Mercy Missiles Cocktail Hour

Readers, as you may have suspected, it has taken us a good solid week (and a half) to get over the bitter taste of defeat in the wake of the Phillies' commanding sweep of our beloved Cincinnati Reds in the NL pennant race. R.I.P., 2010 season: you were as surprising as you were exciting. Se la vie.

It's fitting, then, that I now bring you the next installment in our ongoing series of thematic cocktail recipe fun. This offering was served up last night for our viewing of the season 4 finale of Mad Men, a show which has given us a consistently good excuse to mix up some exotic drinks. Upon review of our liquor cabinet, I decided we should delve back into the instincts-defying world of scotch-inspired cocktails--both because of our recent success with the surprisingly good Blood and Sand we mixed up last week, and because we still had more than half a bottle of scotch laying around.

A little research brought an excitingly-named candidate to the top of our list: the Piper at the Gates of Dawn(!). Like the Blood and Sand, the first sip is kind of strange--but the Kahlua takes hold pretty quickly and the cream smooths everyone's rough edges while the maraschino liqueur--which, oddly enough, I had on hand--lends a warm, syrupy dimension to the back end. It's pretty nice, if a little heavy. You wouldn't really want more than one or two--definitely a cold weather drink. Here's the details:

Piper at the Gates of Dawn

• 1&1/2 oz scotch
• 1 oz Kahlua
• 1/2 oz maraschino liqueur
• 1/2 oz cream

Add all ingredients except the cream to a shaker filled with ice, shake until cold, then strain into an old fashioned glass over ice. Slowly pour the cream into the drink over the back of a spoon, so it floats on top.

Piper at the Gates of Dawn was released in 1967, so we can make this drink thematic by imagining the events in this season of Mad Men (along with the great clothes and swingin' mod-ness of the glass-and-art deco SCDP offices)--all of which takes place in 1965--as leading up to the sound and insanity of the Floyd album. This year we see the series kicking into the 60's ideal, & as one of my favorite tv blogs points out: what we generally think of as the American 1960's didn't really come about until there was a Kennedy in the ground and Beatles on the tarmac. So, you know, if you really need your cocktail to speak to you about your favorite tv show and its corresponding cultural environment via its own (probably arbitrary) moniker, then I guess you can think about it that way. Me? Yeah, I like things to be appropriately related to my beverages in that way, and this little recipe is pretty tasty to boot.

The Kahlua surrounds the icy scotch underground.

Sunday Cocktail Hour with Mercy Missiles

Readers, we've been into watching Mad Men this t.v. season. We're always looking for good excuses to mix up a little something, and the swingin' art deco aesthetics & general doom-n-gloom feel of the show are good reasons to "tie one on," as they say. This clearly calls for some ritualistic cocktail drinking, and a new favorite teevee story show means we're in the market for a new thematic concoction. So, since there's been a trend of scotch imbibing here at HQ lately--which has never really been our poison of choice, but has been growing on us--I decided to give the Blood and Sand a try.

My pal Andy over at South Twelfth has been promoting the B&S for quite some time, so I credit him with my awareness of it. It's pretty much the only scotch-related mixed drink I've ever heard of (although a quick web search suggests many more), Andy has certainly advocated it, and I actually had nearly all the ingredients on-hand. So after a quick cherry brandy-procuring field trip I decided to do a (wet) dry run before tonight's episode airs.

Here's the recipe I used for the first trial:

• 1&1/2 oz blended scotch whiskey
• 1/3 oz orange juice
• 1/3 oz cherry brandy
• 1/3 oz sweet vermouth
• orange peel for garnish

I combined all ingredients (except the peel) with ice in a shaker (well, I used a sports bottle b/c my shaker is in the shop), I shook gently to combine, then strained into two brandy glasses & added the orange peel.

Verdict? The first sip was...strange. I wasn't expecting the scotch taste to be as prominent as it was (although the recipe I used specified twice the amount of scotch as the other ingredients so it didn't get overpowered by all the sweet stuff going on...), but after the 3rd or 4th sip I totally got it. There's a nice compromise between peaty and sweet, and the more I drank (as with so many cocktails) the more I enjoyed. It's not my favorite by any means--I'm still, foremost, a bourbon woman--but it mitigates a lot of what I didn't like about scotch in the first place.

