Non-alcoholic rose and lemon drop martini

Yes, yes, non-alcoholic. I can’t drink all the time you know. After serving martinis, you might, as I do, find your fridge to be full of bald lemons, shaved of their peel but still bursting with juice. You can use them for all sorts of things, like cooking, putting them in hot water to drink in the morning, making ice cubes, or, as I have … Continue reading Non-alcoholic rose and lemon drop martini

Use longer toothpicks to maximise your garnishes

My brother commented that normal toothpicks were too short for my martini glasses. He is a very practical former Royal Marine and a keen perfectionist so I took his comments onboard and spent some time trying to think of an alternative. The other day I found some slightly longer mini bamboo skewers in an Asian supermarket and thought they would do the trick. Here is … Continue reading Use longer toothpicks to maximise your garnishes

The hot hot Sriracha martini

It’s a thing now. What do Thais and Texans have in common? A penchant for spicy food. I have a good friend, currently in Texas, who recently announced his addiction to Sriracha hot chilli sauce, a fiery concoction from Thailand. A US national and an Arabist, he has a very interesting career and academic background, with some very intriguing (and often hilarious) tales from London … Continue reading The hot hot Sriracha martini

Sri Lankan bites

When I was based in Sri Lanka, a country where they know how to work hard and drink harder, it was almost essential that alcohol was served with food. The Sinhalese actually use the word ‘bites’ to describe this. It was during my time in this fascinating, beautiful but complex country that the importance of serving tasty nibbles with your drink was strongly instilled in … Continue reading Sri Lankan bites