FrogPrincesse

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).

I was looking for more cocktail recipes by Sam Ross and I found the Kentucky Maid. And I saw that it even had its own thread on eGullet... The ingredients are bourbon, lime, simple, mint, and cucumber. I would never have thought of pairing cucumber with bourbon, but it works really well!

The hot water trick worked very well, thanks again Kouign Aman.

The Conquistador (Sam Ross, 2008) The ingredients are: aged rum (I had to substitute Appleton 12 yr for Matusalem Gran Reserva Rum that is specified), blanco tequila (I substituted Don Julio for Siembra Azul), simple syrup, lemon juice, lime juice, "house" orange bitters (I used Regan's and Angostura), egg white. As described in the book, this is a very smooth tequila drink. And I am happy because I finally managed to froth the egg properly!

Dinner tonight: grilled Delmonico steak with goat butter and fresh thyme; grilled asparagus with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano Stravecchio; arugula salad; country levain bread.

Here's a good Manhattan variation that we tried tonight and really liked, another Sam Ross creation. The Grandfather 1 oz bourbon (I used Buffalo Trace) 1 oz apple brandy (I used Daron Calvados) 1 oz sweet vermouth (I used Vya) 1 dash Angostura bitters 1 dash Peychaud bitters 3 brandied cherries

Tonight I settled on Sam Ross' Too Soon? in preparation for this event on Sunday. 1 oz gin (Beefeater was specified but I was out and substituted Junipero) 1 oz Cynar 0.75 lemon juice 0.5 simple syrup 2 orange wedges (I used Cara Cara oranges) Hard shake, strain It is very balanced and complex despite the relative simplicity. It reminded me of the Bronx a little, but I liked it better. It would be a good introduction cocktail to Cynar.

A few comments. The Negroni happens to be one of my favorite drinks. What about orange bitters? I always use a mix of Regan's and Angostura orange bitters in mine. My favorite sweet vermouth in a Negroni is currently Dolin red. But that is not to say that Carpano Antica is awful in a Negroni, it's just not the best fit for this drink as it's too assertive as you discussed in your post. Oviously it's a matter of taste. I remember reading this short piece in the New York Times about the negroni, where Gabrielle Hamilton explains that in Italy she uses "Cinzano and Martini Rosso because they are sold most prevalently" and Noilly Prat in New York, but does not recommend Dolin (she does not explain why). And in winter she prefers Carpano Antica because "because it’s softer, mellower, with a slight vanilla taste — which sounds gross but it softens the drink a bit". I also disagree with her comments on the gin selection - I love Junipero gin in a Negroni. Aren't these different drinks? The Rosita cocktail replaces the gin with tequila, orange bitters with Angostura, but also adds dry vermouth to the recipe. The Agavoni, for example, simply replaces gin with tequila in the Negroni recipe.

I think that the lines are getting blurred. More and more newspapers use bloggers for their online content. For example, in San Diego several publications have bloggers who write about their restaurant experiences. Typically, the content is not edited. Facts are not checked. It's not unusual to spot a grammatical error in the first paragraph. The articles are often accompanied by photographs that are amateurish at best (e.g., blurry/dark pictures). Also, these articles are very rarely critical; they read most of the time like a paid commercial. Is this journalism?

Not, I did not. I have one panna cotta left so I will try this tip tonight. Thanks Kouign Aman!

I made panna cotta for the first time for the Easter meal yesterday. It was a crème fraîche panna cotta served with macerated strawberries, which was a good combination. It tasted great and the texture was really nice (it was just set, not rubbery at all). However, even though I had carefully oiled my molds (I was using little espresso cups), I had a hard time getting them out. I used a sharp knife to get the first one out and it did not look very pretty, so I ended up serving them in the cup with the strawberries on the side. I've had panna cotta plenty of times in restaurants that had been unmolded and looked pristine - what is the secret? Does it need to be more firm (more gelatin) to be unmolded properly? Maybe I just need more practice! Thanks!

There is an illustrious visitor coming to Noble Experiment next week...

Updated menu for tomorrow: Mother's ruin punch Curried English pea soup with crème fraîche (Lucques) Blood oranges, dates, Parmesan and almonds (Lucques) Asparagus and ricotta ravioli (Babbo) Herb roasted rack of lamb with flageolet gratin, roasted radicchio and tapenade (Lucques) Crème fraîche panna cotta with strawberries (Lucques) Chocolate pots de crème (David Lebovitz) The soup and prep for the salad are done. The ravioli is ready as well. The racks of lamb are marinating in herbs. Can't wait for tomorrow!