House of Cards // Dinner and Bingo

Because of insomnia as well as a lingering cold that kept me indoors for most of the weekend, I was able to finish the fourth season of House of Cards. It definitely made up for last season, though the first will always be my favorite. 

I'm excited to see where next season will go. Will Frank and Claire be the first couple to be President and Vice President? Will Doug go cray cray with the widow? Where did Jackie and Remi run off to? Will Seth ever correct his posture? It really bothers me. 

When season two premiered, I made ribs and cornbread (Frank's fave! RIP Freddy's). When season three premiered, I added the Rickey cocktail to the menu. Why? It only seemed fitting to drink a cocktail that created and made popular in Washington D.C. (in the 1880's by Shoomaker's bar bartender George A. Williamson).  Originally made with bourbon, it later became more popular to be made with gin. I wish I could remember how I heard of Watershed Distillery, but when I did, I knew I had to use their product for the cocktails. If you've watched the show, you probably, hopefully, immediately thought of the Watershed Act: the bill that Claire proposes and works on that will create new jobs in Russo's (RIP) homestate of Pennsylvania, which she ends up torpedoing. The first time I made these I used gin but this go around I tried it with the distillery's bourbon. I would recommend both.

For season four I added House of Cards Bingo cards!  If you've watched the show over the years you'll know that most of the characters come and go so a lot of nuances that you see in one season won't be there the next. These Bingo cards were made specifically for season one. If you're new to the show or just want to rewatch season one, definitely use these! In turn, you could also use them as a drinking game guide. Zoe bites her nails? Take a sip. Russo's drunk? Take a gulp. You get the idea. Just be responsible. Don't end up like Russo.

Now for the fun stuff. 

Since I live in an apartment with no outdoor space to grill or smoke, I followed this recipe to make the ribs in my slow cooker then stuck them in the broiler for 5-10 minutes to get a nice caramelization on the outside. For sides I added the cornbread and a simple cucumber salad. I'll be honest and tell you that I have yet to find a good cornbread recipe. About a year ago I made a delicious batch but of course forgot to bookmark the recipe.

Rickeys are very easy to make:
2 ounces gin or bourbon
Juice of 1 lime
Club soda
Lime wedge for garnish

Fill a highball glass with ice.
Pour the gin and lime juice over the ice.
Top with club soda.
Garnish with a lime wedge.

Thanks to Google Drive I'm now able to share the Bingo Cards and Chips I created. There are 8 different cards (all have the same squares, just in a different order) and 8 sheets of character chips (includes: Doug Stamper, Claire Underwood, Frank Underwood, Zoe Barnes, Linda Vasquez, Janine Skorsky, Christina Gallagher, and Peter Russo)

Click the links to download:

House of Cards Bingo Cards
House of Cards Bingo Chips