Tag: cocktails

Travel

Steal My Itinerary: 5 Days in Paris

littleshoeprincess

I went to Paris in August!

It was my first time traveling to Europe and I experienced it with Mr. KK’s cousin and Aunt – a girls’ trip with 3 generations of women (with me in the middle).

This was the first vacation I’ve even been on that I did not plan. As the resident family vacation planner, this was a foreign concept for me. I literally just showed up. When asked what I wanted to do on our trip, my response was: “Eat lots of croissants and see the Eiffel Tower.”

Mission accomplished!

We spent 5 days in the City of Love, where we ate all the food, and drank all the drinks. Our trip was the perfect balance of seeing the sights but not overdoing it. I’m so excited to share our 5-day itinerary with you!

Business Class for the Win

Yes, we flew business class overnight from JFK to Paris. And it was the single best experience I have ever had flying. First of all, the whole seat situation was amazing. Roomy. Reclining. Padded ottoman foot rest. Blanket. Sleep mask. Private TV. You would have thought we were flying on that plane for a week with all the amenities!

My home for 7 hours. This cubicle is almost bigger than a room in my house.
That look when you realize that you are a travel princess. Also, travel outfit on point.

We were welcomed with a glass of champagne! “Oui, merci!” Followed by a multi-course meal that included lobster salad, a cheese plate, chicken, more champagne, baguette, dessert, and more champagne. And then, they took our order for breakfast, which was to be served approximately 3 hours after we finished eating our late-night dinner.

I am spoiled for all other travel.

Day 1: Arrival & First Meal

We made it! We checked into our super cute boutique hotel, Grand Boulevard Experimental. It was every bit as charming as you would imagine a hotel in Paris would be. It had this lovely rooftop bar where we had our very first cocktails of the trip. The rooms were quaint, and I had a room all to myself, including a HUGE bathroom with two sinks and mirrors. Truly indulgent.

The hotel still used real keys. And held them at the desk for you.
A whole big beautiful bed to myself!

Our first meal was at a traditional French bistro, Bistro Des Tournelles. We were starving! We ordered the mushrooms with garlic and parsley, Croque Monsieur, ravioli, filet of beef with fries (steak frites!), and the roast chicken.

And I couldn’t go to bed without doing one VERY PARIS thing on our very first night. We hopped on the Metro and went to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night!

Pictures don’t do it justice. And it sparkles on the hour every hour.

Day 2: Eiffel Tower, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Cocktails & Dinner

The sun shone bright on our first full day in Paris. I was so exhausted from traveling that I slept for 10 hours. TEN HOURS! I woke up with a start at 8am just minutes before my breakfast was being delivered. Can we pause to talk about how delicious the yogurt in France is? Thick and creamy, topped with honey. I ordered it every morning.

The Eiffel Tower was majestic at night, and equally as impressive during the day. We rode the elevator up to the top for the most fantastic panoramic view of the city.

If you look closely you can see the Olympic Rings on the bridge over the Seine.
Bonjour from Paris!

After the ET we walked over to the Champs-Élysées (so many tourists) but we felt the need to see the Arc de Triomphe and be all Paris-like.

Our itinerary included some of the best known craft bars in the city, and our stop that night was The Cambridge Public House.

Dinner that night was at an Italian restaurant, Carbonis. This was my favorite meal of the entire trip (imagine, my favorite restaurant was an Italian restaurant in Paris!). Every bite was amazing.

We needed to start with drinks, of course. My introduction to the Sbagliato Negroni.
Heirloom tomato salad, watermelon, marigold, bottarga
My favorite bite of the night: pappardelle with sweet corn, crispy shallots, guanciale, chili oil.
Cacio e Pepe
Grilled octopus, green beans, caponata
Caserecce with tomatoes, fried eggplant, spiced lamb, dukkah

Day 3: Train to Reims to tour Veuve Clicquot

You can’t go to Paris without taking a day trip to the Champagne region. Well, I can’t. And the Veuve Clicquot tour in the caves is not to be missed!

The tour ended with a tasting of four signature champagnes, one of which is not sold in stores and only served in the caves.

