Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Catch of the Day: Catching Up with Crab Cakes


Oh, hello there, I have missed you. The past couple of months have been a whirlwind:
10th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational, competing with the fabulous Erica Sardarian- Brioche, La Tur Brie (so good it could have it’s own post), Honeycomb, red wine poached pear and bacon- a delicious but not winning sammie (I’ve tried to grow ok with this, not quite there yet). Weddings, bachelorette weekends in Vegas, showers for brides and babies, parties, restaurants, a new niece! road trips, Oregon, Washington, California coast, family, moving, packing, picking paint colors, painting, redecorating, Cinco De Mayo, Fourth of July, shows, diet, working out like crazy, long runs, long walks and now, fully immersed in summer. Where does the time go? I’ve decided to keep this post short because honestly there is so much that I could write for days, so concise, I try.




The following recipe was inspired by my recent trip to the Oregon coast with Todd. We had an amazing time, we are both people who thrive in nature and honestly need it to stay sane. We had a blast visiting his family which sadly, we live so far away we don’t get nearly enough time with. The trip was life altering in many ways for me and one I will never forget. Challenging at times (long hours in the car and camping) but oh so worth it to see the beauty that lays north. I found myself yearning to be back on the Oregon coast just days after returning to L.A. My solution? Cook crab cakes! This recipe is super easy and though not a northwest recipe, approved by a Pacific North westerner, Todd. He loved them! This makes a large batch of large cakes; I had several left over and even brought some to my dad, major perk.  



Baltimore Crab Cakes - Bon Appetit August 2011

1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice plus wedges for garnish
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 jalapeƱo, seeded, finely chopped
1 pound lump crabmeat
1 1/4 cup panko, divided
1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Whisk first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add crab; fold to blend. Stir in 3/4 cup panko, chives, salt, and pepper. Divide into equal portions. Form each into 1"-thick patties. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place remaining 1/2 cup panko on a plate. Coat cakes with panko. Fry until golden brown and crisp, 3-4 minutes per side. Arrange atop lettuce; serve with lemon wedges. 

Friday, April 20, 2012

L.A. Beer Fest: Where the Beautiful People Go ... to Get Wasted.



