Snake Baby

There is an unwritten rule, drinks are not served at baby showers; unless you happen to be my group of friends.   No offense to the genre of party that is a shower, but it is called a shower and not a party.  Showers are duty, not recreation, hence the lack of social lubricant. Not that I’m bitter about it but potato salad, finger sandwiches, iced tea and silly games do not a party make. When my friends started divvying up the dishes for an upcoming shower we were all co-hosting I was awarded the “signature cocktail.”  What the hell?  Not even just a few bottles of Vinho Verde; these ladies were going for a signature cocktail?  Bold move.  No arguments here, just confusion.

I’m not drink crafty.  I have about a dozen cocktails I can call up on command.  Many of them are as exotic and complicated as “gin and tonic” or “martini.”  Now that I had been assigned a dish, where to start?  Well, the oracle of all things entertaining, MarthaStewart.com, had nothing that referenced “baby shower booze.”  I could even hear her admonishing me in the back of my head.  I pulled my ace in the hole and emailed a colleague from college who writes a very popular drink column, but she was busy with the publication of her first book.  I could have dared to have consulted the trusted resources of my aunt or step-mom but I could hear the responses:  “Why, I’ve never heard of such a thing” or  “Isn’t that different?.”  I was alone in the world for this one.  Obviously, I could have punted with a bellini or a mimosa but, not to sound jaded; those have been done to death.  Luckily, a Chinese Lunar New Year theme emerged.  Now, there was a structure to work within.

One day Jim and I were at the fancy liquor store.  By fancy, I mean it has things like shorties of St. Germain.  The average liquor store in the inner city of Atlanta does not give real estate to such frivolity.  A few dusty bottles of Campari and a White Star end cap is as poofy as it gets around these parts.  While cruising the wall of esoteric liquors I found a bottle of ginger flavored cognac.  Surely that fit bill.  After the initial taste test the bottle sat around untouched for weeks.  I was intimidated and rising to the challenge by ignoring it. 

Jim and I spent Christmas in New Orleans.  One day we were headed from a walk in Audubon Park (which included a James Carville jogging sighting!) to a show in Treme.  As kismet would have it, we had some time to kill so we stopped in to The Hotel Modern for a drink.  I saw the ginger liqueur on the bottle display.  The bartendress was holding court:  she was a little bawdy, very outspoken and she had a captive audience listening to her tales, one of which, included James Carville.  I explained my predicament to the her and she very generously and patiently helped me with my drink for the baby shower.  

I didn’t catch her name but she deserves credit.  I had to adjust the proportions for a large format but this is essentially what she gave me.  If you are making just one, the proportions of sugar and soda are increased; no clue why.  The baby shower punch bowl was certainly more exotic.  

Snake Baby Punch - Makes many

1 Bottle Domaine Canton Ginger liqueur

3/4 cup simple syrup

2 cups lime juice

1.25 cups soda water

Cilantro springs - for garnish

Combine the ginger liqueur, simple syrup and lime juice, just prior to serving top with soda water and garnish with cilantro and lime slices.

Note:  I have not tried this but I suspect infusing the cilantro into the simple syrup would elevate the drink.

Bittman Breakfast

Weekday breakfasts are an a la carte free for all around here, egg whites for me, toaster waffles or cereal for the kids and nothing for Jim.  But on the weekends we make BREAKFAST.  More often than not breakfast on the weekends usually involves grits and eggs.  Sometimes we have Jim’s special breakfast potatoes and sometimes polenta substitute teaches for the grits.  We aren’t French toast, waffle or pancake people, I won’t go into the details of what those particular breakfast foods do to the four of us but understand it’s a family wide affliction.  I have an acute aversion to doughnuts and other breakfast sweets and for some reason we reserve bagels and lox for special occasions.  So it’s basically the same thing over and over.  But I am always on the lookout for something new in the breakfast arena.

A couple years ago I went on a Minimalist bender watching almost every Mark Bittman video the New York Times had to offer.  The one recipe that stuck is his Jean-George fried rice.  I’ve changed it, of course, making it less Minimalist.  Mark serves it for lunch, I serve it for breakfast.  OK and while rice isn’t that much different than grits or polenta just humor me that this is my different breakfast meal.  It smells great, a good use of leftovers and it’s good for what may ail you from the night before.  

Garlic-Ginger Fried Rice - from Mark Bittman and Jean-Georges Vongerichten Serves 2-4

3 cups cooked jasmine rice (preferably 1 day old, this is 1 cup uncooked rice)

4 eggs

3-4 tablespoons chopped ginger

3-4 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 leek, sliced

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

sea salt

Sriracha sauce

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a heavy pan.  Fry the garlic and ginger until brown and crispy but not burned, this takes about 3 minutes.  With a slotted spoon remove the garlic and ginger from the pan and set aside.  Wipe out the pan and heat 1 tablespoon of oil and saute the leeks until tender, about 10 minutes.  When the leeks are tender add in the rice, soy sauce, sesame oil and salt, stir fry for about 5-7 more minutes. Fill a wide pan with about 2” of water and add the vinegar; bring to a simmer.  Crack the eggs in to small bowls or ramekins.  Tip the bowl with the egg slowly in to the simmering water so the water comes in to the bowl to take the egg out to sea like the tide.  Repeat with the other eggs. Using a slotted spoon, gently redirect the egg around itself in the water. Allow the water to return to a simmer and simmer 2-3 minutes.  Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon or pasta claw and drain on paper towels.   Fill bowls with the rice, top with the poached eggs and sprinkle with the fried garlic and ginger and the cilantro.  Serve with Sriracha.

You can watch the Mark make it here.