Rosemary Collins

There’s a new girl in town and her name is Rosemary Collins.

Every year at my annual holiday party called “The Ornament Exchange” I offer a featured drink. This year Foodie suggested a twist on the traditional Tom Collins that involves infusing the simple syrup used in the drink with rosemary, hence a Rosemary Collins.   Anything that involves Rosemary sounds satisfactory to me so Rosemary was happily invited to the bash.   

A traditional Tom Collins is a concoction of gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and club soda garnished with a Maraschino cherry or lemon slice.  This drink replaces the straight-up simple syrup with a rosemary infused version.

To make rosemary simple syrup, combine 1 cup each of sugar and water and a few fresh sprigs of rosemary in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, about one minute. Remove the pan from the heat, and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes. Strain into a jar and throw away the rosemary sprigs. Place the lid on the jar and chill a few hours.

Rosemary Collins

1 ½ oz gin
1 oz lemon juice
½ oz rosemary simple syrup
Club soda or seltzer water
Pomegranate seeds and fresh rosemary for garnish

Pour the gin, lemon juice, and rosemary sugar syrup into a tall glass with ice cubes. Stir thoroughly or place a martini shaker top on the glass and give it a shake. Top with club soda, and garnish with Pomegranate seeds and fresh rosemary.   Adjust the proportions to make a pitcher…like we did!

Rosemary was the hit of the party!  A welcome guest anytime.

Shandy Land

A shandy is a perfect summer drink that is a cinch to make…and drink (especially on the hot summer days that we’ve been suffering through!).

The drink is simply a mixture of beer and lemonade, but my version also includes ginger ale. I like to use Blue Moon beer because the citrus undertones harmonize nicely with the lemonade and the ginger ale gives the drink a spicy little zip. The traditional recipe calls for just beer and lemonade in equal proportions.

The Shandy’s relatively low alcohol content makes it a popular tavern beverage and from my minimal research, it seems to have originated in Europe. There are many variations of this concoction and my two favorites (just from the descriptions, otherwise I would not be able to write a coherent post!) are the Texan Honeymoon which consists of lager beer and lime juice and a Chilean version, the Fan-Schop, which is a mixture of draught beer and Fanta orange soda.

So, my version is called a Ginger Snap Shandy

½ Glass beer
¼ Glass of lemonade, homemade or store bought, or lemon soda
¼ Glass of ginger ale
1 teaspoon of molasses

Fill a glass half way with the beer. Add lemonade, then Ginger Ale, add the molasses, give it a little stir and float a lemon slice on top. Crisp, refreshing, delish and easy as could be…a Ginger Snap Shandy.

Basilic

I am about two weeks behind with my summer beverage postings.

Maybe not.

Does the $9 bottle of screw-top wine we drank in Ocean City count?

Foodie, Architect and I traveled into Center City Philadelphia on Tuesday night. We enjoyed a delightful dinner at Parc, taking in the sights and sounds of the city relaxing at their curbside bistro...very European. Among other things, we saw the most regal Great Dane, many very fit yoginis about to awaken their spirits (their rolled up mats divulged their destination), and some fairly mature women who really need to stop shopping at dELiAs.

Before dinner, we had a drink at Parc's bar that offers the most interesting and eclectic selection of mixed cocktails. Considering this, ordering a simple glass of wine would have been a waste, downright negligent for the sake of research (and fodder for this post)so we all, of course, dutifully ordered a fancy drink.

Architect had a Romarin made with Grapefruit Vodka, Rosemary, Elderflower Liqueur and Grapefruit Juice. Foodie had a customized version of the same, made with Gin. I had a Basilic, and, as the name suggests, it was infused with basil, but also contained cucumbers, Smirnoff Citrus Vodka and Elderflower Liqueur. Refreshing indeed..I even ate the liquor-soaked cucumbers!

Although this may not be the precise recipe, it is close enough to the Parc version.




