Jim and I belong to a couple of foodie groups. They’re both exactly the same concept, but completely different because of the couple combinations , and they are both really fun and highly anticipated.
We’ve been doing the first group for nearly 2 years now. We didn’t know 2 of the couples when we started and now they’ve become dear friends.
The second group came about because, as we told friends about “Bon Appetit”, people would “wish they were in one too” and we found the perfect combination of “serious foodies”. It’s definitely a group of high achievers and the bar has been set very, frighteningly, high.
Four couples are in each group and we spin a wheel to choose a country/cuisine and then take turns hosting.
We skip a month in summer and don’t even try to find a December date, so we are getting through about 10 countries per group a year.
We have doubled up: for instance we’ve done Moroccan with each group now but we hosted one, and I did the dessert the other time.
The hosts provide the main course, and each of the other couples brings drinks, appetizers or dessert. We rotate those courses too so there is always variety. Some of the cuisines are a real stretch: finding the right recipe is one thing but then finding the ingredients….challenging!
Last week we did Brazilian night and Jim and I were on drinks. That may sound easy but the Brazilians literally have one drink: Cachaca – made from fermented sugar cane.
Happily it was available at BC Liquor. They had 3 bottles.
Their one cocktail is made with this stuff (40% proof) and so it was an easy decision for once.
The cocktail is called Caipirinha pronounced kai·pr·ee·nyuh.
We did a test run which was so successful that I went and bought a second bottle…so I guess now they have only one left!
Our intention was to do a dessert drink too but it was a bust…the combination of a cup of coconut milk and a cup of condensed milk blended with Cachaca (of course) floated NO boats, so we took Portugese and Argentinian wines instead.
Equipment
- Cocktail Muddler I got mine for $15 on Amazon
Ingredients
- 2 tspn sugar
- 2 oz cachaca
- 1 cup crushed ice
Instructions
- Get the juiciest limes you can lay you hands on and slice into wedges.
- Add limes and sugar into an old fashioned glass and muddle them.
- Add 2 oz of Cachaca and top with crushed ice.
- Stir and serve!
Nutrition
Building this cocktail couldn’t be much easier. It tastes like a Mojito met a Marguerita – but it has a unique flavor too which is kind of “grapefruity”. It’s delicious, more-ish and very refreshing.