The Saturday Seven: Delicious Vintage Cocktails

As I mentioned in my prior post, last night I went to dinner at The Tropicale restaurant in Palm Springs. They have a wonderful drink menu, with all sorts of fun vintage cocktails. I couldn't resist having one...and wow did it pack a powerful punch! But it sure made for a fun evening. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a heavy drinker, so there's no need to call Betty Ford for an intervention-but I do enjoy a cocktail once in awhile. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite recipes. This brings me to another scintillating edition of:

The Saturday Seven: Delicious Vintage Cocktails
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#1 The Gimlet

Popular legend says that the Gimlet cocktail was created by a Royal Navy officer, Surgeon Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette in the 1940's. The Gimlet's sharp taste starts sour and finishes sweet, never suffering from the gin's juniper bite. It's the cocktail's syrupy lime juice that keeps the drink on an even keel. In fact, as far as we're concerned, Rose's Lime Juice is the essence of the Gimlet. It's one of the world's great man-made inventions, ranking just under polyester.

How to make it:

2 1/4 ounces Bombay Sapphire gin

3/4 ounces Rose's lime juice.

Shaken, served straight up with a wedge of lime.

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#2 Singapore Sling

The Singapore Sling was invented by a man named Ngiam Tong Boon for the Raffles Hotel in Singapore in the early 1900's, and caught on as a popular drink.

How to make it:
Prepare and serve in 10 oz glass

Fill 1/2 full shaved ice. Place sliced red and green cherries alternately around inside of glass. Add juice of 1/2 lime or 1/4 lemon

1 jigger Distilled Dry Gin

Fill balance of glass with shaved ice.

Add 1/2 jigger Cherry Liqueur

Dash of Benai Liqueur

Garnich with slice of Torange, Cherry, and peel of cucumber

Serve with straws. Do not stir, or shake.

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#3 Pink Lady

A Pink Lady is a classic gin-based cocktail with a long history. Due to its name, color, ingredients, and texture, the Pink Lady is traditionally thought of as a very feminine drink choice, known as a "girly" drink. It is traditionally made with plymouth gin which has a stronger flavor of herbs compared to the standard gin. The egg-whites and cream mixed in create a foam that floats on top of the drink as well as giving it a unique texture.

How to make it:

Fill a bar glass with 3 or 4 pieces of cracked ice and white of 1 egg

1/4 Jigger Apple Jack

1 Jigger Distilled Dry Gin

2 dashes Grenadine

Juice of quarter of a lime

Shake well

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#4 Tom Collins

The Tom Collins is closest to a Gin Fizz, using "Old Tom Gin" (somewhat sweet) and served in a larger glass over ice. Commercial sweet and sour mix is commonly used as a replacement for the sugar and lemon juice. It can be made with either Distilled Dry Gin or Sloe Gin.

How to make it:

Muddle 1/2 Lemon with 1 teaspoonful sugar

3 or 4 cubes of ice in glass glass

1 1/2 jiggers of liquor

Fill glass with Seltzer or small bottle Club Soda. Stir gently with spoon. Garnish with a cherry and 1/2 slice of lemon and serve.

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#5 Honeymoon Cocktail

This is a true original American cocktail, created at Hollywood's Brown Derby restaurant back in the 1930's, traditionally garnished with a lemon peel.

How to make it:

3/4 oz apple brandy

3/4 oz benedictine herbal liqueur

1 tsp triple sec

juice of 1/2 lemons
Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

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#6 The Zombie

The Zombie is an exceptionally strong cocktail made of fruit juices, liqueurs and various rums, so named for its perceived effects upon the drinker. It first appeared in the late 1930s at Hollywood's Don the Beachcomber restaurant. It was popularized soon afterwards at the 1939 New York World's Fair. It was heavily promoted with the intriguing warning ‘Limit two per customer.’ Tell people they can only have two, and of course they want even more.”

How to make it:

1 oz Light Rum
1 oz Dark Rum
2 oz Orange Juice
2 oz Lemon Juice
Dash of Grenadine
1/4 oz Cherry Brandy
Pour over ice in that order into a Sling Glass or a Zombie Glass and garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.

