Years ago when Greg and I first moved back to Everett from Georgia, we lived in his dad’s basement for a while. We didn’t have a house, all our stuff was in storage, I had no job, and it was just Dizzy and me hanging out during the week. I spent hours writing every day and in the afternoons I watched cooking shows on the Food Network. One of my favorite’s was the Barefoot Contessa. Her recipes are so easy and delicious and they never go out of style.
During one episode, I watched her make a pitcher of Sidecar cocktails for a party she was throwing. I’d never been into brandy, except to cook with it. To me brandy belonged in old historical romance novels; it was what the men drank while brooding in the library. But watching Ina Garten mix the Cognac with the lemon juice and Cointreau, I was intrigued. Ina can make anything look delicious. I wanted to invite myself to her house in East Hampton for an afternoon get-together with her friends and a pitcher of Sidecars.
I printed out the recipe to save for a later day, and then forgot about it.
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