Sayso Cocktails

Last Summer's Fancy Food Show in NYC introduced me to several new favorites, one of which is Sayso Cocktails.

I am a big fan of mixed drinks but I'm usually too lazy to make one at home. I'll toss stuff together without measuring--various liqueurs that are on hand, some juice, seltzer--and end up with something quaffable, but not worth remaking. (I will never claim to have any mixology talents.) Sayso lured me immediately with the ease of making a tasty cocktail with only three ingredients: a Sayso "tea bag" (which I prefer to call a "sachet,"), water, and alcohol. The sachet contains all-natural flavorings and a blend of no-aftertaste low-calorie sweeteners that turn water into the cocktail mixer of your choice. You can stop right there, adding a bit more water and ice to your glass and enjoy it a mocktail, or you can add your favorite hooch. Sayso comes in four flavors so far: rosemary honey moscow mule, old fashioned, skinny cardamom paloma, and skinny spicy margarita.

Cocktails can be super sweet, but Sayso drinks are not. If you like sugar, you can certainly add some simple syrup to taste! You can also use Sayso as a starting point and create variations on a theme. For instance, when I remembered we had a container of Talenti Mango Sorbetto in the freezer, I realized I could make a spicy mango margarita. 

Spicy Mango Margarita

1 sachet Sayso skinny spicy margarita

4 ounces warm water

2 ounces blanco tequila

1/4 cup Talenti mango sorbetto

Ice

Seltzer (I used a tropical fruit-flavored one)

Fresh Mint

In a highball glass, steep the sachet in the water for 5 minutes. Wring all the goodness out of the sachet and discard. Add the tequila and sorbetto and give it a stir. Add a few ice cubes and top with a splash or two of seltzer. Garnish with fresh mint.

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I prefer the old fashioned and Moscow mule flavors in the colder months, when I'm more likely to drink brown liquor like bourbon and dark rum. But all four flavors are great any time of the year.

Order Sayso directly from the company, or from Amazon. I received samples of all four varieties from the company, but I will definitely be purchasing these again, particularly the spicy marg version. 

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

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Blood Orange Manhattan

Fabrizia's blood orange limoncello is as delicious as its lemon version, only, you know, orange-flavored. It's a great post-dinner sipper, and can also be used in recipes, like the one for limoncello balls posted here the other week. Of course, it also works well as an addition to a cocktail, as in this simple blood orange Manhattan. It's light and orange-y, not too sweet, and perfect for warm weather.

Blood Orange Manhattan

2 parts Bourbon
1 part Fabrizia Blood Orange Limoncello
a few dashes blood orange bitters
Fancy cherry (or a regular Maraschino) and blood orange slice for garnish

Stir together the bourbon and limoncello and add a few dashes of bitters. Pour into two lowball glasses with ice. Garnish with the cherry and blood orange slice.

Easy peasy, light, and delicious.

* Fabrizia Spirits sent us product and compensated us for this post. However, the opinions within are our own.

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Drink up! 🍷🍸🍹

With the New Year comes some fun booze news....

Wit & Wisdom is offering wine tasting classes with Advanced-level Sommelier Julie Dalton. Classes last about 2 hours and are limited to 24 participants; snacks are provided by Chef Zack Mills. Tickets can be purchased at cellarsessionsatwit.eventbrite.com.

Blind Tasting Basics: How to taste wine like the Pros!
Saturday, January 21, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Clarity, Brightness, Fruit Character, Intensity, Earth, Acid, Length, Age....do these words mean anything to you? If not, join Lead Sommelier Julie Dalton to learn the basics of how to properly taste wine. Light bites will be provided to complement the wines.

'Love is in the Air' Wines
Saturday, February 11, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. (A Perfect Valentine’s Day Weekend Date or present!)
We will taste through 6 wines that are perfect for that romantic date on Valentine's Day. Many of these wines have aromas and flavors evocative of aphrodisiac-like ingredients that will definitely set the mood for a very special evening! Light bites will be provided to complement the wines.

Island Wines!
Saturday, March 18, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
We've reached that time of year when spring is trying to push winter out of the way and the cold weather is making us crave the Islands. We'll bring the Islands to you with these wines. Light bites will be provided to complement the wines.

🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹🍷🍸🍹

Down in South Baltimore, Hersh's Anti-Temperance Society (HATS) is in full swing on Monday Nights. Starting at 6:30pm, January through May, participants will learn about various boozy subjects, some led by bar boss Ali Dryer, and others by brewers, distillers, and winemakers. The first Monday of each month will be dedicated to beer. And a special $5 drink will be available to HATS attendees all evening at the bar. Here's a sample of upcoming events.

January 16: Staple Booze and Tools for your Home Bar

January 23: New Liberty Distillery, makers of such fine spirits as Melvale Rye & Brothership Irish American Whisky

January 30: Hot Boozy Cocktails

February 6: Maryland’s own Flying Dog Brewery

February 13: Manhattans, and Ways to Riff on Them

February 20: Lyon Distilling Company, makers of Maryland’s finest rums

February 27: New Orleans Cocktails… because there’s *so* much cocktail history in NOLA but also because Mardi Gras!



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Boordy Vineyard's Sweetland Cellars Wines

About a month ago, as we toodled up Long Green Pike on our way to visit friends in Forest Hill, we drove past Boordy Vineyards. Not having realized it was so close to us, we decided a visit was in order. That opportunity came more quickly than we anticipated, as we were soon invited to a dinner to celebrate the wine producer's Sweetland Cellars line of wines.

Formerly known as Boordy's "Just for Fun" series, products from the Sweetland Cellars brand are, as the name suggests, on the sweeter side.

Some folks may turn their noses up at sweet wines, but other people will drink nothing but. Personally, I think Moscato and some Rieslings are great "gateway wines" for the uninitiated. I grew up drinking my grandmother's home-made wine, which was very strong and very sweet. A shotglass-full was enough, but it was delicious and fruity. My tastes have expanded over the years and I can appreciate bone-dry wines, but there's still a special place in my heart for the sweeter ones.

Sweetland Cellars offers six wines so far, two whites, three reds, and a dark pink wine--Jazz Berry--that contains primarily strawberry and raspberry juices with some grape. Tango Peach is a Moscato flavored with peaches and White Sangria is infused with mango and citrus. The blueberry-infused Zinberry, the citrus and spice Viva Sangria, and the even spicier Spiced Wassail, round out the line.

While these wines would be great to sip with friends on a fun evening (or all alone in the privacy of your bathtub - we don't judge), we discovered that the Sweetland Cellars wines also pair well with food and can be used as ingredients in cocktails.

After an opportunity to taste the wines and snack on a spread of charcuterie and cheeses by Hampden's The Food Market served in Boordy's barn, we got a little tour of the Sweetland Cellars state-of-the-art winemaking facility, which was completed in 2013. Everything a winemaker needs is in this cathedral-like structure, the result of the De Ford family's many years in the wine business.

After the tour, we were treated to a five course small plates-style dinner with cocktail pairings, each including one of Sweetland Cellars wines.

The first course was tuna tartare with "everything" spiced aioli, dried veggies, and wheat toast. The accompanying cocktail, "Peach on the Beach," featured Sweetland Cellars Tango Peach wine. (The recipes for the cocktails we tried and more are on the Sweetland Cellars web site, but I've included them here as well.)

3 oz chilled Tango Peach
1 oz Citron vodka
2 muddled raspberries
Splash 7-up
Ice

The second course was spicy grilled shrimp with a charred pineapple "pudding" and chewy morsels of dehydrated pineapple. The accompanying cocktail was a "White Sangria Fizz," that complemented the sweet pineapple flavors.

3 oz chilled White Sangria
1 oz vodka
2 oz apple juice
Splash of club soda
Ice

Our third course was pan-seared duck breast with cherries, chocolate, and pecans served with a Jazz Berry chocolate martini.

3 parts chilled Jazz Berry
1 part Chocolate vodka

Another meat course of lamb chops with coffee, black garlic, goat cheese, and chimichurri evoked the flavors of India and was served with a "Zinberry Smash" cocktail.