After a short nap on the train on the way home, we relaxed at the hotel until it was time for dinner. That night, we went to Le Mary Celeste, a cute little wine bar with small plates. We sat at a crooked little table, squished in the back corner, and basically ordered almost the entire menu.

Highlights included:

Tuna sashimi
Deviled eggs
Veal tartare
Risotto

Put a fork in me!

Day 4: The Louvre, Notre Dame, Cocktails & Dinner

We started our morning at the Louvre – pre heist. I wanted to see the building, as it’s an impressive city block; however, I didn’t feel the need to go inside. But we did have fun taking photos outside.

Notre Dame was, well, it was a church. Mostly covered in scaffolding. With a ridiculous number of people trying to see it and get inside. I’m glad we walked by to snap a pic so I could cross it off my list.

One and done with the Hunchback’s home.

During the afternoon we did some shopping around Le Marais. We became regulars on the Metro. I felt like a local.

Sabre

Another day, another cocktail bar! This time we headed to Little Red Door, named the Number 5 best bar in the world in 2022 (and Number 6 in 2023). Hard to get in, hard to leave. Dark. Moody. Delicious.

After cocktails, we headed to dinner at a mediterranean restaurant Kubri. There were so many things we wanted to try, so naturally we over ordered!

Look at these shrimp!
This roasted cabbage with aleppo pepper butter and peanuts was divine
Beef tartare

Day 5: Charcuterie and Pasta

After a weather forecast that threatened rain the whole week, it finally came. The lunch vibe we wanted was wine and charcuterie, and we found the perfect place. It was a BYOB – build your own board, from a thick booklet of cheeses, meats and accoutrements. I present: Le 17.45

That lunch required some rest before gearing up for our last dinner in Paris. We went off itinerary and ended up at a little hole in the wall Italian restaurant Sugo. The menu was small, but the pastas were fresh and delicious.

Cacio Pepe
Pesto Malfadine
Amatriciana

We headed back to the hotel on foot, hoping we could walk off some of the pasta, and I captured this beautiful street in the quiet of the evening.

What a memorable trip! My pants are still tight!

My one request was croissants, and they didn’t disappoint. The patisseries were magnifique!

Au revoir, Paris. You were wonderful to me.

Hugs,
kk

1821, cocktails, thanksgiving

The best fall cocktail

littleshoeprincess

Each year when we host Thanksgiving, we like having a signature cocktail for the day. Something that embodies fall flavors, is relatively easy to make in batches, and that can give that little turkey day buzz we all need.

And because we can’t just serve a cocktail cold turkey (see what I did there?), we have a day or night where we’ll test out cocktails to see which ones makes the cut. Last year’s cocktail – the Brown Sugar Cranberry Bourbon cocktail – (and the entire cocktail tasting day) was delicious.

This year, Mr. KK and I were taste testing on our own, and we started with just one cocktail. And it was a winner – no further testing needed! (However, I should probably drink a few more of the chosen cocktail to make sure it’s exactly perfect).

This year, we will be shaking up the Fig Bees Knees.

Fig Bees Knees Cocktail

Makes 1 cocktail.

Ingredients:

2 oz gin
1 oz honey syrup (see note below)
1 oz lemon juice
1 Tablespoon fig preserves
Sprigs of thyme
Fig slices (for garnish)

Directions

In a cocktail shaker, add the gin, honey syrup, lemon juice, fig preserves and 2 sprigs of thyme. Add ice and shake vigorously.

Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a sliced fig and thyme sprig.

Honey syrup:

Combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of honey in a small sauce pan over medium heat. As the honey starts to melt, continue stirring until the honey and water are completely combined. Store is air tight container.

Cheers!

Christmas, cocktails, recipe, thanksgiving

Holiday Cocktails Sampling, With Recipes

littleshoeprincess

Now that it’s November, I am in full-on holiday mode. And while Christmas is my most favorite time of the year, I have to give a little holiday love to Thanksgiving, especially since we host everyone on turkey day.

