Summer Semester '10: The Last of the Rhubarb

I've never really interacted with rhubarb on any level prior to this year, now that my girlfriend and I have joined a local community supported agriculture farm (CSA). My grandfather never grew it in his garden (at least, during my 28 years eating from it), and my mom, never one to whip up pies, cakes, or other desserts without a good reason, never baked with it. I would walk by it in the grocery store every year and turn up my nose at what I thought was pretty much equivalent to ugly red celery.

One of the joys of participating in a CSA is that you never know what you're going to get in your share. For 3 weeks now, we've gotten big bundles of rhubarb (see figure 19.i). My girlfriend took some, promising to make jam or a cobbler or something. The problem is, she's away at her family's summer beach cottage while I'm stuck here working over night shifts every four nights or so while the new residents "acclimate" to the hospital (I swear, they get softer on the new neurology residents in my program every year). I was also stuck with this week's rhubarb, which is apparently the last of the season. A quick search on my go-to food resource CHOW.com showed me a neat little trick to do with the scarlet stalks - rhubarb syrup. And thus, as a welcome back surprise for my girlfriend, the Rhubarb Basil Martini was born. Then along came it's younger brother, the Rhubarb Gin Fizz.

Figure 19.i - A quick before-and-after shot.

Rhubarb Basil Martini

• 1/2 oz. of rhubarb syrup - recipe linked above
• 1 & 1/2 oz. of vodka
• 1/2 oz. of dry white vermouth [note: we ran out of dry vermouth and tried using sweet red vermouth, and the drink came out disgusting. I do not suggest this substitution.]
• 6-7 small basil leaves, and one large basil leaf for garnish.

Place the basil leaves in your cocktail shaker, then add ample amounts of ice. Pour the liquors and syrup over the ice and basil, cover and shake. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with one large basil leaf.

Rhubarb Gin Fizz

• 3/4 to 1 oz. rhubarb syrup, depending on how sweet you want your drink.
• 1 & 1/2 oz. of gin. I have a bias towards Henricks, which I think a) is one of the smoothest gins on the market, and b) just feels right in a quirky drink like this one.
• Ice.
• Club soda.

Pour the syrup and gin over the ice in a rocks glass, fill to the top with club soda and give it a gentle stir.

Enjoy! Next week, we'll look at my #1 favorite thing to do after a deep sea fishing trip with my buddies (other than sober up and maybe take a nap).

Tony's Drink 101: The Legend of the Beer Margarita

It all started in fourth year medical school. Some of you may be (or have been) fourth year medical students, so you know that much like during your senior years of high school and/or college, you're sitting pretty. Well, I happened to be sitting pretty in my apartment, flipping through the channels, when I started watching Knocked Up. Not realizing that this is the second worst movie ever (the worst being one I was forced to sit through by my high school friends), I quickly turned it off and went down by the apartment complex pool. A friend and fellow medical student was there, so we shot the shit for the rest of the afternoon. Later, he and his girlfriend (yet another medical student) invited me over for pulled pork and margaritas.

This is where the revelation of the Beer Margarita began.

That's right. A margarita that contains beer. It may sound disgusting, but trust me on this one: As long as you use the right beer (certainly no porters or stouts), these are crisp, refreshing and lack the sticky-sweetness that you get with most commercial mixes. I have been making them regularly for a variety of events, not limited to nights when my girlfriend and I make burritos, or my residency program's "Annual International Guacamole Competition," and they are always wildly popular.

Beer Margaritas

• One can of frozen Limeade concentrate
• Tequila
• Triple Sec (or Grand Marnier)
• One 12 oz. bottle of beer. I usually use Corona, Coronal Light or Bud Light with Lime. Any lightly colored beer is great in this mix, but feel free to experiment. A few microbreweries make raspberry or blueberry lagers that I can imagine would taste pretty good.
  

Dump the frozen concentrate into a pitcher. Fill the empty can all the way with tequila, and add it into the pitcher. Fill the empty can half way with triple sec and pour it on in. Finally, pour in your beer and give it a gentle stir to make sure the concentrate is dissolved - don't stir too much or you'll flatten the carbonation added by the beer. Pour over ice and enjoy!