emmalish

Based on past experience, I didn't think I liked gin. But I'm now discovering I may have just had some bad drinks previously. Right now all I've got is a small bottle of Tanqueray, but between this drink and my newly discovered love for gin & tonic I'm probably going to pick up another option soon. Any recommendations?

I finally bought a bottle of maraschino liqueur, so tonight I'm trying a Last Word. 3/4 oz gin 3/4 oz green chartreuse 3/4 oz maraschino liqueur 3/4 oz lime juice I might actually use up my chartreuse with this one.

I picked up some Tomr's Tonic the other day. I'll be honest, I only bought it because I liked the bottle - I've had a gin & tonic once in my life and I wasn't really a fan, but I'm trying to try new things and develop my palate. I've never used a tonic syrup before, so I followed the proportions from Tomr's site - and I'm really enjoying this. I could definitely have this drink more often. 1 oz Tomr's syrup 2 oz gin (I used Tanqueray) 3 oz seltzer

Just remembered another one that was really popular. Ina Garten's scones - I've brought in both the Cheese and Cranberry Orange.

I've brought in a LOT of baking over the years. It's all been well-received, but the favourites seem to be Martha Stewart's Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies, and Cooking Light's Cinnamon Apple Cake. Both of those get requested often.

Do you mind pointing us to the recipe you're trying? My go-to veggie chili recipe is from Whole Foods (definitely recommended), but I'm always open to trying a new one.

Thank you for that! They look fantastic. I'm planning to make these in the week after Christmas, so they won't technically be Christmas cookies anymore. I'll post a pic too tho.

I know right? Which is why I didn't bother posting this in the Manhattans thread. I'd be inclined to call it a variation on a sour. But whatever it is, it's tasty.

Right now I'm enjoying a Mediterranean Manhattan from the Woodford site (no direct link, sorry). 2 oz. Bourbon 1 oz. Tuaca 1/4 oz. lemon juice 1/2 oz. simple syrup (I subbed honey syrup) Very nice. I'll definitely be making this one again.

I'm intrigued by the peppery bourbon gingersnap cookies. I'd love to see a photo!

Congratulations Steve! I've been dying to try some of these beans for the longest time. I hope you branch out northwards soon. (hint hint) :-)

I just contacted Qzina and they do carry a pate de fruit pectin. My fault - when I searched their system I was looking for "apple pectin" and only the slow set and a reversible pectin showed up. I'll give it another shot. Hopefully I can try this weekend. What I made last night did end up setting perfectly, and it's definitely going to be edible, but the texture is all wrong. I'm happy to know that the problem isn't just me really sucking at making pate de fruit.

Glad to hear you made it to Chocolate Arts, and that you rank it highly. It's definitely my favourite.

I'm late to the party, but I've been attempting to make pate de fruit the last week or so. I've been using the old Boiron instructions for raspberry (thanks Kerry!), using my own purée. The first time I tried was a complete bust because I didn't know there were different kinds of pectin (oops). So I ordered a bag of slow set apple pectin from Qzina. When it came, it was clearly labelled "jam pectin" (with a helpful photo of a jar of jam). I looked up the manufacturer's website and it states "Our pectin is specially designed to jellify and stabilize jam or for making "Pate de Fruit". And the label states "100% Apple Pectin." So I decided to give it a try. First attempt came out thick and jammy, and it didn't set up properly. I thought that might have been my fault because when I added the bulk of the sugar the temperature dropped below 185°F (one of the hints on the Boiron sheet). So I tried again and paid careful attention to the temperatures. Nope. Same thing happened. It began thickening as soon as I added the pectin. But it doesn't gel completely and I'm still able to pour it even after adding the lemon juice @ the end (although gloopy) and wrangle it into the pan. I cooked it a bit longer this time around and it seems to be setting up better (to soon to tell for sure). I've been adding the pectin after the fruit purée reaches a boil, but before the bulk of the sugar, per the Boiron sheet. I'm wondering whether I should try adding it towards the end of the process instead. In Greweling's At Home, the pectin isn't added until all the other ingredients reach the final temperature, but that recipe is formulated for supermarket pectin, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference. Any ideas? Advice?