Every holiday needs a festive cocktail. This weekend, we put several recipes to the test to determine which cocktails would be the stars of the gathering for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. And you get a front row seat.

First up, the Brown Sugar Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail. This festive cocktail showed up in my Instagram feed from @cheesegal. She had me at sugared cranberries.

Brown Sugar Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail

INGREDIENTS:
3 ounces bourbon
2 ounces 100% cranberry juice (not cran cocktail)
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce rosemary cranberry brown sugar simple syrup

DIRECTIONS:
First, make the simple syrup by bringing equal parts brown sugar and water to a quick boil until sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat, and throw in a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and cranberries. Let steep for at least 20 min.

She didn’t give exact measurements for the simple syrup so here’s what we used:

100g brown sugar
100g water
30g rosemary whole
150g fresh cranberries

Rim your cocktail glass with some of the simple syrup and dip into brown sugar, then add a festive ice cube*. Pour cranberry juice, bourbon, lemon juice and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker full of ice, and shake well. Strain + pour into prepared glass and garnish with rosemary + some frosted cranberries.

*We did not make festive ice cubes for taste testing but likely will do something for the real thing.

Ours was not as brightly colored as hers was, but the flavor was delicious.

Verdict: Definitely in the running.

Next up: the Spiced Cranberry Sparkler from @cocktails.

Spiced Cranberry Sparkler

Ingredients

1.5 oz bourbon
1 oz spiced honey syrup
Juice of 1/2 an orange
2 oz cranberry juice
2-3 dashes of orange bitters
3-4 oz Prosecco (we used club soda)
Ice
Garnish:
Dehydrated orange slice
Star anise
Rosemary
Cinnamon sugar rim (we skipped this for sampling)

Spiced Honey Syrup:

300 g honey
100 g water
Cinnamon stick
Ground nutmeg
Pumpkin pie spice
Ground cloves

Directions

Put all ingredients for spiced honey syrup in a small pan over heat. Still until all ingredients have melded and honey and water are fully combined. Remove from heat.

In a shaker with ice (she stirred in a pitcher but we were in a shaking mood), mix bourbon, syrup, orange juice, cranberry juice, bitters and shake. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and top with club soda (or prosecco, but we thought that would make the drink too sweet) and garnish.

Woah, this ones goes down easy. It’s the perfect mix of warmth and spice with a bubbly kick at the end.

Verdict: Perfect for Thanksgiving

Next up: Fall Old Fashioned. This recipe is from @thirsywhale_

Fall Old Fashioned with Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Ingredients

1.5 oz Rye or Bourbon
½ oz Aged Rum
½ oz Pumpkin Syrup
4 dashes Aromatic Bitters
2 dashes Orange Bitters
Orange Peel 

Pumpkin Syrup
1 can pumpkin pie
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup water
Pumpkin pie spice to taste (you may want more or none at all, up to you). Heat on stove and stir until incorporated, then fine strain.

Directions

Still all ingredients (except orange peel) in a cocktail pitcher with ice until blended and chilled. Strain over a giant ice cube and garnish with an orange peel.

Verdict: this one was a little too potent for me, but the guys really liked it. The pumpkin syrup, however, smelled divine and would be delicious over vanilla ice cream.

Our taste test was a success! The winners are:

Spiced Cranberry Sparkler for Thanksgiving.

Brown Sugar Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail for Christmas Eve.

Cheers!

cocktails

The Best Canned Cocktails of 2023

littleshoeprincess

2023 was the year of the canned cocktail in our house. From ease of preparation (pop the top and pour!) to the convenience of packing a cooler for the pool, we went ALL IN with tasty canned bevies this summer.

If you’ve been to a liquor store recently, you’ve likely seen how much the canned craft cocktail scene has exploded. Everyone has a cocktail in a can on the shelf. And I feel it’s my duty to tell you: they are not all created equally.

I can’t handle sweet drinks, so that in itself eliminates High Noon and White Claws (eww) from our cocktail rotation. Thankfully, we found some amazing alternatives that I’m happy to share with you.

