Cocktails in the Keys: Hemingway Daiquiri

As I write this blog post, I am watching a blizzard take place outside my window. So much for a walk with the dog this morning. Sorry, Eesah. Maybe in June.

Our vacation to Florida seems so far away now. But, as promised, here's a little info about cocktails in the Keys:

They suck.

We probably should have driven into Miami to find some good cocktails, but it's hard to leave a room with a deck on the ocean to drive into traffic and chaos and nightlife, unless the nightlife includes snorkeling and kayaking and alligators, which it might in Miami. I'll never know.

We did drive to Key West, which felt like going to the State Fair. With bars. Maybe even like going to the Trumansburg Fair, on demolition derby night, except less teen mothers. And with bars. The drunken crowds were ten deep on the pier for the sunset which was partially blocked by a circling cruise ship.

We did finally go out in Key Largo to a tiki bar where we drank pre-made fructose-sweetened pina coladas from plastic cups, which tasted pretty good, probably because we drank them on the beach.

So I've got two things for you today: a list of awesome, hidden places to go to eat, drink and play in the Keys, and a tropical drink recipe from Leah that does not involve artificial colors, blenders or seizure-inducing sweeteners.

Drink in the Keys:
The Juice House, Key Largo (MM 103): Cuban coffee and Cuban bread
Any grocery store: A six-pack of Corona and limes

Eat in the Keys:
Puerta Vallarta, Key Largo: Mexican food
Calypso, Key Largo: Seafood
Ma's Fish Camp, Islamorada: Best fish sandwich in the world, plus amazing key lime pie
El Siboney, Key West: Cuban food and Cuban coffee; sangria

Play in the Keys:
John Pennecamp State Park, Key Largo: snorkeling and canoeing
Backcountry Cowboy Outfitters, Islamorada: kayaking
Shark Valley, Everglades: bicycling and alligators

Stay in the Keys:
The Floating Inn, Key Largo

And last, but not least, a drink recipe from Leah. For a coconutty tropical alternative, check out our recipe for a Key Largo cocktail.

Hemingway Daiquiri

2 ounces light rum
1/4 ounce cherry liqueur
juice from two limes
juice from 1/2 grapefruit
simple syrup (half water, half sugar) to taste

Shake all ingredents with ice. Serve in a rocks glass over ice. For best results, drink on the beach.

Cuban Bread

I haven't written about Key Largo cocktails yet because my recently diagnosed allergy to preservatives has prevented me from the partaking of candy-colored tropical fruity goodness blender drinks. Sadly, I've yet to find a bar that squeezes fresh limes for their daiquiris. (Did I spell that right?) I'm sure Ernest Hemingway didn't drink Rose's lime juice or fake yellow #5 margarita mix.

A wonderful food find, though, in the absence of a decent bakery in Key Largo: Cuban bread. All the Cuban delis carry it. Ingredients: water, flour, lard, yeast and salt. No preservatives. And it's made with lard. Brilliant.

Sent from my iPhone.

I Found Out What I'm Missing

Being in Florida is not, in fact, about eating only fresh seafood. It's about eating Mexican food. And Cuban food. The. Best. Food. Ever.

The Mexican shack down the road from our floating inn in Key Largo (recommended by the locals) served me the most amazing ceviche last night for dinner, with leftovers enough to eat it for dinner again tonight. Leah had a shrimp fajita with more grilled jumbo shrimp than she can count, and she can count pretty high. At least to twenty.

Que rico. Que sabor. Que perfecto. Voy a quedar aqui siempre.

Oh, and one other thing: Corona. With lime. And a sunset. Ya.

Virtual Friends

Blogging makes the world feel cozy. One of my regular blog readers who lives in Pennsylvania came to town for a wedding this weekend and sought out Felicia's for a cocktail. We met face-to-face. Strangers become friends, through writing, the web and drinks.

Facebook instills a similar sense of connection. A friend's Facebook status recently scolded voyeurs who read and never comment, so they know everything about you, but you know nothing about them. Creepy? I kinda like it. Felicia has 1300 friends, and I don't get a chance to comment on everyone's status. You don't know me, but I'm watching you. You make me laugh. I've got your back. I know your bra color. And I'm here for you, whenever you're ready to come in for a drink.

Follow me on Facebook.

Key Largo Cocktail

Nat, our good friend over at Alpha Cook and a former Felicia bartender, sent a package of goodies this year at the holidays. Cookies, her infamous homemade marshmellows, a hat for Leah, and fresh grenadine were some of the treats in the box. This week, we opened the bottle of pineapple gum syrup. Since Leah and I are about to head to Florida for a week (don't worry, the Lounge will still be open), we thought we'd start practicing for our tiki drink marathon.

No blender necessary. We're too lazy to get it out, use it, clean it and put it away. Whew. I got tired just thinking about that.