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#7 Manhattan

It has been called a drinking man's cocktail, strong, urbane, and simple. It has also been called the "king of cocktails. I remember as a kid being at some one's house and they drank pitchers of these. Whew! A Manhattan is made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. Proportions of whiskey to vermouth vary, from a very sweet 1:1 ratio to a much less sweet 4:1 ratio. The cocktail is often stirred with ice and strained into a cocktail glass, where it is garnished with a Maraschino cherry with a stem. A Manhattan can also be served on the rocks in an "old-fashioned (lowball) glass".

How to make it:

3/4 oz sweet vermouth

2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 maraschino cherry

1 twist orange peel
Combine the vermouth, bourbon whiskey, and bitters with 2 - 3 ice cubes in a mixing glass. Stir gently, don't bruise the spirits and cloud the drink. Place the cherry in a chilled cocktail glass and strain the whiskey mixture over the cherry. Rub the cut edge of the orange peel over the rim of the glass and twist it over the drink to release the oils but don't drop it in.

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Bonus entry: Marlene Dietrich Cocktail
Marlene Dietrich, of course is a Hollywood legend from the 1930's to the 70's. She was known for playing a sultry temptress role in many of her films with other legends like Cary Grant. This cocktail named after Miss Dietrich has whiskey, bitters and curaçao, which play their own sultry roles.

How to make it:

3 oz rye or Canadian whiskey
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes curaçao
orange and lemon peels
Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes.
Shake well.
Strain into a wine glass.
Squeeze orange and lemon peels on top

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What are YOUR favorite vintage cocktails? Since it is the holiday season, ALL COMMENTS ARE FREE TODAY!

-Rick Rockhill

The Tropicale, Palm Springs

Friday evening I went to check out Tropicale, a hip new restaurant in downtown Palm Springs. It bills itself as having a chic sophisticated décor. Inside the dining room there are tables and high-backed half-circular leather booths in a plush dining room with chandeliers. The Coral Seas Lounge offers retro cocktails such as The Pink Pussycat, Just Peachy Martini , Chi-Chi Coconut Martini, Carmen Miranda Sangria and the Havana Banana Sparkling Sangria, just to name a few. We had a late reservation, 10:00pm, and although things had calmed down, there was still a very respectable crowd dining and having cocktails. There was some confusion about our waiter- four different servers took care of us with varying degrees of attention. After some confusion with the appetizers available, I enjoyed the Organic lettuce salad with toasted walnuts, gorgonzola and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The entrees were delicious, with generous portions. although I didn't order them, the pizzas on the menu looked delicious.

above: exterior photos ot Tropicale at night, with dramatic lighting and swank palm trees and neon lights.

above left: I had the Japanese-Style Rice Bowl with Teriyaki King Salmon, Steamed Baby Bok Choy, Asparagus Tips, Tomatoes & Wild Mushrooms and above right: John had the Rare-Grilled Ahi Tuna Steak with Lime Ginger Butter, Black Sesame Seeds Green Papaya Salad Wasabi Dipping Sauce

above left: the waiting area- the "fireplace" is actually a plasma screen TV of a fireplace- very clever for our desert climate, above right: the interior bar of the Coral Seas Lounge.

above: the Coral Seas Lounge back patio and outdoor bar

-Rick Rockhill

Getting Festive at Work

Yesterday I decided it was time to bring a little holiday cheer to the office, so I stopped at a drug store on the way to work and bought a cheap-ass artificial Christmas tree and a bunch of decorations. Its one of those 4' high trees with the lights already on the branches. Since I am in the dog food business, I placed a variety of natural and organic dog food cans under the tree, instead of Christmas presents. (okay I am a little weird). Feeling less and less like Ebeneezer Scrooge with every ornament I hung, I felt the ice melt away from my heart and I went ahead and put up stockings with candy canes. At least the office looks festive now and I don't feel so grumpy!

Shortly after, one of my co-workers put up this festive Christmas wreath..see how easy it is to spread a little holiday cheer?

So what are you doing at your place of work to get into the holiday mood? Go ahead, in the spirit of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas, ALL COMMENTS ARE FREE TODAY!

