FrogPrincesse

Another successful tequila + orgeat pairing, this one a variation of Cameron's Kick. Charo's Kick (Anthony Smith): tequila, lemon juice, orgeat, mezcal. Creamy, tart, floral, with a smoky finish. Very approachable.

I use the recipe from BeachBum Berry Remixed (scaled-down) which, at first glance, looks very similar to the recipe that you linked in your post. I made it many times and don't get curdling. I get some settling in the container but the orgeat is ready to be used after a brief shake. How did you strain your orgeat? Maybe you had larger particles left after straining that are causing the separation in the drink? I like to use a fine synthetic (nylon) cheesecloth.

Beets and oranges with mint and orange flower water The original recipe calls for tangerines. This is pretty much as simple as it looks. I loved the flavor combination, the earthiness of the beets with the citrus and the pop of flavor from the mint. The dressing had olive oil, red wine vinegar, shallots, citrus juice and a touch of orange flower water. The salad is finished with a little spritz of orange flower water.

Let's call it a Vieux Carré "variation" then. See, it's a great cocktail because it's great even when you mess it up a little! ;-)

I know, this is ridiculous. I have enough stuff to open an eGullet speakeasy! ;-)

Another Vieux Carré fan here. Delicious. Just for fun, this is how NOT to serve a Vieux Carré (from a local restaurant). A little on the watery side, with bonus ice crystals and foam (I knew it the second I heard the cocktail shaker). Despite these issues, it was still a decent cocktail (at least in comparison to that other thing in the background which was very sadly named after The Professor). Much better version at home...Templeton rye and Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac (very good combo in this drink), Dolin sweet vermouth, Benedictine and Angostura bitters.

I've been cooking a lot as usual but have quite the backlog, so bear with me... First, a December (!) recap. We had fresh squid ink linguine with a bunch of clams. You can never have too many clams; I usually buy 2.5 to 3 lb for the two of us. I made evening garlic soup in the manner of the Correze (recipe by Paula Wolfert). I grilled some grass-fed local (Palomar) rib eye steaks that were amazingly tender and served it with smashed red potatoes from my CSA. I made a large batch of zingy carrot-ginger soup for a friend who was recovering from surgery. I was exhausted one night and made breafkast for dinner with the fantastic hickory-smoked bacon from Benton's. I got into an Indian kick for a while and cooked a couple of recipes from Vij's. First there were these prawns in coconut masala. Then this local grilled grouper with a tomato-yogurt broth and more smashed red potatoes. I made a few care packages for my friend including this a lemon risotto with almonds and fennel fronds. I made David Lebovit'z roast chicken with caramelized shallots again, this time with mashed sweet potatoes. A my husband's request, sausages braised in tomato sauce with pasta. To celebrate the arrival of my mom to San Diego for the holidays, I cured a brisket (Suzanne Goin's style) and served it with sauteed kale, steamed potatoes & horseradish creme fraiche. I grilled a few poussins and served them with roasted balsamic-glazed Brussels sprouts. I roasted some bone marrow and served it with a little herb salad a la Fergus Henderson for a little (not exactly light!) pre-dinner snack. We were invited for the Chrismas meal, but I brought this chocolate Dacquoise that was really fabulous (recipe from Pierre Herme). In an attempt to recover from the festivities, I made a pomegranate, pear and arugula salad with what I found in my CSA. We got a lot of squash in the CSA and I made a roasted kabocha squash soup that tasted of chestnuts, with garlic croutes. I made linguine carbonara with Benton's bacon and fresh pea shoots. Onion soup les Halles. Foie gras au torchon cooked in duck fat to finish the year on a high note, served with an excellent Champagne that the recipient of one of these jars gave us to thank us.

Soupe au Vin (wine soup). You start with a nice bottle of Bordeaux (or California Cabernet in my case) and you boil it for 5 minutes. Crisp some lardons/diced bacon (Benton's) in butter, add minced onions and leeks, sweat for 10 minutes, add a little bit of flour. Add the wine, some homemade chicken stock and a bouquet garni. Cook for 45 minutes. Discard the bouquet garni and season. Serve topped with a little bit of "raw" wine and a slice of rustic bread. Very nice, like a thinner version of the boeuf bourguignon sauce. One thing I will do next time will be to degrease the soup slightly as there was a lot of bacon fat.

