The Start of a New Year Breathes New Life Into Chickfuel

Geez!  It's been almost 3 years since I last posted.  Ugh.  So much has changed.  I became single, sold my house, bought a new one, started fixing it up, closed the physical storefront of of my retail store, recreated it as an online store, renovated my salon, started another business creating and making vaguely naughty purses (I call them Merkin Bags and have them on Etsy), started working on a men's leather line called "Sackle" and lost my beloved poodle Lazlo.  I feel now like it happened in the blink of an eye, but living through it took an eternity.

I'm ready for a fresh start.  Entertaining and travelling have not been a priority in the last two years with everything else that has gone on, even though they are my favorite diversions from daily life.  I have had people over during the holidays and created some new concoctions.   AND I have booked a trip to L.A. for 3 weeks from now. These are my inspirations for the two things that fuel this blog - they are what is CHICKFUEL.

Ingrid came into town for the holidays. Perfect!  Time to lushly entertain!

I made a champagne cocktail and a tray of charcuterie to nosh on while imbibing.  The champagne cocktail came about because I had some less that perfectly fresh fruit I wanted to use up by juicing in my trusty "Juice-O-Matic" and frankly there's more than likely a bottle of bubbly in the fridge at all times, so it's often a big part of my repertoire.

 

In went 2 navel oranges and 2 kiwis for a pulverizing.  They yielded 6 ounces of juice total which was a bit chunky from the kiwi.  I liked it that way, but those wishing for a smoother drink can use an immersion blender (or a regular one for that matter) to make a fine blendable puree.

The juice blend was a gorgeous festive green.

The drinks turned out lovely and are a beautiful addition to any holiday table with their bright color and fizzy texture.  Na Zdarovya!

Champagne Cocktail

makes 6 drinks

1 bottle Prosecco, champagne or any other bubbly.  I like mine dry.

6 ounces fruit juice - today was orange & kiwi

Put 1 ounce juice in the bottom of a champagne glass and fill the rest of the way with bubbly.

Bubbly Mocktail

makes 3 drinks

1 litre of lemon fizzy water

6 ounces of fruit juice

Dash of bitters

Put 2 ounces of juice in the bottom of a tall glass, dash of bitters and fill with fizzy water.

The charcuterie platter above was made entirely of groceries from Trader Joes.

- Smoked Salmon

- Smoked Trout

- Prosciutto

- Sopressata Salami

- Gouda

- Boursin

- Stilton

- Triple Cream Brie

- Salmon Spread

- Horseradish Hummus

- Capers

- Olives

- Honeycrisp Apples

- Pita Chips

- Whole Grain Crackers

- Multi Grain Batard

It's an easy, breezy crowd pleaser with no cooking involved and minimal cleanup.  YAY!

Happy 2013 to all my peeps.  May we share another beautiful year together...