Monday, August 25, 2008

Meet us in St. Louis

For our August event, Eight is Enough graciously invited the gals to her place for a trip through some cocktails & treats invented in St. Louis, Missouri. Ms. Enough grew up in St. Louis, and yes she is a Cardinals fan, much to the dismay of the Cubs fans in our group. We set aside our baseball differences for the evening, and enjoyed some fantastic drinks & snacks.

First up: Planters Punch
In her research, Ms. Enough discovered that this wonderful (and intoxicating) punch may have been created in St. Louis at the Planters Hotel (which no longer exists). Like many drinks, there are competing theories on its real origin, but this was good enough for us. The punch was delightful, a mix of rums, fresh juices and homemade grenadine. All the ladies were very impressed that Ms. Enough went to the trouble to make her own grenadine. Unfortunately I haven't yet gotten the recipes from her, so I can't post them here (hopefully coming soon!)

Second up: Tom Collins
This drink is even more contested as to its origin, but Ms. Enough found at least some reports that it was created in St. Louis. We had a brief discussion as to it's origins, and then sipped while we snacked. It was a great refresher on a hot day.

Speaking of snacks, Ms. Enough outdid herself with a robust spread of treats. The favorites were the Mayfair Salad, created at the Mayfair Hotel, and the toasted ravioli, which is apparently a St. Louis staple. I had never had toasted ravioli, so I was a bit surprised to realize that it is really fried ravioli. Toasted sounds much better.

Rye Confession
And this month's Rye Confession comes from Ginny Tonic. It's not exactly a confession, but some very exciting news - she is in the process of adopting a child, and she's getting pretty close to the end. Cheers to Ms. Tonic!