Blind Pig Party

On Saturday night, we hosted the Blind Pig Mason Shaker event in the DC shop! In case you didn’t know (I sure didn’t before this event), Blind Pig is another name for a Speakeasy which came to be during Prohibition in the 1920s. It is believed this term was coined by saloon-owner Kate Hester when her customers got too rowdy. She’d yell “Speak Easy, Boys!” to avoid unwanted attention.

We had a great time with over 200 guests but the sage, rhubarb, and snap spirits provided by Art in the Age certainly didn’t hurt. Josh and Eric from W&P Design in Brooklyn mixed all kinds of delicious libations, which were refilled often as we all ate short rib sliders, fried oysters, and spicy-sweet corn bread provided by The Brooklyn Star. All of us here at Trohv have a soft spot in our hearts for innovative small business endeavors and love that we could help support the guys from W&P as they introduce theirMason Shaker, the smartest cocktail shaker we’ve ever seen!

Many thanks to the charming band Welcome to Hoonah for being kind enough to come up from Roanoke for the event. They rocked it out with original songs and adorable covers like Nancy Sinatra’s Bang Bang.

Thanks again to everyone who came out- the event was a huge success! I am sadly leaving the store to move to NY in January but couldn’t be more appreciative of the beautiful people and experiences I’ve encountered while working at Trohv! You guys rule!

posted by Paige Vickers

photos by Paige Vickers and Onika Coke-Munoz

Edible Bones

It’s no secret around my household who the queen of Halloween is. I must admit that I drag out more boxes of Halloween décor than I do for any other holiday. I am drawn to all things vintage, glittery, Tim Burton inspired, with just a touch of eerie. So for the last few years we have made it a tradition in our house to celebrate with fun garlands, Halloween figurines, and spooktacular treats throughout the entire month of October and even a little bit of September (shhhh, I’m over zealous). One way the Hubs knows Halloween is coming is by his inevitable back aches from hauling all of my decorations into the house, as well as, when these little babies are made, my edible Bones. They are super simple and dangerously delish. This is the first year I am making them for my son and I wanted to share a DIY that you could do with all of your little goblins and ghouls. Happy treat making!

You will need:
Pretzel sticks
Small marshmallows
White chocolate for melting (I use a double broiler)
Wax paper and cookie sheet to put them on after they have been dipped in the chocolate.

Step 1:

Smash two marshmallows together and poke them onto each end of the pretzel. This makes the shape of a bone.

Step 2:

Melt your white chocolate either on a low temp in the microwave or over a double broiler.

Step 3: Dip them into white chocolate or spoon melted white chocolate over them.

Step4: Place them on a cookie sheet (I line mine with wax paper) and then place in the fridge or freezer just until they harden.

Step 5: serve on a bed or Oreo cookie crumbs “dirt” and enjoy.

Posted by: Courtney
Courtney is currently living outside of San Francisco with her hubby and her son, Oliver Tate. This full time mom also dabbles in home décor, diy projects, entertaining, photography and much more on her blog alittleglassbox She has never met a piece of sparkly jewelry, a chocolate chip cookie, or a reclaimed piece of wood she didn’t like

Some Very Special S’mores

Recently my old ball and chain turned the big THREE -O! I’m officially with an older man…at least for 4 more months. We decided this accomplishment of living entitled him to an outdoor shindig fit for a king including all things manly (since there were only men in attendance). We had beer, BBQ, an outdoor table with built-in drink trough, no fussy décor, and most importantly s’mores.
These were not just any s’mores…. they’re quite special. I opted to make these instead of cake since I figured most men didn’t want to sing happy birthday & deal with the hassle of cutting a cake. I was right, and these were the perfect solution and tasted delicious at room temp. To take it one step further in my guy friendly party pursuit, I put them in these cute little red and white trays for serving. That way they were precut and waiting to be grabbed up and devoured and chased by a beer. True story. It also made clean up the easiest thing ever. Here is the tasty recipe from Wit and Whistle, this girl is amazing and she saved my party with these guy friendly sweets. The darling trays are from available at Trohv and have now become a summer staple in my house, I simply hate cleaning up. What tricks do you use for an outdoor party? Help this tired gal out!

