FrogPrincesse

Simple stuff for a weeknight meal: Grilled sirloin burger with heirloom tomato, arugula, "Toscano" cheese, aioli garlic mustard. The "fries" (roast acorn squash with thyme and rosemary from the patio) were delicious. All the vegetables were from my CSA; mustard and cheese from Trader Joe's.

Same observation here... but in the end that's ok. Most of our friends don't enjoy cooking as much as I do. When I get annoyed is when we don't get invited back after many times at our place (which is rare fortunately). When we get invited, it does not matter if the host decides to cook for us or has some other plans. In the end if we have a good time together it's all that matters.

I recently inherited a bottle of Drambuie and decided to look it up in the Bartender's Choice app. I used it last night to make a McKinnon: white rum, Drambuie, lime juice, lemon juice. This version was served up (I've seen it served tall as well with club soda). I was pleasantly surprised; it was crisp and very good. The scotch base of the Drambuie did not clash at all with the white rum. I am glad to see lots of other suggestions on this thread because it is not a liqueur I was familiar with.

The Big Bamboo from Sippin' Safari, a "secret" recipe from the Mai-Kai. Lime, orange, grapefruit, passion fruit, dark rum (Appleton 12) and gold (Flor de Cana) rums, angostura bitters. Grapefruit-forward but well balanced, good level of spice, refreshing and very smooth.

Linda, Here it is. It clamps to the work surface. You feed your little strip of dough and turn the handle. The machine forms and cuts the cavatelli. It's quick and easy as well as fun to watch in action.

Every time I use the 1 egg + 100g of flour ratio, I wonder how big Italian eggs must be... because my pasta doughs at that ratio invariably end up way too dry... it won't even come together. Of course, I'm not using 00 flour, either, so maybe that's the problem. Regarding volume vs. weight measurements, I don't think it really matters because as nickrey wrote the amount of flour needs to be fine-tuned anyway. If it's too dry, use less flour next time or add another egg... it's easy. Regarding the type of flour, all-purpose flour works too (that's what I used in the pictures above).

Daiquiri Naturale again, this time with a newly acquired bottle of JM white rhum agricole. I could not resist - it was only $26 at my local Bristol Farms. Less grassy/green than La Favorite but still plenty of "funk" with great tropical fruit/coconut flavors.

I made this white peach old-fashioned for my husband last night. He did not like the little bits of muddled peach in the drink so I ended up straining it for him.

I was unsure about the use of figs in a cocktail, although I adore figs. But I am trying to keep an open mind so I made the Figetaboutit last night: bourbon, lemon juice, amaretto, fig, Angostura bitters. I did not have fig jam so I just muddled a fresh black fig with some sugar. The recipe only uses a bar spoon's worth. If I had not been so worried about the amaretto/fig on paper, I would have realized what was evident after the first sip. This is just a whiskey sour with a touch of amaretto and fig to balance out the lemon juice. Lovely. I recently had a horrendous version of a whisky sour at a local restaurant promoting its "craft cocktails", but this version was nothing like it. Fig and amaretto were great together and subtle enough to not transform this drink into a sweet mess. Instead, they created a memorable finish. Well done.

Left hand is to 1794 as Boulevardier is to Old Pal? Although it sounds like the KC Left hand calls for more bourbon than you said you used. I am not sure I am following you. Boulevardier is rye or bourbon/sweet vermouth/Campari. Old Pal substitutes dry vermouth for the sweet. The Left Hand is a Boulevardier with bourbon and mole bitters. [And the Right Hand is the rum version of the Boulevardier.] The 1794 that you have linked looks like a Left Hand with rye instead of bourbon. It uses sweet vermouth, not dry like in the Old Pal.

Chris, I got it at my local cookware store Great News but it's also available online at amazon. It's made by Marcato. It is collapsible and folds flat so it takes up less space for storage. It comes with a plastic wand (that my daughter calls "magic wand") that allows you to transfer the pasta from the machine to the drying rack. Very handy. I paid about $40.

Why not? Brett (Brettanomyces) is type of yeast that is found in many great Belgian beers such as lambic, gueuze and Orval trappist ale.

Chimay Bleue is also one of my favorites. I tried this one the other day. It's the Brett Beer from the Lips of Faith series, a collaboration between The Lost Abbey, a local brewery from San Marcos, and New Belgium. Very nice summery beer with tropical fruit undertones, a little acidic.

Your bresaola looks beautiful, FoodMan. In the end, which recipe do you recommend for a first timer - the one from Charcuterie or Modernist Cuisine? I have both books but have yet to make bresaola.

