80th Anniversary Of The 21st Amendment!

12.5.13 Drink Up And Enjoy!

For The Wine Snob

Now that's my kind of faucet!

I believe this is at NM Bill's house.

The "Peachy Keene" Cocktail

I've become interested with mixing cocktails lately.

After mixing some of the classics, I tried my hand at creating my own drink.

I developed a refreshing cocktail that I call The Peachy Keene.

Here it is:

2 Parts Cruzan Aged Rum (Amber)
1 Part Peach Vodka (I made my own)
1/2 Part Sweet Vermouth
Several dashes of Peach Bitters

Chill a cocktail glass. Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with a peach slice and maybe a maraschino cherry. (I used an orange since peaches weren't ripe yet)

Stewed Tomatoes - Good Eats!

For those of you that have a yard garden, tomatoes will soon be starting to ripen in abundance!

I picked my first dozen and thought stewed tomatoes was the way to go.

I could use them in other dishes but discovered how tasty they are on their own!

So I made a pot of angel hair pasta and made the dish you see above.

The secret in the recipe is the butter!

My recipe is from a conglomeration of all the recipes I filtered:

4 Cups packed peeled, drained and coarsely chopped tomatoes. Press down on them to release more juice (Reserve the liquid and seeds!)

1/2 Cup each finely chopped: onion, celery and carrot (green bells is up to you)

1Tsp. Sugar 1 more if desired

1 Tsp Salt

1 or 2 Tbs. Butter. Dig two.

Pepper to taste

2 Tbs. Fresh julienned Basil

Saute onion, celery and carrots until translucent. Add the tomatoes, their juices, salt, pepper and butter and the basil. Cook for 30-40 minutes to desired consistency. Serve hot or cold as a side, a topping or a pasta sauce. A nice quick satisfying meal!

*** Use a high sided pan for best results. I used my Wok - perfect.

You Will Not Be Deceived!
Papa Gianni, Your Patrone

To peel your tomatoes, cut an "x" in the skins, place them in rapidly boiling water for 20-seconds. Then drop them in an ice bath. The shock will make the skins slide off.

No Smoking! Plenty Of Drinking, Though!

This wonderfully composed photo of the Woodford Reserve Distillery's veranda was taken by NM Bill.

Click to enlarge.

On a road trip from New Mexico to Ohio to celebrate his mother's birthday, Bill and his wife stopped

at this historic landmark distillery for a taste of their straight bourbon whisky.

Being a bourbon drinker myself, Bill convinced me that Woodford's is the best.

I had to find out so I purchased a bottle.

I have to say this is where the word "smooth" comes from!

(The tomato is the "first pick" from my victory garden)

Gone To Little Italy For A Week

The Family is here for one week.

Be back next week.

Ciao! 

Distilled Geography

Put me in the Red Zone.

La Famiglia Al Momento Del Vino

Mama Lowe and Fratello Michael discuss the old days over some wine and Margaritas.