Chris Amirault

Times reports that it was the shellfish: Very interested to see how this all plays out, especially in relation to the month lag.

$10/pp for a VIP event including booze? Wow... that's... ambitious.

I guess I had assumed the choice was rejected given the OP, but, sure, it's the bible for a reason.

She might really like Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook, if she doesn't mind being called a twit (and worse). I have a soft spot for the Saveur Cooks French book, which has a lot of provincial classics and, though remaindered, is a well-designed, beautiful book.

And by "classics" do you mean Escoffier standards, nouvelle cuisine, French regional...?

Surely you are not impugning the historical reportage of the Cocktail Mixing Master.

I hosted an event recently at which "upscale" food was requested, and I devoted a lot of time to figuring out what that means. No fan of tenderloin, I decided to go with a grilled beef tenderloin largely because of the cache it communicated to the guests, whom I wanted to feel special. I say that because when I look at this list I'm trying to find VIP/upscale items: Let me be clear: I'm not passing judgment at all, but I worry that your VIP guests may do so. Are there upscale/"gourmet" items that can communicate just that VIP feel that you can add? For example, shrimp cocktail communicates "upscale" to some people -- I have no idea why -- suggesting that your shrimp and rice dish might be better split into shrimp alone and rice pilaf or biryani or something. And, along those same lines, what's your pp budget?

Doodad, what do you mean by "French techniques"? And how hard-core is Mom? If she's interested in a friendly, engaging take on bistro fare, that would be one thing; getting schooled by Pepin on "la methode" is another thing entirely. Give us a sense of what she'd like to be able to do and that will help with recommendations.

No rocks at all, little lost product. The texture of a molcajete helps to create coarse-textured items like salsas. Hit any local Asian market and you'll probably find granite ones that won't cost too much.

That sounds really interesting. Needs a name: Sandy Blood?

Darren72, I hope someone answers your question. I'm very curious to know the answer. Meanwhile, I harvested a few dozen thai chili peppers and made Lora's fermented chili paste recipe: I folllowed those directions, adding a bit of simple syrup and vinegar to cover. Very eager to see what happens!

Just put up some pineapple-infused rum and wanted to document the combination here, given recent discussions. To one roughly chopped, ripe pineapple I added 150 ml Wray & Nephew Overproof rum, 75 ml Flor de Cana Extra Dry, 250 ml FdC Gold, 250 Myers's. More in a bit.

Great idea! You could just tie the string (washed first) in the casing knot at the end, and it would pull itself through.

Larb tonight with ground chicken thighs, shallots, mint, cilantro, thai basil, aromatic ground toasted rice powder, lime, fish sauce, julienned cucumbers, bird peppers, roasted chile pepper. It went over brown rice, a planning screw-up that turned out very nicely indeed. What is not to love about larb?

If in the history of TC there has been a less interesting, more pathetic dish than that pasta salad, I don't know what it is.

Now why didn't I think to turn to the internets?! While it's clear that lots of folks own Imbibe! out there, others are hawking the same old song. From the Cocktail Mixing Master [sic]: You can also learn how to make "classic Prohibition-era" drinks here, thanks to Mike "Drink Slinger" Vincent.

The items in the photo look like pakora to me; the coating in particular looks like it's from chickpea batter. I often find that celery seed is an ingredient that often lurks in the background of industrial fried chicken. If I add it at home, I get oohs and ahhs from the younger set in particular.

Janet's a master of the melt, and it's hereditary, as her terrific Daily Gullet piece, "I Melt with You," shows.

menuinprogress, can you say more about the intriguing banh mi burger? Did you have other Vietnamese pate ingredients in there, or just the fish sauce?

I sing this ode to my mortars and pestles. I have three different mortar & pestle duos, and I use two of them several times a week. (The big somtam one I use a lot less often.) I have a small marble one with a bowl that fits about 3/4 cup or so, which I use mainly for cracking a few peppercorns or mashing a garlic clove with salt. The bigger granite one has about a 2 1/2 cup bowl, and that's the one I've been using regularly as of late. What they say about pesto made in a mortar is true. Even if you finish it in a blender (I couldn't get every leaf bashed), the silky texture simply can't be had any other way. Ditto for marinades: this weekend, I created one with (in order) garlic, black pepper, fresh oregano, fresh rosemary, parsley, and olive oil that was easy and fantastic. There's also something calming about using a mortar and pestle, for it (they?) gives you an appreciation of the role that each element plays in a final whole. (David Thompson writes about this awareness in his definitive Thai Food.) I also think that you develop a more nuanced sense of texture from the process. Anchovies and olives for puttanesca, avocado for guacamole... the options are nearly endless. Are other folks feeling it for their M&Ps?

Farmstead Cheese in Wayland Square has reopened with spiffy new digs, including a very cool cheese cabinet.

This sounds right to me: Does anyone have any examples of this version of cocktail history?

Interesting: the room design is Prohibition-era; the cocktail menu design is decidedly 19th century....

I've been enjoying the BarSmarts Wired course and especially the videos with Dale DeGroff and Dave Wondrich, who chart the history of mixology with great panache and erudition. However, I'm confused whenever they reject the notion that Prohibition was the source of all cocktails. Surely, I'm a product of the New Cocktail History, and thus think that Prof. Jerry Thomas, Wondrich's Imbibe!, and other original sources are where we should start our conversations about cocktails. But clearly some wrongheaded folks believe that Prohibition is the source of all cocktails, or else why would DeGroff and Wondrich, among ohers, work so hard to shoot that myth down? What's the origin of this historical narrative? What sources actually claim that Prohibition plays the central role in the development of cocktails?

There's some place over on Mass Ave in Boston that serves heavenly peanut butter banana smooties, and we've adopted, or adapted, them in our house. The key is the oats, which require a potent blender. Great for overripe bananas, too: 1 banana 1/2 c or more of rolled oats 1 c milk few Ts of peanut butter couple of ice cubes Add the three, then each of the next two, to your blender, then serve.