It's getting to be that time of year

Photo: Brian Chu

Doesn't that look good?  My mouth is watering already. Since I jealously guard all my barbeque recipes, secret techniques, and the like. I'll share this with you:

Every year when spring and summer time rolls around we decide on a drink to serve al fresco when we grill.  We've done Mojitos, Mint Juleps,  Watermelon Basil Margaritas, and I still have nightmares about the gin based mint-cucumber cooler. This year I offer you this simple concoction:

The New York Sour

2 oz Bourbon or Rye (I use Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select).
1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice.
1 oz simple syrup

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake, shake, shake... you should get frost on the shaker. Or alternatively if you're one of those squirrelly types afraid of bruising your bourbon, you could stir.  I don't think it makes a difference if you use rye, personally I doubt it makes a difference to the bourbon either.  Pour into a Old Fashioned Glass (lowball or rocks glass) over ice.

Wait you say, that's a Whiskey Sour. Look, I'm not done yet.

Now... float (using an upside down tablespoon) anywhere from 1/2 to 1 oz of Malbec ( I use Ménage à Trois Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina) or Syrah (Shiraz for you Aussie types) wine on top.  There you have it, a New York Sour.

Now that you're finished making it there are two schools of thought on how to drink it; 1. Leave it alone and layered; 2. Stir. I prefer the former.

P.S. One can if one desires, add a raw egg white to the sour before shaking which yields a smoother, silkier drink.  Adding egg whites to sours was once a popular past time until the invention of Salmonella.

How do you do Dogs?

Photo: Jersyko

How do you do dogs?

I prefer mine simple, just a little mustard, maybe some sauerkraut.  Occasionally I'll have a chili dog with some raw onions on top.  Everyone likes them differently it seems.  One coworker only eats those Oscar Meyer hotdogs with the cheese inside, another from Detroit insists that is where the "Coney Dog" originated despite the fact that no one is arguing with him.

In New Jersey they prefer "Italian" dogs served on an Italian roll.  In Milwaukee it's on a buttered hard roll, and in San Francisco they are wrapped in bacon and topped with mayonnaise.  In Chicago it's tomatoes, pickle and green relish while in Atlanta they like theirs with slaw, and in Kansas City they serve it dressed up like a Reuben.

We did dogs on the grill last night, I kept mine simple with just mustard and a side of baked beans.

How do you do yours?