Rum-Tini – the Caribbean martini alternative

But the cold weather somehow put me in the mood for a proper cocktail and I had brought some good white rum at the Duty-Free on my way home from Puerto Rico. I did come across some unusual cocktails and drinks (Click here for an article that includes an unbelievable cocktail called Toblerone – yeah, as in the chocolate. O.M.G. I will be experimenting with that on another occasion!), in my search but decided for this time to play with the flavors I already had at home and get some Kahlua in anticipation of another cocktail session.

Welcoming the weekend with a rum-tini toast

So I called Ashley, who rides shotgun on most of my beverage experiments, and we got to business. A little pantry and fridge rummage later, we had two very good cocktails that use the rum in a martini format. She preferred the pear, I was all over the cranberry.

Pear and Cinnamon Rum-Tini

A couple of notes – the honey is a terrific innovation and adds just the right sweet mellowness, but be warned: it will start to drip if it sits too long, so lap it up quick! I am particularly pleased with the toothpick-lime peel garnish that I cam up with rather than just tossing the lime peel in. So I am patting myself on the back for that one.

Set in the center of a sugar swirl: Cranberry Rum-Tini

Rum-Tinis

Cinnamon-Pear

Makes four

For the rim:

Honey, sugar, and powdered cinnamon each in its own shallow dish

For the drink:

8 oz. white rum

8 oz. pear juice

½ tsp lime juice

Garnish:

cinnamon sticks

Dip the rims of the glasses in the honey, then the sugar and finally the cinnamon. Shake the rum and juices together with abundant ice and strain into glasses. You may dip the cinnamon sticks into the remaining honey, if desired, before garnishing. You may also sprinkle additional cinnamon on the top.

Cranberry Rum-tini

(makes two generous rum-tinis)

Ingredients for the rim:

honey and sugar, each in a shallow dish

4 oz white rum

2 oz cranberry juice

½ tsp lime

Garnish:

lime peel speared with a toothpick

Dip the glasses in the honey and then the sugar. Shake rum and juices with ice, then strain into prepared glasses. Garnish with lime peel.

Nice char!

But, I was tempted into sins of excess by a quart of bright orange tomatoes in a plastic shell that reminded me irresistably of Sungolds. Why I was buying tomatoes out of season and out of state is a question you can reasonably ask. I hang my head in locavore-gone-wrong shame and go on with my story. I bought them. I did.

Sauteed leeks

They were delicious, ridiculously sweet and kept me on the salad path for days. That is a path I need to be on. But a week, two weeks later, predictably, the cup that was left had passed its prime and I had a locavore-gone-wrong guilt hangover.

Prosecco mimosas – pink grapefruit and orange juice

Solution? Pan-roasting. Our friend, Ashley had stayed over and it was a Saturday, which of course calls for bacon and eggs and Prosecco Mimosas (my new fave is pink grapefruit – 2 parts juice to 1 part prosecco…or 1 parts prosecco to two parts juice…or a glass of prosecco with a splash of juice….)! We added to that a leek saute (that Ashley will have to give me the recipe for; once she started fighting with the leek cleaning process, I backed away and didn’t look again until it was on my plate) and the following recipe that used up the tomatoes in a delicious and satisfying way! So, tomatoes used up, guilt assuaged, breakfast… delish!

On toast with basil (what’s left in the little pot by the kitchen window)

Pan-Roasted Tomato Spread

1 tsp olive oil (optional, especially if you have a nonstick pan)

1 Cup grape tomatoes

1 pinch sugar

1 pinch salt

1 tsp fresh basil (optional)

Place all ingredients (except optional basil) in a small skillet. Heat at medium, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to split and char. Remove from heat and spread on toast. Top with basil.