Two Chicks Cocktails

These tasty cocktails come in a variety of flavors but these are the two best. Refreshing, not too sweet and perfect over ice or straight from the can. 5/5 stars.

Dogfish Head Vodka Crush

Leave it to the beer maker to come up with a tasty cocktail. These pack a bigger punch than the Two Chicks (7% ABV vs 5% ABV) and come in a variety of flavors, however Grapefruit is the best one, IMO. Tons of flavor, not too sweet and a pretty can.

Talk House Canned Cocktails

Light and refreshing, Talk House craft cocktails come in two delicious flavors: Lime Vodka Soda and Blood Orange Tequila Soda. Both are delicious and worth seeking out (they are not easy to find).

Waypoint Bees Knees

We bought this one on a whim to try and WOW it’s delicious. AND, we found out it’s made right here in Connecticut (hooray for drinking local!). This is an easy-to-drink cocktail (read: watch out) and tastes just as good from the can as in a glass with ice. Tart and refreshing. One of my faves.

And – what every Suburban Mom Starter Kit likely had but did not advertise, was the slim can cooler – keeping cocktails cold all summer long.

We have become a canned drink culture, and I’m here for it.

Cheers!

cocktails, NaBloPoMo

Your New Go-To Cocktail

littleshoeprincess

If you don’t like Aperol, you might want to skip this blog post. Because today’s post is an ode to the orangey bitter yumminess of Aperol. Oh Aperol, I love you in a spritz in the summer, and I love you in this deliciously amazing cocktail that goes down like water (like WATER, people! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

Intro to Aperol Cocktail

Serves 1

Served up in my vintage coupe glass I found at a flea market this summer!

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 ounces Aperol
  • 1 ounce gin
  • 3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 ounce simple syrup (see NOTE)
  • 1 dash Angostura bitters
  • Twist of orange peel, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the Aperol, gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and bitters. Shake well, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass (I prefer a coupe glass). Twist the orange peel over the drink to release its oils, then drop it into the glass. (Full disclosure, I never garnish with an orange peel).

Cheers!

cocktails, Gifts, Mr. KK, NaBloPoMo

Give the Gift of Drink

littleshoeprincess

Gift giving is especially interesting this year. But based on the last 8 months, I feel you can’t go wrong with alcohol. And if you have friends who enjoy fancy libations, this will be their favorite gift.

For Father’s Day, I got Mr. KK a 3-month subscription to Shaker & Spoon Cocktail Club. Our date night’s out had turned to date night’s in, so why not kick off the night with craft cocktails?

The idea behind this subscription box is simple: each month you receive a box of 3 recipes and everything you need to make 12 drinks (4 from each recipe) of cocktail goodness. The only thing you need to purchase is the spirit: one bottle makes cocktails for the entire box (and then some).

The recipes are crafted from mixologists across the country, with little-known ingredients such as fancy bitters or aromatics, hard-to-find sodas and garnishes.

For our subscription, we enjoyed the tequila, Japanese whiskey and mezcal boxes. It was fun trying new cocktails, and pairing foods and snacks to match.

Tonight we sampled the El Palenque, made with Mezcal, pineapple shrub, lime ginger beer.

Each drink comes printed on it’s own recipe card with full directions, method and glass type.

This was my first mezcal drink, and it was…smoky. Not offensive, but you can definitely taste the smoke. When we make our second drinks (each kit makes 4 of each kind of cocktail!) we substituted tequila for the mezcal, and I got stronger notes of pineapple. Both versions were good, and were a drink I would never think up on my own (let alone have pineapple shrub lying around!)

We had so much fun with our subscription box, and helped us try new cocktails and break us out of our “old standbys”.

I love this gift!

Past subscription boxes have included vodka, aperol, elderberry liquor and more. Each cocktail is unique. You can skip any box you’re not interested in (how cool is that?) And the best part of the gift is the active social community on Facebook for members: people who post photos of drinks, their at-home bar set ups and glassware – these are my spirit (animals).

Cheers!

cocktails, NaBloPoMo, Pandemic

Who Wants Cocktails?

littleshoeprincess

It’s not surprising that liquor stores are up like 35% in sales during the pandemic. This has been a crazy year.

