FOOD FRIDAY - LET'S DRINK TO THAT

“Alcohol is the anaesthesia by which we endure the operation of life.” - George Bernard Shaw

When living in Holland I often had colleagues dropping into my apartment for a drink and an impromptu meal with whatever was in the fridge. At that time I concocted several cocktails, the better of which I fortunately wrote down. We tried a couple at home the other day and they certainly still tasted good!

WET MARTINI

Ingredients

1 measure of gin

1 measure of dry vermouth

3 drops of Angostura bitters

Stuffed green olive.

Dry white wine

Method

Pour the spirits into a tumbler, add several ice cubes and bitters. Top up with dry white wine.  Drop the olive in, secured with a toothpick.   This is very palatable, light and definitely morish…

CHERRY GIN

Ingredients

1 measure gin

Dash of lemon juice

Dash of Angostura bitters

Ice cubes

100 mL of sour cherry juice (may substitute crushed fresh cherries)

Method

Mix the gin, lemon juice, bitters and ice cubes shaking well. Add the ice-cold cherry juice and stir thoroughly.

GLÜHWEIN

Ingredients

1 bottle port

2 cups of brandy

1 tablespoon sugar

3 cinnamon sticks

4 cardamom pods

2-3 pieces star anise

1 orange stuck with about 15-20 cloves

1 apple, cored and quartered

Peel of one lemon

Method

Heat the port over a slow fire and add the spices, sugar, apple and citrus.  Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the brandy and remove from the fire into a fireproof jug. Keep warm over a tea-light until all is consumed.

WATERED DOWN BRANDY

Ingredients

A lump of sugar

3 drops of peach essence

A measure of warm water

A measure of brandy

Method

Drop the peach essence onto the sugar and dissolve in the warm water. Stir in the brandy and sip by the open fire,  late at night, listening to this:

CHAMPAGNE

“Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.” - Ecclesiastes 8:15

Champagne is a lovely drink and there are so many occasions on which to enjoy it and so many ways to drink it! I am sure that most readers of this blog would have had a glass or two over the Festive Season. The best way to drink it may be to share a bottle with one’s partner on a special occasion, but champagne is also drunk in numerous cocktails and mixed drinks. I enjoyed it one Winter’s day for New Year’s brunch in Amsterdam with some friends in a concoction known as ‘Kir Royale’.  A little Crème de Cassis liqueur in a chilled champagne flute and then topped up with ice-cold bubbly - very nice!

The name “champagne” is used very specifically and describes the classic sparkling wine named for the site of its origin and exclusive production, the traditional region of Champagne in northeastern France. The term champagne is also applied generically, with restrictions, outside France, to many white or rosé wines that are characterised by effervescence – France has become extremely indignant with the indiscriminate use of this term and the preferred appellation outside France is now “sparkling wine” or wine made by the “méthode champenoise”.

In Australia we produce excellent sparkling wines, some up there on par with the best champagnes France is producing. Moët et Chandon have recognised the potential of some countries in the world as excellent wine producers of sparkling wines and have invested heavily in these. About 55 km away from central Melbourne is the beautiful Yarra Valley, a prime wine-producing area. Domain Chandon (owned and run by Moët et Chandon) produces some excellent sparkling wines.

The region that produces the authentic French champagne includes certain parishes in the départements of Marne, Aisne, Seine-et-Marne, Aube, and Haute-Marne. The best champagne comes from vineyards along the Marne River from Château-Thierry eastward to Épernay and on the plain from Épernay stretching north to Reims, which is dominated by a hill called the Montagne de Reims. Champagne is made from only three grape varieties: Pinot and meunier, both black, and chardonnay, white. Characteristic of champagne is a crisp, flinty taste, sometimes ascribed to the chalky soil in which the vines are grown. A small amount made from green grapes only is called blanc des blancs. Pink champagne is made by adding a little red wine, or by leaving the crushed grapes in contact with their skins for a time.

Champagne is initially fermented in stainless steel vats, after which the wine is blended. If the year has been excellent, only wines of that year are used and the product is vintage champagne; if not, a blend with wines of different years will be made, improving and strengthening the wine and producing a non-vintage champagne. After blending, a mixture of wine, sugar, and yeast is added to the wine before it is transferred to pressure tanks or to strong, dark bottles for a second fermentation that yields carbon dioxide and effervescence. This second fermentation is completed after a few weeks or months.

