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I don't think boiling water is required. I think that was the boil in a bag meals in the 70s! However, the ingredients are vacuum sealed. I've not tried it myself; but, from everything I've read, a long slow cook using this method should make the meat more tender, not less.

I don't have the cookbook and haven't had the butter poached lobster at the French Laundry. Is the famous butter poached lobster at FL and in the cookbook the same “Cuit Sous Vide” preparation we had? If you're going to serve chewy lobster, why not serve it with a sharp knife, so the guests can actually cut it? Too embarrasing? Are we supposed to rip it apart with our teeth?

One of the vendors at the Alemany farmer's market in San Francisco had quite a few Apricots last week. They looked pretty green, though. They had a sign on them which said they would ripen in two days; but, I could swear someone told me that apricots don't really ripen once they are picked.

Been doing some reading about this, and am embarrased to admit my criteria for judging Boomsma is probably wrong. The real difference between English Dry Gin and Dutch Genever isn't the aromatics used (these vary from brand to brand); but, the base spirit. With London Gins coming from spirit distilled from wheat/rye and Genever coming from mashes with a high percentage of malted barley. Lots of fascinating information on the page below from tastings.com. http://www.tastings.com/spirits/gin.html My favorite passage from the linked page has nothing to do with Genever: "Old Tom Gin is the last remaining example of the original lightly sweetened gins that were so popular in 18th-century England. The name comes from what may be the first example of a beverage vending machine. In the 1700s some pubs in England would have a wooden plaque shaped like a black cat (an "Old Tom") mounted on the outside wall. Thirsty passersby would deposit a penny in the cat’s mouth and place their lips around a small tube between the cat’s paws. The bartender inside would then pour a shot of Gin through the tube and into the customer’s waiting mouth."

LOL Is this some sort of tie-in with the immensely succesful Spam-A-Lot musical? By the way, the quotation marks in dish names and descriptions in my post were painstakingly transcribed from the take home menu. I have to admit I got a bit carried away with the spirit of them in my commentary. edited for spelling.

Grill to avoid: Two of my friends/relatives were low on space and purchased Char-Broil Patio Gas Grills and were very unhappy with them for cooking. In addition, both of the grills died (not sure of details) within a year or two and they were unable to get replacement parts or warranty replacement from Char-Broil. added information about Char-Broil grill problems.

I'm with Susan. I use a Weber with a chimney starter and Lazzari Mesquite Charcoal. Will never go back to briquets and lighter fluid. If I had a bunch of money and a little more space I would get this grill: Bar-B-Chef Texas Charcoal Grill http://www.bbqgalore.com/store/item.bbq?invky=5824202 If you have your heart set on Propane, the Weber Genesis Grills are generally well rated and easy to find. added more information about link

