Cocktail Hour, a webcomic by Scraps

Last week I extolled the virtues of Chautauqua Winery, now you get the rest of the story.

Since Chautauqua doesn’t sell through retail outlets and it was only a couple of hours away, a there-and-back trip certainly wasn’t out of the question to restock. But, if it’s only a couple hours away, why not make weekend away (or, as heard in Bridget Jones’ Diary, a mini-break–why is it the British have better names for these things?) out of it, if there’s anything to do in DeFuniak Springs, that is.

Yeah, not really.

It’s a small town with, apparently, some rich history but not really a lot going on any given weekend. I did luck up and find The Hotel DeFuniak which was listed as a Bed & Breakfast. Granted, the website doesn’t inspire 100% confidence and we knew going in that it could be quaint or an absolute disaster. Thankfully it was the former. The only thing that didn’t really jive with me was the idea that a “B&B” only offers Continental Breakfasts on Sundays and Mondays. I get Mondays since Sunday night stay-overs are probably low but Sunday mornings? Really? That’s just not right…

Anyway, that was the only real disappointment. That, and I didn’t realize one of the rooms (Room 8, the Aviary Room) was supposedly haunted because I totally would have booked that room instead!

The lobby and small sitting area was filled with various antiques and knick-knacks that gave the place a rather charming air and even though there was an elevator to the second floor, except for check-in and -out we used the staircase because it really wasn’t that much of a trek. Our room (Room 4, the Art Deco Room) was decorated in shades of sage and peach with high ceilings, a pedestal sink to one side of the bed (odd but we got used to it soon enough) a cubby-sized bathroom with a commode and shower stall and a tiny television w/dvd player hidden in a cabinet/dresser set up. And the king-sized bed was just right. Overall, the effect was charming. Oh, and they still use actual keys! How novel!

Once settled we had some time to kill before our dinner reservation (more on that in a bit). Since we were essentially in the heart of town, we thought we’d do a bit of on-foot exploring. Well, apparently almost everything browse-worthy closes at noon on Saturdays! I suppose it’s quaint, in a way, but it sorta put a damper on our explorations. What was open was a charming (so much of this area is charming, really) shop called The Little Big Store. It’s a general-mercantile type of shop that is just packed floor to ceiling with all sorts of old fashioned this and that and I have to say I was just in heaven and has to be seen to be believed. Totally made up for the other antique shops being closed.

The other thing we did that afternoon was make a pitiful attempt at Letterboxing. The night before we left I had gotten the sudden brainstorm to check for any boxes in the area, just for something to do, and there was one with a riddle to find it. We decifered the clues ahead of time (at least the initial ones); we figured it would be best to be prepared, being in a strange city and all and were surprised to find that there was an airfield in DeFuniak Springs! Unfortunately, the box seemed to missing–either removed or so very overgrown that it was beyond our finding. Too bad, but it did make us curious to find the ones here in town.

Now, dinner, that was a treat! The house restaurant at The Hotel DeFuniak is Bogey’s and features live music on Saturday nights which amounted to a tuxedo-shirted jazz singer with a keyboard but it was very nice. Several people got up and danced and we had ring-side seats to the dancefloor. We ordered the Oysters Rockefeller and the Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip for appetizers and for dinner I had the Catch of the Day, Lorenzo (which means with crab stuffing and bernaise sauce) which was very, very good and Todd had the Veal Restauranteur, of which I had a bit of a nibble and it was very tender and tasty. We split a dessert (something very chocolatey, I only had a couple of bites as I was way too full already) and toddled off to our room, incredibly sated.

You might be saying to yourself, wait, she didn’t mention alcohol once! I’m getting to that, lol. We had ordered the Romantic Package which came with a bottle of house wine. Instead I opted (big surprise!) for the Pinot Noir and we both ordered cocktails. What surprised me, especially considering the reason we were in town, was that their wine list featured not one local wine from the Vineyard down the road. Not a single one. Now what is up with that? The wine was certainly fine (and don’t believe that white wine with fish rule, drink what you like) and so were the cocktails. I ordered a Pomegranate Martini and Todd had the Lemon Drop. The Lemon Drop was better.

