by Ravinder Kingra
This is the first column of many that I'll be writing for Accidental Vegetables. Each week or so, I'll provide readers with a cocktail recipe and some musings on the finer points of boozy quaffs.

Cocktails & Ice. The former rendered nigh unpalatable without the latter. You can never have too much ice in your freezer, especially when a party looms on the calendar. And the ice shouldn’t be the kind you buy at the 7-11 or the grocery store. That ice has a lot more surface area and therefore melts quicker, watering down drinks in the process. Use the largest ice cubes you can and make sure they are frozen solid. If you don’t have that glorious contraption known as the automatic ice maker you can stockpile ice in a plastic bag or Tupperware container that you keep in the freezer.

Unless a drink has a carbonated component (i.e. gin & tonic, dark & stormy, etc.) I always use a shaker. I am not a member of that crackpot club that believes shaking drinks “bruises the alcohol.” It is true that a shaken drink will be a bit cloudy, but a perfectly clear martini makes me think of rubbing alcohol. Shaking results in a thoroughly blended and chilled concoction; with a slight frothiness into which one can sink one’s teeth. I tend to shake cocktails for at least 20 seconds. The shaker frosts over and the fingers start to go numb, but a small towel enlisted as a shaker cozy will spare the bartender some discomfort.

THE BABY SADIE

Named for my niece. Yes, my niece. No, I don’t think it in bad taste to name a cocktail after a tiny little child. When I heard I was going to be an uncle I decided a drink was in order...to celebrate the momentous news, steady the nerves, stop the tears of joy streaming down my face, and so on and so forth. Celebration indeed.

4 oz. bourbon
2 oz cointreau or triple sec
2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla
vanilla sugar (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake until very cold. Strain into frozen martini glasses rimmed with vanilla sugar, if using. Enjoy.

p.s. To make vanilla sugar, add 1 cup of sugar and a one inch piece of vanilla bean to a food processor. Process for a minute or two, until the vanilla has been chopped into tiny little pieces. You can store any extra sugar in an airtight container in your pantry for months and months.

Yields 2 cocktails