Our Dinner at per se April 12, 2005 My wife & I love eating out and have had tasting menus at many well-rated restaurants in San Francisco (where we live), Chicago, Seattle, London and Vancouver. We have had many wonderful experiences with them and were hoping this might be a new pinnacle to those experiences. Salmon Tartar Cones. Chef Keller's signature. “Oysters and Pearls”. “Saboyan” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Russian Sevruga Caviar. This was my wife's favorite course. It is in essence an oyster stew garnished with caviar. The addition of Tapioca “Pearls” is an amusing idea. I've been playing around with tapioca pearls at home, and it was interesting to enjoy them here in a savory course. “Puree” of California white Asparagus Soup. Black Truffle “Croutons”, Green Asparagus and poached quail egg. The quail egg was a nice touch; but, on the whole the soup seemed under seasoned, with the cream playing a much larger flavor part than the asparagus. It also did not compare favorably to a very similar presentation at Gramercy Tavern two nights earlier. (Other choice: Terrine of Hudson Valley Moulard Duck “Foie Gras”. Granny Smith Apple “Gelee”, Celery Branch, Pickled Red Onion and Toasted “Brioche”.) We were also presented with bread and butter at this point. There were three types formed into miniature loaves, a batard, a potato beer bread, and one other. Honestly, I wasn't over impressed with the two I tried. They were fine; but, not outstanding. On the whole, I prefer bread baked in larger loaves and cut or broken, so you can savor all the textures and smells, not just the crust. Herb Roasted Columbia River Sturgeon. “Confit” of Yukon Gold Potatoes, Spring Garlic, Sorrel Shoots and “Sauce a l'Oseille”. I think I enjoyed this course the most. A delicious rectangle of sturgeon was balanced delicately on the few perfect cubes of potato “confit”. Nova Scotia Lobster “Cuit Sous Vide”. English Peas, California Morel Mushrooms, and Applewood Smoked Bacon Emulsion. For some reason there was a long delay before this course arrived at our table. It really sounded great when the server described it. Unfortunately, either I don't understand what they were trying to accomplish with the Lobster or it was not prepared correctly. We were served this course with a fork and a regular table knife. None of us could completely cut through the lobster meat with the knife. Just weird to be sawing away with a dull knife on a piece of meat that is prepared in a way that is supposed to make it more tender. My wife had a vision of having her lobster fly across the room when trying to saw away at it. Should the waitstaff have noticed that this dish was overcooked as we all sat sawing away at it? At this point, the bubble of eating at Per Se had burst. We should have sent this course back. However, the idea of sending a plate back at Per Se was too daunting for people intent on celebrating “Aguillette” of Liberty Valley Pekin Duck Breast. “Confiture” of Kumquat, Glazed Pearl Onions, Wilted Mizuna, and Caramelized Onion Vinaigrette. A single strip of Duck Breast, with an artful scattering of vegetables. I also enjoyed this course. Though, I am a sucker for Kumquats. Rib-Eye of Elysian Fields Farm Lamb “En Persillade”. “Cassoulet” of Spring Pole Beans and “Haricots Verts” with Thyme-Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Most of us enjoyed this one as well, though we were starting to get a bit full. Unfortunately, my wife's piece of Lamb had a rather large piece of gristle hiding inside. If a customer only gets a pinky size nugget, it's kind of a lapse if she can't eat half. She left the gristle on the plate to no comment from the waitstaff. Ibores. “Puree” of Haas Avocado, Marcona Almond “Tuile”, Roasted Sweet Peppers and Cilantro Shoots. I was amused to see the “smear” garnishing technique I've seen in pictures from WD-50 used here with the Avocado “Puree”. The cheese was a nice tart goat cheese from Spain. Honestly, by this point, we were all full to bursting. I don't know if they were rushing courses to our table; but, most of us were groaning when the desserts started arriving. Banana Sorbet. Goma “Nougatine” and Soy Caramel “Foam”. My wife described this as a vaguely banana tasting blob with some sugary sesame bits. Which I guess tells you where we were at at this point in the meal. Huckleberry Pot de crème and Vanilla Bean crème Brule. The men were served the Pot de crème and the women were served the Brule. I thought the Pot de crème was quite nice. Amusingly, earlier in the evening, I had brought up how I had read on eGullet that at Masa's in San Francisco, for the tasting menu, men and women are served different dishes. Everyone at the table seemed to agree that this would lead to nothing but marital discord. And, indeed, the women coveted our Pot de crème. Tentation au Chocolat, Noisette et Lait. Milk Chocolate “Cremeux”, Hazelenut “Streusel” with Condensed Milk Sorbet, “Pain au Lait” Sauce and Sweet and Salty Hazelnuts. The frozen desserts were shaped into Quenelles on either side of the plate, with two streaks of “sauce” down the middle. My wife liked this course a lot. I love the combination of Hazelnuts and chocolate; but didn't think it compared favorably to similar chocolate and nut desserts we'd had earlier in the week at Gramercy Tavern or Babbo. Chocolates. A gold plate was brought to our table and we were allowed to choose a single chocolate from a selection of 4 or 5. They were fine chocolates; but, I don't really understand what they added to the meal. Some talk of Monty Python's Mr. Creosote sketch at the table. Mignardises. I did try one of the jellies; but, none of us could face anything else on the tray of lovely looking cookies and treats. After receiving the bill, just in case the previous 5 dessert courses hadn't pushed us over the edge into diabetic coma, we were all presented with a souvenir bag of French style Macaroons. My wife compared the experience to paying for front row seats at a rock concert, only to catch the band on an off night. I'm sure per se is capable of better; but, the night we were there, it didn't happen. Personally, I was disappointed with the almost uniformly dark flavor palette of the courses in the tasting menu. There were lots of “Spring” ingredients in the "side dishes"; but, all were prepared in what I would call a “Winter” manner. Confit, confiture, cassoulet, with bacon emulsion... I think this is why we felt so stuffed. If one of the middle courses had had some more pronounced fruit flavors, or if the sorbet course had been more sparkling and served mid-way, it would certainly have felt less like a trudge through a “museum of meats”. Since getting home, we have been going over the experience frequently. Our real complaint is that nothing stands out in our mind as truly exceptional. We have had many amazing culinary experiences in our life. Preparations that have made us see ingredients in a new light or stand as singlular examples of “how something should taste”. Foie Gras terrine at Jardinaire, Scallops at Passione, Fresh Oysters at the SF Farmer's Market, even Octopus at Babbo earlier in the week. To me, none of the dishes we had at per se rose to that exceptional level and several fell below. I know restaurants aren't perfect, and every night isn't ideal; but, when you are playing at the level and the price of per se, it is disappointing to me, as a fan of great restaurants and food, that our entire group came away feeling let down.

