A few years ago when I started discovering micro brews and stopped buying Miller Genuine Draft and Corona I had tried a few IPA’s and I thought they were disgusting.  I felt like bees were lose in my mouth and shooting fireballs down my throat.  A buddy (Hi, Peet!) brought some over to my house once and I gave him a ton of shit about it, which is funny seeing as it was Lagunitas and I like the stuff a lot.

Yesterday I picked up a 4 pack of Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA (which is an Imperial IPA, not sure what that means).  As I understand it’s called 90 min IPA because it is cooked for an extra 90 mins and at that time more hops are added.  The result is phenomenal.  It’s elegant, yet bitter with a ton of hops flavor as well as a flavor which reminded me of orange peels.  The smell reminded a little of a Hefeweizen.  The finish was smooth, but left just enough of an aftertaste to let you “chew” on it for a minute.

Lagunitas was great as well, a little more refined than the Dogfish, where the Dogfish is a little more aggressive tasting, Lagunitas makes up with being smooth and crisp.  I’d probably drink the Lagunitas over the Dogfish on a hot day, because when it’s hot and you want beer, it needs to be crisp and clean.  The dogfish is a great beer for colder days / nights at least in my opinion.

If you’re interested in IPA check out both of these and Racer 5 (which I did not mention).

Well, that’s enough for now…..back to work.

OK, well maybe not Armour hot dogs. I do love hot dogs. I prefer Hebrew National or Caspers given the choice. Ever since I was a child hot dogs have been one of my favorite foods from the grill. I also enjoy them when out and about and my favorite place in the WORLD to get a dog is at Pink’s Hot Dogs in N. Hollywood, CA on the corner of Sunset and La Brea. These guys are world famous for their dogs, all the celebs go to them and anything you could possibly want on your dog, can be found at Pink’s. My favorite you ask? The Mulholland Drive dog, it features grilled onion, grilled mushrooms, bacon, and NACHO cheese. Man, I just had some leftover hot dogs from last night, but just typing about Pink’s makes me want to NOM NOM NOM the Mulholland Drive dog.

If I am at home making dogs on the grill, I’m usually doing it with a cold beer and I’m cooking them until the skin is black. Not dry and black, just black and when you bite into them you don’t taste burnt dog, you taste nice juicy dog with that “pop” as your teeth break the skin. I’m usually cooking a pot of beans next to them, I often buy Busch’s grilling beans and add brown sugar and BBQ sauce to it, if I have bacon already made and leftover, I’ll put bacon in them. I’ll admit, their is not usually leftover bacon in my house. My preference for buns usually consists of steamed buns or buns placed on the grill to get them a crust around the inside.

How do I take my dogs at home? I take them with ketchup only and a few dill pickles on the side. 2 dogs with a few pickles and some beans and I feel like I’ve eaten a cow. I’m stuffed to the gills, but glad to enjoy them. I always laugh at the MANY people who refuse to eat hot dogs because they don’t know what is in them, I know what’s in them — LIPS AND ASSHOLES, just like my Mom told me and they taste just fine to me.

If you are a hater of the tasty dog, then pass the LIPS AND ASSHOLES — that means more for me!

I started out on my back patio, it was a cool mid 70′s and I poured a tall glass of spring water with some ice cubes.  I figured I should keep my palate as clean as possible from outside interference.  I clipped the stick after much hesitation, why I hesitated you might ask? It’s because this stick as well as other CC Davidoff’s carries a strong lore and expectation that comes with having one, I wanted to be sure the time was right.

The clip was absolutely clean and I rolled it around in my fingers and held it.  WOW, this feels nice.  I love the size and feel and look of this legendary Habano.  The pre-light draw was full of honey and cinnamon, I’m not sure if the sweetness necessarily came from honey but I without questioned picked up both honey, and sweetness a long with the aforementioned cinnamon.  I said to myself “Self, you’re in for a treat with this beauty”.  As I lit this masterpiece the wind picked up and I thought to myself “DAMMIT why now — I could be smoking a Los Statos and the wind would be nowhere to be found, but I fire up a Davidoff and all hell breaks loose”.  I feared that this would fall victim to the wind if I did not hurry up and head to the garage, so I grabbed my stuff and rolled out.

The first third of this cigar delivered a dry wood and cedar flavor with some cinnamon and spice, similar to the pre light draw but a lot more creamy and it billowed smoke.  I sat there and could not believe I was smoking something so rare and something held in so high regard.  I was sure at this point it would continue to be something amazing.  As I continued to smoke it I continued to get a deep woody flavor that was some of the creamiest “cedary” flavors I’ve ever experienced while picking up flavors which reminded me of sweet bread, almost gingerbread.  At many points the cigar changed and picked up/lost different flavors some I could not even distinguish, other than knowing they were there.  It’s very unique in flavors, complex as heck.  As it came to an end it mellowed in woody flavors and became VERY, VERY creamy and the cinnamon I mentioned earlier returned again, but with more of a cinnamon toast flavor.

The whole time I smoked this stick it poured smoke out and burned razor sharp.  It required a single touch up at the very end, between burning my fingers and living in “la la land” I managed to touch it up and finish it to a tiny nub.  I can still taste it, vintage tobacco has a certain after taste that is not one as harsh as newer tobacco, it serves as a reminder of how great a cigar that was just finished.  A taste you don’t want to lose.  Thank you very much Craig for the opportunity to smoke this, I sit here still in awe that I smoked a stick I thought I would never smoke.

