FrogPrincesse

I made a Manhattan variation tonight called the Waldorf Cocktail (via Bartender's Choice). The only difference with the Manhattan is the absinthe rinse (I used Pernod pastis) which was a very nice addition. The Pernod was a good match with the very fruit-forward Vya sweet vermouth.

The "original" I was referring to is the version from Beachbum Berry Remixed. 3/4 oz campari, 1/2 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup, 4 oz unsweetened pineapple juice, 1 1/2 dark Jamaican rum. Try at your own risk!

How well did the piloncillo dissolve? Maybe there were some impurities floating at the surface that ended up growing mold?

Last week, I tried a cocktail called the Amsterdam Sunshine (found via Bartender's Choice). It's basically a sweet martini or what is described as a "gin Manhattan" with gin, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters, in the Manhattan ratios. I used Junipero gin which has a lot of character, with Vya sweet vermouth which has a ton of flavor as well including intense fruit aromas. It was fun to see how these two titans were playing with each other. The pairing worked pretty well.

A Corpse Reviver No. 2. This was technically a variation as I used Cocchi Americano instead of Lillet, although I kept the ratios the same. 3/4 each gin, lemon juice, Cointreau, Cocchi Americano; rinse absinthe/Pernod. I think I may like it better than the Lillet version. Such a beautiful cocktail. The flavors just keep going.

Suzanne Goin's A.O.C. cookbook.

Grilled duck breast with crème fraîche; salad with grilled corn and cotija cheese. Very satisfying. The grilled duck breasts had a great smoky flavor (I use a charcoal grill).

I made three different absinthe/pastis drinks recently. The recipes called for absinthe but given that it was only a rinse or a mist, I used what I had available which was Pernod pastis. The Rattlesnake (Harry Craddock, via Bartender's Choice). Rye, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white, absinthe rinse. The minute I took my first sip, I remembered I had tried this drink at Noble Experiment a while back. This is a beautiful cocktail; all the elements highlight the rye. It has a great creamy texture. Next up was PDT's Swiss Mist. Plymouth gin, grapefruit syrup, lemon juice, egg white, absinthe spritz. I thought that it was too sour, but then realized I had used grapefruit juice, not syrup... Oh well, I added a little bit of simple syrup but the cocktail felt watered down. Not bad, but not exceptional. I will need to make it again the proper way. The absinthe mist was a fun idea because it sat on the foam and gave little bursts of flavor. Last but not least, the Mad Hatter (via Bartender's Choice): rye, lime juice, lemon juice, simple syrup, absinthe rinse. On paper it looked like something that could be either pretty basic or a nice surprise with the absinthe rinse and the lime/lemon juice combo. It proved to be the later - wonderfully complex with the absinthe/Pernod extracting a ton of flavor from the rye, including spicy undertones.

I made the Soft American-Style White Bread last night with good success. The recipe makes 3 loaves (my loaf pan is approximately 9 x 4 x 3 so the loaf of bread fits perfectly), and I reduced it by 2/3 for a yield of two loaves. I took pictures of the process. First rise (I proof the dough in the oven). It almost escaped from the container. I then put it in the fridge for a short time to make the dough more manageable, and used half the dough. Second rise. I sprinkled some flour and slashed the top, and put it in the pre-heated oven. I did not hear the timer go off so it spent a few extra minutes in the oven, meaning that the top developed a small crust. Other than that it looked pretty good. I was nervous that it would be hard to get out of the pan in one piece, but that was not an issue. I cut a few slices to try it. There is only a small amount of butter in it but you can really taste it. I was out of regular butter and used goat butter, and I can definitely recognize it (it's great).

Dinner a few nights ago: grilled local black gill rockcod with a mustard glaze; roasted cauliflower. The fish was covered on the flesh side with the mustard glaze (moutarde a l'ancienne + creme fraiche and plenty of chives - very loosely based on a recipe from Steven Raichlen that originally called for mayonnaise and dill). It was cooked skin-side down for about 10 -15 minutes on the grill. The cauliflower was sliced, tossed with olive oil, and roasted in the oven.

Here are more mint cocktails pulled from other threads. Audrey Saunder's excellent Pearl has been mentioned in this thread several times already, but not her Gin Gin Mule: 1.5 oz gin, 1 oz ginger beer, 1 oz simple syrup, 3/4 oz lime juice, mint. The Kentucky Maid from Sam Ross has its own (short) thread. It's a tasty bourbon-mint combo that also includes cucumber. 2 oz bourbon, 1 oz lime, 3/4 oz simple syrup, cucumber slices, mint. Note that there are many more "Maid" variations with a different base liquor. From the PDT cocktail book, I've tried a couple of mint cocktails. My favorite was the Talbott Leaf which pairs the mint with strawberry, Chartreuse, and Cynar; a beautiful combination. The Leapfrog from PDT is essentially a Southside variation with apricot liqueur and orange bitters.

My mint is doing great so I've been doing a lot of mint cocktails lately. The most recent one I've tried was the Ex-Pat from Little Branch (via Bartender's Choice app): bourbon, lime juice, simple syrup, angostura bitters, mint. I have a soft spot for bourbon-mint combos and really liked this cocktail, which was refreshing and complex at the same time.

It's great on crêpes, with a little bit of whipped cream (bananas optional).

I had three large leeks from my CSA that were taking up a lot of space in the vegetable drawer, so I decided to make a leek and goat cheese quiche last night. Going in the oven: After the oven: Quiche is such an easy way to use excess vegetables, or leftovers. It's fun to come up with different combinations of ingredients. I made a double batch of pastry dough so I have another tart pan lined with the dough in my freezer, ready to go for the next quiche.

