Edible Portland Blog

Lucy Brennan, the proprietor of Mint and 820, in Portland, Oregon, not only offers one of the city’s most creative menus, she also makes the best blackberry martinis. She named it after her faithful dog, Bella, whom she misses dearly because she spends most of her days at the restaurant.

The secret to these remarkable martinis, Lucy says, “is to use superfine sugar to make a wide, 1-inch coating around the rim of the glasses — then chill them.” Use plenty of ice and shake the drink quickly and vigorously before it has a chance to melt.

BELLA, A BLACKBERRY MARTINI

By Lucy Brennan, Owner, Mint/820
816 North Russell, Portland, OR

MAKES 1 MARTINI
1 lemon quarter cut in the middle of the flesh down to (but not through) the rind
Baker’s Special Sugar (superfine)
2 oz vodka
1/4 oz Triple Sec
1/4 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 oz Simple Syrup (see note)
1/4 oz marionberry or other blackberry, raspberry or strawberry purée, seeded

MAKES 4 MARTINIS
4 lemon quarters
Baker’s Special Sugar
8 oz (1/2 cup) vodka
1 oz Triple Sec
1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 oz Simple Syrup (see note)
1 oz berry purée

1. Prepare one (or four) 9-ounce martini glasses. Rub the cut lemon around the rims, moistening a 1-inch-wide band. Sprinkle the sugar on a small plate and coat the rims. Chill the glasses until serving time.

2. Fill a martini shaker with ice and add the vodka, Triple Sec, lemon juice, Simple Syrup and blackberry purée. Shake robustly for 10 seconds and strain into the glasses.

3. Serve immediately, but sip very slowly and enjoy.

Note: To make Simple Syrup, put 1/4 cup sugar in a 1/2 cup measure. Fill to the top with water. Stir to dissolve or gently heat then cool.

Check out Janie Hibler's information-rich book, The Berry Bible: With 175 Recipes Using Cultivated and Wild, Fresh and Frozen Berries (Morrow Cookbooks, 2004).

BERRY FRENZY
By Janie Hibler
For June-July 2006

Berry season in the Pacific Northwest always puts me in a frenzy, like a rabbit caught in a brier patch. I devour Oregon’s magnificent berries throughout the summer, but I’m equally adamant about stocking my freezer with fresh berries for winter use.

After living in Portland for more than 30 years, I’ve grown used to eating marionberry cobblers in the dead of winter and smelling the heady aroma of freshly baked raspberry muffins when the frost is on the pumpkins. I know fresh imported berries are available much of the year, but I won’t settle for inferior fruit when I can have our local berries — internationally recognized for their intense flavor and color — year-round.

The fertile Willamette Valley produces the greatest variety of berries in the world and the thought of gathering and freezing all of them causes me some angst. Over the years I’ve learned how to take charge of this daunting task to keep it from becoming a full-time job.

By the end of May I clean out my freezer, and make jam or syrup with last year’s berries. I dust off my over-the-sink colander, which I use for rinsing berries, and I stock up on assorted sizes of self-sealing freezer bags. I’m feeling better already.