You may also like:

Oven-Roasted Tomatoes with Basil and Garlic

Slow-Roasted Grape Tomatoes

Pasta with Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, Black Olives

Whether you have planned your holiday party carefully, with a guest list and RSVPs duly recorded, or you get a sudden knock on the door from friends who just happened to be in the neighborhood (and if you are Puerto Rican, this happens fairly often and at Christmas this phenomenon called un asalto navideño), you need a couple of easily assembled appetizers that will either fill in the cocktail hour or feed the unexpected arrivals without making you sweat.

The following three tapas (small dishes of Spain) can be counted on to save the day. These are the kind of items that I usually have around the house during the holiday season, but we bought them special for my parents’ annual Christmas buffet for some of their dearest friends recently.

So easy, a kid can do it. And the kids should do it while you are busy preparing for your guests

They lend themselves to substitution: crackers can replace the endive or toasted bread; canned tuna or salmon can be swirled with mayonnaise and a dab of mustard and ketchup to replace the smoked salmon; hot dogs or any quickly cooked or dry sausage can replace the chorizo, as can pepperoni.

This is an example of the Caribbean white cheese in this recipe. It is similar to packaged (not fresh) mozzarella in texture and is easily cut into squares. QUESO FRESCO is NOT what you want. That is more like ricotta.

Don’t fret over entertaining; play with these tapas recipes, add a bowl of olives and sit down to chat with your guests!

Each recipe should provide appetizers for four. Together, you’ll easily satisfy twelve for appetizers or cocktail snacks.

Chorizo on toast

Chorizo on toast

4-6 oz. spicy cured Spanish-style chorizo sausage (hot, dry Italian is the most similar) peeled and sliced diagonally to 1/4 inch

1/2 loaf crunchy thin baguette, sliced into thin rounds

Optional – thin sliced Manchego cheese (dry sheep’s cheese from Spain)

toothpicks

Heat oven to 350°F. Cover two baking sheets with aluminum foil. On one, lay the chorizo in a single layer. On the other, lay the bread in a single layer. Place both in the oven for 5 -10 minutes, until both are warm but not browning. On a tray, place toasted bread, top each with a single slice of chorizo, top with optional Manchego, spear with toothpicks and serve.

Smoked salmon with endive. A natural scoop!

Smoked Salmon and Endive Scoops (Endívias con salmón)

4 oz smoked salmon, sliced into strips

1 Tbs minced white onion (optional)

12 Belgian endive leaves, clean and unblemished

3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1.5-2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

Salt

Freshly ground pepper (white, if you’ve got)

Approximately 50 small capers, drained

Lay a piece of salmon on each of the endive leaves. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and pour over the filled endive leaves. Scatter capers over each scoop (3-4 per scoop). Serve immediately or keep chilled (for no more than an hour as they can start to dry out).

The Little Chef and his work

White Cheese and Grape Cocktail Skewers

Ingredients:

16 oz block of Queso Blanco (Latin white cheese, firm. It is available at Latin grocery stores, but my Costco also sells it in economy size bricks)

bunch seedless red grapes (the firmer the better)

toothpicks

Cut cheese into 1/2 inch square blocks. Skewer each block with a red grape. Arrange artfully on a tray. Enjoy the expressions of startled pleasure on faces.

A ragtag collection of camping lighting stuff. Headlamps are fab in these situations.

If you want to track it, try the National Weather Service National Hurricane Center, for as long as you have a charged computer or smartphone. Or you can watch the more sensational, perhaps even lurid (look at the garish colors on their hurricane projections) Weather Channel obsessively and drive yourself nuts, while lusting after the reporters’ L.L.Bean and North Face gear.

As a veteran of numerous hurricanes in Puerto Rico (Georges, Hortense, among them), I can tell you that you definitely want:

a battery-powered radio,

bottled water,

lanterns, and

enough medications for three days.

You want batteries for all your lighting and listening devices.

A gas grill is handy (my kingdom for a gas stove)

Start freezing water now — in plastic freezer bags — which will keep your freezer packed and cold, and provide you with fresh water should that become an issue.