Posted by: Courtney
Courtney is currently living outside of San Francisco with her hubby and her son, Oliver Tate. This full time mom also dabbles in home décor, diy projects, entertaining, photography and much more on her blog alittleglassbox She has never met a piece of sparkly jewelry, a chocolate chip cookie, or a reclaimed piece of wood she didn’t like

Wet Your Whistle

I love beer.

Ever since my friends and I sneaked our first cold ones at the end-of-year swim team party when I was 13 years old, I have loved beer.  I started out on Buds and National Premium (it’s back!) – basically whatever we could pilfer from  mom and dad’s fridge.

I had my first beer in a bar years later at the Mt. Washington Tavern.  (MWT is slated to reopen in November 2012, having been completely leveled by fire last year.)  My friends and I decided to try the Tavern after reading about it in The Preppy Handbook.  We couldn’t believe our good fortune while drinking in the bar:  guys were buying us beers!  We could get used to this!  We were a little naïve.

Many years later, I am quite used to drinking in bars…but now I am partial to craft brews, especially hoppy, bitter IPA’s.  In this category, a couple of my favorites right now are the Green Flash IPA (Wow!  Super bitter!), Stone IPA, and Heavy Seas Loose Cannon IPA, which is brewed here in Baltimore.    By the way, the brewery tour at Heavy Seas is a lot of fun – the drive to Halethorpe is pretty quick, and the beers are cold and delicious.

We are very lucky now to have Union Craft Brewery right in Hampden/Woodberry.  Their Duckpin Pale Ale is crisp and refreshing…my favorite so far.  I also like their Baltimore Altbier and the small batch Old Pro Gose.  Union’s tasting room is open Saturdays 1-4 PM; you can taste whatever is on tap, and maybe take home a growler too! (Growlers are shown above -and Union will be part of our Beers & Spears event on September 9th!)

I also really enjoy the beers my husband brews at our house.  He started brewing in 1994, and has really stepped up his operation recently.  I now know what a fermentation chamber and a keezer are, as well as a stir plate and a carboy….he has geeked out on the brewing, and the results show it!  My favorite beers from his brewery (Lyford’s 188) are the maibock, rye IPA, smoked porter, American pale ale, and a great Bell’s Two Hearted Ale clone.

Even though I enjoy craft beers, I have to add that another favorite this summer is the Miller Genuine Draft 64.  It’s super-light and has decent flavor for a watery domestic.  It’s good for an all-day drink-a-thon, or enjoying on the porch on one of those 90+ degree evenings.  Mmmmm.  I’m no beer snob — I love beer.

Posted by: Katie J
Katie J. has been working at Trohv for about 5½ years.  She enjoys reading, movies, swimming, and a really hoppy IPA.

kinfolk magazine

My favorite way to spend a cool summer morning like this one is outside with a cup of coffee and a beautiful publication. We (at Trohv) have loved Kinfolk since day one and were thrilled to get the chance to meet Nathan and Amanda at Alt summit this January. I can’t believe Kinfolk is already into volume four, and with every issue, the bar is raised.  Kinfolk is “a guide for small gatherings” assembled from stories of hospitality and love written & photographed by some of todays most humble talents, Nikole Herriot, Sarah Winward, Chelsea and Tec Petaja, the list goes on.

