FrogPrincesse

Thanks gfweb. Do you have any favorites from the book?

Carré d'agneau à la moutarde 1) Season the rack of lamb with salt and pepper 2) Fry in olive oil and butter 2) Sprinkle with fresh herbs (thyme & rosemary), cover with Dijon mustard and breadcrumbs 3) Roast in the oven @ 375F 4) Rest for 10 min before slicing For the sauce: Throw away the fat from step 1), deglaze with red wine, reduce, add stock (I cheated and used demi-glace), add a smashed garlic clove and a bouquet garni, reduce to coating consistency, strain, add butter before serving. The only tricky part is the cooking time which is highly dependent on the size of the rack of lamb. Mine was quite thick so it took much longer than the 17 minutes recommended in the recipe. I used a meat thermometer to cook to medium rare. The chops look very rare on the left side of the last photo, but it's from the sauce which is bright red. Probably best not to spoon it over the meat unlike what I did. Overall this is a recipe that is quite easy - after maybe 15 min or so of "active time" you can just do something else white the rack is roasting in the oven and later resting. I served it with parboiled rattes potatoes that are roasted under the lamb to catch all the juices and seasoning. Who else is still cooking from this book?

Honkman, Now that you have tried extended tasting menus at George's and Marche Moderne, I would be curious to hear if there was one you liked best? Also price-wise, were they comparable?

Session black lager Slightly smoky, malty, light to medium body, drinks very easily. Saison Rue from the Bruery I can't believe I haven't reviewed this one yet because it is one of my favorite beers. First it has a great orange color. Flavor-wise, it has the perfect combination of spice from the rye and crazy almost fruity flavors (apricot, peach, etc) from the yeast, plus bread-like aromas. It's rich and complex, and very harmonious overall. Providential Belgian-style golden ale from Trader Joe's (brewed by Unibroue) It is actually excellent. Ok, it does not have the complexity of something like Saison Rue but it is still a very enjoyable beer and it's only $6 for the large bottle (about half the price of Saison Rue). Green Flash 30th street pale ale That one was overly bitter for me; not enough other flavors to counterbalance the bitterness. The Bruery Batch 1000 Bryeian The recipe was from the winners of a homebrewing contest. It was a little too busy for me between the intense hop flavor, the dark malts, and the rye.

Agreed - they are wonderful. Also a childhood memory for me because my mom used to buy them when I was little. Honkman - I am pretty sure that I got them at Specialty Produce.

thampik - I read the article this morning and thought too that it was confusing. I am not sure what technique Alessandro Palazzi is referring to. I think that it would be hard to achieve the texture of a Ramos Gin Fizz for example without using an egg white. I've seen gelatin foams mentioned as an option but they don't seem to work as well as egg whites in cocktails. Some cocktails still work without the egg white, but for many classic cocktails the texture created by the egg white is an essential component. Additionally the egg white foam, while not imparting much flavor itself, helps blend the flavors together.

These grilled endives make me salivate... Beautiful! SPAM ALERT - I haven't posted in a while but do enjoy some food in between cocktails... Here are some recent (September) dinners. Zuni kale. I don't particularly like kale and this recipe has you boil it for a long time, so you get the full benefit of the semi-toxic fumes. However this was surprisingly good. The boiled kale is served on a piece of rustic toasted bread that is dipped in the kale broth. There was also some shaved Parmigiano under the duck egg. I will make this again when I get kale in my CSA. Grilled sausages from Siesel's my local butcher shop (veal bratwurst, bourbon sausage), assorted peppers and pink corn from my CSA. Excess corn and leftover grilled vegetables = quick succotash, served with grilled chicken. Salmon and shrimp terrine, homemade mayo, arugula salad. Made the terrine for a potluck picnic which ended up not being a potluck (oops). Plenty of leftovers shared with my thankful neighbors. Home-cured guanciale... ...with a homemade tomato sauce (recipe from Babbo)... ...served with fresh sundried tomato pasta & pecorino, all'Amatriciana. So satisfying. Grilled Korean-style ribs and button mushrooms, white rice. Moules marinières (this time made per Anne Willan's recipe, with a bit of extra white wine for the broth, chives substituted for the parsley). Grilled veal chops, ratte potatoes. Lamb chops from Homegrown Meats, my other local butcher shop... ...grilled scottadito style with a mint rub. I should have bought more! They were succulent.

Another Country Life No. 2, this time with a Buffalo Trace, Smith & Cross, and Dolin rouge combo. 1 1/4 oz bourbon, 3/4 oz Jamaican rum, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura bitters.

Elana posted the roundup for this month's challenge on her blog. After making a few excellent things with Laphroaig last week, I could not resist trying Fred Yarm's entry, the Copper Creel (Laphroaig, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, curaçao, Drambuie). Smoky with a slightly metallic taste, orange and honey.

A Gin Rickey with a muddled plum and Beefeater gin. Great on a hot Saturday afternoon. 1.5 oz gin, 1 oz lime, 1/2 oz simple syrup, and plenty of soda water. It would have been fine without the simple syrup as the plum was sweet already.

I bought a bottle of Siete Leguas tequila añejo and a new bottle of Lillet and knew right away what I wanted to try. Jonny Raglin's Nouveau Carré (añejo tequila, lillet blanc, benedictine, peychaud's bitters), a twist on the Vieux Carre created as an homage to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. Very good. Lillet makes it light without rendering it sweet. A hint of smoke at the end which is nice.

