“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming: GERONIMO!” -Hunter S. Thompson, American writer, weirdo, & all-around style all-star

You know that feeling you get when you walk into a book shop, fully knowing what you came in to get, but the minute you’re inside the door, your mind completely blanks and you wander around the shop aimlessly for 2 hours, finally leaving with a stack of ten books that had nothing to do with the one you originally came in for in the first place?  Well, that’s a bit how I feel coming back to RadioGastronomy after a relatively long absence, with so many stories to tell, so many things looming in the pipeline waiting to spill out, so much life going on in me and around me…..but right now I’ve only got one post.

First things first, however.  Last Wednesday afternoon (right around 4:20pm actually!  Hmmm…..), the French Culinary Institute gave me my tall hat, a diploma, and a couple of glasses of champagne.  It’s official, I’m a chef-ling!  I suppose that, to most people, this means that I have some type of authority now on the subject of culinary arts, but what it means to me is that I embarked on a path of learning that really helped me to grieve the unbearable loss of my Daddy.  Culinary school brought me back to life.  Through the process of this education, I picked up a torch that my Father dropped, kept it lit, and kept on walking.  For me it’s been an incredibly powerful experience, and my Daddy was there with me every single step of the way.  Of course, a graduation is cause for celebration, so I’m doing a post about something I’ve too rarely addressed on my site:  a cocktail!!!

Exactly one week prior to my graduation day, I had the too-rare and too-lovely fortune of having the most incredible dinner with a most incredible man.  A part of my life and a bigger part of my heart for years, we’ve spent many occasions eating together, cooking together, drinking together, and laughing together.  This particular meal, however, just seemed to up some sort of invisible ante.  In a city like New York, a good meal (and even a great meal) can be a dime a dozen, but sitting next to the sculpture garden at the Museum of Modern Art enjoying the Chef’s tasting menu in a pretty dress at The Modern with the most incredible man you’ve ever known is truly some next level stuff.  I savored every delicious bite of heaven the staff brought to our table, every word that was exchanged in conversation, and every sip of the incredibly delicious “Modern Martini” that I believe, if I’m not mistaken, was pretty much delivered to the table, one after the other, for a solid five hours.  I’ve never felt more like Cinderella at the ball, even if in my version of the story, Cinderella was a little bit drunk when the clock struck midnight.  Indeed, this cocktail equals celebration.

In attempting to replicate (and possibly one-up) this awesome martini, I had several ideas cross my mind.  Do I create a cilantro simple syrup?  No, too sweet.  Do I muddle it all together with a mortar & pestle?  No, that’s just not martini-like.  Finally, I just settled on going straight to the source and directly infusing the gin itself with cilantro.  ”Infusing” is another one of these haughty culinary words that get put on fancy menus to make the 15 dollar price tag seem worth it, but really you just need to plan ahead a bit if you want to serve this drink, because all “infusing” entails in this case is pouring some gin in a container with a bunch of cilantro leaves and letting it sit for a few days.  No big whoop.  And where The Modern’s bartenders used Tanqueray Gin, I opted for Hendrick’s, which has a really distinct and lovely cucumber undertone.  It seemed to me that this characteristic fits far more appropriately with the other flavors in the drink.

I imagine this martini at all kinds of swanky and stylish warm-weather parties this summer.  I’d love to serve it with some stepped-up Latin fare like fresh duck confit tacos or a light and crisp jicama salad.  Cheers to sunshine, new beginnings, next chapters, and realizing what’s really in your heart.  :)

Ingredients:

For the cilantro-infused gin:

1 quart gin (NOTE:  I used Hendrick’s gin, but feel free to experiment with other brands.)

1 small bunch (maybe 5 or 6 stems with leaves?) of fresh cilantro

For the cocktail:

3 oz. cilantro-infused gin

1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice

1 oz. simple syrup

Splash of Triple Sec

2 cilantro leaves, rinsed and dried well

Instructions:

For the cilantro-infused gin:

1.  Dump the entire bottle of gin into a container large enough to hold it (preferably one with a lid), and add the cilantro stems and leaves.  Let sit for a minimum of 2 days, giving it a light shake or stir at least once per day.  You can absolutely let the gin sit and infuse for longer, but once the cilantro begins to turn sort of brown and dull, you can be pretty sure that the gin has leeched away all the flavor it’s going to from the herb.  Strain the leaves away when ready to use, and you’re all set!

For the cocktail:

1.  Place 2 clean martini glasses in the freezer while you prepare the cocktail.

2.  Using a cocktail jigger, measure out all of the cocktail ingredients and pour into a cocktail shaker.  Fill shaker with ice, replace the lid, and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds.  Pour the liquid out evenly into the 2 martini glasses, garnish each one with a cilantro leaf, and serve immediately.

Yield: 2 fancy little glasses of awesome