eje

Gunther Anderson's Cranberry Liqueur I made the recipe above a couple years ago and it was quite popular. You'd have to cut the infusion time short, but, since you're starting with a liquor with flavor, it might not be so bad. I know slkinsey had an interesting cranberry drink preparation around here somewhere that wasn't quite as time intensive. I'll find it and post a link.

One interesting note of trivia from David Wondrich's new book, "Imbibe!": The terms Jonge and Oude Genever refer to two different styles of making Genever. While the Oude may or may not have some actual barrel age, the main difference is that the Jonge is made from Grain Neutral Spirits and the Oude must include some malt wine. Jonge Genever was not invented until some time during World War I. So, to follow through, the proper Genever (or Hollands) to make 19th Century Cocktails with, must be the Oude. edit - grammar.

I dunno why; but, tequila at Thanksgiving seems a bit incongruous. It is just as native American a spirit as Bourbon, after all. If you like it, and you and your husband will drink the remains of the bottle, I say get a nice bottle of reposado or anejo tequila and go for it.

I like to use them with the leaves. They give a bit of extra texture to the dish. Rhubarb chard stems seem to be particularly flavorful, almost beet-like in their sweet earthy yumminess. 90% of the time I cook chard exactly same way. Heat pan. Olive Oil. Minced garlic, anchovy, pepper flakes, saute. Chopped chard stems, salt, a bit longer over high heat. Torn chard leaves, juice of 1/2 lemon or chicken stock. Cover, reduce heat and cook until leaves are tender.

Diplomat Cocktail 1 Dash Maraschino. (Luxardo) 2/3 French Vermouth. (Noilly Prat) 1/3 Italian Vermouth. (Punt e Mes) (Splash Wild Turkey Rye Whiskey) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Build over ice, stir to chill - eje) Add cherry and squeeze lemon peel on top (and drop in - eje). As usual, going with the build over cracked ice method for these vermouth heavy cocktails. I guess, diplomats would have to keep their cool. Not drink too much strong "likker". Fortunately, I do not have the weight of the world weighing down upon my shoulders, and can feel free to add a splash of Rye Whiskey to this. Significantly improved my diplomatic relations with the world and the cocktail, I must say.

As a person of Norwegian ancestry, I would say ice cold Aquavit straight from the freezer. Ahem. What sort of things do you like, where are you, what's available, and how much money do you want to spend?

I usually only see the Luxardo in stores so haven't really tried other brands to give an opinion. I believe the only three producers of Maraschino are Luxardo, Maraska, and Stock. I've heard you can get the Maraska in some San Francisco liquor stores. I might have to give it a try next, as my bottle of Luxardo is getting low, and I really should have an opinion on this. edit - Maraska is from Croatia: Maraska Liqueurs

No, Dubonnet Blanc, at least what we get in the US, isn't very close to Lillet Blanc. Lillet is sweeter and has the whole orange thing going on. Dubonnet Blanc, to my taste, is more like a less herbaceous Noilly Prat Dry. It might make a better "blanc" canvas to start with than Dry Vermouth, however. Add a little more sugar and a touch of bitter orange tincture and you could probably get close to Lillet.

There's no question that a restaurant should take the cost of doing business into consideration when considering the community they open in. A lot of factors, including wages, make doing business in a city like San Francisco or New York difficult. I just don't quite understand the point of the article. Is it that cooks should be paid fair wages in accordance with the cost of living in the community they live and work in? Doesn't seem like it. That waiters should be paid less than the minimum wage, because of the amounts of tips they make? The median wage for waiters is really $30 an hour!? To trot out my old saw: I worked as a line cook in Berkeley when we first moved to San Francisco. I had a more than 45 minute commute both ways on public transportation. Our rent was $1200 a month and I was making far less than $10-15 an hour currently paid most line cooks. My wife wasn't making much more. We figured it out because we wanted to live and work in California. To me, the elephants loitering in the room of this article, are the Latino workers who form the bulk of the workforce and often work 2 or three jobs to make ends meet. Do restaurants even pay them minimum wage?

Chefs' high hopes, low pay leave S.F. restaurants starved for help, Tara Duggan Tone here a bit strident. "S.F.'s future as a great restaurant town is imperiled as kitchen workers don't make enough money to live in the Bay Area." Is this really accurate?

It really does depend a lot on the Maraschino and Violette you are using. The brands of both vary widely in their sweetness and intensity. I always go with the classic 2-1 ratio of Gin to Lemon. Using the Luxardo and Rothman & Winter, I find a teaspoon of each and a teaspoon of simple syrup is the most appealing to me and most guests. With Stock or Maraska, you can probably get away with a bit more Maraschino and skip the simple. I don't think they are quite as intense as the Luxardo.

