The season is upon us, friends!  It is a flurry of presents and wrapping paper, baking and menu planning and the breathless anticipation of family and friends arriving for visits, meals, and cocktail parties.  Planning plays such an important part to keep you out of the kitchen and with your people.  Here are JBE's suggestion for a fool proof gathering every time! 

Plan Ahead

Have the menu and shopping taken care of as early as possible.  This will help keep it low key on the day of the event.  We all know the dreaded fourth-time-I've-been-to-the-store run.  Keeping an organized list of ingredients you will need as you menu plan will help the day run smoothly.

Batch Cocktails

A specialty cocktail is a great way to make any event shine a little brighter.  Choosing a cocktail that can be made in batches is even better and keeps you from continually having to mix drinks all night.  We recommend the Mulled Wine recipe below for something warm and wonderful (and easy on the alcohol for those that are driving). 

Mulled Wine 

1 Bottle Red Wine (Merlot or Zinfandel recommended)

1/2 Cup Sugar or Simple Syrup

1 Orange, sliced in rounds

1 Lemon, sliced in rounds

1 1/2 cups water

1 large tea ball of mulling spices *

Place all ingredients in a crock pot on low heat.  If you are in a hurry, turn to high and then turn down just before it starts to simmer.  As the evening goes, if it starts to get stronger, feel free to add hot water 1/4 cup at a time to the pot.  The tea ball is the quickest and easiest way to add the mulling spices.  They could also be wrapped in cheesecloth.

*Mulling spices are cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and orange peel.  These can be bought pre-mixed or you can make your own.

Low Maintenance Menus

If you are serving dinner, braised meats are a great way to cut down on your kitchen time and make the house smell amazing throughout the day.   Slow and low for roasts and ribs makes for fall-off-the-bone goodness for higher fat cuts of meat.  If you are serving hors d'oeuvres, finding as many do-ahead recipes as possible will help keep the last minute push to a minimum.  Regardless of your menu, think about each recipe and the time it will require for the day of the event.

Consider Hiring Help for the Evening

If you have a labor intensive meal planned with lots of guests, it might be worth it to consider hiring out some things.  Sometimes you just can't bear the thought of loading one more old fashioned glass into the dishwasher at midnight after everyone is gone.  Dish rental is super affordable and will prevent you from having to do dishes at the end of the evening.  

Also consider hiring a caterer for one or more dishes for the meal.  Even if they only do one dish, they will have staff available for hire for the evening to help keep the food stocked and the dishes cleared.  I find that guests also love to be utilized as extra hands.  Thinking about what specific things you will need help with will make the evening run smoothly and guests will love helping make the magic happen.

If you decide that it's all just too much, JBE is thrilled to come and help you plan your perfect event.  We can handle everything and allow you to enjoy your guests to the fullest.  Contact us for more information.

  Relax and Enjoy Your Guests

At the heart of it all, the evening should be about spending time with those that you love.  Even if the casserole is overdone and the turkey is underdone, laughter and community (and good wine) make up for a multitude of sins.  Being with your guests is the most important factor in the event equation.  Grab a glass of something good and jingle those bells, friends!  

We want to wish each and every one of you a blessed holiday season filled with love and laughter.  We hope that you are able to connect with friends and family, both near and far, and that you are all able to have some time to simply enjoy one another amidst the chaos.  We look forward to being with you in the New Year and lots of exciting new adventures to announce in the coming weeks!  

We spent a lovely long weekend in Baltimore helping with a wedding for some dear friends.  The weekend involved gorgeous dinners with friends and family from across the country (and ocean).  

The ceremony took place at a country church just outside of Baltimore and the service held beautiful liturgy specifically chosen by one of the grooms and stunning music. 

Our grooms were dapper in their navy and gray and the reception was a full afternoon tea in hues of navy, green, and yellow.  Thier nautical theme even carried through to the cake.  

The afternoon tea fare was just right as guests enjoyed croquet on the lawn.

The weekend ended with brunch at the Museum of Art under tents as friends and family bid farewell for their travel.  A wonderful weekend celebrating love!

