Archive for the ‘Drinks’ Category

HONEYBELL MARGARITAS

Posted: January 16, 2013 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, mixology
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My wife’s Aunt Kay in Florida sends us a really cool gift every year. It’s a box of Cushman’s HoneyBells from Florida. They look like fiery red bell-shaped oranges, and they are the sweetest and juiciest oranges you will ever have! But the cool thing about them is that they’re not really oranges at all.
honey bells
HoneyBells are a unique natural hybrid of Dancy Tangerine and Duncan Grapefruit. The plants are grafted to a sour orange root stock, and when the tree reaches maturity, it looks just like a grapefruit tree…but with oranges growing on it.
HoneyBells are available for a very short time every winter…and that time is NOW. So if you’re at all interested, check out http://www.honeybell.com/. Cushman’s was bought out by the fruit giant Harry & David some years ago, but the excellent quality of the product and their fine service has not changed.
I usually make my Algarita, my twist on a margarita, with pineapple juice. But when I get those HoneyBells in the mail, my recipe takes on a new twist:
algarita 1
HONEYBELL ALGARITAS
2 oz Patron silver tequila
1/2 oz Cointreau orange liqueur
4 oz fresh squeezed HoneyBell juice
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
Fill a tall glass with ice and add all the ingredients. Stir vigorously. Pour into a large margarita glass. Garnish with lime wedge. Salt optional.
algarita 2
Of course, you can use any great juice orange to make this drink…but the fact is that HoneyBells are really not that much more expensive. But the clock is ticking…get ‘em soon or you’ll need to wait a year!
Any other time of the year, substitute pineapple juice, orange juice or a combination of both for the Honey Bells.

THE GREATEST DRINK AT THE GREATEST BEACH BAR ON PLANET EARTH

Posted: January 2, 2013 in Caribbean, Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, mixology, Recipes, travel, Uncategorized
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I know that winter has only started. But I’m cold, dammit, and I’m thinking about the Caribbean!

One of the tastiest rum drinks you can make, and one that certainly brings you back to the Caribbean—or at least makes you feel like you’ve been there—is the legendary Painkiller. It was invented on the tiny island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands, at the famous Soggy Dollar Bar. Located on White Bay, a stretch of the whitest most beautiful sand in the Caribbean, surrounded by beautiful turquoise waters, there is no dock. You have to anchor your boat offshore and swim…hence the name: the Soggy Dollar.

SOGGY1

Daphne Henderson was the owner of the Soggy Dollar years ago, and she is credited for inventing the Painkiller, which used Pusser’s rum, a British rum that is readily available here in the United States. Charles Tobias, a businessman that received permission from the British Royal Navy to commercialize Pusser’s rum in 1980, tasted the Painkiller and realized the potential of this amazing drink. He took some Painkillers home to the island of Tortola, where he experimented in recreating that drink, coming up with what he thought was something that was as good as—if not better than—the original. He called it the Pusser’s Painkiller.

Tobias never found out what Daphne Henderson’s original recipe was, but when he brought his own Pusser’s Painkillers back to the Soggy Dollar, and had a tasting battle between the two recipes, his recipe apparently won 10 out of 10 times. With 4 Pusser’s bars and restaurants in the Caribbean and 2 more in the states, Tobias quickly made the Pusser’s Painkiller the signature drink of these now-famous establishments…and perhaps the most popular drink among the sailing community in the US, Caribbean and West Indies.

The drink itself is simple…

PUSSER’S PAINKILLER

4 parts pineapple juice

1 part cream of coconut

1 part orange juice

Combine these 3 ingredients, with lots of fresh grated nutmeg in a glass with ice. How much Pusser’s rum you use depends on how hammered you want to get! A Pusser’s #2 uses 2 parts rum…a Pusser’s #3 uses 3 parts rum…and a Pusser’s #4 uses 4 parts rum!

I’ve had several Pusser’s #4’s back in the day when there was a Pusser’s bar on the island of St John in the USVI many years ago. I’ve also sampled them in the BVI at the 2 Pusser’s locations on Tortola.  But I still prefer going back to Jost Van Dyke and knocking back a few at the place where the Painkiller was born, the greatest beach bar on planet Earth: The Soggy Dollar Bar.

