I don't know how I've lived this long without hearing Bob Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat," but I almost took a left instead of a right when he brought it to me, a little liquid leopard oozing through my car speakers the other day. I spent the next couple of days asking everyone close to me: "Have you ever heard Dylan sing "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat"? Most hadn't, but everyone should.
Have you?
No? Well, listen up. This song is a smoky, bluesy invitation to the 1966 Dylan, before his garble consumed his lyrics. This song opens the door to the world of Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol, of Jackie O and Camelot, to a time when I wasn't who I would be, and the whole world lay in my palm like a smooth marble.
My world then consisted of endless library shelves and the pirate ship that came to life on our gray wooden front porch. The Beatles weren't big yet--John Lennon just making his famous "bigger than Jesus" remark. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were still alive. Apollo 11 was a couple of years away from landing on the moon.
My world and I hadn't made some of our biggest mistakes yet.
We were still Bob Dylan smooth.
Now, not so smooth, I know that a martini can help give a high reading on the smoothometer.
If you aren't a martini drinker, please excuse the following commercial:
I like mine dirtied up with a splash of salty olive juice and the rest just crisp Tanqueray--the bartenders at Atria's shake a mean dirty martini, almost sloshing over the brim, tiny ice crystals still swirling for the first sip of liquid cool! I think Bob Dylan would approve--after all, "Leopard-
Skin Pill-Box Hat" has the same kind of beat as a really good martini should.
But, if gin and olive juice do don't it for you (I can see some of your grimaces right now), try this summer-porch-sittin' strawberry lemonade. It'll do the trick, although you might want to put on your cowgirl hat and hand over the leopard hat.
Strawberry Marilyn
The secret to strawberry lemonade is (shhhhhhhhhhhhh) pureed strawberries. Just clean them, husk, and pop into a blender. Hit the pulverize button or something like it, and you'll have a lovely sweet addition to your lemony drink.
Add some of the thick strawberry juice to a glass with crushed ice.
If you want just a delicious summer thirst-quencher, aka Virgin Strawberry Marilyn, add lemonade now, plunk in a straw, and drink up.
But probably not as cool as that little leopard-skin pill-box hat.
.My world then consisted of endless library shelves and the pirate ship that came to life on our gray wooden front porch. The Beatles weren't big yet--John Lennon just making his famous "bigger than Jesus" remark. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were still alive. Apollo 11 was a couple of years away from landing on the moon.
My world and I hadn't made some of our biggest mistakes yet.
We were still Bob Dylan smooth.
Now, not so smooth, I know that a martini can help give a high reading on the smoothometer.
If you aren't a martini drinker, please excuse the following commercial:
I like mine dirtied up with a splash of salty olive juice and the rest just crisp Tanqueray--the bartenders at Atria's shake a mean dirty martini, almost sloshing over the brim, tiny ice crystals still swirling for the first sip of liquid cool! I think Bob Dylan would approve--after all, "Leopard-
Skin Pill-Box Hat" has the same kind of beat as a really good martini should.
But, if gin and olive juice do don't it for you (I can see some of your grimaces right now), try this summer-porch-sittin' strawberry lemonade. It'll do the trick, although you might want to put on your cowgirl hat and hand over the leopard hat.
Strawberry Marilyn
First you need some lemonade. You can make it fresh, like I did here, by squeezing lemons and mixing with sugar and water.
For really, really good lemonade:
1. Dissolve one cup of sugar in one cup of hot water.
2. Cool (No, I don't mean you...I'm talking about the simple syrup!)
3. Mix one cup of freshly-squeezed lemon juice (I get about two tablespoons from a smallish lemon). Roll your lemons (but don't let anyone see you) to maximize the juice flow.
4. Add 3-4 cups of water and some ice.
5. Drink up, and then let me know how good it is.
Trop 50 makes a nice light lemonade, too. (If you want to make sure that the little leopard-skin pill-box hat still fits, you can make the above recipe with Splenda.)
Yumalicious waddawadda bing bang!
The secret to strawberry lemonade is (shhhhhhhhhhhhh) pureed strawberries. Just clean them, husk, and pop into a blender. Hit the pulverize button or something like it, and you'll have a lovely sweet addition to your lemony drink.
Add some of the thick strawberry juice to a glass with crushed ice.
If you want just a delicious summer thirst-quencher, aka Virgin Strawberry Marilyn, add lemonade now, plunk in a straw, and drink up.
I was just kidding before about the secret ingredient. It's really a nice pour of Marilyn Monroe Strawberry Vodka. Well, hello beautiful!
Fill up the remainder of the space with lemonade, stick in a straw, and settle in with your very cool drink.
But probably not as cool as that little leopard-skin pill-box hat.