3 oz chilled Zinberry
1 oz vodka
Muddled blueberries
Twist of lemon
Splash ginger ale
Splash tonic or soda water
Sprig of mint
Ice

Finally, we enjoyed desserts made by one of Sweetland's employees. The mini blueberry cheesecakes used Zinberry wine in the glaze, while the peaches on the peach cupcakes were poached in Tango Peach.


It was a fun night. Everything was so beautiful, from the grounds to the food, hell, even the people. The De Ford family was so nice and willing to answer any and all questions about their Sweetland Cellars products, and offered a good introduction to a line of wines with which we were not familiar. Time to stock up so I can drink alone in the bathtub experiment with wine cocktails to go with our own dinners.




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Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer

For those of you who have never tried ginger beer, it's like an extra-pungent ginger ale. The ginger is usually pretty spicy and it makes a great cocktail mixer, as well as a drink on its own. I often wondered why, since it's called ginger "beer," that there's not an alcoholic version of the stuff.

And then I discovered Crabbie's.

Crabbie's was started in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the 19th century by grocer Miller Crabbie and his son, John, but it's only been available in the US fairly recently. We were offered some samples to try, and as fans of regular ginger beer, we couldn't pass them up. Crabbie's tastes like the perfect spicy ginger soda, nicely carbonated, sweet but not too, with a little kick (4.8% ABV). You can't taste the alcohol, but you'd certainly feel it after drinking a couple.

As you can see from the pic,
 I like Cruzan Black Strap,
which once upon a time was bottom
 shelf but with recent popularity
 has worked its way up closer to the top)

Ginger beer is perfect in a classic Dark & Stormy, but the drink is even better with Crabbie's.

Dark & Crabbie's
1/2 oz dark rum 
1 bottle Crabbie's Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer
Fresh lime wedge

Method: Fill your glass with plenty of cubed ice. Pour over ½ oz of dark rum. Then add your Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger beet to create the perfect drink. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Crabbie's can also be used in a pretty tasty Moscow Mule. Serve it in a copper mug, if you can.

Crabbie’s Moscow Mule
3 – 4mint leaves
¾ oz lime juice
½ oz simple syrup
1 ½ oz vodka
Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Method: Muddle the mint gently in the bottom of your glass. Add the lime juice, simple syrup and vodka, along with 3 – 4 ice cubes. Then add a splash of Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer.

Here's a third recipe, using the Spiced Orange flavor. I suppose you could use the Raspberry flavor to make a Crabbie's Raspberry Punch, too.

Crabbie’s Orange Punch 
1 oz dark rum
1 oz gin
1 oz vodka
2 oz fresh lemon juice
1 ½ oz cranberry juice
Crabbie’s Spiced Orange Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Method: Add the spirits and fruit juices to a cocktail shaker. Shake well and stir into a pitcher filled with ice. Then add a generous hit of Crabbie’s Spiced Orange Alcoholic Ginger Beer. Garnish with slices of your favorite fruit.

Crabbie's is available at places like the Wine Source, Eddie's, Total Wine & More in Towson, Dulaney Liquors, and at some restaurants. Use the locator tool on Crabbie's website for more.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Craft Beer Pop-Up at ACC Show

Artist: Ping Wu

The American Craft Council show is one of my favorite annual events. I don't know how many years they've been in Baltimore, but I started going back in the mid-90s, when I was working for a retail jeweler. Not only is there a ton of great stuff to purchase (furniture, fashion, glass, pottery, jewelry, more), but it's also a great inspiration for the artists among us.

This year's show will be at the Baltimore Convention Center from February 19th - 21st. On-site admission is $16 for a one-day pass, $36 for all three days. If you buy tickets in advance online at www.craftcouncil.com/baltimore, you save $2 on each.

Artist: Alex & Mona Szabados

If you can't get away from work to attend the show during the day on Friday, pop in after 5 for a sweet $5 admission. Think of it as an artsy Happy Hour. And yes, there will be alcohol! For the first time at the Baltimore show, the ACC will host special craft beer pop-ups on Friday, Feb 19 and Saturday, Feb 20. Attendees can meet with local brewers to learn about the process and taste a selection of microbrews. Presented by Bond Distributing Company, featured breweries include Union Craft, the Brewer's Art, Charm City Meadworks, Monument City, and Flying Dog. Woodberry Pantry will also be on hand to provide samples of their jams and jellies. The Balvenie, maker of Mr Minx's favorite Scotch, will be on-site too, hosting tastings of their handcrafted single malt.






