The Sankaty Shandy

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~Nantucket Island~

THE BEST BEACH BEER! There is nothing quite like an ice cold, thirst quenching drink at the beach on a hot summer day, while lazing away the hours with friends and family. The perfect prescription for this is a SHANDY, a traditional beer cocktail, a “beer tail”, which generally consists of a 50-50 mixture of a lager beer and a fizzy, a carbonated “something”, such as a sparkling lemonade, ginger beer, ginger ale, fruit juice or cordial, served in a glass. Through the years, this popular drink took Western Europe by storm with exciting creations emblematic of the geography and associated traditions, such as the Singapore Kip Lin (lager + tonic water) or the French Monaco Beer(lager + lemonade + grenadine) or the Italian tango…ooh, la la, (lager + gooseberry cordial) or the German and Portugese Diesel (lager + Coco-Cola.) In honor of our Nantucket Island, I’ve created the SANKATY SHANDY, a mix of my personal favorites, lager + cucumber with mint or lime!

On the island of Nantucket, we pay great homage to the legendary Cisco Brewers, a winery, brewery and distillery that produces an impressively awesome selection of world sought-after wine, spirits and beer. Their popular Sankaty Light Lager is delicious for a day in the sun. I’ve paired it with one my all-time favorites, but difficult to come by, the NEW sparkling Cucumber & Mint Presse’ from the wonderful Belvoir Fruit Farms.  This delicious “bubbly” is made from 100% organic ingredients and is non-GMO, gluten-free and vegan, with no preservatives, sweeteners or artificial colors. Mixing it 50-50 with a slice of cucumber, lime or mint sprig on the side, yields an invitingly colorful icy “beer tail” that will have you smacking your lips with delight and probably reaching for another!  Plan in advance, as this is a seasonal product not always available. But, fear not....there is always a backup....

Equally as delicious, and more readily available on the island is DRY Sparkling in cucumber flavor. You always have to have a Plan A and Plan B when “on island”!  The only thing we never need a plan B for is the BEER from Cisco Brewers, which deliciously and plentifully flows day after day, week after week, year after year, decade after decade……And that you can be sure of!

The "Bloody Whaler"

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Legend has it that the Bloody Mary originated in 1921 at a New York Bar in Paris, which later became Harry’s New York Bar, a Paris hangout frequented by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and friends. I Love Paris, I love Hemingway and I love a Bloody Mary! Over the years I perfected a “Bloody” I named“Lobsta’ Bloody Merry”, a Bloody Mary I make with tomato juice made from scratch, celery stalk and a skewer of lobster pieces, lemon wedges and mini sweet red peppers. It became our “Merry” Christmas Morning tradition, serving as the perfect Christmas Eve hangover cure until gifts were opened and breakfast was served! I started doing this because we always had so much left over lobster from our Christmas Eve “Feast of the Seven Fishes”. 

We had great fun debuting our “Lobsta Bloody Merry” on the Martha Stewart Living Radio Show in 2012 on a segment we did on “healthy” drinking. 

 
 

We’ve had such great fun with the “Lobsta’ Bloody Merry” that I decided to create a brother for “Merry”, a more nautical version for summers on the island of Nantucket.  I named it the “Bloody Whaler” to commemorate Nantucket’s fascinating whaling history. For this drink I use clamato juice, as in the “Bloody Caesar” created by a Canadian in 1969, who was inspired by his favorite dish in Italy, Spaghetti alle vongole, or, spaghetti with tomato sauce and clams.  My version incorporates fresh fish plucked from Moby Dick’s sea, a good compliment of spices and citrus and clamato juice, a nod to Nantucket’s clamming industry.  Since we are usually on the run each morning in the summer, I opted to go ahead and make my Bloody Whaler a meal-in-itself and finish it off with a skewered fresh lobster tail (which looks like a whale’s tail!), and a shrimp, cucumber and lime kebob and a tall fluffy celery stalk for flavor and presentation!

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 ounces of Tito’s Vodka (or more if you like)
  • 4 ounces of Clamato juice
  • 1-2 tsps Gold’s horseradish (or to taste) 
  • 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce (or to taste)
  • 1 dash Celery salt
  • 1 fresh squeezed Lemon wedge
  • 2 fresh squeezed Lime wedges
  • 1 Lime wedge for toothpick
  • 1 tsp Cholula Chili Lime Hot Sauce
  • 11/4-pound Steamed lobster for tail meat *** 
  • 1-2 Large shrimp (depending on size available)
  • 2 Slices English cucumber
  • 1 12” Bamboo Skewer
  • 1 4” Toothpick
  • 1 Celery stalk with leaves (garnish)
  • Old Bay Seasoning (for rim)
  • 1 cup ice
  • Tall glass

PREPARE THE LOBSTER

  1. 3 Gallon Pot filled with salted water to about 2 inches
  2. Bring to a boil
  3. Run live lobster under cold water, removing rubber bands (use gloves!)
  4. Place lobster into pan with lid on 
  5. Cook over high heat about15-18 minutes
  6. At 7-10 minutes lift lid and rotate the lobsters, if cooking several, so they will cook evenly
  7. The lobster will turn bright orange and the meat will turn from translucent to opaque white
  8. Check for doneness by cutting one open and checking color of meat or by testing the temp, which should be 180F
  9. Let cool
  10. Crack open and remove the meat from the entire lobster, saving all the parts

***Steaming is the best way to cook the lobster as it traps the flavor and produces the most tender meat.  OR, you can have your fishmonger steam the lobsters for you. OR, you can just buy the fresh cooked lobster tail meat at a good fish store, as many fisheries cook lobsters daily. However, buying them and steaming them yourself is the most economical way, especially if you are serving many.   

PREPARE THE RIM OF THE GLASS

  1. Rub a lime wedge around the rim of a tall glass and dip into a dish of
  2. Old Bay Seasoning, twirling it around until fully coated
  3. Let sit while mixing ingredients, being careful not to smudge it

MIX INGREDIENTS

  1. Combine the vodka, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, lemon, lime, Cholula chili lime hot sauce, Clamato juice and ice
  2. Stir, stir, stir
  3. Gently pour into desired glass over ice (I don't like a watery Bloody so I use a few cubes)
  4. Insert 12 inch Bamboo skewer with lobster tail proudly propped
  5. Top with 4 inch toothpick skewer with 1-2 shrimp, depending on size, cucumber, lime wedge
  6. VOILA!  Serves 1

NOTE: Use fresh lobster only. Frozen will not work, as they tend to be tough and challenging to eat.  Also, save all the parts of your picked lobster for your next breakfast! #lobsterbenedict #eggandlobsterflorentine #lobsteromelette