My turn to show off. I bought a few things this weekend at Hi Times. I had to extract myself before spending all my money there. Mind-blowing selection and this is just a tiny sampling. It's a good thing I don't live too close... From left to right: large bottle Angostura bitters (restock), Coruba dark rum, Appleton 12-year rum(restock), Clement VSOP rhum agricole, El Dorado 5-year rum (restock), JM canne syrup, Del Maguey Vida mzcal, Small Hands gum syrup, Gran Classico Bitter, Benedictine, Daron fine calvados (restock), House Spirits coffee liqueur, Delord armagnac Napoleon (I have the 25 year already, this one is for mixing), Buffalo Trace (restock), Willet 5-year single barrel rye.

A couple of drinks from the book. Trader Vic's Derby Cocktail with Buffalo Trace bourbon, Dolin sweet vermouth, Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao, and lime juice. Very good with the dry curaçao. Not too many cocktails with this combo. The Oriental comes very close I think? The Communist with Beefeater gin, More blood orange juice, Luxardo cherry liqueur, and lemon juice. Nice and tart. There was almost a tangerine flavor to it (from the cherry + blood orange combo).

KD1191 - between the Tanqueray Malacca and the Noilly Prat ambré, I think you are just taunting us!

I haven't (yet) but I imagine that it would work nicely.

I was eyeing this recently, but shied away fearing it might be too sour with no sweetener in it at all. I take it was not too harsh for your taste? It was just right for me. I liked the fact that it only used 1/2 oz of maraschino liqueur (which acts as the sweetener), as it can easily overpower the drink. But note that the Oro Blanco grapefruit that I used (technically a pomelo and white grapefruit hybrid) may be sweeter than a regular white grapefruit. I would recommend trying the cocktail as is, and adding a little bit of simple syrup if you find it too tart.

I love these kind of challenges where you have to work with a limited number of ingredients. I think they are fun! I would make a Sidecar or a Brandy Daisy with the Remy Martin cognac and the Cointreau. These are very approachable drinks. A rum version of the Sidecar could also work with the Mount Gay rum (the XYZ cocktail or a Santa Cruz Daisy). You might be able to pull off a Scorpion as well with the cognac + rum + passion fruit, asssuming you already have some orgeat.

Hemingway Daiquiri with the PDT ratios (for other ratios see the Daiquiri thread). The hint of spice in the Banks rum was a great match with the maraschino liqueur. I used the juice from an Oro Blanco grapefruit. Excellent. The only strange thing is that the recipe yields a little too much for a standard coupe so there is a slight excess, but who is complaining... Hemingway Daiquiri (PDT) 2 oz rum 3/4 oz lime juice 1/2 oz grapefruit juice 1/2 oz maraschino liqueur

Tart is good by me; I made a note of it because a lot of tiki cocktails are on the sweeter side.

The Saturn from Beachbum Berry Remixed (J. "Popo" Galsini) 1 1/4 oz gin 1/2 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz passion fruit syrup 1/4 oz falernum 1/4 oz orgeat 1 cup crushed ice Blended It evoked the Army and Navy, tikified. It is fresh and tart but was a little too tame. I may revise my opinion once I finally make a batch of falernum instead of using the store-bought stuff (or maybe I should have used a more interesting gin).

The Heering Flip with Luxardo cherry liqueur, mole bitters, whole egg, salt. It tasted like a very nice hot chocolate, spice and all. The finish was quite bitter though.

Gorgeous salads, Baserled. I am posting this one because of the dressing. It is hydroponic lettuce from my CSA with a sweet vermouth dressing from Babbo. Sweet vermouth (Dolin) and red wine vinegar are infused with rosemary and reduced down, and mixed with olive oil. The vermouth imparted sweetness and some spice. It was delicate and went well with the lettuce.

Evil Twin/Stillwater/Stone 2012 collaboration. The Perfect Crime : black smoked saison. The flavor was quite muted and the smoked was subtle. Quite bitter for a saison.

Very appetizing lamb and potatoes! (is that a gratin dauphinois?)

Considering the source of the "a thing of beauty" description, I'm going to assume the lime wedge hurts it not at all. The photo does not do it justice, but this was a nicely scored lime wedge, not just a random garnish.

There are many versions of this cocktail and an excellent thread on eG. The ingredients used and exact ratios will change the character of the drink. Maybe you will find one that you like...

A Pegu Club made at the Pegu Club is a thing of beauty. But it's a drink that can be hard to get just right. (on the right)

I eyeballed it.