FrogPrincesse

I am going to go with a big Gallic shrug here. A couple of good French beers I have had not too long ago: Jenlain Ambree which is an amber biere de garde, complex with spices and a touch of caramel, slightly hoppy. Can be found in most supermarkets in France. Gavroche by Saint Sylvestre which I understand is a micro brewery. Also a biere de garde, spices, notes of chocolates and caramel. That one I've had in the US actually.

You have to try w00tstout from Stone. It's outstanding.

Very happy to see Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins of El Jardin in San diego in the list of semi-finalists!

My local TJ’s is already out of the ruby cacao wafers! Apparently they only received one box and it was gone immediately. 😞

Your best option may be two bottles of Rittenhouse rye at $30/bottle (or Sazerac, which is about the same price I believe)! I am not aware of other ryes in that price range that would be good for sipping.

Agree. It's great for mixing, not so good for sipping.

Thank you! I tried it hot and chilled, and it is nice either way. I’ve read that carrots and cumin are close relatives (so are coriander, cilantro, etc - they all belong to the apiaceae family), which could explain why they go well together.

Deborah Madison’s Chilled Spicy Carrot Soup (with fresh ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric). Very tasty and good for my slightly upset stomach.

Saint Illtyd cheddar. Super garlicky - like Boursin in cheddar form with a fine, crumbly texture.

Heath ceramics? Love their stuff!

Here we go again. https://la.eater.com/2019/1/9/18174211/california-foie-gras-ban-upheld-supreme-court-lawsuit

@blue_dolphin's post inspired me to revisit the squash and fennel soup, and give another try to the candied squash seeds because they looked so delicious in her post. In my previous attempt, maybe the seeds were a bit old and maybe I hadn't toasted them long enough - in any case they were very dry and unpleasant to eat. This time they were fresher and turned out ok. I actually ate a good number of them while finishing up the preparation of the soup! @blue_dolphin - did you use the whole seed or did you remove the shells? It does not look like you have the shells in your picture. I used a butternut squash instead of kabocha, only used 6 cups of liquid, and cooked the soup for 10 min in the instant pot on high rather than using a Dutch pot. It's a delicious soup!

Oh yes I did. I had it before, so I was very excited to see it at Trader Joe’s!

@Beebs So where did you end up going? Please report!

Awful news. https://billypenn.com/2018/12/02/phillys-restaurant-community-toasts-cocktail-maven-katie-loeb-now-in-hospice/