 Extremely wasted, beautiful people at L.A. Beer  Fest



My favorite people at L.A. Beer Fest 
A couple of weekends ago, in the midst of moving insanity, I took a much needed respite. Waking up early on a Saturday is never my cup of tea but this Saturday it was quite necessary as I needed to unpack copious amounts of boxes before I headed out for the rest of the evening at 4:00. My motivation all day, was knowing that I was going to spend some much overdue quality time with two of my dearest friends. We were lucky enough to meet back in college and now NINE years later I am even more lucky to have a family-like bond with them. This excitement totally eclipsed what was in store for me - I was utterly clueless. Giving very little thought to where we were going or what we were doing, the quality time was my absolute focus. After years of nearly attending the L.A. Beer Fest, this year was my year to finally really attend, holding zero expectations. I feverishly worked on unpacking all day up to the very last minute of the 2:00 hour, quickly rinsed, threw on whatever I could find, called a cab and sprinted out the door. I ended up in the cab of the friendliest and most chatty cab driver in L.A. which was fine with me. "Paramount Studios" I said to him, he inquired, “what is happening today? My screen all lit up with cab orders” in a curious almost annoyed tone. “Ah, yes, I'm headed to a beer festival” I said in the least confident of tones, totally unaware of what was to come. About half way on my two mile journey we spot a threesome of wild youngsters as they tried to wave down my cab, one with a full thick head of dreadlocks, a goateed hipster and a tall lean beautiful young lady who seemed to belong in a 1993 Aerosmith video. The cab driver rolled down the window and yelled "all full but where are you going?" “LA Beer Fest” they yelled with extreme enthusiasm and smiles. I quickly acknowledged that I was quite the loaner in the cab and we happened to have three open seats; in the motley crew piled. As we drove on our way I felt just a smidgen that much more cool yet reminded of younger years when I got that excited about an afternoon of drinking. After an extremely entertaining one mile jaunt down Melrose Avenue, we arrived, my new found posse and I scurried quickly towards the entrance. 
Hoards of People on the New York Lot at Paramount Studios 
After reading a quick blurb about LA Beer Fest on Yelp, the one tidbit of vital information was to arrive early and take all measures to try to avoid the long lines. Well, this year, they doubled up on all check in personnel, so, what line? I quickly gained access into the vast New York lot at Paramount Studios which was lined with bumper to bumper food trucks and breweries in tents…this I could get use to. I found my dear friends and without missing a beat were savoring stouts in seconds.
DJ Spinning
The L.A. Beer Fest turned out being one of my ultimate favorite L.A. experiences yet. The setting was perfect, just like walking through the street set of Seinfeld, with hoards of every type of person you could imagine. Preppy to tacky frat boys, beachy to modelesque you ladies, lots of tattoos, middle aged folks who look like they just got off the bus from Missouri to Kim Cattrall look-a-like goddesses dressed to nines. A true myriad of people with a shared common denominator: beer.
Being a girlfriend of a home brewer, I really had all intentions of taking my beer tastings extremely seriously. I also stumbled upon some very passionate commentary online from past attendees. Rants about the atrocity of drunken festival goers who taste in gluttony after breweries work so hard to represent and share their masterpieces. God forbid someone says "after a couple they all taste the same" ... I hate to break it to you, I'll be honest, I really resisted this, I did, but an hour in, one really can not discern between the sky and the ground let alone the difference between a cider and an IPA, and I am no amateur when it comes to drinking. It was exactly one hour in, and the crowd dramatically changed like a rising tide of debauchery. Lines no longer existed, people began dancing in the streets to the various DJs and live bands - it was a hell of a lot of fun. 
$45, well worth it dollars, 81 breweries, beautiful people, food trucks, all you can drink beer for three hours in the L.A. sun and countless of L.A.s finest food trucks: an absolute must try for anyone who is over 21 and enjoys a good time. 
Crazy Beer Fest Goer 
Genius Pretzel Necklace 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Chocolate Chip, Waffle Battered, Fried Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs - A Sinful Easter


 
Ah, spring time. A time when the budding flowers perfume the love soaked air. It's a great time to be in California, the sun begins to toast the skin, yet there remains a chilly sea misted coastal breeze that keeps everything perfectly chilled to 75 degrees. I love the spring, in my book, it’s an extremely close second to the fall and I seriously adore Easter. I love any excuse to don a girlie dress and plant my bare feet in between fresh cut grass. Easter is always an outdoor occasion in my family and my mother (the expert entertainer that she is) always goes all out. Easter egg hunts for my nephew and one for the adults, a brunch that could feed an army and of course, amazing cocktails. I also happen to have the world's biggest weakness for Easter candy. Give me any other holiday and I can easily brave the sugar rush storm of sweets, but put baby chick shaped fluff of pink sugar in front of me? I can't resist it. One year I made the mistake of doing a cleanse right through Easter and I really realized what a problem I have with Easter sweets. I broke my cleanse with a handful of jelly beans. I've been known to call every store in the area in February just to find out when their shipment of Cadbury Creme Eggs will arrive. I always tell myself I just need one, one milk chocolate covered creme egg all year in order to get my "fix". So, naturally, one lazy Sunday siesta a couple of weeks ago, I found myself tossing and turning unable to sleep. Visions of Cadbury Creme Eggs were dancing in my head. A reoccurring idea that would not budge; annoyingly keeping me from my slumber. Fried Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs. It is crazy! I had enough, I abruptly jumped from my rest and googled my vision, had it ever been done before? To my surprise, I found many recipes for fried regular sized Cadbury Creme Eggs. That's all fine and dandy but just one of those suckers is enough sweet for me for a while, and fried? Holy moly, that might be overboard for me. But the fried mini Cadbury Creme Egg, it did not find. I do prefer to take all my deserts in mini size, it's less guilt and it's usually all you need to kill a nagging sweet tooth. I decided to end my google search and begin my journey in the kitchen. I will confess I'm not typically a fan of fried; anything, let alone sweets and I have never done any frying myself so this was surely an adventure. This recipe was so much fun to make and super easy, the result is seriously sinful. They are best eaten hot while the inside is still nice and gooey. I could only stomach just a couple before I overdosed on sweet, but I think that is the beauty of them.  I lightly dusted them with powdered sugar just for aesthetics. They are a little smaller than the size of a silver dollar. A small and delicious treat for a little Easter joy. 

