// mint julep //

Fancy having a fancy cocktail? Just because there's herbs in your drank doesn't mean it's too complicated to make at home. Luckily, my friend is a skilled bartender at Soundtable and even when we're just hanging out at home he is like the Iron Chef of drinks. He can make us something that tastes good AND looks fancy from whatever we have around. We had to make do and make mint juleps with some of my birthday Jameson (I got tons of booze for my 30th). Here's a proper recipe and here's something that sounds less complicated, but I think they're basically the same thing. Just have a few and you probably won't be able to tell...or you just won't care. ;]

// bday food //

On his birthday every year, my friend gets a huge Omaha Steaks package sent down from his mom. After watching some show on t.v. about hot dogs, I was craving some. Luckily, in the birthday package are 4 gourmet franks. After going to 3 different gas stations and a CVS (no grocery store close by to their house),  I finally got some buns and chips for our lunch. We crumpled up some potato chips and used it as one of the toppings. Definitely makes a difference and it was inspired by the Colombian style hot dog. Also, had a huge bottle of vodka someone gave me for my birthday and wanted to do something different. We ended up infusing it with fresh pineapple. Just cut it up in slivers and into the bottle it went. It's still way too strong to drink straight up, but it looks pretty in the bottle and mixes well with orange juice. Pretty creative ways to boost up some standards, eh?