Books Food and Drink Personal Organizer Recipes Recipes: Cocktails Serge the Concierge To Do Lists Weblogs Wine

Blooming Lovely, Orange Blossom Champagne Cocktail with a Dash of Peychaud by Julia Charles from Summer Fizz

Aug 9
Blooming Lovely, Orange Blossom Champagne Cocktail with a Dash of Peychaud by Julia Charles from Summer Fizz, Over 100 Recipes for Refreshing Sparkling Cocktails (Ryland Pteres & Small, May 2022) Blooming Lovely Recipe by Julia Charles, Photograph by Alex Luck © Ryland Peters & Small Orange blossom extract has an indefinable flavor that isn’t exactly floral, so it adds intrigue to this elegant spritzer. Use a pink Champagne, if liked. Ingredients: 4 dashes of Peychaud’s...
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Books Food and Drink Personal Organizer Recipes Recipes: Fish and Seafood Serge the Concierge Travel Weblogs

Bathe Your Seafood in Liquid Fire, Kinilaw from Under Coconut Skies by Yasmin Newman, Taste The Philippines

Jul 19
Bathe your seafood in liquid fire, Kinilaw from Under Coconut Skies by Yasmin Newman (Smith Street Books, October 2021). Taste the Philippines! Catch of the day with coconut vinegar, makrut lime & coriander oil Kinilaw ‘It may well be our national food,’ wrote Doreen Gamboa Fernández, not of adobo, but kinilaw. The Filipino food historian was enamoured with the combination of seafood bathed briefly in native vinegar – liquid fire as she called it –...
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Moving Soon, Sell or Donate Items that Will Not Make the Trip on Nextdoor, Take Shipping Costs Out of Equation

Moving soon, sell or donate items that will not make the trip on Nextdoor.

Curating belongings

Take shipping costs out of the equation as you will be selling to people nearby and they will pick them up  from you at your current abode.

Curating your belongings for Concierge Mondays # 14


For Some Client Projects to Be Done Fully, A Check List Helps, Even Better that All Boxes Get Checked

For some client projects to be done fully, succesfully, a check list helps.

More important than the list itself, is the fact that client takes time to check all the boxes.

Epitaph plaques

Say, someone asked me to get their taxes done. I give them a list of documents the preparer will need.

If they don't provide me with these needed pieces, it will make the end result less satisfactory for client.

In some cases, it could halt the process altogether.

Check Lists and Checking Them for Concierge Mondays # 13

(* Photo taken by yours truly at Cleveland Museum of Art- January 2020- Epitaph Plaques for Yi-Gi-ha, Korea)


Need Alterations on Clothes, Will Be Worth It for Expensive Item or Sentimental Reasons

Need alterations on clothes, how much will it cost?

I have been asked the question many times.  My answer, it varies.

Tear

Before I get a precise price from seamstress, I ask my clients 2 questions:

  • Was it an expensive purchase?
  • Are you attached to it for sentimental reasons?

If the answer is no to both questions above, some repairs like a zipper on a jacket, a coat or the back of a dress might not make sense.

If  a seam needs to be re-sawn, it should be worth it.

Need to replace torn lining, I would in general not suggest it, except for special items.

Not always seamless for Concierge Mondays # 12


Infuse Your Nightcap with Negroni Bianco Bergamotto from Negroni More than 30 Classics by David T. Smith and Keli Rivers

Infuse Your Nightcap with Negroni Bianco Bergamotto from Negroni: More than 30 Classic and Modern Recipes for Italy’s iconic Cocktail (Ryland Peters & Small, 2021) by David T. Smith and Keli Rivers. 

NEGRONI BIANCO BERGAMOTTO

Italy is the home of the Negroni and this variation includes a few extra ingredients from the bel paese. The Italicus Bergamotto liqueur not only comes in a bottle that is itself a work of art, but it is flavored with botanicals such as yellow rose, gentian, chamomile and bergamot orange. The sparkling prosecco adds a bright zing and liveliness to this drink.

Negroni Bianco

Ingredients:

25 ml/3⁄4 oz. Seven Hills Gin (or Twisted Nose Gin)

25 ml/3⁄4 oz. Suze

25 ml/3⁄4 oz. Dolin Bianco

25 ml/3⁄4 oz. Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto Liqueur prosecco, to top up 

GARNISH

orange wheel

SERVES 1

Directions:

Add the ingredients (except the prosecco) to a large, ice-filled wine glass and gently stir. Top up with chilled prosecco and garnish with an orange wheel to serve.

Negroni cover

(*From Negroni: More than 30 Classic and Modern Recipes for Italy’s iconic Cocktail by David T. Smith and Keli Rivers, Ryland Peters & Small/ Photos are by Alex Luck © Ryland Peters & Small 2021)


Gift Bags Distribution or Car Wash, A Look at Weather Forecast Influences this Concierge Work Schedule

I don't have any car wash on my work schedule right now but I do have a few dozen gift bags to distribute all over New York later this week.

I plan to do as many stops as possible Wednesday, hopefully still a fairly dry day.

And, as a precaution, I purchased a large box of clear bags to protect the goods from the elements.

Goodie bags

A look at the weather forecast influences how this New Jersey concierge plans his work schedule.

Who wants to receive a soggy gift bag after all?

Toasting dry package deliveries for Concierge Mondays # 11


Himono Nights, French Air Dry their Laundry, Japanese Air Dry their Fish, Balcony a Plus

French air dry their laundry, Japanese their fish, balcony a plus.

Air dried fish food sake tokyo

What you can see above as described by Yukari Sakamot0 in her own words:

"The fish hanging are sayori halfbeak. When we make himono (air-dried fish) at home we usually hang the fish out overnight and then after that we move the fish into the freezer or refrigerator."

Yukari Sakamoto is the author of 'Food, Sake, Tokyo', The Blog, and also The Book 

Fish at night for Tokyo Thursdays #319

(* Photo courtesy of Yukari Sakamoto, location details: "#Teradomari #寺泊 is a charming village on the Sea of Japan. This #Niigata #新潟 town has about a dozen seafood and omiyage souvenir shops facing the sea"...taken a few years ago)


Artisan Pizza pairs with Craft Beers of Pacific Northwest for Friday Book Giveaway Number 6

No connection whatsoever between snow melting and this week selection, Artisan Pizza and Craft Beers of the Pacific Northwest, our 2 books for Friday Book Giveaway Number 6.

Book cleaning before Spring...

First, Artisan Pizza, To Make Perfectly At Home (Kyle Books, 2015) by Giuseppe Mascoli of Franco Manca and Bridget Hugo.

Artisan pizza

Secondly, Craft Beers of the Pacific Northwest (Timber Press, 2011)  by Lisa M, Morrison

Craft beers of pacific northwest

-Question: City where Timber Press is based

First come first serve.

E-mail your answers to: s.ls [at] mediterraneanworkandplay [dot] com

Friday Book Giveaway Number 6