Some no-prep mezze table-style treats to have around when the power goes off.

And then, make sure you have some nice treats that don’t require cooking. I picked up a jar of rolled anchovies with capers, artichoke hearts, chorizo, and black olives to go with the hunks of parmigiano, and feta I will have to eat rather than lose. Along with a bottle of wine, it will make a lovely noshing table by candlelight. I may grill-roast some of the peppers from the farm as well.

In addition to wine to while away the hours, I want to assure my Puerto Rican readers that I do indeed have a full bottle of Don Q Cristal (my preferred white mixing rum) ready for the moment when nostalgia for those crazy Cuba Libre-driven hurricane parties in Ocean Park hits. I can’t do that sort of thing now, but a taste of it might be just the thing as we wait out the weather.

Other tips: hard-boiled eggs will keep longer than fresh, so if things look bad, put your eggs in a pot of water to cover by an inch. Bring to a boil, then cover, remove from heat and let rest for ten minutes. Finish by shocking them in cold water.

And one more tip, non-food-related, but important. Remember that if the electric goes, your automatic car garage opener will not function. Plan accordingly and park your car facing out, in case you need to make a quick getaway.

Good luck to all during this massive weather event. I hope that we all come out okay, and that if we must stay indoors for a long time, that we use the opportunity to enjoy simple togetherness time, playing board games, talking, and cuddling.

You know which berries are ready because they are dark, dark, dark (which I suppose explains why they are called blackberries; I am a genius) and also, when you are harvesting, the ripe ones don’t resist a very gentle tug, but slip right off the bush into your fingers sans stem and core. If they resist, it is not because they are being difficult, but because they simply do not want to deliver themselves to you at anything less than their peak.

This is an important lesson for a five-year-old who regards much of his mother’s wisdom with a skepticism usually only seen in sullen teenagers. Many an ultra-tart blackberry was spit out in disgust before he chose to believe what I was telling him about blackberry ripeness detection. But of course by then, he had come to the conclusion his very own empirical, imperial self.

“Didn’t you know, Mom,” he begins his declaration. “The blackberries aren’t ready unless they come off easy. Otherwise they are too tart. Too tart. Here try this one so you can see what I mean. Try it! Try it! Please! Pleeeeez!”

And so, I end up eating the indeed-too-tart blackberries that he doesn’t want to eat himself. And I keep hoping that whatever he chooses to do in life, he will retain a healthy skepticism, but sometimes, once in a while, on occasion, take the advice proffered by others who know. Maybe even his mother.

In the meantime, here are a couple of ideas for what to do with blackberries (and those infernal seeds…)

Blackberry Syrup

1 scant quart blackberries

1 scant Cup sugar

¼ Cup water, plus more for thinning

Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Lower heat to a soft simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until the blackberries are liquefied and the mixture begins to thicken. Push through a fine strainer over a clean glass jar or plastic pint container to remove seeds. Cover and refrigerate. The syrup will keep well for a week. Try it over pancakes or in one of the following recipes!

Blackberry Lemon Iced Tea

Brew 1 quart iced tea (decaf is fine) and allow to cool. Add 2 Tbs lemon juice and ½ Cup blackberry syrup, stir well and serve over ice. Can be refrigerated for three days.

Blackberry Martini

(I recommend using a 1.5 oz shot glass and these proportions to make small aperitif cocktails for four)

4 parts vodka

3 parts blackberry syrup

¼-1/2 part lemon

Pour all ingredients into a martini shaker or large glass filled with ice. Shake (or stir, if using a glass) and pour into martini glasses. Garnish with a whole blackberry, and lemon slice, or a sprig of lavender. Or all of the above.

But that kind of hurry can’t be applied to alcohol. I would keel over and instead of being relaxing or fun, the scene would just get ugly. So in the summer, especially in this summer, I have resorted to what I like to call sissy drinks. Low alcohol, lots of non-alcoholic liquids added, over lots of ice.