Here's a picture of Nat riding a creepy rabbit. No pineapple gum syrup in your house? You can buy it online from Small Hand Foods in San Francisco, or try substituting pineapple juice.

Key Largo Cocktail

1 and 1/2 ounces Bacardi Coco rum
3/4 ounce pineapple gum syrup
3/4 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
lime wheel

Shake with ice. Enjoy on the rocks or straight up.

All I Want for Christmas is...

After everyone left on Christmas Eve, Santa arrived at the Lounge. He always does that on Christmas Eve, shows up after everybody else is gone, probably to avoid the crowds and the fuss so he can enjoy his dirty martini in peace. No one notices the reindeer and sleigh parked in the alley now that Leah built the alley fortress doors.

Santa looked pretty healthy and happy and rosy-cheeked. Vitamin D supplements, he said, got rid of those pesky leg cramps and keeps his seasonal affective disorder at bay.

What do you want for Christmas this year, he asked as he fished the olives out of his martini and popped them in his mouth. Have you been good? I avoided the second question. World peace, I said. The elves are already working on it, said Santa, but it's gonna take awhile. I said, the only other thing I want for Christmas is a few more blog subscribers.

Santa tipped his head back and drained his martini. Done and done, he said. He gave me a big kiss (on the mouth!) and disappeared into the night.

The next day, I woke up and found an automated email waiting in my inbox:

santa.claus@gmail.com has subscribed to your blog.

Bourbon Balls

(Hee-hee, I just said "balls...")

If Felicia is going to bake Christmas cookies for the Lounge Christmas eve party, which she is, then they are going to contain booze. Enter Mom. Mom first made these bourbon balls in 1983. ("We let you kids eat them - do you think that was okay? It was only a half-cup of whiskey.")

Like all bourbon and rum ball recipes, this recipe contains Nilla Wafers. (I'd love to hear your recipes if you've ever made them from scratch.) And like all good cookie recipes, it starts with a glass of wine.Bourbon Balls

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons corn syrup
1/2 cup bourbon (I used Makers Mark)
2 and 1/2 cups finely crushed Nilla Wafers
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup nuts (I used pecans)
granulated sugar

1. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler. I made a makeshift double boiler out of a pan and a metal bowl.2. Remove from heat and add corn syrup and bourbon, mixing thoroughly.

3. In a separate bowl, combine vanilla wafers, confectioners sugar and nuts.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.5. Cover and let stand 3o minutes. Don't skip this step!

6. Form into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.7. If you can stand waiting, let the balls season in the fridge for a few days before eating them.

Holiday Gift Ideas

'Tis the Season To Be Thrifty
by Amelia Sauter, Ithaca NY

Until the root canal, my partner and I were able to buffer the effects of the recession on our checking account. Then came a second root canal. I found myself getting anxious about the holidays, and like many other Americans, wondering how I was going to buy people gifts this year.

While lying awake in the middle of the night with a hot flash, I came up with a few ideas that I thought I’d share with others who might be shaking in their Uggs at the thought of pulling out the plastic and racking up more debt:

1) Make homemade pancake mix. The people I love are getting ball jars of my famous pancake mix this year, topped with big bows and instructions to add milk and eggs. You can even use Bisquick. They’ll never know.

2) Don’t have children. They’re expensive, they’re messy, and once you let them in the house, it’s hard to get rid of them. Like stray cats. Offer a sympathy bowl of milk to a flea-infested feline who cries at your door and next thing you know it’s sleeping on your pillow. So plan ahead, since the holidays are just a few short weeks away, and don’t have children. And if it’s too late, well, you can save money this Christmas by wrapping your children up and giving them away.

3) Tell your friends you have decided to embrace the spiritual side rather than the commercial side of the holidays, and that you are lighting a votive candle in the their honor. Om shanti.

4) Send electronic holiday cards. Not only is it easier and cheaper, you also get bonus points when you proclaim that you are making a difference in the world by saving trees.

5) Give coupons for gifts you can personally fulfill, like a foot massage or babysitting. When your friends ask to redeem them, say, “I didn’t give you that coupon. I’ve never seen it before in my life.”

6) Don’t drink and shop! I’ve been known to recommend a shot of tequila to take the edge off holiday shopping, but this is to help you spend money, not save it. Alcohol helps you muster up holiday joy instead of bah humbugs so when you’re packed in Walmart, I mean, Greenstar with all the other last minute shoppers, their children running amock (see #2), you won’t feel the urge to beat anyone with a loofah.

When we owe $3K to the dentist, I just can’t justify buying Christmas lights or a plush talking Dug that doesn’t even say “Squirrel!” You’ll have to rent the movie Up if you don’t know who Dug is. Or better yet, save your money for votive candles and Bisquick.

copyright Amelia Sauter 2009