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Pane e Vino

Among the tastiest restaurants in Baltimore's Little Italy is Cafe Gia. Owned by Gia Fracassetti with husband Gianfranco in the kitchen, they produce fresh and flavorful Italian cuisine. We highly recommend the place, but if you're more in the mood for a drink and something more akin to small plates, pop next door to Pane e Vino.

Pane e Vino, or bread and wine, is owned by Gia's brother, Steven, but it's still very much a Fracassetti collaboration; Gian created the bar's menu, and Gia helped with the interior design. The space itself is quite small and very intimate, and feels like a really chic private club.

Mr Minx and I recently attended a media tasting for an introduction to the bar's cocktails and several types of snacks.

Mini burrata, fava, prosciutto, and tomato salad.

With our first cocktail, the Spicy Sicilian (pepper vodka, limoncello, kumquat syrup, lemon), we were brought dishes of Pane e Vino's burrata with tomatoes, fava beans, and prosciutto, and calamari cooked en sous vide with broccoli rabe and tomatoes in a savory broth, with toasted bread on the side. Both were delicious. I'm a big fan of creamy, rich, burrata cheese, and thought the small ball was the perfect size for one (or two, if I am feeling generous but probably not).

Sous vide calamari, rapini, tomatoes

The calamari was silky and tender and the bitter rapini was a nice accent. I was rather annoyed, however, that I had to share this lovely dish with two other people and didn't have it and a plate of toast all to myself.

Porcini, prosciutto, and gorgonzola flatbread

We then sampled a flatbread. Not particularly flat, the focaccia-based treat was generously portioned and definitely enough for two or three. The salty combination of gorgonzola and prosciutto worked very well as an accompaniment to an alcoholic beverage or two, like the Charm City Girl (MD's own Sloop Betty vodka, fresh grapefruit, ginger syrup, club soda), Redheads Have More Fun (tequila, blood orange, ginger beer, lime), or a Smooth Country Ride (cognac, anisette, lemon, rhubarb black pepper syrup).

Chicken drumsticks, homemade spicy harissa, bleu cheese and celery

Rather than the usual chicken wings, Pane e Vino serves chicken drumsticks, cooked until delightfully moist and juicy, and generously sauced with a fiery harissa. Those of us who favor heat enjoyed the spicy and flavorful legs on their own, but the faint of heart will appreciate the cooling nature of the accompanying celery sticks and bleu cheese dressing.

Giant buffalo/ricotta meatball with rustic garlic toast

What we tried so far was really quite nice, but my favorite dishes were yet to come. The giant meatball of lean bison made moist and super tender by ricotta cheese reminded me of the amazing meatballs made by my late Aunt Stasia. So good! And while the garlic toast sopped up the sauce perfectly, Mr Minx was not so secretly hankering for a big pile of spaghetti, instead.

Piadina with grilled steak, Stracchino, arugula, harissa, pickled onions.

The piadine, stuffed with steak and a type of creamy young cow's-milk cheese called Stracchino resembled quesadillas. A piadina, or piada, is a thin rustic flatbread, reminiscent of pita, roti, or lavash, which is served rolled or stuffed with cheese and other ingredients. I loved the bite of the harissa with the steak, cooled down by the creamy cheese.

Nutella bread pudding, banana ice cream

Finally, we had dessert--a simple but decadent Nutella bread pudding. Not just Nutella-flavored, there was also a ribbon of the gooey chocolate hazelnut spread inside. The banana ice cream was good, but not really even necessary. More bread pudding, please.

More of everything, actually. It was all really delicious, from cocktails to sweets. We look forward to going back and sampling more of both food and beverage. And maybe another of those terrific meatballs (or two).





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Spring Has Sprung at B&O American Brasserie

There's a new chef at B&O American Brasserie: Matthew Kane, who has been at B&O since its 2010 opening. A native Marylander, Kane plans on taking the restaurant back to its brasserie roots. His first menu in that direction features hearty, comforting fare like bone marrow and pork tenderloin combined with seasonal ingredients like ramps and fiddleheads, making a perfect transition from snowy winter into the welcome spring.

