The Speakeasy Preview

Today in my ever ridiculously busy schedule, I am working on a piece for my upcoming Vintage Life Magazine deadline. I actually have some time before it's due, but since I'll be submerged in the Caribbean on that day, I figured I had to get a head start.

As many of you know, I'm a cocktail hound. I love cocktails, especially vintage cocktails. If someone held a gun to my head and made me choose a decade that I loved the most in history I would have to say it was the Roaring Twenties. I can't quite put my finger on why, maybe I lived a previous life during that era, or maybe it was the political atmosphere - women gaining the right to vote, the blatant disregard for puritanical laws by practically everyone, or perhaps it is because it laid the groundwork for who we are as a nation today. But the more I think about it, it's none of those, simply put, it made being bad classy.

Enter the speakeasy. An air of mystery surrounded the basement, and attic, hooch parlors, making them inviting to practically everyone. Police, judges and politicians were all misbehavin'; even housewives became corrupted by the allure of banned liquor served in teacups, cigarettes and Jazz music. Bottom line, there's just something so good about being bad.

So, without giving away too much of my upcoming piece, I'll share with you only this. I painstakingly (sarcasm injected) performed my research for this piece at PX Lounge in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia...just outside of Washington, DC. If you're in the area, make a reservation and go...you will not be disappointed. Oh, but be sure to expect a hefty bar tab...fresh made bitters and expert mixologists don't come cheap these days.

Herbes de Provence: Part II

I have been meaning to post back about my Herbes de Provence experiment a couple of weeks ago...but once again, I have found myself preoccupied with other tasks, i.e.: pimping my newly completed, historical fiction novel about the world to literary agents and publishers (no news yet to report) and now I'm knee deep in writing my food piece for my column in Vintage Life Magazine (I'll be posting a short blog about that one too), not to mention tending to the care and feeding of my ever hungry, ridiculously expensive to maintain, husband. Oh, and how can I forget about Christmas shopping. Whew...it's been busy.

In any case, here's what I've surmised from my experience with Herbes de Provence: You can use them on anything you would season with basil, oregano, etc. They are simply lovely, earthy with a floral delicateness. As a devout Italian, and true to my heritage, I use garlic, basil, oregano and parsley in just about everything, but being the experimental home cook that I am, I plan on finding a recipe for a roast with an Italian herb crust...and substituting Herbes de Provence for my usual Italian herb arsenal.

Now go...grab your Herbes and get cooking...and please, let me know of any good recipes for these delightful bouquet of herbes.

The Egg Situation

In my research for my first column due to hit the pages of Vintage Life Magazine, both digitally and in print, May 2010 I spent many hours researching, shaking and tasting forgotten vintage cocktails. As I measured out citrus, alcohol, bitters, etc., I would have to say that the most interesting ingredient I came across was...drum roll please...raw egg white.

There has been a lot of scuttle about the use of raw egg whites in cocktails lately, especially with the rise in popularity of vintage cocktails and after a NYC bar got dinged by the health department for using these little guys in their cocktails. I tend to take the position of personal responsibility. You're an adult, if you're ordering a drink you should have some knowledge of what's in it...and who am I to tell you what's best for you? As long as you're aware of the potential risks to you and as long as you're not harming anyone else, who am I to tell you what you can and can't have? But the bottom line is that salmonella is relitively rare these days. If that is your main concern though, the citrus and alcohol used in these cocktails should take care of any of those nasty bacteria. I've had a few experimental cocktails with the suspect shaken in over the past month or so and am still alive to tell the tale.

I know that raw egg white sounds kinda freaky for a cocktail, but take my word for it...it really does add a great texture to those cocktails that call for it...and no, it isn't slimy. It's actually pretty foamy - it's a nice addition. So if you're daring, make sure your eggs are fresh (see "Things to Know" in "The Pampered Paramour" for testing eggs for freshness), search out some vintage cocktails that call for raw egg white, grab your cutting board and shaker and get to it! You only live once and these cocktails are too good to miss.

It's 1:30am??

Where does the time go? It's now 1:27am on Saturday morning...I think I've made it beyond "tired." Fortunately, I think I've done some of my best writing. Well, I hope I have...we'll revisit this tomorrow and see.

Tonight I'm revisiting my evenings spent with vintage cocktails. It's amazing the memory the body has for those rougher nights. Yet the Mary Pickford and Clover Club still sound pretty good. Raspberry syrup and, surprisingly, an egg white make a nice combination with gin and lime juice. Don't knock it 'till you try it, folks...the sweet taste and fluffy texture are a perfect combination. Well worth the ingredient purchase. Now where's the chocolate?

About Last Night

Last week I got the greatest news. Vintage Life Magazine offered me my very own column in their "Food and Drink" section of their online magazine! So, of course, my thoughts were anywhere but my day-job. But who cares? I have my very own column!!

It has become my quest to research and report on all food and drink vintage. Where to start? Well, cocktails are the perfect way to start out the evening...so I decided that there was no better place to start my research. (I'm sure that most of you would agree.) Off I went...to the Internet to out-of-print booksellers. Yes folks, I wasted no time in researching cocktails from yesterday and planning a night with my husband to test out each one. Well, last night (more like yesterday afternoon), we did just that.

"Take notes," I told myself, as I took out the cutting board and the shaker. My little shot glass was poised for action...ice was grinding out of the freezer, gin, bourbon, cut lemons, brandy and a splash of heavy cream...it all became a blur. A really BIG blur. My husband let out a few short, but loud, "Wooo's" after each sip of what might have been some sort of battery cable cleaner once all of the ingredients combined. I believe he called that one "White Lightenin'." I remember saying, "this one tastes like winter" and "this one tastes like summer." The winter cocktail stung my tongue, but warmed my cheeks differently than my usual glass(es) of wine. The summer cocktail was cool. It didn't have the same bite. It was smooth and could be dangerous once a couple creeped up on you. The other drinks were, let's say, strong...but after a couple of sips, I started to grow fond of them. That was no real surprise. Let's face it, I was hammered. Fortunately, I'm a happy drunk...I laughed at my husband's honest, yet humorous, reactions until I was doubled over in front of the stove...saying "Stop it! I've gotta pee!!" I think it was about 5pm in The Rockies at that point.

Last night was the first time I went to bed with a hangover, but woke up feeling just fine this morning. Except, this morning I did find my notes stuck to the counter, inscribed with hierogliphic evidence of an afternoon spent with vintage cocktails.