It has the added impact of being unexpected (scotch? in a mixed drink??), and it's certainly better than it has to be. Going by my experience the name should be "Sand and Blood" (based on what you taste first), but I guess that's just quibbling--besides, that would ruin the reference to the Valentino movie. Altogether, I call this a win, and so will be sipping one (or three) during tonight's episode. Cheers!

Official Mercy Missiles Summer 2010 Cocktail

Readers, after much deliberation we've settled on the official beverage of the summer season here at MM: the mojito slushy! After some experimentation and modification to the traditional mojito recipe (lime juice, rum, sugar, mint, ice), we've arrived at a remarkably well-balanced and refreshing drink that, when done right, calls to mind a lemony/limey Icee--a kind of naughty sno-cone for the adults.

I should note that I really couldn't make this happen without the manic ice-crushing power of my Waring Professional Bar Blender (the last word on at-home beverage blending, not to mention stylish, retro good looks)--it doesn't screw around like those other blenders when asked to make you an icy drink that you don't have to chew.

Anyway--you don't have to take my word for it, here's the recipe so you can see for yourself:

In a blender add:

* juice from 1 lime
* juice from 1 lemon
* 3 shots of rum (2 if you'd rather stay coherent after drinking a few)
* 1 oz agave nectar (or sugar)
* fill to within 3 inches of the top with ice
* 1/2 can diet ginger ale

blend until all ice is crushed

muddle a sprig of mint leaves in two mason jars (1 sprig in each), add the rinds of the lemon & lime to each glass, then pour blender contents on top. A swizzle stick is a helpful inclusion to each glass. Makes two very easy-to-drink servings. Ciao bella!

Oyster Shooters: the Home Version

Well, Readers, after posting earlier about my oyster shooter mandate I of course ran straight out to the store to gather supplies and started experimenting. My husband informed me that he has actually NEVER HAD a bloody mary before(!) so I decided to remedy that first thing. Here is the recipe I used after a careful review of the literature available from the finest cocktail recipe websites:

Basic Bloody Mary

• 6 oz tomato juice
• 1 oz vodka
• 1 tsp Worcester sauce
• dash of Tabasco
• dash of prepared horseradish
• 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbs fresh lime juice
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• celery stick for garnish

This turned out pretty good, my husband seemed to like it, and they also limbered up our courage for the main event: the raw oysters I got at the store were HUGE! They were also disconcertingly wiggly and slimy--like some kind of sci-fi movie alien spawn--and the jar they came in had a warning printed on it about it being unsafe to eat raw oysters--like, it says you should consult your physician first...! I don't remember being warned last night at Flabby's about this! Anyway, it was a good thing we had already had a stiff drink, so we went ahead and assembled the shooters: oysters on the bottom, then covered with the bloody mary mixture describe above. I put a little more Tabasco on top for good measure, then down the hatch they went...

I have to say, it definitely reminded me of the ocean. We may steam the oysters next time, or at least cut 'em in half--but I felt pretty good about eating them...it's been a half hour and I don't feel like calling the doctor yet, so I guess I'm in the clear. I also purchased some shelled oysters, which I am planning on grilling later tonight and eating on the half shell with more bloody mary. I will of course document this experience and report back to you...

Oyster Shooters from the Heart of Schnitzelburg

Readers, I attended the Schnitzelburg street festival last night in the Germantown neighborhood. The big draw is not so much the FIVE confirmed cover bands playing simultaneously(!), or the unofficial uniform for females over 200 pounds (spandex), or even the less-hostile-than-usual neighborhood camaraderie: it was the suspension of the open container law for the evening. Several streets were blocked off and festival goers were encouraged to go from bar to bar with their beverages, spreading that special Germantown brand of drunken goodwill everywhere along the way. The fest is centered around some of the best dive bars in town: Flabby's, Check's and the Zeppelin Cafe.