I was invited to a media sampling of some of Chef Kane's dishes, presented with a selection of master mixologist Brendan Dorr's cocktail wizardry. Standouts on the menu include Kane's brussels sprouts with a mustard crème fraîche (inspired by a version at Geoffrey Zakarian's now-closed South Beach restaurant, Tudor House), the lovely duck and pork terrine found on that night's house charcuterie platter, and a duo of rabbit that included speck-wrapped loin and rabbit-filled agnolotti. (I don't even like rabbit, but wanted more of this dish!)

We tried five of Dorr's drinks, from a near-classic daiquiri (E.M.H. Daquiri) and lighter version of a Manhattan (Perfect Age) to a lovely tart gin-and-cucumber cooler (Morning Dew), a smoky Mezcal-based bevvie (Burro Mexicano) and a dessert-like Brandy Alexander. I am hard-pressed to name a favorite, although the Perfect Age was really quite nice. Heck, they all were.

So...get thineselves to B&O and taste some of the new stuff.

Forgive my blurry photos...but enjoy the slideshow nonetheless.

B&O American Brasserie
2 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443.692.6172
http://www.bandorestaurant.com/



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The Just Beer Project

After generations of drinking crappy beer that tasted more like the byproduct of large horses with extremely hairy legs than hops and barley, Americans have started to demand better libations. Craft beers are being produced everywhere, and even Baltimore has been named one of America's best beer cities. Now one can buy beers of every color and strength, flavored with fruits, coffee, and even peanut butter. But sometimes folks just want beer that tastes like beer. And that's where the Just Beer Project comes in. Alan Newman, founder of Magic Hat Brewing Company, and no stranger to craft brewing, realizes that there are some people out there who just want a tasty, uncomplicated brew that they can drink all night long. Just Beer's first product is Just IPA, which comes in at 5.2% ABV (alcohol by volume).

Just IPA is lightly bitter and lightly floral, just enough of both to keep the drinker from getting bored, but not so much that the beer is more interesting than the food that it accompanies. Or doesn't accompany. We're not huge IPA drinkers in this house (but, I must confess, I do rather like the super floral/fruity ones) but both of us were pleased with our sampling of Just IPA. We're hoping there's a Just Lager coming out in the future because we just happen to enjoy lagers with Baltimore's favorite summertime meal, steamed crabs.

Just IPA is available in a limited area for now, and only on draft at the following Baltimore-area locations.

JD’s Smokehouse Bar & Grill
3000 O’Donnell St.
Baltimore, MD

Plug Ugly’s Publick House
2908 O’Donnell St.
Baltimore, MD

Freddie’s Ale House
7209 Harford Road
Baltimore, MD

Mother’s Federal Hill Grille
1113 S. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD

Social Pub and Pie
25 E. Cross St.
Baltimore, MD

Max's Taphouse
737 S Broadway
Baltimore, MD

Kloby's Smokehouse
7500 Montpelier Rd
Laurel, MD

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.

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Flashback Friday - December 7, 2012

This post was originally published on 1/11/2010. Seems like a good post to make a reappearance in December. Especially considering the cute Christmas-theme mugs in the photo.
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Hot Buttered Rum

In the late 80s, my family started a new tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve (possibly because Mom never could wait to hand out gifts). Because our house was so big, we set up the tree in the hallway near the front door to make sure everyone could gaze upon its Santa-festooned glory and mountain of gaily-wrapped packages on a frequent basis. The hallway was always drafty (as was the whole house) so I came up with the brilliant idea of drinking hot buttered rum as we tore through the wrappings.

We all enjoyed the warm, creamy libation - particularly my Cocker Spaniel. I had set my mug on the floor behind me and didn't notice that he had consumed several ounces of rummy goodness. Within minutes, he became a mean little drunk, snarling at the family and eventually hiding under a chair in the living room, far from the rest of us. (He apparently liked a good stiff drink on occasion and had once helped himself to a Pimm's Cup during a croquet party held on the front lawn.)

While not recommended for your canine friends, I do recommend that grownups partake of a nice steaming mug-full of hot buttered rum on a cold day. I like to keep a tub of "mix" ready in the freezer - just add rum and boiling water.