I have a bottle of the Jonge Boomsma and think it is an OK gin for the price. I don't have enough experience with other Genevers to say whether it is representative of the style, though most information I've read indicates it is. Many of the small US gins have a much stronger Juniper flavor and I've never had Bols to compare it to. Of the gins I have had recently, its flavor reminds me most of Gordon's. It's not something that I would choose to drink straight up; but, I like it a lot in Vespers. I haven't tried Damrak, as it is a tad pricey. Van Gogh is another somewhat expensive Dutch Gin I see here sometimes. Is that also "international" in style? I'm curious, how do the German styles of Gin compare to Genever? Some brands of German Gin we get here are Schlichte and Doornkat. Schlichte is even still in an attractive stoneware crock.

Stick with beer or cider with mustard heavy dishes and you will be happier. I don't know the chemistry; but, mustard is a wine destroyer. They just don't go together. Funny since vinaigrette is nothing but oil, vinegar, and mustard. As to why dishes have mustard, remember, before the discovery of the new world, the most exciting thing you could put in your mouth was pretty much either brassicas (mustard, horseradish, etcetera) or black pepper. I think the reason for mustard in those recipes is similar to the reason for chiles. It is exciting and wakes up your taste buds. Probably it also has some sort of preservative property. Or at least covers over the taste of rot. Anyway, you'll have to let your own taste and common sense decide; but, I don't think it's all that necessary in Macaroni and Cheese. However, I can't imagine making fish pie without colman's mustard.

Salmon Braised with Aromatic Vegetables from Julia Child's "The Way To Cook" is the favorite in our house. Simple; but, amazingly great with a nice Sauvingon Blanc or dry Riesling. Saute a neatly diced mirepoix briefly in butter, thyme, tarragon, salt and white pepper. Pour in a half cup of dry white wine or vermouth and cool mixture. Place salmon filet in oven proof dish, cover with mirepoix mixture, top wine up to 1/2 way up the fish, cover closely with parchment, and bake in a medium-low oven. Move salmon filets to warm plates or serving platter. Pour off liquid, (strain if you're picky,) reduce until syrupy, stir in cubed cold butter, and pour sauce over fish. The sauce is actually very tasty without being enriched with the cubed butter, if you are counting calories. forgot a step.

How about some sort of alcoholic bubble (boba) drink? Occurred to me that might be kind of fun while reading The Cocktailian column about Jelly Shots.

I would suggest calling some coffee or food service wholesalers or suppliers in your city and ask for estimates. They may have some sort of service or package they make available to restaurants who want to serve espresso. I hate to ask obvious questions; but, are the owners aware that opening an espresso bar is more complicated than plugging in a coffee machine? It will most likely require a sink, refridgeration, new electrical and water lines, at least one full time employee who knows how to make espresso and other coffee drinks, cash register, some sort of city permits, health inspections, etc. A lot of times a good dose of reality is all that is needed to change people's ideas about what they really want.

