It's finally here! Tonight is the night I officially kick off my new Recipe for Love series with a launch party at Blue Hill. The party guests will be friends, family, book bloggers, food bloggers, reviewers, publishing peeps, and some assorted media. There might be video cameras. I feel just a whiff of Cinderella coming on...

Pictures will be posted in the next few days--of the food, if nothing else. Here's the menu-in-progress Blue Hill's chefs drew up, based on what's available and looking good at the farmer's markets this week:

We'll also be featuring the two cocktails from Can't Stand the Heat: the "Miranda", champagne with raspberries and rose-infused vodka, and GINger Lemonade--recipes for both are in the back of the book, and I can't wait to reenact the first scene when everyone in the restaurant is tipsy on pink fizzy drinks!

And I absolutely CANNOT wait for the pork belly skewers, and to find out what makes those chicken wings all New York fancy...

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 7:32 AM 8 comments  

Labels: Blue Hill, book launch party, Can't Stand the Heat

This year's James Beard Award winners were named, and guess what? Dan Barber at Blue Hill in New York City won the outstanding chef award! This is exciting because Blue Hill just so happens to be the restaurant where I'll be hosting my launch party for Can't Stand the Heat in September. I'm in the middle of looking over proofs of the invites now, so check out the Blue Hill website and imagine yourself there this fall!

Space is very limited (it's a small, intimate restaurant) so I'm going to have to cull the guest list pretty carefully. However, I do plan to record the party for posterity on my website, so even if you don't get to experience it in person, you'll have the chance to see what we get up to. The only menu item I know for sure is the signature cocktail I developed for my heroine, Miranda, to get drunk on in the first chapter. I think I'll call it Miranda's Downfall. The recipe is included in the book, but here's a sneak peek for my faithful blog readers:

Miranda's Downfall

1 oz rose-petal-infused vodka
3 whole raspberries
Your favorite champagne or sparkling wine

For infused vodka:
2 cups of vodka
2 large red roses

Remove petals from flowers and wash well. Add petals to the vodka and stir around. Let sit, covered, overnight to allow flavors to steep. Put the berries in the bottom of a champagne flute or saucer, pour in the vodka shot, and top up with your favorite bubbly! For a drier cocktail, choose brut or rosé; if you want it sweeter, the next level would be a crémant, followed by the sugariest of all, a spumante. Makes one cocktail.

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 2:58 PM 4 comments  

Labels: Blue Hill, cocktail, Dan Barber, James Beard Awards, launch party, recipe