The Jelly Shot Whisperers

I hope you all are having a wonderful July 4th weekend.  The mood at the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen is positively buzzy, and it has nothing to do with either holiday fireworks or high octane cocktails!  What have we been up to?  I, for one, have been pretty busy chasing down friends and acquaintance (and, sure I'll admit it - even a few total strangers) so that they may gaze upon the  Jelly Shot Test Kitchen article appearing in this month's issue of Edina Magazine.  (I am pleased to report that the response has been positive and of yet, no restraining orders have been filed!)  Intermittent bouts of blushing and aw-shucks-i-ness have also been reported at JSTK - these are attributed to Editor Sarah Bauman's kind words, in addition to her delightfully breezy prose.

A few weeks ago, when we posted about the Edina Magazine photo shoot, it was clear that Tate Carlson (photographer) and Bret Ryan (art director) were nothing short of Jelly Shot Whisperers.  Now we have the photographic evidence to prove it.  Just.  Gorgeous.  Don't you agree?

From top, "The 78", "Ocean Margarita", and "French Lemonade" Jelly Shots.  

Photo by the fantabulous Tate Carlson.  Art director Bret Ryan.  *

Here's a tiny shot of the cover - yes, that's right, those are Jelly Shots in all their glory!  Mai Tai is in the front row - you can see Sea Breeze and Tequila Sunrise interspersed amongst the three featured Jelly Shot recipes (shown above).

Thanks so much, Sarah, Bret and Tate!  We loved meeting and working with you and all the lovely people at Edina Magazine and Tiger Oak Publications! 

Cheers,

Michelle

* The recipes for The 78, Ocean Margarita and French Lemonade Jelly Shots are available via the article link, or the JSTK blog's recipe page.  

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Easy Does It . . .

Sometimes simple is better.  Personally, I love a bow, a flounce, a fluffy ruffle, and certainly an over-the-top garnish on a Jelly Shot!  This weekend however, necessity (severe time constraints and proposed transport of Jelly Shots by convertible on hot summer evening) dictated exploration of easier, breezier Jelly Shotting.

From left, Mai Tai, Blue Hawaii, and Oasis Breeze Jelly Shots, skewered with maraschino cherries, oranges and pineapple

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The Trouble with Sambuca

Sambuca Jelly Shot, domesticated. . . 

Some find it surprising that the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen isn't all mini blintzes and blackberry sangria.   We certainly have a great deal of fun, but there certainly is a toil component (aka looming manuscript deadline, bi or tri-weekly photo shoots, etc.), and every now and again, an extremely difficult test case.  

Sambuca Jelly Shot came on the heels of Kir Royale Jelly Shot (a bit of a prima dona, that one), and experienced escalating textural issues throughout the testing process.  

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Bright (and also Enormous) Lights, Mini-apple City . . .

The Tiger Oak studio, glamour imminent . . .(Yes, that light IS the size of a German economy car!)

Those of you that follow JSTK on Twitter (jstestkitchen) may recall the tweet regarding our meeting with  the delightful Sarah Baumann, editor of Edina Magazine in early May.  Recently, I spent the better part of an afternoon at Tiger Oak Publication's swanky Minneapolis office with Bret and Tate, respectively the art director and photographer for the article.  For those residing outside the Twin Cities, Tiger Oak publishes Edina Magazine and wide array of really gorgeous, glossy local-content driven magazines, as well as targeted publications for business and bridal in several metro areas nationwide.

The photo shoot was a fascinating experience . . .

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Memorial Day Musings . . .

White Wine Sangria beckons . . .

We stole a quiet moment over the long weekend to reflect on the next candidates for gelatinization.  Hmmmm, something summery, light and fruity . . .

To aid in our mental gymnastics, Amy (JSTK Annie) had prepared a beautiful white wine sangria with lots of sumptuous fruit (and a shot of Cointreau!).  It was quickly apparent that White Wine Sangria would be an ideal entrant to the Halls of Gelatin.  More to come . . .

Cheers,

Michelle (JSTK Julia)

P.S.  What are your favorite summertime cocktails?  

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Jelly Shots on Parade . . .

Last weekend, it was Jelly Shots all around! We attended our fantastic girl-tastic book club on Saturday afternoon, and later a summer kick-off bash on Saturday evening hosted by friends M and S (also members of the original core group of JSTK testers!).  For book club, we prepared tiny Jelly Shot squares for sampling, as we are all responsible adults with weekend agendas . . .  For the party, however, I took things a few steps further.  Photos follow - you must forgive the low tech, non JSTK Annie quality photos, as I was flying solo with only my Blackberry camera!

Long Island Iced Tea Jelly Shots, skewered and sassy with a lemon peel

French Lemonade Jelly Shots (why yes that IS a Chambord layer - YUM!)

Fan favorite, Vodka Pink Lemonade Jelly Shot rides again!

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Mixology 101

A glass of delightfulness, compliments of Bradstreet Crafthouse Restaurant

Tuesday evening, I attended a mixology seminar at Bradstreet Crafthouse Restaurant in Minneapolis.  For those who have not visited Bradstreet, it is something special, a big-city bartender-y oasis here in our little hamlet.  And what fun it was. . . on the tasting menu were four classic cocktails - Gimlet, Dark and Stormy, Margarita, and Old Fashioned, which had been stripped down to their chassis and rebuilt with house-made bitters, syrups and pristine fresh juices per the cocktail stylings of our hosts: Toby Maloney and Jason Cott of Alchemy Consulting.

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Oh the Glamour, Part II . . .

Aviation Jelly Shot, blissfully unaware of  its narrow escape from rampant authorial editorializing

In our last post, we covered the creative process and its sometimes unfortunate effects on our fashion choices, and but only touched on its effect on our grasp on reality/appropriate humor, etc.  (Don't worry, this is not a PG 13 post.)

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Oh the Glamour . . .

Hello there JSTK-ers, just a quick note from the Test Kitchen. We miss you and are looking forward to impending manuscript due date, after which life can return to a regular old frenetic pace, rather than a crazy lunatic frenetic pace.

Lest any of you picture Amy (aka JSTK Annie) and I awash in luxury and plushy bathrobes, sipping negronis as we bask in the creative process, weilding fluffy feather-quill pens to deliver our oh-so-eloquent Jelly Shotting thoughts to paper, I need to come clean and strip you of any romantic misconceptions of the author's life:

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