What I’ve discovered through a bit of trial and error (despite the fact that I need to read the drink descriptions more carefully) is that cocktails that are 100% alcohol are not the cocktails for me; I need mixer. You see, the Pom-tini had pomegranate liqueur and vodka, that’s it, and while tasty it was very strong. In contrast, the Lemon Drop was made up of Citron Vodka, Grand Marnier and sour mix… and it was the sour mix that made the difference. I think, had they subbed at least some if not all of the pomegranate liqueur for juice, I would have enjoyed the drink a lot more. At least there was no salt, this time!

One drink that I was intriqued by and will try if and when we return (it certainly seems likely, the hotel was so nice and nearby for a mini-break) was teh Pineapple Upside Down Martini. The description called for Vanilla Vodka, Butterscotch Schnapps, Pineapple Juice and a splash of cola. Doesn’t that sound yummy?

Along with watching the Rose Parade (and, I suppose, the football game afterwards), I grew up knowing that New Year’s Day meant 2 things: cabbage and black-eyed peas.

Supposedly, the cabbage (or any greens for that matter) symbolizes wealth (get it: green–>money) and the peas were for health (some say luck, I prefer to go with health). As a child I recall not liking either of these foods all that much but Mom insisted we eat at least one bite of each! Things change over the years, however, and I enjoy both immensely these days.

Now, the cabbage/greens are pretty obvious, but what is up with the peas (actually beans, but common terminology calls them peas) and luck/health? The prevailing theory seems to date back to the Civil War when the crop was the only one available (since it was usually grown for animal feed) after the North marauded through the South. Hence, black-eyed peas were an important form of sustenance for those who survived the War. The irony, of course, is their name: a black eye would be considered neither lucky or healthy to have, so maybe the above is all some apocryphal nonsense trumped up by the Black-Eye-Pea Farmers of the world. Either way, done right, they can be very tasty.

Cabbage is easy to cook: Remove the outer leaves and thick stem from the head of cabbage. Cut in quarters or so and then separate the leaves in chunks, putting as much will fit into a large pot along with a ham hock, hambone, or some rendered bacon and a little bit of water. Not too much since cabbage has a high water content and will cook down to a fraction of its former self rather quickly. If you have more cabbage than will fit in the pot to begin with, put the lid on and wait a bit and then add the rest once it’s cooked down a bit. Cook until tender, add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

If you just can’t stand cooked cabbage, greens or green salads I see no reason why, say, coleslaw couldn’t be substituted for the same benefit.

Black-eyed peas can be a little tougher, only because it takes a while to bring out the best of their flavor. You can start from dry and soak over night, drain and then cook until tender or you can do what I do: buy good quality canned, drain and rinse thoroughly, then cook with the de rigueur ham hock, salt pork or bacon, salt (watch it if you’ve used salt pork that you don’t overdo) and pepper. The peas should be cooked until tender but not mush and, if done right, have a slightly buttery flavor even without additional seasoning. If you’re really pressed for time or haven’t had much luck getting your peas to turn out right, the Glory brand of canned black-eyed peas is a decent substitute for home-seasoned.

In some parts of the South, Hopping John–a “salad” of black-eyed peas and rice–is the customary way of getting your peas for the year. I’ve never had a batch that wasn’t really dry and mealy and don’t much care for it, myself. I’ve also heard that you should eat 365 black-eyed peas for luck/health every day of the year but, as much as I’ve come to love them, that’s a few too many peas for one day!

No matter how you prepare them, the only other thing you need to add for your traditional (if a bit superstitious) New Year’s Meal is plenty of corn bread–not only is it tasty on it’s own (try adding whole kernel corn, ham chunks and some chopped jalepenos if you don’t like the plain sort), it’s great for soaking up that pot liquor from the cabbage and peas.

Want something sweet to round out the meal? I’ve heard that the Italians (and other wine-folk) make a habit of eating 12 grapes on New Year’s Day. Some even go so far as to use it as a bit of a divination tool: if, for instance, the fifth grape is sour you can expect May to be a sour month and so forth.