Oktoberfest!

As a follow-up to yesterday's post on fall finally being upon us, I thought it would also be appropriate to do a post about another fall tradition: Oktoberfest Parties. This is timely for two reasons;

The first being that tomorrow is October 1st, and while the American liquor store tradition seems to be that Oktoberfest official starts some time in mid-August, my Hello Kitty wall calendar does not lie.

The time is nigh, y'all.

The second reason for this post is because I was invited to an Oktoberfest party this Friday (because I'm popular and people invite me to stuff like that, and I'm pretty excited!

Probably me on Friday.

At any rate, I'd like to go over some basics. First, Oktoberfest is for me, like a lot of folks, very much about the beer. Oktoberfest beer is a style called "Marzen," which is German for March; the month when the beer is traditionally brewed to age all spring and summer to finally be enjoyed in the fall. It's a Bavarian-style lager, characterized by amber-to-brown color, malty flavor, and low bitterness. Basically, it is the opposite of an IPA, which is  a lot of the reason I like Oktoberfest beers. Not that I don't enjoy IPAs, but being a rich, deep season, fall deserves a rich, deep beer to enjoy therein. There is more to the season than a good drunk, though, and food and festivity play a big part, as well.

Drinks

Pretty much every brewery puts out an Oktoberfest; Samuel Adams, Brooklyn, and Harpoon are some of the more common ones to see on tap here in the Northeast. Some of my favorites include:

Spaten: A large Munich brewery, Spaten Oktoberfest is the definition of Oktoberfest beer.

Hofbrau: Another large Munich brewery, I like Hofbrau Oktoberfest because it's a bit lighter than most. Anyone hesitant to put down the Budweiser can will definitely enjoy this one.

Hooker: A smaller brewery from right here in Connecticut, Hooker has long been one of my favorite Oktoberfest beers. In fact, right now is a good time to visit the Thomas Hooker brewery up in Bloomfield and suck down as much as you can right from the tap for $5.

Eats

Once you've got your beer, it's time to get your grub on. The best (and most common) Oktoberfest party dishes are the classics: beer brats and homemade pretzels with cheese sauce.

Beer Brats: I use this recipe.

Mmmm cheese: recipe.

Accessories

Beer Stein: You've probably all been to or seen a stein-holding contest around this time of year at your local bar. Why not bring the competitive fun to your on Oktoberfest party? A sweet 1-Liter Hofbrau stein from Amazon only run you $15.

This guy's elbow game looks a bit weak.

Beer Boot: I can't really claim to know much about the legitimacy of tradition on this one. According to this shady, citation-less wikipedia article, there is some legend about an army general promising his soldiers they can drink from his boot if they were successful in battle. That actually sounds like more of an incentive not to be successful, but none the less, we now have a tradition of filling the glass boot, and passing it around to toast our successes. A 2-Liter glass boot will cost you about $28 from Amazon.

A word of advice: when drinking from the boot, turn it so that the toe points to the side, otherwise enjoy a splash of malty brew to the face.

das boot.

Fall/Autumn

It's here! September 23 marks the first official day of Autumn and I couldn't be happier. Maybe it's because I am an October baby, but everything about this time of year makes me excited: pumpkins, Halloween, cooler weather, sweaters, apples, the list goes on and on. Although we are still experiencing an Indian Summer in New England, I had the chance to partake in a few fun fall activities this past weekend, including apple picking, pumpkin picking, and wine drinking. Now I just have to figure out what to do with all these apples. Ideas?

I Recently Discovered Vine

Some people might be wondering where I've been lately. If you've called I haven't answered. If you've texted, I've ignored it. No blog posts. No emails. Radio Silence.

Basically me.

Basically, what had happened was: I got drunk and stumbled upon a not-so-new form of social media that then abducted my mind and has been holding me prisoner in a creepy basement pit of laughter for two weeks. Yes, I'm talking about Vine.

Sure, I'd heard about it when it started, everyone described it as video for Twitter. But it's so much more than that. Basically it is a stream of disposable, instant hilarity. You find some funny wannabe comedian and you scroll through some of his vines. If you don't like one (or five), it's not really a great loss because your time investment was a whole 10 seconds. I've found there is a whole culture of people out there and all they do is vine. Vine, vine, vine, all of the time. I enjoy them because there is no real formula to the medium, yet. So sometimes you get jokes and sketches, or more straight forward sports highlights or music video promotions. Here are some ones that made me laugh:

And another by that same guy:
Well, there goes the rest of my day...

Yuengling in Connecticut

Today is the day. After 18 years in exile, Yuengling is back in Connecticut, much to the joy of Mid-Atlantic transports (like me) everywhere. For those not in the know, Yuengling is America's oldest brewery located in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. In terms of taste, it's honestly nothing too special, just a normal, good beer. Similar to a Sam Adams or a Narragansett. But everyone knows, when someone tells you that you can't have something, you only want it more. New Englanders have been exclusively enjoying Yuengling with cases brought up by friends visiting from New York or New Jersey. But today that all changes as Yuengling has finally got their act together and is launching in Connecticut.

