Cocktail Hour, a webcomic by Scraps

For those who don’t know me personally, I have a confession (though not a very scandalous one, to be certain): I’m a foodie, and have been for years… decades even! I used to decorate cakes and even teach the Wilton Method before I very nearly ruined my health at Culinary School (2 years, long hours working my full-time desk job, too) and then spent a very short stint as Pastry Chef of a 4-Diamond Relais & Chateaux resort which will remain nameless (the name’s actually been changed since I worked there, new owners, etc.) before going back to bookkeeping (I had bills to pay, you know?). Even though I’m no longer in Hospitality, I do still enjoy good food and beverages and I’d love to find a way to incorporate that with my newer passion that is webcomics.

Now, Random Acts… is all about my personal reality, and frequently the strips have featured cocktails, parties, food and restaurants either as the main subject or just part of that whole background of life. That’s not likely to change (in fact, it might actually become more frequent, we’ll see). And I have a few ideas for food/comics side-projects to investigate in the future, but they don’t completely fit Random Acts…

All this to say: starting this week, Tuesdays (because Tuesdays generally need the lift) will feature a bite here on the blog that will focus on food, beverages or entertaining called “Random Appetites”. Sometimes it’ll be something personal, others (like this week) will be something newsy that you might not have heard about. Some might actually come with little drawings (but not this week; starting slowly here, folks). As always, I encourage feedback via the comments section or email. And, hey, if you have a foodie question that you’ve always wondered about, go ahead and ask! I just might have the answer…

Enjoy!

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1837245,00.html

Joel Stine of TIME Magazine decided to try (at least?) one wine from each of our 50 states and rate them. The article itself is a fun, quick read and if you follow the link at the bottom you’ll get to see how each state was represented and rated. Unfortunately Florida (as with the other Southeastern states in close proximity) did not fare well. On the one hand, I’m glad that it was a Gulf Coast winery that was tasted but I’ve had some much better wines from the Chautauqua Vineyards out of DeFuniak Springs. The blackberry wine is especially nice and they used to have a Carlos that was not overly sweet (they also used it in their bottled Mimosas that they no longer carry, mores the pity) but I tend to agree that muscadine wine can be a bit much even for those of us with a pronounced sweet tooth. Furthermore, the Port that the monks in St Augustine make is absolutely divine and definitely worth the drive to the other coast (which I still need to make one of these days!).

What’s your favorite regional wine (if you have one) and why? Had any of the ones on Mr Stein’s list?

Hostess Bar

I had intended for this to go up as the Lagniappe for Labor Day. Obviously that didn’t quite happen due to surgery and travel and so forth and I apologize, but better late than never, right? Clicking on the image will bring up the .pdf file for this fun bar for Scraps to stand by (modeled on the one that stands in the corner of my dining room). I’m not sure if it counts 100% as a paper model, but I’ve put it together and it really does stand, which I think is 100% cool! Hope you agree. More clothes coming soon for Scraps and, I think within a month or so, some friends to add to the party

Not only is it a fun word to say, it’s pretty tasty as well! (though the urge to go “tu-a-ca-ca-ca” a la Disturbed’s Down With the Sickness is nearly overwhelming)

Now, even though I’m no longer IN the hospitality industry I still figure I’ve been around enough (and watch enough Food Network) to have at least heard most things on the market. Imagine my curiosity when, while perusing the dessert options the other night at The Melting Pot, Todd and I came upon this flavor option that we’d never heard of! Since it was listed along with liqueurs like Chambord and Grand Marnier (among others) we figured that it was another liqueur, we just couldn’t figure out what flavor.

Internet to the rescue! Once home we did a little digging (very little, actually) and were able to find out exactly what Tuaca is (from their website):

Tuaca: a premium Italian liqueur with a hint of citrus and vanilla.

Later that weekend we were out shopping (well, I was shopping, Todd was being a very good sport and keeping me company for the most part–have I mentioned how good a sport he is about things like this?) and passed a liquor store on the way home so we decided to see if they had it. Surprisingly enough (because you never know how knowledgeable the random counter help will be) not only did they have it but the guy I asked knew exactly where it was in the store and had even tried it before so was able to give us some tips. Despite the citrus/vanilla press his opinion was that it had more of a caramel flavor, not very citrusy at all, and that just sipping it cold was a good way to go.

Now, I don’t really drink liquor straight so while on the website we’d seen some recipes and one (from the Tuaca Tenders section) seemed especially yummy to me: The Snowball which is made up of Tuaca, Coconut Rum and Pineapple Juice. After another stop (for juice and nibbles) we were on our way home to experiment.

Unfortunately that particular recipe was incomplete: there were no measurements, hence the experimentation. First I tried a 1:1 between the Tuaca and Coconut Rum and topping it off with the pineapple juice (over ice in a double old fashioned glass). This tasted more like a pina colada (which isn’t a bad thing, but I already know how those taste!) than anything else so the next night I gave it another shot (see, I’m not a total lush). This time you could taste something different. But that’s not quite right: when mixed, the Tuaca has less of an actual taste and more of a feeling–you could FEEL something else in the drink, that warmth that comes from it’s brandy base and a slight hint of something you can quite put your finger on, that’s the Tuaca!

Random’s Snow Ball

1.5 to 2 oz Tuaca
1 oz Coconut Rum
6 to 8 oz Pineapple Juice

Pour over a handful of ice in a lowball or double old fashioned and swirl gently.

And remember when I said I don’t drink liquor straight? Well, Tuaca is something I can actually sip on it’s own. It’s very nice and smooth and not bracing at all, thought I still do prefer it with mixers.

Enjoy!