Middle-aged Women Gone Wild!

Well, not really. It probably got your attention though, didn't it?

For weeks now, my sister has been asking me to join her in, what she said, was a kick-ass Zumba class in Peru. Unfortunately I had been too busy to join her until last week. She wasn't kidding. I absolutely loved it! Needless to say, I felt the need to share this experience with others. Yup, the Ladies needed to join in on the fun!

Last night we all danced and toned ourselves to almost complete exhaustion. Everyone knows how important it is to keep hydrated, so we hit Pasquales as soon as we were done. The place was packed. We didn't care though, because it was so very nice to get out with the Ladies. It has been far too long!

Day 12 of 12: Goal Mastered

Tonight's beverage is an interesting one indeed. I went from the raunchiness of A Big Pink Dink yesterday to the down-home goodness of a drink called Apple Sauce today.

Apple Sauce

1 oz. spiced rum
3 oz. apple sauce
4 oz. sour mix
1/4 oz. triple sec

Place 12 oz. ice in a blender. Add ingredients. Blend until smooth.
Sour mix: Bring one cup of water to a boil. Put heat on low. Stir in one cup sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Cool. Add 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/3 cup lime juice.

Wow! Delicious! This drink would make the most wonderful dessert drink. Although I have felt that the other frozen drinks that we've tried were meant for the warmer months, this one would be fabulous any time of the year. It is a very creamy, sweet drink that tastes more like apple pie than apple sauce, which is why it would make such a spectacular dessert drink. In our family, a big chunk of cheddar cheese is the perfect accompaniment for apple pie. The same held true for this glass of pure yumminess... great with a slab of cheddar to nibble on between sips.

Mike rated this drink an 8, while I gave it a 9 because of it's uniqueness. I highly recommend this drink, especially if you're entertaining, and we'll definitely have this one again.

It has been fun achieving this goal of my Individualized Entertainment Plan. As with any IEP goal, it was necessary to monitor and adjust accordingly. I enthusiastically conquered this goal and do not believe that there will be any regression. We should all have Individualized Entertainment Plans. I know that Alison, author of the Along the Au Sable blog has a plan for 2011 to focus on developing her friendships with those in the community. That is a wonderful goal indeed. We all set them and hopefully we achieve them. As with any IEP, it is ever evolving depending on the current needs of the individual. Throughout the year she and many others including myself will add and remove goals as necessary.

With my goal achieved, I feel that I need to give some kudos where kudos are due. Although I found my Any Bitch Can Drink bar book handy, drinksmixer.com was easier as far as looking things up based on the base liquor, type of drink, etc. I liked the site so much that I've added a link to it in the upper right corner.

I also need to give kudos to my friend and coworker, Carol. She's a fabulous person who shares my enthusiasm for laughing, friendships and fun.

Kudos also go to my husband. Mike has been a supportive and enthusiastic participant throughout, although I don't believe that he had to put forth too much effort at all.

It's time for a new goal. I'll be giving that some careful consideration and get back to you.

New Beverages and More Ladies

As I look back on my evening last night, I can't help but smile. Ri was invited to spend the night at his cousin's house, which meant that Mike and I could actually go out and celebrate the New Year for the first time since the little bugger entered our lives. Although there are so many choices when it comes to celebrating the New Year, we had no doubts about where we were headed. Eat. Sleep. Funk! was scheduled to play down at 20 Main, which is conveniently located a few miles from the house. Trust me, there isn't much that is only a few miles from our house. It's the price you pay for living in the middle of nowhere.

Even before we knew that Ri was headed to his cousin's, I was brainstorming a way to get Mike and I down there for a little fun. The brainstorming proved unnecessary, and luck was on our side. We really hadn't considered making plans with anyone, but I decided to give Sierra and Lauren a heads up that we'd be at 20 and would love to see them. As it turned out they and their husbands made it. It has been far too long since we've had the opportunity to do that and it felt fabulous.

