Delirium Tremens - my choice for the Super Bowl

It's hard to imagine, but it's Super Bowl Sunday.  I think.  To be honest, I haven't been keeping track, because I live in Kansas City, and our Super Bowl hopes went out the window about 5 minutes into the season.  Of course, that's something that we're fairly used to by now.

But I digress.  Regardless of what teams are playing, the Super Bowl is officially An Event.  And since it is An Event, it deserves recognition.  I am going to recognize its importance by breaking out an official Great Beer, Delirium Tremens. 

If you're not already at least a bit of a beer geek, you may have never heard of it.  Trust me, you're missing out.  I'd like to claim that I discovered it simply because I am incredibly cool.  And I am.  But that has nothing to do with my discovery of this Belgian treasure. It was the pink elephant on the glass. 

Yes, the bar had the coolest promo glasses with the pink elephant dancing all over them.  I wanted a beer in a pink elephant glass.  The only way to get a beer in the glass was to order Delirium.  So, being a person who sometimes makes decisions based on the oddest rationale, I ordered it. 

And it was good.

It's beyond good.  And not just in my opinion, I might add.  In fact, Delirium is regularly voted as the best beer in the world, although my guess is that most of the guys voting for it didn't order it because they wanted a glass with pink elephants.  It doesn't matter why I ordered it, the point is, I had the good sense to realize that it was fantastic.  It has to be the most beautifully balanced beer I've ever had the pleasure to sip - sweet and hoppy and malty and yeasty, all at the same time.  It's beautifully golden, pours with a gorgeous fluffy white head, and it's so smooth, you'd never guess at the 8.5-9% ABV. 

Even without 'my' team in the game, the Super Bowl can be worth watching just for the commercials.  And there will be some fantastic beer commercials - it's like a law or something.  But none of those commercials will be for a beer that can hold a candle to the one I'm sipping today.

The best thing about Valentine's Day is the cocktails

 

What a horrible thought.  Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm not romantic, but a whole day devoted to love and romance is a bit much when you're currently unattached.  And even that whole day wouldn't be bad, except that in true American style, we've got weeks of lead-in to keep reminding us about it.  Yay. 

But there is a plus-side to Valentine's Day.  That would be chocolate.  Yummy, yummy chocolate.  And not just the stuff in the heart-shaped boxes, either.  (As an aside - am I the only person that's noticed that the really, really good chocolates don't come in those pretty red boxes?)  There are all sorts of chocolate desserts, and one of my favorites, the chocolate cocktails.  So, some pointers to delicious cocktail recipes perfect for Valentine's day.  They're not all chocolate, but they're all delicious.

Chocolate cocktail recipes for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Martini's

Valentine Cocktail Recipes

Romantic Cocktails for Valentine's Day

Baby, it's cold outside

Most of the time, I'm quite content to live in the Midwest.  Sure, sometimes it would be nice to be among the trendsetters to the east or the west.  I wouldn't mind being one of the first places to get the new releases, instead of seeing ads or reading articles about things I can't have.  But this is a nice place to live.

Except for right now.  Because it is really, truly, obscenely cold.  As in, it's only 3 degrees outside.  With wind chills in the general vicinity of -20, or colder.  For a bit of perspective, the current temperature in Anchorage, Alaska is 21 degrees, with no wind chill.

This is just plain wrong.

So for this afternoon, I have been experimenting with coffee based cocktails.  Or to be more accurate, I have been drinking multiple cups of coffee, about a half cup at a time, and trying a different spirit or liqueur in about every one.

For the record, whiskey is good in coffee, if you like whiskey.  (I'm not a fan.)  Rum is good.  Dark rum is especially good if you also include a big dollop of cream of coconut, some turbinado sugar, and top it with whipped cream - just sip the coffee through the cream, like an Irish coffee.  Vodka isn't bad, but there are so many things better, including most of the liqueurs I've tried: peach schnapps, chambord, Kahlua, and Godiva White Chocolate (oh, yeah, baby).  Unless you're a glutton for punishment, I'd suggest ignoring the Jaegermeister.

But if you're looking for some more traditional hot cocktail choices, try one of these:

Classic Irish Coffee
Hot Buttered Apple Cider
Hot Pumpkin Spice cocktail
Warming Drambuie cocktails

Stay inside, and stay warm!