Chocolate Chip, Waffle Battered, Fried Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs

12 mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
1/3 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 small egg
1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1/8 cup + 3 cups of vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped chocolate chips

Combine with a whisk, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, 1/8 cup of oil, vanilla and chocolate chips in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and incorporated. Depending on the size of your saucepan, add enough oil in your pan to submerge the eggs, in a medium pan it was about 3 cups. Heat the oil to 350 degrees (we used a candy thermometer). Drop the Cadbury Creme Eggs one by one in the batter, heavily coat, using a fork; gently transport it to the oil, carefully dropping them in, one at a time. Fry until the batter is golden, about 1 - 2 minutes. Remove, drain the oil on a paper towel and enjoy while warm.  



Thursday, February 16, 2012

Play on Poisson Cru


I so badly wish I had an exotic story about my trip to Tahiti that inspired this dish, but I sadly don't. I've never been to Tahiti, and actually have an uneventful story of how this dish was born. I'll try to fluff it up for you.  A couple of weekends back, I had the Food Network on as background noise while I was scooting around cleaning. Giada DeLaurentiis came on, which did excite me, but was not suppose to disturb my cleaning spree. I soon I found myself drawn to the T.V., parked on the couch and rewinding segment after segment. It was a show about her visit to Bora Bora. It was gorgeous but there was something about Giada. Then I realized what was really pulling me in, Giada had an amazing happy glow and beaming smile to her. I watch her often, she always seems happy, but in Tahiti, she became electric. I'm sure it was an amazing trip, but I like to tell myself that I understand something special about Giada, a complete stranger to me. I have heard down the pipeline that Giada studied Anthropology at UCLA, which has a cunning similarity to a certain Bleu Goose you may know (ehem). This in mind, I believe that every pupil of the study of Anthropology has a certain intrinsic need to be immersed in different cultures, thriving on discovering how other people live and eat in their environs. I get this. I have that same intrinsic need and when it is fulfilled, I to become electric. That being said, the Poisson Cru made several appearances in Giada's Bora Bora trip. In the show, the traditional Poisson Cru (which means raw fish in french) consisted of cubes of the catch of the day, raw Ahi, fresh lime or lemon juice, tomatoes, green onion, cucumber and shredded carrot immersed in coconut juice. The dish I made is quite different but turned out to be Todd's all time favorite dish I have ever made him. For me, that is the biggest success I have had in the kitchen to date! At the time I made this, did not want to drive to Whole Foods for sushi grade fish, so I used a Mahi Mahi which I encrusted in macadamia nut and panko, it just sounded good to me. I had some organic, farm fresh leek on hand, so I used leek instead of green onion, threw in some mandarin oranges that I thought would add some sweetness and some avocado, just because I love it. This dish was a bevy of textures, flavors and was so incredibly light and refreshing, it was also ridiculously easy to make.

If Poisson Cru had a Cousin...
2 Mahi Mahi filets
1 1/2 cup of macadamia nuts - finely chopped or pulsed in the food processor
1/2 cup of panko
3 limes
1 egg, raw
1 cup of shredded carrot
1 cup of shredded broccoli
1 cucumber, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 can of mandarin oranges
1 avocado, chopped
1 can of light or regular coconut milk
5 mini heirloom tomatoes, quartered
 salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large dish or bowl combine carrots, broccoli greens, cucumber, leek, coconut milk, lime juice of two limes and salt and pepper. Chill for at least 30 minutes. In a shallow dish combine macadamia nuts and panko. Salt and pepper if desired. Squeeze lime juice of one lime over Mahi Mahi, dip in egg, press into breading mix and thoroughly coat the fish. Place in a lightly greased pan and bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Add mandarin oranges, avocado and tomatoes, into the chilled bowl, lightly mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the fish on the side or right on top and enjoy! Extra bonus: Todd loved this with a little sriracha on it.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

