Nativity
A cocktail for Our Lady, and a Southern vegan snack.
Happy Nativity of the Theotokos!
In France, today’s feast occasions the grape harvest festivals in the various wine regions. Vine growers honor “Our Lady of the Grape Harvest” by bringing some of their best harvest to the local church to be blessed on this day. Thus, it is a perfect occasion for drinking a good French wine, perhaps a young wine like a Provence rosé or a Beaujolais to celebrate and appreciate the gift of God’s harvest.
When it comes to cocktails, the first that usually comes to mind in honor of Our Lady is the White Lady cocktail. You could even make it a Blue Lady if you use the Empress gin you have laying around from one of our last missives.
White Lady
2 ounces gin
1 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1 egg white
lemon twist for garnish
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously WITHOUT ice 30 seconds to emulsify the egg white and incorporate air, creating a thick foam. (This is called a dry shake.) Add ice, and shake 40 times. Strain into a chilled coupe or Nick and Nora glass. Garnish.
Snack: Boiled Peanuts
Today isn’t a fast day, but we’re on the tail end of the season for this snack, and I wanted to spark the idea for you as soon as possible. This blessed delicacy is sold on roadsides all over the South, and that is where you should buy it: roadside stands, and perhaps in very, very old rickety-looking gas stations. You know the type. I recently had lunch with my mother’s cousin, a low-country Southern belle of the old school, and she makes boiled peanuts in her kitchen at home all summer.
A dreadful claim has sprung up that you don’t need green peanuts in order to make boiled peanuts. I simply can’t go along with this innovation, but to each their own. You can only get green peanuts between May and September, so your time to make this treat draws to a close soon. It’s a bit messy for cocktail hour, but I think that on a fast day it would be a wonderful thing to have on hand, especially for kids. With the weather so lovely this time of year, I’ll be eating mine on the porch and throwing the shells behind the bushes.
Cousin Caroline’s Boiled Peanuts:
4-5 pounds green peanuts in the shell (May-September)
3/4 cup salt
sprinkle of brown sugar (optional)
Wash peanuts well in colander and remove stems or bad nuts from the crowd. In large pot, 8 quarts or larger, place drained and rinsed peanuts. Cover peanuts with water. Stir in salt and sprinkle brown sugar if using. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and cover. Stir occasionally. After 2 hours taste to see how they are progressing. Add water as necessary. Continue to cook for another hour, until done to your liking (which could be as many as 4 hours total if you like them quite soft). When finished if you would like more salinity in your peanuts, remove from heat and soak until cooled.