Ultimate Nachos - Giveaway! - CLOSED

So, we hear you like nachos.  As it turns out, so do we.  We love nachos.  But not as much as Lee Frank and Rachel Anderson, founders of Nachos NY (The Ultimate Nachos Destination) and authors of Ultimate Nachos: From Nachos and Guacamole to Salsas and Cocktails.  Clearly, if you like nachos, this is the only book you need in life.

And need it, we do.

The Ultimate Nachos book gives you, Nacho Lover, recipes to make any kind of nacho you could possibly imagine from the original cheesy jalapeno topped nachos, to Croque Monsieur nachos, to Ruben nachos, to Strawberry, Basil and Marscarpone nachos!  Who knew there were so many variations?  (Lee and Rachel, duh).

mmm Nachos...

Nachos with Lamb and Black Bean Chili

But there's more!  Salsas!  Toppings!  Guacamole!  Horchata!  Avocado Ice cream!  Nachos Panna Cotta with Jalapeno Jelly!  Pico de Gallo!  Candied Jalapenos!  Peach-Habanero Margaritas!  Ultimate Nachos is a treasure trove of creative nachos and some really great applications of south western flavors and the tortilla chip.

Peach-Habanero Margaritas & Micheladas!

Today, we're you, said nacho lover, a copy of Ultimate Nachos!

: : : THE GIVEAWAY : : :

Ultimate Nachos: 
From Nachos and Guacamole to Salsas and Cocktails
2 Copies!

by Lee Frank & Rachel Anderson

: : : HOW TO ENTER : : :

1. Leave a comment on the post answering: Your Favorite Nachos (Could be from a particular restaurant, a specific style, or an extra amazing plate of nachos that changed your life)

2. *Extra entry* Tweet #NachosGiveaway @xxGastronomista and @NachosNY

3. *Extra entry* “follow” @xxGastronomista on Twitter and/or “like” us on Facebook and/or Follow us on Tumblr!.

The contest closes in one week (12 pm EST). Winner will be selected on Friday, May 3rd, and will be emailed that day.


Good luck, and many thanks to Ultimate Nachos authors,  Lee Frank & Rachel Anderson!

More on nachos, in case you were wondering.

Stockholm: Absolut Art

We last left you upon our departure from the epic and wintery Ice Hotel in Kiruna, Sweden.  Next stop, Stockholm, to get a glimpse at the art and design behind Absolut.

We landed in Stockholm very very grubby from our icy retreat, and suddenly found ourselves in the incredibly stylish and hip art hotel The Lydmar Hotel.  Beautiful people filled the lobby, enjoying apertifs and the lovely afternoon.

Springtime in Sweden

Ten Thousand Leagues Cocktail

This cocktail came to being during Blizzard Nemo, another freak storm that has the Northeast in lockdown, and me, experimenting with bottles in my apartment.  It's a mighty cocktail, if I might say so myself - a little sweet, a little spicy, and a little bitter - a perfect storm, if there ever was one.

It's made with Barrow's Intense Ginger Liqueur - a Brooklyn made ginger spirit that is sweet and spicy!  This cocktail is a remix of the Dark n' Stormy, but instead of bitter molasses and ginger beer, I used Campari and GT's Gingerade Kombucha.

I hope you enjoy this cocktail as much as I have..


Ten Thousand Leagues / Nemo's Revenge Cocktail
Created by Gastronomista

1 oz Campari
2 oz Barrow's Intense Ginger Liqueur
3-4 Drops Brooklyn Hemispherical Lemon Bitters
3-4 Drops Memphis BBQ Bitters
Top with GT's Gingerade Kombucha

Garnish with Candied Ginger

Build over ice in a collins glass, and top with Ginger Kombucha.  Stir and Enjoy!

Pre-Stir

Post-Stir

xxG

The Drunken Botanist - Giveaway! - CLOSED

Ever wonder where your favorite liquors come from?  Well, plants!

Now there's a book to guide you through the plants that are thankfully transformed into your favorite tipples.  The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart is a whimsical and lovely book that provides history of how specific plants were domesticated and used to make alcohol, today's process, and the subsequent libations that are produced from said plants.  She even provides recipes for cocktails, syrups, and garnishes to up your cocktail game!  Win!

Some of your favorite beverages such as wine, gin, whiskey and beer are carefully described as to the specific type of plant used, how it is grown and harvested, and ultimately how it is distilled or brewed.  Some of the more well-known plants include hops, juniper, wormwood, agave, corn, and barley, just to name a few.

She also catalogues common spices and roots that are also used to make rather obscure tipples - for instance, Tamarind which is used in Worcestershire sauce is also used to make Tamarind wine and Prickly Pears used in mojitos and margaritas, prickly pear liqueur called Bajtra from Malta, prickly pear vodka from arizona, and infused tequila.

Ms Stewart goes through a vast array of plants all included in making libations, some we've never even heard of.  For instance, Savanna Bamboo, used to make Ulanzi bamboo wine in Tanzania, Tonka Bean used in Abbot's Bitters, and Marula used to make Amarula Cream.  