February is for Fluttering Hearts



Happy Valentine's Day!
This day always fascinates me.
 I'll start with a little history: I am truly blessed to come from a home full of love. Two parents, they met on a blind date when they were sixteen. My dad, actually proposed to my mom on their first, blind date, she of course thought that he was crazy but that didn't scare her off. Six years later, it turned out that they were both wildly crazy, crazy about each other. My dad proposed marriage to my mother, then was drafted (as I proudly mention) as a conscientious objector in the Vietnam War. My mom was here, in California, feverishly planning the wedding of her dreams and I'm sure, fighting grim fact that my father could have very likely never returned to her. A year of thousands of miles of separation, letters that seemed to take decades to arrive and the scarce phone call that was a third party call with the army, my parents had no easy form of communication. A year of tortured hearts, these were the times saturated in romance. Love is never easy, but for them, their romance was bare bones, no modern day luxuries to help them out, no Skype, no text, no email, just a good old fashion strong beat of the heart. My dad returned to California after a year in Vietnam, of course forever changed, but something has always told me he left the negative in Vietnam. I've never heard him talk about the horror he must have witnessed, only the beauty, the kindness of the people, the joy helping Vietnamese orphaned children and the beauty of the land. With this, he returned home, to my mothers love, and three days later, stood at the alter, at the wedding my mother planned. They have been married for 42 years, they created a strong, loving, happy family that has overcome hurdles of life and shared a blessed amount of the joys in life. They are the epitome of love, partnership and romance, I still to this day catch them secretly slow dancing in the kitchen and stealing flirtatious glances of one and other. This kind of love has been a blessing to watch. It's taught me so much, so much of what a real commitment to someone really means and what it takes to have a deep love with longevity, such a rare thing in the world today. Due to this love, Valentine's Day growing up, was always heavily celebrated. My parents made it a point to make it a family affair, getting us heartfelt cards and meaningful gifts and always having a family dinner together. It was our time to celebrate what made our bond so strong, our love that was derived from my parents amazing bond. This was all wonderful, until I became a young woman. Single for many, many years of my young adulthood, and the definitive hopeless romantic, what I saw from my parents became such an unobtainable thing in my mind. Dating loser after loser, sprinkled with the few good guys (just not good for me, guys) I became what every woman fears: the bitter Betsy. After Valentine's Day failures, or more appropriately, catastrophes, I grew to loathe the day and feel that what my parents had was so rare; I could never find it myself. I lived for the phone call with my parents on Valentine's Day and the sweet gestures of occasional flowers sent by family, for that is all I had for many, many Valentine's days. (This leads me to share, one of my all time favorite things to do, ask a woman, any woman, to recount their worst Valentine's Day. I guarantee, every woman has at least one terrible, horrific story, I for one have many that serve as wonderful entertainment now). Then are the years when you just give up. “Who needs a man? There are no good ones left. I’m a capable woman, I can go at life alone and be happy,” so was my inner dialogue for so many years. Honestly, some of the best Valentine's days, those were the nights spent with dear friends, most likely, single friends and most likely, lots and lots of hard alcohol. In this stage, it seems as though the world is against you, single person. Everyone around you in a relationship is disgustingly cheesy and overt about how much they are loved and how lucky they are. And there you are, with your scotch, you are a good person just clearly unlovable – though it feels society is saying to you on this day. It sucks, I wont lie, but we are all that single person at least one (some many more than one) Valentine’s Day.
So here I am, full circle, from hopeless romantic, the fun flirty happy single girl, the heartbroken single girl, the girl laughing hysterically -having cocktails with her girlfriends, the girl who feels she will be alone forever, the girl who really thinks life would be better as a lesbian (that’s how much she hates men), the strong heartbreak survivor and now, I just so happen to be the madly in love, elated girl. Back to my childhood happiness on Valentine's Day and just starting to really understand and really see that deep love that my parents have. I think it’s important on a day about love, to not only celebrate your love but embrace what brought you the love you have in your life, all forms of love and respect all people who are on their journey to finding love, whatever stage they may be in. I will try on this day not to be grotesque about my happiness, but to share it tastefully and to keep near and dear in my heart all of my life stages. For it is all of our experiences, that lead us to our destiny.
So, on that extremely personal and mushy note, I’ll switch over to the fun stuff. This year, Todd and I decided to celebrate low key. Both of us hate Valentine's Day, prix fixe menus, my experience is that the food is always twice the cost and half the flavor. Both of us, love the idea of celebrating our love, but steering away from the cheesy or the tacky that it seems America falls victim to on this day. We will be enjoying a casual, delicious meal together, some Schramsberg champagne and some tasty desserts. On a humorous note, we sent out the above silly little Valentine's Day cards to our loved ones, silly is perfect because we are definitely silly people. I saw the idea on Pinterest and got the template off of the internet (my attempt to give due credit). I wish everyone, a wonderful holiday filled with love, laughter and smiles.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Wild, Alaskan Sockeye Salmon with Nutricilicious "Mock" Romesco Sauce


