Brandon Eats

Infusions

Some things are so easy and so satisfying to make.  Infused vodka is one of them.  When the grass starts to steam and the sidewalk starts to sizzle, and you feel like someone threw a wet towel at your head when you walked out of the door, you need something tropical and clean to revive you, without the hard work of a frozen, frou-frou drink.  A simple, grown-up cocktail is in order.

Meyer Lemons

Ah, the disillusionment with Fresh Market is starting to set in.  Although I didn't expect an organic store as many others did (for that you'll have to wait for Whole Foods), I did want a better wine selection and organic beef.  Oh, well.

Nonetheless, Fresh Market did bring in Meyer lemons and for that I'm profoundly grateful.  Every now and then, you'll see some dessicated key limes in Ukrops but never the elusive, eagerly sought after Meyer lemon.  Sort of a cross between lemon and an orange, the Meyer is more than a sum of its parts; it elevates a dish with its sweetness while still getting the job of tartness done with panache in a way ordinary lemons can only dream about.  The Don Quixote of citrus fruit, this little lemon juices up your recipe's windmills and makes them spin.  Try them in their purest form and then squeeze the rest into a Lemon Drop--the drink, that is--to appreciate them in full.

Lemon Drops for a Lucky Two (or two for one--you decide)* revised

4 oz. vodka
1 oz. Cointreau or triple sec
juice of 2 (not one) Meyer lemons
2 t. sugar or simple sugar syrup**

Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into martini glasses rimmed with sugar.  Drink and repeat.

*Some would argue that this is a recipe for three but it never works out that way in my house.

**Even the brain dead can make symple sugar syrup, and it keeps forever in the refrigerator.  Mix together one cup of sugar with one cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the sugar completely dissolves.  Cool.  Use in cocktails, iced tea, lemonade, etc., etc. The End.