Weekend Soundtrack: All is Calm All is Bright, Christmas 2012 Mix

All is Calm, All is Bright: Christmas 2012 Mix

One of the things that can be irritating about piped-in holiday music is that my tastes are so specific to how I grew up. I made this Christmas mix for me, so I could hear just the right thing over cocoa. It can be a starting point for your own mix, or an easy collection for cocktails.

My top-ten favorite Christmas songs:

1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Judy Garland
2. Silent Night, Holy Night, Frank Sinatra
3. Santa Baby, Eartha Kitt
4. Silver Bells, Stevie Wonder
5. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, Michael Bublé
6. Frosty the Snowman, Fiona Apple
7. Go Tell it On the Mountain, Dolly Parton
8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Gene Autry
9. What Child is This, Kristen Chenowith
10. O Holy Night, Kelly Clarkson

That last one especially.

What songs put you in the mood for decking the halls?

Mighty Thirst: Toddy Shots

This is my spin on a digestif — for guests who aren’t inclined to drink their booze straight, whether to aid digestion or the conversation. It’s strong, intentionally so, but it’s also delicious.

Rim glass with nutmeg and sugar. Add:
• 1 shot Sailor Jerry’s rum
• 1 shot hot Earl Grey tea
• A splash of almond milk (to taste)

Despite the name, do not require that guests drink it off your body, or you’ll have some awkward burns to explain later.

Here’s to museums after dark, feeling healthy and well-rested, and playing it by ear. What are you toasting this week?

Other Mighty cocktails:
The ABC • Sassy Lassi • The Cherry Bing • The Vacation • Shots n ‘Cots • Avocado Bourbon Shake

Mighty Thirst: The ABC

This morning pick-me-up is named in honor of Miss Anna Beth Chao, who made vats of cold brewed coffee while she was visiting from Louisiana. My house smelled glorious. I suddenly wanted a little coffee in everything — I briefly considered bathing in it. This was our compromise.

The ABC

• 1 shot Disaronno
• 1 shot almond milk
• Louisiana Cold Brewed Coffee to taste
• Crushed ice

I’m headed to Outside Lands this weekend. Here’s to dancing on the grass, gourmet food trucks, and Mr. Stevie Wonder. What are you toasting this week?

And if you’re still thirsty:
Sassy Lassi
The Vacation
Avocado Bourbon Shake

Mighty Thirst: Sassy Lassi

Were you ever watching So You Think You Can Dance, when you thought to yourself, “I need a signature cocktail to get me through this Bollywood routine.” Friend, I’ve got your back.

Sassy Lassi serves 3
• 6 oz mangos
• ½ cup coconut water
• 4 ice cubes
• 6 oz plain yogurt
• 3 shots Kraken rum
• Pistachios to garnish (These are good and crunchy. Do not skip them.)

Put everything in a blender except the pistachios and mix it up. Garnish and enjoy.

AB Chao is still in town, so here’s to Louisiana Iced Coffee in the sun, dancing around in your swimsuit, and sneaking smokes. What are you toasting this week?

Mighty Thirst: The Vacation

This cocktail is so easy, but the type of rum matters. You want Kraken because it has a strong vanilla profile that softens the drink, and also because the cephalopod label makes your bar look so 2005-Brooklyn-Tattoo.

All you need is:

• A shot of Kraken Rum
• Coconut water to taste

Pour over ice, swizzle, and add an optional cherry garnish. Simple? Perfect. You’re on vacation, you shouldn’t have to work too hard for your drink.

Here’s to staying up all night talking on the porch, tubing on the river, sand in the car. What are you toasting this week?

Mighty Thirst: Avocado Bourbon Shake

I know. I know it sounds weird, maybe even terrible. It is not. It is the most delicious thing you have ever tasted, plus bourbon. Put this in your blender, and then put it in your mouth. Trust.

Avocado Bourbon Shake serves 4
• 2 small, ripe Haas avocado (½ cup or so)
• 3 cups vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup coconut water
• 4 shots Bulleit bourbon

Here’s to the wind off the lake that tangles your hair, warm deck planks and bare feet, one milkshake and two straws.

What are you toasting this week?

Mighty Thirst: Shots in ‘Cots

BAM! I made shot glasses out of apricots! Because I am a Lady MacGyver. These contain tequila, so I regret not salting the rims to make Margarita Bites. Be ye not so thoughtless.

They’re easy to make. Three steps:

1. Test your apricots to make sure they’ll stand up on their bums.
2. While your apricot is standing on a flat surface, take a metal cap (I used one from a booze bottle), and press it into the stem end.
3. Use a knife or small spoon to pull out the top and the pit beneath.

Voila, drunkards! Tiny little booze bombs.

Happy Fourth of July tomorrow! Please do not do shots and light things on fire. Love, Maggie

Whiskey at a pub in Ireland? Check.

Have whiskey at a pub in Ireland? Check. Lifelist

It’s the best when a life list item kind of falls in your lap, especially one like this. We went to Doheny and Nesbitt’s on recommendation from an Irish friend. As the name suggests, it was as cinematically Irish as a pub gets — by which I mean very drunk. The women on the barstools next to us had just completed some sort of endurance swim, and they were on the group-singing cocktail. I didn’t realize I knew the song until they got to the chorus. Then we joined in, swinging our whiskeys around singing “cockels and mussels, alive, alive, o!” Fantastic.

The Mighty Summit is this weekend, and it’s all about life lists, so I’m committing to crossing five more things off in the next three months. This is a great place to start. Dublin, thanks for making us feel so at home.

Will you join me? What can you cross off in the next three months?

Farewell, Champagne and Chocolate Wednesday

After nearly four months of weekly celebration, I’ve learned I enjoy champagne and chocolate more when I’m not enjoying them on a schedule. I’m more attuned now to marking celebratory events, and generally more thankful, so this will be the last regularly scheduled Champagne and Chocolate Wednesday. But! I’ll still let you know when I have something worth toasting, and I hope you’ll let me know too.

Here’s to cold bubbly in heat wave, knowing when to quit, Elephant’s Heart Plums, and body rolls.

What are you toasting today?