July Re-cap

Whoops! I totally forgot my July re-cap.

New Restaurants:
Woody’s Boathouse (Lake Arrowhead, CA)
Papagayos Mexican Restaurant (Lake Arrowhead, CA)
Monty’s (Pasadena, CA)
The Rose Café (Venice, CA)
Table 13 (Ventura, CA)
Leaf (Culver City, CA)
Three on Fourth (Santa Monica, CA)

Cultural Event:
The Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl
(Talk about a fiasco: went to my local Whole Foods, spent 45 minutes picking out delicious finger food from the deli case only to have the whole market go dark right as I’m heading to the cashier. We waited another 30 minutes waiting for the electricity to come back on. When it hadn’t turned back on after 45 minutes, the checkers instructed us to abandon our carts in the aisles. It was very sad.)

Movie:
Woody Allen’s Manhattan
So maybe I fell asleep and missed the ending…happens to the best of us after a couple of bottles of wine.

Book:
Uh, yeah…. No.

Recipe: Should Jell-O shots be considered a recipe? Because I’m sure I made something last month, but my mind is too cloudy with memories of the Ligurian coastline to remember. I definitely remember making my always-popular peach schnapps Jell-O shots. These are the best Jell-O shots you will ever have. People look at me like I’m a lunatic when I tell them they’re chock-full of peach schnapps, but taste and see!

Peach-on-Peach

1 - 4 oz box peach-flavored Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
½ cup cold water
1 ½ cup peach schnapps

The Woo Woo

While flipping through a tacky '70s bartending guide, my sisters and I discovered the “Woo Woo.” It’s just a Cape Cod, but the splash of peach schnapps makes it so much better. Recently, I've taken those same flavors and introduced them to the wonderfully wiggly world of Jell-O. A word of caution: if you’re not careful that little extra kick will have you dancing on tabletops and singing the shot’s name as loudly as you can.

1 – 4 oz box cranberry-flavored Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
½ cup cold water
½ cup peach schnapps
1 cup vodka (preferably from the freezer)

Follow the directions on the back of the box, substituting the booze for the cold water. As tempted as you may be to maximize the Jell-O shot impact by increasing the amount of booze to two full cups -- don't. You'll only be sacrificing texture. You really do need at least a half cup of water to get that true Jell-O consistency.

Once dissolved, divide the mixture between between the vessels you plan to serve your Jell-O in using a measuring cup. Dixie cups are inexpensive and easy to find at any supermarket or drugstore, but if you're feeling fancy, you can also find 2 oz. plastic containers with lids at most restaurant supply stores.

Place in the refrigerator until firm, at least 4-6 hours, and enjoy!