Those weren't all The Ladies that we saw though. It was relatively early in the evening when I just happened to glance in the direction of the door. Rhonda and Dave (Dave is not one of The Ladies, of course) walked in with a whole slew of people! What a welcome surprise that was! Apparently they had just enjoyed a movie at the Hollywood Theatre and decided to stop in for a drink. One drink led to another and so forth, and they ended up rocking in the New Year with the rest of us!


To top off the celebration, I was surprised to see my friend and coworker Caroline there as well. She made the long haul from Rainbow Lake for the festivities. I could kick myself for not catching a picture of her. I must not have been thinking at the time. Shocker.

More often than not on a Saturday night you'll see BJ behind the bar. She owns the place. Tough job. I wouldn't want it.

I think I'm through reminiscing about last night's adventures and should move on to this evening. Mike and I needed to head to my sister's to pick Ri up today. We decided it would be really silly not to share today's beverage with them. The name of this one really required sharing with others....

A Big Pink Dink

1 oz. coconut rum
1 oz. grenadine
6 oz. milk

Pour rum over ice, fill with milk. Add grenadine to add a nice pink color.



It's hard not to chuckle while discussing this drink. The recipe did not call for shaking it, but we decided we had to (tee hee). Kam even made up some pink sugar to rim the glasses. We all had a little fun with A Big Pink Dink (sorry, I can't help myself).




































The ratings for this drink varied quite a bit. Lance gave it a very unenthusiastic 4, while Kam and Mike both gave it a 7. I thought it was fabulous and feel comfortable giving it an 8. Mike suggested that it would be much better if it was a blender drink. I think I would like it either way. I do recommend trying this one, if only for the fact that you can say that you have had the chance to try A Big Pink Dink.

Day 10 of 12

As promised, tonight's drink is a bit more, shall I say, "manly" in comparison to last night's drink. I really should have done some research and found a drink called "Boxers or Briefs" after last night's "Silk Panties." What would be in a drink like that do you suppose? The ingredients would have to consist of opposites... maybe a mixture of wine and whiskey.

This beverage was another one found in a flurry of activity at Adirondack Mountain Spirits yesterday, so the directions are not detailed at all.

Armored Car

2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. fresh lemon
dash simple syrup

Combine and stir.



To make simple syrup, use equal parts sugar and water. Bring the water to a boil. Stir in the sugar. Reduce heat to low and continue stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate.

As soon as I started making this drink I knew it was going to taste like a whiskey sour, and indeed it did. Not that it's a disappointment at all. We're big fans of bourbon in this house and this drink did not disappoint. Mike and I both give this drink a 7.5 due to it's somewhat mundane nature. We would both opt for the Kentucky Blizzard over this one for sure, but we also wouldn't turn it down if someone offered us one.

Day 9 of 12

Seriously? I need more supplies for this venture? Once again I visited the kind folks at Adirondack Mountain Spirits on Main Street to get more advice and liquor. Although I do take my mom up on the offer to pick up liquor for me when she visits New Hampshire because it's incredibly cheap, I will always do most of my liquor business right here in town.



Not only is it close, but the owners are fabulous people! They are some of the most helpful and friendly proprietors I have ever met. I told them that I was having a difficult time coming up with new drinks and BLAM! Dale and Joe started thumbing through their bar book for some spectacular ideas. I took a rather nice picture of the two of them in their shop, but my camera ate the image. Bummer.

They suggested several drinks, and I took them up on two of them for the time being. Tonight's drink was one of them.

Silk Panties

3/4 oz. Peach Schnapps
3/4 oz. vodka
1 oz. cranberry juice

Stir.



Ok. Those are all the directions that I was able to write down in the excitement of all of the drink ideas that were being tossed around the liquor store while my son waited in the car for my "quick" stop. It was not a "quick" stop at all. I walked back out to the car only to see him sitting there with his hands in the air as if to say, "What the hell?" I explained that I really enjoy talking to Dale and Joe, and he let it go without too much complaint. Anyway, I never saw if it was supposed to be a type of martini or a shooter or a shot. Who knew? I poured the concoction into two martini glasses figuring I couldn't go wrong there. Mike and I each took a quick sip to determine how indeed we were supposed to be drinking it. Upon first taste... oooooooh eeeeeeh...SWEET...and girlie. I got a chuckle over Mike participating in this drink that was ANYTHING but masculine. We decided it needed to be slammed, so we did. If you have ever tried a Woo Woo, this is very similar. This is not a drink to be savored, as it's a bit over the top with regard to the sugar content. Is it tasty? Why yes it is. I couldn't handle more than one of these, and if its consumption was a ritualistic part of a bridal shower I wouldn't be surprised. Mike rated it a 5. I give it a 6. It really didn't leave much more of an impression on me other than the fact that tomorrow's drink, being New Year's Eve and all, will be a bit more robust.

