FrogPrincesse

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!

Grilled ribeye; polenta gratin with mushroom "Bolognese" from Think Like a Chef by Tom Colicchio.

I agree, Beachbum Berry Remixed is a great book if you want to get into tiki cocktails. Speaking of which, to celebrate the weekend I decided to make the Ancient Mariner tonight, which is an original creation from Jeff Berry. It's one of my favorite cocktails in the book. I use El Dorado 5 yr for the Demerara rum, and Appleton 12 yr for the dark Jamaican rum. I love the combination of sour and spice.

That's great! These are really good cocktail books. I've been very happy with PDT so far as you can probably tell. Beachbum Berry Remixed is really fantastic too, full of wonderful tiki concoctions.

Dinner tonight: grilled duck breast with shallot vinaigrette and roasted kabocha squash, followed by a green salad.

The Paddington: white rum, Lillet blanc, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, Bonne Maman marmalade, absinthe rinse (I used pastis). It is essentially a Corpse Reviver No. 2 variation with the rum replacing the gin, and the grapefruit juice + marmalade replacing the Cointreau. I did not have the Banks 5 Island rum that the recipe calls for, so I substituted Flor de Caña. After tasting the cocktail, I decided to add a couple of drops of grapefruit bitters that a friend made and gave me. It was excellent.

Another white vermouth cocktail, this time with Calvados. The Orchard Keeper 2 oz Calvados, 3/4 oz white vermouth, 1/2 oz honey syrup (honey/water 1:2) Beautiful color. The taste reminds me of a very good apple cider.

So us Californians can still get a hold of foie gras, but only by means of having it shipped to us via mail or internet order? Am I understanding this right? If so, then the ban is not as bad as I thought (although it is dumb law, which is par for the course here in California). I can cook foie gras myself, I don't absolutely need to have a chef at a restaurant do it for me. Amazon.com actually carries Hudson Valley and LaBelle Farms foie gras, so I'll probably use them. That's not my understanding. I believe the ban applies to production and sale of foie gras in California, effective July 1st.

I made the goat cheese truffles from Babbo for a cocktail party. They are just fresh goat cheese seasoned with salt and pepper and rolled into bite-size truffles. Half of them were dipped in poppy seeds, which gave them a great texture and a nutty taste. The other half was dipped in pimenton (Spanish paprika). In the book he uses fennel pollen for a third variety but I could not find it. They are really addictive and take little time to make. In the book he serves them with peperonata and baguette toasts.

I opened my bottle a few months ago and it's still fine. I keep it in the fridge.

Slowly recovering from the flu. A simple dinner. Garlicky braised cauliflower with capers (recipe from Russ Parson's How to Pick a Peach). Good flavors. There was something missing so I sprinkled some parmesan at the end - much better. But I have to say, I prefer the texture of roasted cauliflower vs. braised. Then an arugula/cucumber/mint/feta salad (not pictured). And finally, dessert. The brownies from David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert. Always delicious. I used Valrhona Caraïbe so they were especially decadent tonight.

I am currently indexing the Savoy Cocktail book for eatyourbooks.com and decided to try the Calvados cocktail that Erik documented here. 2 glasses Calvados (I used 3/4 oz Daron calvados) 2 glasses orange juice (3/4 oz) 1 glass Cointreau (3/8 oz) 1 glass orange bitters (I used 3/8 oz Angostura orange bitters) It is dry and quite bitter, as expected given the amount of bitters. Not bad, but this is definitely a cocktail that needs to be sipped slowly.

The Archangel: gin, aperol, muddled cucumber, lemon twist. I did not have the Plymouth gin it called for, so I substituted Hendrick's because of its cucumber notes. It's crisp and refreshing. Very good use of Aperol!

Cross-referencing a few excellent drinks with white vermouth, from other threads. The Manhattan Bianco (Jason Wilson) 1 1/2 ounces bourbon 1 1/2 ounces white vermouth Lemon peel twist, for garnish The Astoria Vecchio (Jason Wilson) 2 1/2 ounces genever 1 ounce white vermouth 2 dashes orange bitters Twist of orange peel, for garnish The Astoria Bianco (Jim Mehan) 2.5 oz gin 1 oz white vermouth 2 dashes orange bitters Orange twist