Quaintrelle Weekender

A cold weather cocktail, how long to decant your wine, binge-worthy streaming, and two compelling reads. Four ways to a better weekend.

Welcome to Quaintrelle Weekender.

This is a short list of things I am currently loving to make eating, drinking, and hosting easier and a lot more interesting.

I am so very tired. Wine should help.

No Sleep for The Wicked

Sleep has been evading me all week.

I’ve never been a good sleeper – I wake up easily and often, it takes me forever to fall back asleep etc., etc. – but this week has been especially challenging. Yesterday I was so exhausted at 3pm I had nothing left to give. But it was too late in the day to sneak in a nap, so I just had to “thug it out” as a friend’s kids say.

Thugging it out for me meant as soon as the clock struck 9, it was off to bed I went.

I’m still playing catch up on the many sleep hours missed this week, so I’m laying low this weekend. I just chopped up a chicken – the neck, backbone, and wings are simmering now for stock and tonight I’m using one of the breasts for a favourite Epicurious recipe I’ve been making for 20 years: herb-basted, crispy skin chicken with pot barley, root vegetable and pancetta pilaf. It’s cozy and easy and delicious. Just the thing when I don’t really have the energy to summon my creative culinary juices.

Naturally, this Quaintrelle Weekender is all about retreating from the world for a little rest. Quiet time with nothing really pressing to do, while the world rushes around without you. JOMO.

Hosting Q of the Week

“How long before serving should you decant a wine?” – wine student in class this week

Like all things with wine, timing will differ depending on the bottle. But generally, for most wines most people are enjoying these days, I say an hour, give or take, works just fine. On my nights off I come home, make a cocktail, and decant what I’ll be having with dinner. That decanter will sit on the table until I’ve finished my cocktail and done making dinner, so maybe up to 90 minutes might have even passed depending on what’s going on in my kitchen and how distracted that cocktail has made me.

You don’t need a fancy piece of crystal artistry, either. My favourite decanter is a bright blue, ceramic pitcher I bought for 20 Euros at the outdoor farmers’ market, St Antoine Célestins, in Lyon, France. Besides the large opening offering a perfect air-to-wine ratio, along with an easy pour spout and handle, I like the bohemian whimsy it brings to the table, and I get to show off with a, “What? This old thing?” to my guests.

To Binge

The Gilded Age

I know, I know!! I am nearly embarrassed to recommend this, as this New York period piece has been out for a while, but I was chatting with a few friends who hadn’t yet seen it. So, I thought I would mention it here and publicly reveal to all how behind the times I am. In my defence, I watched the first episode when it was released in 2022, and thought it was boring and one-dimensional, so I didn’t go back. I’m not sure what inspired me to try it again over the Christmas break, but I binged both seasons in about two weeks (I’m not one for all-day watch-a-thons… two hours max a night is all I can muster.) Apparently Season 3 began taping last summer and I am chomping at the bit for its release. If you gave up on TGA like I did, try it again.

PS – I’m now two episodes into The Jackal. So I’m not a completely out-of-touch loser. Jury’s still out on if I’ll stick with it, though. Stay tuned.

Good Read

Sandwich and We All Want Impossible Things

If you still trust my recommendations after The Gilded Age, I read

Catherine Newman

’s two novels in about a week over the holidays. Even though they’re both different stories, the main character – who may be based on the author? – is very similar in personality and tone in both.

Sandwich centres around a 50-something year old woman on her annual cottage holiday to Cape Cod with her young adult children and her aging parents. We All Want Impossible Things is about a 50-something year old woman caring for her life-long best friend in hospice while balancing the challenges of mothering teenage children and figuring out life after separating from the husband she still loves.

I’m not going to lie, the main character can be selfish and frustrating at times, which makes me wonder what it is about me that makes her so triggering for me, but then, isn’t that the mark of a good book? Something that makes you pause and think a little?

I highly recommend both – they’re quick, compelling, page turning reads, that I think is fair to say more character-driven than plot-driven, but laugh out loud funny at (probably inappropriate) times, and made me cry at others. So, not a read for the subway, but both are must-reads nonetheless.

My TBR stack is towering, but there’s always room for more.

What book(s) are you loving right now?

Cocktail of the Week

Smoke and Honey Penicillin

It’s been dang cold in Toronto this week, which is a win for climate change, I hope. Still, something fortifying is required to thaw the frozen cockles of my heart. Enter the Smoke and Honey Penicillin.

This is not the cheapest cocktail around, as it leans on smoky scotch as well as scotch-based liqueurs, both fairly pricey, but the drink is potent, so I’ve never been able to get through more than two. And trust me, I’ve tried.

Though strong, it’s beautifully balanced between the warming spice of ginger, smoky depth of whisky, sweet honey, and tang of lemon. This cocktail is one of my favourites this time of year.

Makes: 1 drink
Bartender level: Easy+

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ oz smoky Scotch (such as Jura, Ardbeg, or McClelland’s)

• 1 ½ oz whisky liqueur (such as Glayva or Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey)

• ½ oz honey simple syrup*

• ½ oz fresh lemon juice

• 2 oz ginger beer, for topping

How to Make It:

1. In a shaker filled with ice add the scotch, liqueur, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Shake until well chilled, about 10 seconds.

2. Strain into a rocks glass with ice – ideally a king cube.

3. Top with ginger beer and serve.

*Honey Syrup: In a pot set over medium-low heat, dissolve equal portions of honey into water. (I usually do 1 cup of honey to one cup of water, but as long as both are equal, you can make as much or as little as you need.)

Thank you for reading Quaintrelle.

This newsletter is written by me, Erin Henderson, journalist-turned-sommelier-turned-entrepreneur. I literally drink and throw parties for a living.

Every Saturday I share links to to a better weekend, and every Wednesday, I share a premium post with my best tips and tricks to easy, elegant entertaining.

If you enjoyed reading, please show a little love by clicking that heart, and consider sharing Quaintrelle with all the party hosts, wine lovers and cooks you know.