#SipsForSummer: {Salted Watermelon Slush}

Recipes

For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been sharing how to enjoy the dog of days summer by teaming up with a group of amazing bloggers who know a thing or two about stirring up a stellar drink. Each mixologist maven is dishing on their fave sips for summer and this weekend we say slush on this: a rum and salted watermelon cocktail! Enjoying a boozy watermelon slushy is exactly how we want to ring in the final weeks of summer – not to mention, it sounds like the perfect sip to help us cool down from this heat!

Something tells us that these cocktails are dangerously good! What do you think? Head on over to Style Me Pretty Living for the full Salted Watermelon Slush recipe!

image via SMP Living

#SipsForSummer: The Spicy Paloma

Recipes

What better way to welcome the weekend than with our second installment of #SipsforSummer! In case you missed our first post, we’ve teamed up with Glitter Guide and some of our favorite ladies around the interwebs for the biggest cocktail party ever! We actually kicked things off with a refreshing twist on a Margarita, but we’re salivating over the libation prepped by Ashley of Sugar & Cloth – The Spicy Paloma.

Grapefruit, tequila and a little kick?? Sign us up! Hop over to her site for the FULL RECIPE HERE.

And be sure to check in every Friday for lots more #SipsForSummer! Happy hour never looked, or tasted, so good!

image via Sugar and Cloth // photography by Jared Smith

#SipsForSummer: {Slushy Coconut-Mint Margarita}

Recipes

If there’s one thing we love around here, it’s a refreshing libation! So when Glitter Guide invited us to partake in their new #SipsForSummer series, we gladly accepted the challenge. The request? Develop a refreshing recipe for the perfect summer cocktail and share it with you! How could we resist?? The added bonus? A different site will share a new cocktail recipe every Friday for the next month. When it’s all said and done, you’ll have a well stocked bar and the perfect excuse to throw a killer end-of-summer party!

When we sat down to devise our perfect cocktail recipe, we immediately turned to tequila. One of the first things I wanted after Carter joined the world?? A margarita! A good margarita is the perfect drink for a hot summer afternoon, but we decide to put a refreshing spin on the classic recipe. When you add some coconut milk and a touch of mint it becomes mighty hard to have just one of these!

Slushy Coconut-Mint Margarita

1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut water
2 tbl agave
1 oz. lime juice
2 oz. tequila
1 oz. triple sec
mint + lime slice for garnish

To make a slushy margarita, you’ll need to first prep ice cubes. Freeze 1 cup worth of coconut milk in an ice cube tray overnight. Once frozen, blend ice cubes with 1/2 cup coconut water (or as much as you need) until slushy consistency. Pour 1 cup coconut mixture into a chilled cup and add lime juice, tequila, triple sec and agave. Stir for 15 seconds. Quickly spoon margarita into your favorite glass–we chose coupes to feel a little fancy!–garnish with mint and lime and enjoy! Sorry, golden sunny beach not included.

Who else will be sharing their cocktail mixing genius with us, praytell? You’ll just have to wait and see! Click back next Friday and every Friday through July for your #SipsForSummer fix.

Oh and if you make this cocktail make sure to tag @apartment_34 on Twitter and Instagram, and use the hashtag #SipsForSummer so we can see what you’re enjoying. Cheers!

original photography for apartment 34 by aubrie pick

Tasty Tuesday: {Andiamo Dinner Recipes Revealed!}

Recipes

What’s better than an epic dinner party?? Getting to relive it! We’re having way too much fun sharing all the yummy Andiamo SF dinner party details with you. It truly was a night we wish we could experience every week! Getting to throw the most awesome dinner, in the coolest space, with the best food for some of our closest friends?? Done and done. We consider ourselves very lucky.

If you missed it, last week we broke down the party details dishing {pun intended!} on everything from the venue to our favorite bits of party decor. But today is especially delicious because we’re revealing the recipe for the best salad you’ve ever tasted! Seriously, we’re talking When Harry Met Sally orgasm scene good. To top it off, our favorite bar Trick Dog {one of SF’s HOTTEST spots!} crafted a bespoke cocktail, the “Flirting with Travel” punch, just for the evening’s festivities. You don’t have to thank us!!

If you are Bay-Area based and have yet to eat at Central Kitchen in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood, put it on your to-do list for this weekend right now! We’ll even save ya’ a parking spot. It’s one of our favorite places in the city- literally a couple of blocks away from the office and we are indulging ourselves there all too often. So we were more then ecstatic to find out Central Kitchen had an all new venue, The Upstairs, where we could throw our party. We knew dinner was going to be good- we just didn’t realize how good.

Chef Ryan Pollnow blew our menu out of the water- each dish was the definition of a culinary masterpiece, but the Spring Vegetables with Rye Crumbles + Goat’s Milk Curds and Whey Salad was our absolute faaaaaaave. Amazingly, we managed to wrestle the recipe for this incredible dish out of their hands, but let’s just say it produced a serious “whoa” when we opened the email. It’s only a mere three pages…of sheer intimidation! Eek. We do have it tucked safely away in our recipe arsenal, but will likely have to dumb it down whenever we take our first stab because really, we can’t all be as good as the pros!

