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The Post-Vaca “Detox”

. Summer air allows me to let loose any stringent moralities that fall, winter or spring held fast. I find myself indulging in alcohol and smoking more frequently than I’d like. The crushing guilt of the morning after, when I am forced to confront my gray skin, sunken eyes and overall unhealthy feeling, sparked this menu. It’s my personal “detox”...

Vietnamese Ginger-Lemonade Fizz

. I love Vietnamese food. If there is good Viet food to be enjoyed, I’ll travel long distances for it. Summer rolls, a spicy combination of rice noodles, steamed shrimp and lettuce wrapped in rice paper is a fine way to start a meal on a hot, steamy day. One of my favorite drinks to pair with them is a freshly squeezed glass of sweet-salt-tart Vietnamese...

Grilled Berries and Booze

. I like to spend hours at my desk stalking food and cocktail sites, er, working. Now that the weather is unholy hot, I’ve become obsessed with grilling, broiling and baking fruit, and then soaking it with booze. Naturally, there are a zillion recipes out there, and I’ve given several a try. My favorite recipe find this week pairs one of...

Cracker Jack Snap Cocktail

. Akin to the gingersnap cookies of children’s storybook lore, the new USDA Certified Snap liquor is anything but child-like. Weighing in at a hefty 80 proof, Snap is more Big Bad Wolf than the Three Little Pigs. It’s not like those sickly sweet liquors — in fact, it defies the concept — nor is it an artificially flavored vodka product....

The Brazilian Goalkeeper

. When I was a kid, my family had business in Brazil. This facilitated travel to, at that time, a vast and mostly undiscovered country. Barbecued meats, abundant salad bars, cool lager beers (Brahma Chopp Brazilian pilsner beer stands out as a memory) and rakish, nearly hallucinogenic tropical cocktails were never denied to me. I’m not sure in retrospect...

Drink Like the French: A Non-Francophile’s POV

. “There is a communion of more than our bodies when bread is broken and wine drunk.” — MFK Fisher To drink and enjoy food and wine as the French (and many other cultures do, I’m thinking Italian here), you must first absolve yourself from the confines of drinking only during certain hours, in particular situations or with the intention to feel...

Meet a Naughty Sailor

. What to do with some time to kill on a steamy summer day? Concoct a new cocktail. Meet my latest, the Naughty Sailor, inspired by Eric Kroll, a photographer who captures the dark side of human relationships. The name? Well, he is naughty. ‘Nuff said. Eric Kroll’s Naughty Sailor3 ounces Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum 1 ounce Root (USDA Certified...

Tropicalista Cocktail

.It’s been so hot here, dripping hot in fact. It’s 94 degrees and 100% humidity. Lightning in the area keeps me out of the pool. My cure for the heat: a tropical cocktail. Our home is not air-conditioned. Instead, it does have ceiling fans blowing around the humid air, disgusting or wonderful depending on what you are drinking! In situations...

The Stuffed Pasta Three-some

. As witness and party to the pre-event woes of hors d’oeuvre indecision, I always keep an eye open in my travels for an easy go-to recipe. My early spring travels through Italy inspired some great, if not wine-saturated, pasta recipes to which I added my American twist. My favorite has always been stuffed pasta: ravioli, tortellini, cannelloni,...

Rhum Run Your Sideboard

. When is rhum not rum? Would the short answer be that all rhum is rum, yet all rum is not rhum? What is this, a conundrum? A rhum-fueled tale of pirates and mutineers, of kings and scurvy knaves? The word “rhum” comes from a particular part of the Southern Caribbean, a place with a unique terroir. Martinique is its name. It’s a French...