Basilic
1 oz of Smirnoff Citrus Vodka
3/4 oz of Elderflower Liqueur
8 very thin cucumber slices
6 Basil Leaves
Club Soda

Crush the basil leaves in the glass in which you will serve the cocktail. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the vodka, liqueur, and the cucumber slices. Shake well enough to infuse the taste of the cucumbers. Pour into the glass with the basil leaves and top with club soda. So incredibly good.


Photo of Parc from picturephilly.com

Thyme and Lime Lemonade

Every now and again we discover stuff that just makes our life easier. While at Foodie’s one evening, I asked for a juicer and she whips out this tool that – I am embarrassed to say – I had never seen before. My ignorance of this apparatus posed the obvious question…”how does this work?” This is what it looked like:


Yes, I write a blog about food.

So she proceeds to tell me to cut the lime in half and place it sliced side down in the juicey thing and compress the handle....the fruit turns into a pulpy rally cap. Well…that little contraption gave me the most juice that I have ever obtained by hand juicing AND (bonus) I did not have to strain it (it separates the pulp and seeds from the juice). AND I did not get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in the process.

I have to have one.

There are several different types of manual citrus juicers. The one with which we are most familiar is the cone-in-the-center-of-a-well gizmo that we all had in our kitchen drawers growing up. Similar idea to the juicer describer above, but the pulp and seeds need to be strained and it’s not as effortless. Then there’s the handy-dandy “citrus reamer” which is good when only a small amount of juice is needed.

For today’s summer drink recipe, I need the juice of 6 lemons and 3 limes, so I will be using my new Michael Graves 2-IN-1 Citrus Juicer from Target that looks just like the one above only it's orange. The recipe is from the July 2011 edition of Real Simple, my mom’s favorite magazine that I borrowed from her and promised to return....some day.


Thyme and Lime Lemonade
½ cup of sugar
½ cup of water
1 cup of fresh lemon juice (about 6 medium lemons)
¼ cup of fresh lime juice (2-3 limes)
3 cups of water
10 fresh thyme sprigs

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and ½ cup of water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved; let cool. In a pitcher combine the syrup with the lemon juice and 3 cups of water. In a separate smaller pitcher, mash the thyme with the lime juice and add to the lemonade mixture and give it a stir. Refrigerate for at least one hour to let the flavors incorporate. Serve over ice with a sprig of thyme.


So refreshing!

To make this a spirited drink, add a shot of vodka or gin to each serving.

The Sassy O'Hara

Scarlett O’Hara turned 75 this week, and like the charming but headstrong character in the American Classic, Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, the novel’s author, was a sassy sort as well. In the mid 1920’s, Mitchell was a reporter for The Atlanta Journal and enjoyed quite the active social life until a foot injury handed her a sedentary fate. She became an ardent reader and after she read everything in the local library, her husband gave her a used Remington typewriter and the rest, as you know dear readers, is literary history.

The NPR story that aired on June 30th reported that Mitchell wrote the last chapter of Gone with the Wind first knowing from the get-go that…"Rhett wasn't going to care that much” and that Scarlett was going to think about that tomorrow. Additionally, Mitchell wrote chapters as they occurred to her and fit them into the tale as the story developed.
The NPR broadcast also said that “though most of Mitchell's manuscript was burned after her death, a few chapters survived and the last pages of the book are framed on the wall at the Atlanta History Center.”

Just as a bit of trivia, the original name of Mitchell’s heroine was "Pansy" and Mitchell did not change the name until just before the novel went to print. Regardless of her moniker, Scarlett is an iconic character, certainly worthy of having a cocktail named after her, so I embarked on a search and indeed found such a potion. The Scarlett O’Hara consists of Southern Comfort, cranberry juice and lime. So, thought this blogger, how can I alter this recipe to capture the spicy nature of Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler?

Tabasco!

The Sassy O’Hara
2 oz of Bourbon
4 oz Cranberry Juice
Lime Juice (of 1/2 lime)
Two dashes of Tabasco
A few sage leaves

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the bourbon, cranberry juice, lime juice, Tabasco, and sage leaves. Shake well enough to infuse the sage. Pour strained into a fancy glass. Garnish with a slice of lime and sage leaves.


