Just another reason why I shouldn't be allowed in a kitchen preparing food

I got on the Internet to find delicious recipes and ideas for Super Bowl Sunday.  I decided on jalapeno crab dip with crackers, chips and salsa, wasabi peas and a spicy crunch mix for munchies, Italian Beef Sliders, a hash brown casserole, three rice salad, Caesar salad,, brownies, and two different types of cakes because they were BOGO at my grocery.  I then decided I needed a great drink recipe to go with this scrumptious meal and so I researched and found a recipe on the same site for the sliders.  I don't remember the name of the drink, it had three names, but it used rum and that is my favorite liquor and doesn't make me miserable.

The ingredients were as follows:

• 2 cups of pineapple orange juice
• 1 cup of ginger ale
• 1/4 cup of sweet and sour mix
• 3/4 cup of dark rum
• 2 tps. sugar
• 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
• orange slices

Now, I read the recipe when I first found it.  I knew I would need to purchase the ginger ale and juice, but I figured I could use my Costa Rican rum instead of dark rum, and since everyone is always telling me to not be afraid to change up recipes I decided I would use the whiskey sour mix packets I keep around to mix with Amaretto when I just need a quick drink. So I went to the store to make all of my Super Bowl recipe purchases.  I searched and searched for pineapple orange juice, but not finding that, I purchased a tropical citrus juice from V8 that I've used before with my rum.  Later, Darcy found some pineapple orange juice, but it didn't look as festive as the V8 so I just stuck with that.  Darcy just shook her head, and I feared that she would turn out like how I usually am; a recipe follower to a T.  I was glad I was showing her how to branch out.  On hindsight, as I type this, I'm now thinking perhaps a liquor drink wasn't a good first example, but too late now.  (And relax she did not drink it)

I came home and began all of my preparations.  While the beef was cooking in the crockpot and everything else laid out I decided to make the drink.  I got out my glass pitcher, read the ingredients, and began assembling.  Never once did I read the "how to" part of the recipe.  I just measured and tossed all the ingredients into the pitcher.  I did wonder briefly why sugar was being added, but a being a recipe follower I dumped it in.  When I had finished I sampled it and found it fine.  I then decided to mix another batch as the first one only filled my pitcher about 1/4 of the way.  I measured and poured some more and dumped it all into the pitcher and stirred.

Then I read the "how to" part of the recipe which told me to mix the first four ingredients together in a pitcher.  Then I was suppose to mix the sugar and nutmeg together in a small bowl.  I was to squeeze the juice of an orange around the rim of the glasses and dip the moisten glass into the sugar/nutmeg mixture for a pretty sugary glass.  Oops.

I panicked.  I was out of the sweet and sour packets so dumping the pitcher down the drain was not an option.  I tasted the mixture again.  I mixed it some more, but the nutmeg kept rising to the top, so I scooped it out, mixed it again, and sampled it.  It tasted fine to me.  In fact it tasted more than fine, and decorated glasses are overrated anyway, and since my only guest was Kelly, who we refer to as Mikey, the kid who eats anything, my panic subsided.  I knew she would not judge so I left the pitcher as is, and we all enjoyed my concoction.   Although I don't think anyone had seconds.