Hey chocolate lovers! Vosges (pronounced voh-j) Chocolates are really special. If you love chocolate, try one of these amazing flavors.

Enjoy!

Amy

Black Pearl (ginger + wasabi + black sesame seeds + dark chocolate, 55% cacao)

Bacon Bar (applewood smoked bacon + Alder wood smoked salt + deep milk chocolate, 41% cacao)

Red Fire (Mexican ancho & chipotle chillies + Ceylon cinnamon + dark chocolate, 55% cacao)

d'Oliva: (dried kalamata olives + Venezuelan white chocolate, 33% cocoa butter)

Woolloomooloo: (roasted & salted macadamia nuts + Indonesian coconut + hemp seeds + deep milk chocolate, 41% cacao)

Many thanks to Jay Erisman for this terrific bit of info on Absinthe!

Like a liquid superhero, the Green Fairy has returned to Greater Cincinnati. Absinthe, the legendary libation of the Belle Époque, Impressionist paintings, and Parisian dens of iniquity, is again legal in America. Kübler Absinthe is set to hit the shelves of The Party Source Thursday, May 15th, with absinthes from France and even from craft distillers across America following soon after that.

Absinthes are drunk with great ceremony, slowly diluted with water dripping through a sugar cube, which turns the spirit cloudy. The flavor is…well, first of all, you have to like licorice. But once you’re a licorice lover, expect a profusion of subtle herb and spice hints. Fine absinthe is one of the greatest liqueurs ever, and an amazing drink. With all these great new—and legal—absinthes, life in Cincinnati just got a lot greener..

Experience it for yourself Wednesday, May 15^{th at EQ the cooking school @ The Party Source.}

Free 6-8PM

6-8PM

Cheers!

Amy

How to Prepare Absinthe

Today I’m signing copies of Amy’s Table: Food for Family and Friends at the Sixth Annual Books and Brunch event at the Kenwood Country Club. I’ll join other local authors for this fundraiser benefiting the Assistance League of Greater Cincinnati. The proceeds will be used to fund it’s philanthropic programs including Operation School Bell® , Assault Survivor® and Domestic Violence Kits, the Learning Together program and College Starter Kits.

All this talk about Mexican food and Margaritas makes me think of the excellent job Jay Dickerson does as Bar Chef at EQ @ The Party Source. He recently guest-ed on Amy’s Table and mixed up a really great margarita . Take a look- and download the recipe.

Cheers!

Amy

Margarita and Tequila 101 Video

Download Jay Dickerson’s Margarita recipe and Bar Basic suggestions

The Sayler Park Farmers' Market will open  Tuesday, May 6th and run every Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. through October. The Sayler Park Farmers' Market is one of the few farmers' markets on the west-side [Read more →]

Regarding the bourbon slush, Laura wrote:

"I WANT THE RECIPE!

My b-day is Cinco De Mayo and would love to make it for this."

Well Laura, I’m doing a class for Cinco de Mayo on Monday and will be sure to raise a toast to you! If you want to make a cocktail that’s a little more geared to the day , try some of these awesome Cinco do Mayo cocktails from Nada.

Cocktail recipes

Happy Birthday!

Amy

Today's contest winner, Sean, asked where to get fresh mint for his juleps. Here are three options:

Madison’s in Findlay Market [Read more →]

Tonight I’ll be at  CET's Wonderful World of Mystique Auction which will air live on CET from 7-9 pm.  There'll  be plenty of spectacular auction items. I’m really excited about the donation that The Party Source, EQ, Stepping N Out and The Parks Board have put together with me.

It's a private Tapas Party, Wine Tasting and Dance Lesson for 12 at The Krohn Conservatory

For more information, click here.

Put in a bid- it’s sure to be memorable night!

Best,Amy

One morning last week, I flipped on the TV and got caught up in one of the shopping channels. I’ve never ordered anything from them. Have you? They sure know how to make things seem irresistible. That morning they were selling a self-tanner called XEN-TAN. A self-confessed self tanner junkie, I became certain that this was the one and only tan for me but I just couldn’t bring myself to order from TV. So I checked it out online and discovered that Nordstrom sells it. That gave it a whole new level of credibility and I ordered XEN-TAN Deep Bronze ($23 for 5ounces) from Nordstrom.

Before I applied it, I exfoliated. Don’t even think about self tanning without exfoliating! Here’s what I use: [Read more →]

Danny Gold-Wine Expert at The Party Source

Wine of the Week

Almira los dos "old vine" Grenache (Spain): Isle 9A $6.99

Old vine Grenache has ripe fruit and is full of zesty spices. An avid Zinfandel or Shiraz drinker would easily find this wine very pleasant. The fruit bursts out the bottle into the glass filling the room and the palate with raspberry jam. Almira has a spicy white pepper finish with soft tannins and is as much fun on the palate as it is on the wallet.
Food: cured Spanish meats, bbq ribs, steak and burgers on the grill.