Dinah Cocktail First put 2 or 3 sprigs of fresh mint (1 sprig) in the shaker and bruise them lightly against the sides of the shaker by stirring with a silver spoon. Pour into the shaker 3 glasses of Whisky (2 oz W.L. Weller 12 Year) and let it stand for some minutes. Add 3 glasses of sweetened Lemon Juice (Juice 1/2 Lemon, 1 teaspoon Caster Sugar) and some (cracked) ice. Shake very carefully and for longer than usual. Serve with a mint leaf standing in each glass. Is "sweetened Lemon Juice" sour mix? Or lemonade? I decided to make this basically as a whisk(e)y sour with mint. Really, how can you go wrong? Absolutely delicious!

No, I don't think Get is imported. I have some friends with French connections and am trying to find out if they know anyone who'd be willing to send me some Noyau de Poissy (or Noyau de Vernon). Maybe I should ask about Get, as well.

The Martini is the ubiquitous Gin cocktail. When approaching it, I was trying to think what would be my "Perfect" Martini. My usual answer is 5-1 Gin to Dry Vermouth ratio, Orange bitters, and a lemon twist. This time, the word "Perfect" stuck in my head and I figured I'd give a true "Perfect" Martini a try. Some sources indicate that the Martini's roots may really lie in the Manhattan Cocktail, so why not? 2 oz Junipero Gin 1/2 oz Cinzano Rosso Vermouth 1/2 oz Noilly Prat Dry Dash Verte de Fougerolles Absinthe Stir with cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon peel on top. I dunno what happened with the bitters. I was opening the cabinet to grab them, and the Absinthe caught my eye. Quite tasty and an attractive gold-ish color! The touch of sweetness and spice that the Italian Vermouth brings to the cocktail is enjoyable. The Absinthe plays up the anise notes of the Junipero. Anyway, figured I couldn't be the first person to think of this, so poked around. Turns out, there's a Harry McElhone cocktail called the Fourth Degree: 1/3 Gin; 1/3 French Vermouth; 1/3 Italian Vermouth; Dash Absinthe; and lemon peel or cherry. There you go! A classic worth reviving.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, November 09, 2007 Not your parents' tasting room, Janine DeFao THE SIPPING NEWS: Raise a fork and a pint, W. Blake Gray First look: Franklin Square Wine Bar in Oakland, Carol Ness Vintage wine advice, Jon Bonné IN OUR GLASSES The Cheese Course: From Mt. Tam to Indiana, Janet Fletcher Uncorked: A daughter carries on the tradition of Italian winemaking family, Janet Fletcher Letters to Wine: Sounding off on 'Music to drink wine by' Books: New books dedicated to old drinks, Camper English Spirits: Bartenders shake and stir their way through cocktail history, Camper English Pairings: 'Tis the season for showstopping beef Wellington, Sarah Fritsche Recipes: Beef Wellington with Currant-Dijon Sauce Chronicle Wine Selections: Cabernet Sauvignon Over $50 - Napa Valley Subappellations, Lynn Char Bennett 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Mekong, Victoria McGinley "Crazy as it sounds, students at San Francisco's California Culinary Academy can tire of what's prepared and served in daily classes. During my time there, a few classmates and I were lucky enough to discover Mekong, a jewel among the Tenderloin's many Thai restaurants. Its tranquil atmosphere and beautifully displayed painted Asian fans are the perfect remedy after a day on your feet or a day at the office." Bar Bites: Starlight Wine Bar & Restaurant, Jon Bonné "The sense of drama as you step through the door of the refashioned 1949 Pullman railway car in this Sebastopol haunt is no accident. Owners Ted and Heather Van Doorn met while working on the set of "Titanic" - he ran the paint department, detailing ship models; she worked motion-control cameras. They've meticulously refurbished the Southern Pacific lounge car, down to the harvest murals hand-painted by Ted's mother that line the ceiling. Chef Thaddeus Palmese, Ted's cousin, honed his cooking chops under Dallas chef Stephan Pyles and worked his way through such New Orleans venues as Emeril Lagasse's Delmonico before opening his own 201 Restaurant and Bar, which closed after Hurricane Katrina."

Diana Cocktail Use Port Wine Glass. Fill with shaved ice. Fill Glass 3/4 full with White Crème de Menthe (Brizard) and top with Brandy(Maison Surrenne Petite Champagne Cognac). Ya know, I expected to hate this. A glass 3/4 full of Crème de Menthe topped with Brandy. An inverse stinger! How could that be good? It's actually kind of nice, in a peppermint life-saver kind of way. Cooling. Not to mention quite attractive visually. I can only imagine it would be significantly spiffier with the legendary dry French Crème de Menthe, Get.

