In the immortal words of Mark Twain, "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." As you may have noticed, I've been on a hiatus for the last few weeks. I would like to report that I was on an island in the Caribbean looking at promising spots for the Tiki Bar, but I wasn't. I would even be happy reporting that I was just on an island in the Caribbean, but I wasn't. Unfortunately, I have to report that my work life interfered with my real life to the point that it impacted my digital life. In short, I had a big project at work that took up an inordinate amount of my time over the last few weeks. I try not to let this happen very often because, when I'm old, I don't think I'll look back over my life and think, "You know, I wish I'd spent just a few more hours on that project at work." Instead, I plan to look back and think, "You know, I wish I hadn't had that third margarita at the beach party last night - I went to the bathroom more often than a supermodel at a buffet." (Calm down supermodels, I'm just kidding.)
I did find some time to concoct a new drink while I wasn't working on my spreadsheet skills. The Tiki Gal is a big fan of Creme Brulee so I wanted to capture those flavors in a cocktail. I searched my recipe books and the Internet and didn't find exactly what I wanted so I decided to invent something myself. I discovered a recipe for the actual Creme Brulee dessert and found that it contains a vanilla bean simmered in heavy cream, vanilla sugar and egg yolks. I used deductive reasoning to determine that the egg yolks are probably there to make the custard part of the dessert custardy, thus they wouldn't be required in the cocktail. (Besides, I'm pretty sure the Tiki Gal and Carol would object to a cocktail containing raw egg yolks.) That just leaves the cream, the vanilla bean and the vanilla sugar.
Since my preparation time is usually limited, I decided to substitute some ingredients so that I wouldn't have to simmer a vanilla bean in heavy cream. I decided to use half and half instead of the cream (less calories and fat) and vanilla liqueur instead of the vanilla bean. Also, instead of using raw sugar I used simple syrup because it mixes better in cocktails, especially cold ones, than the raw sugar does. I needed a liquor that would give the drink some alcoholic content but wouldn't add any flavoring so I used vodka. And finally, Dale and Carol had mentioned Frangelico a few weeks before so I bought some the last time I was at Bubbles, our friendly neighborhood liquor store. Frangelico has a nice, hazelnut taste but it is fairly strong so I decided to use just a splash in my Creme Brulee cocktail. With all the ingredients ready, I mixed one for the Tiki Gal. She seemed to like it but wasn't overly excited so I think I have more work to do.
Creme Brulee Cocktail
Appearance: Looks a bit like Creme Brulee.
Ingredients: 3 oz. half and half, 3 oz. simple syrup, 1 oz. vodka, 1 oz. vanilla liqueur, splash of Frangelico, brown sugar
Instructions: Pour the liquid ingredients in a blender with one cup of ice. Mix until smooth and pour into a margarita glass. Sprinkle brown sugar over
the top to give the appearance of caramelized sugar.
Taste: It tastes a little like Creme Brulee.
Dale and Carol came to the Tiki Hut last weekend for cards. Dale brought a new beer and a collection of old favorites so we decided to try the new beer first.
Jenlain Ambree
Color: Dark golden
Skunkiness: 0 skunks
Taste: Smoky and malty with hints of honey. As it warms,
more hoppiness is apparent.
Comments: This beer is the first French beer I've tasted. It reminded me of Fat Tire, although not quite as good.
Carol Rating: 5 pints on a scale of 1 or 5. The girls thought it was better than a 1 but they weren't excited about it. They are quite the dark beer snobs these days.
Rating: 3.75 pints out of 5.
We also had a shot - aptly named by Dale - that was inspired by the Irish Car Bomb we had earlier in the summer.
Irish Car Bomb Interior
Ingredients: 1 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream, 1 oz. Jameson Irish Whiskey
Taste: Creamy and smooth.
Comments: It was a tough week at work. Don't judge.
Finally, I'd like to report that the house in Cozumel won the vote by a landslide in the last installment of the Changes in Latitudes House Hunt contest. The newest entry is a lovely three bedroom, three bath home in Roatan, Honduras. It has granite counter tops and other nice features but who cares. Look at that overlook deck in the pictures. Do you really need anything else? Actually, I wouldn't even need the house. Put a cot and a lantern on that deck and I'll improvise for any other needs that may arise. This house is also much cheaper than any of the other choices so far at just $775K. Of course, it is in Honduras and the U.S. just cut all non-humanitarian support for that country because of the military coup that occurred there this summer. But like I always say, a little martial law never hurt anyone... as long as you have a stunning view of the beach.
Use the comments area to vote for your favorite between the family compound in Cozumel and the Roatan house with the overlook deck. Whichever house wins could be up against this beach cottage in the next round. Or maybe not.
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