"...and the lemon flower is sweet,
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat."
~ Lemon Tree written by Will Holt and recorded/performed by Peter, Paul and Mary
As a six-year-old, I was obsessed with Peter, Paul and Mary. It's true. Riding in the front seat of the station wagon on the way to ballet practice, I would insist that my mom play their "best-of" cassette. My favorite song was "Leavin' on a Jet Plane," which my mother would later realize was a sign that Illinois wouldn't hold my heart forever.
Every song on the album told a story, and a picture book would unfold in my young mind. I saw the sophisticated woman who had a taxi honking the horn outside her metropolitan apartment, waiting to whisk her off to the airport. And the noble racehorse named Stewball who never drank water, but always drank wine. I imagined the boy who would have been rich had he only bet on Stewball!
What can I say? It was before MTV when life changed forever.
Actually, Puff the Magic Dragon still makes me cry. Why!? Why did Jackie Paper have to grow up!? It's just so sad!
But tonight I'm thinking mostly about Lemon Tree... The song tells the tale of a young man who falls in love beneath the pretty lemon tree with a girl so sweet that when she smiles stars rise in the sky. But, she breaks his heart, and the sour fruit of the tree becomes a reminder of a romance gone by.
I've had lemon on the brain since yesterday when YN hosted a citrus-themed meeting of the NY Cocktail Club (like book club but better!). And, I am now enjoying leftover lemon, ginger, and maple shortbread cookies with Steve's (out-of-this-world) Blackberry Honey ice cream. So, the fruit of the poor lemon seems rather delightful.
YN started us off with a homemade limoncello. She used a recipe from the archives of the blog Vino e Vittles and quartered the proportions. It was delicious mixed with a sparkling wine--perfect for Spring or Summer. The recipe calls for Everclear, though, which is outlawed in some states.
Of course, there is more to citrus than just lemons. Our second cocktail was Todd Maul's Polaris, a wonderful mix of gin, St. Germain (elderflower liqueur), grapefruit, and cognac.
From there we moved on to a gin-based cocktail with rosemary simple syrup. The first mix using the recipe was a bit of a miss--too sweet and a little overpowering on the rosemary. We adjusted with more lemon juice.
And that is what Cocktail Club is all about--variations on a theme.
In addition to the lemon-ginger-maple shortbread cookies, I brought along some Canton--a ginger liqueur. We collectively concocted a satisfying new cocktail:
Shake with ice, dilute 20-30 seconds, strain.
Note: The jam we used was from Josephine's Feast. It worked quite well in the cocktail, but was a touch bitter on its own.
Our final drink was a mix of rum, lime, and a few other ingredients I can't recall.
YN and Mr. YN cooked up a feast to stave off any potential drunk-and-disorderly conduct, including grilled shrimp, clams, and steak. LP added a Moroccan tagine-cooked chicken that was the most aromatic and tasty bird I have ever had. We finished off our meal with YN's homemade lemon pound cake topped with chambord-soaked blueberries and a hot cup of really good coffee.
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat."
~ Lemon Tree written by Will Holt and recorded/performed by Peter, Paul and Mary
 |
Every song on the album told a story, and a picture book would unfold in my young mind. I saw the sophisticated woman who had a taxi honking the horn outside her metropolitan apartment, waiting to whisk her off to the airport. And the noble racehorse named Stewball who never drank water, but always drank wine. I imagined the boy who would have been rich had he only bet on Stewball!
What can I say? It was before MTV when life changed forever.
Actually, Puff the Magic Dragon still makes me cry. Why!? Why did Jackie Paper have to grow up!? It's just so sad!
But tonight I'm thinking mostly about Lemon Tree... The song tells the tale of a young man who falls in love beneath the pretty lemon tree with a girl so sweet that when she smiles stars rise in the sky. But, she breaks his heart, and the sour fruit of the tree becomes a reminder of a romance gone by.I've had lemon on the brain since yesterday when YN hosted a citrus-themed meeting of the NY Cocktail Club (like book club but better!). And, I am now enjoying leftover lemon, ginger, and maple shortbread cookies with Steve's (out-of-this-world) Blackberry Honey ice cream. So, the fruit of the poor lemon seems rather delightful.
 |
| Limoncello Sparkler |
YN started us off with a homemade limoncello. She used a recipe from the archives of the blog Vino e Vittles and quartered the proportions. It was delicious mixed with a sparkling wine--perfect for Spring or Summer. The recipe calls for Everclear, though, which is outlawed in some states.
Of course, there is more to citrus than just lemons. Our second cocktail was Todd Maul's Polaris, a wonderful mix of gin, St. Germain (elderflower liqueur), grapefruit, and cognac.
From there we moved on to a gin-based cocktail with rosemary simple syrup. The first mix using the recipe was a bit of a miss--too sweet and a little overpowering on the rosemary. We adjusted with more lemon juice.
And that is what Cocktail Club is all about--variations on a theme.
In addition to the lemon-ginger-maple shortbread cookies, I brought along some Canton--a ginger liqueur. We collectively concocted a satisfying new cocktail:
The Maplewood
3 oz. Gin
1 oz. Canton
.5 oz Honey syrup
.5 oz Lemon juice
1 tsp Meyer lemon jam
Shake with ice, dilute 20-30 seconds, strain.
Note: The jam we used was from Josephine's Feast. It worked quite well in the cocktail, but was a touch bitter on its own.
Our final drink was a mix of rum, lime, and a few other ingredients I can't recall.
There are a few tricks to a successful cocktail club: making one full-size cocktail for every three people, setting a reasonable pace, and serving a lot of food.
YN and Mr. YN cooked up a feast to stave off any potential drunk-and-disorderly conduct, including grilled shrimp, clams, and steak. LP added a Moroccan tagine-cooked chicken that was the most aromatic and tasty bird I have ever had. We finished off our meal with YN's homemade lemon pound cake topped with chambord-soaked blueberries and a hot cup of really good coffee.
It is hard to imagine lemons being the cause of such heartbreak after our lovely afternoon and evening of citrus-based cocktails and food in sunny Maplewood, NJ!
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