Yay! But now we have a cute bar cart...and guess what? The hubby loves it!

So here is what I believe you need for the perfect bar cart!

{Alcohol, mixers, & bar tools on top}
{Glassware in the middle}
{Cocktail party supplies on bottom}

There are some 2 shelved carts out there but I really like having that nice middle shelf as well for glassware so I don't have to hop into the kitchen to find cups when mixing drinks!

 Here she is loaded up and ready for after dinner drinks!!
I have been collecting decanters to put the booze into so it looks more MadMen esque but so far I have only found two that I fell in love with that weren't moldy on the inside. : (

The book we get most of our recipes from called The Ultimate Bar Book which you can purchase on Amazon HERE

We were gifted the 5 piece Twig bar tool for our wedding or Christmas? from World Market and we love it! It is so classy lookin' and has all the little tools we need from a jigger, to a bottle opener and a small knife for citrus and garnishes. To make it more visually appealing I added a small metal basket for the mixed drink add-ins. I don't keep them on the bar at all times, but at a cocktail party or if friends are over for drinks I also have a small bowl for lemons and limes.

The middle section is for glassware. We were also gifted these neat old school "dewey decimal system" drawers from a friend for one of my bridal showers. I love how the classes fit perfectly in them and I can slide out the drawers when I need a cup!

The bottom shelf is basically just cocktail party storage - cocktail napkins, small appetizer plates, etc. The glass jars just, again, give a different visually appealing element.

We love our little bar cart and can't wait to have friends over this week to try it out!

Here is my {small} list of what you need to stock a bar cart:

Spirits:

1. Bourbon
2. Tequila
3. Rum
4. Gin
5. Vodka
6. Scotch (optional)

Mix-ins:

1. Club Soda & Tonic water
2. Bitters
3. Dry Vermouth
4. Sweet & Sour
5. Simple Syrup
6. Grenadine

Garnishes:

1. Lemons & Limes
2. Maraschino cherries
3. Olives (the spanish green olives for Martinis!) 
4. Mint 

Of course this list is not exhaustive it just covers the drinks we make over here at the Horton household most often! Stay tuned for a retro 50's drink coming up!