Foodie Friday: Martinis

Back in 2020, we met John Grey from Going Gently for dinner near where he lives in Wales. I ordered a dry gin martini, and the waiter came back a few minutes later with a troubled look on his face and asked, "how do you make that?" John had a good laugh, he had lived and worked in New York and knew what I was asking for, a rarity in small town Wales. 

To make a dry Gin Martini start with good Gin, add a splash of white vermouth, shake with ice, and strain into a frozen glass, the proper garnish is an olive. It really is that simple. Be very sparing with the vermouth, the flavor should be the herbals in the gin. 

Some people make Martinis with Vodka. I am in the camp that thinks a dry martini needs to be made with gin. A flavored martini is best made with vodka, as the flavor comes from the added flavor, not the clear liqueur. 

I recently made a coffee cordial to be used to make Espresso martinis. It is fairly easy to make. Start with ground coffee, you need about half a pound of good dark roast and about 700 ML of vodka. Buy a vodka you would drink. Combine the coffee and the vodka in a tightly sealed container, shake, and let sit. Shake it a couple of times a day, for a couple of days.  In essence you are making a vodka based cold brew coffee. Strain it, I used a fine mesh strainer for the first pass, then re-strained through a coffee filter (if you don't do this the final produce will be gritty.) Combine  1 1/2 cups of sugar, with 1/2 cup of water and a squirt of corn syrup in a small sauce pan, heat over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and it is mostly clear. You don't want to boil this, probably 165-170 degrees F. Let this cool. 

Combine the strained coffee with the sugar syrip, and bottle. 

To make a coffee or expresso martini, 

1 part coffee cordial, two parts vodka over ice, shake, strain into a frozen glass. Enjoy! 

Thursday Ramble: Reducing Travel Stress

The airline matters.  The big names, Delta, American, United in the USA, the country named international carriers, often have the best service, the best equipment.  

Don't go bottom fishing for airline tickets.  Cheap seats are often cheap for a reason, they are less comfortable and include nothing. 

Your favorite airline, should be the one that has the largest number of flights in and out of your primary airport. Poo happens, and when it does that airline will have the most capacity to get you out or get you home. 

You probably don't want to book basic economy. You want to be able to select a seat and check a bag without paying extra. Seats matter, no one looks forward to sitting in the middle seat, unless you are wedged between two hot lovers. I prefer a window seat on the right side, or an aisle seat on the left. 

Check a bag - ALWAYS. Unless you are going out and coming back the same day, check a bag. I have free checked bags on my two most used airlines as a credit card perk. Yes I pay a fee for those credit cards, but if I fly one flight a year with free checked bags, it more than saves me the fee. And I get earlier boarding. Carry on bags are always a hassle, on every flight you worry about overhead space, you have addition stress at security - is your toothpaste tube too large? When you check a bag you don't have those worries. 

Get to the airport early. Two to three hours before flight time. This gives you plenty of time to check in, check that bag, and clear security. Once you are through security, release the stress. 

In the USA, sign up for TSA Pre-Check, if you travel internationally sign up for Global Entry - it includes Pre-Check and gets you the express lane at customs and immigration. The security screening is simpler. It is less stressful. 

Learn to enjoy airports. Airports are a great place to walk, to people watch, and read. Don't stress over a couple of hours in an airport, have breakfast or lunch and relax. 

If you can afford it, book business class, or first class.  I don't do this often, but if it is $50 or $100 more each way, I will. On international flights I have paid $250 extra, and it was so nice. The seats are bigger, the food is better, the service is better, you board earlier, there is more overhead bin space. It is less stressful. 

In major airports, avoid any connection that is less than an hour long. It often takes 15 minutes to get off the plane, 15 minutes to sprint through the airport, and the boarding closes 15 minutes before departure time, all of sudden a 45 minute connection time becomes a missed or nearly missed flight. At a minimum you want 5 minutes to stop and pee. I just suffered through a 45 minute connection in Atlanta, fortunately the connecting flight was delayed 10 minutes and was still boarding when we arrived.  

