I’m not much of a fruity drink person.  When ordering a liquor drink I usually stick with a classic dry martini or an aged Macallan whiskey (love the 18 year).  But while hanging out with some friends last summer in Florida I discovered the Hemingway Daiquiri (or Papa Doble) and fell in love!  It’s great since it’s not like most usual sugary fruity drinks.  It’s simple, clean, and refreshing – perfect for summer!

The story says that Hemingway was in Havana, Cuba working on the book For Whom the Bells Toll.  While walking along Obispo street one morning he discovered the Floridita bar.  He suppposedly walked in to use the bathroom and as he was walking out he noticed everyone with tasty looking drinks.  They had the Daiquiri Floridita which is the bar’s signature drink created by the bartender, Constante Ribailagua.  Hemingway tasted one, but told Constante, “That’s good, but I prefer it without sugar and double rum.”  Constante mixed it up for him by subsituting sugar with maraschino liquor and said, “There it is Papa.”  So from then on Hemingway became a regular at the bar and the new drink was dubbed the Papa Doble (or Papa’s Double).  Grapefruit juice was added later on and became known as the Hemingway special.

There’s a lot of variations out there on how this drink is made.  The original is served frozen, but I like it best served straight up.  My fave version is from Bobby Flay.  It calls for agricole rum which is different than most rums since it’s made from pure sugar cane instead of made from molasses or sugar by-products.  The flavor profile is earthier and vegetal as opposed to the fruitier molasses based rums.  I like it since it tastes clean, but any light rum will do.  Also, white grapefruit is usually used, but a ruby red works great too.  It won’t change the taste, but it will change the color of the drink.

I’ve been finding out that a lot of restaurants don’t know how to make it, so you might want to save this recipe on your phone to show the bartender next time you’re out…

Cheers!

Hemingway Daiquiri (Papa Doble):
Serves 1

Tools:
Cocktail shaker
Saucer champagne or martini glass (My saucer champagne glass is from Spiegelau.  I’m in love with this classic style…mine is discontinued, but you can find similar ones around the web.)

Ingredients:
2 ounces agricole rum (or any light rum)
3 ounces fresh white grapefruit juice (this equates to half of a grapefruit + 1/4 of another half)
1 ounce fresh lime juice (or one large lime)
1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur
Ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake for a couple of seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Based on the recipe by Bobby Flay.

Photos: my own, Sources: El Floridita, Food Network

If you’re still looking for a Valentine’s gift for him, for her, or even for yourself, you can’t beat a cooking class.  I’ve been obsessed with cooking lately, so I signed up for a Thomas Keller inspired series at Sur la Table.  Even if you already know how to cook, it’s still a fun time and they have all kinds of classes to pick from… like cheese making and a macaron workshop!

Cooking classes at Sur la Table – $ price varies

Photo: iPhone via Instagram – @leahsak

I love a big bold glass of red wine, but I also love an ice cold IPA.

In the past few years, the IPA (India Pale Ale) has really taken off.  This beer’s claim to fame is the bittery profile made with loads of hops.  Rumor has it that IPA was created back in the 1700′s when the British soldiers occupied India and they needed a way to transport beer to them without it going bad so quickly.  They added extra hops to act as a preservative and everyone really dug the flavor profile, so it stuck ever since.

San Diego is home to some amazing breweries that are pumping out their own award winning IPAs.  You can buy them in some local California grocery stores, but if you happen to be in the area, the breweries are definitely worth a visit (Stone has an amazing high-end restaurant with the best beer mac ‘n’ cheese on the planet).

So these are just a few of my favs… If you haven’t tried them before, take note that they’re big, bold, and bittery and you might not like them at first since they’re so strong.  Of course they’re great on their own, but I prefer to pair one with dinner… A craft brewed IPA with a little grilled steak and veggies?  Yes, please.

Alesmith - IPA

Port Brewing – Wipeout IPA

Stone – Ruination

Do you like hoppy IPAs?  Which beers are your fav?

Photo shot with the Fuji X100

It’s easy to find healthy things to make for lunch and dinner, but breakfast seems to be another story.  When and how did muffins and doughnuts become the standard breakfast foods?  Aren’t those desserts?  wtf??  Even things that you would think are good for you (like granola cereals and yogurts) are loaded with sugars.  So I decided to change it up and ditch my yogurt for some fresh veggies instead…

After experimenting with some farmer’s market goodies, I came up with this low-fat, gluten-free, and sugar-free breakfast.  I eat a variation of it every morning depending on how much fuel I need that day for a big mountain bike ride or a trail run.  It’s so good eating it all together… and no gnarly blood sugar spike added.

Egg and Fresh Veggie Breakfast (Low-Fat, Gluten-Free, and Sugar-Free)
(Cook Time: 10 min, Serves 2):

Ingredients:
2 eggs
8 stalks asparagus
1 heirloom tomato
2 pieces gluten-free bread (Whole Food’s gluten-free prairie bread)
1 small handful of fresh spinach
2 T chopped manchego cheese (aged 6 months is my fav)
olive oil
lemon olive oil (if you don’t have any flavored olive oil then some regular olive oil with some squeezed lemon will do the trick)
sprinkle of smoked paprika
salt and pepper

Prep:
Trim about an inch off the bottom ends of the asparagus, slice the heirloom tomato, roughly chop spinach, and chop manchego cheese into small pieces (you can taste it better when you chop the cheese instead of shredding it).

Cook:
Lightly coat asparagus with extra virgin olive oil and cook in a pan on medium-low heat.  Cook for 2 – 4 minutes until lightly brown on one side then flip and cook for another 2 – 4 minutes until browned and tender.  While waiting on the asparagus, break eggs into a non-stick pan (without any butter or spray) and cook them over-easy style on medium-low heat.  Cook for 2 minutes until lightly browned then flip each egg with a spatula and cook for another minute or so leaving the inside of the yolk slightly runny.  While egg is cooking, add bread to the toaster.

Plate:
Put 4 stalks of asparagus on each plate along with a few slices of tomato, slice of toast, half of spinach, and one egg.  Dust a little bit of smoked paprika on the egg and sprinkle the entire plate with the cheese and a touch of the lemon olive oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Photos shot with the Fuji X100

Forget the wine and bubble baths.  There’s nothing like drinking an ice cold beer while you take a steaming hot shower.

It’s a life changer… especially after a long mountain bike ride.

Photos:  By Me, Left – Key West, Right – Peru

Photos:  Ferry Building in San Francisco

Beer and oysters.  The only thing on my mind lately are the oysters and beer we had for lunch last year in San Francisco.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever heard of a mushroom called ‘fried chicken’?  Saw a box full of them at the Ferry building and was wondering how you would cook them……  maybe a little ‘fried chicken’ white truffle risotto?  Sounds good to me!

The rest of my San Francisco photos are here.