 
I'll be honest with you; I've been a little leery of posting lately. As typical as can be, my New Year resolution is to really vamp up my health routine. The first two weeks of January, I spent very carefully monitoring every meal, as I got more comfortable and aware of my healthy, soon-to-be lifestyle habits; I have also grown more daring in the kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I'll still venture down to fattyville sparsely, but I'm saving those culinary journeys for special occasions and times when I can widely disperse calories i.e. share with friends. In this effort, I have proudly stuck to extremely healthy diet for the past month, one that heavily consists of veggies and fish, lots and lots of fish.

Some would call me a “pescasnob,” a title I'm honest enough to embrace. Over the years, I have grown extremely choosy about the fish I eat; perhaps I'd credit my college Marine Biology field study of a fish farm in San Diego as the precursor of my “pescasnobbery.” I try to stay on top of fish seasons around the world and really honestly avoid anything farmed unless I'm being a polite dinner guest. My happiest purchase is a fresh, never frozen, wild fillet, although it’s luxury. As fate would have it, Todd, is the definitive Pacific North westerner - I wouldn't be surprised if he has eaten salmon that he caught with his bare hands out of a creek. I was pretty shocked when we first started dating that my fishie ways didn’t even seem to faze him, as most people inquire quite a bit about my preferences. As you should now expect, today’s recipe includes a gorgeous fillet of wild Alaskan sockeye salmon, sadly frozen because it’s not in season but it was still pretty good. Buying fish can become a daunting task; there is key jargon that can really help one narrow down what the catch of the day on your dinner table should be. Generally, I veer away from farmed fish, one because when I visited the fishery there were hundreds of thousands of large fish cramped in too small of quarters, visibly swimming in their own waste, yes, waste is ladylike talk for poop. That turned me off quite a bit but if I tuck that mental image branded in my memory away (the very tactic I must employ to get anything McDonald's down) I still have another hurdle that is quite hard to clear. When fish is farmed, I have no way of knowing the environ in which it is raised but also any additives, colors, preservatives, antibiotics, genetic modification, use of growth hormones and the such. These questions and standards should also apply to any and all meats. I will state that I know Whole Foods does have an extremely high standard with their farmed fish; it is free of the nasty stuff I mentioned above and is sustainably farmed, as always, there are exceptions. I will also state that I believe that the nutritional value of eating farmed fish may perhaps outweigh the negative aspects and it is much much more affordable choosing farmed, but my personal goal is to stick with the all natural, wild, sustainable fish. Some key words that might help guide you through the process of purchasing fish:

Wild: Caught in nature. Be aware that scientists believe that around 2050 wild caught will not be available in stores due to over fishing (see sustainable).  
Farmed: The fish was raised in a commercial facility
Sustainable: the method to obtain the This means that we seek fisheries that keep fish populations abundant, rather allowing overfishing to occur. It also means that in the process of fishing or farming, impacts on the ecosystem are minimizedfish is environmentally responsible, this takes into account the impact on the ecosystem, and the population of the type of fish is abundant enough to not be depleted or over fished. Farmed fish can also be farmed sustainably, it doesn’t necessarily mean wild.
 Fresh: Never frozen, fresh off the boat. Yet, be cautious, a fresh fish can sit in a store for up to nine days, never buy dry, discolored, milky looking or smelly fish.  
Previously Frozen: This is pretty clear, but its defrosted fish. This is necessary for fish out of season and from geographically far locations. Some fish we frankly will never get to eat fresh.
Best general tips: Know your fish species, know the seasons, and keep in mind your geography and what naturally inhabits in your nearest body of water. Do a little research and find out what are the sustainable species for your geography. Also, look into available apps to help you with your fish choices, yes, there are apps for this too!

So, you’ve researched, you’ve learned, you have the perfect fillet sitting beautifully on a plate in your kitchen, what to do from there? Here is a little simple recipe that Todd and I made to jazz up a wild Alaskan Sockeye salmon dinner. To note, Alaskan salmon is sustainable for California and this was previously frozen, it’s a little early for the season. We made a "mock" romesco sauce, which was perfectly pink to match the natural pink of our wild salmon. I say "mock" because I definitely went way off the traditional Spanish recipe in order to make this as healthy as possible. This was light and flavorful, nor could I feel it sticking to my ribs during my run (major plus). I will be adding this to my usual rotation of fish recipes.



Salmon with “Mock” Romesco Sauce
2 fillets of salmon of your choice (we splurged and had 6 oz verses the standard serving size of fish, 3 oz.)
1 large tomato
1 red bell pepper, stem and innards removed
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/8 of a cup of sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
Salt to taste
In a preheated oven at 425 degrees, place tomato, bell pepper and garlic in a baking pan for 20 minutes. Remove, cool. Take the tomato, bell pepper and garlic and puree in a food processor, add sunflower seeds, bread, vinegar- pulse until well blended and still thick. Salt to taste, it will need salt. Spread sauce on top of the salmon, place in a baking dish and cook at 425 degrees for 7-10 minutes, sauce side up, skin down. Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Happy New Year !!!!




After a tiny hiatus, I am back and beyond excited for 2012. I decided for this post I should share with you all my food resolutions for this year. Here they are...

1) Eat mostly foods with just a few ingredients - all natural, not processed, good ol' real food
2) Jar, can and preserve seasonally
3) Tend to my herb garden
4) Make homemade cheese
5) Make homemade wine
6) Try Jonathan Gold's weekly Los Angeles restaurant suggestions more frequently

...I'm sure this will be an ever growing list. 

On to the good stuff, Cocktails! For New Years I celebrated in low key fashion with my love. Todd and I made some pretty fabulous cocktails and hunkered down for the evening with homemade spaghetti bolognese AND meatballs, movies, a fabulous midnight kiss along with some old fashioned ruckus by banging pots with wooden spoons (oh yes we did, and I think it was mostly a result of our amazing cocktails). These cocktails came about due to a 5 pound bag of neglected grapefruits but wow, they turned out to be something quite special. I for some reason feel that they have a somewhat timeless pizazz to them but who knows, that could just be my spectacular champagne coupes (thanks mom!)...




Tuxedo Greyhound
3 Large grapefruits
1 Grapefruit rind
Simple syrup - granulated sugar and water
Vodka
Champagne

In a saucepan, on low heat add equal parts water and granulated sugar (I did 2/3 cups) add grapefruit peel. (Note: my amazing friend Wendy made the suggestion of adding the peel into the simple syrup and what a life changing, genius suggestion it has been!) Heat while stirring on low until sugar dissolves, remove from heat. While the simple syrup cools, juice the grapefruits. Transfer syrup to the refrigerator when it has come to room temperature. Chill the fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and simple syrup about 30 minutes. Add 1/2 ounce of vodka, 1 ounce of grapefruit juice, simple syrup (1/2 to a 1/4 of an ounce to taste) to a shaker and give it a good shake, mixing thoroughly. Pour into champagne coupes and top with a champagne floater. Garnish with a grapefruit wedge and one afterthought on my part, it would have been great with a sugar, grapefruit rim. Cin! Cin!
I wish everyone a fabulous 2012!!!