I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to go back. But my bathing suit is already packed.

SOGGY2

Thanks to my buddy, Dr Chezwick, for the photos. No children were harmed during this catamaran trip.

WHEN IT COMES TO BOOZE, ONE SIZE FITS AL!

Posted: December 21, 2012 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, MARTINI, mixology, Southern New England
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For me, fine spirits are the best gift for the holidays. You can go with some aged rums…sipping tequilas…or classic cognacs. And then there’s the whole list of liqueurs…sweets for the end of the meal or a key ingredient in a flavorful cocktail. Here’s my list of favorite bottles…

Kelt XO Cognac: What makes this cognac special is that it leaves the Cognac region of France in barrels and gets loaded onto ships that travel the world for months at a time. The barrels of cognac mellow, as they slowly rock back and forth in the ship’s hold out in open seas, much like they did hundreds of years ago before we loaded pallets of product onto cargo planes. The ships then return to Cognac, where the spirit is unloaded and bottled. The result is an exceptionally smooth cognac that is still my favorite to date. What’s really cool is that each bottle has a summary of what ship it was on and where it traveled. The VSOP is great, but the XO is outstanding. And yes, it makes a difference if the ships go around the world clockwise or counterclockwise!
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum: If you’ve got a friend that likes sipping rum, this takes it to a whole new level. Made in Venezuela, it has a sweetness that you won’t want to mix…on the rocks is perfect. I have turned more friends on to this rum in the last couple of years than any other spirit I’ve discovered. Thanks to Jeff and Geremie, owners of Fluke restaurant in Newport, Rhode Island, for giving me my first sip of this wonderful rum years ago.

Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia tequila: I am not a fan of Jose Cuervo tequila in general. If all you want is a reposado or anejo, there are so many other better ones out there: Don Julio, Don Eduardo, Corazon, and Sauza Tres Generaciones just to name a few. And for silver, nothing beats Patron. But this top-of-the-line Cuervo is excellent, and you pay the price for the designer box as well as the tequila. Worth every penny.

St Germaine: a sweet liqueur crafted from hand-picked Elderflowers that grow in the Alps, and featured in an excellent house drink called The Elixir at Cooke and Brown Public House in Providence, Rhode Island, featuring Irish whisky, St Germain, honey, lemon and bitters.

Bols Genever: First made in Holland in 1575, this is the stuff the British fell in love with, tried to copy, and then shortened the name of their resulting product and called it “gin.” But it’s better than gin. Many a great cocktail starts with this key ingredient. One of my favorites is a take on the classic Negroni: combine 1.5 oz Bols Genever, 1 oz Gran Classico, and .5 oz Punt e Mes.

Coole Swan: Imagine a Bailey’s that tastes like melted vanilla ice cream, and you sort of have an idea of the flavor of this terrific cream liqueur. It’s a key ingredient in my espresso martinis. Here’s my recipe: 3 oz Belvedere vodka, 3 oz freshly brewed espresso, 1.5 oz Kahlua and 1.5 oz Coole Swan. Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Makes 2 martinis. You will never drink another espresso martini as long as you live!Rumchata: Horchata is a very popular drink in Hispanic countries. It comes from many ingredient combinations, but one of the most popular is rice, vanilla and cinammon. Imagine a liquid version of rice pudding and you sort of get the idea. So if you add rum to it…you get a liqueur unlike anything you’ve had before. Very tasty.

Castries: This creamy liqueur takes its name from the capital city of the island of St Lucia….and it surprises me that it took this long for someone to come up with a peanut flavored liqueur. Sure, there are other nut liqueurs: almond liqueurs, like real Amaretto (not Disaronno, which is made from peach or apricot pits)…and hazel nut liqueurs like Frangelico. But this one is very different. It’s creamy, not clear, and quite delicious.
Sortilege: This liqueur made from Canadian whisky and maple syrup is the definition of liquid dessert. It’s hard to describe how good this stuff is. All I can say is: once you open it, it will vanish very quickly. I haven’t poured it on pancakes yet, but some hungover morning I will!
Cheers!

