The Bon Vivant’s Companion

Wanted to take a minute to brag a little about my guys, the Bon Vivant Bartenders.

Over the last two years I’ve developed a team of bartenders for catering events, private parties, and corporate clients. They are smart, funny, creative mixologists, and a hell of a lot of fun to work with. (Unfortunately, not all of them are pictured.)

I was filing away event pictures yesterday and (besides being struck by how cool my guys look) was amazed by the number of events we’ve executed in the last twelve months.  We’ve been in Prince’s living room, at the Kentucky Derby, the SAG Awards, the Golden Globes, and behind every bar at every party thrown by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  (We spend so much time at the Academy, they’re thinking about getting us an office.  Actually, we could use a statue….)

We’ve been to San Francisco for the Black and White Ball, to Vegas for the Tiger Woods Foundation, and Phoenix for the NBA All Star Game, and that’s just a random sampling.  Last year, as a team, we knocked out more than 200 events.

Recently, we’ve taken our our act global (or at least international), with one guy representing me at a Michael Jordan event in the Bahamas, and another in Cabo with Chelsea Handler & Friends overseeing her birthday cocktails on the beach.  Tough job, but as the saying goes…

The BV Bartenders are a group of really great guys.  I’m thankful for their hard work, impressed by their talent, and moved by their sense of teamwork and loyalty.  (Occasionally, I want to hold one of them down in a tub of ice until they’re unconscious, but overall, I’m a very lucky girl.)  Their professionalism and talent is the reason for my company’s growth and success.  I, quite literally, couldn’t do it without them.

Thanks guys,
Jen

To learn more about these highly-trained cocktail professionals,

check us out at:
www.bonvivantevents.com

Below is a recipe based on the one created for Chelsea Handler’s Birthday extravaganza.

(Ms. Chandler pictured above)

Grey Goose “Margarita”

The “We know it can’t really be a Margarita without tequila, but this is pretty damn close, cocktail”
Based on a Recipe by Randy Evans

2 oz Grey Goose Le Citron
Homemade sour mix to taste (recipe below)
½ oz Cointreau
Salt for Rim
Lime wedge

Pour vodka, Cointreau, sour mix, and ice into a shaker.  Shake gently.
Pour entire contents into a glass rimmed with salt.  Garnish with a lime.

Homemade Sour Mix:
(Randy’s recipe is top secret.  This one is mine)
1 cup lemon juice
¾ cup lime juice
1 cup simple syrup
2 egg whites (the egg whites are optional).  They add a really great texture and mouth feel to the finished cocktail.

If you are worried about the raw egg, I recoment using pasturized Eggology Egg Whites.

Thanksgiving dinner was a family affair this year.  My sister provided delicious experimental cheeses, my cousin threw down with me in the kitchen, and my boyfriend kept a stiff upper lip while my relations teased him about – well –everything.  It was a tough crowd, and we needed a cocktail that would pair well with food, football, and anger management.

I settled on Cornucopia Sangria, a cocktail recently published in the San Francisco Chronicle.  Written by Stacy Finz, this great article suggests holiday cocktails for every imaginable occasion. (Except maybe hating the holidays, which, I guess, is what whiskey and a dark room are for.)

Adapted from “Peterson’s Holiday Helper,” by Valerie Peterson, the Cornucopia calls for chopped whole cranberries, oranges, apples, and red Rioja (a deeply colored, medium bodied Spanish wine with hints of berry).   Macerate (which is a fancy way of saying marinate) the chopped fruit in triple sec for a bit, and then stir the Rioja and sparkling cider into the mix.

Cocktail notes:
*Add the sparkling cider slowly, and to taste.  Depending on the quality and flavor of the Rioja you are using, too much sparkling cider can dilute the flavors of the wine.

*Let the mixture sit for a while, the flavor becomes richer over time.

*Although, not traditionally part of a sangria recipe, for a cocktail with a little more body (and a lot more kick) try mixing in a touch of vodka — we added a little Grey Goose.  By the time dinner rolled around the turkey was a little on the dry side, but we weren’t.

This sangria is great for groups, daytime sipping, and helping you through holiday duties like present wrapping, cookie baking, and the hauling out of ornaments (or fighting about the hauling out of ornaments). Whatever happens in your house.

For the full SF Gate article on holiday cocktails, including the Cornucopia Sangria recipe, click here.