The Bacon Vodka BLT-ini!

Okay, people! I did it! The BLT-ini was consumed!

The recipe:
Three weeks ahead of time: start bacon vodka. A day or two in advance, make tomato water. (See previous posts for both.) Freeze a few grape tomatoes while you're at it. Keep both nasty looking liquids very cold. To Mix: Shake equal parts tomato water and bacon vodka with ice cubes and a pinch of celery seed in a cocktail shaker. Strain into martini glasses. Garnish with lettuce spear, frozen grape tomato and a bacon curl.

The details:
Some BLT-inis (yes, there are now many varieties) employ tomato juice. Yeah. I can't really get my head wrapped around the texture of tomato juice, so I went with tomato water instead. A lovely, light mixer.

Bacon curls are HARD to make! They kept breaking. I got one beauty, but for the most part I couldn't get the long Not Martha curls...more like little c-clamps made from bacon. Oh well. They still tasted good and we got to eat the mistakes. And the lettuce and tomato were pure genius...crunchy, frozen, booze-y genius.

The bacon vodka smells pretty gross, and despite filtering it twice through coffee filters, it still had tiny bits of bacon fat in it. (Ewww.) BTW, it takes quite awhile to strain...leave yourself time. I made one for me and one for Drummer Guy (TM). There was a definite sense of dread -- it really looked like urine with garnish. We had to dare each other to take a drink. And you know what? IT WAS GOOD! The tomato water was exquisite. I'm not much of a drinker (despite what you may have heard. or witnessed) so I would like a little more mixer than vodka, but it was very good. Tasty! We both finished them. And, may I say, there was quite a kick upon completion. YUM!

Reviews:
Me: Delish, summer-y and refreshing
Drummer Guy (TM): Five stars, good for sipping (not slurping) and really tastes like a BLT

A Tale of Two Bacon Vodkas

Let's compare, shall we? On top, McAuliflower's Bacon Vodka. Beneath, my meaty moonshine.

The saga of the BLT-ini!

This is it people!

It started with a bacon vodka post on BrowniePoints by the effervescent McAuliflower. Yes, I followed her directions to the letter and made a concoction that looked like a formaldehyde experiment gone bad. Then, while checking my beloved blog addiction, Not Martha, I found Megan’s work making both bacon curls and bacon straws…seemed perfect!

I mentioned my experiment at work and the suggestion of BLT-inis came up. My boss suggested “tomahto water” as the mixer. (He’s British.) So I made a disgusting looking concoction that has been in my fridge for two days, looking for all the world like either a jar of brine or my latest collection for the urologist. (See photo...it's neither Fluff nor an excretion, I promise.)

Tonight is the night. Can you feel the magic? Two nasty liquids will combine with an endive spear, a pinch of celery seed and a bacon curl to make the ultimate bacon-y goodness. (Should I add a frozen grape tomato or is that gilding the lily?) I’ll be reviewing and reporting the recipe specs soon…yum! (or yum?)

Missing Laptop

Hey - my boss's laptop has gone missing in London. If you have it, could you please return it? Thanks!

Beautiful American Babies

Well, there’s high drama all around today. Sickness is leveling the strong, friends have kicked out spouses and yes, I have a hair appointment. A dear friend’s wife is very ill, but she’s out of the hospital and resting at home now. Major sickness makes me think of a TRUE STORY from my African adventures:

I. Tanya and I were in Tanzania. We had been together for a few weeks. I had finally acclimated to the slowness of East African life, and she had come up to speed after months in West Africa. It was weird – I had totally lost any sense of hunger and pretty much stopped eating, but I attributed it to the heat and didn’t think about it. We were merrily clicking along when boom…sickness hit. It started in the middle of the night with many, many trips to the bathroom. Ugh…shouldn’t have eaten that fruit on the train. Clearly something bad was taking over. But wait, I was also sweaty. and hot. and shaking. Moaning, I climbed back in bed, only to make the trek to the communal outhouse again in 15 minutes. I took Pepto and Tylenol and prayed for a coma. By the time morning came, I woke Tanya up and weakly said, “I’m so sick.” She took my temp and said, “We’ve got to get you to the doctor.” I knew it was serious, because when we got in a cab, neither of us asked how much the trip would cost.

When I got to the doctor, the check in person handed me a matchbox and pointed to a door. “Go back in there and leave a specimen in this box.” After some clarification, I did as told. I was then told to go to the lab. The lab was a room with a dude wearing a white coat and a rusty spigot sticking out of the wall. I watched as he filled a bucket with water and washed his hands in it. He turned to me and said, “You have malaria, but to be sure we need blood.” No. I most definitely did not have malaria. I had been taking the damn mefloquine since the plane ride from Amsterdam. It made me dizzy and nauseous and I hated it but I took it. I coated myself in Deet everyday. No damn way did I have malaria.

Before I left the States, I had debated bringing needles with me – it seemed somehow, I don’t know, arrogant or privileged. (Which of course it is.) The rich traveler carries a safety net that no one around her has. All of that was pushed from my mind when I said, “I have needles.” As I dragged them out of my pack he smiled and said, “Yes of course, you are ready…you are an American!” I anemically acknowledged the truth and offered up my arm. As he deftly slid the needle in he said in a low voice, “You know, you and I would make some beautiful American babies.”

II. Later I was told I had amoebic dysentery and malaria. The check in person grabbed three giant jars of pills and I panicked as he rapid fire announced, “Take three of these two times a day, take one of these at night, take two of these three times a day.” As he was talking he reached in the jar pulling out handfuls of pills and skillfully twisting them in sheets of paper. I was trying to write down which to take when, and he exasperatedly repeated the whole thing.

When I got home, I went to the U of M’s infectious diseases department and had all kinds of tests. I still had dysentery, and would end up taking Flaggyl for a month to get rid of it, but the malaria was gone. The doctor asked what treatment I had taken. I said, “I have no idea. I took fistfuls of pills that came wrapped like saltwater taffy…and I’m so grateful.”

Happy Birthday, Ira Glass!

BLT-ini: Tomato Water and Random Things

Tomato Water
Hey, guess what? It takes a lot of tomatoes to make tomato water. Here’s a lovely picture of the effort. It’s about 10 Roma and two big beefsteak organic tomatoes. You purée them in a food processor with a pinch of salt, then strain them overnight in cheesecloth (if you're a fancy pants) or coffee filters, if you is a common sorta folk. I know, it’s sacrilege to make tomato water with nasty out-of-season tomatoes…what can I do? The BLT-ini experiment demands tomato water. Here’s what I’m putting in the drink: tomato water, bacon vodka, endive leaf. Maybe a frozen cherry tomato or a bacon curl on the rim…we’ll see.

Random Carp
5 Word Movie Review?
Michael Clayton – good, not great.

Fave Coen Bro?
Ethan

Best Girl Scout Cookie?
Samoas, aka Caramel deLites*

Favorite One Hit Wonder?
Groove is In The Heart by Deee-Lite*

*Coincidence? I think not.

Have a deeliteful week!