Hot Buttered Rum Mix

1 lb room-temperature butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 lb brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 quart room-temperature vanilla ice cream

Cream all ingredients together and store in a covered container in the freezer.

For each drink

1 1/2 ounces rum
boiling water
freshly grated nutmeg

Add rum and 2 tablespoons of batter to a mug (more if your mug is large) and top with boiling water. Stir together and garnish with nutmeg.


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Shellback Caribbean Rum

When I was offered the opportunity to sample Shellback rum, I jumped at the chance. Rum has long been one of my favorite spirits, and the closer we get to Christmas, the more spirits come in handy. If you catch my drift.

You might be wondering what a "shellback" is, exactly. No, it's not a turtle. A shellback is "an experienced sailor, revered for his nautical progression and courage, who has achieved the landmark triumph of crossing the equator." I am far from a shellback myself, having never been remotely close to the equator. However, I have been to the Caribbean, and I likes me rum. Aaarrr!

There are two Shellback rums: Silver, a lovely smooth spirit with a delightful vanilla nose; and Spiced, which is flavored with cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg, cassia, allspice, and vanilla. The spicing is subtle, but there's also a bite that I like quite a bit. They're both nice with a bit of cola, but even better with ginger ale. And of course there are several yummy-sounding recipes for both Shellback rums on the Shellback Web site, like Hot Buttered Cider and the Bloody Money.

Shellback Spiced Rum and Ginger Ale

Shellback has recently become available in Maryland, and can be purchased at a liquor store near you (call for availability) including Beltway Fine Wines. Personally, I think they'd make a terrific holiday gift for friends and family members who enjoy a tipple now and again (as I do), and I'm sure they'd be amazing used to booze up a fruitcake.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.

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A Scare - But Not for Halloween

Last weekend, I had what I am going to call - for dramatic purposes - an "attack." I was on the Light Rail, heading to M&T Bank Stadium to take in a Ravens game with my dad, when I felt a tightening in the center of my chest. The discomfort (can't really call it "pain") quickly radiated up my neck and into my jaw.

I thought, "is this what a heart attack feels like?"

I had experienced this same sensation two or three times in the past and I dismissed it as indigestion. I usually have some antacids on hand and one or two of them takes care of the problem. But this time, the word "angina" popped into my head.

Angina is bad. It can mean a heart attack is imminent. So sayeth the health nerds on Teh Innernets. So I got myself checked out. After donating many vials of blood to the cause and enduring multiple EKGs and chest x-rays, I got the verdict.

My heart is a gorgeous specimen that gave the doctor no concerns. (Whew!) What I experienced was probably Esophageal Spasms, which feel a lot like angina. But isn't. I was told to continue taking antacids, but if the spasms became more frequent, I could start taking Prilosec or similar.

And I was given a list of foods to avoid:

sodas that contain caffeine
chocolate and peppermint
spicy foods like pizza
acid foods like oranges or tomatoes
fried and fatty foods
alcohol

Oh, you're kidding me, doc. Killing me, too. If I avoided everything on the list, I'd be reduced to eating boiled chicken breasts with a plain baked potato and washing them down with Sprite.

And you know that is not going to happen.

While I have no problem with cutting caffeinated beverages from my diet (I barely drink soda at all and switched to decaf coffee a few years back), I cannot give up chocolate. Or pizza, citrus, or tomatoes. "Fried and fatty" is one of my major food groups, and while I will cut back, I will not remove it from my diet. As for alcohol - let's just say that sometimes it's...necessary.

I mean, if I'm have to avoid my favorite foods, I may as well have a heart condition. But I don't.

(Whew!)

Vokka

Recently we were pleased to note that Comcast Cable is offering a couple of new channels to their basic cable subscribers, one of which is Scripps' new venture, Cooking Channel. From the many ads we've seen on the Food Network, Cooking Channel seems to feature actual cooking shows, many of which come from FN archives. In addition to Emeril Live, Molto Mario, and Food 911, there are new shows like Food Jammers and Indian Food Made Easy. One show I've managed to catch twice so far is the boozefest called Drink Up.

