A Businessman's Dinner

It's hard to have any kind of fun,boozy lunch or dinner business meeting. We miss those meetings that also include a lavish steak and potato or surf and turf dinner. However if you have a kitchen - and a well stocked liquor cabinet you can create these meals at home - and even in your yard.

One of the standards of any business lunch is the mixed drink. If you feel it's too strong there's always seltzer to mix in. There's also mocktails which have the flavor without the punch. Try the classic Italian Americano which is a mix of the low in strength vermouth, Campari and club soda. It can be converted to the more potent Negroni by skipping the club soda and adding gin.A cool summertime treat is gin and tonic which just calls for those two ingredients with a hint of lime for more flavor. For a true light drink is the spritzer. This is any wine  - red or white equally mixed with a plain seltzer (although you could use any berry flavor for red wine and any lemon lime flavored one for the white). Mocktails are another way to go. They have the flavor of a mixed drink but without the alcohol. One is a blueberry ginger cooler which has blueberries and a home made ginger syrup mixed with lemon lime soda or seltzer. A Bloody Mary is also a nice accompaniment to a steak. Try one without the vodka, adding some fresh from the garden tomatoes into the drink.

The great American business lunch or dinner is nothing without a steak, Usually most restaurants and chophouses serve a T bone steak which is a good, meaty cut. It's better tasting on the grill and easier to cook out there also. Just flavor  it with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, then cooking it for nine to ten minutes, five minutes on one side , six on the other. You can add a round of garlic , herbed, or lemon butter for more taste.Many a classic business dinner has lobster included. Again use the grill for this.It is a little more work than the steak. The tail has to be split open and then flattened, usually by hand pressing it.It's then placed on a wooden or metal skewer to prevent from curling up. Brush with olive oil and then grill flesh side down for five minutes. Flip it over and add either a squeeze of fresh of fresh lemon or melted butter. Shrimp cocktail is another classic business lunch or dinner appetizer or entree.Make it 21st Century with roasting the shrimp on a sheet pan for eight to ten minutes. Serve with a good dollop of homemade or store bought cocktail sauce. What goes with all of these?  Classic baked potatoes. Use the grill for these too and salt crust them with Kosher salt. This makes for a fluffier interior , better for holding all that butter, sour cream and chives.

We may have new offices these days and new ways to meet. Yet we still can have the classic business lunch or dinner, drinks included. It's just enjoying a tasty meal with a iced drink in our shorts as opposed to business wear.

A good birthday to my favorite guy, Dad. This is for you.

The Gin And Tonic Game

It could be that summer is here. It could be a renewed fascination with all things Fitzgerald and Gatsby. Whatever the reason gin is king again and that means a return to classic drinks. One is the summery G and T or gin and tonic. This cocktail is suddenly hot again and is the thirst quencher of the Summer of 2013.

Gin was the highlighted subject of an article in today's New York Times Wednesday Dining section The entire section is dedicated to summer cocktails(more in days to come) and Dining regular Jeff Gordonier wrote about this classic. Gin is making a comeback, possibly more because of Baz Luhrman;s The Great Gatsby and people wanting to relive the  carefree,crazy times of the Twenties. The big drink of the era was the gin and tonic,an insanely simple mix of just two ingredients. Gin however   is not just gin these days. There's one named after the famed writer of the day Dorothy Parker.  This is a  pure gin but there are some that are anise flavored as well as some with a lavender taste.

Gin and tonics should be just that. However Mr. Gordonier has tried the drink with a muddled kumquat  found at his glass' bottom. There are recipes that call for a grapefruit slices and basil. There's also one with lemon and lime twists  from Manhattan's Spanish restaurant Cata. This eatery has dozens of varieties on the classic G and T. The drink is the perfect foil for tapas, going well with the salty and oily nibbles. Another kind is gin and tonic made with fresh made tonic ,The last comes from cinchona or quinine and it gives the drink an iced tea hue. It's one of the best versions out there, with artesanal tonic complimenting well made gins.

Gin and tonic is the perfect summer drink .It will brink you back to the Twenties when gin was king. Create the perfect one with good quality ingredients. Then sit back and feel like a Fitzgerald character at a glam warm weather soiree.