mkayahara

I'm with HungryC: just put the shell-on eggs into hot tap water. They'll be ambient temperature in no time.

Still playing around with sherry, and with a bottle of Lustau manzanilla open, I opted tonight for the Choke Artist from Art of the Bar. Maybe it's just me, but I think this is one of the perfect drinks. The synergy that exists between sherry and Cynar always blows my mind.

I've only ever heard it called a sauce mousseline.

I think that's exactly what makes it a good choice as a mother sauce!

Monsieur Escoffier begs to differ.

David, I share your goal of learning charcuterie techniques. I'd also like to learn at least one new station (and preferably two!) at work.

What did I buy at the liquor store today? A bottle of Lustau "Escuadrilla" Amontillado, and a bottle of Valdespino "Inocente" Fino. ...it's possible the liquor store in question is in Spain.

*cough* It's spelled "Tolkien", not "Tolkein." *cough*

Recently picked up a bottle of Aviation gin, so I made a Gin Fix with it tonight. It came out drier than I wanted, so I added a little bit more pineapple syrup. Better, but still didn't quite hit the spot. Then my eyes fell on a bottle of absinthe... so I dashed some in. Ah! That's what I was looking for!

Hi all, I'm looking for a source for dragonfruit in Portland. I need it by Saturday. Can anyone help me out? Thanks in advance!

Sold!

I think a Toronto made with Anchor's Genevieve could be stellar. And I agree that Cynar and sherry generally are a very good combination!

Took a glance at this in my local bookstore yesterday. It looks like a really impressive and interesting work. Definitely going on my Christmas wish list this year. Jason, I'll be fascinated to follow your progress!

Doomed to failure. Next question?

In my experience, bitterness in lime juice is more likely to come from the oil in the skin than from the pulp. What kind of juicer are you using?

I'm with you on this one, FrogPrincesse. I just don't get the Lucien Gaudin. I've made it maybe twice, and didn't enjoy it either time. I found it too astringent, as I recall. For me, the Cointreau definitely takes this outside the realm of the Negroni.

One of my favourites, though I tend to make it with Canadian whisky (especially Alberta Premium Dark Horse) instead of US rye. I mean, it is named after Canada's largest city, right?

That plum cake really does look nice. On the topic of the Dillon's white rye, I tried a Brooklyn with it the other night. Not the best cocktail I've ever had. Then, last night, I made an Improved Old Fashioned with Boker's bitters (that you gave me, Kerry), Luxardo, and some cane syrup (forgot the absinthe - oops), and it was pretty stellar. My half-bottle of white rye is almost used up!

I have a chestnut foam recipe from Adria that calls for 200 g chestnut puree, 75 g 35% cream, 75 g chicken stock, 25 g egg whites, mixed and heated to 70C, and charged with 2 cartridges. Maybe give that a try. Edit: Quantities are for a half-litre siphon.

It looks like Charcuteria: The Soul of Spain has been pushed back to March 2014.

I would be worried about olive oil solidifying at the temperatures you need for this process.

If I could get white grapefruits, I'm sure I would make a lot more Tiki drinks. Alas, the Ruby Red has come to entirely dominate the marketplace where I live.

Caesar-style dressings, especially heavy on the anchovies, are a good thing to try with raw kale. You need a good bit of salt to tame the bitterness, and a good hit of umami to make it, well, tasty.

Usually woks are shipped and sold with an oil coating on them to prevent them from rusting (they're carbon steel, not stainless, so they will rust if not treated). That oil coating needs to be scrubbed off, then the wok needs to be seasoned with cooking oil before use.

Made a Pegu Club tonight with Clement Creole Shrubb for the orange liqueur, Hayman's Old Tom for the gin, and a couple of dashes each of Regan's orange bitters and Angostura aromatic. I dunno... I can see why some people might fuss over "perfecting" the ratios for this drink, but I seem to like every iteration, in its own way.