FrogPrincesse

Regarding Wolfgang Puck, I don't know if it's that obvious. Last time I ate at Chinois was still quite a special experience for me. Of course, if you are referring to his Wolfgang Puck Express chain, that's a different matter altogether... So we may need to differentiate between flagship restaurants and downscale spinoffs.

Hi Dan. Thanks for the suggestion. You brought up this cocktail a few times so it was already on my radar screen. So far I was reluctant to try it for the reasons explained before, but I think it's time to give it a try now (well, I mean tonight!). I have a bottle of Smith & Cross that I haven't used yet and just by smelling it I can tell how it could pair well with the Campari. I have some homemade orgeat so I am all good to go. It looks like a good transitional drink to classic tiki concoctions which I have been itching to mix again with the nice weather here. Some cocktails using aged/very smooth rums in combination with Campari seem like a waste of good rum to me, because you can't really taste the subtlety of the rum anymore. I have ruined really good aged rums that way including some special rhum agricoles (I am thinking of a bad experience with the Right Hand cocktail for example)... However, with more assertive rums such as the black strap (or S & C) this is no longer an issue. So it's just a matter of finding the appropriate rum for these drinks I guess. Sam Ross mixed quite a few Right Hands the other night at Noble Experiment, but of course I did not have the idea to check what rum he was using.

Thanks!

Beautiful polenta with calamari, SobaAddict! I really like polenta but mine never comes out quite right. What kind of polenta do you use? Tonight i made grilled corvina seabass with spicy lime soy sauce (recipe from Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen), served with sauteed rapini with garlic and chile (recipe from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques). For the fish, I used a couple of frozen fillets that I marinated for a couple of hours in soy, fish sauce, ginger, chives, lime juice, and peanut oil. Then I cooked them on the grill, basting with the marinade, and added fresh cilantro and lime at the end. The rapini was blanched and sautéed in olive oil with shallots, garlic, thyme, and chile de arbol. Really simple but full of flavor.

The Jungle Bird, as seen on the Noble Experiment thread: Cruzan black strap rum, Campari, pineapple juice, lime juice, simple syrup. With the black strap rum, it becomes slightly sweet and very aromatic - quite dangerous! Much better than the original in my opinion.

Since November I only got two new books: Cooking By Hand by Paul Bertolli (I made the tesa and the ragù alla bolognese so far, both terrific) The PDT Cocktail Book by Jim Meehan and Chris Gall, which is getting plenty of use as seen on the PDT thread!

For him, the Newark: applejack (I had to substitute calvados), Vya sweet vermouth, fernet-branca, maraschino. It is relative of the Red Hook, with an extra long finish and more funk, both courtesy of the fernet. Applejack as specified in the original recipe would probably work better than the calvados which is a little subdued and hardly noticeable as the base spirit.

A Cin Cyn with dry instead of sweet vermouth, the Berlioni. The recipe specified Tanqueray but I substituted Junipero. It's very reminiscent of the Negroni, which I love.

Darienne, I rarely eat frozen yoghurt, but David Lebovitz's strawberry frozen yoghurt recipe from The Perfect Scoop is wonderful. It's also very simple. The flavor of the fruit is enhanced by macerating it with sugar (and kirsch) for a few hours before making the ice cream. I use greek yoghurt form Trader Joe's.

For him, the Gold Rush (created at Milk & Honey): Elijah Craig 12-year bourbon, honey syrup, lemon juice Quite simple but the honey and lemon extract a lot of flavor out of the bourbon, including some interesting orange notes.

The Leapfrog: Plymouth gin, lemon, simple syrup, R&W apricot liqueur, orange bitters, mint. It tastes like a delicious variation on the Southside. The apricot liqueur and orange bitters add a nice touch.

Here are a few restaurants that I have discovered recently. I've been only once so I cannot comment on consistency, but I will definitely be back based on my first experience. The Lion's Share (downtown/Marina district) Beautiful craft cocktails on par with Noble Experiment, great charcuterie board including house-made terrine, perfectly cooked quail stuffed with dates and served with Puy lentils, excellent tagliatelle buffalo Bolognese with marrow. Here are the cocktails that we sampled at the Lion's Share. Federal Buffalo Stamp (left): Buffalo Trace bourbon, lemon, ginger root, maple syrup Monks Gone Wild (right): Strawberry-infused Pimm's, green Chartreuse, lemon, ginger beer Cyn City: Plymouth gin, Cynar, lemon juice, egg white, lemon peel, sugar rim The Smoking Goat (North Park) It’s a tiny restaurant but they are currently expanding. My favorite dishes were the roasted bone marrow, and the duck breast with aligot and braised red cabbage served with a huckleberry gastrique sauce. Kensington Grill (North Park) Cucina Urbana’s little sister. The menu seems a little more limited than Cucina Urbana, but they still offer a good selection and interesting cocktails. The “hog bar” is fun for a sampling of pork items. I would avoid the “local farm greens” salad; for $9 it was really nothing special. Beaumont’s Eatery (Birdrock) I was pleasantly surprised by this place. The “Korean” duck confit tacos were delicious, and so was the grilled salad with romaine and radicchio. Phuong Trang (Convoy) Excellent Vietnamese food. I really liked the fried salted shrimp and the rice-paper wraps with char-grilled pork. Pho Convoy Noodle House (Convoy) Really good pho. We have been going to Pho T Cali on Clairemont Mesa Blvd for years, but I thought this was better. I always get the pho with everything (rare steak, flank, fatty brisket, tendon and tripe). We noticed their extensive selection of smoothies (which includes soursop, jackfruit, and durian!) but we did not get a chance to try them.

