My mother's youngest sibling, my Aunt Katie is about the most fabulous person in the world. Even though she is a good-solid, pragmatic, Jayhawk through and through, living in Alexandria, VA with my Tennessee-born Uncle Sam for the last 50 years, has made her a true southern lady in every sense. It's a great combination the she wears well. Seriously, if you look up "comfort" in the dictionary - there's a picture of Aunt Katie. Never one to judge, she encourages all of her nieces and nephews at every stage in their lives. The door to her house on South Lee St. has always been open to her nieces and nephews and various friends throughout their lives. She's always quick on the plane for a wedding, a graduation or in the event of an illness or crisis. Whether you are sitting down to a Sunday afternoon meal at her house or holding her hand at a funeral, there isn't anything more comforting than Aunt Katie. If I am only half the aunt to my nieces and nephews that she is to me, then I will consider my life well-lived.
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| Aunt Katie with her nieces and nephews |
Each year at Christmas, she sends to KC a figgy pudding for our Clan to share at our Christmas gathering. No one really knows what goes into that figgy pudding but it arrives several weeks before Christmas and is not refrigerated. Nonetheless, every Clan Christmas, we douse it in alcohol, try and light it on fire and everyone has their obligatory bite of figgy pudding because Aunt Katie sent it. It wasn't until I was 25 that I finally ate the figgy pudding instead of feeding it to one of the dogs. It really was quite tasty. Of course, that may have been the year that I used almost an entire bottle of brandy trying to light it on fire.
Anyway, this year when I hit a brain freeze trying to concoct a cocktail for the holidays, Aunt Katie inspired me by suggesting figs! Well, duh! I had fig preserves in my frig so it made sense to start there. Lo and behold, as I did some research on the trusty internets, I found that using preserves in cocktails is a trendy new thing in all the cool places.
The Figgy Pudding is named for Aunt Katie not just because it's figgy - but, because you'll find great comfort in it - just like one does in Aunt Katie.
THE AUNT KATIE COCKTAIL - FIGGY PUDDING
1 TBS Fig preserves
2 oz brandy
1 oz dark creme de cacao
2 oz orange juice
2 oz half and half
orange twist, nutmeg, ground cloves, cinnamon for garnish
In a martini shaker muddle the fig preserves with the brandy, dark creme de cacao and orange juice. Add ice and top with half and half. Shake vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Nerdy-Boy does not allow me to play with fire when alcohol is involved, but, if he did, I would light the orange twist on fire and float on top. You should try that.
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