Violets

Being that I have failed miserably in my attempts at sobriety, I thought I might as well go off the wagon in style. Floral drinks are all the rage, I hear, and there are violets springing up everywhere. Why not forgo the expensive liquers and simply shake the hell out of fresh flowers with ice, nice gin, lemon juice and a little simple syrup? Or better yet, make a violet simple syrup? The Blue Gimlet? The Fairy Gimlet? Whatever I wind up calling it, I like it!

No-Fun February

Alcohol never looked so good. We are abstaining for the month, as we try to every year, and it always leaves me flat.
Supposedly, it's better for you not to drink. You don't get liver damage, your immunity is higher, your skin less wrinkled, and you aren't as confrontational. I don't know about all that. It feels terrible to me.
What do sober people do for fun? Food is ruined. The magic of a great meal truly lies in the interactions of the victuals and the alcohol. Champagne as an apertif gets you ready for dinner, red wine eases it down, and a good shot after makes digestion a snap. Yoga helps me relax, but not as quickly as a nice cocktail. Life seems longer without booze, but much narrower.
Sure, you're saying to yourself, that's the addiction talking. Maybe so, but I wager that if I were to quit forever, not a day would go by that I wouldn't have rather had a drink.

Post-Party

I guess this is the come down.
After so much drink and food, January can be a difficult transition. I worked hard to get up to party pace, and now I have to let it all go? Mid year, I floundered to maintain my cool at parties; the spins, cold showers. Now I'm able to drink through the evening and still hold a stimulating conversation. There's got to be the golden mean between teetotaller and lush.
Here's a solution...champagne! It's lighter than liquor and stronger than beer. It's fluffy and fanciful, and you can drink it any any time of day! Bubbly makes me feel classier.
So, let's lift a flute and get through January!

Eugene 75
3/4 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 oz. rose liqeur
1 oz. Sapphire
fill the rest of the way with champagne

Hot Cha Cha

It was a very swilly Christmas. I ushered in the new year with lots of beer and whiskey. No mixed drinks for me, unless you count the champagne cocktail I created by adding Lemoncello to mimosas. My main drinking buddy was sick, though, so we made tons of Hot Toddys.
What an amazing beverage this is! A simple synthesis of hot water, honey, cinnamon stick and bourbon, it warms the cockles of your heart. It doesn't even matter what you put in it, if it's a hot, sweet alcoholic drink, it can be called a toddy. Nice and flexible that, just like my Scottish memory.
After drinking so much for the holidays, it's hard to bring it down a notch in January. So, I went to Davis for a martini after work last night, as part of my "bartender education". Thai told me that Chris is a real mixologist, and he didn't lie. My fears of straight gin and vermouth melted away in the cold, clean, dry, floral citrus bracer he set before me. Here's to a new year filled with fabulous drinks!

Healing Liquor

How funny that being a bartender has changed my view of alcohol for the better. I used to walk around with my bottle of Guilty Pleasure tucked inside my overcoat. As I learn more, however, I see a history of drink as healer, reviver, and important social symbol, and I am proud to be a lover of liquor.
Our society sees alcohol as Bad. You will really be looked down upon for drinking during the day, for example. Drinking around kids? Terrible influence. Drink everyday? Alcoholic. Yet, it has not always been this way. There was a time when people went to monks for their healing "waters": beers, liqeurs, and wines, and when a day without wine was considered unhealthy. Does the modern sorority girl think about health as she does her shot of Jagermeister? Probably not, but when taken appropriately (apertifs before meal, digestifs after, restoratives when the energy sags)alcohol plays a very key part in human health. Sure, a big part of this is not drinking to excess, but, oh well.

Can I change this blog?

Gosh! Ever since I started working 4 nights a week, I don't cook much. I really miss dinner! Now, my non-cook husband is in charge, and I think the kids are healthier for it. It's beans and rice every night. Sometimes I go all out and prepare dinner before I leave, but not often. The night life ain't no good life, but it's my life!
In light of this, I think I'll change this blog to talk about my new position as bartender! I really enjoy the work. It's not so far removed from cooking. You follow a recipe, taste the result, and make people happy (hopefully!). Cocktails have been in my periphery more and more, with a renaissance underway in the food world, and several of my foody friends "going over" to the bar. I am still very much a novice, but I love mixing the drinks at CLN.
Right now, I'm at work to memorize drinks, but keep your eyes peeled for my style to arise! Rose champagne cocktail anyone?

La Batterie de Cuisine

La batterie; all of the implements used in the battle against food: pots, pans, whisks, knives,cutting boards, and scales. A good one can make everything more smooth, and a lousy one can be the death knell for your dish.I have an adequate collection of pots and pans, but my knives are terrible. I sometimes think that if I had a good knife, I would be a much better prep cook than I ever dreamed possible. There are some things that I would like to get like a meat mallet, a fat separator, a bread machine, a turkey rack, etc., but they are so fluffy that I continue to make do without them. It would be nice, but in the end, you don't need all that.