It's fun to see what everyone is doing with grapefruit. We had another grapefruit cocktail last night: the Brown Derby (via Bartender's Choice). 2 oz bourbon 1 oz grapefruit juice 0.5 oz honey syrup For me the bourbon was very prominent in the drink, with the grapefruit and honey highlighting it. It was a balance of sweet and sour, on the boozy size (but my husband didn't think so). A very pleasant sipping drink.

Jane, The Swiss Mist sounds great. I was going to make one the other night but then realized I had run out of lemons. It's been on my list of cocktails to try for a while now, thanks for reminding me!

Same here. Bought this a few weeks ago (all deveined - I didn't know that was even available). Went back this week to get this one (almost 1.5 lb!). I suspect I will buy more as the date approaches and I start to go in panic mode.

For the sake of completeness, here are a few other drinks I have made with grapefruit recently, from other threads. In the PDT cocktail book there are quite a few good grapefruit cocktails. I am listing three that I have tried so far. Paddington: white rum, lillet, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, bonne maman marmalade, absinthe rinse Brown Derby: bourbon, grapefruit juice, honey syrup Edgewood: Plymouth gin, grapefruit juice, Punt e Mes, Lillet blanc, kosher salt Then there is the excellent Mother's Ruin Punch by Philip Ward: sparkling wine, gin, sweet vermouth, grapefruit, lemon. It's fresh and crisp - a perfect summer punch. Finally, there are quite a few tiki drinks that call for grapefruit (including one of the most famous, the Zombie). The Ancient Mariner from Beachbum Berry Remixed is a fine example: lime, grapefruit, pimento liqueur, Demerara & Jamaican rums.

I got a couple of oro blanco grapefruits in my CSA so I am using them to make cocktails. First I tried the Nevada. I used the ratios from the Bartender's Choice app: 1.5 oz white rum (I used Flor de Cana) 1 oz grapefruit 0.5 oz lime juice 0.5 oz simple syrup 2 dashes Angostura bitters. What a beautiful drink. Very delicate, subtle, intriguing, as other people have noted upthread. Then yesterday I tried the Siesta that was also mentioned in this thread, but with the ratios from PDT: 2 oz tequila 0.5 oz Campari 0.5 oz lime juice 0.5 oz grapefruit juice 0.5 oz simple syrup grapefruit twist I liked it a lot. It reminded me of the Jasmine but much more subtle.

I made this Pimm's Cup a few days ago. 2 oz Pimm's No. 1 cup 6 oz homemade ginger beer borage garnish Very refreshing. It was my first time using borage and I liked it (despite it being very hairy!).

Heidi- My grand-mother used to pickle them. Similar to capers, with more crunch.

Dorie Greenspan's chocolate cupcakes The recipe used volume measurements (at least the online version - I don't own the book). I must admit that this was a little disappointing, although this seems to be the norm in the US. The instructions were very detailed and made more sense (e.g., mixing the cocoa powder with the other dry ingredients). I had to make one substitution - I had forgotten to buy buttermilk so I used milk with a little white vinegar. I had a small issue with the melted chocolate re-solidifying very rapidly before being mixed with the other ingredients. So in the end, there were a few little chunks of solid chocolate in the cupcake, but this was not a bad thing and I may want to replicate that in the future based on feedback from my daughter, who thought that this was a great surprise. As is apparent in the pictures, my liners are not the right size and therefore they make these weird folds. Since I have a thousand of them (literally), I am using them for my trial runs. I will use correctly-sized brown Regency liners from amazon for the birthday party; hopefully they will look nice. The top are cracked; but so far all of my batches have had the same issue. I am not too worried about it because the frosting will cover any flaws. Here is finished product. They are a little difficult to frost because the ganache solidifies quite rapidly. The cake itself was much better than the recipe from Confession of a Tart: less crumbly (but still a little too crumbly), more moist, overall a very nice flavor. It was a nice cupcake, but nothing especially memorable. I liked the ganache frosting from Dorie's recipe a lot, but everyone else preferred the much richer buttercream frosting from Sprinkles (and I have to agree that it looks more festive). Dorie's recipe seems more restrained, more refined maybe (more French dare I say it?). But my "client" is my daughter and she is not looking for subtlety. Cross-section (minus test bite) I am starting to think that macarons are easier to master than cupcakes. I made two batches of Pierre Herme chocolate macarons so far without any major issues (keeping my fingers crossed)...

I don't own the momofuku cookbook, but I got a craving for roasted pork belly after reading Kerry and Anna's fooblog. So I bought a 4-lb pork belly and made a batch this weekend. I realize that the online recipe that I used (from epicurious) differs from the book in several respects. First, in the online recipe the belly is brined for 12 hours (instead of being dry-cured). It is roasted at low temperature first, and high temperature at the end. Despite these differences, I got an outstanding result. I did not attempt making the buns so I used high-quality dinner rolls from a local bakery. I served them with the quick-pickled cucumber from the book, chives (I did not have scallions), and hoisin sauce. Absolutely delightful This is a great recipe because it can be prepared in advance and reheated as needed.

What a great blog! Thanks for sharing your culinary adventures with us.

Last week I made a cocktail called the Stork Club (found via Bartender's Choice), which is a close relative of the Pegu Club. I am referring to Paul Harrington's ratios, with the addition of orange juice. 1.5 oz gin 0.5 oz Cointreau 1 oz orange juice 0.5 oz lime juice 2 dashes Angostura bitters I used a blood orange and liked it a lot. The Junipero worked well in the drink, it was not overpowering. Going through this thread, it looks like JAZ also tried a blood orange variation a while back.