Category: Lifestyle (Page 245 of 274)

Drink of the Week: Eggnog

December 23, 2011 /

eggnogI have a confession to make.  Despite my enormous love of all things sweet and milk fatty, I was fully prepared to bale on what has to be the ultimate seasonal drink. I have to admit there were concerns for my waistline — you guys have no idea how much weight I gained as a child knocking back the carton based non-alcoholic stuff. Also, as I grew older, I usually was disappointed by the spiked nog I’d had at parties. Somehow, the booze always seemed to destroy the cheap and creamy charm of the store bought nog. It was like putting vodka in chocolate milk. (I’d rather have a shot and choco-moo chaser, thank you.)

Still, the real reason I was going to go AWOL on eggnog was that I was simply intimidated. I imagined fresh eggnog to be a very complicated drink to make; a drink that might even force me to break my no-blenders rule, classic drink though it be. The online recipes telling me that I had to start with a 6 or more eggs, separate the yolks from the whites and perform various operations on them only reinforced that assumption.

Then, however, I started Googling “eggnog for one” and a great revelation came to me. Really, all this drink is a raw egg — provisos and disclaimers to come — milk, sugar, vanilla flavor, and booze. I have to say that, even if I have a sentimental attachment for the gooey store bought stuff, this shockingly easy, if slightly messy, home made version beats that all to heck.

So, here goes, the drink recipe I never thought I’d post.

Eggnog

1.5 ounces of your choice of cognac/brandy, bourbon, Canadian whiskey, or rum
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 ounce heavy cream (optional)
2 ounces full fat milk if not using heavy cream; with cream use 1.5 ounces
4-5 teaspoons superfine or powdered sugar
Ground nutmeg (garnish)
1 cinnamon stick (optional garnish)

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Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

Product Review: Braun cruZer Series

December 19, 2011 /

 

Do you ever just pick something up because it looks cool? I couldn’t even tell you the last time I did, but when the cruZer products from Braun arrived in the mail, I had to play with them because they just looked cool.

The cruZer line is a series of shaving devices created to express the diverse personalities of the men who use them. Your facial hair and body style express your own personality and attitude, and the cruZer line was designed to “underline your personal style.” And how does Braun plan on doing that? Unparalleled versatility.

I received two electric shavers from Braun: the CruZer6 Face and the CruZer Beard & Head Trimmer.

The CruZer6 Face electric razor is marketed as a 3-in-1 shaver, styler and trimmer, and it really was each of those, not just slick marketing. Its primary function is to shave your face, but even if you rock a goatee or Fu Manchu, you could still use it to touch up existing facial hair. The Trimming Comb is a plastic sheath that fits over the head of the shaver that you can adjust to four different lengths, which makes it ideal to trim and maintain a beard or other type of facial hair.

Another feature that speaks to the versatility of the CruZer6 is the Twistable Trimmer on the back side. The trimmer has long been a staple of an electric shaver, but unfortunately, its lack of adjustability is also well known. Not only does the CruZer6 trimmer extend out from the base of the shaver to give you an additional couple inches to work with, it also has two different sizes of trimmer head — narrow and wide. Instead of adjusting your style to fit the function of the razor, the CruZer6 adjust to the needs of the user and provides additional flexibility that other electric razors don’t. In a pinch, you could even use the CruZer6 to shave and manscape or trim any other body hair because it is so versatile.

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Grooming, Lifestyle, Stuff to Buy

Drink of the Week: Hot Buttered Rum

December 16, 2011 /

Hot Buttered RumButter…mmm…not the most common of classic cocktail ingredients but hot buttered rum is not your ordinary cocktail. A Christmastime favorite in many places, the history of today’s DOTW likely goes back as far as prior to the U.S. Revolutionary War, when New England was awash with rum due to the deeply unfestive Triangle Trade.

Now, I have to admit that, prior to this week, hot buttered rum existed to me only as an occasionally referenced warmer upper on 1970s sitcoms and 1950s rom-coms. The good news is that, I have to say, I’m sold on it. This version is simple and sweet and pretty surefire, though it’s definitely best if you can get it all down while it’s still hot.

One proviso: some ultra-purists may sniff at this recipe since it doesn’t call for you to heat this drink with, get this, a red hot poker removed directly from a fireplace. (I used a microwave.)