What a fun cookoff! What great looking pizzas folks have made! My favorite pizza cookbook is Elizabeth Romer's "Italian Pizzas and Hearth Breads". It's a slim little volume with a lot of great ideas. One of my all time favorite pizzas is grilled chicken, tomato sauce, preserved artichoke, and mozzarella. Haven't had great luck with pizza dough the last couple times. I thought maybe that I had lost the knack to kneading or somehow the conditions in our new place weren't conducive to dough. But, reading some of the preceding comments, I think part of my problem may be that I stopped making an overnight sponge. I will have to go back to doing that next time. edited for spelling

On the alternative green nuts idea, what about green almonds? Toxic? flavor too subtle? Anyone know? Strangely, those would probably be the easiest for me to find.

A recipe I ran across a while ago makes a great roast chicken. Onion, garlic, marjoram, thyme, hungarian paprika, and maybe some orange juice or vinegar to loosen, pureed in a blender. Coat whole Chicken inside and out and under skin with puree, marinate a few hours and roast. A variation I use for grilling is, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, Spanish Paprika (Pimenton de la Vera). Marinate butterflied chicken, and grill over indirect heat. My parents brought back some dulce and picante Pimenton de la Vera from a trip to Spain a few years ago, and I've been addicted ever since. It's great in pasta, Arroz con Pollo, whatever. Sadly, my one experiment so far with paella at home was a greasy messy disaster.

Sorry, responding kind of late to this... The only gotcha with Kiwis, is, the uncooked fruit, like papaya, contains an enzyme which will break down things like custards and gelatins. If I had a whole case, I might peel, blenderize, portion and freeze. Per volume, Kiwis have one of the highest concentrations of Vitamin C of any fruit. I think they also have a fair bit of soluble fiber and other good things.

I'm in the same boat on Mel's. I think I was there years ago. Don't remember anything particular about the food and/or beverages. Though, in a high volume tourist operation like that, I would imagine most everything comes straight from the food service supply company. For some reason, I've never been to Zuni's. We used to live a few blocks from it, so I think it might be some sort of blind spot thing. Do need to get there one of these days. I did see Judy Rodgers go over her burger procedure once on Martha and have the cookbook. However, since I don't have a meat grinder, I probably won't be experimenting with it any time soon. Must also give Big Mouth a try. I frequently transfer from BART at 24th, so it is practically on my way home. fiftydollars, do you mean Original Joe's, Joe's Cable Car, Westlake Joe's or some other Joe's?

My understanding is Bathtub Gin was simply homemade undistilled (i.e. infused or flavored) Gin. If you were lucky, grain alcohol, water and whatever else the maker thought to put in it for gin-like flavor. As you point out, if you were unlucky, wood or rubbing alcohol and whatever flavoring they could use to disguise that fact.

Bumping this thread to comment on my new drip coffee maker. Our venerable Krups drip coffee maker bit the dust a couple months ago. After doing a bit of research on various drip machines, and being completely frustrated by the size and design of the coffee makers in stock at Macy's, I ended up with the Zojirushi EC-BD15A Fresh Brew Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker. So far, I am reasonably happy with it. It is a fairly attractive, simply designed maker which consistently produces very hot coffee that is not overheated during brewing or afterwards. If preheated, the carafe keeps the coffee hot for hours. The swing arm water spout seems to do a good job at managing proper water flow into the grounds. The timer function is easier to use than our old Krups. It is also easier to clean than the Krups. Some disadvantages. It is pretty tall. #4 paper Melitta filters are a little tall for the brewing basket. Not a big deal; but, if it bothers you you can always trim them. I've read some gold filters do not fit the basket. Not great for less than 6 "cups" (2 1/2 American mugs) of coffee; but, for that amount I think you are better off brewing manually or in a press pot. I dislike that there are not separate lids for the brewing basket and the water tank. When you open the top to clean, it is nearly impossible to prevent some coffee flavored condensation from dripping into the water tank. For some reason, it seems to me that it was designed for left handed people. If I had my druthers I would put it on the shelf with the carafe on the right and the water reservoir on the left. Unfortunately, if it is aligned that way, the timer faces to the back. Odd. Coffeegeek Page: http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/drip/zojirushifreshbrew added comment about handedness and coffeegeek link

