Yes, Virginia. A perfect martini includes good vermouth.

I am an unapologetic martini perfectionista.

Pure gin or vodka martinis are not tolerated at Rancho Ryan. Those aren’t martinis. They are rough, crude and frankly, unsophisticated.

Two to one is my preferred mix of fine gin and a high quality vermouth. I especially stress the importance of using a quality vermouth - since it’s the vermouth that actually makes the martini. A number of gins can stand up to vermouth, including Tangueray - which was my favorite for quite a long time. Then I tried Bombay Sapphire. Wow. That’s my favorite these days.

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Macaroni Grill: Not hateful after all.

First we thought about Truckee River Bar & Grill, always a fav but it was Sunday and about 2:30 and I knew they’d be closing soon, along with Josef’s Vienna Bakery. Whole Foods was too far down the street to go there and back to Best Buy, so with a sigh, I said “oh, well it’s just food. Let’s go in Macaroni Grill.”

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Fresh and easy: Ginger pear salad dressing

This just sort of popped into my head this evening, probably since I had some lovely ripe red pears in the fruit bowl. The other thing I had in the panty was a bottle of Ginger Syrup. With just basic and simple ingredients you can present an elegant salad. Voila!

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Half and half martini: when you just can't make up your mind

Christ, there are people who detest gin, and those who can’t stand vodka! How do you keep ‘em happy and mellow? A ‘Half and Half’ is just the answer.

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