Rum Drinks

Yesterday was my day to clean house, including the bird cages, which are roughly perodactyl-sized. While I was slogging along, the teevee was on the Food Channel, playing a Bobby Flay thing on chowder. This launched me into a chowder frenzy, so I spent the evening tinkering together a southwestern-flavored corn and shrimp chowder, based loosely on a recipe I found on the Internet.

The secret to great chowder has nothing to do with rum drinks — the title to a Jimmy Buffett song if you must know. Rather, the secret to great chowder is great tequila. I figured since I was already in the kitchen, I'd make a pitcher of margaritas (see how all this ties back to Jimmy Buffett song titles?).

All you tequila snobs are going to have an aneurysm, but I used a mixture of the legendary Porfidio "Cactus in Bottle" Silver and not-exactly chopped liver Milagro Select Reposada, along with Triple Sec, Gran Marnier, Citronge orange liquer, lime and lemon juice, fresh limes, and a little blended mix.

Well, that makes the chowder go a little easier!

Anyhow, the chowder was a huge success, even though I refused to use heavy whipping cream. Part of the trick is rubbing the shrimp with Emeril's spicey seasoning, letting them sit for awhile, then boiling them in about an inch of half-water/half-white wine (or cooking wine, either works). Saute a medium onion in half-butter/half-olive oil; add a tablespoon of minced garlic; cook 'til the onions are soft. Go very slowly, because high-end tequila doesn't actually lead to intoxication so much as a hallucinogenic shifting of reality. This is a good time not to let the cat in the kitchen or read anything from Hunter S. Thompson outloud.

Add a couple of cups of chicken stock...I only use free-range low-fat low-sodium organic pizza-fed yada yada, but I live in Boulder County, so that can be excused. Add a cup of so (I did a cup and a half, maybe two, of mild) of your favorite tomato-based salsa...boil five minutes.

Toss in the cooked shrimp, chopped; diced new potatoes, boiled; half a cup of fresh basil, chopped fine; one seeded jalapeno, chopped. Season to taste...to me that means salt, pepper and Emeril's. Heaven knows what it means to Bitter Bitch! Bile? I brought this to a boil, had some more margarita, waited another five minutes and added one-half cup of low fat half-and-half . Another five-minute boil, then serve with more margaritas and heated garlic bread. I could have probably topped it with chopped cilantro, but my Sweetie hates cilantro.

I actually had a pretty good time...I went to cooking school, after all. Every so often I ought to cook. It was either that or go down in the cold, cold basement, sans margarita, and reload .500 S&W Magnums...