Does anyone know where I can find XO Sauce in Vancouver? I have a friend visiting from out of town who'd like to pick some up this weekend.

Kerry, this is a great thread! I'm really enjoying reading about your (boozy) journey. I just recently decided I needed to learn an appreciation for whiskey. Too many bad experiences with rye when I was younger turned me off it completely, but I had the feeling I was missing out on something. So I started with scotch (Glenlivet) and bourbon (Maker's). That segued into a desire to try some of the old cocktails – like the Manhattan and Rob Roy. Now I'm looking at my liquor cupboard and thinking I need to do some experimenting with cocktails. It's full of things that I bought because I needed a bit for some recipe or other and never looked at again. Came to eGullet to see what I could learn, and who do I find in the cocktails forum? I'm way behind you on this – literally had my first Manhattan two days ago.

My KA is the only mixer I have – I don't have a hand mixer at all – so if I'm making a lot of cookies, cakes, marshmallows or fudge, it gets a lot of use. That said, even when it's not getting a lot of use, it stays on my counter. I don't have the space to spare, but I just love the way it looks.

I've never seen Cooking with John and Caprial, but I vaguely remember watching a show called Cooking with Caprial – all I remember about it is that I kinda liked it. I'll just say "ditto" to all of that. My vote for worst food (not necessarily cooking) show has to be all the travel-type shows. I really don't want to just watch someone eating a meal and making nummy noises. The only show of this type that I've liked is Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt, because it was informative and interesting (and I love Alton). I hate that this seems to be the trend on FN now. My vote for worst cooking show... wow, so many options. I hate the big personalities that FN seems to be pushing these days. They all just seem to be trying too hard. Guy Fieri, The Neelys, Bitchin' Kitchen, Paula Deen. I've never had the displeasure of seeing Sandra Lee. I kinda want to for the horror factor.

I buy tubes of tomato paste like this to cut down on waste, but truly, those tubes are a LOT more expensive than the cans so I never know if it's worth it. When I'm being really good, I portion out tablespoon sized dollops of the canned stuff onto a plate lined with plastic wrap, freeze it, then roll the whole thing up and stuff it in a ziploc and keep it in the freezer for individual portions. Do the same thing with Chipotles. The Chipotles are actually really nice that way, you can dice them up while frozen much easier than room temp. You have to remember to label them, though, because dollops of frozen tomato paste and dollops of frozen chipotles look exactly the same. Granted, you can smell the difference, but sometimes I forget and end up with the wrong one. I've frozen chipotles before, but I'd never thought of freezing leftover tomato paste. Love it.

For me, it's all the Donna Hay books. They're just lovely. I have friends who cook from them and are happy with the results, but I've just never gotten around to trying anything. Love to curl up and look at all the pretty, tho.

Chris, I must confess I've never actually had gingerbread, only gingerbread cookies. Is it basically the same flavours but in a different texture? How did your students like it?

Rebecca263, I've never made brittle with rum in it before. Looks interesting! I might have to do some experimenting with that. dystopiandreamgirl – ditto what everyone else said. I want to be you when I grow up.

eGullet linky

Thanks Romy! In Greweling's recipe he has a variation including passion fruit purée reduced by 1/2. Wondered if that was one of those industry standard things that it's taken for granted that everyone (except me) knows about. The pumpkin and dark chocolate combination sounds fantastic. Did you add any spices to the mix? I used to use an oiled pizza cutter as well, but found a way that works much better for me. See my post upthread, or here if you're interested. Edited to ask if you have a larger version of your picture? It appears tiny to me and I'd love to see it.

Potentially stupid question about to come... I've always used the marshmallow recipe from Greweling's book, but this year I'm going to give nightscotsman's recipe a try. Now for the stupid question. The strawberry (or other fruit) purée – is that simply puréed and strained fruit?