Liz Johnson

Wow Jason — how many bottles do you think you have? Not wine.... just booze. I guess I usually have about 20 or 25... although a trip to the store is in order soon, so maybe less at the moment.

I've never heard of a schapps collection! Do you look for unusual flavors or something? (Maybe this is another thread.)

Thanks. I got the pieces from my grandmother. She's still alive; she just moved in with her sister, so she didn't need them anymore. Maybe I'll try to post a picture. My friends don't keep their wine above the stove, just the booze. I know it's not ideal, but there is the microwave with a vent between the bottles and the heat, so that probably helps.

That is exactly why my friends keep their above the stove now! Bottles are fun! Wine racks make standing up a breeze! No, no Rory: that's Mommy's drink!

In the 'Liquor Cabinet' thread, MiguelCardoso said which got me thinking: where do you put all that stuff?My dining room furniture is actually bedroom furniture. A big marble-topped dresser with an ornate mirror has three drawers, in which I keep linens and serving platters. The matching piece, an old washstand with a marble top and one drawer, serves as my bar. I put things like stirrers, wine stoppers, cocktail strainers, napkins, straws and even a few small recipes books in the drawer, and the bottles stand underneath in the compartment. I hang linen towels over the towelbars, and there are always a couple of bottles of wine and whatever liquor we're drinking at the moment on top — as well as a small lamp, an ice bucket, a small pitcher and a glass vase that is the first stop for my ever-growing collection of wine corks, which I promise to do something with someday. I keep extra bottles or rarely used bottles in the basement with the wine. My friends keep a few bottles above the stove in the kitchen. Where's your bar? What does it look like?

Hilarious.

Great work Jason! Congratulations!

Something really creative like 'passionfruit martini' or some such. I can't remember exactly. What funny story?

No, it's not Friday and yes, it's only 3 p.m. But out-of-town friends are coming and I want to welcome them politely. In about an hour, I will serve them this no-named drink. I had this Passionfruit cocktail at Cafe Atlantico in June and it took me this long to get the porportions right. It takes a bit of patience but it's worth the wait: Infuse a bottle of Barcardi O (or any orange rum) with a huge ginger root, cut up (no need to peel) and 4-6 jalapenos. (I suppose you could also infuse regular rum with orange, ginger and jalapenos. The restaurant uses only the orange rum — no infusions.) Make a simple syrup (1:1) with ginger and jalapeno. (It's really not overkill; it's the only way to get the taste just right.) I do 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 a regular size root and 2 peppers, cut up WITH THE SEEDS. Bring to a boil, shut off and let infuse for 30 mins or so. I usually make this drink in pitchers, so the cup of simple syrup; 1 cup of passionfruit juice and 1 1/2 cups of the rum. This is all a gestimate, so feel free to fudge. Stir. Pour some of the pitcher into a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of jalapeno.

I'm no baker -- believe me. But this idea seemed exactly perfect for the delicious peaches I brought back from my vacation in Tennesee. I baked a puff pastry sheet (frozen) in a rectangular tart pan. I covered it with pastry cream and lined sliced peaches (no sugar at all!) vertically on the edges of the rectangle, and filled the middle with two rows of blackberries. Divine! Thanks GG Mora for the inspiration!

artisanbaker, Thanks so much for the suggestions — I'll keep them in mind for my trip next year. The only time we got to Chattanooga proper this time was for the Sunday farmers market. It's quite good. Have you been? Also, two years ago, I went for lunch in the Bluff City Art District (is that the name?) at a New American-style restaurant. Do you know the name of it? It was quite good for lunch: salads, grilled fish, good sandwiches, etc. Thanks, Liz

