Keith Orr

I like the looks of this recipe, It's got lots of add-ins for complexity. And I just bought a bunch of lemongrass yesterday at the Asian Market Is this used as a syrup and mixed with additional soda water or is it meant to be carbonated? Also, it seems that quinine may be available over the counter in Australia, but it appears to be prescription only in USA. Not a big deal as I've got a stash of cinchona bark, but tablet sound really easy.

Buffalo is much like good grass fed beef in my mind. It's not as gamy as venison or elk or even a nice hangar steak. I don't know what brands/styles you normally drink, but I find I generally prefer good wines from lesser vintages when buying California wines. They're usually not as ripe and overblown (my opinion & preference). A nice Cote du Rhone Village won't break the bank and they're really a versatile wine - in this case something from either the north or the south would work well.

I can't lay my hands on any Azorean Passion Fruit Liqueur - would the same amount of passion fruit syrup suffice? i'd imagine it would work out nicely. the spoonful of liqueur looks to bump the sugar content into a certain direction and nudge aromatic tonality ever so slightly. what brand of marsala are you going to try? It will most likely be the brand that Trader Joe's has, which I think is the same brand you used. Thanks for the prompt reply!

I noticed about that someone mentioned Grapefruit Bitters. I haven't tried them, but I really do like about a 1/2 oz of grapefruit juice in a gin & tonic. I've also been using the PDT Tonic Syrup recipe and that is a huge improvement over the majority of the commercial tonic waters.

I can't lay my hands on any Azorean Passion Fruit Liqueur - would the same amount of passion fruit syrup suffice?

I use Evernote. It's an app for computers and smart phones. Shares data between the devices. You can open it in your computer or phone and type in or cut and paste recipes. I cut and paste recipes and store the link in the space provided. It has folders, tags and is searchable. You can take a photo and attach it. You can files in a folder too. It also lets you record and store audible files. I have a Droid and there are a couple of widgets available for free that make it really easy to use on the phone. It's got way more capability than I use. There's a free and a premium version. The free version works for me and I add a lot of things some months. It's got several ways to share files too. I mostly use the email function to share. It's got several other apps that make it usable too. There's a food/restaurant log and a contacts log available too.

This is actually one of my favorite drinks right now using just 1 oz of cognac. Counter to the shake if it's got fresh juice, stir if it doesn't axiom, I find this drink best when it's heavily shaken. It seems to bring out the kirschwasser element. I used the local Clear Creek Kirschwasser. Perhaps I got over my mania last century

With most cookbooks, I check them out from the library. If I like it after having it for 3 weeks or I find myself renewing it repeatedly I buy it. Can't afford the money or the space to purchase all the shiny things that get my attention. When I buy, I usually buy the book locally to support the independent book sellers. I'm fortunate to have Powell's books in town and often have the option of buying used.

Saw Avèze, Saler's and Suze on the shelf at Pearl Specialty here in Portland OR yesterday. I figure if it's available here with our state controlled liquor sluggish distribution, it should be available everywhere. It does appear that our state liquor folks got a scare from the Washington State privatization - they seem to have become much more accommodating of special requests and bringing in new products for the stores and bars.

Yikes. I'm scared, although you seldom steer me wrong, Chris. Corriander, orange, apricot, juniper, grapefruit, pie spice, oh my. That's a pretty advanced cocktail for a fundraiser. How did it go over with mere mortals? They loved it -- the first drink we ran out of that night. (Not so with another drink of my concoction, FWIW...) I think this libation is one of my best, a favorite for me and many guests. I loved it too! Had one at Teardrop Lounge here in Portland tonight!

With a few minor tweaks, to account for the ingredients on hand, I made the Völstead 1 oz Linie Aquavit 1 oz Bulleit Rye 1 oz Noily Prat Red, plus a dash of Campari barspoon full of Clear Creek Doug Fir Eau de vie a few drops of honey syrup. This is a damn good drink. It's days like this that I really enjoy retirement - it's after noon and I don't have anyplace I've got to be, so stir up a drink! Thanks for the recipe. Edit to add: The Aquavit is really well integrated in this drink. It's in the background and part of the whole as opposed to being the in the forefront as in the 866.

With a few minor tweaks, to account for the ingredients on hand, I made the Völstead 1 oz Linie Aquavit 1 oz Bulleit Rye 1 oz Noily Prat Red, plus a dash of Campari barspoon full of Clear Creek Doug Fir Eau de vie a few drops of honey syrup. This is a damn good drink. It's days like this that I really enjoy retirement - it's after noon and I don't have anyplace I've got to be, so stir up a drink! Thanks for the recipe. Edit to add: The Aquavit is really well integrated in this drink. It's in the background and part of the whole as opposed to being the in the forefront as in the 866.