Not the only beverage we enjoyed at an impromptu gathering at Foodies.

Watch "Went with the Wind" here. Classic Carol Burnett!

Rhett & Scarlett from Google images. Manuscript photo from NPR.org.

I Call the Chicken to the Stand

After a brief hiatus (for various and sundry reasons, not the least of which is this globe-trotting blogger) our Tuesday evening dinners have resumed. Now, the weather in the northeast has been unusually hot – downright toasty – and such temperatures are just not conducive to cooking. Enter the perfect solution, GRILL….Architect grilled a whole damn chicken! She has this little contraption on which the chicken sits and is grilled upright.

Intriguing.

So I embarked on a hunt to find this little item. I typed “chicken grill stand” into an Amazon.com search and, there it was…in all its grilling glory

and BONUS I can have it by this Saturday if I order within the next 21 hours and choose next day shipping.

Done.

That was easy.

I was just as curious about the beer-can chicken recipe book for $8.51 but I passed on that.

This little piece of equipment produces the best roasted chicken ever…moist on the inside and fight-for-the-crispy-part on the outside. Delicious indeed. Architect also grilled asparagus and I contributed a zesty green salad with raspberries, goat cheese and sunflower seeds. Foodie made a quinoa salad. What, you ask? Quinoa (keen-wah) is a low carb grain with a taste and texture that is a cross between brown rice and oatmeal….tasty indeed. We also had a tiramisu cake that was left over from a weekend soiree.


Oh, mojitos…had those too. Might explain my sluggishness the next morning.

Mojito
Crush mint and sugar to taste in a little bowl, add a shot of clear rum and 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice. Fill a tall glass with ice, add the rum mixture and top off with sparkling water. Garnish with a few sprigs of mint...yummy.

Youngest daughter’s Senior Ball is this weekend…they grow up so quickly!

Lemon Drop Martini

I just returned from a conference in Orlando. Every year about this time, I attend the same professional conference (remember Boston last year?) and I usually try to pepper my visit with some sightseeing…well, no such peppering this year. I’m really not much of a Disney person (but totally understand and appreciate the allure for others). I did watch the fireworks from my hotel balcony…I also had a lovely view of the air conditioning system and the parking lot.

Maybe I should have upgraded to a pool view for $30 a night.

I rarely go anywhere without my camera…until now. I forgot my camera and, therefore, am not able to share photos of the week…what kind of blogger forgets her camera?

Apparently me.

Let me explain the temporary lapse in my otherwise fairly organized approach to traveling. As you know from a previous post, I am a big “To-Do” list person….if it doesn’t get written down, it doesn’t happen.

Anyway, I was scheduled to speak at this particular conference and I was frenzied busy preparing for the same and remembering the things necessary to present – like my wireless clicker and laptop. Consequently, some routine check-list personal items – i.e.camera – got left behind…I did remember some other fairly significant items, but you don’t need to hear about those.

BTW, my presentation was on Behavioral Interviewing…fascinating stuff.

Despite my inability to photo-document my (scant) escapades, I had several days of learning and networking with industry peers including a wonderful dinner at a martini bar where I enjoyed a Lemon Drop Martini. What a perfect topic for a post, thought she.

Lemon Drop Martini
From: johnniemartini.com

Ingredients
1 1/2 shots of vodka – I like Grey Goose
1/2 shot triple sec
1 teaspoon confectioners sugar
1 shot of freshly squeezed lemon juice – about the juice of one medium lemon
Granulated sugar for the rim of the martini glass

Mixing The Lemon Drop Martini
Pour the vodka, triple sec, sugar and lemon juice into an ice-filled shaker. I used the new doggie shaker I got for Mother’s Day. Shake sufficiently to fully dissolve the sugar.

To serve your Lemon Drop Martini, choose a clear martini glass, glaze the rim with juice from a slice of lemon and dip the rim in granulated sugar, pour the martini and garnish with a slice of lemon.

Beware...these go down easy! You've been warned.