If it was not clear by my review, this cigar was AMAZING!

The first one is a cocktail which is very close to my heart, why? I don’t know — just something about it I’ve always loved and it’s the classic recipe, it’s unlike the recipes you find in bars where it’s served in a hurricane glass with a fruit kabob.  This is a quenching and potentially strong cocktail for all to enjoy, without further ado — the Mai Tai, by “Trader” Vic Bergeron.

2 ounces 17-year-old Jamaican rum (any aged dark rum works)
1/2 ounce orgeat (almond syrup, I use Torani brand)
1/2 ounce orange curacao (I use Contreau)
Juice of one fresh lime
1/4 ounce rock candy syrup or Simple Syrup
Lime slice for garnish
Sprig of mint for garnish

1. Shake ingredients and pour into an ice-packed OLD FASHION glass.
2. Garnish with lime and a sprig of mint.

The next one holds quite a bit of classic lore with cigar smokers, a favorite of Ernest Hemingway and our friends of the Island South of Miami, this one is called the Mojito.  Some have heard of it and those who have tried it, love it.  This is a VERY quenching drink, but often made incorrectly in bars and restaurants.  As a reminder to the bar staff out there, a Mojito does NOT include Sprite.  I don’t know who created this drink, but it’s delicious and the recipe is time consuming, but great.

1.25 oz white rum (I use Cruzan)
12 mint leaves
1 tbsp sugar
0.5 oz fresh lime juice
2 oz soda

1. Place mint leaves in bottom of a HIGH BALL glass.
2. Add crushed ice, rum, sugar, and lime juice, and muddle.
3. Add soda water and garnish with mint leaves and a lime wedge.

Last but not least is another favorite which has a bit of a cult following is the Zombie, the origin of this drink is also unknown to me, however it was widely popular amongst tiki lounge guests in the late 50′s and early 60′s.  This drink provides a plethora of alcohol and like the name is not for the faint at heart.

1 1/2 oz gold rum
3 tsp lime juice
1 tbsp Jamaican dark rum
1 tbsp white rum
1 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tbsp papaya juice
1 1/2 tsp sugar syrup
1 tsp 151 proof rum
1 pineapple stick
1 pinch powdered sugar

1. Shake all ingredients (except the high-proof rum) over ice, the pineapple stick and the sugar.
2. Strain and add ice in a OLD FASHION glass, garnish with pineapple and a cherry.
3. Float the high-proof rum on top and sprinkle a little sugar over it.

Well those are my top 3 summer cocktails and I hope you find one that you enjoy.  I’m super thirsty now, so I am going to go by the store tonight and get a few limes since the tree isn’t producing fruit and make Danielle and I a few Mai Tai’s, a great way to call an end to a warm Monday.

The prep to making this dish was a BITCH! I spent 1 hr and 15 minutes just prepping them to be put in the oven.  I had to cut onion, cut garlic, pour this, pour that.  I did not realize a clove of garlic was not that big white piece the garlic lives in so I proceeded to break about 4 large white things and then was informed that I had actually broken apart 16 cloves of garlic, stupid me.  It went pretty quick, once I realized I was chopping too much garlic and stopped.

Here is the recipe for this fine dish:

* 6 lamb shanks (trimmed of fat)
* 1 large onion
* 4 garlic cloves
* 3 cups beef stock
* 1 cup red wine
* 1 tablespoon italian seasoning
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup flour
* 1 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
* 4 bay leaves
* salt and pepper

1. Combine flour and pepper in large ziplock bag (I used a freezer bag).
2. Dredge lamb shanks in flour.
3. Thinly slice onion, mince garlic.
4. Heat oil in large frying pan.
5. Fry shanks until golden brown on each side.
6. Turn with tongs.
7. Place shanks in Dutch Oven, or large oven proof pot with lid.
8. Add minced garlic and bay leaves to pot.
9. Add onion slices to frying pan.
10. Cook stirring occasionally until onion is soft.
11. Add red wine to frying pan.
12. Cook stirring occasionally until slightly syrupy, approximately five minutes.
13. Pour onion mixture over shanks.
14. Sprinkle Italian seasoning over shanks.
15. Pour beef stock into pot.
16. Cook in 375 F oven for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
17. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
18. If desired sauce may be thickened by removing lamb shanks to plate and simmering sauce on stove top for 15 minutes or until it coats the back of a spoon.
19. Return shanks to sauce to rewarm.

I’ve attached a few photos of the beginning and the end.  I paired the shanks with mashed potatoes and peas and carrots.  As the meat finished at the 2 hr 15 minute mark, the meat was falling off of the bone.  The only thing I would have done is thickened the sauce up so it was more of a gravy, but not having it as a gravy did not take away from the flavors.  We also enjoyed an 07, J. Lohr Cab to drink with it and it went with the meat wonderfully.

As for desert, I had a Cohiba Siglo II tubo and some Lagavulin 16 and Danielle had one of her vanilla Tatiana cigars and some more cab.  No better way to end the night than with a tasty cigar and a good scotch.  It was a great night full of good food and I can’t wait to do it again.