We here at Gastronomista HQ love this book.  We've found that some books on making spirits can be rather cryptic (and boring), The Drunken Botanist gives a fresh lens to the process, making it accessible, fun, and simple to understand.  We've been drooling over the gorgeous illustrations, and soaking up all the romantic latin names of each plant, stories, and recipes that accompany each plant's chapter.  This book has us aching for a lush garden filled with different plants to experiment with, and an equally lush bar filled with obscure liquors for shaking!

Luckily for you, today we are giving away three copies of The Drunken Botanist!

: : : THE GIVEAWAY : : :

The Drunken Botanist

The Plants that Create The World's Great Drinks

by Amy Stewart

: : : HOW TO ENTER : : :

1. Leave a comment on the post answering: your favorite spirit and what plant it is made from

2. *Extra entry* Tweet #BoozyPlants @xxGastronomista and @Amy_Stewart

3. *Extra entry* “follow” @xxGastronomista on Twitter and/or “like” us on Facebook.

The contest closes in one week (12 pm EST). Winner will be selected on Monday, April 29th, and will be emailed that day.


Good luck, and many thanks to The Drunken Botanist author, Amy Stewart!

Violet Fizzies!

With spring time in the air, we've been craving something a bit more floral than usual.  Maybe it's something about all the magnolia trees a-bloom, or the spring time bulbs bursting from the earth, but we've got spring fever, and we've got it bad.

We recently discovered the recipe for Violet Gin Fizzies, and now we are obsessed.  Light and frothy, the aromatic flavors of Hendricks Gin play nicely with the Creme de Violette and orange citrus oils.  It's a lovely spring time drink - and it's gorgeous purple hue sure goes nicely with all those fluffy blossoms outside!

Without further ado:


Violet Gin Fizzie

1 Egg White
1-1/2 oz Hendricks Gin
1/4 oz Creme de Violette
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
1/4 oz Creme
1 oz Seltzer
Orange Peel Coin for Garnish


Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and vigorously shake (do not add ice yet, this is your dry shake).  Add a few cracked ice cubes and shake a second time.  Strain into a cocktail glass, and top with seltzer.  Squeeze an orange peel coin over the foam, gently rim the glass with orange citrus oil, and float the coin on top.

Enjoy!

xxG

Vote for Gastronomista - Best Cocktail Blog!

Gastronomista is a finalist for SAVEUR BEST COCKTAIL BLOG 2013!    

Give us some love: Click here to VOTE for Gastronomista!!  

Voting Closes 4/19 12 Midnight EST!    

xxG

Above the Arctic Circle - The Ice Hotel

We've heard you're bored with normal hotels.  Sick of those soft beds with extremely high linen counts, and you want something more...exotic.  You could head to the woods, you could take to a hammock on the beach, or you could land yourself in a gigantic igloo and be the happiest camper around.

I'm already one for the cold - a lover of snow, ice, and all things snow sports, so sleeping in an igloo was something I've always wanted to do.  Lucky for me, I was headed to the most epic igloo of them all, The Ice Hotel, in Kiruna, Sweden.

Ice Hotel Grand Hall

Gratuitous Plane Shot

We landed in Kiruna midday and were immediately led to a tent where we were given full snow suits: pants, jackets, boots, balaclavas, you name it, we had it.  (I had my own personal mittens I purchased earlier in the year, Eskimo inspired mittens with the Colorado flag beaded upon them).

Selfie, In Fur

And how would we get to the Ice Hotel you ask?  Why, by dog sled, of course...

The Mightiest of Beasts

Absolut Elyx Vodka - Behind the Scenes

Welcome back for our next chapter in the behind the scenes tour of Absolut Vodka!  Today we would like to share with you a preview of their newest release, Absolut Elyx, a premier vodka brand.

You may have already heard of it, it was released in 2011 in select countries in Europe, and it has been doing very well in the Travel Retail market (read, Duty Free).  So for those booze hounds out there, it's a good reason to always pack light and check out Duty Free on your way home - limited edition bottles, preview releases, etc,  many companies use Duty Free as a test market!

So what exactly is Absolut Elyx?  It's a highly refined vodka that is distilled in copper stills, and is made from winter wheat harvested from the Råbelöf Estate, giving it a particular flavor profile (very a similar concept to terroir of wine).  The scale of the production of Elyx is significantly less than Absolut, and it retains a hand crafted ethos from the special estate wheat, to the local water filtered through a limestone bedrock, to the bottle itself.    

We started off the day touring the Råbelöf Estate and seeing the wheat fields.   The estate is dates back to 1408, and all of the wheat used in Absolut Elyx comes from these farms, which is in an optimal location for growing the winter wheat used in vodka.  

Råbelövsjön Lake

Sister Chopper

Absolut Vodka - Distillery Tour

A few weeks back, I hopped on a plane to visit the Absolut Vodka facilities in Sweden.  I had been very much looking forward to this trip being that I'm a big fan of all things spirits, but honestly didn't know too much about vodka (embarrassing, I know).  Suddenly, I had an opportunity to learn more about vodka behind the scenes at not only one of the world's largest alcohol companies, but a company that has a larger mission towards quality, sustainability, and design.

I flew into Copenhagen, and although I had been told that I must seek out one of their famous hotdogs, it would have to wait.  We were off to Kristianstad - about an hour and a half South East of Copenhagen.