We’re back!

We took lots of pictures of lots of good food. Our coworkers and travelling companions put up with our eccentric picture-taking with good grace and humor. Some even really got into it in odd sorts of ways.

We’ll be posting about Roys, Mesa Grill, Alan Alberts, Shilla Korean BBQ, and hot dog joints too numerous to mention (thanks, Vic!).

But to tide you over, I’ll leave you with the image of Roy’s Hawaiian Martini, along with the recipe. This will hopedully make the hordes of people who find this site by searching for this magnificent libation ecstatic.

Yield: approximately 12 (4-ounce) servings

Layer the pineapple wedges into the jar. Pour in the remaining ingredients and allow the pineapples to marinate for at least two days. To serve, ladle approximately 4 ounces of the liquor into a stainless steel shaker half filled with ice. Shake 30 times, and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a wedge of marinated pineapple and enjoy!

I usually don’t partake in the silly quiz memes that go around the net. And if I do, I certainly don’t typically post the results. But I have to admit, this one was entertaining.

Click the link below, because I’m a bit embarassed to be one of the sheep…

Bacardi 151 Congratulations! You’re 141 proof, with specific scores in beer (100) , wine (133), and liquor (113).

All right. No more messing around. Your knowledge of alcohol is so high that you have drinking and getting plastered down to a science. Sure, you could get wasted drinking beer, but who needs all those trips to the bathroom? You head straight for the bar and pick up that which is most efficient.

Upon hearing that I was headed to Las Vegas on business a few years ago, a friend of mine recommended that we try Roy’s. Roy’s restaurant started off in Honolulu, and they specialize in Hawaiian Fusion cuisine. Since their kickoff in 1988, they have expanded to over 30 restaurants worldwide.

We go to Las Vegas every year on business, and every year we make a point of going to Roy’s. The food is fabulous, but what has always impressed me the most is the Hawaiian Martini.

It has obviously caught the interest of many others as well, because I get a lot of people coming to Cuisine Capers searching for “Roys Hawaiian Martini recipe”.

So as a service to these desperate searchers…. here you go! Enjoy!

Yield: approximately 12 (4-ounce) servings

Layer the pineapple wedges into the jar. Pour in the remaining ingredients and allow the pineapples to marinate for at least two days. To serve, ladle approximately 4 ounces of the liquor into a stainless steel shaker half filled with ice. Shake 30 times, and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a wedge of marinated pineapple and enjoy!

Not too bad today! I used several things from our CSA box today. I can’t post about them all, because I did my IMBB #6: Grillers Delight entry today, to be posted on Sunday.

But here’s what I can tell you about:

Strawberry Rum Thingy:
I froze one pint of strawberries, then combined it with rum and some orange juice to come up with this quite tasty drink. I’d be tempted to call it an alcoholic smoothie of some sort, but… well… smoothies are so trendy these days, and I don’t do “trendy” well.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Currant Brandy Sauce:
I made a pretty good cream cheese pound cake, and served it with the currant sauce on top. For the currant sauce I cleaned the currants and added them to the pan with water, sugar, and very liberal splashes of brandy. After simmering for a while, I blended them with my immersion blender. I strained the sauce, put it back in the pan, adjusted the sugar and brandy (ok, I added a lot more brandy!), and simmered a bit longer again. This was served with a glass of Heitz Wine Cellars Ink Grade Vineyard Port

Click the link below to see the CSA box tally. Again, some things are marked off which won’t be posted til Sunday!

• Yellow Beans
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Minature White Cucumbers
• Fresh Garlic
• Fresh Cipollini
• Salad Mix
• Snow Peas
• Yellow Summer Squash
• Fennel
• White Currants
• Red Currants
• Chard (left over from last week!)
• Sautee Mix (left over from last week)
• Italian Flat Leaf Parsley (left over from last week)
• 1 Pint Strawberries (left over from last week)

I was reading an entertaining blog tonight – Adventures in Cocktails. My eye was drawn to his semi-rant about ordering an Old Fashioned, and the fact that the bartender never seems to get it right.

Huh. He’s not from Wisconsin obviously.

You see, around here, the state drink is not milk. Oh, no. And while one might argue that the state drink is, then, beer, one would be wrong.

I submit to you that the Wisconsin state drink is really the Old Fashioned, sipped while indulging in two other fine Wisconsin traditions – Supper Clubs and Friday Night Fish Frys.

But here’s what I don’t get. The author of the blog seemed pretty determined that Old Fashioneds were made with Bourbon or Whiskey.

Simply Not True.

Real Old Fashioneds are made with Brandy. At least here in Wisconsin.

Then again, Wisconsin does proudly lead the nation in overall Brandy consumption.

Tell me I don’t live in a great state!

I have tons of fresh mint that I got from my CSA, and I just don’t have a clue what to do with it.

I’m not really a jelly person, and I’m not really a lamb person, so that pretty much eliminates the lamb with mint jelly option!

So far, I’ve simply added it to some fresh, cut up strawberries. And, out of sheer desperation I took a bunch of the same strawberries, added lots and lots of mint, mashed it all up, and steeped it in rum.

I’ll let it sit for a few weeks and strain it. We’ll see how it turns out.

Anyone else have any other ideas? I have probably 4 cups of mint leaves left!