Wine thus fermented in tanks is then transferred to another tank, where it is chilled, sweetened, and bottled. Wine in bottles is left to mature; during this period the bottles are shaken daily and gradually turned and tipped until they are upside down and the impurities (sediment) have settled onto the bottom of the cork. This procedure, called riddling (remuage), has been largely mechanised since the 1970s. When the wine is mature and ready for the market, the deposits are removed in a process called dégorgement. In this process, the cork is carefully pried off, allowing the internal pressure in the bottle to shoot the sediment out; this is sometimes done after the neck of the bottle and the deposits have been frozen. After dégorgement, a small amount of syrup melted in old champagne is added to the bottle and the wine is recorked.

Champagne to which little or none of this sugar is added is labelled ‘brut’ (extra dry); somewhat sweeter is ‘sec’, and wine with larger quantities of sugar is ‘demi-sec’. All of these are sweeter than the words indicate.

And as I started with a biblical quotation extolling the virtues of good drink, let me end with another one. The proviso of course is to always drink responsibly! “And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.” Isaiah 22:13

MOVIE MONDAY - DEVDAS

"Drama is life with the dull bits cut out." - Alfred Hitchcock

I really like Bollywood movies and I have seen quite a few, both old and new. In these movies, there is an amazing variety of themes explored, with some rollicking good stories, as much melodrama as you can wish for, luscious sounds of exotic music and song  and some absolutely astounding cinematography and excellent examples of the director’s art.

For Movie Monday today, I am considering “Devdas” (2002). Devdas is a classic tragic love story, based on a novella written by the Bengali Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1901 (published 1917). It has been filmed on many occasions by many Indian film-makers, eg: Naresh Mitra’s 1928 version; P.C Barua’s 1935 version; and his 1936 version; Bimal Roy’s 1955 version; Shakti Samanta’s 2002 version.

The plot is highly convoluted and brings to the fore the wonderful skills that Indian storytellers and novelists have in the telling of epic love stories. Childhood sweethearts, Devdas and Parvati (affectionately called, Paro) grow up in a small village, spending their childhood years playing together and quarrelling, growing up and experiencing many joyous and sad occasions together. It is fated that when they grow up, they fall in love. Devdas comes from a very rich and wealthy family, while Paro’s family is not rich, and socially inferior to Devdas’. His father does not approve of marriage or even any friendship with Paro, and sends him away to Calcutta.

Disheartened, Devdas gives up on his love, and Paro gets married to a much older man, who has a grown-up son and daughter. When Devdas realises he is unable to give up his love for Paro and returns to the village, he finds out that she is married. He returns to Calcutta and falls into bad company and alcohol. He is introduced to a dancer, Chandramukhi, who adores him and falls hopelessly in love with him... The story continues on screen and I am not going to spoil it for those of you who wish to see this film!

The version of Devdas I am showcasing today, is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Devdas is played by Bollywood heartthrob Shahrukh Khan. Parvati is played by green-eyed beauty, Aishwarya Rai. Ms Rai was crowned Miss India 1994 runner-up, and she was a hot favorite in the run for the Miss World title, which she won, her beauty and charm making her India’s darling. Another Indian beauty, Madhuri Dixit, plays the temptress Chandramukhi and they are all supported by an able cast. The film has gorgeous costumes, exotic locales, sparkling sets, lush panning cinematography, wonderful music and an exotic feel that encapsulates the concept of “India” in most Westerners’ minds.

Here is a YouTube video of Chandramukhi’s song Maar Daala from the Movie:

http://youtu.be/AX1ro0AJk_I

Another YouTube video of the song Dola re Dola:

http://youtu.be/Jbn39j-xa-k

The movie is worth seeing as it is one of the big productions of recent Indian film-making, with a timeless tragic story and a good introduction to Bollywood if you have never had a chance to see such a film.

MOVIE MONDAY - THE MASTER

“Defined in psychological terms, a fanatic is a man who consciously over-compensates a secret doubt.” - Aldous Huxley
 
We watched a curious film recently, one which I can’t really say whether I liked or not. It was a little tedious, but at the same time one wanted to see what was going to happen, if anything. It reminded of many other films and novels and one could see the inspiration for it must have come from a range of other pieces. It was Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2012 film, “The Master” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Amy Adams. At 144 minutes it was a very long, long film – or so it seemed. The film was written and directed by Anderson.
 
