Months ago when we Chef's Table Kids had a Major Arcana tarot theme for our dinner, Gail Kennedy pulled the Wheel of Fortune and paired it in her own inimitable way with her course, the cocktail, or aperitif. This is her story:
My assignment, beverage and the tarot card I drew is Wheel of Fortune.
Researching this card was a bit confusing for me, but looking at the suggested website and asking a few experts their interpretation of the card, the inspiration I came away with was "life altering", whether good or bad, turning points in my life. Looking at the many images on the card, I noted angels, clouds, blue sky, a blue sphinx, winged lions and a devilish looking red humanoid. Turning to my handy dandy The Big Bartender's Book my groovy friend Pam gave me for my birthday, I started looking for drink recipes with names that had something to do with heaven or hell or something that would jump out at me, have some meaning to me of an event or person that has been "life altering", something that has effected my fortune, my future.
The book lists drinks in alphabetical order, so it didn't take long till something grabbed my eye. I was still in the "A" section, nothing about angels, but something that referred to the sky, something that spoke to me about a person that has "altered" my life...Aviation. The man in my life is a pilot and yes, Tommy's appearance or actually his reappearance into my life has effected me deeply. His positive encouragement allows me to spread my wings and fly.
I knew the ingredients were going to be costly, but I went ahead with the plan to make this drink because of how strongly it spoke to me. I whipped up a drink using the 4 ingredients and to my dismay, I couldn't stand it. I'm thinking I might never have had a drink with gin in it before and I was not happy, actually rather distraught about what I had created. How could I possibly serve this to my friends and feel good about what I was contributing to our gathering? So, I decided to play around with it adding a bit more of this, adding some of that...no, this was not going to work.
I started scouring the Internet for ideas, but the more I looked the more my sadness deepened. "Fortunately", I have been blessed with children whom I have positive relationships with. My son Sean took a taste of what I was working on and agreed, "How could people drink something so harsh?" However, he also told me not to worry because I would come up with something brilliant like I always do. I went to bed thinking that maybe the others will enjoy a stiff drink, that it's just me that can't handle it and that I could make the recipe as is and bring along a juice to dilute it for any faint of heart folks like me.
Upon rising, I knew I couldn't settle for that solution and began scouring the Internet once more. I put the idea out of my head about how much money I've spent already and searched for something I could be proud to present. I found a recipe whose picture met my fancy and used some of the ingredients I already had. Then I had a realization, maybe I was sad because I wasn't actually "making" something. Maybe I felt like I was cheating or taking the easy way out because I was simply mixing bottled ingredients and that I would be happier if I created one of the drink's ingredients from scratch? So I decided to take the drink recipe of the image I liked and instead of just muddling my cherries in the glass, I created a syrup with muddled Rainier cherries and Lemon Basil.
While making the syrup, I felt my heart lighten because I was actually making something, contributing to the recipe. As I pitted the Rainier cherries, I started to think about what I might name my drink. My nickname for Tommy is Mr. Belly Button, maybe I should call this drink a Belly Button? There was a clap of thunder and I started to think about how much I love the rain and then, I thought of my Mother. Her name was Lorraine and her nickname, Rainy. As I thought about her and how her death 25 years ago effected my "fortune", how my life took a very big turn at that time, how she gave me cooking lessons without me realizing it, the tears began to roll down my cheeks. She loved pictures of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks, images of the Pacific Northwest. Rainier cherries, Mt. Rainier, Washington state, Mom. I have named this beverage Lorraine or Rainy. Thanks Mom for always coming to my aid, for steering me in the right direction. I embrace MY rainy days and I think now I understand why the Pacific Northwest always beckons me.
For the record, I've come to realize I love the challenge this group puts before me. As I bang my head against the wall, trying to rise to the occasion, I reach that bittersweet euphoria of pushing myself to be creative. Maybe my next "fortune" will be found when I visit Oregon next month. Until then, I hope the friends that are also my "fortune" enjoy my Rainy Day cocktail that includes the Rainier cherry/Lemon Basil syrup I created while this morning's rain inspired me.
RAINY DAY
2oz gin
1oz Creme De Violette
1oz Tart cherry liqueur
1 c sparkling water
1t Michelle's tart cherry concentrate
1T fresh lemon juice
1T Rainier Cherry and Lemon Basil syrup -
(2c sugar, 1c water, 1# pitted Rainier cherries, 1/2c bruised Lemon Basil leaves)
Ice
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