Thursday, January 23, 2003

So, small setback for the Julie/Julia Project last night when my Turkish grocery was out of mussels, and it was too goddamned, mother-fucking, BUTT-LOVIN’ COLD AS SHIT for me to consider making another stop and wandering around Chinatown looking for the damned things, and anyway, who wants to eat mussels, which I don’t even like, when it’s about thirty degrees below zero in our apartment?  So in a fit of weakness, I bought a chicken.  I roasted it in a most un-Julia-like manner.  No turning and basting and lovingly listening to the nuances of fat sizzling here.  Bit of oil, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper, stick in the oven for an hour and done.  Ate it with mesclun salad out of a bag and some Uncle Ben’s.  Fine by me. And we had a gimlet.  In response to Sandy’s query as to the making of gimlets: Gimlets are, to my mind, very civilized, classic cocktails, and not at all girly, though they’re served in martini glasses and have a pearlescent hint of chartreuse in their color.  Phillip Marlowe drank gimlets – was it Phillip Marlowe?  Well, anyway, one of those tough-guy noir detectives.  Originally they were made with gin, and originally they were made of a 1:1 ratio of gin to Rose’s Lime Juice, at which thought I shudder convulsively.  This was back when gin was made in bathtubs.  Most bars nowadays mix it about 4:1, which is still too limey, in the Powell opinion.  We use just a smidge of the Rose’s, and vodka instead of gin.  Generally, the better the vodka, the less Rose’s you need.  You mix it just like a martini, and should no more serve it on the rocks than you would a martini.  Also, many schmancy bars will mix you a drink with fresh lime juice and simple syrup, charge you twelve bucks, and call it a gimlet.  Do not be deceived.  It might be very nice, but a gimlet without Rose’s is not a gimlet at all. Lastly, I would like to share with you an article I found while exploring my rankings.  When someone googled “Nigella Lawson Ass” they got not only my lovely site, but also this piece, written by Nigella – thoughts on drinking that you’re not going to find in the New York Times Dining In section. 8:07:36 AM    comment []