Day 8 of 12

I have to admit that this goal set forth by Carol is getting increasingly challenging. As I look through the bar book, I am beginning to realize that drinks are just different variations of a classic drink. That makes it a lot less fascinating in my opinion. It's kind of like with food. Take the egg roll for example. Its Tex-Mex equivalent is the chimichanga. The Casarola at Desporados is basically lasagna, but with different ingredients. Sounds silly, I know, but it's something I think about on occasion.

Tonight we went for a shooter. Shooters are not something I drink at all. Sure, sure, I do a shot every now and then, but not without trepidation. It always leads to the following day being very long. The significant variations of martinis that exist are essentially shooters, but you don't drink it all in one fell swoop. Martinis are for sipping. Gosh I love martinis. I'm straying off topic though. Let's get back to the Lemon Drop Shooter, which was tonight's beverage of choice.

Lemon Drop Shooter

3/4 oz. Absolut vodka
1/4 oz. triple sec
Lemon, cut into wedges

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and lemon wedges. Add the vodka, triple sec and lemon wedge. Shake. Strain into a shot glass rimmed with sugar. Serve with a lemon wedge. Serves 1.


Mike went first, as we only own one shot glass. I too find that hard to believe.

His first comment was, "Wow, that's lemony! It's good!" Next was my turn. Yum! All I could do was think about how I needed to adjust the proportions to turn this bad boy into a martini. I wasn't about to continue doing shots! I ended up pouring a 6-count of vodka and a 3-count of triple sec into the same shaker with the lemons that I had used for the shooters. I rimmed a martini glass with sugar and made myself a most delicious lemon drop martini. I know that this isn't an original creation, but I certainly am enjoying it.

Mike gave the shooter a rating of 7. I give it 9, but mostly because I have always been a fan of both lemons and martinis. This could become a ritual for me. I highly recommend trying this. The fresh lemons are fantastic in this drink!

Day 7 of 12

Today was by far the easiest prep day with regard to these wonderful concoctions that we have had the pleasure of experiencing. This beverage came as a recommendation from Dale and Joe, the owners of Adirondack Spirits on Main Street in Au Sable Forks. When I made my original trip into town for supplies for this stellar venture, I explained the whole thing to them. Let me tell you, they were all over that! One of the first suggestions that they made was chocolate wine. Chocolate wine? How strange. The idea of red wine and chocolate is not a new one at all, but chocolate wine was completely different. Dale even mentioned that blending it with ice and some banana liqueur would make it taste like a banana split. Hmmm.... I was sold immediately. I decided to hold off on the banana liqueur because at that point my bill was getting pretty hefty.

As I lowered the bottle off the liquor shelf this evening, I was not feeling very confident about the choice at all. I looked closely at the label. "The taste of dutch chocolate and fine red wine." The "taste" of dutch chocolate? That sounded dubious. Did that mean it wasn't real? Knowing I just needed to bite the bullet and try it, I threw some ice cubes into two wine glasses. The screw top didn't show much promise, but I had to follow through.



After a very thick pour, Mike and I clinked glasses and threw them back. YUM! We immediately compared it to Kahlua and milk, but heavy on the Kahlua. Dale and Joe did NOT steer us wrong at all! It was a medium-priced wine at just $11ish for the bottle. Please keep in mind that this probably isn't going to be something you kill off in one evening. It's quite sweet and would probably be best as an after dinner drink unless you cut it with something.

Mike and I would definitely drink this again, but only rate it a 7 due to the sweetness factor. Dessert beverages aren't necessarily our first choices, and this is definitely where this one falls.