Arkansas, our 25th state as of June 15, 1836, is no longer The Land of Opportunity.

No, seriously, they changed their motto to The Natural State back in the 1970s to boost their tourism profile.

What they are the land of is national parks, mountains, hot springs and agriculture–they’ve got poultry, beef and pork down pat!

They also have a high number of dry counties throughout the state: 42 of the 75 do not allow alcohol to be sold within their boundaries! And the counties that do sell it get the privilege of collecting loads of extra taxes–4% to start plus an additional 10% on cocktails and wine at restaurants!

Since we haven’t done a non-alcoholic drink in a while, now seems the appropriate time, doesn’t it?

Granny’s Baked Apples

1.5 oz Apple Juice
1 barspoon Sweetened Condensed Milk
splash of vanilla
sprinkle of cinnamon

Combine over ice and shake like you’re prospecting for gems in Crater of Diamonds State Park. Strain into a chilled cordial glass and top with cinnamon.

The primary inspirations for this drink are the state flower being the apple blossom and the state beverage being milk. I suppose if you just couldn’t hang with the lack of alcohol, you could always dash in some vanilla vodka instead of the plain vanilla.

And with this recipe we’re halfway through the 50 States!

Now, if you were paying attention last week when Maine was added to the Union as part of the Missouri Compromise, then you’re probably not surprised that the Show-Me state is taking it’s place as #24 at the bar this week!

And speaking of that nick-name (unofficial–they don’t have an official one!), what does it mean?

While no one is 100% sure, the strong favorites are

• the requirement of workers being shown, rather than told, how to do a particular job (lots of immigrants, maybe a language barrier thing, too); or
• a speech by Congressman Vandiver in 1899 where he basically said “frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I’m from Missouri, and you have got to show me.”

Basically, actions speak louder than words, in Missouri.

So let’s just head over to the cocktail shaker, shall we?

Meet Me at the Fair

1 Tea bag
1 bottle German beer
1/2 oz Honey
1/2 oz Irish cream

Cold-steep the tea bag in the beer a minimum of 20 minutes. Combine 1 oz of the tea-beer, the honey and Irish cream over ice and shake it like your mixing up some instant pancakes. Strain into a small sugar cone and drink it before the cone dissolves.

The explanation:

The name comes from the song (and movie of the same name) Meet Me In St. Louis and refers to the 1904 World’s Fair that saw the creation of iced tea (don’t worry, southerners, Missouri was considered part of the South when it joined the union) and the ice cream cone. The two largest ancestral groups in Missouri are German and Irish and the state maintains some of the most lenient alcohol regulations in the country. Finally, there was a border dispute between Missouri and Iowa over an area known as the Honey Lands–the main casualty of which was a stand of 3 bee-hive holding trees; the state insect is the honey bee.

Oh, and the pancake reference? Aunt Jemima pancake mix was the first of it’s kind, invented in St Joseph in 1889.

Lunch with Ginger

It all started when my friend Ditte Lokon gave me a bottle of Canton ginger-infused French cognac from Domaine for my birthday.

Canton ginger liqueur, ginger mojito

I didn’t drink it at the time but decided to invite a few friends over for an Asian-inspired lunch to launch the liqueur.

After much thought (one of the fun aspects of planning a lunch for guests is pondering the recipes) I decided to serve ginger mojitos.

I particularly liked the recipe because it didn’t use simple syrup. The mojito recipe basically was Canton, rum, muddled mint, lemons, and ice cubes. We added sparkling water which proved to be an apt touch as the mojitos were very strong and it was extremely hot that day. Cocktails and 100-degrees heat just don’t mix well for me.

My friends are all foodies so I felt compelled to create my heart out.

Ditte Lokon is an amazing cook. She’s invited me to dinner a few times and is so accomplished in the kitchen. I’m not in her league.

Edie Jarolim is a foodie and restaurant critic and the contributing dining editor  for Tucson Guide. She knows food.

Carol Mitchell’s (fellow greyhound adopter) culinary tastes were a wild card. We’ve been out for gourmet burgers and Greek food before but she also appreciated the popping flavors presented at lunch with ginger.

Here’s the menu:

• Ginger mojitos
• Sweet potato and snap pea chips
• Watermelon-papaya soup with lemon coriander cream (and ginger)
• Shrimp boats
• Szechwan pasta salad
• Edamame salad (and ginger)
• Cucumbers
• Wine
• Mochi ice cream

My CSA (community supported agriculture) provided a watermelon which was the inspiration for this soup. All I needed to buy was Mexican papaya, coconut water, limes, and sour cream. I already had the other ingredients. In my rush of trying to do too many things, I mistakenly added McCormick’s roasted ground ginger instead of McCormick’s roasted ground coriander to the cream. What the heck? I added the coriander too which gave the cream a pungent zip. Who knew that watermelon and coriander were a new taste trend?

Shrimp boats were easy-peasy. From the Trader Joe’s Companion, you mix chopped up shrimp, Trader Joe’s fire-roasted mango-papaya salsa, Belgium endive (hence the boat), cilantro, and cilantro dressing. I forgot to drizzle the dressing. Nobody missed it.

Szechwan pasta salad is a transition salad from City, the cookbook from the former City Restaurant in Los Angeles started by the Too Hot Tamales, Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken. It is my most favorite recipe from that cookbook but I alter it by adding a few ingredients like peas and diced peppers and change the pasta. They recommend soba noodles but I used fusili. The sauce is a redolent spicy mix of soy sauce, hot chili oil, sesame oil, and tahini.

The edamame salad is my own so I can share. Take a package of frozen edamame and cook according to directions. Rinse and drain. Add 1 cup frozen corn (no need to cook). Add 1 can of garbanzo beans, rinse and drain. Easy so far, right? Take ½ cup of a good balsamic viniagrette or italian dressing, squeeze the juice of ½ orange, 1 tsp orange zest, and 1 tsp freshly grated ginger. Mix. Combine with bean/corn mixture. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Serve at room temperature.

