Happy Hour at Home
Cocktailing out and about can be lots of fun but there are times you just want to hang out around your own cozy abode. Several of the columns on this site are going to focus on giving you the information you need to create your own perfect beverage but this column will include an added benefit; not only will I provide you with a drink recipe but also an appetizer or snack to accompany it!
Whenever possible I’ll stick with something seasonal; it might be a drink I find especially refreshing for a hot summer day or include an ingredient that embodies the taste or feel of the current season. The appetizer will be something you can put together fairly quickly, yet be appropriate for entertaining.
These columns will run on Thursday and I’ll normally have them posted early in the morning so that you can pick up what you need Thursday night or Friday on your way home and be ready for a Friday Happy Hour (at home)! There’s really nothing more relaxing and it can be a fun and easy way to do some entertaining.
We’ll start our series next week, in the meantime I’ll leave you with a recipe for the most luscious Hot Buttered Rum batter you will ever taste! Suggested accompaniment? Any or all of those Christmas cookies you have around the house!
Hot Buttered Rum
1 qt vanilla ice cream, softened (let it get almost liquidy)
1# soft butter
1# brown sugar
1# powdered sugar
2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Cream butter, sugars and spices. When they are thoroughly blended mix in the ice cream.
Store in freezer until ready to use.
To make drinks
Put a generous tablespoon of batter into a mug.
Add a shot of rum. (I prefer a golden rum.)
Mush it around until the batter is soft.
Add boiling water to fill cup.
Stir.
Sprinkle a little nutmeg on the top.
There are just times they are not interchangeable and this is definitely one of them!.
The first time I ran across a reference to Hot Buttered Rum was in a novel I read (this was about ten years ago and I don’t remember the title of the novel). The words Hot Buttered Rum sounded so wonder, rich, and warming that I decided I had to have one. Unfortunately, the recipe I found didn’t look nearly as decadent as yours. Part of the problem could have been that all I had in way of “butter” was a tub of margarine.