the martin jay.

as mentioned, casey and i spent the end of 2012 in a cabin in the adirondacks. without electricity. i had long thought that a cocktail made with porter and bourbon would be delicious and this was seemingly the time for experimentation. 

start with a small glass (likely, a rocks glass) with one ice cube. we used a chunk of icicle, but you might not have access to such whimsy. 

add about an ounce and a half of bourbon or whisky. we used buffalo trace, but since it's a mixed drink, you could probably use blue state or even jack, if you must.

fill the glass 2/3 of the way with  porter. we used port city porter (from DC) but any delicious porter will do. nothing too sweet. none of those vanilla ones.

add a splash of ginger ale--preferably a spicy one. we had reed's ginger ale with us in the cabin but blenheim would rock as well. 

stir with your camping knife. do it while wearing flannel. it's really quite delicious. we've named it the martin jay, after the owner of our cabin and the town nearest to it.

p.s. sorry the lighting in the photos is weird. we only had fire and candlelight and that teeny light you can see above and the photographs just did not do what i wanted.

p.p.s. this year, i am hoping to stop taking so many photos with my phone and go back to the camera. those photos are just no good when you look at them on any screen bigger than the phone. and the filters make it all worse.

fuck yeah, christmas.

so we threw a little christmas party with the above title. it might be a little vulgar for the birth of jesus, but my holiday spirit is high. it is. i even made an ornament this week. and holiday decorations. and cookies with candy canes in them. and i am traveling all the way to buffalo for what casey keeps referring to as "catholic christmas," which apparently does not include midnight mass but instead a buffalo bills game (against whatever team tim tebow is on). 

so, yes, a little party. with the fanciest cheeses. alex and i made a special trip to southern season to pick the most perfect ones: sheep, cow, and goat. and rosemary bread. and peach bitters. that place is really something.

 

casey actually hosted/bartended this fête: three kinds of bourbon, as well as gin and sparkling wine. and punch, of course.

 

i am working my way through damon boelte's catalog of punches--this is his ruben's cooler no. 2, a concoction of gin, elderflower liquor, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, cucumber, and soda water.  

always a smash.

one-two punch.

casey and i are throwing a christmas party. he is going to make old-fashioneds. i am picking out a punch recipe. so much good to come.

the drink-maker.

casey is making all the whisky drinks these days. we spent much of thanksgiving drinking a concoction of bulleit rye and dublin dr pepper, with a lime, in these incredible glasses at my parents' house. and last night, he made what i have dubbed "the gentle lumberjack:" bourbon, maple syrup, soda water, and lemon. a wintery cocktail for sure.

not at all like in shag.

did you ever see shag? i have been thinking about this movie. the girls (with awesome southern names like carson and melaina) throw their mama's jam out of the car and skip fort sumter and go to myrtle beach. and dance and have sex (one with a guy named buzz) and drink beer.  well, they were a little crazy. but it was 1963. and a movie.

and a million years (well, 21 years) after i saw that movie in the theater, i can remember it all. and finally set foot in charleston. after months of rambling about it to casey, whose age at the time of shag's release i will not calculate. 

CHARLESTON, south carolina. i just knew i would like this place. it was like the time i read about portland (in like 1995) in the magazine on the airplane and i was like, OH MY GOD I HAVE TO LIVE THERE. and then spent many years trying to get to portland, which i loved absolutely.

and charleston was perfectly old. older than the civil war. old, old cemeteries messily arranged everywhere, but beautiful gardens draping through them. and a jewish cemetery dating to 1762. seriously. 

and fort sumter is right there. in the water. with confederate declarations and statues and history throughout the city in a way that is completely acceptable, with no "stars and bars" flying around. 

you just feel like you are in another country. just like that. 

and oh yes, the eating was good.

within minutes of arrival to our rented apartment from 1840, we were at hominy grill. yeah, it won a james beard some years ago. it was lovely and homey and full of tipsy arnold palmers and buttermilk pie and boiled peanuts snacks and i swear, i don't know what i ate for most of the weekend, but it was all amazing.

we spent our mornings with the dog (also on vacation, sleeping all day in luxury) caffeinating at hope and union. it was seriously incredible single-brewed coffee. each morning i chose coffee (all fair trade, of course) from a different country, based on the descriptions on the chalkboard. and a pastry. 

you can see the remnants of the nutella-banana turnover. there was an almond croissant the next day. and a very relaxed casey.