The jury is still out on whether Connecticutians and New Englanders in general will still embrace the Yuengling mystique now that they can buy it at their local liquor store. But for now, this South Jersey girl is excited. Cheers!

DIY New Haven Brunch Favorite: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

When I woke up on Sunday morning, I faced a dilemma. I wanted food, of course, but I didn't want to pay for it and it was already too late to get brunch at any of the neighborhood spots without having to stand in line until sometime Monday afternoon (see this post for more on what that's like). So, I put the teapot on to boil and took a gander in the fridge to see what I could cook up.

Dramatic re-enactment.

I was in luck, I had all the basic accoutrement to make that most basic of breakfast feasts, pancakes. However, I needed more. I was feeling fancy. Youthful. Playful. Maybe even, dare I say, whimsical. But what else could I whip up? Certainly, bacon would have been an easy fix, but I had no bacon.

Pancake batter classic: OK, but not jazzy enough.

I thought about brunch again, where would I go? What would I get? My biggest hankering: The Pantry's Cinnamon Roll Pancakes. What used to be an occasional special at the breakfast mecca, soon became the ONLY special, then finally made it's way permanently onto the menu. And for good reason, too. They savory. They are sweet. Buttery. Sugary. MMMMmmmmm.

God created man in his image. This is that image.

I did some looking around on the computer. Fine, it was my phone. Fine, I was in the bathroom. And I put together a pretty basic replica of the aforementioned deliciousness. Basically it came down to:

Pancake batter classic (I use bisquick)
Hella melted butter (4 tablespoons-ish)
Lil bitta cinnamon (1/2teaspoon, perhaps)
Buncha brown sugar (every recipe I found said 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons, or as it's known by its less common name, 3/8 cup)

Mix that all together until it's uniform glop. You kind of have to mix it a while, to really spread all the solid into the butter.

Glop gloppy

Once that's ready, spoon it into a Ziploc bag and let it sit for like 5 minutes. I found this out by making a 'cake once it was ready, and the cinnamon butter glop was still very runny from the melt-icity of the butter. The 'cakes that came later, with slightly more congealed butter, were way better.

Once that's good to go, put some batter in a pan'o'butter and get it frying. Use some scissors to cut a small corner off the Ziploc to make a ghetto icing bag. Note: this also works well with sour cream for tacos. Using your ghetto icing bag, swirl a nice swirly-do on the cooking 'cake.

Swirly-do.

Give it a few seconds and go ahead and flip 'er. Proceed to cooking it like a normal pancake, and voila! Hot Cinnamon Roll Pancakes!

Coconut Water

When coconut water got really popular a year or so ago, I was not on the bandwagon. I had tried it somewhere and thought it was disgusting. I'm the kind of person who only drinks water and alcohol, nothing in between; no sodas, juices, teas, coffees, anything. So it was really no surprise to me that I found coconut water to be not worth my time. And then one day everything I thought I knew about coconut water changed. My husband told me he had tried a coconut water that was really good and the secret was that it needs to be fresh, not from concentrate. As usual, I was skeptic at best, but decided to give it a try and bought some Harvest Bay Coconut Water.

This coconut water is so.very.good. Like crazy good. Like I'm mad at myself for pushing off coconut water for so long good. It's light, refreshing, and has the hint of a vanilla coconut taste. It's actually been a great after dinner drink instead of eating 9 cookies. Also, one serving is only about 40 calories. The only downside is the cost, which is about $6 for a container. But sometimes you just need to treat yourself!

New Death by Lunchbox!

In response to some positive feedback from this post, I've created a few new Death by Lunchbox comics. (click to enlarge)

Ode to Hood Cocktails

Summer is waning fast, and in my opinion, early Fall presents the best opportunity to enjoyably drink outside without the sweat, the bugs, or the stickiness of an August BBQ. This is doubly so if you play in any sort of adult drinking/sports league, for example WAKA Kickball. It is in that spirit that I provide an overview of some of my favorite ready-in-a-flash hood beverages to spice up an afternoon on the field with friends. In order from simplest to most complex, we have:

1. Gatorbeer (Beertorade?)

This one is astoundingly simple, and does an effective job of introducing some hydration, crucial sugars, and electrolytes to your body in preparation of an epic day in battle, at the same time as gearing up your liver for an epic afternoon of sloppiness. Basically, mix a can of your favorite cheap beer with some of your favorite color Gatorade.

Coconut for display only. Headband optional, but recommended.