Hi Kerry, I am glad that you liked the Sunflower. I found it delicious, and quite subtle compared to the other drinks we had that night. The Corpse Reviver No. 2 is such a great drink and it's fun to try its variations. In the same family, you may also like the Paddington from PDT if you haven't tried it already.

We had a lovely evening last week at Noble Experiment with guest bartender Sam Ross. For our first round, we asked for cocktails that I've been wanting to try for a long time: the Penicillin and the Paper Plane. Both were really great. The first sip of the Penicillin was a slap in the face with the strong taste of the Laphroaig float. It mellowed over time and the ginger became more noticeable. I really liked the Paper Plane too, I need to get a bottle of Nonino so I can make it at home. For the second round we asked him to pick something for us based on our preferences. We love tiki drinks so we got a Jungle Bird with Cruzan black strap. The other drink was a Sunflower, which is a variation on the Corpse Reviver No. 2, one of my favorite cocktails, with St Germain replacing the Lillet. I was a little skeptical regarding the Jungle Bird. I had the original version from Beachbum Berry Remixed before, with Appleton as the dark rum, and felt that the Campari clashed with it. In general, I don't really like Campari with rum (or bourbon). But the Cruzan black strap rum went surprisingly well with it, standing up to the Campari, and bringing coffee/maple syrup notes to the drink. Sam Ross explained that this drink reminded him of breakfast! I liked it so much that I got a bottle of black strap to try it again at home.

I had lunch at MIHO again last week. I had their pesto flatbread with house-(hot) smoked salmon, broccoli, pea tendrils and ricotta. It was quite tasty, a tad on the salty side. I really love these watermelon radishes: they look gorgeous and their crunch is great.

For me, another grapefruit cocktail: the Edgewood with Plymouth gin, grapefruit juice, Punt e Mes, Lillet blanc, and a pinch of kosher salt. I guess this makes it a Kina Cocktail variation with grapefruit (I am currently indexing the Savoy Cocktail book for Eat Your Books). The grapefruit is a little more assertive in this one (which is fine by me). The salt is essential, it's suble but it adds a savory touch. Adding a couple of grapefruit bitters works great too in this one.

Brown Derby: bourbon (I used Buffalo Trace, the recipe called for Maker's Mark), grapefruit juice, honey syrup + grapefruit bitters (my addition). The combination of bourbon with honey and grapefruit is particularly harmonious. I added a couple of my friend's homemade bitters for an extra layer of flavor.

I just tried the Brown Bomber tonight and all I can say is WOW. This is great. The White Negroni is one of my favorite cocktails, while my Suze-hater husband's go-to drink is the Manhattan. The Brown Bomber manages to merge both drinks while harmoniously integrating the Suze. Phenomenal- we both loved it. Note: I did not have Tennessee whisky so I substituted bourbon (Buffalo Trace).

For him, I made a Bee's Knees (gin, honey syrup, lemon juice) using PDT's ratios. Very nice use of honey in a cocktail. It tastes quite acidic at first but then the honey kicks in without taking over the drink. I had a Sam Ross' Penicillin a few days ago, and he often uses honey in his cocktails, so this inspired me to try this cocktail.

The Apricot Flip from John Deragon/johnder. A simple flip with Cognac, R&W apricot liqueur, simple syrup, an organic egg, and grated nutmeg. Very smooth and balanced. The apricot liqueur works great with cognac.

The White Negroni... one of my favorite cocktails! It tastes like sucking on a tree branch (don't ask me why I think it's delicious, I have no idea, I just love it...) How does the Citadelle gin work for that cocktail? I never had Citadelle but was wondering what it's like with the Suze since Citadelle is described as very "smooth". I had white negronis with Junipero which is very assertive and Beefeater which was great too, probably a little balanced for that cocktail. (PDT calls for Plymouth).

I made the boeuf bourguignon from Les Halles again this weekend. Minor tweaks/modifications & notes: For the meat, I used good-quality chuck roast that I cut in ~ 1.5 to 2-inch cubes made sure to brown the meat really well on all sides used an entire bottle of wine instead of 1 cup used demi-glace (about 1 tablespoon) use 1 very large onion (4 onions in the recipe, size not specified) at the end, added a garnish of fried lardons (homemade tesa/pancetta) and lightly browned pearl onions I made this recipe numerous times in the past and the sauce is not very thick. Using the whole bottle of wine resulted in a thick sauce that was wonderful as is and did not need to be further reduced. In my opinion, the lardons and pearl onions are essential (I can't believe they were left out of the recipe!). We had the leftovers last night with creste di gallo pasta.

Cavalier: Cognac, lemon juice, Cointreau, orgeat, apricot preserves, orange bitters. The orgeat, apricot preserves and orange bitters add subtle touches of flavor to what is essentially a Sidecar variation.

For dinner tonight, a savory tart with Gruyere, homemade ricotta, home-cured pancetta, red onion, chives & thyme. I served it with a little parsley salad on top. Then we had a salad of baby red lettuce, and for dessert another round of crème fraîche panna cotta with strawberries that I am now addicted to.

Bermuda Sour (Sam Ross): dark rum, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white, orange wedge, Angostura bitters garnish. This was really nice, and would have been even better if I had used a dark rum with a little more personality (I used Whaler's).