151/365/Food in 55/Everybody’s Got an Opinion

People are judged—even vilified—for things they will or won’t ingest. Vegans. Vegetarians. Meat eaters. Omnivores. Drinkers. Sober people. Smokers. Cleansers. Dieters.

Organic. Local. Sugar, processed food, or not. What did you just put in your mouth? Someone hates you for it. What do you refuse to eat? Someone hates you for that, too.

150/365/Food in 55/Last Two Cocktails

Pepino Diablo-ish* 

2 ounces Tanteo jalapeno tequila

1 ounce cucumber juice

.5 ounces lime juice

.5 ounces St. Germain

Shake. Serve. 

Cancelled Honeymoon**

1 ounce Cynar 70

1 ounce St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram

1 ounce passion-fruit juice

1 ounce grapefruit juice

1 ounce cinnamon syrup 

Shake. Serve over ice, burnt umbrella garnish. Skull mug optional.

*Attempting to recreate a drink I had at 44½ (New York City)

**Rhum (Portland, Maine, now closed. This is the only drink I ever ordered there, and it made me so happy. The bartender set the umbrella on fire right in front of you, its charred remains left for your enjoyment. It’s likely I will never attempt to gather these specific ingredients and make it myself, but I should. Posting here just in case I need to find the recipe.)

149/365/Food in 55/Still Drinking

(Kate’s) Killer Cocktail* 

Muddle fresh rosemary with half a lemon juiced.

Add ice.

2 parts rye

1 part Aperol

1 part St. Germain

Shake. Strain. Top with fresh rosemary.

Cucumber Martini

3 ounces Hendricks gin

whiff of dry vermouth, if that

cucumber juice to taste

Shake gin and vermouth. Top with cucumber juice and stir.

*Barrows House (Dorset, Vermont)

148/365/Food in 55/Guess What? Cocktails!

Stuart’s Strega Drink* 

1.5 ounces Finger Lakes Distilling Gerwurztraminer grappa

.5 ounces Strega

.5 ounces honey syrup (1 part water/1 part honey)

.75 ounces lemon juice

(shake, pour)

top with champagne

sprig of fresh thyme 

Pegu Club

1.5 ounces gin

.75 ounces curacao

1 teaspoon lime juice

dash bitters

dash orange bitters

Shake and strain.

  

*The Green Russell (Denver). Stuart was my bartender, and it was a situation in which he asked what kind of flavors I liked and he made something up on the spot (allegedly). Took me almost 2 years to procure the first ingredient, and then the distillery stopped producing it altogether. If Stuart had told me he was using grappa and Strega, I would have told him I didn’t think I’d like it. That’s when I love what bartenders do—balance flavors you wouldn’t necessarily like singly.

147/365/Food in 55/And More Cocktails

Black Cat Rye Sour*

.75 ounces Domaine de Canton

sugar cube soaked in celery bitters (we use a tiny bit of quick-dissolve sugar)

.5 ounces grapefruit juice

.5 ounces lemon juice

1.5 ounces rye

Shake. Serve. 

White Lotus

2 parts Cold River vodka

1 part Domaine de Canton

1 part lemon juice

Shake and serve.

*Black Cat Bistro (Boulder, Colorado)

146/365/Food in 55/Even More Cocktails

Boulvardier 
2 ounces rye
1 ounce Campari

1 ounce sweet vermouth (ideally Carpano Antica)

Late Night at OOB* 

“Rum, other things, shame”

1.5 ounces Plantation Three Stars white rum
.75 ounces lime juice
.75 ounces Falernum
.5 ounces pineapple juice
Shake and pour over ice
Top with Angostura bitters, spray of absinthe, freshly ground nutmeg

*Portland Hunt & Alpine Club (Maine; OOB, Old Orchard Beach)

145/365/Food in 55/More Cocktails

Elder Sage*

2 ounces Hendricks gin

1 ounce St. Germain

.5 ounce lemon juice

dash grapefruit bitters

Shake and pour.

Float smacked-sage leaf.

Rabbit Fighter*

1.25 ounces Smith & Cross rum

1.25 ounces pomelo (or grapefruit) juice

.25 ounces lime juice

.5 ounces Strega

1 dash Scrappy’s cardamom bitters

Shake, strain.

Top with star anise.

*Vedge (Philadelphia, high-end vegan)

144/365/Food in 55/Some Cocktails (no haiku)

Celery Gimlet*

2.5 ounces gin

1 ounce celery juice

.5 ounce lime juice

.5 ounce green chartreuse

.5 oz apple cider vinegar

3 dashes celery bitters

Shake and pour.

Klio Thyme**

2 parts Grey Goose vodka

1 part St. Germain

.75 or a tiny bit more lemon juice

Shake and pour.

Top with fresh thyme.

*Eventide (Portland, Maine)

**My own (French) invention in honor of a friend’s recently departed pet.

143/365/Food in 55/College Staple: Bulgur and Black-eyed Peas

Sauté a cup of bulgur in some butter/oil. Add diced onion. Keep sautéing. Drain a can of black-eyed peas, reserving the liquid. Add water to the liquid to make a cup. Add the liquid, cover, stirring occasionally til done. Add the black-eyed peas and let them get warm. Top with soy sauce. Is this right?* 

*I made this at least once a week in college. But I don’t have it written down (thinking I could never forget it), and this could be all wrong.

142/365/Food in 55/Oysters

Pemaquid. Long Reach. Basket Island. My hotel was just on the other side of the snooty, I-once-saw-Willem-Dafoe-there oyster place, obviously the best spot for a 3:00 snack. Even at that hour, it was crowded. I love New England/Canada oysters so much. And because they are animals, I’m glad they are expensive. An appropriately rare treat.