Five Things 2.7.14

1. These salami chips:   K and I aren't big football (of the American variety) people, but we watched a bit of the Super Bowl and I used it as an excuse to make these amazing chips.  The dip in the recipe didn't really work (I make a different White Bean Dip that I think would have been better, but the roasted garlic wasn't quite flavorful enough), but I often serve a bit of salami for appetizers and heating it up and making it crispy was a great change of pace.

2.  My new haircut: I got a new haircut this week and am super pleased with it.  I am a firm believer that we need to change up our hair frequently and this angled bob was just the change I was looking for!

3.  The Waterlogue App:  I discovered this awesome app this week and can't stop creating photos with it.  You put your photo in and it makes a water color of it!  I want to take some and add them to my gallery wall in our living room.  It is an awesome app that takes your photos makes them a unique piece of art!

4. Homemade cocktail mixers: As an aspiring mixologist, I try to use the highest quality ingredients, but I also like sweet drinks.  Therefore, sour mix and grenadine are something I use in a couple of my go-to cocktails.  So I definitely want to try out these easy recipes to up my cocktail game!  But boy, that is going to be a lot of lemons and limes for the sour mix.


5.  Philip Seymour Hoffman: And finally, sadly, I wanted to take a moment to discuss the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman.  To say Hoffman was a great actor is an understatement: some of my favorite performances of his were The Talented Mr. Ripley, Almost Famous, Boogie Nights, The Savages, and I could easily go on.  K and I have been having a mini marathon of some of our favorite performances and what struck me was (1) the impact he could have in a small role and (2) his incredible generosity as a performer.  I would have sworn that Freddie Miles was a central character in The Talented Mr. Ripley, but in reality, he is in it for just a few scenes. In that time, he creates a fully formed character and MAKES Freddie a central character for those scenes; you can't help but be drawn to him.  Watching The Master, I was struck by what a generous actor he was: Lancaster Dodd could be a scene stealer;  he is an over the top character, but sometimes Hoffman holds back and lets Joaquin Phoenix take the lead; its as if he knew that it was Joaquin's film and used his abilities to do everything he could to help Joaquin's performance shine.  Almost Famous is another great example of that; his scenes are some of the best in the film and he is charismatic, funny, cynical, and gentle as Lester Bangs. But the funny thing is that they are also Patrick Fugit's best scenes too.  That is what I will miss most about him: the generous spirit he brought his roles and the way he elevated everyone else around him.  You always knew that no matter the film, Philip Seymour Hoffman would never cease to surprise and delight you with his performance.  He will be greatly missed.

Julie

It's Noon Somewhere…Original Hurricane

I have already featured a variation of the classic New Orleans cocktail, The Hurricane (SoCo Hurricane).  When K and I were in New Orleans last year we avoided the fabled (?) Pat O'Brien's, the bar where the hurricane was invented, but I did have a lovely, flavorful Hurricane at The Sazerac Bar in The Roosevelt Hotel (where the bartenders provided enough entertainment I could still be sitting there).  A few months ago, on a nostalgic afternoon, K and I went to Marcela's Creole Cookery in Pioneer Square, a lovely little swath of New Orleans in Seattle, and I decided to order the Original Pat O'Brien's Hurricane (hey, I didn't have to go to work!), which I knew full well would be made of the eponymous mix I had seen in NOLA.  Well, that wasn't the best choice, as it was like an adult Kool-Aid only you couldn't taste the rum.  SWEET was its only flavor.  So, all though this recipe is for the "Original" Hurricane, no fear, readers, I would never subject you to a terrible sugar bomb!  Instead, we are going back to the actual original recipe, before it came in a powder!

The only ingredients are dark rum, lemon juice, and passion fruit syrup, which can be found at fine liquor stores and costs only a few dollars.  These are the only ingredients in the original Hurricane, but I found it a bit too syrupy, so K and I top the cocktail off with seltzer water.  The drink is fruity but acidic and slightly sparkly.  I wouldn't trade it for an "original" Pat O'Brien's Hurricane for anything!

Original Hurricane:

2 oz dark rum
1 oz passion fruit syrup
1 oz lemon juice
Seltzer Water

Mix rum, syrup, and lemon juice together in a shaker with ice.  Serve in a Collins glass topped with seltzer water.  Garnish with cherries!

In honor of the forthcoming Mardi Gras, I have one more Hurricane recipe coming in the next few weeks!

Julie