Hot Buttered Rum

2 ounces dark rum
2 teaspoons sugar, preferably dark brown or raw
5-7 ounces boiling water
1 pat of butter (unsalted or salted)
Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and/or cloves to taste

Put butter, sugar, and a dash or two of any or all of the suggested seasonings in mug, ideally pre-heated. Pour about 1-2 ounces of your boiling water in. Stir until the butter is melted and the sugar and spices have dissolved. Add two ounces of room temperature dark rum and top of with your remaining not-quite boiling but still extremely hot water.

Stir again and sip gingerly. It should be about the perfect temperature but better safe than sorry. Try not to spill any on your Snuggie.

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A couple of quick notes. Most recipes call for unsalted butter, but I was too lazy, cheap and hateful of waste to run to the store for a product I would never use for any other purpose. Salted butter worked fine, though I would stay away from any other obvious substitutions. (“Hot margarined rum”?) Also, most recipes say to add the butter last, but I found it melted easier my way and I still got a nice buttery coating on top.

As usual, there are an enormous number of ways to make hot buttered rum. A lot of recipes substitute super-hot apple cider for water, which I’m sure is pretty tasty but adds a lot of calories. Some versions throw ice cream into the mix, which just kind of blows my mind. Seriously, though, if you use a nice dark rum and dark brown sugar or raw sugar — both of which include molasses, the stuff they make rum out of — this drink should be plenty sweet.

Speaking of dark rum, you may find that with all the light, amber, and spiced varieties available, regular dark rum might be a bit harder to find in your price range than you’d think. BevMo here in California’s OC offered only two varieties of true dark rum. Myer’s Rum which was about $19.00 for a fifth and Whaler’s Original Rum, which was about half that price and turned out to be perfect for getting all hot and buttered.

Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

UNTUCKit shirts offer a great fit

December 13, 2011 /

Every guys needs great dress shirts, and now we like them to look good when they’re untucked as well as the untucked shirt with jeans is still popular. Both the tucked and untucked look works these days, and you can make the call depending on the setting, but it’s nice to have shirts that look good both ways.

With that in mind we checked out the dress shirts from UNTUCKit, a first-of-its-kind company that specifically designs button down shirts to be worn untucked. These shirts were created from the bottom up and follow a specific measurement guide that you can see below to guarantee a perfect fit for every man so that you’ll look polished with minimal effort. We tried the style pictured here (Casablanca Valley) using the size chart and were very happy with the shirt. It felt great and fit perfectly and it looked like it was specially made to stay untucked. Yet we also wore in tucked in with a black suit and it looked great that way as well.

The shirts come in a wide variety of colors and styles as you can see on the website, from casual plaids to dressier solids, and they are 100% cotton shirts.

For the guys, you should definitely try these for yourself. For anyone shopping for guys, use the measurement guide and buy some as a gift. For more gift ideas check out our Holiday Gift Guide.

Lifestyle, Stuff to Buy

Theme party ideas for New Year’s Eve

December 13, 2011 /

With New Year’s Eve around the corner, everyone is looking for parties to go to. Bars and nightclubs can be fun, but usually a great house party can be the best option. First, you can avoid many of the crazy logistics involved in getting to a nightclub and then getting home, particularly if crashing at the house is an option. This is always great considering the risks associated with driving on this night.

When evaluating a party, the most important element single men will consider has to be the number of single women that will attend (along with the quality of course). A close second involves the booze. If you’re going to someone else’s party, be cool and bring a real contribution to the bar, and of course pick something you like. Better yet, pick something that the ladies will like, as this will be a great way to meet people at the party. Think flavored vodka and of course something that’s good for shots!

Of course one option is throwing your own party. If this is an option, all the considerations above need to be considered. And when it comes to single women, one idea to consider is a theme party. Think about it – women love to dress up on Halloween, so now you can give them another reason to dress up. Depending on the theme you pick, they can have fun picking out 70s fancy dress costumes, thinking up 80s outfits ideas or putting together sexy goulish outfits. Naturally, you want a theme that doesn’t require too much work but that also lends itself to sexy outfits.

This idea won’t work for everyone, but think about the crowd you want, and this might be a clever way to make the party bigger and better. Either way, be safe!

Lifestyle

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