Laughing at The Horror of Being Alive

Cocktail Correspondent

Stu has asked me to be the "Laughing at the Horror of Being Alive" cocktail correspondent. Actually, he asked me as soon as we started this blog but I have been shirking my duty. The way it was supposed to work is that any cocktail we made I would drink and immediately blog about how delicious it was, how the base liquor was well balanced by the perfect proportion of fresh squeezed juices and sugar syrup. Unfortunately, after a Stuey-sized drink I either sink into an alcoholic stupor (which is preferred) or become a hostile drunk who, upon finishing her drink, hurls her cocktail glass against the far wall and boots the cat over two chairs and a settee! Well, maybe not!

Today's drink is the Sidecar

2 parts brandy
1 part triple sec
1 part fresh squeezed lemon juice

Shake with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, garnish with lemon wedge. The result is like a slightly-more-refreshing whiskey sour. Yum!

Note 1: This recipe uses the "classic" proportions of 2 parts base liquor, 1 part sweet, 1 part sour. Using these proportions, you are unlikely to go too far wrong, presuming you are using a legitimate base liquor and not something ghastly like watermelon pucker.
Note 2: Some recipes call for Cognac and Cointreau. We feel that using fresh lemon juice is far more important than using such expensive liquors.
Note 3: Schumann's recipe has a range of 1/3 to 1 part Triple Sec. Feel free to adjust the amount of Triple Sec to suit your taste.

Look for the following cocktails in the days and weeks ahead: Southside, Cosmopolitan, Pimm's Cup and many, many more.

Cheers!

posted by Heidi at 12:25 PM | | Target

I got my bagel this morning from the deli at the bottom of my building, and what with trying to carry it, my coffee, and my briefcase, the while trying to fish out my security badge and get on the escalator, I dropped my bagel. One quarter of it hit the ground and skidded off to the side, but the rest landed right on the escalator stairs. So there I was, trying to decide if I could reach down and get the first piece without dropping everything else, while out of the corner of my eye watching the rest of the bagel ride upward without me. Not for the first time, I found myself grateful that I wasn't being filmed (at least not to my knowledge).

posted by Stu at 12:05 PM | | Target

Monday, June 23

The Boss and I joined some friends in New Braunfels this weekend for some tubing on the Guadalupe River. The water was nice and high, so for the first time in my experience we didn't have to get our asses out of the tubes even once to walk. On the other hand, the water was really, really, cold; enough to make me glad the air was well over 90 degrees. Probably the best tubing trip I've been on.

Many thanks to KS for organizing the trip!

posted by Stu at 3:56 PM | | Target