Pictured here is an example of what was definitely one of the highlights of the evening for me: oyster shooters from Flabby's on Lydia Street! For 1.99 you can have a raw (I think) oyster swimming in "hot sauce" (which tasted more like a bloody mary mix to me) to slurp down your gullet. It was AMAZING! So amazing, in fact, that I have decided to devote my Sunday to recreating it at home. My go-to resource for all my culinary adventures, allrecipes.com, has a couple of promising leads for ingredients and preparation, but I'm going to check the cocktail sites for an especially tasty-sounding bloody mary recipe--I think that is the best way to go about this. I'll of course be posting the outcome here...Cheers!

Food Porn!

Readers, I interrupt my regularly scheduled lineup of historic ogling from my recent Washington D.C. trip for a look at what I had for dinner. The above is an image of what's been on my mind since seeing a certain culinary-minded popular motion picture: Julie & Julia. An early scene in the movie shows an almost pornographic sequence of the main character (Julie Powell) making, and subsequently devouring a stunning bruschetta. I saw this movie more than 2 weeks ago and that's the image that has stayed with me--not Meryl Streep's (predictably) lauded performance as Julia Child, nor the contrived emotional string-pulling of the A plot (or B plot, depending on your perspective and desired reason for seeing this film).

Normally I avoid movies that give a distinct whif of "chick flick," which the presence of Meryl Streep tends to invoke, but there was also a few other elements in play that ultimatly lured me in: 1. Julia Child Anything biographical is a typical attractant for me, but especially Child--her semi-mysterious work with the government, paired with the peculiarities of her presence, speach, and up-beat, go-getter-ness brand of feminism were all factors. 2. Cooking Theme Cooking has become a hobby of mine, and the basic premise of Julie Powell's blog is an aspiring foodie's dream project. 3. The Siren Song of Fame and Fortune I won't lie: I wanted to see the ins and outs of how someone was able to parlay writing a blog into some sort of career venture. Not that that is a personal goal...just curious...

Anyway, the bruschetta was amazing. I pan fried the slices of French bread (olive oil and butter) just like in the movie, but added some marinated mozzarella (melted under the broiler for a few minutes). Here's my recipe:

1. 4 slices French bread, about 1/2 inch thick
2. 4 Tbs olive oil
3. 2 Tbs butter
4. 2 cloves of garlic, halved
5. 1 lb assorted varieties of tomatoes, diced and seeded
6. 1 Tbs pepper
7. 1 Tbs course sea salt
8. 1 Tbs Balsamic vinegar
9. 2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
10. 3 Tbs chopped fresh basil
11. Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375

Brush both sides of the bread slices with olive oil, then spread thin layer of butter both sides. Heat a skillet and pan fry until dark brown. Rub with garlic.

In a large bowl, combine tomatoes with pepper, salt and vinegar--mix gently

Place bread on baking sheet, top each with generous amount of tomato mixture, along with a bit of the juices. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, basil and top with mozzarella. Bake on top rack just until cheese is melted--about 6 minutes.

Bon Appetit!

The Bourbon Review

Being a Kentuckian, my favored drink is bourbon. And for the same reason, my favorite soft drink is Ale-8-One, a locally made and regionally available ginger-ale type beverage. Naturally I, and many others like me, have been inspired to combine the two into a kind of highbrow hillbilly delight. This year's Kentucky Derby was a good reason for me to trot out a surprisingly good mint julep made with Ale-8-One; I've also been dabbling with a similar recipe made with sweet vermouth and orange bitters (in place of mint) to arrive at a sort of bastard step-child of the Manhatten drink.

So you can imagine my interest when I stumbled across a new recipe using my two favorite iingredients in a recent issue of The Bourbon Review (The Bourbon Review, LLC, Summer 2009). The drink is called A Late Freeze, and I cannot wait to try it out. My favorite thing about the ingredients? There are only two. This drink, apparently, is all in the preparation:

A Late Freeze

• 6 ounces bourbon
• 6 pack of Ale-8-One

Instructions:

• Boil a 6-pack of Ale-8-One in a saucepan until reduced by half
• Cool, then add one ounce of bourbon for every bottle/can of Ale-8-One
• Freeze until slushy
• Place in blender, pulse
• Serve

Oh, Boy!