Drink of the Week: The Devil's Tail/Rhubarb, Sugar, Vodka

.
I think I first came across this spring-time indulgence with a dangerous sounding moniker in Denmark a few years ago.

Then again, it may have been in Baltimore.

I forget.

Either which way, it is an absolutely outrageous way to indulge in the crimson beauty of super-sour, uncooked rhubarb.

It's so hectically sour that I personally figure the only reason it's is eaten by anyone is that it's impossible to resist the deliriously shocking pinkness of it all.

One glance and I tell you, a feverish desire to consume it comes on. It just has to be made palatable. And that is usually accomplished with the addition of strawberries and a gang of sugar. (And voila, Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie) That's pretty much the only way to go, seeing as those stalks are so puckery if you take a nibble, your mouth will seize up and wonder if you've taken leave of your senses.

But if you aren't the pie-makin' type and want a wild way to indulge, try this. After one bite, just bring on the the bracing sting of icy cold vodka and numb that mouth into submission.

It's a diabolically sweet-tart experience.

Try this my peaches, and taste the joy.


2 stalks rhubarb, sliced 4 inches long
4 tablespoons white sugar
8 ounces vodka, chilled

Gather three friends round, and pass out rhubarb spears. Pour an icy cold shot of vodka for each player. Simultaneously dip your rhubarb spears into the sugar, then bite in. Enjoy faces being made. Chew. Swallow. Take a shot of the vodka.

Repeat only if you dare.



© 2008 Fresh Approach Cooking

______________________________________

© 2008 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" www.freshcatering.blogspot.com This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking at might be guilty of infringing upon terms of copyright.

Rhubarb is a vegtable that is a relative of buckwheat and originated in Western China and neighboring areas. The leaves of the plant are poisonous.

Vodka was first sold legally in Sweden in 1498 by a Stockholm tavern keeper. Absolut Vodka was introduced in Sweden in 1879 as "Absolut rent branvin" - "Absolutely pure vodka". - AbsolutAd.com

Restaurants have long engineered menus to allow the bigger profits from pastas and vegetable side orders to subsidize such loss leaders as steaks. With food prices rising at their highest rate in decades, chefs are swapping out high-end ingredients for humbler substitutes and scratching low-profit entrees off the menu. Pink's hot dogs in Hollywood introduced a $6.75 dog that's more topping than wiener. At Gramercy Tavern in New York, the caviar-topped hamachi appetizer has been replaced with a tuna-and-beet tartare topped with sliced radishes. Raphael Lunetta of JiRaffe in Santa Monica is yanking pricey entrees from the menu to promote as daily specials. He says a good pitch from waiters helps sell more and reduces leftovers. - WSJ.com