The fabulous and talented hostess, home chef and photographer Mrs. O developed most of the content for this team post after she convened the January meeting of the NY Cocktail Club. As a master of sexy photography from portraits to boudoir to engagements to weddings, Mrs. O's choice of theme was only natural...
“Some (foods) are said to be aphrodisiacs simply because of their shape and some because of their aromas, while others claim a chemical basis for their ‘love’ powers.”
“Some (foods) are said to be aphrodisiacs simply because of their shape and some because of their aromas, while others claim a chemical basis for their ‘love’ powers.”
New York is a
city of 8 million, and yet your “love-at-first-sight” is more likely to walk
past you texting than to lock a lusty gaze on a random street corner. Or, maybe
you’re already together, and the crazy pace of life is interfering with your
otherwise sultry intentions.
We kicked off
this year’s cocktail club by daring to shake things up a bit with Sex and the
Cocktail--a brunch hosted by Mrs. O that explored sips and bites with rumored aphrodisiacs. We
also threw in a few girl-powered concoctions.
Here are the
highlights from our tipsy-sexy afternoon…
The Oyster Mary Shooter
With kale and crème fraîche quiche
Pry, crack,
shimmy, slide, pop, slurp… repeat. As one of the most celebrated aphrodisiacs, zinc-rich
oysters were the obvious choice for the first pairing. HA led us through the tough but delicate task of shucking those beauties, which were fresh and wet from the Grand Army Plaza farmers market. For many of us, it was our first time, and there is a certain savory self-reliance that comes with that first shuck.
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| Photo by Trader Vicky |
As Trader Vicky observed, though, best to get the shucking done, before
too may cocktails. (Nobody likes sloppy shucking... it’s fraught with potential
peril.)
Placed on a
platter of ice, the oysters looked divine. We slurped them back with a bit of
chive-vinegar mignonette chased by a salt-and-pepper rimmed Bloody Mary
garnished with a cucumber spear. The cucumber not only has a phallic shape, but
its scent is also believed to “stimulate women by increasing blood flow to the
vagina.”
Although the Oyster
Shooter Mary could be a meal in itself, we had a long day of drinking ahead. A
kale and crème fraîche quiche with mixed greens on the side was the perfect
dish to fortify us for further lusty exploration.
Blind Love
A test for the senses
Cocktail Club is
about exploring new territory, so the Clubettes were blindfolded for the next
round, taking them out of their comfort zones. The instructions were simple:
smell, taste the edible garnish, sip, and identify. The ladies quickly recognized
the simple Bellini, but as LP said, it was definitely the strangest thing we’ve
ever done at Cocktail Club. With blindfolds off, we discussed our 9 ½ Weeks moments and Valentines day possibilities while finishing off a magnum (yes a magnum) of Veuve
Clicquot.
The White Lady
With buttermilk scones, jams, cheese, yogurt and fresh fruit
After falling in,
and recovering from, blind love, we needed a sassy cocktail, which came in the
form of The White Lady—a woman with a past. Blogger Adam McDowell, author of
That Sweet Burn, discusses the introduction of The White Lady in the 1930s and
notes, “Women still had a long way to go in terms of equality of opportunity,
but at least bartenders respected them enough to fix them a stiff drink.”
Stiff is right!
This drink packs a tart, clean punch! And as Mr. McDowell points out, what man
would sidle up to the bar and order a drink with such a girly name?
So, yes Mr.
McDowell, it’s all ours.
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| Photo by Trader Vicky |
There are variations on this recipe. One of the “originals” was by Harry Craddock (of Savoy Cocktail Book fame) who named the drink after a rose. His version was gin, Cointreau and lemon juice. We added egg white because Wikipedia says, if you use an egg white and serve the drink in a champagne “saucer,” “the silky foam clings more pleasingly to the curved glass.” Sexy!
LP shared a
variation on the theme by replacing the cointreau with her HOMEMADE grenadine
to create a Pink Lady! While many preferred the tart classic to its pink
playmate, all agreed both treat a woman’s palette seriously.
