A couple of weeks ago, I had dinner at a Cuban restaurant called La Bodeguita del Medio. I just about died and went to heaven after tasting their Masitas de Puerco, so last night, I decided to try making it at home. It took pretty much the entire afternoon to prepare and cook, but man was it ever delicious. We cooked up a mess of our special Cuban frijoles negros with bacon and garlic, along with plain rice and a mango salsa. Faboo.

During the course of the day, I tried out a couple of cocktail recipes calling for Falernum as an ingredient: Corn 'n' Oil, Astro Aku Aku, and a Test Pilot. The clove and vanilla flavor of the liqueur came through strongly in all 3.

The Corn 'n' Oil was the simplest to make, and my favorite to drink. The Velvet Falernum went down smooth as...well...velvet, and the taste was somewhat reminiscent of a Brandy Old Fashioned, but spicier. I had the Astro Aku Aku with dinner, and although it was quite good, I found it a bit too sweet for my tastes due to all of the fruit nectar and sugar syrup required by the recipe. In future, I'd definitely cut back a bit on both. The Test Pilot was consumed later in the evening down in the Hai'deaway, and its bitter tang was a pleasant antidote to the Aku Aku. I'd heard a lot of horror stories about using Pernod in cocktails, so I measured very carefully to make sure that I didn't add too much. I apparently used the correct amount, because it definitely added a subtle hint of anise to the drink that I very much enjoyed.

Speaking of the Hai'deaway, I once again found myself lacking shelf space to display my recent mug acquisitions, so like the Nahm Abrams of Tiki that I am, I whipped some up with my special tiki-mug shelving jig. Finding the studs behind a bamboo wall is no easy feat, but I managed somehow. So now all my mugs have a place to hang out, at least until I return from my next expedition with another carry-on full.

Well, it's -17 this morning, so I suppose I better go stoke the furnace, put on an extra pair of socks, and read up on Artic survival skillz. Happy Stuporbowl Stunday!