This is a publication you want to hold in your hands, to feel the soft tooth of the pages, to smell the hint of ink as they turn.  It is like a favorite book that you get to keep reading over and over but somehow is better every time.  I LOVE to give Kinfolk  as a gift and stock the guest room bookcase with past volumes for visitors to discover.  But even more than all of that, I love the time it allows me to savor something beautiful in this day and age of everyone and everything moving at a ridiculous pace.  We’re really excited to announce that we will be the newest addition to Kinfolk’s stockist list.  We’ll let you know the moment they arrive, but in the mean time, please take some time to get lost in their website.  The videos alone make it a worthy of an afternoon “lost”

Posted by Katie:
Katie is a photographer, designer and florist.  She works here at Trohv a few days a week and spends the rest of her time running Petal and Print and entertaining with family and friends.

happy birthday!

Happy Birthday, JP! This one’s for you.

and for the rest of you, you can buy these darling little baking cups and candles at either one of our retail locations.

*Sorry for the short posts this week, we’re in the middle of display’s here at the store.  We’ll be back next week with some more in depth posts and a look at the windows we’re in the thick of designing right now. Thanks for hanging in there with us!

skillet pizza

I mentioned that my husband was a bread maker, but what I didn’t tell you was that he’s also been perfecting his skills at pizza making for the last few years as well. Today I am going to share with you the results of years of testing methods, recipes and pizza stones.  It’s so simple, and so delicious, you’ll wonder why you never made these before, and why you ever bought that expensive, heavy pizza stone.

All you really need is a skillet (and thankfully, we sell some beautiful cast iron ones here at Trohv) some pizza dough (we make ours from scratch, but Whole Foods and most bigger grocery stores carry pre-made balls of dough) and then fresh toppings of your choice! I’m not going to go through the detailed process here, you can find lots of tips and tricks here but I will highlight some of the things that I think make his pizza stand out. My favorite thing is that he throws a little salt in the skillet before he puts the dough down.  He also rolls his dough out as thin as possible for a crispy crust.  Set that in the skillet, then layer the sauce and your toppings. We usually try to do a variety of pizzas.

Cook your pizzas in the skillet until the dough starts to bubble and the bottom gets that nice crisp crust, and then it is time to move it into the oven (this is my second favorite thing he does – cooks the pizza from both sides like a traditional pizza oven would do).  The bottom of the crust gets cooked over the stovetop in the skillet, and the top gets perfectly cooked on the top rack of the 500 degree oven.  The  results are phenomenal.

Some of our favorite pizzas have turned out to be mushroom, sausage, basil and mozzeralla, & goat cheese, sausage and fig.
I’m really looking forward to the summer months and eating pizzas with all the fresh toppings the Farmers markets have to offer!

If you love pizza and don’t always love to cook, be sure to check out Roscoes in Takoma Park and Hersh’s here in Baltimore.

Posted by Katie: Katie is in charge of design & photography for Trohv. She lives in Baltimore with her husband and two dogs and runs Petal and Print, a boutique floral and stationery design company.

a little berry swizzle

Last week we had a few days that peaked into the low 80′s in Baltimore. I could not open my windows fast enough and all I wanted was a fresh thirst quenching summery drink. Katie and  I decided to have a small impromptu brunch and welcome in spring.

We wanted to make a cocktail that used some of the spring flavors that we loved. In came The American Cocktail, one of my new favorite bar books. We settled on the Camden Hike, a vodka drink infused with fresh berries, and local honey.

The original recipe, shown above, is for one cocktail. We would recommend making more than one drink at a time as it is a bit labor intensive. Doing this will allow you to have all of your ingredients prepared so you can mix to order or make a large batch.

The berry purees are simple but do take a bit of time. Place 1 cup of fresh berries, one type at a time, into a blender and process until pureed. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. The strainer that I had on hand was possibly a bit too fine. You want something that will let liquid through, but keep the seeds and skins out. Try using a spatula, or spoon to press the liquid through, and move around the solids.  Set aside your first puree, and repeat with the second berry.

We used Tito’s organic vodka, and a local Maryland honey that one of my husbands co-workers farms. Obviously you can use whatever you have on hand, but local is always great.

The honey syrup is a snap. Mix at least 1 tablespoon of honey, again for one drink, with warm water and stir until blended. You might want to heat the water slightly to make sure that all of the sugars dissolve.