My World of Wonders: August 5, 2026

 

Where have I been this week? Chicago, getting there via New York, and getting home via Atlanta. The things we will do for our second favorite airline. 

Who have I talked to this week? My Sweet Bear, Erica, Emily Loraine, Alan, Tom, Ken, Robert, Bob, Jack, Kell, Bob, Cathy, Eric, Al, and bunches of other old lawyers. 

What have I been up to in the Kitchen? Nothing, we have been traveling. 

Who deserves a slap this week? The speaker in a room with 150 people in it, that put up a massively crowded PowerPoint slide and said, "here you can see the nine different elements of this strategy."  No we couldn't unless we were sitting in the first row. This is what happens when I stop teaching "death by PowerPoint. Three out of five slaps. 

Who deserves a big THANK YOU this week? Jack, Al, and Lorraine for helping to mentor me into a new committee assignment. 

What have I enjoyed this week? My friends from the Senior Lawyers Division and the amazing city of Chicago.  

Travel Tuesday: Around Ft Wayne Indiana

Reconstruction of the Fort 

History Museum 

Amish farmers a few miles out of town

 

Arnie is 18 or 19 years old, a grumpy old man. 

Dog Treats 

Saturday Farmers Market in downtown Ft Wayne

Monday Mood: Get Out and Go

I enjoy traveling.  I enjoy spending time with people I know. I enjoy seeing different places. And so I make plans and I get out and go. I am Chicago as this posts. 

Doc Spo lamented recently that a friend was in town to close out some business and he feared it might be the last time they meet for lunch as the friend will have little reason to return the Valley of the Sun, once this business is concluded. My comment, was "make reservations, go to the airport, and go." Don't wait for others to come see you, get out and go see them.  This is often a one way street, I go to Florida to see my brothers or my one and only first cousin, but they have never come the other way to visit me.  If I don't go, the next time we "see" one another with be at a funeral with one of us being the guest of honor. 

If you are physically, mentally and fiscally able to travel, get out and go. 

Travel is a great privilege. Most people alive today will never fly on an airliner. Many will never leave the country or state they are born in. Less than 1% of the population will ever travel on a cruise ship.  We learn so much and see so many interesting people when we travel. Don't fear it, just get out and go. 

I will never understand people who sit in a window seat on an airliner, and close the shade. The awe and wonder is outside the window, not on their phone, or in their book. 

I will work on a list of ideas to reduce the stress of travel. 

The Sunday Five: Zoom Zoom

1: Have you ever been to a car race? 

2: How do you respond to heavy traffic? 

3: Are you a fast driver or a slow driver? 

4: What is the fastest car you have ever owned? 

5: What is the fastest you have ever driven? 

My answers: 

1: Have you ever been to a car race? Not the race itself, but qualifying weekend at Indianapolis - a couple of times. 

2: How do you respond to heavy traffic?  I have become much more tolerant,  an extra few minutes and we will all get there. 

3: Are you a fast driver or a slow driver? I am annoyingly slow. 

4: What is the fastest car you have ever owned?  A 1999 Cadillac Eldorado with the Northstar V8, I don't know how fast it would go.  

5: What is the fastest you have ever driven? About 110 miles per hour, on the Autobahn in Germany. That is when the little gray dot in the rearview mirror became a Porsche that passed me. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Touch the Art

I was in a studio at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in old town Alexandria Virginia, and there was a sign on the door, and several signs inside that simply said, "Please Touch the Art." The small gallery was filled with sculpture, most of it made from recycled materials, and handmade jewelry. The artist behind the counter, said, Please feel free to touch or pick up everything in the shop. This is art made to be seen and touched. Some pieces made sounds, I sure, if she could she would have them give off scents, or encourage you to taste them. 

Food should not be the only art form that we experience with more than one or two senses.  As I type this I can smell a loaf of bread baking, later I will feel chunks of it in my hands, and taste it, hear the crunch of the crust as I do. 

Find ways to engage as many senses as you can with your art. We see, we hear, we smell, we feel, we taste, creativity and art can touch all of the senses.