San Francisco Pictures

I finally finished editing all the pictures from the trip Anne and I took to San Francisco in October. (Some of the better ones are online in the image gallery.)

In case you missed the news: I won a Sunset magazine recipe contest earlier this year - grand prize in the holiday beverage category. Sunset flew me and a guest (Anne) to their headquarters in Menlo Park last October to have Thanksgiving dinner with the other category winners and guests.

After dinner they awarded an overall grand-, first-, second- and third-prize to four of the six category winners. My drink - an Herbaltini - won third prize. (Nick and I are now enjoying a monthly shipment of wine from Sunset’s wine club, as a result.)

There are probably a few readers who live outside the Western United States or simply missed picking up a copy of the magazine. If you’re interested, here’s the recipe I submitted to Sunset. The published version is slightly different (modified just a little bit to meet their recipe publishing standards). Cheers!

Herbaltini

No doubt about it, cocktails stimulate good times, animate parties and break the ice. They are especially fun for a holiday gathering, but who wants to miss out on the fun by mixing drinks one by one? We didn’t, so our solution was to create a pre-mixed pitcher of spirited refreshment. The Herbaltini combines fresh herbs that many people have left over after creating other holiday dishes, and leaves you free to enjoy the company of your guests as they arrive.

24 large sprigs mint
12 small sprigs rosemary
3/4 cup superfine sugar
2 oranges, cut into quarters
18 ounces gin
9 ounces lime juice
4 ounces water
12 ounces soda water
mint leaves for garnish

1. No more than 20 minutes before serving (see note) combine mint sprigs, rosemary and sugar in a pitcher that holds at least 60 ounces. Use a long handled muddler or wooden spoon to muddle the mint, rosemary and sugar together. Squeeze orange quarters into pitcher and drop in. Muddle a few strokes to release the oils from the rind. Stir in gin, lime juice, and water. Mix until sugar has dissolved.
2. Can be served immediately or covered and refrigerated until ready to serve. Just before serving, slowly add cold seltzer, tilting the pitcher and pouring onto the pitcher’s side to retain as much effervescence as possible. Stir gently to combine. Divide among 12 chilled martini glasses and float a mint leaf on top of drink.

Note: American writer Waverly Root once said, “It is the destiny of mint to be crushed.” That’s certainly the case when it comes to drinks like Mint Julep, Mojito and the Herbaltini. But the thing to know about mint is that about 20 minutes after it’s crushed, chopped or otherwise abused, its emerald-green color begins to turn an unappetizing dark brownish green. If you’d like to make this drink more than 20 minutes ahead of time, do this: Just before your guests arrive, strain the mixture, tossing out the discolored mint, rosemary and oranges, and add a handful of fresh mint leaves to the pitcher.

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