Old 43 Cocktail

Over this past summer my best friend and I liked to spend our time hanging out at a local restaurant/ bar called the Yard House. This place has a large beer selection, amazing food, and even better specialty cocktails. Our first time there I tried their drink called the Old 43 and it instantly became my favorite. Throughout the summer I tried a variety of their drinks, but nothing topped the Old 43. I had just recently ordered the Old Fashioned and I thought this drink was a perfect twist on that. At the end of the summer when I learned that the closest Yard House restaurant to Rochester is in New York City I knew that I would need to recreate the drink. Fortunately for me the ingredients were listed on the menu, I just needed to find the right proportions. The ingredients listed on the Yard House Menu were woodford reserve bourbon, licor 43, house citrus agave blend, orange bitters. So this past weekend I bought everything I needed (as close as I could get)  and experimented until I found the perfect combination. 

Ingredients 

Woodford Reserve Bourbon 

Licor 43

Agave 

Orange Bitters 

Orange (for Garnish) 

*Since I did not have access to their house blend agave I just used regular agave and that worked fine. 

First I muddled an orange peel and 1 teaspoon of agave. Then I added equal parts Bourbon, and Licor 43 and two splashes of orange bitters. I stirred all of ingredients together until well combined and then added ice (best thing would be to use a shaker, but unfortunately I did not have one at the time). Wait until the drink has chilled and then enjoy! 

Cheers! 

Fall Fashion Favorites

 Fall has to be my favorite season, not because of all of the pumpkin spiced flavored drinks and food (although those are amazing!), but because of the fashion. All of the flannels, boots, scarfs, hats, and red lipstick are perfect for this fall season. Over the past couple of weeks I have found my self wearing mostly solid colored clothes, mainly black with a variety of red shades. The following items have been my go to fall fashion and make up items. 

The leather jacket is from Macy's, the boots and hat are from Aldo, lip stick and lip-liner are NARS, and the scarf is a red knit scarf my mom made for me. 

Laraenna Hat: Aldo $30

I have not worn these shoes very much since I purchased them two weekends ago. I love the way they look, but they have not been the most comfortable the two times that I have worn them. I'm hoping that I just need to break them in, which has usually been the case with my past Aldo boot purchases, because I really love they way they look. They are a subtle statement piece perfect for the fall. 

Desare Boots: Aldo $140.00

I bought both the NARS lipstick and the NARS lip-liner at Sephora the same weekend I bough my Aldo boots and I have been wearing them almost daily. These colors pair perfectly to create dark red vampire inspired lips. They color is long lasting and does not leave dark lip stains on everything you drink which is great. I usually find that when I wear lipstick it ends up all over the drinking area of my water bottle and eventually all over my hands, but so far with this lipstick I have not had that problem. 

Lanikai Lip-liner & Bette Lipstick: NARS 

Pumpkin Pancakes

Since it is fall I have been enjoying everything pumpkin spiced from pumpkin spiced lattes to pumpkin bread. So in the spirit of the fall season I decided to tweak my favorite pancake recipe to make it pumpkin spiced. I made minor changes and topped the pancake with candied walnuts. These need a little longer to cook, but I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. 

Candied Walnuts

-1 cup halved walnuts

-1 tablespoon of butter

-1/4 cup brown sugar

Toss all ingredients on a medium heat skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes (make sure to keep turning them so they don't burn).  

Pumpkin Pancakes 

Makes 6-8 pancakes  | Prep time: 10 min. | Cook time: 6 min per pancake 

Dry Ingredients 

-1 cup regular white flour

-2 teaspoon (tsp) brown sugar

- 1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp of baking powder

-1/4 tsp of baking soda 

-1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon cardamom

-1/4 teaspoon allspice

-1/4 teaspoon clove 

Wet Ingredients 

-1 egg

-1/2 cup of pumpkin puree

- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (I've also used salted)

-3/5 cup of buttermilk

-1/4 cup of milk 

Optional: candied walnuts, chocolate chips (didn't try this, but I think it would taste amazing)

Mix the dry ingredients with a whisk. Mix melted butter,egg yolk, and pumpkin puree in a separate bowl. Mix milks and egg white in a third bowl. Once they have all been mixed in separate bowls, mix all ingredients together with a whisk. Make the pancakes on a griddle on medium heat. Cook pancake until bubbly on top and golden on the bottom and then flip and cook until pancake is golden on both sides. 

Optional: Add olive oil to griddle for crispier pancakes. 

p.s. Don't forget to pair these pancakes with some mimosas! (maybe an apple cider flavored mimosa!) 

Buttermilk Pancake Recipe

One of my favorite things about Sunday mornings is having a nice brunch with some mimosas. This past weekend I invited some friends over for brunch and made this delicious pancake recipe so I've decided to share it with you. It is a simple recipe and does not take more than 10 min to prepare. Just make sure to follow the directions and not just mix all of the ingredients together at the same time or you will not get a nice stack of fluffy pancakes. Make sure to give this recipe a try with some scrambled eggs, bacon, and a refreshing guava mimosa! 

Makes 6-8 pancakes  | Prep time: 10 min. | Cook time: 4 min per pancake 

Dry Ingredients 

-1 cup regular white flour

-2 teaspoon (tsp) sugar

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp of baking powder

-1/4 tsp of baking soda 

Wet Ingredients 

-1 egg

-2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (I've also used salted)

-3/5 cup of buttermilk

-1/4 cup of milk 

Optional: chocolate chips

Mix the dry ingredients with a whisk. Mix melted butter and egg yolk in a separate bowl. Mix milks and egg white in a third bowl. Once they have all been mixed in separate bowls, mix all ingredients together with a whisk. Make the pancakes on a griddle on medium heat. Cook pancake until bubbly on top and golden on the bottom and then flip and cook until pancake is golden on both sides. 

Optional: Add olive oil to griddle for crispier pancakes.