FrogPrincesse

Thanks! 😊

I made this again... this time for 10 people. While delicious (I got lots of raves from my French friends), it does take a little bit of time. For 10 it took about 3 hours total, with browning the legs being the most time consuming part (browning was done in a large Le Creuset Dutch oven), followed by the prep of the pearl onions. I had to cook the chicken in two batches based on the size of my instant pot.

Try the vieille poire from Etter if you can find it... it is potent of course like any other eau de vie, but it also has a beautiful pear flavor that is very pronounced, and is great to sip on.

Without alcohol it will keep for 1 month at best, refrigerated. If you add alcohol, you will increase shelf life quite a bit. I have been able to keep my orgeat for several months without degradation.

I have been making my own for 10+ years now (recipe at this link; it is based on Jeff Berry's recipe). I tried various commercially-produced orgeats, Small Hand Foods included, and always come back to homemade because I prefer the flavor. I also find that homemade has a much longer shelf life. I really do not care for the toasted almond or marzipan flavor. I am more into a fresh/green almond flavor when I make mine, and I do not toast the almonds.

Wow that was quick!!!

I have a Duo and I have been using it a lot. I am considering upgrading to the Ultra model for the finer controls and improved display. Is it a worthy upgrade? Just looking for an excuse to get new kitchen equipment.. 😆

It looks like they changed the packaging of the St. Elizabeth allspice dram again! Hopefully it's still the same thing in the bottle, more or less...

I agree with you all. He will be missed. Joy of Mixology was one of my first serious cocktail books, and I learned a lot from it. I remember how excited when I was finally able to buy his orange bitters. I think about him every time I mix a Negroni (and have his Negroni book, of course). I even gifted his finger to close friends because it is such a great conversation piece and puts a huge smile on my face. He was such a character! I still use 101 best new cocktails app every once in a while - it's a great source of interesting cocktails, with a little story for each one. He did so much for the cocktail community!

I bought a block of beeswax not long ago to use in a cocktail recipe. I paid $14 for a pound.

Agreed, I love the Nikka coffey gin. I bought my second bottle a few weeks ago. What is interesting about it as well is the long peppery finish (subtle yet noticeable). I love the fact that it incorporates all these interesting uniquely Japanese flavors, but is very restrained at the same time. It makes delicious sours - I used my first bottle to make Southsides mostly. Luckily it is only about $50 in California! (It doesn't come in the fancy cardboard packaging though... )

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!