That said, if you’re a home-cooking champ {we know you’re out there!} and you want to see what recipes from top restaurants really look like, click here – you can download the details from Rue Magazine!

Trick Dog’s punch recipe on the other hand, is one that we can handle. After all, we have a little more experience downing cocktails at our in-home bar than we do cooking gourmet meals. And as you may have spied here, punch is kind of our new thing. And our obsession all started with this recipe! Now you really have no excuse – it’s time you give a summer punch a try! We promise, you’ll be happy you did. It’s all in the spirit of adventure after all. — Bianca

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Flirting With Travel Punch Recipe

1 Cognac {we used H by Hine VSOP!}
1 Aged Rum
1/2 apricot liqueur
1/2 Akavit
3 black tea
1 peach nectar
3/4 lime juice
1/4 simple syrup

Pour all ingredients into large bowl and stir. Begin diluting ingredients by adding ice 45 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

original recipe for apartment 34 created by Trick Dog // original photography for apartment 34 by Katie Newburn

Tasty Tuesday: {Punch Drunk Love}

Recipes

Well, it’s July 22nd, people. We hate to break it to ya, the month is basically…over. August is just a stone’s throw away and you know that means. The dog days of summer are here! The hottest heat, sultry nights and the laziest weekend {or weekday!} afternoons. Thankfully, we have a few more chances to hit the beach, host a BBQ…or have good friends over and well, get drunk. Punch drunk, that is!

Punch isn’t a drink that we often turn to and we’re trying to figure out why?! Sure, it still reminds us of bad college parties, but punch really gets an undeserved bad rap. It’s actually THE ideal drink to serve at a summer event. It looks gorgeous with just a few garnishes and it’s the least high maintenance option ever! No funny balancing acts with martini glasses or mixing fancy-schmancy signature cocktails one by one. But punches also shouldn’t resemble the bright pink options of our past. We decided there had to be a better option! So the team sat down and concocted the perfect recipe which includes two of our bar staples: St. Germain + Champs!

The French Tropics Summer Punch

Ingredients:
– 1 cup vodka
– ¾ cup st germain
– 2 cups champagne
– 1 cup pineapple juice
– 1 cup orange juice
– ¼ simple syrup

Directions:

Add all ingredients into a punch bowl except for the champagne. Mix until all ingredients are combined. Pour champagne into punch bowl. Add ice cubes to glasses and ladle punch in.

Ice cubes:

Zest 1 grapefruit and 1 lemon. Place water in ice cube tray {we used 1″x1″} and sprinkle citrus zest evenly among the tray.

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The most brilliant part of punch; you simply put a huge chunk of ice in it right before the party and fahgetaboudit! If you want to get fancy, make pretty ice cubes with citrus zest or even flower petals for guests to put in their glasses. We threw a dahlia from the garden into our punch bowl for garnish too! Soooo easy and pretty, right?

We also stuck with the theme of simple when it came to our appetizer idea: a classic charcuterie plate provides a beautiful variety of things to munch on. We went with a top notch prosciutto, salami and crackers, then mixed things up with crisp veggie chips, spicy dried peas and some salty {and deliciously green!} castelvetrano olives. Save cooking up a crazy gourmet spread for cooler times. In the thick of summer heat there’s really not much more you need.

With this punch and a great mix of light bites, you’re set to invite a few, or five, girlfriends over for a bit of summer fun! But please remember, always drink responsibly!!

original photography for apartment 34 by Aubrie Pick // art direction by Bianca Sotelo // styling by Apartment 34

Tasty Tuesday: {Our Signature Summer Cocktail!}

Recipes

Whether you like cocktails, mocktails, cotton-tails or Peter Rabbit {Beatrix Potter reference, anyone? clearly summer nostalgia has hit the office…hard!}, you’re going to love this Tasty Tuesday! After all, it’s our official Apartment 34 signature drink- made exclusivley for us! That’s right, we now have a namesake cocktail, created by Seattle-based mixologist, Erik Carlson – Seattle Magazine’s “Superstar Bartender” of the year {let’s hear it for Erin’s hometown!}.

We were so tired of going into bars and not knowing what to order- drink ingredients can get so fancy these days. It’s easy to order something you THINK sounds delish and ends up being totally not your thing. There goes $12….plus tip…for a dud. So we jumped at the chance to have a no-fail drink up our sleeves, a drink that our team loves and ties us together like the illumanti. Since we’re all for sharing, you must try this recipe {and/or gush over this image- we’re calling it our homage to summer and it’s now our computer wallpaper}!

Apartment 34 Fizz!

Ingredients:

1 ounce Plymouth gin
.5 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
.5 ounce Small Hand Food’s raspberry gum syrup
.25 ounce Suze
1 ounce sparkling wine

Method:

Measures all ingredients except the sparkling wine into a mixing tin, add ice, and shake. Double strain the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass {or stemless champagne flute as we did here!} and top with sparkling wine. Add a twist a of lemon rind for a little pop of color & consider yourself refreshed!

