The Polymath Gets Her Groove Back, Part Ten

I’ve always been one of those people to scoff at the art in the museum that is just a big canvas painted black. After all, how hard is that? Then again, I’ve never actually tried to make a large canvas perfectly, evenly, black, so maybe it’s not as simple as it appears.

I’m a good cook, often a great cook; I write my own recipes and tweak other people’s all the time. I figured how hard could it be to win some contests?

Then I entered about 30 different contests dozens of times and didn’t win bupkes, not even honorable mention or an e-mail to thank me for my participation.

Oh well.

Onto the next project.

That’s the best thing about being a polymath, after all, if you try something and don’t succeed, there’s a bunch of other stuff you’ll be genius at, so you don’t have to pout for long, and never have any regrets.

Then I got an e-mail.

Mionetto Prosecco cocktail entries now ready for voting! Click here to tell us your favorite!

Hmmmph. Mionetto. One of my favorite proseccos, and I had entered their cocktail contest with what I thought was a pretty killer martini *, one I had actually made and tasted! I wonder who beat me out? I click.

SWEET FANCY MOSES!

They have not chosen the top contenders, as I assumed they would, they have posted all 300+ submissions and are asking for online voting. The top three online vote-getters get a free trip for two to NY and make their drink for a panel of judges, third prize $500, second prize $1000, first prize FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!

This bitch is still in the game.

I check to see how my little cocktail is doing.

Zero votes.

The leader has nearly 700 votes. There are a couple of people in the 500s, a few in the 300s and a few in the 100s.

Craperooni.

I vote for myself.

I feel better. I feel empowered. This I can do. Polymaths, after all, are very popular people, being so multi-dimensional and talented and all, so I have a good group of supporters. I send out an e-mail. I post a link on Facebook. I put it on MySpace. I tell everyone I know to tell everyone they know, and sit back and wait for the shampoo-commercial-effect to hit the airwaves.

NEXT: The Polymath Puts Up A Fight

* Mionetini

INGREDIENTS:
1 oz Mionetto Brut or other prosecco
1 oz premium vodka
1 oz Elderflower Liqueur (St. Germain, available at www.thecellaronline.com)
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz pineapple juice

Optional:
For rim of glass:
1 T lemon juice
1 T sugar in the raw
1 t grains of paradise, ground (African pepper available at www.thespicehouse.com)

For Float:
1 T Mionetto Brut or other prosecco

PREPARATION:
Fill shaker with ice, and shake all ingredients well.
Dip rim of martini glass in lemon juice and then in the combined sugar and grains of paradise.
Strain cocktail into glass and float 1 T Mionetto Brut on the top for extra fizz.

Thank You!

Dear fabulous Frans of Jen (and other intrepid readers)-

Welcome to my blog! So glad to see you all, and hope that you’ll be checking in, signing up for the feed, recommending me to your pals, and commenting to your hearts delight.

The cocktail votes are in, and thanks to all of you, I won by 800 votes!!! In true classic form, they have scheduled the judging on June 3, when I will be unavoidably out of the country, but luckily they are allowing me to send a proxy, so I’m still in the running for the grand prize. (Even more sadly, Jen will be in the middle of her tour and cannot be my substitute!) I will let you all know how it shakes out then, but in the meantime I just wanted to extend my most heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who voted, I am deeply grateful.

Towards that end, I will be posting the story promised to you in installments once or twice a week between now and when the contest is over and the winner chosen….so be sure to come back to see how everything turns out!

[For those of you who have no idea what the heck I am talking about, a couple of months ago I entered a cocktail recipe contest where the top three online vote-getters got to be in the running to win 5K. My BFF Jen Lancaster posted my need for votes on her blog and her Frans (Friends/Fans) stepped right up to the plate to put me over the top...]

I promised to post a story I was writing about my entering recipe contests in general on this blog as a reward for everyone voting, and will be launching that endeavor later this week...

Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here is the yummy cocktail:

Mionetini

INGREDIENTS:
1 oz Mionetto Brut
1 oz premium vodka
1 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz pineapple juice

For rim of glass:
1 T lemon juice
1 T sugar in the raw
1 t grains of paradise, ground

For Float:
1 T Mionetto Brut

PREPARATION:
Fill shaker with ice, and shake all ingredients well.

Dip rim of martini glass in lemon juice and then in the combined sugar and grains of paradise.
Strain cocktail into glass and float 1 T Mionetto Brut on the top for extra fizz.