Martini with a twist--or not.

As a child I really looked forward to Friday evenings. Not because I was out of school and looking forward to the

Photo by wickenden/Flickr CC

weekend. Definitely not for that. In fact, in our household there was no weekend. No. Saturdays were consumed by Ukrainian school and Sundays were dedicated to church. The real reason I looked forward to Friday evenings was because of a ritual my parents shared...the Friday night martini. A gibson really. Friday evening, just before my father would arrive home from a long day of work, my mother would have a gibson waiting for him on the kitchen counter.

I think it was an obsession with the sleek, conical glass, so elegantly perched atop that long stem that initially sparked my interest. Gradually, it became more than just an affinity for glassware aesthetics. One day, I decided to pluck out one of those cocktail onions and gobble it up. The tartness--and the way my cheek muscles contracted in reaction--that reflex alone, was reason enough to fish out another. By the time my father would get home, his gibson stood there--naked--an ungarnished martini in actuality. And so it became a habit. Friday after Friday, I would get reprimanded for eating my father's vodka-soaked cocktail onions. In time, my mother--thinking she could ween me of this habit, cleverly left a small glass of cocktail onions next to my father's cocktail. Her preventative method proved unsuccessful, as I continued to eat the onions--first from the gibson--then I'd "plunk" the other onions one-by-one, into my father's drink. This pattern continued for several years until sadly, the ritual stopped altogether.

As an adult, aside from wine, my cocktail of choice is a martini or gibson. Wherever I go, if cocktail onions are available, I opt for the gibson--up. The most delicious martini I've ever had was at Pravda, in New York City. It is called "The Gogol," after the Ukrainian-born, modern-realism novelist, known commonly as Nikolai Gogol. The martini is made with house-infused horseradish vodka, garnished with a sprig of dill and a pickled quail egg. Talk about over-the-top. I had three. (Over a lengthy dinner, of course.) Thanks God for taxis! I soon learned that this martini could be made at home by infusing my own vodka and pickling my own quail eggs. The process is quite simple really, and if horseradish-infused vodka isn't your cup of tea, then perhaps a fruit-infused liquor is? I picked up a book called Infused. It is loaded recipes for different liquor infusions--none of which are overly time consuming. If you don't see a recipe that interests you--use your judgement and make one up. Upon deciding that Bakon brand vodka was too reminiscent of Bac-Os imitation bacon bits, I have since decided to infuse my own bacon vodka. I'll likely infuse several different variations. It is an interesting project and great for entertaining. The possibilities are endless.

Other fun martini garnishes:

roquefort-stuffed olives

chevre (goat cheese)-stuffed cherry peppers

marinated mushrooms, pickled green beans or okra

pickled quail eggs recipe: Local Harvest