FrogPrincesse

Sorry to read about your loss, Kim. My thoughts are with you and your family.

Another good classic cocktail with pineapple is the East India (Harry Johnson) that I tried last night: cognac, maraschino, lemon juice, pineapple juice, angostura bitters. I used the ratios from the Bartender's Choice app. It would be hard to figure out in a blind-tasting what the base liquor is (at least for me). The cocktail is refreshing and tastes of spices, and I can almost taste batavia arrack. The maraschino is more prominent after a few sips in the finish. Imbibe magazine has a swizzle version of this drink by Guiseppe Gonzalez which looks good too.

The gold ones we get here are quite large and are from Hawaii typically. "Maui Gold" is a good one because it's not too acidic, but generally they tend to be a little acidic.

Good tips Elizabeth. I wish I had a choice regarding gold and white-fleshed pineapples. The gold ones seem to be the norm in San Diego, I don't think I've ever seen white-fleshed pineapples in the store. I've had them a long time ago in Tahiti if I am not mistaken - I remember that they were smaller and sweeter, and that their core was edible.

I made the most fabulous Tantris Sidecar a few days ago with fresh pineapple and a bottle of Pierre Ferrand "1840 original formula" cognac that I opened for the occasion. I had tried the Tantris a while back with Remy Martin VSOP and canned pineapple juice and had been moderately impressed. This time I decided to use better ingredients. I put small pieces of pineapple in the blender and doubled-strained to get the juice. For my next attempts I just put the pineapple pieces in my little handheld citrus juicer, which worked much better because you still get all a lot of fibers when you blend pineapple, even after careful double-straining. I think that Pierre Ferrand 1840 is a much better cognac for cocktails than Remy Martin VSOP (or Martell VSOP). Remy Martin always comes out quite harsh for some reason. The calvados was Daron which I like a lot as well. It's great neat and makes incredible ice cream. I made this version of the Tantris (from Imbibe magazine) which ups the cognac a little compared to the recipe Audrey Saunders posted on eGullet a few years ago ( 1 1/4 oz vs. 1 oz in her original recipe). I finally understand what this drink is all about. It is very harmonious, maybe a tad sweet. It is interesting that no single ingredient actually stands out but the combination is much more of the sum of its parts (the sign of a great drink!). The Chartreuse which can easily take over in mixed drinks adds to the beautiful finish of the drink. The pineapple is also quite subtle . Very impressed.

Dinner looks great, Dave. Duck confit and truffade are some of my favorite things - French comfort food! I am still trying to figure out that third clue though (cèpes/porcini) - even with the answer I still don't get it!

And I think I just got #3. We also call Italians "Latins" and therefore dessert will be Tarte Tatin.

Doing my best! Actually I have a feeling that #2 is actually OFFAL.

For #1 ("Once you have made foie gras you have a lot left over. What do you do with certain parts of it?") - It could be pâté grand-père which is made with chunks of foie gras. It could also be Tournedos Rossini. #2 ("What sounds like truffle, but isn't the same at all") - mussels? waffles? #3 ("[What] do you call an Italian in France? ") - "rital" comes to mind but I can't associate it with any French dish. This is really tough... I think we need more clues.

Thanks Hassouni. His recipe does look nice. I don't have any overproof rum though, I was hoping I could just use a bottle of Bacardi that does not have much use otherwise (even if that goes against his very first tip!).

After using a commercial product for a while I think that I am ready to tackle homemade falernum. It would be great to hear what everyone's current favorite recipe is. So far I found the following recipes (listed by publication date): The recipe by Dale DeGroff and its scaled-down version (2003): white rum, lime zest, cloves, almond extract + simple syrup. Falernum #8 by Paul Clarke (2006) where he adds ginger and lime juice to Dale DeGroff's recipe and uses Wray & Nephew overproof rum. Jeffrey Morgenthalers' variation on Paul Clarke's falernum #8 (2007) where he recommends soaking the cloves in rum for a few days prior to adding the lime zest and ginger. Paul Clarke's falernum #9 (2007) - similar to the #8 formula with the addition of toasted almonds. This was the version published in Imbibe magazine and Beachbum Berry Remixed. Paul Clarke's falernum #10 (2008): similar to #9 but no lime juice and the cloves are toasted. Chris Hannah's recipe (2008) is also based on Paul Clarke's falernum #8 and was posted by Jeff Berry on his site: amber rum (Old New Orleans 3-year) with lime zest, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, coffee beans, toasted pecans + lime juice, simple syrup, almond extract. Rumdood's falernum #2 (2009) which is another variation on Paul Clarke's falernum #8 with W&N + 151 overproof rums, lime zest, cloves, ginger, star anise + simple syrup, lime juice, lemon juice and almond extract. The recipe by Kaiser Penguin (2009) uses lime zest, cloves, ginger, allspice, nutmeg + simple syrup and almond extract. No lime juice because it "just [keeps] on fermenting and getting nasty". Kaiser Penguin's 5-minute falernum recipe (2010) - same as above without the almond extract and made in an iSi whipper. Dr. Adam Elmegirab's falernum (2010) with a mixture of overproof and aged rums, lime zest, cloves, ginger, star anise, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, black peppercorns, toasted almonds, vanilla bean + simple syrup and orgeat. Marcia Simmons' recipe on Serious Eats (2012): white rum, lime zest, cloves, toasted almonds, lime juice and simple syrup (no ginger). Any tips before I make my first batch? I would prefer a recipe with a decent shelf-life so I am leaning toward the versions that don't include lime juice. Adam already included a lot of useful tips in his post that I've copied below.