I haven’t had much luck with Aperol cocktails in general. At best I find them ok but not exactly unforgettable, except for a few exceptions (such as the Paper Plane which I would order again gladly). But many times I found them actually unpleasant. It seems that certain combinations tend to bring out the sweetness and candy-like flavor of Aperol. I think that part of the problem is that I am infatuated with Campari so I cannot help but compare them. But I keep trying*. The other night I was in the mood for Suze and tried the Paper Trail with bourbon, Suze (my substitution – the original calls for Salers), Aperol. On paper it sounded sweet and indeed it was too sweet. I did not have a twist so that was another issue. I added a couple of drops of grapefruit bitters and it became passable. At least it was pretty. *Ok, I admit it. This is mainly an attempt to streamline my liquor cabinet! I am not sure I will restock this one when it’s finally gone.

lesliec- this looks good. It reminds me very much of the Old Sombrero, another tequila/mezcal/cynar/egg white drink I had at Comme Ça, a restaurant & bar in LA. They serve it tall with soda water and it makes a great brunch drink (French bistro food + craft cocktails = bliss). Last night I wanted something strong in the old-fashioned family. I went with a Monte Carlo, a David Embury creation with rye, Benedictine, and Angostura bitters (ratios from the Bartender's Choice app). I had been introduced to this cocktail at the Varnish a while back. They garnish it with lemon & orange peel, but I had run out of lemons so I went with orange only. With Rittenhouse rye it's a fantastic drink.

Mini cheese assortment from last night. Elderflower cheese from France on top, Manchego underneath (and whiskey salami by Creminelli). I was intrigued by the elderflower cheese but it's not very interesting. It is a semi-soft cheese that reminds me of raclette or morbier, with a little bit of flavor from the elderflowers. Very forgettable, plus I am not really a fan of this kind of texture. I much preferred the Manchego. (And the salami was good but did not have any whiskey flavor that I could detect. I think it's false advertising!)

The Bruery's Autumn Maple (holiday yam ale), St Feuillien Saison Yam ale is not something I would normally order, but I've had a great pumpkin & yam beer by the Bruery & Stone in the past (La Citrueille Celeste) so I was excited about this one. Unfortunately the yams were overwhelming in this beer, and not in a good way. Good thing it was a small glass. The St Feuillien Saison on the other end was really great.

Hotel Room Temperature by Kirk Estopinal. The third one in a series portaying the various stages of a relationship. I had tried the All's Fair before and liked it a lot. I decided to cut to the chase and go straight for the last one. They all have the same ingredients and amounts; just the method of prep is different. This one is served at room temperature. I find it amusing that they still specify a garnish in this context (apparently a good bartender always carries a peeler around!). In any case, I got quite a different vibe from the first one. The vermouth is the first flavor to draw you in, then the rum takes over and it's quite intoxicating. Beware. The salt (of tears?) does not become obvious until the very end.

The Rattlesnake from the Savoy Cocktail Book is one of my favorites for winter. 2 oz rye, 3/4 oz lemon juice, 3/4 oz simple syrup, egg white. Shake without ice, then shake with ice. Strain into an absinthe (or pastis) rinsed coupe.

JJ, This is no more dangerous than homemade chocolate mousse or mayonnaise, which also contain raw egg whites/yolk... I think that the risks are minuscule, but if you are really concerned, you can always buy pasteurized eggs.

I was considering a White Lady last night but only had these ridiculously expensive free-range eggs, so I went with a close relative, the Fine and Dandy from the Savoy: 1.5 oz gin, 1 oz Cointreau, 1/2 oz lemon juice, 2 dashes Angostura bitters. The ratios I used are actually from the Bartender's Choice app; the Savoy version equates to 1.5 oz gin, 3/4 each Cointreau and lemon juice, and 3 dashes Angostura bitters. I used Beefeater and realized after the fact that the Savoy actually called for Plymouth (the app does not specify brands). Is Plymouth still preferred for White Ladies and the like? In any case, this was a very nice cocktail. In my opinion that's the way to do orange in a cocktail, because the juice rarely works and often falls flat. Here with lemon juice and the Cointreau, you get the best of the orange flavor and it stays interesting.

It's been on the shelves for a few months already. The dry formula is still being offered which is good. As a bonus, the 375 mL size seems much easier to find these days. Here they are :

For this month's MxMo Smoke Challenge, I tried the End of the Road by Chris McMillian in Beta Cocktails. With equal parts green Chartreuse, Campari, and Laphroaig I was quite nervous to say the least. I even managed to spill my cocktail in its entirety and had to prepare a second one amidst the Laphroaig vapors. But it was worth it - it's quite a fascinating drink. It's hard to describe because each sip was a little different. It's definitely on the bittersweet end of the spectrum.

5150 IPA from Ironfire in Temecula ("ales for outlaws") to accompany a mahi mahi ceviche and a white seabasss taco. This one is not for the timid - pungent funky/cat litter aroma, very bitter on the first sip (no wonder with 95 IBU), amazingly hoppy, hardly any malt to relieve the palate. Still it's pretty good and full of interesting flavors from the hops, but it took my a while to finish my glass. It reminds me of Green Flash's Le Freak. I will have do try them side-by-side some day. Ironfire 5150 by *FrogPrincesse*, on Flickr

Lapin a la Moutarde/a la diable (rabbit with mustard) is what my mom used to make when I was little. It's a nice braise with Dijon mustard, white wine (I believe) and crème fraîche. It is really delicious because it has a lot of flavor (rabbit on its own does not usually have much), and the rabbit stays very moist. I think I attempted it only once on my own, but did not have a clue about how to properly break down a rabbit at the time (I could only find it whole and it did not occur to me to ask my butcher to do it for me). I want to try this again soon.

brinza, I mostly use my Suze in White Negronis, but I also love PDT's Brown Bomber. The Two Cups of Blood from beta cocktails is fun if you are in the mood for something different.

Sorry I am not following you. I did not mean to imply that cavolo nero (aka black kale, Tuscan kale, dinosaur kale, lacinato kale, etc) was the same as spigarello, just that they were related and can be used in the same way.