Champagne Planters Punch recipe

A little champagne goes a long way in my book.  I generally prefer beer or cocktails.  (Mmm, vodka....)  But on New Year's Eve, it feels like champagne is almost mandatory.  So why not check out this recipe for Champagne Planters Punch?  Pretend it isn't colder than a witch's....well, pretend it isn't cold, and you're having New Year's Eve on a tropic beach.  Yummy!





Photo: Brady McTigue, SXC

For the Star Wars geek in all of us

I admit, I don't usually link to things that other people are doing.  It's all about me, and surely if you're here, you have no desire to read anyone else, right?  Except maybe if I give a shout-out to blogger BFF, Aunt Becky, because, seriously, how can you not enjoy Mommy Wants Vodka?

But I'm already off the subject. (Such news, I know.)  Although it's a little scary to admit it, I love Star Wars.  Or at least, I love the original trilogy.  (The prequels?  Cool effects, but not nearly as much fun.)  Not in that scary-creepy sort of way that you see sometimes, with the people that don't seem to truly comprehend that these are movies about fictional characters, not real life documentaries.  But I love it. 

And, of course, I'm geeky enough that I love me some Facebook.  Yes, it is the invention of the devil, and an incredible time-waster.  But it is a rare day that goes by that I don't waste an inordinate amount of time catching up on the status of all 265 friends that I can currently claim, most of whom I have actually met at least on-line if not in real life. 

So, of course, how could I not love a blog post titled If they had Facebook in Star Wars?  Well, I can't not love it.  That's simply a rhetorical question.  So just go read it already.

How to Embrace Your Inner Beer Geek - part 1

Yes, I'm a beer geek.  (Seriously, you can't be surprised.  Hello, The BeerLady?)  Not an uber-geek, although I may achieve that status some day, but a geek nonetheless.  For those of you that are not enlightened yet, being a geek is a good thing.  And for the envious, take heart!  Geekdom is also within your grasp.

It might seem elementary.  Why would anyone need to learn to love beer?  You open it, you drink it, either you like it or your don't.  Simple, right?  I could have titled it "How to Learn to Truly Experience and Savor Beer," but it's not as catchy.  So we're going to embrace our inner geek and love beer instead.  Either way, it's not difficult.  Don't let the beer snobs intimidate you.  (And yes, there is a difference between a geek and a snob.  You'll learn these things if you keep reading my blog.  Reading my blog will also make you abnormally attractive to the opposite sex.  Or the same sex, if you prefer.  Warning: some of the sentences in this ridiculously long aside may be a tiny bit of an exaggeration.)

Now, for the first step.  Very simple, very easy.  Head to your favorite local retailer to buy beer, reach for your favorite go-to beer, and STOP.  (It's probably fizzy yellow mass-market beer - or FYMMB - isn't it?  If not, you've already begun the journey to geekdom.)  Take a look around the cooler, and buy something new.  Something you've never tried before.  Something that doesn't say Anheuser-Busch, Coors, or Miller.  (Note - the last may be harder than you think.  A lot of brands don't say they're from one of these three, but they are.  A topic for another day, when you're geekier.)

If you're a little nervous about the idea, look for something similar.  Maybe a different brand of the same style, or a different style in the same brand.  If you haven't ventured outside of FYMMB yet, a pale ale or a pilsner might be a good place to start.  You don't have to jump straight from FYMMB to a porter or imperial stout!

Here's a hint:  See if your favorite local retailer sells 'mixed sixes.'  You can mix and match beers, and choose six different beers for your six-pack.  You'll pay a little extra for the convenience, but you can get a larger variety, and you don't have to worry about being stuck with five more of the same beer if you don't like it.  Bonus?  People will think you're a cool beer geek as you poke around picking out your beer.  They don't have to know that you're choosing based on cool names and the best label pictures.  (Don't laugh.  The first time I tried Rogue Dead Guy Ale it was purely because it's such a great name, how could I not?)

Whatever happened to...Great White

The 1980s - not an era remembered for great classic rock 'n roll music. The airwaves seemed to have been taken over by New Wave and synthesized pop tunes. Rock was dominated by glittery hair bands that seemed to be mostly pretty boys with Spandex and Aqua-Net, with a side order of eyeliner and lip gloss. Read more....

Yes, I know that Great White has little to do with either beer or cocktails. Well, other than the fact that during the 1980s a lot of us were consuming mass quantities of one or the other while listening to the first. But, Faithful Reader, I think you'll adjust. Or I hope you will.