By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

When I first started bartending I had heard of the Singapore Sling but I didn’t make very many. It was not very hard to make. You put in gin, sour mix, grenadine and pineapple juice in a shaker glass, mixed it and then poured it into a tall glass or a hurricane glass.

This was not really a true Singapore Sling but nobody complained.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Asti Spumante was the bubbly beverage choice when I was growing up to drink during holidays. My father was a Martini and Old Fashioned drinker and real champagne seldom made it into the house. My stepmother liked sweeter wines and Asti Spumante is sweet and bubbly. That is what we toasted with during the celebrations at the Armstrong household.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

My friend Karen gave me a great Christmas present.

An apple dumpling.

She told me it was Pennsylvania Dutch Style.

I was excited.

It looked like the apple dumpling my mother used to make.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Christmas dinner in the Armstrong house could have your traditional baked ham and turkey, but quite often it was a seafood dinner.

My father loved seafood and Christmas dinner could have various seafood dishes.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I recently came across a new entry to the world of spirits. It was Strawberry Goldschlager. 

Huh?

Strawberry?

For those not familiar, Goldschlager is a Swiss cinnamon schnapps, 43.5 percent alcohol by volume or 87 proof.  Originally it was 53.5% alcohol or 107 proof and that proof has been brought back recently.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I went on a baking tear the other day. I had a bunch of blueberries and chicken I had to use before they went bad.

I thought about making a pie but that would mean the end product would have a lot of sugar and I am trying to steer clear of eating a lot of that sweet stuff.

I settled on blueberry cornbread and blueberry muffins.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

By Dana Davis

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

The Thanksgiving feast might be a memory, but for many households, the turkey lives on. Leftovers are a tradition in their own right, but by week two, the excitement can wear off. Fear not, with a sprinkle of creativity and a pinch of culinary adventure, your turkey can shine once again.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I have been really fortunate in my time working with the liquor world, that I have ended up employed in some really classic venues.

I especially like working in places that have a real history.

Currently being in charge of the bar at the Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow, a bar that is definitely historical in Wyoming, if not the West, definitely fits the bill.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I make really good soups. 

I know I can cook well enough where people paid for the food in my restaurants, but I am not even close to cooking what a good chef can. However I cannot deny I make good soups. 

This talent definitely came late.

Honestly before I moved over to Taiwan, I had never ever, ever attempted to make a soup from scratch.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Thanksgiving is the time of the pumpkin.

Many Thanksgiving dinners will be served with pumpkin pie for dessert.

I can eat pumpkin pie, but give me a pecan or blueberry pie and I will be much happier. In truth, my family always had two pies for Thanksgiving growing up, one pumpkin, and another of some type my sister and I liked better. 

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

The first time I ate cranberry relish, I was in Noosa, Australia, at a friend’s house for Boxing Day.

This is the day after Christmas when friends get together and exchange presents and have parties.

Boxing Day is a British tradition and practiced in many of the Commonwealth Nations such as Australia and Canada.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

The first sort of depth charge drink I came across was in the marina bar in Washington D.C. 

A depth charge drink is the type of cocktail where a shot glass of some liquor is dropped in a glass of beer or an energy drink like Red Bull.

By Dana Davis

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Last week, my co-worker at the Saratoga Museum, Cindy Kessler, brought me a nice treat for lunch. She made some very tasty tater-tot casserole and shared it with me. It reminded me that I haven’t had tater-tot casserole in over 20 years due to an incident when my daughters were still very young.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Triple Sec is valuable in the world of bartending. 

I know this because I learned tons about this spirit because I worked with a Spanish company that had one of the best triple secs I had ever tasted. It was so good, that I got the company to change the name from Rives Triple Sec to Rives Seville Orange liqueur.