Some people hate cucumbers and most on the market are mealy and tasteless. I suggest using English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers if you can find them. This is the easiest dish in the whole world which always gets raves. Simply peel the cukes (I’m too lazy to remove the seeds.) Then douse generously with brown rice vinegar. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Serve at room temperature.

Zolo Torrontes 2008 white wine from the Mendoza region of Argentina provided more sipping pleasure.  This wine was also a birthday gift in 2009 from Ditte. I was waiting for a special occasion to drink it.

For dessert, Edie brought two flavors of mochi ice cream balls from Trader Joe’s…a perfect ending to a lunch punctuated with talk of shared secrets, political trash, local gossip, and joyful laughter.

The Pine Tree State became the 23rd state of the Union on March 15, 1820, as part of the Missouri Compromise in order to balance the number of slave and free states. Before that, Maine was part of Massachusetts.

Edna St. Vincent Millay, the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, was a native of Maine and wrote one of my favorite poems ever (and I’m not much for poetry)

First Fig

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends–
It gives a lovely light!

It described me well, then, when I first read it in high school and still fits pretty well. Anyone who “likes to stay busy,” sometimes to the point of exhaustion, can probably relate.

She isn’t, of course, the only poet or author or “somebody” to live in or be from Maine, (the list is long and includes Stephen King, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Andrew Wyeth, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Dempsey, and a whole bunch of folks whose names I don’t recognize but probably should) but she’s probably my favorite so far.

Bitter Berry

3/4 oz Gin
3/4 oz Cranberry Juice
1/2 oz Blueberry-infused Vanilla Vodka*
1 drop Angostura Bitters

*Soak a heaping tablespoon of dried blueberries in 4 oz Vanilla Vodka for a minimum of 2 hours. Muddling some of the berries increases the finished flavor.

Combine over ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled cordial glass and garnish with three of the plumped blueberries on a toothpick.

I normally don’t go for garnishes on these little drinks but the blueberries are significant as well as the toothpick itself: Maine is the main exporter of both blueberries and toothpicks, producing 20 million of the latter each day at the Strong Wood Products in Strong, Maine.

And don’t be fooled by the name–this drink isn’t actually bitter. Tart, yes, with a strong flavor from the gin, alone, but Bitters tend to enhance and warm the flavor of a drink. Plus, there’s a common ingredient between Angostura Bitters and the state beverage, Moxie: gentian root. I would have named the drink Wild Moxie but the company sued a neighboring state’s soda company for infringement for having the name Modox–I’m just not going to go there!

Musso & Frank's Sidecars

Eating Los Angeles or perhaps drinking Los Angeles at Musso & Frank’s in the heart of Hollywood

While in L.A. my syn twister (twin sister separated at birth) Deni had the bright idea to go to Hollywood Blvd and try on wigs. OK. I’m game. I’m on vacation after all.

It was Friday afternoon and we couldn’t find parking. Or rather we found parking but the meters were $2.00/hour and we had no change.

Deni had the brilliant idea of going to park in Musso & Frank’s parking lot. The parking attendant said we needed a validation and to be back in 2 hours which would cost us $2.25 (a deal!) but if we came back in 2 hours and 1 minute or longer, we would pay $12.

We moseyed into Musso & Frank’s to have a drink at the bar. Musso & Frank’s is one of these oldies but goodies restaurant, in this case it’s been in the same location since 1919. According to the fan site, Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo, Edward G. Robinson, Claudette Colbert, Bette Davis, Cesar Romero and many more have dined here. Johnny Depp dined here in 2009.

The massive bar is lined with mostly men of various ages. It just didn’t seem like a chardonnay kind of place. I order a Pimm’s Cup. Deni tries to order an oddly named drink on the menu but our bartender, Manny, says, “No! You won’t like it.” So she opts for a gin and tonic.  We ask Manny how long he’s worked there and he says, “20 years.”  Manny is 80 years old. Thank god there’s a profession that doesn’t discriminate against people for ageism.

Deni thinks she sees a movie star at the end of the bar. He doesn’t look familiar to me but then again, I’ve never watched 2 1/2 Men, whatever that is. At LAX, I saw Marilu Henner from one of my favorite old shows, Taxi.

We sip our drinks and make polite conversation. Deni whips out her camera and tries to take a photo of us sitting at the bar. Some nice guy comes over and offers to take our photo with Manny. Click.

Manny the bartender and friends

Deni wants to have another drink so we opt to share a Sidecar which many at the bar seem to be drinking. A Sidecar is brandy, triple sec, and lime juice served in a sugar rimmed glass. Damn, it was delicious.

Unfortunately, the official website is under construction so there’s no menu but let’s just say it’s not Macaroni Grill which is a good thing. A porterhouse steak served a la carte will cost you $38, mashed potatoes $6.50, a goblet of jello $4. The menu is old school, expensive comfort food served in an Old Hollywood setting.

I have a nice little buzz going as we walk into the throng of people on Hollywood Boulevard. We start looking for wig shops. Amidst ma and pa tourists, there are still plenty of hookers around. The clock is ticking and I don’t want to pay $12.

In the first wig store, I take a photo and get yelled at. I honestly didn’t see the sign. In the second wig store, I saw the sign. Here, some the mannequins reminded me of the Children of the Damned science fiction movie where the children all look alike and their eyes followed me all over the store. We never did try on wigs but snapped a few photos outside. The skunk “do” stands out in a crowded room.

radical wigs in Hollywood

We made it back to the parking lot with five minutes to spare. Next, dinner at the Alibi Room.