Catherine M. Allchin Freelance writer based in Seattle. Food, Travel, Science
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Tinctures spice up winter cocktails

11/1/2013

 
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The Seattle Times - ON THE AFTERNOON of the new moon, I walk into a Capitol Hill bar where people are opening small bags of dried herbs. It’s not what you think. This is Tavern Law, before doors open, where the bartenders are having a “drop party,” making tinctures to spice up winter cocktails. The curvaceous wooden bar is decorated with coriander, cloves, cedar, orange peel, fennel bulbs and dill fronds.



Limoncello: Lemony sunshine to make and sip at home

9/14/2012

 
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The Seattle Times - ONE OF my favorite discoveries in Italy was the limone di Sorrento, the giant oval lemon from the Amalfi Coast and Capri, famous as much for its sweetness as for its starring role in the popular liqueur limoncello. Following the lead of the Italians, my husband and I enjoyed chilled limoncello as a digestive on many warm evenings, marveling at how such a small bottle could contain infinite sunshine. The taste is pure lemon, blue sky, happiness.

For a pause that refreshes, try homemade aperitifs with fresh fruit

8/7/2010

 
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The Seattle Times - FRANCE TAUGHT me some important customs: Substitute perfume for a shower in a pinch, buy bread and produce fresh daily, and cap the day with an aperitif.

As a student in France half my life ago, I noticed cafes overflowing with locals sharing animated conversation and aromatic drinks in the evening. Friends come together to "prendre un pot," or have a glass, with or without alcohol. There's something magical about the in-between moment when day slips into night. As we transition from work hours to personal time, a drink gives us a moment to pause and reflect, to reconnect with special people in our lives.

A Nibbler's Paradise

10/14/2001

 
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The Seattle Times - OUR GUESTS called it an around-the-world progressive dinner all under one roof — and a welcome interruption of our winter hibernation. The idea was born when I was researching handcrafted artisan cheeses for a possible story. I got so excited by — and hungry for — all the different types of cheeses in the world, my husband and I decided to throw a party. We figured that besides creating an excuse to field-test a variety of cheeses, the party would be a great chance to explore some wines. After all, nothing quite complements cheese like a good glass of wine.

Cocktails & Class

4/29/2001

 
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The Seattle Times - "TO ORDER a cocktail is to enter another world," writes Philip Collins in "The Art of the Cocktail: 100 Classic Cocktail Recipes." The word cocktail reverberates, he says, "echoing an earlier era and evoking an idyllic setting complete with sophisticated men in dinner jackets and glamorous women in little black dresses. It is a word suffused with images of mystery, wit, repartee, even love." That's one powerful drink.

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