FrogPrincesse

I finally broke down and bought the St. George absinthe verte. It is currently on sale at our local BevMos for $59.99 + tax.

I made this Volcano Bowl for MxMo. It's hard to go wrong with these rums (Plantation 5 Barbados, Appleton 12 Jamaican, Eldorado 5 Demerara, and Lemon Hart 151 Demerara) and a Don the Beachcomber recipe! Also a very interesting use of maple syrup as the sweetener.

Ballast Point San Salvador summer saison, named after Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s flagship. The beer was created "using ingredients that would have been present when Cabrillo landed at San Diego Bay in 1542.". So these include elderberries, manzanita berries and white sage among other things. It was light with roasted flavors and herbs. I wish I could had have another one! Initially I had ordered The Bruery's Tart of Darkness but the keg had a malfunction and I sat there eating my food and seeing person after person ordering it and being turned down. I also realized later that they had Pliny the Elder as well (buried deep at the end of their list of beer offerings) - is it really as good as what everyone says? It seems to have quite a following!

I try to bring lunch to work but often I just forget. When I do remember it's always leftovers. Something like a vegetable soup (a cold soup in summer) plus roast chicken or a pasta dish is pretty typical. My husband is not a fan of leftovers and I am very happy to have them for lunch, so this system works well for us!

Not really, unless someone insisted that wine was the way to go. I am pretty flexible. Last time I had a Szechuan dish was a while back for lunch with a couple of business collegues so wine was out of the question anyway, and I am not even sure the restaurant had any. It would not have entered my mind to order wine with the meal, no. Maybe hot tea or a beer. The types of food I eat ln a regular basis (French, Italian, Californian) are much more wine-friendly.

Santé! When I grew up my parents drank wine (and water) with every meal. It's the norm in France. Nothing fancy, just an every day wine - usually red wine bought directly from the producer. Always white wine with seafood. Beer very rarely, mostly outside of meals or with lunch maybe. As for me, I do it because it feels right and makes me enjoy the food more. It's part of the pleasure of eating and a meal does not feel complete without it, even if it's only a glass or a half glass.

Always plenty of water, and also usually wine or beer depending on what we eat. White wine with fish, red wine with beef, beer with spicy foods, etc. The occasional margarita with Mexican food but we prefer our cocktails pre-dinner. I practically never drink sodas - coke with pizza very rarely and that's about it; I just don't like them because they are too sweet.

Emily, You can of course use your strawberry-infused tequila (aka tequila por mi amante) in Palomas as you mentioned, or Margaritas. Make sure you taste it on its own first, as these infusions do not last forever... For punch, I would try something like this spicy paloma punch by Phil Ward. His bar Mayahuel specializes in tequila and mezcal, plus I've had good luck in the past with his punch recipes. Adjust the amount of jalapeno based on your tolerance for spice. From the linked article: Spicy Paloma Punch Phil Ward, Mayahuel, New York City 24 oz Espolon tequila blanco 6 oz sugar 6 small jalapenos, halved 12 oz fresh grapefruit 9 oz fresh lime 12 oz club soda Salt Muddle sugar with jalapeno seeds and tequila. Add juices and shake with ice. Strain into rocks glass. Top with club soda and a pinch of salt. The tip: "There's no secret to punch. Just make it great." http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/summer-cocktail-recipes-2011-5771206

It sounds like you got an excellent pineapple. Your description reminds me of the small ones I had in Tahiti that had a sweet core. Have fun!

I am not familiar with the first rum but I am sure that Barbancourt would make a great pina colada. You could try the Bartender's Choice ratios (they recommend an aged rum): 2 oz rum, 2 oz pineapple juice, 3/4 oz coco lopez, squeeze of lime juice. Shake with ice, strain into glass with fresh ice. For the pineapple try blending it as fine as you can and then strain the larger bits of pulp out to get the juice, otherwise the drink will be very foamy.

Is anyone following the PDT Project at Umami Mart? There were attempting to make all cocktails in the PDT Cocktail Book and have gorgeous photography. However they are only at the letter "B" and there haven't been new posts in a while, so I think that we are still way ahead of them... Anyway, here is a new one that I hadn't tried due my lack of enthusiasm for all things St. Germain. But I made an elderflower cordial a few weeks ago and have been revisiting St Germain cocktails since then. In PDT there is El Puente, a cocktail designed by Jim Meehan to bring together tequila and mezcal. With white vermouth and elderflower, I was a little concerned that this would be a very busy cocktail and I even thought twice before using my favorite tequila (as you may see from the photo, I reduced my risk by only making a 1/2 cocktail)... But I was wrong and it turned out wonderful, like a delicate and floral take on grapefruit. Next time it will be full scale!

Thanks rotuts. It disappeared in no time!

Inspired by a recent trip to San Francisco where I devoured delicious fruit tartlets at Frog Hollow Farm bakery, last weekend I made a couple of rustic tarts that I brought to picnics. Peach, and my favorite one (photo) which was nectarine-apricot. Not using a tart pan is liberating. It makes the whole process so much faster.

Speaking of inventory and forgetting things in the freezer - it may be time for one of these Don't shop now challenges, we haven't done one in ages!

Mine is very simple - I have created a "freezer inventory" note on my iPad that is organized by freezer shelf/location. I list the items I want to use soon as the first items, and I do my best to update the list when I take things out or buy new things. Every other month or so I reconcile my inventory if I noticed that it was no longer up to date. The list is also available on my iPhone so I can check what I already have when I am grocery shopping. As any other electronic note, it's searchable so I can easily look for specific items when I check my inventory. Every once in a while, I try to create a meal around what I have in the freezer otherwise I tend to forget things indefinitely. I am considering doing the same thing for my pantry but that is not a high priority. [i have something a little more elaborate (i.e., an app that that scans barcodes) for my home bar inventory...] It's not perfect but it's better than nothing, and it's been working great for me!

Erick Castro just published a video that describes the tap system they use for highballs at Polite Provisions. It's a system typically used for root beers and sodas. It's pretty cool - they make their own sodas from scratch and use them in pre-batched cocktail that are carbonated and available on tap. http://vimeo.com/73180856">

Chris - excuse my ignorance but how does the Fundador brandy compare to a cognac? I don't think I've ever had Spanish brandy. Thanks!

So you are saying that home distillation of alcohol is legal in New Zealand? It sounds like you are having a lot of fun here - homemade vermouth and now home-distilled gin. Very jealous.

The round-up was posted here. I wonder what will be the theme for the next MxMo...

How about a clafoutis or a pie?

A recent cheese platter. From 9 o'clock: Comte, Roquefort, P'tit Basque (cow, sheep, sheep). This is what I serve for my slightly less adventurous friends since these are a little less stinky than some other cheeses I like (the cheese, not the friends...).

I also liked the Maximilian Affair. Smoke and flowers is a good combination. The cordial had the same mellowing effect with mezcal as noted above with Campari.

Finally reporting and yes I liked the Bitter Elder! The elderflower cordial had a mellowing effect on the Campari (I used 1/2 oz per the original specs). Very nice.

I am with you. There are plenty of excellent rum-based drinks that are not tiki. Plus rum is relatively cheap so I struggle to make sense of EvergreenDan's decision. Maybe he is looking at expanding his gin collection?

Just two rums? I am not sure how anyone could live like this... Rums are by far the most represented category in my home bar, but as I remember you are not exactly a tiki fan, so maybe that explains your drastic decision!