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While Erik may have been named Superstar Bartender of the year, we sure feel like the superstars here. Having a drink named after you is basically like getting a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame and we’re clearly on our way!

If you’re in Seattle, you can visit Erik at Stoneburner and Bastille Cafe & Bar…and ask for the Apartment 34 Fizz {eeep, how cool is that?!!}. It should cool you off in the 85+ degree weathr you’re enjoying. PS – could also please send some of that heat our way!!

Cheers! —Bianca

original photography for Apartment 34 by Aubrie Pick // art direction by Erin Hiemstra & Bianca Sotelo // styling by Apartment 34 // original recipe created by Erik Carlson

Put a Sophisticated Spin on your Memorial Day Cocktail

Recipes

We’re rounding out our May cocktail series with a sophisticated sipper whose recipe comes straight from famed San Francisco bar, Trick Dog! If you want to impress your guests at your next dinner party, definitely bust this baby out for the cocktail hour.

The Fortunate Few

2 oz gin {we prefer locally distilled St. George Spirits}
3/5 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
1/2 oz lemon juice
3 kumquats
1 sage leaf

Cut kumquats in half and lightly muddle at bottom of shaker. Add all ingredients and shake with ice, well. Pour into glass {this can be served in an up glass, but we went with coups to up the fancy factor} – add kumquat slices. Garnish with sage leaf.

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This cocktail harnesses seasonal ingredients and bright citrus flavors that are perfect when enjoyed on a hot summer afternoon. Yes, the various components are a bit esoteric, but if you’re a budding mixologist, you’re definitely going to up your game with Lillet Blanc and Yellow Chartreuse in your repetoire!

We can’t wait to hear what you think of this guy!!

original photography for apartment 34 by Aubrie Pick // recipe by Trick Dog // art direction + styling by Apartment 34

Tasty Tuesday: {Agua Fresca, Por Favor!}

Recipes

Despite the fact that we really do love our ~~alcohol~~ cocktails around here, some days we just want to sip on something that is refreshing and quenches our thirst without leaving the effects of booze on the brain and body. Okay, that rarely happens, but let’s say you’re having a kick-off to summer during the middle of a hot afternoon? Or you have to get back to work after your lunch break? Or it’s the day after Cinco De Mayo….you need to have a good virgin drink in your entertaining arsenal.

This Pineapple Mint Agua Fresca is so good, it doesn’t even matter that it’s not spiked. Really, it’s that delicious!

Pineapple Mint Agua Fresca

1/2 cup fresh pineapple
3/4 cup water
1/2 oz lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 mint leaves

Blend the sugar water and lime juice in blender. Add the pineapple and mint leaf and blend. Add more water for desired consistency. Pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove pineapple pulp into a glass.

For the ice cubes, cut a slice of cucumber or mint leaf and put in tray with water. Freeze for at least 3 hours. But our favorite? Coconut milk ice cubes!

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If you’ve never tried an agua fresca, you are missing out big time. It’s a Mexican drink that you can often find at your trusty taqueria {next to the horchata!}, made with fresh fruit juice and water. Usually strawberry and watermelon are popular flavors, but just wait until you try this sophisticated Pineapple and Mint blend- it’ll blow your socks off!

If you’re planning a Taco Tuesday, this crowd pleaser and this margarita are all you need for a casual and fun night with friends!

original photography for apartment 34 by Aubrie Pick // art direction + styling by Apartment 34 // original recipe by Ashley Rose

Tasty Tuesday: Gorgeous Grapefruit Margarita

Recipes

Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and in celebration of the upcoming festivities, Ashley has mixed up a gorgeous grapefruit margarita recipe that just might be the best thing you’ve ever tasted!

While margaritas are an obvious cocktail for a Mexican fiesta, fresh grapefruit juice gives this fan-favorite drink an unexpected twist. The gorgeous light pink grapefruit color is flirty and feminine and the tartness of the fruit will make you and your party-goin’ friends pucker for another round!

Grapefruit Margarita

2 oz. Tequila
2 oz. Grapefruit
1 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. triple sec
1/2 oz. agave
Kosher salt for rim
lime wedge
garnish- grapefruit slice/lime slice

Add tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, triple sec and agave into a shaker with ice. Shake.
Take lime wedge and run around lip of glass. Place salt on plate and swirl the cup lip in the salt.

Add ice to glass. Strain cocktail shaker into glass. Garnish with grapefruit.

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We love the idea of continuing to twist the classic margarita, not only in the flavor and color, but also when it comes down to presentation. Instead of pouring the margs into typical margarita glasses, serve them in vintage tumblers! You can also add pink sea salt to the rims for a little sparkle, but we like the look of a simple slice of grapefruit resting on top. Gorgeous, right?

Salud!

original photography for apartment 34 by Aubrie Pick // art direction by Apartment 34 // styling by Bianca Sotelo // recipe by Ashley Rose

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