We celebrated the scary with an appropriately terrifying bar for Halloween and a delicious new fall cocktail, The Root of All Evil, courtesy of thewhiskeyscout and Ben Carpenter.  Check them out for all of the lovely recipe details.  And be prepared to make them all night long.

The hosts for this Halloween spectacular live on THE HALLOWEEN STREET in Louisville.  Their house theme is all things Voodoo and Bayou.  From witches around cauldrons to frogs and toads and snakes adorning the railings and fence, we needed to carry the theme throughout the house.  What better way than with a potion and poison bar?

Skull bourbon bottle courtesy of Steven G Cheek Ceramics

Antique apothecary jars courtesy of Crescent Hill Trading Co.

Dry ice smoked and fell throughout the evening in cold fog curtains and the sound of the ice "boiling" added to the effect. 

We made batch after batch of the cocktail and it was the perfect balance of bourbon and fall spice while we watched the thousands of trick or treaters line the street.  We can safely say even though the costumes are put away for another year, that cocktail isn't going anywhere for some time.  Cheers to autumn, friends!  

Ah, bourbon, that sublime nectar of the gods.  We at JBE love bourbon any way you want to serve it.  But for Derby week?  We need a bourbon cocktail recipe that can be made ahead and serve a house full of guests.  Punch is making a big comeback in the cocktail and entertaining world for this very reason.  Dump all of the ingredients in a big bowl and the mixing is finished!  This bourbon punch is sure to be on your list of favorites!

Bourbon Punch

by Jennifer Brian Cheek

2 cups Bourbon

1/3 cup Ruby Port

1/3 cup Cointreau

1 3/4 cups Sherry

1 1/4 cups fresh lemon juice

3 bottles sparkling wine, cava, or prosecco

1/2 cup simple syrup

Orange and lemon slices for garnish

Into a freezer safe, lidded container, pour one bottle of sparkling wine.  Add orange and lemon slices and freeze for at least 24 hours or until solid.  To assemble the punch, in a large punch bowl, add all ingredients and stir.  Turn out frozen sparkling wine ice block into the bowl to keep punch chilled.

More Derby Week fun is coming up in our next post!  Stay tuned for our Oak's Day festivities that include a great brunch and backside track access!

With Easter Brunch this weekend, we have the perfect champagne cocktails to pair with any menu!  We take a fresh look at three standard champagne cocktails and dress them up for brunch. 

In our Lavender Peach Bellini, our culinary lavender tincture sends this Bellini to the next level.  The subtle flavor of the herb balances out the sweet, making this your new favorite brunch cocktail.  

Lavender Peach Bellini

makes four drinks

1/2 cup peach puree 

1 Tbs culinary lavender (available at specialty spice stores)

2 Tbs boiling water 

Prosecco

Steep lavender in 2Tbs boiling water for 30-45 min. Strain lavender essence into peach puree and stir to combine.  Divide puree among 4 champagne flutes.  Top with Prosecco.

Our French 75 adds Limoncello to the traditional standard cocktail, giving it a new level of lemon.  Once you have had JBE's French 75, you won't want to go back.  

French 75

makes one cocktail

1.5 ounces Gin

1 ounce Limoncello

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Splash of simple syrup

Prosecco or Sparkling Wine

In a cocktail shaker with ice add the first four ingredients.  Shake well and strain into a champagne flute.  Top with Prosecco or sparkling wine.  Garnish with a lemon twist.

There is little here at JBE that we love more than bourbon.  This cocktail combines all of our favorite things in one glass.  We use honey syrup in place of simple syrup to give this drink a mellower sweet.

Bourbon Orange Fizz

makes one drink

1.5 ounces bourbon

5-6 dashes orange bitters (we recommend Fee Brothers or Reagans')

1/2 ounce honey syrup *

Prosecco or Sparkling Wine

In a cocktail shaker with ice add first three ingredients and stir- don't shake.  Strain into champagne flutes and top with Prosecco or sparkling wine.  Garnish with orange twist.

* To make honey syrup, mix local raw honey with boiling water in a ration of 1:4, honey to water.  Stir until honey is melted and completely combined.  Store in an airtight container and use in place of simple syrup.