Gonna bump this thread out of frustration. [rant] I'll admit, I'm a bit picky about burgers, or as I like to put it, the burger triumvirate. I want three things, and don't understand why I can't get them all at the same place. I want a decent grilled juicy third pound of meat. Preferably Niman Ranch, Grass Fed, or equivalent. Second I want a chocolate malt. Vanilla Ice Cream, Milk, Chocolate Syrup, and Malt. No soft serve, no chocolate ice cream. If no malted are available, I want a lemonade which involved lemons at some point in the relatively recent past or maybe a tasty micro-brew. Porter is just about the same as a chocolate malt... Third I want decent fries made from fresh potatoes. Not frozen from a bag, not re-cooked baked potatoes, and most importantly no goddamn coating. [/rant] Burger Joint, good burgers, no malteds (good lemonade), mediocre fries. Wolfe's Diner, bad burger, no malteds, best fries in San Francisco (IMHO). Chow, good burger, good (if small) malted, french style frites (close, no cigar). Taylor's Refresher, good burgers, chocolate ice cream in malteds (bad lemonade), coated fries (yuck!). Back Burner Roadhouse (used to be Stix), Good Burgers (not Niman Ranch or Grass Fed, tho), haven't tried their malts, inconsistent fries. etc.

Hopefully some of the other folks will supply more personal anecdotes or descriptions, however, I found this ehaustive website, apparently created by a student or grad student at a Chinese University, to be rather fascinating. "Grandiose Survey of Chinese Alcoholic Drinks and Beverages" http://www.sytu.edu.cn/zhgjiu/umain.htm Who can disagree with topic titles like, "Alcoholic Drinking Occurred in Harmony with the Existence of the Universe"? edited for usage

After doing some research, it appears that yes, fermented grain beverages were a part of Chinese culture prior to the arrival of Western trade partners. Not sure about the yeast question. My guess is no. As far as I can tell most sources say heat distillation was developed some time B.C. in China, Mesopotamia, and Egypt and then further perfected by "Arabs". The Chinese are reputed to have used the resulting substances medicinally and the Middle Easterns in Cosmetics and perfumes. Though some sources say that separate from these examples, Mongolian cultures developed cold distillation, probably for beverages. PS. I found this timeline on Modern Drunkard to be particularly amusing, if not entirely germaine to my research. http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/issu...ry_of_hooch.htm added pointless; but, amusing, off topic link

I knew that when I posted, dunno why I put that in there, aside from the fact that I had consumed a fair bit of fermented beverages myself, and felt a need for grand statements. I will also note plum "wine" is not wine at all; but, plums steeped in white alcohol and sugar. It has more in common with Sloe Gin than wine. I think, though, my larger point is still valid. After a very basic level, taste is largely a matter of cultural conditioning. The flavors we find attractive in our various cultures should never be assumed to be universal. Some questions I don't know the answer to. Did the idea of fermented grain beverages using items aside from rice exist in Asian/Chinese culture prior to the arrival of Western ambassadors? Is yeast used to ferment these beverages? Even larger and slightly off topic questions. Distillation is largely held to have been invented in the Middle East some time prior to the 13th century. Is there an even older tradition of Chinese distillation? Or was it transferred through trade, as it was to the West?

I was at a beer making class this past week, where the teacher made the point that it is only through coincidence and culture that yeast became our fermenter of choice. There are plenty of other fungus out there that could do the job; but, western brewing traditions are based on yeast, and our flavor expectations are based on what yeast brings to the party. My guess is it had something to do with making bread with wild yeast as a leavening agent, a batch of sour dough starter that smelled ok, etc. Next thing you know, you've got beer. In cultures with no bread to speak of, and no tradition of yeast fermentation, other fungii fill that niche and bring their own special flavors to the table. As my Chinese Civilization prof. in College said, "100 flavors of tea, and one flavor of alcohol, old socks".