I found this on the Luxardo web site: Perla Dry

What is and "French Drip spoon"? The same as an "Absinthe spoon"? [...] ← Indeed! Lovely specimens there. You can also use a tea strainer or brouilleur. With nice Abisinthe, the sugar is optional, so all you may need is a fountain, carafe or water bottle filled with ice water. If you are using Pastis, (or other pre-sweetened Absinthe substitutes,) you'll definitely want to try it simply louched before deciding to add more sugar.

Saw this in Sunday's NY Times "Shaken and Stirred" Column... Fergus Henderson digs Campari! The Perfect Match With Pig’s Tails*, Jonathan Miles BICYCLETTE Adapted from Fergus Henderson 2 ounces Campari. 1 ½ounces dry white wine. Add Campari to a wine glass, fill 2/3 up the glass with ice and add wine. Stir, taste and adjust as desired. *link may require registration

Uh, um, interesting? Way too sweet for me, though. Hadn't tried Averna Amaro before and picked it up for this. Sweet, raisiney and not very bitter. 1/2 oz Strega, 1/2 oz Averna Amaro, 1 oz Clear Creek Apple Brandy, 1 oz apple cider, and a couple dashes angostura bitters. Whew! Much better. Apple pie in a glass? Cold mulled cider? Drinkable, anyway.

Diabolo Cocktail (6 People) Pour into the shaker 3 glasses of Brandy (Generous 1 oz Maison Surrenne Petite Champagne Cognac) and 3 of French Vermouth (Generous 1 oz Noilly Prat Dry). Add a spoonful of Angostura (2 dashes Angostura) and 2 spoonsful of Orange Bitters (2 dashes Fee's Orange Bitters, 2 Dashes Regan's Orange Bitters). Shake (Stir - eje) and serve with piece of lemon rind and an olive, or, if preferred a cherry. This is the last of the diabolical cocktails. The generous amount of bitters in this one, I guess, made it seem like the most satanic of the bunch. "Diabolo" is the name of a couple things. First off, as far as I can tell, it is one of the Greek names for the Devil. It is also the name for those bobbin shaped Chinese tops that you manipulate using two sticks attached by a string. It is my understanding the Chinese top type Diabolos were quite the trendy item in America and England of the 1800s and early 1900s, so I'm guessing it may have been named after the them, rather than the devil. The cocktail amounts to a Dry Brandy Manhattan (or Martini) with a goodly amount of bitters. Tried with a stuffed green olive and found I preferred the cocktail without. An enjoyable, if not outstanding, aperitif cocktail. I have to admit as I near the bottom of the Maison Surrenne Petite Champagne Cognac I am getting a bit tired of it. It's perfectly fine, just a bit lightweight for cocktails, and, I dunno, lacking in complexity. Of the 4 bottles of Brandy/Cognac I've gone through since starting the Savoy topic, I think the only one which has really held my interest was the Pierre Ferrand Ambre. Maybe an Armagnac next?

If any of you read (or write) blogs which cover cocktails, you might know that Paul over at Cocktail Chronicles has been organizing a monthly online cocktail event he calls Mixology Mondays. This month's event is being hosted by Jay over on Oh Gosh!. The theme is "Gin". Jay explains the criteria: If you would like to participate, please write up a cocktail in this topic before Monday, November 12th at midnight. I will compile a list of cocktails posted and email them to the organizer. Any thing from "Gin and It" to the "Ramos Fizz" and beyond should be game. A wide open field for experimentation and reporting!

Cool Beans, Rob. As near as I can tell that is one of the books attributed to Oscar Haimo, who was familiar sounding to me. After a bit of searching, he may have been one of Frank Meier's understudies at the Ritz in Paris. Nice find, if so!

Quite the good review from Michael Bauer in the SF Chronicle Sunday Magazine the other day: Ubuntu takes vegetarian cuisine to new heights Between the notes above and the Bauer review, (well, mostly the notes above,) it certainly sounds tempting to me, even with a yoga studio attached.

I was quite depressed to come to the end of Wondrich's "Imbibe!" this morning. Few eating, or drinking, books have so transported me from my day-to-day existence and into their world, (and believe me, since I most often do my reading on San Francisco's public transportation, this is necessary!) Rather than try to compete with him and his skillful mastery of the written word, I will just point out that Paul Clarke has already written an amazing review over on his blog: IMBIBE! (no, the other one)