Life sucks. I’m going to use cooking to make it better.
Long story short, I’m living out of a coworker’s house for the week. I’ve just experienced the worst two weeks of my life. They’re finally over, and I need to heal. Cooking is going to be part of that.
For my birthday, I bought myself a copy of Alton Brown’s new cookbook, Everyday Cook. Over the weekend I sat down in coffee shops and planned stuff to make this week. Most importantly: Bad Day Bitter Martini.
The hardest part of the Bad Day Bitter Martini was crushing the ice. After folding the ice in a clean towel as directed, I smashed the ice between two cutting boards.
Obviously, I made the strong version so I didn’t need no fancy Boston-style cocktail shaker. I’m not really a fan of bitter alcoholic drinks. I’m a sweet and fruity kinda guy. Basically, if it’s bright pink and basically candy, I’m in. I was pleasantly surprised that this simple drink was quite delicious. Normally bitter drinks make the back of my throat involuntarily contract as if it’s afraid to let anything else down. This … didn’t. I can tell the aroma of the grapefruit peel played a big role in this, but what’s doubly odd is that I really don’t like grapefruit. Somehow the bitter-sweet of the Amaro and the bitter-sour of the grapefruit balanced to make something palatable to me.
Unfortunately, my host’s wife has gone to bed, so it’s too late for me to make another (crushing ice is loud).