Anderson has several successful movies under his belt, and I have seen and enjoyed some of them: “Magnolia” (perhaps my favourite), “Punch-Drunk Love”, and “There Will Be Blood” (another very good film). So this film of his rather disappointed us. I suspect that in a few weeks time, I shall have quite forgotten it. Don’t take me wrong, it is a highly polished piece of film-making, with good acting, great cinematography (70 mm print), good music, great period sets, but it lacked a certain something and failed to fully engage me. On reflection, the most serious defect was the weakness of the script.
 
In a nutshell, the plot concerns Freddie Quell (Phoenix) who is a troubled alcoholic and self-destructive drifter. Quell unwittingly becomes the right-hand man of Lancaster Dodd (Seymour Hoffman), ‘The Master’ of a cult named ‘The Cause’ in post-WWII USA. Their curious relationship is the centrepiece of the film. The film explores cult fanaticism and exposes the lies that are peddled as religion. It is a thinly veiled swipe at Scientology, and it did cause ripples amongst Scientologists even before its release. Anderson has not mentioned Scientology, of course, and has thus broadened the scope of his film.
 
Hoffman was an accomplished actor and plays this role with great gusto, with almost caricature vehemence, and Amy Adams is highly effective as the Master’s wife. This is Joaquin Phoenix’s film and he gives a great performance, even though it was difficult for him to do more with the material given the weakness of the story line.
 
The film fails because it ignores simple story-telling rules. The script provides no opportunity for crisis, resolution and strong dénouement. It undulates weakly over two hours about a straight line. Although the actors perform very well and the scenes are constructed well, the movie just continues to plod along, seemingly going nowhere - there is no strong development. Is the film about an alcoholic misfit who has been scarred by war? Is it about a cult leader who has psychological issues? Is it about the development of characters so that they become better/worse? No, to all of these. It is a film made of random interactions between the characters, scenes that don’t add to a good story.
 
We really wanted to like this film but ultimately when it finished, we thought: “Oh, is that it?” and probably felt relief. Perhaps another of its weak points was the lack of any character that was truly likeable, I don’t know… One may hope that Anderson’s next film “Inherent Vice”, now in post-production, is a much better one.

CHAMPAGNE PUNCH

“If it could only be like this always – always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe and Aloysius in a good temper...” - Evelyn Waugh
 

Today was blisteringly hot in Melbourne, with the mercury climbing to 42˚C. More hot days are predicted for the next two weeks, so Summer has arrived with a vengeance. Needless to say that cool drinks are de rigueur and as well as drinking lots of iced water, one may need something a little stronger for when guests arrive for a drink and a snack. The following is quite a potent alcoholic mix, but easily can be made non-alcoholic, by substituting the brandy with a tablespoon of Angostura bitters and the champagne with soda water.
 

CHAMPAGNE PUNCH
Ingredients

1     large pineapple
3    oranges
5    passionfruits
1    apple
1    punnet strawberries
6    tablespoonfuls icing sugar
1    cupful chilled brandy (substitute with 1 tsp Angostura bitters for non-alcoholic)
2    chilled bottles of Champagne (substitute with soda water for non-alcoholic)
 

Method
Peel and clean the pineapple, chopping into small cubes and put into a large bowl. Juice the oranges and add to the pineapple. Wash and hull the strawberries, leaving them to drain. Half them and add to the bowl. Peel the apple and chop finely into the bowl. Add the passionfruit pulp to the bowl and stir in the sugar until it is dissolved. Stir in the brandy and put the bowl into the freezer, until almost frozen solid. Break into chunks, put into a punch bowl and pour the chilled champagne over the fruit mixture.
 

This post is part of the Food Friday meme,

and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.

CRASH

“Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.” - William Shakespeare

At the weekend, there was a horrific fatal car crash in a suburb a few kilometers from where we live. I know the road where it happened as it is a couple of blocks up from my previous job. Plenty Rd, the main road there is already notorious for car crashes and there are several markers on the verge commemorating the lives lost. It is a long straight stretch of road leading to the outer suburbs, with two lanes on either side, separated by a median strip planted with bushes and greenery.