yes, we continued on to other meals soon after. but how would we get to them without delicious, delicious coffee?

we spent our saturday afternoon on a fancy drinking tour. starting in the husk bar, i had 2 different peach-bourbon cocktails. and after the chef brought in AN ENTIRE LEG OF PIG, proceeded to trim it, and then offer a bite, we could not refuse. it was frightfully exciting and decadent. and i knew it had to be something special when casey put a piece in his mouth.

soon after romantic stories of george washington, we went to mccrady's for another cocktail and deviled eggs, followed by the gin joint for 2 more drinks with homemade pretzels and fancy cheeses. and blissfully asleep before 11.

what else? fried-green tomatoes benedict. belgian fries. a huge pile of thai food, because you can't eat southern all the time. lots of strolls through the college of charleston and surprising parks. with streets of houses that are more than 250 years old. that is old old old for america.

and the tree.

about 10 miles outside of charleston, this tree: the angel oak. on someone's property. just growing like crazy. this photo barely does it any justice, but it is the best one i've got.

you have got to go there. next time, i swear i am staying for a week. and beaching and all. 

boozy ice cream.

 

bourbon-mint ice cream. recipe courtesy of GQ. like a mint julep.

i felt like this recipe had too many steps for ice cream.

picked tons of mint from casey's front yard, but i forgot to buy eggs. so, i only made a half recipe. in the end, that's probably best because we'll just eat it up really fast anyhow.

shira is going to be pleased. this is a good one.

friday night is alright.

casey is really working on his mint julep. he's got piles of mint in his front yard and seems to think it's fun to use the mortar and pestle. and i've got a bottle of woodford reserve.

this past friday, he got it right. absolutely. i think it's the simple syrup.

we also ate sauteed cauliflower + dinosaur kale + vidalia onion, roasted turnips + beets + yukon gold potatoes, quinoa, sliced tomatoes, and topped with a fried egg. oh, yes, this CSA is a good one.

and they're off!

my dad owned a racehorse when i was a kid. my first house was on secretariat lane. i cannot believe it took me so long to throw a party to celebrate the kentucky derby. you know, wear seersucker and fancy hats and drink mint juleps while betting on horses?! so exciting.

and, well, a themed party needs very specific food.

the mint juleps.
i had never had one before last week, much less made one. i don't typically drink a lot of bourbon, which, by definition, must come from kentucky, by the way. but, i knew i could make anything for which there is a recipe. i even watched a video.

1. make simple syrup ahead of time. boil 1 cup sugar with one cup water until it is a syrup. seal in a jar. refrigerate. it can be kept for a week or so. i also made mint simple syrup by adding some mint extract, but you can throw fresh mint in the jar as well.
2. take 4-5 mint sprigs and put them in the bottom of a glass. at the kentucky derby, they use silver julep cups.
3. add one oz. of the simple syrup and muddle it with the mint.
4. add ice. it should be crushed as fine as possible.
5. pour 2 oz. of bourbon over the ice. the official bourbon of the derby is woodford reserve, which, of course, we had just for the occasion.
6. add more mint for garnish.
7. drink.
   

benedictine.
these treats are practically cucumber sandwiches, except that they have a fancy spread to make them stand out. after i made this recipe, i put it on organic peasant bread with slices of cucumber, but you could also dip vegetables in it.

1. peel and seed a large cucumber.
2. chop a small onion.
3. process in food processor.
4. add 1 package of cream cheese and a tablespoon of mayonnaise and a dash of salt and little green food coloring. process. i know the food coloring sounds weird, but all of the recipes i researched called for it.
5. spread on bread.
   

derby pie.
i cheated here by buying a pie crust. there are only so many hours in a day! the official derby pie recipe is trademarked, so i used this one. it was pretty good, but i don't really like pecans (which just happens to be the "official state nut" of texas).

in terms of the "official" derby food, that's really it. but i also made miniature pineapple and cherry cheesecakes with vanilla wafers in the bottom. we drank pimms with iced tea and/or lemonade. i created some special mint lemonade for michelle. yes, the pregnant one. she's pretty special so she gets her own cocktail. there was also homemade hummus and fancy cheeses and chips and crackers. and chocolate-covered strawberries (compliments of april and adam). and other fancy pastries (compliments of renato and baked). i can't remember what else.

it was lovely. it might become an annual affair. except that next year, i want to go to the actual event.