-Rick Rockhill

Wisdom Wednesdays: Featuring Dr Wang & Madame Esmerelda

DR WANG & Madame Esmerelda

Now back from his cruise, Dr Wang is once again leading off his weekly Wisdom Wednesdays column with special-guest Gypsy fortune teller Madame Esmerelda, who is still in Palm Springs for another two weeks. Once again, Madame Esmerelda lends her special brand of advice to Dr Wang's readers. Click the video below to check out this week's special message from Madame Esmerelda:

ASK DR WANG

This week’s letter is from an anonymous man who reports to be currently serving a prison sentence in the state of Louisiana. He writes:
Dear Dr Wang,

I am currently serving out the last few months of a three year prison term for a non-violent, white collar crime for which I am guilty. I am serving my time, and paying my debt to society as they say. I am at a strange point however in that when I am released I do not know what I will do with my life.. With my imprisonment, my wife divorced me, I lost my house, my friends and my career. Without divulging my identity, I am not allowed to pursue the same career I previously held. I have nothing to lose by writing to a psychic fish, so this is it. What do you see in my future? I have limited internet access so I hope you can respond promptly.

-Anonymous, in prison.

Dr Wang responds: Dear Anonymous,

This is a very interesting letter, and a most unusual one for me to tackle. I spent a fair amount of time meditating in my Ancient Temple for you. The Great Bubble Wall was quite revealing in that the pattern and flow of bubbles suggest that you will eventually be living near the ocean and will open a pizza place. I suggest that you use the name “Pizza Shack”, except put your first name in front of it. (ie: Sidney’s Pizza Shack”). There you will meet a woman by the name of either Debbie, Dina or Darlene who will create a unique recipe for lasagna that will make your restaurant famous in the town. This will eventually lead you to change the name to "_____'s Pizza and Pasta Shack", which will eventually grow into three locations. Please, for me and the sake of my other aquatic cousins, resist the temptation to feature any seafood on you menu. I think it’s a crime to eat fish. And you don’t want to be guilty of another crime! Good luck serving out your sentence, and be sure to drop me a line when you get your feet on the ground.

Keep swimming upstream,
-Dr Wang
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"Wisdom Wednesdays" features the sage advice of our resident oracle, psychic betta fish "Dr Sidney Wang". Believed to be a reincarnated descendant of King Rama II of Siam, Dr Wang responds to e-mail submissions with advice, predictions of the future and conveys ancient proverbs to provide guidance and support. Dr Sidney Wang's 24 Hour Wisdom, Advice and Inspiration service is also available from the left side navigation for this feature.

BBC News: Chimps beat humans in memory test

The following article appeared on BBCNews.com. I found it interesting...hope you enjoy it too! The next time you forget something, you may want to find a chimpanzee to help you next time!

Chimpanzees have an extraordinary photographic memory that is far superior to ours, research suggests.
Young chimps outperformed university students in memory tests devised by Japanese scientists. The tasks involved remembering the location of numbers on a screen, and correctly recalling the sequence. The findings, published in Current Biology, suggest we may have under-estimated the intelligence of our closest living relatives.

Until now, it had always been assumed that chimps could not match humans in memory and other mental skills. "There are still many people, including many biologists, who believe that humans are superior to chimpanzees in all cognitive functions," said lead researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa of Kyoto University.

No one can imagine that chimpanzees - young chimpanzees at the age of five - have a better performance in a memory task than humans. "Here we show for the first time that young chimpanzees have an extraordinary working memory capability for numerical recollection - better than that of human adults tested in the same apparatus, following the same procedure."

Memory tests
Dr Matsuzawa and colleagues tested three pairs of mother and baby chimpanzees against university students in a memory task involving numbers. The mothers and their five-year-old offspring had already been taught to "count" from one to nine. During the experiment, each subject was presented with various numerals from one to nine on a touch screen monitor.
The numbers were then replaced with blank squares and the test subject had to remember which number appeared in which location, then touch the appropriate square. They found that, in general, the young chimps performed better than their mothers and the adult humans. The university students were slower than all of the three young chimpanzees in their response.

