FrogPrincesse

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

You can use Amazon's "Search Inside the Book" feature to look for specific ingredients. Or buy the PDT Barnes and Noble Nook ebook (readable on PC, Mac, IOS, Android). Oddly, Amazon doesn't have an ebook version. I've found the fast easy searching of Cocktail ebooks so useful, that I bought ebook versions of ones I already had the hardcover in and now buy new ones ebook only. Regarding an index for the book, pretty soon EatYourBooks should have finished indexing the book, so searching by ingredient will be a breeze. Tonight we had the Astoria Bianco, a Martini variation with white vermouth. 2.5 oz gin (Tanqueray was specified, I used Beefeater) 1 oz white vermouth (M&R was specified, I used Dolin) 2 dashes orange bitters (instead of PDT's house orange bitters, I used 1 dash of Regan's and 1 dash of Angostura) Orange twist Very good. I had a very similar cocktail a few weeks ago, the Astoria Vecchio, which is really the same thing except that the gin is genever.

I would check places that sell winemaking supplies like this one (first one that came up with a google search, but I am sure there are others).

I make whole-milk ricotta regularly. I use the recipe from Ricki Carroll's Home Cheese Making. Obviously this is different from traditional ricotta which is made from the whey. 1/2 gallon whole milk (I use organic milk from Trader Joe's) 1/2 teaspoon citric acid 1/2 teaspoon salt Heat to 185 - 195F in a large pot, without boiling Let stand covered for 10 minutes Drain in cheesecloth for 20 min (I use a synthetic cheesecloth that can be washed afterwards). It's probably a good idea to buy some citric acid so you can make a neutral-tasting ricotta, instead of using lemon or vinegar. Regarding local sources, where are you located? Also try making it using whole milk instead of heavy cream.

You must really like jelly beans!

What is everybody doing for Easter this year? I am starting to plan the menu for the family Easter lunch that I am hosting. As in previous years, I want to do a stuffed pasta as the first course. For the main, most likely I will do a rack of lamb as it seems to be everyone's favorite. Maybe I will try the version from Lucques this time. If I can find flageolets, Sunday Suppers at Lucques has a recipe for flageolet gratin that seems very good. And we will have some kind of decadent chocolate dessert to finish the meal...

Cocktails by the pool at the Pearl hotel. For him, their twist on the Manhattan with Buffalo Trace bourbon, sweet vermouth, Cointreau, and orange bitters. For me, the "British Juan" with Ballast Point Old Grove gin (a local gin), muddled lime, cilantro, & mango, and ginger beer. It was quite good and reminded me of a Gin Gin Mule. I think I prefer the original though.

Our drinks a couple of nights ago for the season premiere of Mad Men. For him, an Old-Fashioned with Bulleit rye and Jerry Thomas own decanter bitters. For me, a 1:1 Martini with Beefeater gin, Noilly Prat dry vermouth, Regan's and Angostura orange bitters. Both excellent.

Moules marinières for dinner, with crusty bread, and a beer.

You can order it off Penzeys or, if you can find sumac, you can make it yourself. You may want to look into Mediterranean grocery stores, otherwise Williams Sonoma also sells zaatar.

Thanks for the nice words, everyone. Tonight we started with a simple Persian cucumber salad with Bulgarian feta, zaatar, an olive oil & lemon juice dressing, and fresh mint. After seeing Franci's gorgeous orecchiette, I had a sudden craving for homemade pasta. I made cavatelli using a recipe that I learned at a pasta making class by a local chef and that incorporates homemade ricotta and orange zest. My daughter did most of the kneading and rolling (we have a little hand-cranked cavatelli maker). I served it with broccoli rabe pesto, cavalo nero (aka dinosaur kale), and Italian sausage.

My little guilty pleasure... the Blood Orange Cosmopolitan from Babbo. Charbay's blood orange vodka is really good in this drink. I think it's one of the rare vodkas flavored with actual fruit. 2 oz blood orange vodka 1/2 blood orange juice (I used moro oranges) 1/4 lime juice 1/4 Cointreau Orange twist, up.

Complete candy/confection novice here, but please add me to the list as tentative. I am excited after reading the 2012 workshop report!