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Alchemist

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Posts posted by Alchemist

    Cocktail Books: The Topic

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    Must agree with those two. Like cook books one is just not going to do. I would also get American Bar, the Savoy, and then Charles H. Bakers Jigger Beaker and Glass because it's such an amazing read. It's important to remember that a recipe is ONLY A GUIDELINE, that your palate may be slightly different. Don't be afraid to jiggle the measurements, or riff a little and add a flavor. It is always best to make a cocktail for yourself first, not 20 minutes before a party for your boss, in case it is hideous. And by that I mean not to your palate.

    Another good thing to know is if you need to know is if you need to make a bunch of cocktails just use cups instead of ounces. It may need a little tweaking at the end but it gets you on in the ballpark quickly.

    Remember to use dry, cold ice, and lots of it. Shake you cocktails like a jackhammer, stir them to the texture of velvet. and use garnish.

    Making cocktails is so much fun. It is one of the few organileptic art forms. A wonderful cocktail should whisper sweet everything’s in your ear, be beautiful to behold, magic to touch, smell as enchanting as a maharaja's feast, and taste...well it should remind you of your grandma's ice tea, or it should transport you, taste like endless possibilities, like nothing you've ever had. A well made cocktail should dance on your tongue and be mind blowing, a religious experience

    .

    Decibel

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    In the winter do they still line the walls with thick black material so when sitting at the bar you feel like you are getting hammered in utero. Wierdly comforting.

    Are you a gourmet snob?

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted · Edited by Alchemist (log)

    I don't like the term snob. I think what some people are saying is they like food prepared with integery. If one cannot wallow in the pleasure of a perfect one dollar taco, as well as diving head first into a meal at the French Laundry, then they are a SNOB. It is so much better to love it all. Other than the stupid plastic food, and one could argue that there is a place for that. Is it not the ability to get maxium pleasure from what you have in front of you? Oops, that is NOT A SNOB.

    I have three roux in my freezer. I have traveled 3000 miles for a meal. I chose my apt. for the kitchen. I cannot spend time with someone if they eat just for fuel. I notice if the salad plate is the wrong temp. But I love food, cocktails, and wine, and my life would me one long bitch session if I didn't take things in context. Life is too short to drink well liquor, and eat at fast food joints. But there is a time and a place for cold cheap beer and mac&sleaze. I feel sorry for the snobs, and revel in being an estatic epicurian.

    Edit: Had to add a thing or two.

    Martini -- lightly mist with vermouth

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    Yes it was. It wasn't overly porky. But the gin, vermouth and a whisper of swine goodness was lovely. Mind you it was thanksgiving, we had been cooking for over 24 hrs, and drinking for...well what happens at Alchemists house STAYS AT ALCHEMISTS HOUSE.

    It was a happy mistake. We were rendering the fat from 5 pounds of bacon (we stuffed the turkey with apples, bacon fat and bacon that had been simmered in Apple Jack. F*%k stuffing proper) for the feast. Yes we used it all. One should never ask 7 bartenders, and 4 cocktails waitresses to your house unless you are ready to throw down.

    Martini -- lightly mist with vermouth

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    I made a bacon martini on thanksgiving.  It was a wet plymouth martini with one big drop of bacon fat on top.  It was wonderful.  Should be garnished with a small sausage patty.

    sausage patty or sausage link? I think a link would work better--at least it would be more aesthetic ":^)

    Little sausage balls the size of olives, skewred on a plastic sword.

    Cafécito

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I went to Cafecito last night, a Thurs at 9:30, and loved it. Started with a Methusalem mojito, while sitting outside, at the walk up bar. They were a little sweet for my palate, so we squeezed a couple of lime wedges in them and then they were just what we needed to beat the heat.

    The wait for a table was about half a mojito.

    The ambiance was charming. It was nice and dark. The service was very good, and casual.

    Started with The Papas Rellena, Lightly breaded mashed potato filled with beef picadillo.

    YUM!

    At the same time we got the Ceviche. It was grouper. Marvelous, it was like a symphony in your mouth. All the flavors complimented each other.

    Second course:

    Empanada de pollo. Great crust. Almost pie like. Flakey, crisp.

    Ensalada de camerones en escabeche. Another winner. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, and nicely seasoned. The avocado was a great counterpoint to the red onions and olives. And the orange segments give the whole dish a little zing.

    Third course:

    Red snapper on mashed potatoes. Wicked good. Fish was cooked just right, had lots of flavor, and was nicely presented. Highly recommended.

    Final course:

    Glass of Methusalem, and Cuban coffee.

    We had a couple of Dos X, and the tab came to $75. You could defiantly get away with ordering less food. Maybe as much as half as much.

    I'm going there right now for a cuban sandwhich. And then tomorrow night to have the rest of the menu.

    sour mix/citrus juice

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    It's all right to make a side car with lime juice as long as you sub the Cognac for Applejack the cointreau with a mix of grenidine/simple syrup, and the lemon for the lime.  Yummy sidecar.

    Wouldn't that be a limey jack rose/jersey sour? Guess I'll have to try 2 drinks tonight. :biggrin:

    Toby, any thoughts on key lime vs lime? They seem as far apart as lemon vs lime that I can't imagine substituting one for the other.

    Alchemist says, (Ididn't read the post I made an ass of donbert and me, and assumed i knew the question.)

    Key limes and limes are very different. Just as lemons/Myer lemons and Buddaha's hands are different. Flordia oranges, and California oranges are very different. I can imagine that if you grew citrus, they would say that the citrus grown on the south side of yonder hill is mighty different from the ones grown in the valley. Citrus that shows up in NYC, from the same company, in Feb. is different from the stuff that shows up in July. You have to taste every batch of every juice to know what your dealing with.

    Bare Minimum

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I lived in a tree nursery in Thailand a bunch of years ago. It was four guys in the middle of nowhere. Our kitchen was one rice cooker, one knife, a cutting board, and a pan kind of like a wok. There was one propane burner. The kitchen was under a thatch roof, no walls. The dining room was a picnic table, with splintery benches. I had some amazing meals there. It could have been that I was savagely hungry by the end of the day. Or maybe it was sitting in candle light while the cicadas chirped a jungle symphony just for me, that made the food better. Or maybe I just lucked out working with amazing cooks.

    Breakfast sometimes would be just the burned bits from the bottom of the rice cooker (I swear they tweaked it so it would burn the rice) with prick nam plah, and then you dunked it in a fried egg. Yum. Dinner were Curries so hot your grandchildren hopped around and cussed, or Tom Yum Goong (where they got shrimp is anybodies guess) and rice. That was followed by bottles of Sang Thip and Singha.

    One night I heard a bunch of banging in the kitchen long after we went to sleep. Figuring someone was whipping up a little 3 AM snack, I moseyed over. The lights weren’t on which I thought strange. But these guys could cook drunk, with no lights no problem. Flashlight in hand I approached the dining room to hear things being broken and snuffling/grunting noises. Very strange. My Mag Light beam fell on an eight foot Water Monitor. A lizard of quiet temperament but frightening aspect. We looked at each other for a couple of beats, and then I went back to bed. For the life of me I didn’t know what to do with a dinosaur in my kitchen.

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