The accident claimed the lives of five teenagers last Sunday and the 19-year-old driver was possibly intoxicated (toxicology reports are pending). The driver, who was also a P-plater had been drinking at a party immediately before taking the wheel of the car. The car hit a large tree after mounting the median strip and spinning out of control, at an estimated 150 km/hr. The immense force of the impact uprooted the tree and caused it to fall on the wrecked car. Five young men died at the scene and the sole survivor was a 15-year-old girl, whose brother bravely put his body across her to protect her from the impact. She is presently in hospital fighting for her life.

Distraught relatives of the same young man who protected his sister have described him as a fine young man who liked fast cars. His uncle and aunt were at a loss to comprehend why Anthony would be in a car travelling at a speed of at least 140kmh or why he would allow his little sister to be in that Ford Falcon XR6 sedan with him. As soon as the girl recovers she may be able to shed some light in the events that surround the accident. However, it is simple to understand the basics: Youth + alcohol + fast cars + inexperience = Fatality.

The very next day after the crash, three more teenagers were caught driving at high speeds within 10km of the same crash site. Police early on Monday morning intercepted a 19-year-old probationary driver from South Morang driving at 165km/h in a 70km/h zone along Mahoneys Road, Reservoir. He is to be charged on summons for excessive speed. Less than an hour later, an 18-year-old driver was caught in McDonalds Road, Epping, travelling at 89km/h in a 60 zone. A 19-year-old woman, also a P-plater, was detected driving at 106km/h along the same road about 2.30am Monday morning.

These drivers will lose their driving licence for one month and six months respectively, however, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr Lay, conceded that hoon legislation doesn’t seem to be working. Already there are proposals to confiscate cars of young drivers who commit serious traffic offences (related to alcohol and speeding mainly). The cars should be crushed, some people suggest, while others say that they should be sold and the money donated to rehabilitation hospitals. Others suggest that speed delimiters be fitted to probationary drivers’ cars. In any case, the crash has started a big debate on the failing measure that are in place to reduce teenage fatalities on our roads.

I keep thinking of the families of the five dead teens. Imagine the telephone or the doorbell ringing in the middle of the night and being confronted with news of this sort. The sheer waste of young life, the immense stupidity of a few minutes that culminated in a few seconds of alcohol-fuelled, excess speed. I think of the young man who shielded his sister and try to imagine what was going through his mind for those last few split seconds. I think of that young girl who survived waking up in hospital asking to see her brother and her friends. Will she be able to sleep without having nightmares ever again? Lives lost, lives broken.

The grandmother of one of the victims encapsulates the pathos of the whole situation in one of the meorial notices published in the newspaper today:
            “A young man who lost his way, Rest in peace. Love – Nanna”.

TWO STANDARD DRINKS

“Drink the first. Sip the second slowly. Skip the third.” - Knute Rockne

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is a very powerful body in Australian medical and research circles. It carries a great deal of clout and is the body that has funded most of Australia’s greatest medical research projects. The NHMRC released today its latest version of the National Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol.

In Australia, alcohol consumption is calculated in terms of the “standard drink”, which is defined as any drink containing 10 grams of alcohol. One standard drink always contains the same amount of alcohol regardless of container size or alcohol type (i.e., beer, wine, or spirit). For example, a “nip” of spirits (30 mL of 40% Alc/vol) is a standard drink, a 285 mL glass of full strength beer (4.5% alcohol) is 1.1 standard drinks, while the same glass of light beer (2.7% alcohol) is 0.6 standard drinks.

The NHMRC advises drinkers not to consume more than 4 standard drinks on a big night out (keep in mind that a normal bottle of wine, that is, 750 mL at 12% alc/vol is 7.5 standard drinks!). The preferred “dose” of alcohol per day, if you are to drink it at all, is recommended at two standard drinks. This will reduce your risk of dying from alcohol-related disease at below 1 in 100. This is slightly less than your risk of dying in a car accident one day. If you decide to drink six standard drink per day, your chances of dying from alcohol-related diseases increases to 10 in 100.

