daylight saving time, spring 2013

“Spring forward, Fall back” reminds us to turn clocks forward one hour this Sunday at 2:00 a.m. as daylight saving time begins.

animal rescue: ally

Before she was Famous: Ally was rescued as a puppy by Blackdog All Breed Dog Rescue after she was left at the city pound with two broken back legs. She was rehabilitated, adopted, and now lives in Uptown with her parents and an older sister, Miley, who is also a rescue.

Nicknames: Ally’s nickname is Ally-gator because of her big smile and her propensity for chewing up anything she can get her paws on.

Favorite Snack: A big rawhide bone.

Talent Show: Ally loves running at the Montrose dog beach, playing in the laundry hamper, wrestling with her older sister, and patrolling the neighborhood for squirrels and pigeons. But her best trick is tugging off people’s socks for them—whether they want them on or not!

recipe: pisco sour

2 oz pisco
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
1 large egg white
4 drops of angostura bittersice
raspberry for garnish

Put all the ingredients except the ice and bitters in a cocktail shaker and shake for 10 seconds.

Add ice and shake for 10 more seconds, then strain into a chilled mae cocktail glass.

Dot the drink with the bitters and garnish with a fresh raspberry.

recipe: classic margarita

1-1/2 oz silver tequila
3/4 oz triple sec
1-1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 tbsp simple syrup
ice
salt for rim
lime slices for garnish

Shake, strain and serve over ice in a ready double old-fashioned glass.

open that bottle night

What: Open That Bottle Night
When: Saturday, February 23
Where: Wherever!

How many times have you been gifted a special bottle of wine, or gone to great lengths to bring one back from a once-in-a-lifetime trip, only to open it after it’s too late?

Created by married wine critics Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, former contributors to The Wall Street Journal, whose column gave the everyday wine lover ratings they could relate to—such as: “delicious!”, just plain “good”, or so bad it’s “yech”—Open That Bottle Night, OTBN, reminds us that even excellent wines have a shelf life and life is too short to not enjoy them before their best use is paint thinner.

So plan a party—for this Friday, the last of the month and the traditional OTBN date—and work on the menu so the wine you’ve chosen compliments as it should. Check out these helpful hints, keep your fingers crossed, and enjoy creating a new memory for that very special bottle.

Hints:
1. Encourage guests to choose their bottle thoughtfully—and be prepared with ‘back-up bottles’ in case any have gone bad.

2. Be sure to share the story of the bottle with each other—and don’t forget to include the new memory of the evening’s events and those in attendance. Remember, good times with good friends are special events in and of themselves.

3. A bottle of red that’s “of a certain age” should be stood up a few days prior to opening to allow any sediments to sink to the bottom. This will ensure the best glass possible.

4. The corks of older bottles may be brittle or more difficult to remove so use a 2-prong corkscrew—which goes around the cork and not through it—and practice using it.

5. Slow down—and give proper consideration to the bottle’s temperature and the wine’s aeration. Older wines can be fragile so don’t jump to decant them or pour them down the drain at first ‘bad’ taste. Give them time to open up, try others in the meantime, swap stories, relax.

6. Create new memories with a collection of the corks marked with the date, or a scrapbook containing the bottle’s label and details of the evening—including recommendations for the wines that were worth the wait!