You may laugh, you may make unfavorable references to the era of Bartles & James, wine coolers and the like, but it works for me. Especially when you can get a bottle of Portuguese vinho verde with a convenient screw top for $4.99 at my local liquor store and make it last for days , with no craziness, no pain, and no dehydration. Sounds good, right? And anyway I suspect you may already be throwing cubes of ice into your white, or (gasp!) red, in secret. Room temperature in my house right now is 81°. That is no temperature at which to serve wine.

Vinho verde, or green wine, is a very light, slightly fizzy, and somewhat citric wine from the northern regions of Portugal. It only has 9.5-10 percent alcohol usually, compared to 13 or 14 percent in most of the wines I see today. It runs from about $5 – 8 a bottle around here. You can, of course, drink it straight, but it makes for a friendly blending wine too, and at that price, I don’t feel an underlying obligation to treat it with any reverence. This is a cheap date!

So the first recipe is a basic cooler with vinho verde. The second is a very simple Orange-Mango Wine Spritzer (yes, I have said it, spritzer. Spritzer, spritzer, spritzer. And I am unashamed.) that we served at a summer barbecue as a refreshing welcome drink that takes the edge off without being too strong. It was very well received (Nancy and Pat, this one’s for you!). Both recipes are, of course, very flexible, so play with the proportions until you find what you like!

Stay cool!

Vinho Verde Wine Spritzer (by the glass)

1 part Vinho verde

1 part Seltzer

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)

Pour all ingredients into a glass full of ice, stir, and enjoy.

Orange Mango Wine Spritzer

1 bottle sweet white wine

2 Cups orange mango juice, plus a squeeze of fresh orange juice

Squeeze of fresh lemon

¼ Cup seltzer

(optional garnish: lemon/orange slices)

In a pitcher, mix wine, orange mango juice, and lemon. Top with seltzer. Garnish with fruit. Serve over ice.

However, there are times when border crossings become extremely attractive and even critical to survival – such as when you’re home alone with a toddler during a hurricane, or when it’s been sweltering hot for days and on the other side of the fence there is a sparkling pool.

Fortunately for me and Leandro, our next-door neighbors have come through in the clutch on just such occasions. We spent a hurricane with them as well as a couple of heat wave days and not only were they lifesavers, but they were totally fun.

So it was time to show our appreciation. And what better way than to pass several gallons of several varieties of refreshing home-made sangría over the fence for an impromptu sangría-tasting pool party?

We did just that a couple of days ago, serving the sangría in honking big pickle jars (I was inspired to use them by a recent wedding in New Paltz that I’ll be blogging about soon, but the observant reader will quickly surmise that I have a lot of empty pickling jars because I haven’t been on the Ball about preserving and pickling this year…).

Each of the following three varieties had its fans among the tasters. My personal fave was the Pimm’s blend (Hail Brittannia), Allen and Lynne liked the tartness of the cranberry blend and Alyssa and Barbara demolished the white wine and Limoncello. Big plus about neighborly imbibing? No driving involved!

But I knew I had really made the grade when the college kids started sending instagrams of their drinks to their friends from their smart phones! A couple of said friends actually turned up at the house, having abandoned their barstools where they were actually spending their own money on sangría that was apparently not as good….

Red Wine and Pimm’s Sangría (a salute to Team GB and the London Olympics)

3 Litres light-bodied red wine (12 cups or 3 quarts) such as Pinot Noir or Chianti

7 Tbs mango orange juice

3-6 Tbs Pimm’s or orange flavored liquer like Grand Marnier

3 Tbs sugar

Mixed sliced fruit: apples, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, oranges, lemons

½ -1 Cup ginger ale or seltzer

In a large bowl or two pitchers, mix wine, juice, Pimms and sugar. Add fruit and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  When ready to serve, top with ginger ale or seltzer, or let each individual top off their cup with their choice of fizzy drink. Use loads of ice!!!

