"A Fresh Start" to celebrate the inauguration

I am excited about tomorrow’s inaugural. I feel proud and hopeful about the state of my country for the first time in a long time. I feel so hopeful that I decided to create a tribute beverage. (Ok – so I am always happy to create a tribute beverage.) I took some berries I had marinated in Grand Marnier  and a bit of maple syrup, leftover from Sunday’s breakfast, pureed and strained them. I chilled a couple of martini glasses. In my trusty shaker, I combined lemon vodka and and one of those lemon martini mixes you can get in the supermarket. Then I played. In one martini glass I spooned in the puree and then poured the lemon mixture on top. It mixed and formed the redish martini pictured. In the other glass I began by pouring in the lemon mixture and the dripped in drops of the berry puree. The blended martini was tastier. The unblended was more visually interesting. I ended up mixing-up  the second after we took the photos. I am trying to figure out if there is any symbolism in that.

Cheers! It’s a fresh start.

The holidays are past, but we still have a sweet tooth here.

• chocolate shavings for rimming
• 1 part crème de cacao
• 2 parts vodka
• dark chocolate garnish

Warm a martini glass over a small flame, then roll the rim in chocolate shavings. Put a square of dark chocolate in the glass, then prepare the liquor. Shake vodka and crème de cacao with ice and strain into glass. For additional flavor, sprinkle the top with cocoa powder or chocolate shavings.

Please tipple responsibly.

We’re huge fans of The New Joy of Cooking by Marion Rombauer Becker, Irma S. Rombauer, and Ethan Becker. Hardly a meal goes through our kitchen that isn’t shaped in some part by the recipes and general information in its pages. A recent discovery was Joy’s description and defense of cocktail parties.

So, when a book as serious and valuable as The New Joy of Cooking raises alarms about the declining future of cocktail parties, we listen. Cocktail parties are important, they’re an American invention that should be honored. So, host or attend a cocktail party today and raise your glass in hopes that everyone may someday have the freedom to toast in peace.