I'd been casting about looking for some recipes to use a bottle of Linie Aquavit that I was given. I stumbled across The 866 at the Washington Post. I'm quite taken with this cocktail. Equal parts of Aquavit, Campari and grapefruit juice with a dill frond garnish. I dispensed with the salted rim. It has almost a salty and savory character. Quite enjoyable. I'd also be open to any other suggested recipes using Aquavit.

Sam's description is crystal clear - they should have used that for the recipe in the book. I'm hitting a local watering hole on Friday and one of the bartenders is an ex PDT employee - I'll have to ask him to mix me up a Jimmie Roosevelt.

In the interview Meehan refers to a Demarara Sugar rinse, but doesn't mention a sugar cube soaked in bitters. One other thing I have to mention about the PDT book that frustrates me - The ingredient listings are often incomplete. In the recipe for the Jimmie Roosevelt, Champagne is not listed in the ingredients. I've noticed that this is fairly common with recipes that call for Champagne in the book, but there are other examples. BTW, Frog Princess - I really enjoy your posts and excellent photos. Please keep up the great work.

No mustard on the basic McDonald cheeseburger in Portland, just catsup, onion and pickle. BTW - here's an article and video by McDonald's Executive Chef showing how to make a Big Mac at home including how to make the secret sauce

I tend to dine out at lunch time. Mostly Thai, Vietnamese, Korean and Mexican. Pretty hard to spend $10. I dine out in nice for Portland places four or five times a year and spend $50 to $100 each. Typically we buy a bottle or two of modestly priced wine and pay corkage on another one or two. I'd really rather dine at home or at friends most of the time as opposed to dining out. I know a lot of fine cooks and I'm glad to bring the wines.

Seems like the newer microwaves work much better than the old ones. My dad has a new microwave that seems to do things in half the time my old unit does. I wouldn't spend the extra money myself.

All the other replies remind me of the burgers that proceeded moving to Portland in 69. I lived in La Grande Oregon and the choices we had there were Arctic Circle, Dairy Queen and A & W. Arctic Circle was the most basic burger - shredded lettuce, pickles and special sauce (mayo and catsup) for 19 cents - the others were bigger and a bit fancier with options beyond cheese.

Carts are great - that was a good article in Saveur - we even have a cart that sells fresh & frozen sustainable fish. On top of it all we're missing out on the heat wave for the second year in a row. 75 today, 83 tomorrow.

Some of us can even find single malt made in our backyards. And the Oregon Pink Shrimp are local, sustainable and delicious

Anyone else made the tonic syrup? I thought the ingredients list didn't match the final quantity. They stated 24 oz each water and sugar plus the rest of the ingredients and you'd end up with 24 oz of syrup. I used 16 oz each of sugar and water plus the rest of the ingredients as listed. I made a gin and tonic as the recipe stated and found it a bit bland, but still superior to commercial tonic. Looking at some other recipes for homemade tonic syrup it looks like the PDT recipe makes a lighter product than some which use more cinchona and a bit of citric acid and lime juice and a little less sugar.

The Four Roses single barrel would be what I'd grab if I was headed to the liquor store with $50 to buy bourbon.

I use self rising flour. I think it makes lighter dumplings and biscuits at least partially because it's a lower protein flour. I'm also partial to adding some sage to my dumplings. Make it like your recipe or the others, just leaving out the leavening because it's included in self rising flour.

That's pretty much a description of what I would consider a Basic West Coast Burger here in Portland OR, minus the green chiles, which are arguably a New Mexico tradition. Most of the places here that do a better burger, use a better bun, and grind & form their own beef patties. Many of the local bakeries turn out good buns as well. High end burgers include options like caramelized onions, better cheeses (cheddar, blue, etc.) grass fed beef or occasionally buffalo, bacon, ham, fried egg. Burgers are a popular happy hour menu item at many of the higher end (for Portland) restaurant bars. We've also got a few local burger chains and single location burger places that do pretty a pretty good job. Burgerville is more of a fast food place that locals will often compare favorably or not to In N Out. They use lots of local products and higher end local beef. Additionally more places are making their own french fries and housemade catsup. I was in Kansas recently and there is a local mid-west chain called Freddies that is pretty good. Their burgers were pretty much what I expect around here, but one option they had that I like is a Patty Melt. A burger with swiss cheese and grilled onions on rye. Links to some reviews of local burgers here & here - The first is higher end, the second is more old school.