With the White
Lady, we snacked on an assortment of sweet and savory breads and assorted
cheeses, including HP’s HOMEMADE ricotta, creamy blue and goat. Stonewall
Kitchen’s Fig and Ginger jam was also a must-have for this spread because both star
ingredients are aphrodisiacs. The scent of ginger stimulates the circulatory
system, and figs… well, according to Ms. Obringer, figs “claim aphrodisiac qualities
purely on their appearance alone.” We will leave that one to the imagination.
The Bradshaw Bomber
With mini-pancakes stuffed with blueberries, bacon or chocolate
With mini-pancakes stuffed with blueberries, bacon or chocolate
At that point, we
were in serious need of some strong coffee. The “Bradshaw Bomber” is actually a Bradsell’s Vodka Espresso renamed with a Sex-and-the-City twist. The drink is from Peter Joseph’s book Boozy Brunch: The
Quintessential Guide to Daytime Drinking. The cocktail was created by London
bartender Dick Bradsell when a model walked into his bar and asked him to make
her something that would “wake me up, then #@!* me up.” Sounds well balanced to me.
We created one variation on the recipe with Stoli Salted Carmel vodka which Trader Vicky brought for the bar. That was a hit!
We then ended our
brunch with a raffle, and one lucky Clubette received a complimentary Boudoir
photography session with Mrs. O, just in time for Valentine’s Day!
One final note from UG: My "about me" photo is from Mrs. O's first boudoir photo shoot nearly ten years ago in Paris!
One final note from UG: My "about me" photo is from Mrs. O's first boudoir photo shoot nearly ten years ago in Paris!
Recipes:
Bloody Mary
INGREDIENTS
For the mix:
3 cups (24
ounces) tomato juice
1 1/2 ounces
freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 medium lemon)
1 1/2 ounces
freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 2 medium limes)
1 tablespoon
Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons
peeled and finely grated fresh horseradish
1 1/2 teaspoons
kosher salt
1 teaspoon hot
sauce, such as Tabasco
1 teaspoon celery
salt
3/4 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
For the Mix:
Place all of the
ingredients in a nonreactive 1-quart container and whisk until well combined.
Cover and refrigerate until the flavors meld and the mix is chilled, at least 2
hours or preferably overnight. The mix will keep refrigerated in a container
with a tight fitting lid for up to 24 hours.
Prepare for serving 8:
Ice
2 cups (16
ounces) vodka
Celery stalks
(optional)
Cucumber
spears (optional)
Olives (optional)
For serving 8:
When ready to
serve, whisk the mix to recombine.
Fill 8 highball
glasses halfway with ice.
Pour 2 ounces of
the vodka and 4 ounces of the mix into each glass and stir to combine. Add
garnish of choice.
Kick it up a
notch with a few dashes of Tabasco if desired.
Quiche with Kale and Crème Fraîche
Based on a recipe
from the book Tartine which was shared on Alexandra’s
Kitchen (replace chard with kale).
Bellini
INGREDIENTS
4 oz Champagne
(We used Veuve Clicquot)
For 1 Serving:
Pour the peach
juice or puree into a Champagne flute
Slowly add the
Champagne
Garnish with
fresh peach or nectarine
Blindfold
(optional)
The White Lady (variation with egg white)
INGREDIENTS
2 oz Gin
1 oz Conintreau
1 oz Fresh lemon
juice
½ egg white
(optional)
For 1 Serving:
Mix the
ingredients in a shaker
half full of ice.
Garnish with
twisted lemon rind
Sugar rim
(optional)
Bradsell’s Vodka Espresso
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ oz Vodka or
Salted Carmel Vodka
¾ oz Kahlua
1 Short espresso
3 coffee beans
(AKA the father, the son and the holy ghost has you covered)
1 oz cream
(optional)
For 1 Serving:
Combine all
ingredients, shake with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with the
three beans
Can also be
served on the rocks
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