Pink of Perfection

On a warm spring day recently, my husband and I decided to meet at the long wooden bar of a neighborhood cocktail joint to celebrate the cherry blossoms. I ordered an Old Cuban, thinking its combination of rum and mint sounded decidely springy. I wasn’t expecting it to arrive on a small square napkin in a tall, elegant champagne flute. Well, swoon…and that was even before I took a sip.

On Sunday night, as I told my beloved book club about my new favorite cocktail, one friend pointed out my pattern of late for liking a drink: “Add this and that and champagne.” You have to admit, though, that bubbly is a far more wonderful mixer than, say, seltzer.

Add so my new favorite spring drink is the Old Cuban. And my favorite spring snack is the same as it ever was: cold, ruby red radishes with a seasoned butter. This year’s upgrade to this snack comes courtesy of Heidi Swanson’s new cookbook (which I know I’ve been blathering on about, but, really, it’s that good): mixing the butter with goat cheese. The creamy, light cheese cuts the “I’m dipping a vegetable in pure butter” richness, making this snack both more virtuous and more delicious. Which is usually hard to do.

And so my best friend in the world came over and one Old Cuban was enough to make us giggle a little harder and get into a very serious discussion of the royal wedding. I only wish we’d had a brass band in the background.

Happy weekend, lovelies! And happy Mother’s Day to the mamas out there! Your kids are so lucky.

I’m using “champagne” generically, of course, and any kind of sparkling wine will work. Don’t, by any means, pop open the good stuff for a mixed drink like this.

Old Cuban Cocktail
from Kindred Cocktails
Serves 1

1 1/2 ounce or 3 tablespoons rum
3/4 ounce or 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1 ounce or 2 tablespoons simple syrup
6 leaves fresh mint
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Champagne

Lightly muddle mint, lime, simple. Add rum, bitters and ice. Shake. Strain into cocktail glass. Top with champagne or sparkling wine.

Dill Butter
from Super Natural Every Day
Makes 3/4 cup

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup or 2 ounces soft goat cheese

In a small bowl, mash together the dill, chives, shallots, butter, and salt. Mix until the herbs are evenly distributed througout the butter. Crumble the cheese on top of the butter and stir a few times, just long enough to work the cheese into the butter, but keep the cheese a bit chunky. The dill butter will keep, refrigerated, for up to a week, but bring it back to room temperature before serving.

Serve with cold radishes and a pile of salt.

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