The researchers then varied the amount of time that the numbers appeared on-screen to compare the working memory of humans and chimps. Chimps performed much better than university students in speed and accuracy when the numbers appeared only briefly on screen. The shortest time duration, 210 milliseconds, did not leave enough time for the subjects to explore the screen by eye movement - something we do all the time when we read.

This is evidence, the researchers believe, that young chimps have a photographic memory which allows them to memorise a complex scene or pattern at a glance. This is sometimes present in human children but declines with age, they say.
"Young chimpanzees have a better memory than human adults," Dr Matsuzawa told BBC News. "We are still underestimating the intellectual capability of chimpanzees, our evolutionary neighbours."

'Ground-breaking'
Dr Lisa Parr, who works with chimps at the Yerkes Primate Center at Emory University in Atlanta, US, described the research as "ground-breaking". She said their importance of these primates for understanding the skills necessary for the evolution of modern humans was unparalleled. "They are our closest living relatives and thus are in a unique position to inform us about our evolutionary heritage," said Dr Parr. "These studies tell us that elaborate short-term memory skills may have had a much more salient function in early humans than is present in modern humans, perhaps due to our increasing reliance on language-based memory skills."
Happy Tuesday

The Amazing Cliff Divers of Mazatlan, Mexico

If you've been following along for the past week, you'll know that I've just returned from a fantastic cruise to the Mexican Riviera. During our port in Mazatlan, we hired a driver to take us on a private tour of the city. I highly recommend this option, as you can customize your visit and spend time on things you want to do. One of the stops we made was to see the cliff divers. The photo above left shows the rock "cliff" that the divers use. Groups of tourists watch in awe as the young Mexican divers prepare to dive, as their friends work the crowd to collect money. A dollar or two from every onlooker satisfies them, and they give the signal to the diver on top of the rocks.The photos below give you an idea, but I've also added a video for some live action!

Above left: the divers use these stairs to ascend the top. Above right: this diver stretches to prepare for his dive, while his friends collect tips from tourists. Click the button below to watch the video:

Above: I took this video in Mazatlan, Mexico. The cliff divers are young men who jump off these rocks in what seems like a rather dangerous stunt, but they work for tips. Enjoy!

-Rick Rockhill

Mexican Riviera Cruise, Day 7: At Sea and Back to San Diego

Well the Mexican Riviera cruise has come to an end all too soon. It turned out to be a fantastic vacation, enhanced by some new friends we made from the very first day. The three ports of call were quite enjoyable; exotic and unique from each other. The food and service was very good; in fact several nights we ordered specialized dishes not on the menu, which the head waiter happily prepared. Despite being in sunny Mexico all week, I was in the Christmas spirit, thanks to the ship's Christmas decorations. The garland, wreaths and trees provided a festive backdrop for photos galore.

above: the art auctions held during the cruise showcased a wide variety of art from several renowned artists.

above: before dinner we hosted a private cocktail party in our stateroom for a few friends. We had a small spread of cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, a veggie tray and some of my Fannie May chocolates of course! (I never travel without them)

above: As last night's dinner concluded, the lights were turned off and we watched the parade of waiters carrying flaming Baked Alaska as dessert. It was delicious!

above left: Enjoying a refreshing martini before dinner, and above right: We went to Jammer's nightclub one night to enjoy some music and a few cocktails. I never made it to the dance floor however tempting it was.
Dr Wang at Sea
Final Day: I cannot believe how quickly this cruise has passed by. After dictating a few postcards to be written, I had a relaxing breakfast of croissant crumbs. I passed on orange juice, it is way too acidic for my fins. My time at sea has been rejuvenating, I feel "at one" with my fellow creatures of the water. I especially enjoyed the yoga classes, and Pilates too. I'm going to swim down to the future cruise office and see what other cruises that make sense for me. My Wisdom Wednesday column this week will welcome back Madame Esmerelda, who is still in Palm Springs for another week. Thanks for reading my "fblog" (fish blog).