Red Wine and Brandy Sangría (tart!)

1.5 litres red wine such as Pinot Noir or Chianti

4 Tbs cranberry juice

3 Tbs brandy or orange-flavored liquer

2 Tbs fresh-squeezed orange juice

1 Tbs sugar

Orange and lemon slices

¼-1/2 Cup ginger ale or seltzer

Mix everything except the orange and lemon slices and fizzy drink in a large bowl or pitcher. Add fruit, refrigerate for several hours or overnight. When ready to serve, top with ginger ale or seltzer, or let each individual top off their cup with their choice of fizzy drink. Use loads of ice…in the glasses.

Fruity White Wine and Limoncello Sangría

2.5-3 Litres dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc (I can’t drink Pinot Grigio because of headaches, but if you like it, it would work here)

4 Tbs Limoncello/limoncini

6 Tbs orange mango juice

Sliced peaches, nectarines, strawberries, apples, oranges, lemons

¼-1/2 Cup ginger ale or seltzer

Mix everything except the fruit slices and fizzy drink in a large bowl or pitcher. Add fruit, refrigerate for several hours or overnight. When ready to serve, top with ginger ale or seltzer, or let each individual top off their cup with their choice of fizzy drink. Pour over ice!

Full disclosure: I have posted a close relative of this recipe before. That was a long time ago, the early days of this blog, and  this is slightly tweaked, plus the photos are new (since I made it again for a visit from my sister-in-law and niece).

Mussels Vinaigrette (make ahead!)

They are still the best damn mussels I have ever had and you should know about them, because they are also extremely easy to prepare and can be made the night before any big affair. (Washing out the shells takes a bit of time, but it is satisfying and mindless work that can be done while sipping a glass of something and chatting companionably with whomever is around).

Served cold and slurped right from the shell, they are a stupendous appetizer in looks and flavor. Want to impress? These are your bad boys.

Mejillones a la Vinagreta (Mussels Vinaigrette). Make Ahead!

(serves 4-6 as an appetizer. For more guests, double the mussels, but just half again of everything else)

1/2 cup olive oil

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

heaping Tbs small capers

2 Tbsp minced red onion

1 Tbs minced roasted red peppers (you can also use jarred pimientos, the sweet kind)

1 Tbs minced parsley

pinch of salt and a grinding of black pepper

2 lbs mussels in their shells

1 slice lemon

Whisk the oil and vinegar together, then add the capers, onion, peppers, parsley, salt and pepper. Put the mix into a large freezer bag (if you need this dish to be portable)

Boil one cup of water in a big pot with the lemon slice. Add the mussels and bring to a boil, covered. Pluck out the mussels when they open (waiting until the meat separates completely from the shell into a little sausage shape and then pulling out immediately) and put in a separate bowl to cool. Discard any mussels that do not open after ten minutes. Remove the mussel meat and put into plastic bag with the seasonings and refrigerate.

Save half the mussels shells and clean well (this is the tedious part; make sure you have good music on). Put in a plastic bag and refrigerate.

To serve the next day, arrange shells on an attractive and large platter and put one mussel in each. Spoon the remaining seasoning over each.

Sweaty, hot day, kids bringing up the blood pressure with the noise and the moaning and the constant warfare, and between you and your buddy, Beth, there is only one (big) bottle of sweet white wine for dinner prep.

I assume you realize that the wine is for the cooks, not for the cooking and that you know by now that sweet wine is not my thing.

This is a problem of great magnitude. A good cocktail between moms can do a great deal for a meal that is edible and thus brings us closer to World Peace.

The absence of anything worth drinking, however, is a problem. That still stops us (we have not yet crossed that line). Well, stops us temporarily. Only until we find some way to doctor up the unacceptable tipple into something that can properly take the edge off the day without getting us completely shellacked.