To make the drink combine both berry purees, honey syrup, vodka, creme de cassis, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a glass, add a few ice cubes and you are all set.

Over the next few weeks we will be sharing a bit more from our brunch and some quick and easy entertaining ideas. The American Cocktail is available in both our Baltimore and DC locations.  In addition we used linens, measuring cups, wooden spoons, glasses and straws from Trohv, each available in both locations!

Cheers!

Text by:
Kohli is the Visual & Merchandise Director for Trohv. Currently she calls Baltimore City home where she shares a 1928 row home with her husband and dog. In her free time she runs K Flick Studio, and can often be found entertaining for friends and family.

Photography by:
Katie is in charge of design & photography for Trohv. She lives in Baltimore with her husband and two dogs and runs Petal and Print, a boutique floral and stationery design company.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Get Some Tequila.

During a friend’s recent visit, I took advantage of our shared interest in a good fancy cocktail to try out a recipe from Southern Cocktails by Denise Gee.  Who could resist the “Upsy-Daisy Lemonade?”  Such a charming name!  Parasols as a serving suggestion!  And perhaps best of all – the image of the author’s grandmother gettin’ a little tipsy.

We found our tequila– Espolón Blanco – at the local Virginia state store.  The bottle bears a beautiful drawing featuring Rosarita and Guadelupe fighting for Mexican independence with the help of Ramón the Rooster.  Along with some Richmond-made Phantastic Poe’s Sour Mix (we know you love Mr. Poe, too, Baltimore!) and organic lemonade in hand, we were ready to make some cocktail magic.

First came squeezing the tiny organic juice oranges that fit nicely into my lemon reamer.  I strained the juice to avoid any unsightly pulp, added the sour mix, tequila, some (ahem) cheap Triple Sec I had on hand, and finally, the organic lemonade.  We crafted some lemon strip garnishes and were off to the races!

Unfortunately, we really were off to the races, and didn’t have time to finish the pitcher as we would have (happily) with a little bit more time.  The finished product is zippy, bright and thanks to the good tequila, goes down really easy.  I can understand why Granny Gee was a fan of cocktails like this!

Were I to make these again, I would go a bit lighter on the sour mix and heavier on the tequila.  Sure, I like to stiffen up my drinks any chance I get, but in this case the sour overpowers the freshly squeezed orange a bit too much for my taste and I think that tweak would be just the right fix.  If serving them at a summery party, I would also follow my friend’s advice and craft some homemade parasols to adorn the glasses.  Any ideas for parasol designs out there?

Posted by: Melody
Melody Porter writes from her home in Richmond, where she enjoys cooking things with lots of cheese and mixing up a drink for friends now and again.

fishs eddy

Fishs Eddy has been one of my favorite spots to shop for kitchen essentials for years. Every time I took a trip to New York I made sure to check it off my need to do list. When my husband was just a boyfriend he would take deep sigh every time I made my way in knowing that he was in for eat least an hour of walking around. Over the years I have gotten better about leaving with only a few things that I love not everything that I love. Luckily for me Fishs Eddy is now even closer to home!

Recently Carmen, Ben and myself were lucky enough to venture up to the store and run around like children in a candy shop. We picked out tons of items that we loved, and brought them all back to the stores, and you! On my current checklist of items to purchase you will find…

1. 12 essential white plates, durable and always the perfect table setting
2. 1 small mixing bowl, a great size for about everything
3. 1 nudie mug, for my husband at work
4. 6 essential mugs, perfect for coffee, tea, and soup
5. 6 mix and match storage bowls, so cute, and made of glass

Be sure to check out these amazing kitchen items in both stores, and online. We will be adding more and more Fishs Eddy items over the next few weeks.

 

Posted by: Kohli
Kohli is the Visual & Merchandise Director for Trohv. In her free time she runs K Flick Studio, and can often be found entertaining for  her friends and family.