Chris Amirault

These look excellent! The non-Society members are starting to weigh in as well. Here's Frederic over at cocktail virgin slut, who's thinking that Josey Packard's WiFi would be tasty basis for the Cosmo drinker. Here's the base drink: WiFi 1 3/4 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy 1 oz Lillet Blanc 1/4 oz Drambuie 1/8 oz Honey Syrup (1:1) 2 dash Peychaud's Bitters Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Click here to read Frederic's tweaks and see the snap.

They're working out ok. We can get the left oven up to 450F or so, but the upper heating element doesn't work very well. That means we have to preheat the thing well in advance and usually have a pizza stone in the top slot for any sensitive baking. The right oven is blazing broiler when it's in the mood, and a warming oven otherwise. More, much more, soon.

After a few more successful projects, including a great mustard, I had my first so-so experience today with the UP: making pesto. In some ways, it was terrific, particularly the silky texture created from all of that crushing. However, there were two problems. First, some of the leaves got wrapped around different components and had to be dislodged, which was a pain. More importantly, the time it took to grind it up and the motion of the grinder itself incorporated a lot more air than other methods, which meant that the pesto was a darker greenish brownish. No deal breakers, really, but worth noting with the machine that has knocked everything else out of the park.

Kent, do you have a recipe or brand to suggest? And is this correct? 沙茶 I googled it for images and think I recognize a few jars....

What does about as "empty as you'll ever see it" look like? Significant but negotiable crowds? I have in-laws coming for the holidays from Montana, and while they'd find the food spectacle amazing, being part of a NYC consumer herd is pretty much a circle of hell for these west-of-the-rockies types.

The Rancilio Silvia (Amazon link here) is a favorite of many around these parts. Ours is almost exactly ten years old and we use it 2-3 times per day. It's a bit outside your price range, but I'm now unable to drink espresso outside the house within Rhode Island state limits due to being spoiled.

Chufi, how are you going to serve that confit?

Not sure why that would affect the power cord; perhaps someone with more knowledge can weigh in here. Having said that, it's out in the toasty kitchen, too.

With a good ham, real pineapple and a few Luxardo cherries... I dunno about you but that sounds tasty to me.

I loved it while it worked.... Based on this evidence (see video 3), the guys over at Modernist Cuisine like it too!

It sounds like a good plan to me. When I made SV turkey legs & thighs at Thanksgiving, I found that I had to do a bit of scraping of the skin about half-way through the Silpat squeeze n bake; the skin was firm enough to withstand a bit of abuse. Probably could do that with the goose skin, and pour off some rendered fat as well.

Can you help us understand the qualitative judgments -- good, bad, verify, robust?

Marlene, have you ever had the power cord issues I'm describing? ScoopKW is sounding pretty compelling, given what I already have....

This stuff looks terrific -- and it's getting me thinking about Christmas Eve dinner.....

Very helpful -- thanks. I'll give it a try.

Say more about them Sweet n Sour Shrimp.

There are greens of some sort; I have to go home to check which. It's a good point, but in this case I'm trying to showcase onions for a guest who "hates" them. I also wanted to have the Bras dish on there as the onion is encasing all sorts of good things, some of which are green. Hence the soup to onions to salad progression, with the soup very simple and veg-free leading through the stuffed onions (with, I think, chard) and the salad.

The Waring is now dead, utterly dead. Doesn't turn on. Not sure what's happening here; trying to contact the folks at Waring to find out. ETA: Sounds like that model is no longer made or supported and had that problem throughout it's lifespan. Argh. So: Does anyone have any experience with the T-Fal T-Fal Ultimate EZ Clean? U gotta luv the EZ!

For $7? It's a steal.

If you're gonna do that glacé, get started now: the prunes need two weeks to macerate in armagnac after they've spent a bit of time in tea. And that's before you start the ice cream itself! ETA: Wolfert's salmon rillettes is excellent....

The ones I'm familiar with run along these lines: 1 1/2 oz Smirnoff® Green Apple Twist vodka 1 oz DeKuyper® Sour Apple Pucker schnapps That's from the DrinksMixer gang, creators of unintentionally hilarious videos showing how not to bartend, in which the instructor nearly always picks his nose.

Christmas I get leeway I don't get at Thanksgiving -- my Thanksgiving menu is a lot like your Christmas one! -- so I take advantage. However, most of the stuff on that menu is do-ahead, so that I can enjoy the meal with the family.

Here are a couple that are in the rotation; no photos yet, I'm afraid. We call the house espresso martini an Espresso Freddo Siciliano: 1 1/2 oz brandy 3/4 oz espresso syrup 1/2 oz Averna Stir; strain over fresh rocks; orange twist. The espresso syrup is made in-house following Toby Maloney's outline: 300 g demerara 240 ml espresso 150 g molasses Stir the espresso into the demerara until dissolved, then add the molasses and shake like crazy. Meanwhile, we've been making Lemon Drops (or lemontinis, if you will) along these lines: 1 1/2 oz vodka 3/4 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz simple scant dash Fee's orange bitters peel from 1/4 lemon (no pith) Muddle the peel thoroughly with the liquids; shake; strain; lemon twist. We tried to figure out a similar approach to the appletini, but we've been coming up short on that. Turns out the appletini drinker really misses that citric acid kick. Any ideas?

We've got a Christmas sweets topic,but not one for 2010 menus. I'll get the ball rolling. This year, the extended family (both sets of grandparents will be here) has requested "French," broadly defined. A few years ago, a daube built from Saveur Cooks Authentic French and Paula Wolfert's Cooking of Southwest France was the centerpiece, and there's been a request to have a version again this year. (Click here for the link to a discussion of my experience with that recipe.) In addition, the family wanted some "classics," so I'm trying to balance that with a desire to keep things more or less southwest. Here's the menu as its shaping up: Gougéres Champagne cocktails avec Duval LeRoy Champagne Brut, Cointreau, Suze, & Grand Marnier * * * * * Soupe a l'Oignon Gratinée Oignons Farcis a la Farce "Noire" (Michel Bras's Stuffed Onions from Wolfert) Salade Campagnarde (Salad of Duck Ham with Chestnuts & Walnuts from Wolfert) Daube de Boeuf Castelmaure Col des Vents Corbières 2008 * * * * * Glace aux Pruneaux a l'Armagnac Marie Duffau Napoleon Bas Armagnac I'd love to have feedback on a starch for the daube. I was going to go with las pous, the fried cornmeal porridge that Wolfert suggests in SWF, but I've been asked for something a bit lighter. Fresh noodles? Gnocchi Parisienne? Still thinking.... What're you planning to serve?

Do report back! It's my understanding that proscuitto ends can be used for many of the same purposes as other sorts of hocks/shanks, but I've never had 'em to play with.