Golden Monkey (tripel ale) from Victory. My husband liked it, I don't care for it. It tasted very "thin" to me and I could not taste much other than fizz and bitterness.

Dave - you blog is making me so hungry! This is great. And thank you for the soup recipes, I will make sure to try at least one or two. Do you think the courgette/zucchini recipe would work with sorrel instead of watercress? I am trying to use what I already have. Thanks!

I will be following your experiments closely as I already love this recipe. One question (or two)- what is the "ice cream stabilizer" and how critical is it to the recipe?

Last night I tried the Rum Crawl (rum & lime sweetened with ginger syrup and falernum + whiskey-barrel aged bitters), a creation from Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco that was documented in a blog post by Dave Stolte/Home Bar Basics. It reminded me of the Captain's Blood, another great drink that I mentioned upthread, with an additional layer of flavor imparted by the ginger syrup and falernum. I used Canton ginger liqueur and store-bought falernum, but I would love to make my own falernum at some point. The rum was Appleton 12-year old.

Lisa - can you describe the differences between Tahitian and Mexican vanilla beans and do you have a preference? I have Tahitian vanilla beans that are wonderful but have never used the Mexican variety.

In general, I try to be very gentle with mint in cocktails and make sure to muddle it carefully to obtain the pure mint flavor and not release any of the bitter chlorophyll. With this recipe however, it's the opposite. You get mint notes together with strong herbal notes, which is a good thing here because they add depth and complexity. (However the jury is still out on the green julep thing.)

I was pretty excited about this topic (despite a mixed experience with a green drink recently) because it reminded me about a cocktail that I had been wanting to make for a while. Missionary's Downfall by Don the Beachcomber Here is the recipe from Beachbum Berry Remixed. As opposed to some of the other famous creations by Donn Beach, the ingredients in this one are straightforward. I made sure to use a fresh pineapple. 1 oz white rum (I used Flor de Caña) 0.5 oz peach brandy (I substituted R&W apricot brandy) 0.5 oz lime juice 1 oz honey syrup 0.25 cup diced pineapple 0.25 cup mint leaves (packed) 0.75 cup crushed ice Blend for 20 seconds. Garnish with a short mint sprig. The book says that the recipe yields 2 drinks, but I have to disagree on that one - it's the perfect size for one person. The result is a pretty green drink with an intense herbal flavor from the blended mint. The cocktail is light on the alcohol content and is very refreshing. There is a nice balance between the chlorophyll notes of the mint, the sweetness of the pineapple and the apricot in the background. Next time I will use slightly less honey syrup - mine was ~ 2:1 so the drink was on the sweet side. Mint and pineapple seem to always go great together. One of my favorite simple desserts is a combination of fresh pineapple with a mint sugar that is made by muddling white sugar with fresh mint (I think it's from Jamie Oliver's Happy Days with the Naked Chef). The aromatic sugar is sprinkled on thin slices of pineapple and it's wonderful. The cocktail reminded me of that dessert and I enjoyed it a lot.

That's right. I used 1 cup of crème fraîche (250 mL) and 2 eggs (+ s&p and a pinch of nutmeg). Add a little bit of heavy cream to the crème fraîche if it's very thick.

Terrific! Should be a fun week.

Dave Hatfield?

Duck, cassoulet and a tarte tatin? It's looking very French to me! I have no idea who that might be though.

Gin Gin Mule with Beefeater and Bundaberg ginger beer.

Kerry, I am still planning on coming to the workshop but will make my own lodging arrangements. Thanks!

Quiche or another type of savory tart work great at room temperature. Terrines are also great for potlucks.