Now all of that was for the men! Women are recommended to drink 2/3 less for the same risks as those mentioned above. That is, women should have 1.3 standard drinks per day to reduce their risk of dying from alcohol-related disease to below 1 in 100. This is because of hormonal and metabolic differences between the sexes, which mean that women can cope less efficiently with detoxifying the alcohol in their body. There are also important genetic differences in terms of the enzymes in the liver and how efficiently they can cope with alcohol detoxification. Some people have a very efficient inducible enzyme system so the more they drink the better they cope with alcohol detoxification (within reason!). Others, unfortunately do not have these genes that “turn on” the appropriate enzymes, so even a small amount of alcohol will have dire effects. These genetic effects are valid in both sexes.

In Australia we have a saying for the person who cannot hold their drink too well and is affected adversely with even a small glass of alcohol. They are called a “one pot screamer” (a pot is a large glass of beer – 425 mL which at 4.5% alc/vol is 1.6 standard drinks!). The ancient Greeks of course knew all of this and would not think of drinking wine neat – they always diluted it with water, using a large vessel called a “krater” (from the verb “kerannymi” – I mix). The modern Greek word for (undiluted!) wine is “krasí”, which is derived from the krater of old. And yes, in case you are wondering, a volcano’s crater is from the same word, seeing how a volcanic crater resembles a wine mixing vessel!

The Greeks were very a very moderate people, if you believe Cleobulus (one of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece) who said: “The mean is best in all things”, presumably this applied to wine bibbing as well! Besides, which the Greeks had other methods for becoming inebriated:

A Kiss within the Cup

I am no wine-bibber; but if thou wilt make me drunk,
Taste thou first and bring it me, and I take it.
For if thou wilt touch it with thy lips,
No longer is it easy to keep sober or to escape the sweet cup- bearer;
For the cup ferries me over a kiss from thee,
And tells me of the grace that it had.

Agathias (ca AD 536-582/594, Byzantine poet and historian).
Enjoy your weekend, I need to go and have my standard 2 drinks!

DAIQUIRI

“Spirit has fifty times the strength and staying-power of brawn and muscle” – Mark Twain

The Daiquiri cocktail was originally conceived as a way to cool off under the hot Cuban Sun, and it’s been the standard of outdoor refreshment ever since its conception. The classic Daiquiri, as originally invented, was hand shaken and never frozen or blended with fruit.
In 1898, in the small mining town of Daiquiri, Cuba, a mining engineer by the name of Jennings Stockton Cox invented a cocktail to help boost his men’s morale during the hot summer months. Jennings was compensated with a generous salary along with a monthly gallon of his favourite Bacardi Rum. After experimenting with local ingredients he showed his men how to combine lime juice, sugar, crushed ice and Bacardi Carta Blanca to create what he later named the Daiquiri.

This cocktail still remains the most popular way to taste the spirit of old Havana. Its exotic taste and versatility make it a modern classic.

DAIQUIRI

Ingredients
2 limes, juiced
3 teaspoonfuls sugar
3 parts white rum
cracked ice

Method
In a cocktail shaker mix the cracked ice, lime juice, sugar and rum until a frost forms. Strain into a chilled martini glass and add a lime twist as a garnish.

Enjoy your weekend!

LITERARY TUESDAY - THE WOMAN ON THE BUS

“Wine hath drowned more men than the sea.” – Thomas Fuller

I am reading a book by Pauline McLynn at the moment, in case you can’t place the name, she played the inimitable Mrs Doyle in “Father Ted”, and has appeared in numerous other film, television and stage roles. Pauline McLynn grew up in Galway, and first started acting while studying history of art at Trinity College, Dublin. She has written several quirky, amusing and whodunit novels (“Summer in the City”; “Right on Time”; Better than a Rest”; Bright Lights and Promises”) and she now divides her time between London and Dublin where she lives with her husband.

The novel I am reading is called “The Woman on the Bus” (published 2005). The bus referred to in the title is the one that runs from Dublin to Limerick in Ireland. This public means of transportation never troubled the inhabitants of the village of Kilbrody much, until a mystery woman steps out of it, marches into the pub and drinks herself into unconsciousness. She finally does wake up, several days later, and discovers that not only Charlie Finn (the publican who put her to bed) but the whole village are talking about her. Her mystery disrupts the village and although the book is full of humour, it touches on some serious topics: Alcoholism, infidelity, loss…

This author’s writing style is tender and charming with the Irish warmth of a perfect Summer’s day. I am enjoying the book immensely, and even though I have not finished it yet I can recommend it wholeheartedly.

You can hear Ms McLynn in a BBC interview, talking about this book, here.