After a lovely weekend of sunshine in New York City, out of nowhere I came down with a full on cold – sore throat, sniffles, the works. My immediate reaction is to skip the cold medicine and go straight to making myself a warm mug of Hot Toddy, the medicine for grownups. I really don’t need to be feeling under the weather to enjoy it. Just the name makes me feel giddy, my steps more sprightly. In a completely alpha male sort of way. There are Hot Toddy Hardliners on such controversial issues as the use of sweeteners, or the age-old lemon zest vs lemon wedge vs lemon juice. I use whatever floats my metaphoric boat (my real one does not require spices or alcohol. Although, I still use it anyway).

I use things like saffron when it’s handy, and spices I use in making tea. Sometimes I even use a teabag for flavor. But don’t let this confuse you into thinking I’m easy going. I am a hardliner when it comes to the alcohol used. As wonderful as I’m sure Sambuca or turnip infused tequila may be, it’s no longer a Hot Toddy in my books, and the repercussions are severe. I have taken off my belt and given people a damn good thrashing for sullying the name of the Hot Toddy. Okay, I’ve just stared at them angrily like a harmless psychopath. Still, I bet they felt ashamed.

A Hot Toddy, in my estimation, should be made with a smooth tasting whisky/whiskey, including bourbon. None of this infused whiskey riff-raff. Time for a fun fact: in case you’re wondering whether there’s a difference between whisky or whiskey, let me assure you it goes well beyond color/colour. For many years, the New York Times spelled everything in the American style, with an “e,” which pissed off a lot of people from places like Canada and Scotland (they make whisky there, not to be confused with whiskey), and they recently implemented officially changing the spelling, depending on which country it happened to originate from. Here’s how it all went down: http://ow.ly/kvqXZ

I use a whiskey like Black Label, or a bourbon like Knob Creek, partly because it’s not overly expensive when I know I’m essentially going to be diluting the taste, but mainly it’s because it’s smooth and complements the flavors from the infusion. I save my Single Malts like Glenfiddich for drinking neat. And a rubbish, watery whiskey has no place in my life, and if I catch anyone drinking it in my presence, I will remove my white glove, and slap you in the face. Or furiously think about doing just that. You have been warned. On a side note, the specific brands I’ve mentioned above are ones I like. I haven’t received any of these free, and even if I did, I wouldn’t just plonk down the name of a whiskey for that reason alone.

Sona thinks I’m just being a pakhandi (a poser) and using the excuse of being ill to drink alcohol, which is more or less true, but there are some clear medical reasons that it works better than any cold medicine out there: the spices infused in water tells the bacteria to – and this is official medical terminology – shoo shoo shoo, besides there’s no better antiseptic than alcohol, which tastes much better than haldi (turmeric). If anyone needs more medical advice, you know where to find me.

Even if you’re feeling as fit as a fiddle, the best part of having a Hot Toddy is that it is a lovely drink for any occasion, especially when it’s raining – the perfect time to read Finnegan’s Wake (it rains a lot there). Here’s my recipe. Try it out and let me know how it goes:

RECIPE (for a saucepan’s worth. Adjust accordingly)

For the Infusion:
Lots of water in a saucepan, low heat
Saffron (if handy)
Fennel Seeds (2 Tablespoons)
Cloves (3-4)
Star Anise (1 or 2)
Cinnamon stick
A massive piece of ginger, peeled, and mashed up in a mortar and pestle
Lemon zest (1-2 lemons), or cut up lemon peels

For each Toddy:
Whiskey (however much you feel like)
honey to taste (2 tsp should sort it)
Grated nutmeg

Dead Easy 2-Step Directions

1. On low heat, pour water in a small saucepan, along with everything up to the lemon zest and bring it to a rolling boil. If you’re feeling adventurous, add a teabag of something fruit flavoured, like orange spice.

2. Pour whiskey into a mug. Then add infusion mixture. Stir in the honey. Add some nutmeg on top, and garnish with a cinnamon stick. Sorted.

Optional: If using lemon juice instead of lemon zest or peel, add this in Step 2. Don’t get bogged down in directions. Have fun and experiment. Just make sure you’re using whiskey, or call it something other than a Hot Toddy!

Shortlink: http://ow.ly/kvrPh

Categories: Eat This Page

Tagged: Eat This Page, is it scotch whiskey or whisky, ishqinabackpack, Navdeep Singh Dhillon, perfect hot toddy recipe, Sona Charaipotra

Review: Emeril’s Delmonico Steakhouse, New Orleans

Sona

Posted on June 21, 2012

Since our trip to New Orleans was to celebrate our anniversary, on our final night in Crescent City, we decided to fancy it up. So I did a little research into some of the finer dining in town — which meant abandoning our stomping grounds on Bourbon Street, of course. And when people think New Orleans cuisine, they still think Emeril. BAM! Since we were staying on Bourbon, getting to the posh Garden District, home of all those old school mansions and Emeril’s Delmonico steakhouse, meant taking a trolley ride! YAY! We’d been in town four days, but had yet to leave the French Quarter, so the trolley was super-fun. We hoped the St. Charles line for a 15-minute slide through town, cutting through the business district. And then we were there.

We were early for our 9 p.m. reservation, but the restaurant wasn’t crowded on a mid-summer Sunday night, so they seated us right away. While the restaurant was housed in a cool building — clearly 18th century architecture in the traditional style — the beiges and creams of the decor were a bit snooze-inducing.

Luckily, the menu woke us up! As we perused, they served us up some corn bread spiked with jalepeno. Sounds yummy, but I’ve made this before — and mine was better. Emeril’s take was a bit dry, and he could have kicked it up a notch if he’d added real corn kernels along with the jalepeno, as I do in my annual Thanksgiving rendition. Still, we were hungry and the uber-attentive waitstaff kept it coming, so we broke bread.

Navdeep ordered exactly what I’d picked out for him when checking out the menu online: a Moroccan-spiced lamb steak. I stuck to a more traditional cut. Both were perfectly cooked — a difficult challenge when you’re ordering medium-well to well. We know, sacrilege. But we’re brown people, and we like our meat cooked through.

The best part, though, was dessert. We ordered this deep chocolate flourless cake confection topped with a healthy dose of super-crunchy, stick-to-your-teeth toffee, and served up with a biting espresso ice cream. Plus cappuccino for me, and espresso for Navdeep, since that’s what he likes to drink. We felt like proper grown-ups on a proper grown-up date while we eavesdropped on the table of eight chattering not far from us about the latest Hollywood film shooting in New Orleans.

On the way back, we pondered, for a minute, walking like the New Yorkers we are. But the lure of the trolley — for all of $1.50 — was just too tempting, so we hoped it again and headed back to our Bourbon street digs, where we nabbed another $2 jello shot before calling it a day. All in all, a true fancied-up New Orleans night.

VISIT: Emeril’s Delmonico Steakhouse, 1300 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans; 504.525.4937