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I know bad homebrew often comes up in the "worst beer" thread, however, a friend of mine just made his first batch in an IPA style using supplies and advice from San Francisco Brewcraft and boy is it tasty. It really does stand up to a lot of the commercial IPAs out there. Here's hoping the half liter of home made limoncello I'm giving him tomorrow will encourage him to give me more!

This thread has me thinking (always a dangerous thing). It's funny how spoiled for choice we are with Gin. Just doing some cursory web research, Broker's, Miller's, Hendrick's, Boodles, Bombay and quite a few other brands all had their inception within the last few decades. What do folks consider the "classic" brands of Gin? Tanqueray, Plymouth, Gilbey's, Bols, and Gordon's? What Gins would people have been using during the "Golden Age" of cocktails, if there ever was one? Are there real differences between the European versions of these brands and the US ones? I've read several comments that the English version of Gordon's is different from the US version. Is it just the base spirit and water, or are other elements different?

Yes, it is in the Japan Center. I believe the entrance is at Webster and Post. Don't know the exact name off the top of my head. I believe it is called Nijiya. edited to add name.

That's what I was afraid of. Sounds like a nice stove. Wish I had one like it. Do you have an exhaust hood? I know it is possible to smoke meats indoors in woks (Chinese tea smoking) and sealed stovetop containers. I haven't tried it and wouldn't really want to do it without a hood, though. Usually it involves setting up a sealed container with the smoke producing substance and a raised rack inside. These folks make the one I've seen here in the US. It really doesn't seem to be anything except a stainless 9x17 pan with a stainless rack inside and a sliding lid. Surely, something similar could be rigged up. http://www.cameronssmoker.com/index.html

Not sure where the "Avant Garde" part comes in. Long time, low temp is standard operating procedure for many traditional cooking methods. Confit, braising, cold smoking, etcetera. If you have a good size covered grill or a smoker, you can do both at once. Set up your grill for indirect cooking, get the temperature stabilized at around 250 F, add your soaked hardwood chips and meat, cover again, and smoke away. Just did a butterflied leg of lamb like this last weekend, and it was fantastic. My dinner had a provencal theme, so my marinade was, lemon juice, fresh bay leaves, fresh sage, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, crushed garlic cloves, salt and pepper, and Olive Oil.

I made a Lavender sorbet this last weekend using this recipe and fresh English Lavender flowers from my garden. It turned out really fantastic, especially doused with a little homemade limoncello. I was thinking something like Cortez Restaurant's Elderflower no. 10 (Tanqueray no. ten gin, fresh lemon juice, d'arbo elderflower syrup, orange bitters, lemon twist) might be pretty tasty with Lavender syrup. What apple based concoction did you make?

The nice folks at Four Winds Growers are also available within California and can ship to any state except AZ, FL or TX. I got a Dwarf Meyer Lemon from them and it has done really well. Another friend of mine shipped two of their Kaffir Lime tress to her Mom in Colorado and was quite pleased with their service.

I'm of Scandinavian descent, so I like to celebrate around Midsummer with a big meal and some friends. I get Hairy melon at a local farmers' market. It's an interesting Asian vegetable similar to winter melon with a slightly nutty flavor. Cooked it is close to Eggplant in texture. Amarina cocktails from the Babbo Cookbook (sugar, bitters, limoncello, and prosecco) Cheeses, Olives and Bread Cured salmon with creme fraiche, and dill Pureed Asian Melon Soup Fava Bean pasta from recent NY Times magazine Grilled Lamb Provencal (indirect long slow grill with hickory smoking chips) Ratatouille of Hairy Melon and Zucchini Lavender Sorbet and Homemade Limoncello

Made Amarina cocktails from the Babbo cookbook last night. They are a nice festive before dinner drink whose ingredients are a touch of sugar, bitters, limoncello, and Prosecco.

Few vegetarians in my circle of friends (mostly Americans) have stuck with strict vegan or macrobiotic diets for an extended period of time. I do know some "mostly vegans". However, few of them can resist sampling a really tasty cheese or even a perfectly made (and responsibly farmed,) steak, if they are presented with it. I've never really asked about this pointedly; but, I know for myself and my wife, it is hard enough to get from scratch food on the table regularly, let alone worry about the balance of proteins and nutrients necessary for veganism. I think it may be easier now to get things like tofu at the modern american megamart than at any time I can remember in my life. However, it is interesting how many of the companies that sell "organic," "natural," or vegetarian products are now owned by General Mills, Kraft, or even Phillip Morris. This presents some interesting quandries for those of us trying to purchase responsibly. There was a fascinating opinion piece in our paper about this recently: Organic Inc. A somewhat off topic grocery store pet peeve of mine are the the ubiquitous low carb foods. For example, at my local natural market all they have are regular tortillas and low carb tortillas. I would like to buy regular whole wheat tortillas or pitas; but, they no longer carry them because they are limited by shelf space and have to carry the low carb tortillas for the Atkins folks. The low carb tortillas may have whole grain in them...is carboard a kind of description of their texture? edited for usage

Sadly, Pineapple Sage leaves have no Pineapple flavor and no real culinary use. The flowers are kind of tasty, and make a nice garnish, though. Lemon or Rose Scented Geraniums might be nice.

