FrogPrincesse

That spoon was designed in San Diego! It's a very cool product. Make sure to look at Cocktail Kingdom as well, they have a great selection! I love my teardrop cocktail spoon.

I would recommend a Koriko shaker. They are actually very easy to use, the tins are weighted and feel great, and they are not that expensive, less than $20 for a set. That's what most craft bars use these days and they are very well made. I never use my cobbler shaker anymore (other than for decoration...).

One of the better uses of Aperol in my opinion, the Rope Burn (Allan Katz) with Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, Bonal gentiane-quina, Aperol. I didn't have a grapefruit on hand for the peel garnish, so I used a few drops of BDW grapefruit bitters. But you know what, I also tried it with Amaro CioCiaro, and I think I liked that version a bit better!

A delicious Corpse Reviver No. 1 with Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac, Boulard VSOP calvados, Margerum amaro, Angostura bitters. Ratios from the Bartender's Choice app. I am very happy with this bottle of Calvados so far (that I found at BevMo for $50). That drink has the perfect vibe for fall.

A quick no-knead peasant bread with 20% whole wheat flour and 1/2 tablespoon almond oil (that you cannot really taste; this works better with a more assertive olive oil for example). I used the technique from Artisan Bread in 5.

This was a touch sweet, but I liked the tiki-esque vibe of this Old Fashioned cocktail a lot, especially on a cold and gray evening. Four in Hand (Scott Teague) with High West American Prairie bourbon, Boulard VSOP calvados, Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, green Chartreuse, BJ Reynolds vanilla & homemade cinnamon syrups.

This one? It looks interesting but I don't have any redcurrants or raspberries on hand (it's not really the season anymore). (Grenadine is suggested as an acceptable substitution, but I avoid the thing as much as I can!) I like @eje's idea to use a preserve instead of a syrup. But I am out of blended scotch too! Oops.

@quiet1 I would recommend the Bartender's Choice app. It's pretty bare bones but it's super handy and has a ton of great recipes. I think it's a great starting point. Next I would recommend the Death & Co book, which is very complete and has a large section on classics, and a ton of doable recipes. It's very beginner friendly and explains how a cocktail is structured, the different types of cocktail family, how to build a home bar with recommendations for brands/type of spirits to get, etc. It's a nice-looking book as well.

I liked them, but my husband and daughter both preferred them warm, and weren't crazy about the crumbly/shortbread-type texture. Their loss... So far my favorites in the book were the brownie drops. These were perfect in every way.

World Peace cookies. Very easy to make. It's the texture of a shortbread, crumbly and light, with an amazing chocolate intensity and little specks of fleur de sel. I made them a little too big, so my yield was only 24 cookies instead of 36. Pro-tip - do not freeze the log and then attempt to slice it still frozen. I am lucky to have all my fingers this morning! Plus the slices chattered into a million pieces. I still managed to bake two cookies that way because I HAD to try them last night.

It's only the beginning of kumquat season so they are still hard to find (or expensive). But I've been having a craving for bitter citrus marmalade. The closest thing I can find right now is calmondins (aka calamansi) which I finally decided to experiment with. I received a Buddha's Hand in my CSA this week, so I decided to improvise and make a Calamondin & Buddha's Hand marmalade. I also used the juice of half a dozen clementines. It was a small batch and I cooked it in my large jam pot, and it was the fastest marmalade I've ever made. It was set in less than 30 minutes.

Frog eggs? That's a good thing, right? The original recipe didn't call for straining the seeds out. I considered it briefly, but since there are also orange slices in there, I thought it looked fine visually. There aren't that many seeds per jar and the crunch doesn't bother me, I think it's interesting and shows that I used real fruit... Also if it's good enough for Ferber, it works for me (see her version here).

Thanksgiving prep in full swing. I am in charge of punch (Fish House) & soup (Tom Colicchio's root vegetables and apple).

Great punch too. That's the one I do for Mother's Day.

More ideas here about things to do with guanciale.

Robert Lambert sells a calamondin marmalade ($18 for 8 ounces... artisan marmalades with rare citrus aren't exactly cheap!). Here is what he writes about it. The ingredients in his marmalade are as follows: sugar, Calamondin, water, Rangpur lime juice, orange juice, Meyer lemon juice.

While looking for things to do with the Buddha's Hand I got in my CSA this week, I came across this video from a local San Diego chef that I found inspiring. More interesting recipes at this link.

I couldn't resist. There were more calamondins at Specialty Produce this morning when I picked up my produce box, and I had to get some... In the box there was a Buddha's Hand, so I am thinking of combining the two for marmalade. Should I add a third citrus? Any advice is welcome!

Gathering the necessary ingredients for the Fish House Punch that everyone requested once again!

It's really good as a little "snack" on a charcuterie platter, sliced thin and fried till slightly crispy, as @Okanagancookdid it!

Interview with June Taylor where you can see her at work. In this other video she is making blood orange marmalade. http://www.chowhound.com/videos/obsessives/obsessives-marmalade

Interesting... The Blue Chair Jam Company is for sale, with the sale currently pending. $225 000 for $280 000 in gross revenue. http://www.bizbuysell.com/Business-Opportunity/Blue-Chair-Fruit-Jam-Company-for-Sale/1294604/

Orange & passion jam (recipe from Christine Ferber). There aren't too many fruit suitable/exciting for jam-making right now, so I was super happy to find great-looking passion fruit at the farmers' market this weekend. The jam set after ~ 20 minutes of boiling, but it was a fairly loose set. If it had been for me I would have been fine with it, but since I am planning to sell them at a small market in a few weeks, I ended up recooking it for about 10 minutes (and lost 1 full jar in the process due to evaporation, etc). All the fruit is local & organic. Edited to add: The Valencia oranges are from Polito Farms, which is one of the best citrus growers I have access to.

My Costco sells Stravecchio, and I find that it's in better condition than the one from TJ's, which often tastes moldy close to the rind. But of course you have to buy a much larger piece!

I have. Trader Joe's sells both the Vecchio and the Stravecchio. I prefer the latter. And I've tried them all while in Italy, but my preferences depended on the type of milk/cow (red cow), season, rather than just the age of the cheese. Here is a good article explaining the differences. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/26/dining/to-every-parmigiano-a-season.html