Since I am on the topic of fresh pasta, I don't think I ever posted about making fresh cavatelli. It may be one of the easiest fresh pasta to make. First you start with ricotta, preferably homemade. You mix the ricotta with flour, eggs, and orange zest in this version. The dough is fairly light-weight so it can be kneaded in the stand mixer without risking burning out the motor. After a resting period, it can be rolled and cut into little strips. With the help of my little assistant and a cavatelli cutter, the process is fun and quite fast. They are dusted in semolina flour and can be cooked immediately or frozen for a later use. Here is a picture of the first batch I made during a cooking class with Chef Ryan Johnston from whisknladle. The cavatelli was served with roasted bell peppers, Italian sausage and arugula (summer lasagne on the left). Here is another version I made this spring with cavolo nero, broccoli rabe pesto, and Italian sausage (from the Dinner thread).

Thanks. I had not made fresh pasta in a few months and wanted to make sure I could still do it!

A couple of days ago I made angel hair pasta using the "basic pasta dough" recipe from Babbo (recipe at the bottom of the linked page), and served it with the "basic tomato sauce" (recipe at the end of this other linked page). This has been my go-to pasta recipe for a few years now. I mix the dough in a stand mixer for a few minutes at low speed, and then do all the kneading by hand once everything is well mixed. I roll it with the Kitchenaid attachment. The pasta cooks for about a minute and is finished in the sauce. I made a double batch and cut the other half as tagliatelle, and dried them for a later use. I have to keep an eye on my daughter because she likes to eat the dry pasta as a little snack!

Here are a few salads we enjoyed this summer (I can't believe summer is almost over!). Fattoush-inspired salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, chives, butter lettuce, parsley, mint, zahtar (from the Dinner thread). Les Halles tomato salad with basil and balsamic vinegar (from the Les Halles cookbook thread). A chopped cucumber and tomato salad with mint (also from the Dinner thread). Heirloom tomatoes from my CSA with buffalo mozzarella and basil. Arugula, black figs, fresh goat cheese, Parma ham, balsamic, olive oil. Based on a recipe from Lucques, a summer fruit salad (peach, fig) with arugula and Marcona almonds. Another tomato salad - when tomatoes are in season, I don't get tired of this! Arugula and the sweetest yellow peaches from the farmers market with fresh goat cheese (from the Labor Day thread). Lobster chopped salad with cherry tomatoes, avocado, corn and home-cured bacon (from the Labor Day thread, based on a recipe from Lucques).

Franci you are killing me. Between the gorgeous tajine, the rabbit, duck & foie gras, lamb shoulder, fish soup, I don't know where to start! Great to see you back on this thread.

Intriguing cocktail; I can see the potential. Unfortunately I can't try it unless there is an acceptable substitute for the Sibilla. Regarding "intensely bitter, herbal, or otherwise extreme" drinks, most of the ones from the beta cocktail book seemed to fit into that category. I enjoy them every once in a while but have had a hard time convincing other people. Not everyone's cup of tea. And there is such a thing as overly bitter. One time I tried a drink that took me practically an hour to finish because of its intense bitter quality. It would have been fine as a sipping drink (the flavor was good), but it was not the best choice for a first drink.

[Moderator note: This is part of an extended topic that became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it into shorter segments; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes & Tips (Part 2)] How fun. Thirty-five pages of marshmallow discussion; I had no idea until recently when I made a batch of French vanilla ice cream and ended up with leftover egg whites. I decided to make marshmallows and found this thread. I used this recipe from David Lebovitz. It went quite well but the marshmallows were a little sticky at the end of the process and it got worse with the heat and humidity we've experienced this weekend in San Diego. It's possible that I did not whip the mixture long enough at step number 6. In any case, they were delicious little clouds! The recipe yielded exactly a 1/4 sheet pan.

A couple of rum-based drinks this weekend, which seems appropriate with the heat wave in San Diego. A Trader Vic's Mai Tai with homemade orgeat. Ti Punch with rhum agricole Damoiseau from Guadeloupe. The Damoiseau is nice but I still prefer La Favorite Blanc for its stronger sugarcane flavor (and its grassy, pear and tropical notes).

Thanks!

Beautiful pâté en croûte. I am intrigued by the world championship but your link does not work for me. Terrines and pâtés are the ultimate potluck dishes (which is why French potlucks are so great)!

Try Maldon salt. It seems fairly similar and should be available.