Enjoyed: Sunday, March 5, 2023

Listed on the menu: Not really. The vivacious bartender (“I’m a New Yorker, and we work hard!”) told me she made delicious Old Fashioneds which were different from the ingredients listed on the menu, so I told her to create one for me.

Ingredients: Bulleit rye, simple syrup, bitters, muddled orange, muddled maraschino cherries. Bartender said that muddled orange was essential.

The occasion: I was returning home from a five day visit with my mom in northwest Indiana. The trip was last-minute and overdue, and I was happy to be there with her, even though she didn’t recognize me at first. Other than the shared meals with my sister and her family, there were few bright moments. Life is hard, and aging is cruel.

My rating: *** out of 5. The cocktail was satisfying and exactly what a “traditional” Old Fashioned should be, especially since this was a busy airport bar.

Final thoughts: As I raised my glass, in my mind, I toasted the hospice workers and the nursing home staff who are taking care of my mother and making her comfortable. I am in awe of what they do, day to day, and I am grateful.

1. Led Zeppelin or Def Leppard or Nirvana tee-shirts. Yes, the music is timeless, but find your own bands, kiddos! Do you even know what vinyl records are?
2. Face masks resting under noses or slung below chins. Just what good are those masks doing, anyhow? What kind of messages are they sending?
3. Mega-large fake eyelashes. Can these young ladies see their friends from behind these dense lashes? See their teachers? Their classwork? Their phones? (OK, maybe it’s OK if they can’t see their phones.)
4. Crocs. When you are so young, why not choose style over comfort?
5. Crocs with “charms” to decorate them. No, just no. No.
6. Jeans with multiple rips and holes and missing fabric. Why bother? Why not just wear shorts?
7. Pajama pants. Yes, I get that they are cozy and warm (heck, anything’s got to be warmer than those ripped jeans) but those should be a treat to look forward to at the end of a long day. Keep those at home!
8. Belly-button jewelry. Those fake diamonds in the navel look cheap and tacky, and yet I always notice them, a great example of the human phenomenon of not being able to pull our eyes away from tragedies.
9. Tank tops that are cut high enough to show off the aforementioned jewelry. But now that I think about it, maybe it’s better for the eyes to be drawn to the navel after all, versus being drawn to cleavage exposed by the tank tops.
10. Fishnet stockings. Too sexy for school, and (most) high schoolers don’t yet have the poise and swagger to be sexy.

Enjoyed: Saturday, December 10, 2022

Listed on the menu: Yes, as “Fireside Old Fashioned”.

Ingredients: Maker’s Mark, cocoa bitters, maple syrup, fresh grapefruit.

The occasion: Our annual “Christmas Date Weekend” continued with a meal at the Hotel Roanoke, built in 1882 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and therefore the most iconic hotel in the city. We had seen its Tudor grandness from the road, but this was the first time we visited. The lobbies and common areas were lushly decorated for the holidays, and so many families were strolling around. Happily, I had made reservations weeks in advance at the very-proper Regency Room, so a table was waiting. We were right next to the jazz trio and the dance floor and we did not mind at all. Supper was so delicious but the best treat was my “Snow Globe” dessert in a glass.

My rating: ***** out of 5. I love cocoa and maple flavors, as well as Maker’s Mark, but I wondered how fresh grapefruit would work in this drink. I suspect only a splash of the juice was added. Turns out, all the ingredients were carefully balanced into a rainbow of flavors–some bitter, some sweet, some refreshingly sour.

Final thoughts: The word “Fireside” in the name did not mean smoke was added, but likely meant that this concoction should be enjoyed in winter, in a cozy spot for two. Although the hotel and restaurant were very crowded on this particular Saturday night, our intimate table for two, the dim lighting, the gourmet meal, and the merry live music made for a very romantic evening.

1 ounce Irish whiskey

1/2 ounce Kahlua

4 ounces hot coffee

Combine ingredients, and top with whipped cream and sprinkles.

Merry Christmas, one and all!

Muddle 5 raspberries.

Add 1 ounce fresh lemon juice

2 ounces of Zubrowka, Polish bison-grass vodka

1/2 ounce of honey syrup (equal parts honey and hot water)

Dash of Angostura bitters !

Add ice, shake and strain into a glass.

Add soda water if desired.

The Christmas Eve meal, or Wigilia, is the most special gathering of the year for Polish families. Tonight we will drink shots of Zubrowka with our traditional meal, as well as these cocktails. Wesołych Świąt!

1 ounce bourbon

1/2 ounce Aperol

1/2 ounce Amaro

1/2 ounce lemon juice

3/4 ounce simple syrup

3 ounces hot tea

Combine in a heat-proof glass. Careful, don’t boil the alcohol content out of the drink! Garnish with a cinnamon stick or a twist of lemon.

It’s cold, and getting colder here in central Virginia–and the winds are howling outside. I am thankful that Youngest Son is now safely home with us, and thankful that we still have power and a well-stocked refrigerator. But I am hugely disappointed: I had planned activities for us to do as an alternative to our traditional family Christmas activities, since it will be only the three of us this year. We were going to leave this afternoon to spend 24 hours in Staunton, Virginia: a candlelight tour of the farms at the Museum of Frontier Culture, an overnight at the iconic downtown hotel, brunch at a classy restaurant, and a matinee performance of A Christmas Carol at the American Shakespeare Center. But bah humbug–the tour is cancelled due to super-cold temperatures in the mountains, and the play is cancelled because the cast has Covid. This is now a two-cocktail kind of evening.

1 1/2 ounces cherry brandy

3 whole cloves

1 ounce lemon juice

2 dashes Angostura bitters

3/4 ounce pure maple syrup

4 ounces red table wine

Combine first 5 ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake, strain, add wine and an orange twist.

The news says that two-thirds of our country is impacted by nasty winter weather. The rain has been steady (and cold) all day in Charlottesville, and I suppose I am glad it’s not snow. I am almost done with the cooking, the cleaning, and the wrapping, and now it’s time to relax for the evening.

2 ounces gin

1/2 ounce Blue Curacao

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

1/2 ounce simple syrup

sanding sugar for the rim of the glass

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until your fingers feel frozen!

Today is the winter solstice! Husband and I greeted the summer solstice in Homer, Alaska, so I included one of my favorite souvenirs in the photo: an ornament–made of reindeer poop!–which we purchased in Anchorage. “Recycling at its best,” proclaimed the accompanying card. I haven’t actually hung it on the tree, but it does make for a great conversation piece.

12-15 rosemary leaves

pinch of salt

1/2 ounce pure maple syrup

2 ounces Polish vodka (of course)

2 1/2 ounces pink grapefruit juice

Muddle rosemary, salt, and syrup lightly in the bottom of a rocks glass. Add vodka, juice, ice, and a sprig of rosemary.

Today I raise my glass in honor of my late father, my beloved Tata. I was playing Polish Christmas carols as I cooked– I miss hearing him sing. And yes, he did have rosy cheeks and twinkling eyes and a belly that shook when he laughed. It’s no wonder he loved Christmas.

2 ounces silver tequila

2 ounces cranberry juice cocktail

1 ounce lime juice

1 tablespoon light agave nectar

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until the frustrations of holiday shopping start ebbing away. Strain into a glass. You can add some cranberries to merrily float around the top. (I didn’t feel the need to rim the glass with anything–after seeing the prices at the grocery store, I was salty enough.)