THE CLASSIC SCORPION BOWL

Posted: November 7, 2012 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, mixology
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I went on line and looked at many websites that claimed to have the “real” recipe for a Scorpion Bowl…you know, the classic drink you get in a large Trader Vic volcano glass with a little cup in the volcano for the 151 rum that you take a small hit of before you suck down more of the drink? I tell you what: it makes the Asian food you’re eating that much tastier and the world around you spin that much faster!
Most of the recipes I’ve found on line don’t match the one that I’ve been using for many years. This recipe comes from a bartender (whose name I can’t remember–too many Scorpion bowls, I guess) from a long-gone Chinese restaurant, China Garden, that was located in Warwick, Rhode Island. A car dealership now stands in that location. This is the best Scorpion Bowl I’ve ever had…and continue to have!
Make sure to use top shelf booze for this or you’ll be a Suffering Bastard the next morning! (A little drink humor…)

Look carefully, and you may see the flame coming out of the volcano! Hope I don’t need to tell you not to drink the 151while it’s lit!

SCORPION BOWL
2 oz. light rum (I use Don Q silver)
2 oz. dark rum (I use Mt Gay)
1 oz. gin (I use Bombay Sapphire)
½ oz. brandy (I use good ol’ E&J)
½ oz. Disaronno Originale
½ oz. Cointreau
6 oz Pineapple juice
6 oz Orange juice
½ oz. Bacardi 151 rum for the little cup in the volcano

In a blender half-full of ice, add all the alcohol, except the 151 rum. Add the pineapple juice and the orange juice.  (Use less if you like it stronger.) Give the drink a quick 1-second pulse in the blender, and pour with ice into Scorpion Bowl or very large glass. If you do have a Scorpion Bowl with the volcano in it, add the 151 rum to the bowl in the volcano. If not, you can mix the 151 into your drink.

Don’t drive!

WHEN IT COMES TO COCKTAILS, HERBACEOUS = DELICIOUS

Posted: October 12, 2012 in Cocktails, Coppa, drink recipes, Drinks, mixology, Recipes
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I love cocktails that are full of herbaceousness. (Got that right without spell check!)

So whenever my wife and are dining in a higher-end restaurant, where we see that mixology matters to them as much as the food, we take advantage of their knowledgeable bartenders and have them create something special for us to try.

Coppa is my second favorite restaurant in Boston–Toro being at the top of the list–and both are part of the Ken Oringer empire, with head chef Jamie Bissonette at the helm. Both also take pride in their cocktails, and this one from Coppa, named “Hey Neon,” is a personal favorite that I regularly re-create at home for myself.

The Coppa finished drink:

 

HEY NEON, BOTH WAYS
1.5 oz Aalborg aquavit

.75 oz Punt e Mes

.5 oz Cynar

.5 oz green Chartreuse

Finely minced, dehydrated kalamata olives

 

Combine the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with some ice. Stir briskly and pour (straining the ice) into a rocks glass rimmed with the minced kalamata olives.

 

My version of the cocktail:

 

I tried mincing and dehydrating the kalamata olives, like they do at Coppa. But the oils in the olives kept them from drying out enough–maybe I was just too impatient for a drink! And I couldn’t get the minced olives to stick to the rim of my glass.
My solution was pretty simple: pour the drink into a martini glass and serve with a skewer of kalamatas. Works for me!

 

 

JUVENILE’S WINE BAR IN PARIS…A MUST STOP

Posted: October 2, 2012 in Drinks, Food, Juvenile's, Paris, Saveur, Tim Johnston, travel, Uncategorized, wine, wine bar
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Paris has a special place in the hearts of my wife, myself, and even my 5-year-old daughter. It’s where my wife and I got engaged back in 2002. It’s where we celebrated my wife’s 40th birthday with family and friends in 2005. And it’s where my daughter has ridden on seven—count ‘em—seven—carousels…a record I’m sure she’ll want to break on her next trip.

One of the reasons why Paris is so special to us is a small, unpretentious wine bar called Juvenile’s, at 47 Rue de Richelieu. The owner is Tim Johnston, a sharp-tongued wise-cracking Scotsman who happens to know a helluva lot about wine and spirits, and is in fact a consulting editor to Saveur magazine. Tim takes no BS from his clients, and that adds to the entertainment value of every visit.

Hangin’ with Tim.

