FrogPrincesse

haresfur - I have been St. Germain-free for a few years now. But I imagine that it should be roughly the same flavor profile if my syrup was successful. So yes, I could use it in cocktails that call for St Germain. Are there any interesting ones that I should try?

Twyst, Regarding "poêler", I am not sure what you mean by "traditional meaning of the word". I was just pointing out that the first definition for "poêler" in the French dictionary is to cook something in a frying pan. So this is what French people like me who did not go to culinary school will think of when you use that term. It’s also what I have seen in French restaurants to describe menu items that are cooked in a pan – “foie gras poêlé” is a typical example. Regarding “cuisson poêler” from the Guide Culinaire, it seems to be very specific and corresponds to the technique you describe in your post. Because the term is confusing, I’ve seen some people prefer the terms “cuisson à l'étuvée” or “cuisson à l'étouffée”. Ce qu’on se poêle….

Sounds easy enough!

Thanks Plantes Vertes. I am missing the mulberry (or blackberry) jam but I've bookmarked the recipe. I may try the spritz next time my husband is out of town (he abhors spritzes and all things bitters), which reminds me that I have to teach myself to open champagne bottles to be fully self-sufficient (I have already conquered the grill...).

Schot in Het Donker (Shot in the Dark), a saison-style beer brewed with cherries. El Segundo and Tender Greens collaboration. It's dry and very aromatic.

I love this. I follow the same steps but have not tried it with garlic (or black olives), just olive oil with a small amount of red pepper flakes and a squeeze of lemon juice. Leftovers are great in sandwiches.

The summer succotash is very photogenic but I thought that it was a little too heavy with the heavy cream. I prefer a lighter version.

Poêler is cooking in a pan = to fry. It seems that arroser is correct in the cooking context to designate the action of basting with butter or melted fat, although for general use it just means "to water".

Thanks Adam, that sounds like something I would be interested in trying.

iainpb - thanks for the photo report. I am intrigued by the combination of beets with plums. Would you mind describing the dish? Thanks!

Thanks tanstaafl2. Based on the fact that I don't care much for Bombay Sapphire, I haven't bothered to try the East gin. What is it like? The original recipe for the Far Eastern Gimlet calls for vodka (!) but Maks Pazuniak had this variation on eGullet with Hendrick's so I started there.

Far Eastern Gimlet with gin, lemon juice, homemade elderflower cordial, angostura bitters. It does have the typical gimlet profile but it was kind of a "meh" for me. Looking for more interesting things to do with my elderflower cordial. The elderflower taste is on the subtle side.

It's summer so I am sure everyone is making plenty of interesting salads. I would like to see recent examples of what everyone is doing with the summer bounty. Here is one that I made last night with what I received in my CSA. Mixed greens, white peaches, roasted beets, crumbled fresh goat cheese, Arbequina olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale (left), Green Flash West Coast IPA The Red Trolley has a mahogany color. It tastes malty with a slight bitterness. It is quite simple but it works.

Gorgeous pizza, Shelby. I also made zucchini fritters last week. I used diced zucchini and yellow crookneck squash (both from my CSA). The recipe is from Ruhlman's Ratio and the batter has lemon zest and juice, plus a touch of cayenne pepper. 4 oz flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 4 oz milk, 1 egg, zest of 2 lemons, tablespoon of lemon juice, large pinch of cayenne, 2 cups diced zucchini. I forgot to take a photo of the finished product but I added crumbled feta and fresh mint on top.

I tried a Southside variation last night that uses fresh celery juice. It reminded me of the French Pearl quite a bit. Southern Exposure (Daniel Hyatt): London dry gin, celery juice, lime juice, simple syrup, mint.

Hi Adam! Good to see you here. Here is a recent one. Saison Diego (Green Flash). Easy to drink, spice, orange, crisp and refreshing. Forgot to take a picture in the glass but there was moderate foam and it's golden in color.

I agree completely.

Brain jar? That's hilarious... I will never look at sous-vide equipment the same way now!

After a few hikes that left me empty-handed expect for some wild sage, I finally found elderflowers and made a syrup/cordial. It's the end of the season though, and most of the elders are no longer in bloom. I will try to come back in a few weeks for the berries.

I am not sure that you can generalize. I buy grape tomatoes all the time from Trader Joe's ('mini pearl grape tomatoes") and had the opposite experience - full of flavor and quite sweet. In summer it's our favorite snack and we go through at least a couple of pounds a week.

I am also in Daiquiri mode. Last night I tried the Oh Gosh from Tony Conigliaro’s Cocktail Lab with aged white rum, triple sec, lime juice, simple syrup. It's an orange-flavored Daiquiri, a bit similar to the Daiquiri No. 2. The cocktail is well balanced but I struggled a bit with the large amount of triple sec. I still prefer a classic Daiquiri. In any case, it went down very easily.

Plantes Vertes, The potatoes with bay look pretty. It's too bad that the zucchini dish did not work. I imagine that a lot of the flavor of the dish comes from the pearl onions, and using shallots may not have produced the same results. It's odd that you cannot find pearl onions in the UK by the way - here in the US I can find them fresh or frozen (already peeled). I've seen a lot of people recommend this book so hopefully this won't discourage you...

Added to the list. Thanks Hassouni!

A Ti' Punch last weekend with J.M agricole blanc and sirop J.M (sugarcane syrup). The rhum agricole is the 40% (bought at my local BevMo); I hope to be able to be able to buy the 50% version soon. Even with the 40%, this is delightful on a hot summer day.