FrogPrincesse

Like you - I have a large brick of tamarind pulp so I cut off a chunk, boiled it with some water (~ 1:2 tamarind paste to water), and sieved it.

I am with Matt on this one. The thing is, there is just too much mezcal in that recipe. See, even with a decent tequila + mezcal combo, the tamarind syrup which was intense and deliciously tart on its own (I think I could drink the stuff neat) disappeared in the drink. The good thing is that I now have this excess tamarind syrup that I can play with. T&T with Don Julio tequila and Del Maguey Vida mezcal.

djyee100 - I am only a short flight away from SF so am sure that I will be back soon. I am taking notes of all your great recommendations for my next visit. Many thanks! I had a chance to try the products from a second cheesemaker during my trip; more on that soon...

I hope I have enough Cynar left to try it tonight because that's the plan!

Dave - I am not there anymore and now realize that I was in such awe at the Ferry Building (Cowgirl but also Boccalone charcuterie, Blue Bottle coffee, Hog Island Oysters, etc, etc) that I failed to properly document everything. But I really enjoyed my time there, so much so that I went 3 days in a row.

A quick snapshot of the Cowgirl Creamery shop in the Ferry Building in San Francisco... On market day (Saturday), they were handing out little samples of St Pat which is a cheese wrapped in nettle leaves.

And Part 2 of the round-up...

Yeah I am running super low...

Curls - very nice! This reminds me that I made the blondies from the Perfect Scoop a couple of weeks ago and they were gone before I remembered to take a photo... and this is not the first time that it happens!

Adam - Is it this one?

I don't think we've had a rye + rum combo in this thread yet? My husband is not amused by my experiments with Cynar so I keep going back to Manhattan variations for him. Here are the Pals of Old with rye, rum, sweet vermouth, bitters. The original recipe calls for Abbott bitters which I don't have (I know, I know...). I used Boker's and was very pleased with the result. With the Bulleit rye and Appleton 12 year rum combo, this was like a great Manhattan variation with a little more spice and a nice depth. 1 oz rye 1 oz rum 1 oz sweet vermouth 1 dash bitters I also added a brandied griotte cherry

After the Eastside upthread and the Southside in the Mint thread, here is David Embury's Northside Special with dark Jamaican rum, (blood) orange juice, lemon juice, simple syrup, club soda. Very refreshing and interesting too.

So the Navy Dock Daiquiri was another one in a series of cocktails combining cynar and maraschino. (See the Cynar What I Mean and Maloney No. 2 upthread). Chris Hannah's Amertinez, also from the cocktail virgin slut blog, is, as it names indicates, a bitter Martinez with a touch of amaro. 1 1/4 oz gin 2/3 oz sweet vermouth 2/3 oz amaro (I used cynar) 1/4 oz maraschino liqueur 2 dashes orange bitters It's ginny, bitter, a bit sweet. It's a good sipper.

You are not alone... I like potato salad as long as it's not saturated with mayonnaise. I also like the French version where the dressing is an olive oil vinaigrette with plenty of vinegar and a bunch of chives/parsley, and shallots.

The Navy Dock Daiquiri, found on cocktail virgin slut blog. Decided to post this one in the Cynar thread rather than the daiquiri thread based on the flavor profile. 1.5 oz Smith & Cross Jamaica rum 3/4 oz Cynar 1/2 oz lime juice 1/4 oz maraschino liqueur Oil and smoke in a daiquiri base, with bonus funk from the maraschino.

You got me worried for a second. The flowers are edible. It's the woody parts of the plants that are highly toxic, and the stems. Hank Shaw in Northern California blogged about making fritters and cordial with them. In Santa Cruz, Pim Te uses them in jams (paired with blueberry).

Ann_T: you are very welcome. Your photo looks beautiful!

Reminds me of this one (navy dock daiquiri) which is next on my list of cocktails to try.

Talking about sour beers, here is The Bruery's take on a Gueuze that they named Rueuze. It's a sour blonde ale aged in oak barrels. It smelled really good, acidic with apple cider notes. Not much fizz. Loved the first few sips. After a while though, I found it a little bit too sour (bile-like notes). Overall it was very promising and I enjoyed tasting a gueuze that was not overly sweet.

Looks fabulous. I look for elderflowers whenever I am on a hike, but haven't had any luck so far. I know we have them (Sambucus mexicana/blue elderberry) so I keep looking. I guess I need to hike more often in the spring. They seem quite common in Denmark?

I haven't tried this rum, but anything that is agricole-like sounds perfect for a Daiquiri.

My mint is growing out of control again. I made a Southside for World Gin Day with St. George terroir gin, lime juice, simple syrup, mint. A ton of aroma with the mint and botanicals from the gin (sage, fir, etc). It's such a good cocktail.

This was a quick dessert to satisfy a chocolate craving: a chocolat liégeois made with chocolate ice cream from Strauss Creamery, homemade chocolate sauce, whipped cream, almonds, and brandied griotte cherries. The chocolate sauce was from the Larousse of Desserts and is quite thin, similar to hot chocolate but served cold obviously. This brought me back to France where it is typical with ice cream. Very different from the super rich & thick American chocolate sauce. The good thing is that it feels light so you have a good excuse to drown your ice cream in it.

Grana Padano and Estero Gold (a raw milk cheese from Cowgirl Creamery) with a caramelized onion batard from Sadie Rose.

Michaela, I would plant plenty of citrus trees: lime, lemon, orange, grapefruit. Also other more exotic varieties of citrus such as bergamot or Seville oranges. Peach and cherry trees. Mint obviously. Borage for Pimm's Cups. A hive for honey. Ginger. Cucumbers. Chiles. Hibiscus. An olive tree. Blackberry/raspberry bushes for cobblers. I hope you have a big garden! There is a book called the Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart that seems to be right up your alley. Lots of good ideas on her website regarding herbs and plants.