My wife met Tim back in 2001, just a few months before she had met me, when she and her Mom took a trip to France. The friendship with Tim was forged, and it has been going strong ever since. Tim, in typical fashion, tolerates me because he enjoys the company of my lovely wife…and I can’t say that I blame him!

The food at Juvenile’s is rustic…nothing fancy here. But it is all very good and satisfying. We’ve found what we consider the best foie gras in Paris here. The potatoes with raclette and bacon are fantastic. Sausage dishes, duck dishes…all the favorites, all wonderfully prepared in a very, very small kitchen in this wine bar that holds, perhaps, 30 people.

Paolo, Tim’s right-hand man, working the tiny kitchen at Juvenile’s.

Juvenile’s is one of Paris’ original wine bars, serving wine by the glass way before everyone else thought it was cool to do so. And even the locals will come in on a regular basis to ask Tim what the latest great wines are. The man has earned the respect of those who know.

We make Juvenile’s a mandatory stop with every visit to Paris we make, lingering sometimes for an entire day…eating, chatting, and sampling wine and even fine cognacs that Tim is willing to share with us. Often, we come back for a second and even third visit during the same trip. It’s a great place to unwind and get away from the hectic pace of the day, whether you’re a tourist or a local.

Yes, that says 1962!

The next time you’re in Paris, stop by Juvenile’s and tell Tim I sent you. He will promptly throw you out!

Tim and me. Great t-shirt!

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE CUCUMBERS BEFORE THE SEASON ENDS

Posted: September 5, 2012 in Cocktails, Cucumbers, Drinks, Food, Recipes, Rhode Island, Soups, Southern New England, Uncategorized
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Cucumber season is winding down here in Southern New England. If you think these veggies are nothing special, it’s probably because you bought them from a supermarket, where they’ve been grown on the other side of the planet, covered in wax to prevent bruising, and then shipped to your local store where they place them under artificial lighting.

Go to your local farmer now. Buy some amazing fresh cukes. Then try any or all of these suggestions…

CRISPY CUCUMBER SOUP

3 medium-sized cucumbers, peeled and seeded

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 cup vegetable broth

4 cups plain yogurt (I like the full fat yogurt)

1/2 cup mint leaves

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper

Peel and seed 2 1/2 of the cucumbers and place in a blender with garlic, broth, 3 cups of the yogurt, mint leaves, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Mix well. Add remaining yogurt and wisk in.

Finely dice the leftover 1/2 cucumber and place in soup bowl. Add soup on top.

Garnish with a pinch of SEA salt, preferably Fleur de Sel.

REFRESHING CUCUMBER DRINK

This is a recipe I found last summer, and it’s one of the most refreshing summer drinks you can make for yourself. But it also requires a lot of preparation. It’s worth it. I made a pitcher this past weekend, and I can’t even begin to tell you how good it was!

Ingredients per pitcher:

8 English cucumbers, peeled and seeded

4 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves

12 Tablepsoons fresh lime juice

8 teaspoons sugar

16 ounces vodka

4 ounces Cointreau

Peel cucumbers and quarter lengthwise. Remove any seeds. Cut a couple of quarters into thin stalks for garnish. Rough chop the rest of the cukes and put them in a food processor. Blend until totally liquefied. Strain cuke juice through a fine sieve, squeezing out as much liquid as you can from the solids. Throw the solids in your compost bin.

In a pitcher, combine mint, sugar and lime juice. Muddle the mint leaves, then add 1 cup crushed ice to the pitcher and stir well.

Add 3 cups cucumber juice, the vodka and Cointreau to the pitcher and stir well again.

Strain liquid into tall glasses filled with ice. Garnish with cucumber stalks.

PIMM’S CUP

Pimm’s No. 1 is a gin-based liqueur made in England. There are many variations of this drink, but my favorite is this simple:

Pimm’s No. 1

Ginger ale

1 smaller cucumber, peeled and quartered lengthwise

In a tall glass filled with ice, pour 2 oz of the Pimm’s No. 1. Fill to top of glass with ginger ale, leaving enough room to place a stalk of cucumber in the glass.

And nothing comforts me more than a bowl of chopped cukes with sour cream, some finely chopped fresh dill and a pinch of salt. Something my Mom gave us as kids that I still love today.

Read more: http://www.94hjy.com/pages/alz_food_blog.html#ixzz25algwxHE

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