I'm back. Dinner on the way down was at Luigi's in Harrisonburg, Va. What a fun place! The thin-crust pizza with artichoke hearts, mushrooms and onions was perfectly delicious, but I'm also a bit of a ranch dressing freak, and I felt right at home here. They make a great ranch (creamy, dilly, herby, etc.), and everyone there dips pizza, calzones, whatever! into their ranch bowls. Don't mock it till you try! The music and the crowd were very college hipster — something you hardly ever seen in NY. I peeked into Mrs. Rowe's when we stopped for gas, and it looks cute, but average. Better than Dick Monalds, for sure, but I don't know if I'd go out of my way. I didn't get near Southern Market. Also stopped at Ridgewood Barbecue in TN, and I wrote about that on the Southeast forum. On the way home, we ate at Momo's (yes, Steven) Barbecue in Dayton, TN for lunch. Great, great smoky pulled pork sandwich, awesome meat-to-bun ratio, and sweet cole slaw. Very good. If you ever find yourself headed to the mock Scopes-monkey trial at Dayton's courthouse (held each July), you should make time for Momo's. It's take-out only, but there are a few picnic tables. We stayed overnight in Strausburg, Va. at the Hotel Strausburg. The most bizzare thing: at the bar we met a couple who lives not 2 miles from us at home, and at dinner, the woman at the table next to us was originally from the next county over. Anyway, somebody had mentioned this place makes a mean mint julep, but that must have been a Derby Day fluke, because the bartender looked at my husband like he was an alien when he asked for one. We had some Virginia wines instead. (Not bad! Not great, but not bad!) We had a smoked trout platter with capers and artichokes and a salad with nuts and gorgonzola and the sweetest dried cranberries I've ever tasted. Both of which were a relief to our barbecue-weary systems. We also tried the chicken Shenandoah — which was drowned in that sauce, but acceptable; and the North Mountain pork chops, which were overcooked. It was an OK meal, but next time I might stick with the apps. The hometown couple we met at the bar recommended a Bulgarian (?!?) place in Winchester called Cafe Sophia. Next year!

Did you guys catch this? Pizzeria Bianco in the New York Times.

Welcome! And thanks for the tip. I also got these tips from Chowhound a couple years back. Has anyone heard of or been to any of these? Strasbourg Hotel — Strasbourg, Va. Haag’s Hotel — Sharlesville, Pa. Ridgewood Barbecue — Johnson City, Tenn.

All 800-plus miles. I'm actually headed to Tennesee. Thanks. That's not the first time I've heard that Rowe's suggestion, so I'll try to give it a shot.

That's so funny — I made a sour cherry pie and decided on ginger ice cream to accompany it. Excellent flavor combination, isn't it?

My God, that looks bizarre. Is it actually good? Anything new in Roanoke?

Any new recs from the area? I'll be staying north of the city on Lake Chickamauga. Looking forward to waterskiing, card-playing, reading, and of course — good eating! Any good farmers markets, groceries or restaurants around there or Soddy Daisy? Mayhaw -- have you been to the Thai place lately? We can get pretty good Thai even here in Nyack, N.Y. Worth it?

Lurking in this forum before a recent trip to DC proved fruitful: excellent dinners at Nectar and Firefly and the dim sum brunch at Cafe Atlantico. Thank you! Now for a more difficult task. I'll be driving through Virginia (and PA and Maryland and West Virginia) on Interstate 81, which seems to have nothing but fast food. Anywhere I could stop for something out of the ordinary or especially well-made? What about barbecue?

Reporting back: It was a cucumber-vodka martini. My friends had purple basil mojitos. MMMMMMM on both counts. Where does one buy Sirop de Canne Antillais? I googled and came up emtpy.

Qu'est-que c'est?

Another Friday: almost 5. Who else will add a drink? I'll be having a seasonal (and probably from local fruit) cocktail at Blue Hill at Stone Barns this evening.

Nationalista: 1 1/2 parts tequila 1 tuaca 1 cranberry 1 fresh lime rim a cocktail glass with salt; serve up. garnish with lime. (from "viva margarita" by w. park kerr) or maybe, from the same book: limonada blanca 2 parts tequila 1 1/2 parts lemon juice 1 part limoncello teaspoon superfine sugar serve in a highball glass and top with club soda, mint, and a lemon.

Jackal10, I saw a recipe in this month's Saveur for brandied sweet cherries that says to sterlize jars and keep the mixture refrigerated for up to a year. Is all that necessary? It does not say to shake the jar. I'd like to infuse some rum with ginger and jalapeno to make a cocktail I tried at Cafe Atlantico in DC and wondered if the same precautions are necessary? (I've never heard that they are, but I'm wondering why the cherries need to be refrigerated, then.) Liz

I just saw these at the Nyack farmers market today. Anybody have any new suggestions? Would they go with pork? Could they be substituted for sour cherries in many recipes?