There have been many beers shared in the KK household over the last 8 months after a stressful day.

My drink of choice is usually seasonal – is there anything better than a cold, hoppy beer on a hot summer afternoon? Or a glass of red wine on a chilly winter night by the fire? But I have a problem that I’ve shared before: I don’t have a go-to cocktail.

And while I don’t have a cocktail, I believe I have found my spirit (animal): Aperol. First, I single-handedly kept Aperol afloat with all of the Spritzes I consumed this summer. Then, during the summer storm that took down half the trees in our yard, right after the power went out, we tried a new Aperol drink: Intro to Aperol. GUYS, this drink is amazing!

Intro to Aperol

Let’s start with how gorgeous the color of this drink is. A vibrant not-quite-red but more of an orangey-pink.

Intro to Aperol is on the right – look at that color!

Ingredients:

  • 2 ounces Aperol
  • 1 ounce London Dry gin (we used Tanqueray)
  • 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
  • 1/4 ounce simple syrup
  • 1 dash Angostura bitters
  • Garnish: orange twist

Directions:


Fill a cocktail shaker 2/3 full with ice. Add Aperol, gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and bitters. Shake until well chilled, about 20 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with orange twist.

Then start making another round because these beauties go down SMOOTHLY and you’ll need another in no time. (I mean, these craft cocktails are so small, am I right?)

Elf on the Shelf, Life, NaBloPoMo

Blog month wrap up, a cancerversary and the return of an old friend.

littleshoeprincess

Well, I made it. 30 posts in 30 days. AND, I didn’t even drive Mr. KK crazy this year.

A few people have asked if I would continue to post every day through December, too. I’m flattered that there are people who want to continue reading for another month! And I love the idea of continuing to write for another month (and lord knows with all of the craziness of December there will be stories!).

However, I feel I should give you a sneak peek into what blogging every day for a month really looks like, in this ridiculously unflattering photo of me, lovingly taken by Mr. KK:

IMG_7772

This photo was likely taken around 10:30pm, me in my well-worn decades-old fleece, literally asleep at the computer while trying to write one of my blog posts. (I do think I should get bonus points for keeping my fingers on the right keys even while sleeping.)

Writing every day for a month is stressful. And exhausting, apparently.

But November 30 not only marks the last day of NaBloPoMo, it’s also my cancer-versary! Today it’s 15 years since I said buh-bye to cancer! I remember that cold November morning, driving to the hospital for my surgery like it was yesterday. In my week-long recovery in the hospital I alternated between napping, reading actual physical books, and binge watching HGTV and the Food Network (we didn’t have smartphones 15 years ago, or any devices for that matter…in fact, there isn’t one photo of me at the hospital or recovering from my surgery).

Fast forward 15 years, and here I am: Mom to the Little Mister and our four-legged fur baby, Rocco. This sweet photo was taken just this morning of Rocco watching the sun come up, apparently one hour before he threw up all over our living room sofa. Ah, kids.

IMG_8023

Being the official start of the holiday season, I spent the day Christmas shopping today. And tonight, I gave Mr. KK an early Christmas present: I drank brown liquor.

I know.

Technically, it was a mixed drink (as requested by me, one that would slightly mask the flavor of the bourbon enough so I could get it down). After converting me to an IPA drinker, I know it’s Mr. KK’s life mission to get me to drink bourbon. I cannot drink it straight (the smell alone turns me off), and I’m not yet cool enough to drink a manhattan, though how I dream of the day I could order one!

Instead, we went the Grapefruit and Thyme Bourbon Smash Recipe, courtesy of The Tipsy Giraffe.

And I have to say, it tasted pretty good – and it was so pretty it looked even better!

IMG_8046

And heaven knows I needed a cocktail because look who made his re-appearance tonight for the month of December:

IMG_8050

He’s baaaaaack! Little Mister was so excited to see him! Let the threatening holiday spirit commence!

In fact, my nightly alarm to move the elf just went off!

Thanks for reading along this month!