Stacey's Triple Threat

I don’t really do “The Fourth” like most people do – I do the First of July (in memory of my late Nana, who passed away on July 1, 2000 at the age of 104); I do the 2nd, and the 3rd –in that order … surprised? This has been a hideously stressful month for my family and me, so, I decided to have my own July 2nd celebration.


Right now, there is a crater in my living room approximately 9’ x 11’ – it is in the shape of an “L,” and I am told it will be a “J” before noon tomorrow … hmm. While having simple tile laid on the floor, we learned the support beams and joists are rotted … you can rip them by hand. Oh, Joy! Look, the dog has fallen into the pit chasing his ball … oh, my …

Anyway, for said celebration, I created a drink (I’m sure it’s NOT original, but it popped into my head) that I call TRIPLE THREAT. I’m also sure there is at least one other cocktail by that name, but who cares? I’m feeling the effects of #1 and #2.

Triple Threat is a mistake. I don’t know what I was thinking, but here’s what happened. I found a bottle of Triple Sec on top of the fridge … Lord knows how it got there, but it was calling me (out loud) – “Drink Me, Drink Me … Drink Me, dammit!” So, I poured about 4 ounces of Triple Sec into a 10 ounce glass (plastic party cup, actually) … which I then filled with Home City Ice (my favorite commercially produced ice on Earth) – you really should capitalize the word “Earth” … it is a place, you know … Anyway, after the ice, I topped it off with some orange soda (yeah, yeah, I know – it was diet; but that’s what I had on hand).

Here’s the beautiful part. The soda will not blend into the liqueur; it just sits on top like a perfect bunch of goldenrod on a glass pedestal – so beautiful and graceful. I watched it for a long time, never occurring to me that I should drink it – the Sunkist Orange® just sat there floating like a happy orange moon on a clear silver sky … hee hee … So, I began to sip and sip and sip … it tasted like Sunkist Orange®. Slowly, it began to show a hint of Triple Sec. The thing is, you have to stir this drink if you want to blend it. I, however, thought it made a grand presentation. Heck, I could carry dozens of these around on a tray and look pretty competent, don’t you think?

But then, all of a sudden, BOOM! The two meet in between and all Hell breaks loose (yes, you should capitalize “Hell” too, since it’s also a place). Suddenly, after about 20 minutes, either the soda sinks down into the liqueur, or the Triple Sec reaches up to grab it and pull it down – either way, I was caught in the middle mid-gulp.

My TRIPLE THREAT packs a sweet and gentle wallop. I’ve had three tonight so far.

The purpose of this blog was to give you my recipes for my July 2 nonsense:

Celery: stuffed with anchovies, cream cheese with chives and honey

Egg Rolls with Oyster Sauce

1 (yes, One) pint of blueberries.

1 lb. green, seedless grapes

Orange slices (should’ve thrown them in the cocktail)

Devilled eggs: stuffed with smoked salmon, cream cheese, eggs and dill.

Happy July 3rd and 2nd and 1st you all.