Fear not…with a minimum of ingredients you can transform that icky, sticky, sweet syrup into a pitcher of refreshing, well-balanced and pretty cocktails with a perfect harmony of sweet and tart. You might even share with Beth’s husband. See, now everybody’s happy.

Behold….White Sangría. Ahhhh.

White Sangría with Sweet White Wine

3 cups sweet white wine

1 orange

1 lemon

 five slivered strawberries

1/4 cup seltzer

Pour wine into pitcher (you can pour it over ice if you like, or make it straight up and then pour into ice-filled glasses, depending on how diluted you want it).

Wash the outside of the orange and lemon and take some of the zest off with a peeler and toss in pitcher. Reserve additional zest for your next pitcher. Peel orange and lemon, and cut in half. Reserve one half of each for your next pitcher. With the active halves, squeeze a bit of juice into the pitcher, then remove pith and chunk up. Toss orange and lemon chunks into pitcher. Stir, add strawberry slices, top with seltzer (club soda), give it a whirl and start pouring!

Aside from my culinary dictionary finally being available to the public, I ran some successful events at the community college where I teach, delivered the keynote address at the annual gala of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Metro NYC chapter, attended the national TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) conference in Philadelphia with some of my wonderful colleagues (and without my son for three nights – a monumental event for which I have to thank my parents!), attended the Small Farms Summit here on Long Island, planted a garden in the brand-new raised boxes that my dad and his friend built and…even got a hair cut and color (which alone would be cause for celebration, given how I was feeling about my hair). I have even managed to drop enough weight to be back into all my clothes (I was very cavalier about the figure this winter, but have since reined it in). 

Things have slowed down a bit now, so last weekend it was time to catch my breath with a celebratory cocktail. Or two. At the same time, I realized that the mint was up in the garden. Put these two elements together, and the only logical conclusion was to bust out the rum and make a mojito! Or two.

A mojito is really a Cuban drink — and I have been fortunate enough to have had quite a few of them in Cuba itself, including one memorable evening on the patio of the Hotel Nacional in Havana, listening to Compay Segundo in one of his last live performances, sharing a honking big Churchill-size Cohiba cigar and some Havana Club silver rum in very good company, and feeling almost sheepish about how much fun it was to live like Hemingway for a bit. I believe my divorce papers were getting signed at the time too, in some other country, so you can imagine my satisfaction at spending that moment in fabulous and exotic circumstances far-far away from what’s-his-name.

In my world, mojitos are liquid triumph.

For rum I now use Don Q Cristal from Puerto Rico, my preferred white rum for mixed drinks. You will want a rum with a very clean, crispness. As it turns out, my mint was a bit more toothpaste-spearminty than I usually like, but the result was exceedingly refreshing.

As with any traditional recipe, I expect to hear from many folks saying that this is not at all the way to make an authentic mojito. And as with any traditional recipe, I will answer that there are as many ways to make it as there are bartenders in the world. But of course, I would love to hear your suggestions!

Thanks to Ashley for being my partner in crime on this one, and for taking the notes while I did the mixing. The recipe has quite a bit of editorializing, most (but not all) came from her!

Mojitos

3 tsp sugar

16-20 large mint leaves

2 big, fat Tbs white rum (Don Q Cristal is a personal favorite)

½ Tbs lime

Seltzer/club soda

Muddle (mush up, but don’t pound) sugar and mint in a mortar and pestle or in two glasses (Ashley says: don’t muddle the mint too much or else the mint particles go up your straw. And into your mouth. And then your drink sucks.)

Fill two glasses with ice (highball, lowball, it’s up to you). Divide rum between the two glasses. Pour lime juice over rum and shake a bit to cover. Add sugar-mint muddle, if it wasn’t in the glasses already, and stir gently.

Remember that you are supposed to add club soda/seltzer. Open bottle over sink (because since you forgot about it, you didn’t refrigerate it, so the seltzer is warm and apt to fizz all over). Pour ¼ cup seltzer atop each glass and serve. Salud!