2. Brass Monkey

This one is a well-known classic, with it's very own classic Beastie Boys song to back it up. However, in talking to some folks, I've found that there is quite a variety of opinions about how exactly a Brass Monkey is made. They are all just that, though, opinions. The truth is this: 40oz Old English drank down to the top of the label (drank NOT poured out for the homies), orange juice (Sunny D if you're feeling extra hood) goes in until it's full again, give it a little shake, enjoy.

This infographic uses Tropicana because he think he fancy.

In conducting my extensive research for this post, I also learned that a Brass Monkey is also a stripper pole dancing maneuver. Combo the two at your own risk.

No one likes a show off.

3. Skippy

The first time I had skippy I fell in love with both the skippy and the person sharing the skippy. That's what skippy makes you do: love and share. It also makes you do other weird things, but this isn't a post about how to ignore your inner shame the morning after, it's about causing it the night before. A big shout out to my friend @Jeffc1784 for his skippy recipe, which he makes and shares on the reg. According to Jeff:

To make 2 gallons I use 750ml of Dubra vodka...

Dubra in its natural habitat.

...about 12 Bush Lights...

Hollywood reenactment of Busch Light.

 ...and a whole container of Country Time Lemonade...

Country Time's spokesperson is a little less attractive.

 ...Avoid using beers with a strong after taste. I used Heineken once and it tasted bad.

Food coloring for team spirit.

So, get out there and mix it up. Win the game. Slap hi-fives. Laugh it up. Get the girl. Or, you know, whatever. 

Lake Wintergreen

Sometimes you just want to get out of the city and enjoy the outdoors, which is why we are so lucky to have so many great spots nearby. But like me, you may be tiring of East Rock Park and Sleeping Giant. Welcome my new favorite outdoorsy spot: Lake Wintergreen at West Rock Ridge State Park. It's about a 10 minute car ride from downtown New Haven and is strikingly beautiful on a sunny day. There are a few trails, with the simplest being a circle around the lake, but you can also go to the top of West Rock or spend some time in the water kayaking. It's the perfect mix of water and woods. Head there now before it gets too cold!

 

Feeling Sick

Last week I was feeling a little run down and tired so I did what I always do when I think I'm getting sick: panic. Although I'm sure there isn't anyone who actually likes being sick, the very idea of it sets me into a tailspin. I get bored easily and laying in bed with nothing to do but rest is not my ideal day. The good news is that I have a system now. Whenever I feel a tickle in my throat or extra exhausted I know exactly what to do and usually if I play the game right I can ward off illness. So here's the secret: one day of rest (go to bed early), vitamin C (I'm totally feeling Airborne gummies these days), and head down to Pure and get a Cold Fighter.

I don't know if it's all mental or these juices can actually cure the common cold, but they are lifesavers. A mix of fresh squeezed orange, carrot, and ginger juices that will seriously have you feeling better in no time. The guys down at Pure know my order just by seeing me and probably think I'm a Hypochondriac, but I promise you that the next time you think a cold is coming on go there order a large. You'll thank me later!

Bill

Former POTUS Bill Clinton made a trip back to New Haven this past weekend to grab a cupcake from Katalina's support incumbent Governor Dan Malloy.

Photo c/o: @mimoct Baby c/o: ???

Based on all media accounts, the man looked as good as ever strutting around the Elm City. I can only imagine that if Hillary came along, it might have gone something like this:

Billary: ca. 1970s on Tower Parkway, NHV.

Black Hog Brewery

I took the opportunity to attend the opening shindig at Black Hog Brewery with a bunch of friends on Saturday. The craft beer scene is strengthening all over the country, and the Nutmeg State has no shortage on the action. Black Hog is the latest effort by the Sobocinski Brothers, who count Caseus Fromagerie & Bistro and The Cheese Truck amongst their other delicious endeavors.

A good co-blogger values day drinking.

The brewery is located in Oxford, CT, which is also known for having never been visited by me before. Seriously, as someone who was born and raised in the state of Connecticut, I've seen surprisingly little of it. Especially the valley. Anyways, the beer was well worth the drive. For $4 a pint, I enjoyed quite a few pulls off the Easy Rye Da tap and the Ginga Ninja tap. The former is a rye IPA, and the latter an interesting amalgamation of red and IPA brewed with ginger. I highly recommend trying it out if you see it on tap locally.

Good turnout for beer and BBQ

The tasting room also offers tasters of any of the beers currently being brewed, some of which seem like pretty unique creations from the mind of their brewmaster, who previously did stints at the Portsmouth Brewery and Smuttynose. The grand opening featured a box-roasted pig, and an appearance by the The Cheese Truck.

There's a pig in there.

Based on the family business, I've got to imagine this won't be the last time you'll find good eats at at the Hog on a beautiful day. The tasting room is open Wednesday and Friday, 4-7pm, and Saturday 1-5pm.

Look good. Feel good.