As mette notes, black cardamom is not used for scandanavian cooking or baking in general. While Black and Green Cardamom are in the same plant family (Ginger or Zingiberaceae), they are are classified in different Genera and are native to different regions of the world. Black Cardamom is native to the Eastern Himalayas. Green Cardamom is a tropical plant from South India and Sri Lanka. Gernot Katzers' Spice Pages links: Black Cardamom Green Cardamom

I've never heard of drinking vinegars; but, have used verjus (tart grape juice from under-ripe grapes) for cooking and the occasional bracing summer drink. Dunno if anyone has ever used that for cocktails...

I just noticed you will be in San Francisco. A couple brewpubs here are 21st Amendment Brewpub and Rogue Brewpub. If you can still set up a tour at Anchor Brewing that's always fun for the whole family. They tend to fill up about 6 weeks in advance; but, give them a call. I haven't been to 21st Amendment yet; but, Rogue is pretty fun, if you are a fan of their beers. While you are in North Beach, I would also have some tasty and down to earth Italian at L'Osteria del Forno. Also, I would second, if you are going to be in the San Diego area, don't miss Stone Brewing! Some of the finest examples of hoppy West Coast style ales and one of the best craft breweries in the US. edited for usage

It's a little early in the year for melon; but, I've made the Chilled Melon Soup with Lavender from this menu on several occasions in the past and always enjoyed it. If I can find decent melon, I may make it again this Saturday for a Midsummer's Eve in Provence themed get together. Chilled Melon Soup with Lavender

I assume it varies from maker to maker. Craft distillers like Charbay and St. George Spirits (Hangar One), use a process similar to the one they use for their eau de vies. Macerate whole fruit and re-distill. Other larger companies just add food grade coloring and flavoring to vodka. Here's an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about this very subject. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...WIGBFCN76G1.DTL Personally, I'm curious about the manuka honey vodka.

Oh rats! I just snapped a bunch of these off my garlic plants last week! Now I find I could have eaten them. Well, there's always next year.

Want to chime in with a couple problems I've had with the black fabric liners. The big problem I've had with it is drainage. Not sure what climate you have in British Columbia; but, here we have two to three months of non-stop rain in the winter. The black fabric stuff I have just doesn't drain fast enough during that period, and bark or other organic mulch used on top will float and wash away, clogging drains and other bad things. Another problem I've had is related. Some folks recommend using the black fabric in the bottom of containers to prevent soil loss. Again, it does not drain fast enough during the rainy season and water ended up pooling in containers. I lost quite a few plants to root rot this last year before I noticed.

Haven't had the 1800. Thanks for the recommendation, it will go on the shopping list. I used to buy Sauza Hornitos. I just haven't been able to bring myself to buy it in the new bottle/label style. The old one was so cool and beautiful, with the picture on the back of the label! Actually, I dislike the almost all the new style bottles in the Sauza line.

It's pretty much impossible to prolong cilantro much beyond the point it starts bolting. It is a fairly strict short lived annual herb. The best thing to do is to stagger seeding/planting of it, so you can continue to enjoy fresh cilantro as some of your plants fade. For what it is worth, I haven't noticed that the herb tastes much different once it starts flowering. I think I've said this before in this thread; but, the immature fruit tastes pretty cool. Sort of halfway between Cilantro and Coriander. I like to chew them while I am weeding.

I would love to get some recommendations for decent and reasonable 100% agave tequilas. One of the things which has frustrated me is the inflation and expansion of the tequila prices and brands. I would love to know the names of some decent sub $30 traditionally made silver/blanco tequilas. Are there any bargains in tequila?

Amusing. I've never even seen an Oulde Genever here. Perhaps, this article will drum up some interest in these Gins. The cheese columnist in our paper keeps writing articles about whole milk cheeses from Europe, which we will soon undoubtely be unable to purchase.

This strikes me as highly improbable. Juniper berries I've met haven't had any sugar content to ferment... nor much in the way of liquid content at all. Anybody here knowledgable enough to provide an assessment in the way of fact checking this? Any opinions on the veracity of the rest of the article? Strikes me as fishy. ← Seems like there are a couple mistakes or at least inaccuracies in the article. I suspect that this particular mistake comes from confusion regarding the nature of Eau de Vies and Brandies. I've read Gin is sometimes called Eau de Vie de Jenever. Probably he is mistaking an Eau de Vie (distilled/flavored/re-distilled spirit) with a brandy (distilled spirit made from fermented fruit juice). As far as I know, (no expert really,) gin is always a flavored spirit. The last paragraph which claims drinks with strongly flavored mixers became popular as a result of the prevalence of bathtub gin during prohibition, strikes me as something of a simplification.

For any of you beer fanciers in the Bay Area, Toronado will be hosting Dogfish Head on June 22. They will have their Immort, 120 Minute IPA, Raison D'Etre and 90 Minute IPA on tap for the night. It is also my understanding Sam Calagione, the company president, will be on hand overseeing the event.

My wife and I thought we were buying spinach recently at a farmer's market, and were actually buying sorrel. It was quite a shock when we tasted it. A really cool edible dock (sorrel) is Rumex sanguineus or Bloody Dock. It has lovely dark green leaves with red veins and looks great in containers and gardens, even if you don't eat it.