Ahh another fantastic Friday night, the best night of the week. I almost got destroyed by a criminal on the New York Thruway this morning (http://www.lohud.com/article/20120203/NEWS03/302030055/UPDATED-Rockland-hit-run-chase-suspect-distraught-after-girlfriend-dumped-him-cops-say) but the drive home was smooth. Now for one of my favorite drinks and one of my favorite appetizers.
Bourbon is basically the American version of Cognac. It is distilled in a very specific way with at least 50% American corn mash, and it is aged in toasted oak barrels. One of the most American of all the Bourbon drinks is the Julep. The simplest Julep, also the most delicious, involves cooking up a simple 1:1 syrup of 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and add a couple of large sprigs of mint. Allow to sit for at least a half hour, preferably overnight, and you will have a wonderfully mint-infused, pale green syrup. Fill a tall glass with ice. Add a jigger of Bourbon and an equal quantity of your green syrup. Fill the balance with soda water or "seltzer" as they call it here. No need to garnish if you're at home. Be careful, these are dangerously good.
Now for a nice appetizer. In many supermarkets they sell beef marrow bones as (Egads!) dog food. These can make amazing, and amazingly cheap, appetizers. Take the cut beef bones and spread them out into a single layer in an oven-proof skillet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with your best salt (no iodized salt please). Bake in a 325 F (150 C) oven for about 30 minutes or until the smell is too wonderful to resist. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for exactly five minutes, and, using a very small spoon, spread some roasted salted marrow onto a toasted, buttered slice of baguette and enjoy. Repeat until you are no longer hungry for the real dinner.
When I first made this (based on a wonderful experience at Craigie's on Main, Cambridge, Mass.) our daughter rushed into the kitchen and said, "No! Those were for the dogs!"
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