From one episode, I learned there are basically only two kinds of beer: lager and ale. Everything else is either a lager (long fermentation) or an ale (quick fermentation). And a second episode taught me that host Darryl Robinson can't pronounce vodka. He says, "vokka," which hurts this Pole's ears. The word is properly pronounced "voodh' ka" (and spelled with a w, as there is no letter v in the Polish alphabet). Vodka means "little water" in Polish and Russian (voda being water), signifying its very important place within these Slavic cultures. In fact, it's almost a health food. Most people know that the proper thing to say when one is drinking vodka is "nas drowie!" (or "nas drovia" for the Russians). This phrase does not mean "cheers," nor does it mean "down the hatch" or "to life," but literally, "to our health" (because nobody should be drinking alone)!

Despite its "healthful" properties, we seldom had vodka in the house - we weren't what Grandma would call pijaki (drunks) even though she did make her own wine (!). Today, both the mister and I have an appreciation for the clear spirit and there's usually a bottle or two at Casa Minx, ready to be made into martinis or turn basically any other liquid into a quick cocktail.

When Robinson's guest for the "vokka" episode, bartender Jeremy Thompson, demonstrated a drink made with fresh tarragon, I paid attention. Our tarragon plant (indeed, our entire container garden) is a bit out-of-control and the Siberian Sling seemed like the ideal way to use some of the herb.

Siberian Sling
Recipe courtesy Jeremy Thompson, Raines Law Room

1 small bunch fresh tarragon leaves
1 ounce fresh lime juice
2 ounces vodka
3/4 ounces honey syrup*
6 ice cubes
Soda water or seltzer
*Cook's Note: 3 parts honey, 1 part water

Begin by slapping the fresh tarragon to bring out the aromatics. Drop the tarragon into a cocktail shaker, reserving a few leaves for the garnish. Add the lime juice, vodka, and honey syrup to the shaker. Add 2 ice cubes to the shaker, and short shake to make the liquid cold without diluting it. Strain the mixture into a high ball glass filled with 4 more ice cubes. Top the glass with the soda water, and use the reserved tarragon for the garnish.
-------------------------------------------------
The drink had a mildly licorice-y flavor from the tarragon, but tasted mostly of lime juice and honey. It was dangerously easy to drink. Yes, please, I think I will have another.

Vodka always reminds me of a song my Grandma used to sing when I was a girl. That was a long time ago, and I don't know the name of the song, but I can still remember one line in particular:

"śmiej się Griszka, zajrzyj do kieliszka, wódka lepsza od dziewczyny, bo nie zdradzi cię"

"Griszka laugh, look at the glass, vodka is better than girls, because it did not betray you."

Unless of course you drink too much. Pijak. :)

Hot Buttered Rum

In the late 80s, my family started a new tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve (possibly because Mom never could wait to hand out gifts). Because our house was so big, we set up the tree in the hallway near the front door to make sure everyone could gaze upon its Santa-festooned glory and mountain of gaily-wrapped packages on a frequent basis. The hallway was always drafty (as was the whole house) so I came up with the brilliant idea of drinking hot buttered rum as we tore through the wrappings. We all enjoyed the warm, creamy libation - particularly my Cocker Spaniel. I had set my mug on the floor behind me and didn't notice that he had consumed several ounces of rummy goodness. Within minutes, he became a mean little drunk, snarling at the family and eventually hiding under a chair in the living room, far from the rest of us. (He apparently liked a good stiff drink on occasion and had once helped himself to a Pimm's Cup during a croquet party held on the front lawn.) While not recommended for your canine friends, I do recommend that grownups partake of a nice steaming mug-full of hot buttered rum on a cold day. I like to keep a tub of "mix" ready in the freezer - just add rum and boiling water. Hot Buttered Rum  

For each drink 

1 1/2 ounces rum

2 tablespoons hot buttered rum mix (recipe below)

boiling water

freshly grated nutmeg

Add rum and rum mix to a standard 10-ounce mug and top with boiling water. Stir together and garnish with nutmeg.

Hot Buttered Rum Mix

1 lb softened butter

1 lb powdered sugar

1 lb brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 quart softened vanilla ice cream

Cream all ingredients together and store in a covered container in the freezer.