A Cool Martini

The holidays are finally over, and I can't say I'm especially sorry. Christmas is not one of my favorite times of year - firstly, it seems to start so early and go on for ever that by the time it gets here, I'm kind of done with it. Also, being from England, it still seems odd to celebrate Christmas with sunny skies and palm trees, so I've never really got into it since coming to the USA. Still, there are some things I enjoyed over Christmas and one was reading a book I'd started some time ago and not had time to finish, and the other was celebrating with a cool martini.



Two Dollar Bill by Stuart Woods has a catchy plot featuring Stone Barrington, the suave Manhattan cop-turned-lawyer. This book starts in the usual way - eating at Elaine's restaurant with Dino, his ex-Partner and ex-brother-in-law. Stone meets this crazy Texan guy called Billy Bob Barnstormer, and the fun begins. It turns out that Billy Bob has many aliases and keeps on handing out two dollar bills. Naturally, this book features several beautiful women, one of whom happens to be the federal prosecutor, who has her own reasons for wanting to question the conman Billy Bob. Soon everyone is chasing around New York looking for this guy, and, of course, there is a plentiful helping of spicy dialogue, sex, and crime. If you have ever read a Stuart Woods novel you will know that dining, entertaining and being seen in the right place at the right time are of paramount importance to Stone Barrington. Whenever I read these books I start thinking about eating and drinking and that's how I ended up with the martini.

This martini is not quite traditional as you keep the ice in the martini glass, neither shaken nor stirred.

Here is how to make it. First of all gather together the ingredients:



Martini Extra Dry Vermouth
Absolut Citron Vodka (chilled in the freezer)
Pimento Stuffed Olives
Ice
Lemon Tie





1. Chill the martini glass in the freezer.
2. Fill the martini glass half full with ice.
3. Spray the martini glass with vermouth
(a spritzer like the one shown makes this really easy).



4. Pour Absolut Citron Vodka over the ice.
5. Decorate with olives and lemon twist.













Serve immediately with Williams-Sonoma Parmesan Lemon Cocktail Biscuits.