-Dr Wang

Sunday Art Review: Onboard the Dawn Princess

Regular readers of this blog are familiar with my weekly Sunday Art Review posts each Sunday. Today is no exception, despite being away at sea. This week I decided to feature several works of art from the Dawn Princess cruise ship. Princess invests millions of dollars on permanent art exhibits for it's ships. On sea days particularly, I like to walk around the ship and enjoy the wide variety of art on display. I never take the time to write down the artist or the name of the work, but I hope you enjoy them just the same.

-Rick Rockhill

Mexican Riviera Cruise, Day 6, Day at Sea

Yesterday was a full day at sea. Mmmmm the refreshing sea air is so invigorating. I started my day doing laps around the Promenade deck, enjoyed a cup of tea on the deck overlooking the pool, followed by a few hours of reading on a deck chair. I woke up after a brief snooze, my book resting comfortably on my stomach. Yes, it was a stressful morning. After lunch, we went to see a movie in the Princess Theatre, and then wine tasting, which was very enjoyable.

The Maitre D Wine Tasting

The wine tasting we attended yesterday featured some of the fine wines from the ship's cellars, including Veuve Clicquot Champagne, Cuvaison Chardonnay, Barolo red, Brunello di Montalcino red, and Luce Della Vite, which was outstanding. They served a selection of impressive canapes, with cheese, pate, smoked salmon, prosciutto ham, etc. The head waiters spoke briefly about each wine, as the string quartet played softly in the background. It was a nice way to spend an hour or so.
It was formal night and we had quite a busy social evening: martinis at a friend’s cabin, followed by the Captain's cocktail reception, then a fabulous dinner (it was lobster night). After dinner we tried our luck in the casino at the roulette tables and slot machines. A friend was on a winning streak, which motivated me to join in the fun as well. I can't say I won, but I had a good time.

The 11:15 champagne waterfall party was hopping until the wee hours. Who says sea days are boring? Not me!

above: The main atrium looked so festive with Christmas trees, wreaths and garland. Above right: the Champagne Waterfall was pretty cool, and kicked off the party with music and dancing until the wee hours.

above left: the aft of the ship, at night.

above: The Mexican Fiesta on Friday had a live band playing by the pool which kept people dancing all night.
Dr Wang at Sea

After a good night’s sleep I awoke rested and ready for a relaxing day at sea. I was hoping this evening’s dinner would be seafood-free. I prefer plants and bugs myself. At least the fabulous desserts make up for it. I had a crumb of chocolate cake last night, which was so delicious. One of the amazing things about being on a cruise is the presentation of food and the service. For example, the room service waiter brought a silver tray of desserts into my stateroom cabin. Wearing white gloves, he sprinkled a variety if cake crumbs across the surface of my water. I watched with great interest as the bits of chocolate ganache, coconut cake, carrot cake and pastry flakes floated along for me. I was in heaven. I swam to the waters surface and nibbled away until I floated into oblivion in total bliss. Ah yes, this is the life. I sometimes feel a bit guilty as I luxuriate on this ship above water while so many of my "aquatic cousins" swim deep below the surface...oh well, I'm not really feeling THAT guilty after all I guess.

-Dr Wang

The Saturday Seven: Things I'll Do at Sea but NEVER Ashore

Regular readers are familiar with my weekly Saturday Seven post, where I pick a random topic each week with a list of seven related things. Normally I include photos along with each of the seven entries, but as I am working with limited satellite resources on the ship, I will forgo any photos for this week’s list. Cruises can be great fun, although understandably not for everyone. I truly enjoy cruising, particularly the days at sea. Being at sea allows you to truly relax and enjoy yourself. Frequently I’ll spend a few hours reading, curled up on a deck chair watching the white caps roll past the ship. Often I find myself attending and participating in activities that I’d never be caught dead doing if I were ashore, but they just seem right while on a cruise. This brings me to another scintillating edition of
The Saturday Seven: Things I'll do at Sea but NEVER Ashore:

#1 Bingo
#2 Ping Pong
#3 Shuffleboard
#4 Ceramics at Sea
#5 Ballroom Blitz Dance Class
#6 Fruit and Vegetable Carving
#7 Ice Carving Demonstration

Bonus entry: Wet, Wild and Wacky Pool Games
-Rick Rockhill