things are ramping up over here at cake and catering headquarters. we have a jam packed food weekend followed by styled shoots two days next week. basically, my fridges and cupboards are stuffed to the gills and i'm looking forward to having my fridge full of food i can actually eat myself again. 

but in the mean time i've been prepping the perfect cocktail for our dinner for eight tomorrow night. the hosts have requested a fruity cocktail with rum, which normally isn't really my thing. however, the pineapple juice makes this fruity and floral cocktail the perfect balance of sweet and refreshing. you can always use pre squeezed juice, but for a really next level cocktail, i recommend squeezing the orange and lime juice fresh. 

el presidente
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 4 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 5 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz light rum. 2 oz pineapple juice. 2 oz orange juice. 1 oz lime juice. .5 oz hibiscus syrup or grenadine. shaker. 2 cups ice. pineapple chunk for garnish. 

start by filling your glass with half the ice and the shaker with the other half. pour in all of your ingredients to the shaker and shake well to combine. 

pour the cocktail into the iced glass. 

garnish with pineapple chunk and serve. 

xo, a

el presidente
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 4 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 5 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz light rum. 2 oz pineapple juice. 2 oz orange juice. 1 oz lime juice. .5 oz hibiscus syrup or grenadine. shaker. 2 cups ice. pineapple chunk for garnish. start by filling your glass with half the ice and the shaker with the other half. pour in all of your ingredients to the shaker and shake well to combine. pour the cocktail into the iced glass. garnish with pineapple chunk and serve. 

i took a few days off from EVERYTHING this week to go visit my brother in vancouver, bc. he has been living there for closing in on two years and wes and i were FINALLY able to take some time off to go see him. and man oh man, what a city. 

obviously, seeing my brother and his life there was the highlight of the trip, but vancouver has A LOT to offer. the city nestled up against the mountains and the water is physically stunning. but more than that, the people were so kind, friendly and helpful. and the FOOD. THE FOOD!!!!

we had some seriously beautiful meals in vancouver. top five meals of all time kind of meals. there were many great restaurants and dishes, but none more inspiring than our dinner the last night at kissa tanto. i am a sucker for a fusion restaurant because i'm greedy. but a place that combines my two favorites, japanese and italian? now that is just a set up for heaven. and heaven it was. 

i'm back, i'm inspired, and i'm cooking all weekend long. we are catering for my good friend lish this weekend and i'll be using that stockpile of food inspiration i accumulated over the trip. and today's cocktail is no exception. 

the best food, has the best ingredients. so for happy hour i'm using the freshest things i've got. some beautiful golden pears and thyme picked fresh from my garden make a clean, herbaceous drink that goes down dangerously easy. be prepared, you will likely want a second. 

pear + thyme fall classic
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz gin (or vodka if you prefer). 1 oz triple sec. 2 tbs diced ripe pear. 5 oz lemon soda. 3 sprigs thyme. shaker. 2 cups ice. 

start by filling your shaker with ice. reserve one sprig of thyme and pull the leaves from the other two. smash the leaves between your hands to release the oils. 

place the thyme leaves, gin, triple sec and pears in the shaker. shake well to combine. 30 seconds.

fill your serving glass with ice and your remaining sprig of thyme. pour in the contents of your shaker. 

fill the glass with the lemon soda. 

give it a stir and serve.

xo,a

pear + thyme fall classic
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ngredients: 2 oz gin (or vodka if you prefer). 1 oz triple sec. 2 tbs diced ripe pear. 5 oz lemon soda. 3 sprigs thyme. shaker. 2 cups ice. start by filling your shaker with ice. reserve one sprig of thyme and pull the leaves from the other two. smash the leaves between your hands to release the oils. place the thyme leaves, gin, triple sec and pears in the shaker. shake well to combine. 30 seconds. fill your serving glass with ice and your remaining sprig of thyme. pour in the contents of your shaker. fill the glass with the lemon soda. give it a stir and serve.