It’s 5 o’clock, somewhere, isn’t it?

Let me tell you why I love a Whiskey Sour. The ingredients are simple, and they work. No expensive trip to the liquor store required. It’s not particularly a man’s drink or a woman’s drink. It doesn’t have a silly, embarrassing name. It doesn’t come in a glass full of pinwheels and swords.

The Whiskey Sour is a classic. A cocktail with at least 150 years of history. Freshly squeezed orange juice and bourbon, sweetened with sugar and soured with fresh lemon juice. Definitely a sippin’ drink.

P.S. If you don’t have bourbon on hand, you can use a Tennessee whiskey, like Jack Daniel’s or George Dickel. They have basically the same ingredients as a bourbon, but Tennessee whiskeys are charcoal-mellowed before they’re aged. If you have neither bourbon nor Tennessee whiskey, then I’m not sure how you’re keeping house. Get thee hence to a liquor store! Or just borrow a few cups from my Mommaw.

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OK, I just paid our electricity bill – the First Official Electricity Bill of Summer 2010 – and I’m declaring an early Happy Hour.

OF COURSE, we could turn off the air conditioning and save money! But do you know what would be at stake? My marriage, the lives of everyone around me and possibly the ozone layer. So, it’s money well spent. I just need a little something-something to take the edge off.

Here’s my glass, I mean jar, of white sangria. White Zinfandel, peach schnapps, orange liqueur, club soda and fresh fruit poured over ice. For the fruit, I used what was handy – orange slices, lemon slices, peaches and strawberries – but you could toss in some blackberries, pineapple chunks, sliced pears, chopped green apple, grapes or mango,  as long as you have something citrusy in the pitcher. Something that tastes like sunshine but doesn’t feel like it. Because feeling the sunshine leads to sweating. Some people think sweat is sexy, but you know what’s really sexy? NOT STINKING.

Just bill me.

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Tonight, I’m getting festive with my jelly jar full of Cranberry Margarita, because everyone’s healthy. Because the tree is up and lit. And because my latest car repair cost less than $3. Amen.

To make the margaritas, fill a cocktail shaker with ice; combine the cranberry juice, tequila, Triple Sec and lime juice; and, in the words of recipe writer Rebecca Rather, shake like hell. Then strain the margarita mixture into some glasses full of ice, and start sipping.

If you’re feeling particularly festive, you can garnish the drink with thinly sliced limes, fresh cranberries or a small ornament threaded with a skewer. To make the sugar rim, just run a wedge of lime around the edge of your glass, and dip it into a saucer of sugar. Because it’s pretty. Because everyone’s healthy. And because my latest car repair cost less than $3. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

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Last week, my sister took my nephew Jack to the store, and he decided to point out everything he wanted for Christmas. Robots. Action figures. Hot Wheels. Deodorant. So, Jenn reminded him that he’d have to write it all down in his letter to Santa. And Jack, who’s 5, was all, “I CAN’T WRITE!” So, he decided to stand in the middle of the toy aisle, like Saul on the road to Damascus, and lift his voice to the man in red, shouting with great conviction: “SANTA, I WANT THIS BIKE FOR CHRISTMAS! SANTA, LOOK! THESE LEGOS ARE COOL!”

Yes, Jenn tried to explain that you couldn’t pray to Santa, but Jack wasn’t having it. However, when she was Jack’s age, she used to flap her arms and try to fly off the hearth, so I think Jack’s doing OK. Read More…

My in-laws are driving in from Mississippi tomorrow night to spend a few days with us before they make their way to Kentucky for Thanksgiving, so we’ve spent the day scrubbing and scouring, dusting, mopping, mowing and laundering. Giving the house something between a holiday cleaning and an exorcism.

It’s not that we’re slobs, but when you’re having houseguests, you want everything high and tight, right? You want them to feel comfortable and not wonder if maybe they should check for bedbugs. So, tomorrow I’ll pick up a Sunday paper and stock the fridge, and we’ll be finished.

But tonight is all about easy sippin’, watching “Home for the Holidays” with an adult beverage. Right now, I’m working on a hot mug of apple cider spiked with Southern Comfort and garnished with a cinnamon stick and lemon peel. A SoCo Barn Burner. The combination works, because the flavors in Southern Comfort – especially the peach, orange and cinnamon – dance with the apple in the cider, giving you a drink that’s sweet and fruity, with an undercurrent of trouble. Just like Thanksgiving.

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Let’s talk goat’s milk.

I never gave it much thought until I saw Dr. Oz talking about the “Blue Zones” – four global hot spots where many people don’t just live to be 100, they live to be 100 in good physical and mental health. They’re worki

ng, gardening, lifting cars with their bare hands, gambling, partying, hooking up and causing general geriatric mayhem.

In one of these hot spots, Sardinia, people drink a lot of goat’s milk, which researchers believe could protect against Alzheimer’s and heart disease. So, when Dana, the chef/recipe writer/blogger/cookbook author/food consultant behind Dana McCauley’s food blog, suggested that we try goat’s milk together, I was game. (Check out her blog to read about how she enjoyed our “mutual virgin goat milk experience.”) I grabbed a carton of Meyenberg® Fresh Whole Goat Milk and put it to the test, tasting it straight and using it to make a smoothie and ice cream. Read More…

Tonight, I was walking into the house, saw my reflection, screamed like a banshee and walked directly into the sliding glass. I thought my reflection was someone standing INSIDE my house. And I walked TOWARD it. Screaming. Now, I know what it feels like to be a horror movie bimbo.

My head hurts.

So, it’s a good night to curl up on the couch and finally get down to the business of drinking chocolate. Read More…