FrogPrincesse

Byrrh Cocktail (J. A. Grohusko, 1910, Jack's Manual, via Martin's Index) with Byrrh grand quinquina, Noilly Prat extra dry vermouth, Michter's straight rye whiskey. Light-weight but full of personality. I enjoyed this very much.

I agree; I like it better than Ramazzoti.

A recent Manhattan with Michter's straight rye, Martini Gran Lusso, Berg & Hauck / The Bitter Truth old time aromatics bitters, French brandied cherry. The old time aromatic bitters seem more spice-forward than the Angostura which has more caramel/warm notes in comparison. I really like the Michter's, it's great for mixing and fabulous for sipping too.

I had an interesting drink a couple of days ago, with bourbon and balsamic vinegar. It actually tasted nice and balanced, with a touch of smoke and umami. The only minus is that the balsamic vinegar and heavy dose (1/2 oz) of Angostura bitters tended to hide the nuances of the bourbon. Inkwell (Ryan Haile via Gaz Regan) with Kings County distillery bourbon, white grapefruit juice, balsamic vinegar, Angostura bitters.

@catdaddyI have no experience with low sugar marmalade, I am afraid. I have used commercial (Pomona) pectin once for persimmon jam, but didn't care for it. I used only a small amount and it made the jam artificially firm for my taste. I prefer to make my own pectin from green apples a la Christine Ferber. Google also tells me that ponderosas are a cross between lemons and citrons. Very cool. I am pretty sure they'd make a spectacular marmalade on their own! I can't wait to hear what the finished product tastes like.

@catdaddyLow sugar? How low? Most marmalade recipes seem to have > 50% sugar. Recently I've made a chinotto orange marmalade (with scotch) and a yuzu marmalade (with Japanese whisky). Homemade marmalade is amazing... Your "knobby lemons" intrigue me. Are these a type of citron?

While researching the use of bacon to line terrines (which I dislike personally), I came across this interesting article about pâté de campagne/ country pâté that review various techniques and recipes... I have made the Bourdain recipe and while it is good, I think it can be improved.

The Foxtail (Thomas Kunick via Gaz Regan) with Tanqueray London dry gin (substituted for Oxley gin), Benedictine, white grapefruit juice (Oro Blanco). A very simple three components/equal parts number. Benedictine is indeed very nice with grapefruit. I think the cocktail would be better with slightly more gin and less Benedictine because the balance was a tad off - the flavors were herbal and sometimes bordering on the side of medicinal. Or maybe Oxley gin works better with these ratios, it's entirely possible. Apparently it's also juniper-forward but has more citrus than Tanqueray.

Where were these abalones from? I've bought them in the shell like that from an abalone farm in Hawaii (these were small ones) and am curious to know where else they are available. They are also amazing with pasta & garlic...

Thank you for noting that! In France it's much more common to line terrines with caul fat; I don't think I ever saw bacon used for that purpose until I came to the US. I also find the appearance and texture of steamed bacon extremely unappealing. You pretty much have to remove it before you can eat the terrine (because who wants to eat steamed flabby bacon), whereas caul fat is a very thin layer that melt onto the surface of the terrine and doesn't need to be removed. I know this isn't directly linked to Top Chef but I would be really curious to find out where this practice is coming from? My guess is Julia Child but I could be totally wrong. There were more issues with his terrine. When he was grinding it and the meat wasn't cold, you could see the resulting gummy texture and that wasn't appealing at all either. He could have diced it very finely with a knife instead... That's what I used to do when I didn't have a meat grinder at my disposal.

Queen Eleanor (Brandon Josie via Gaz Regan) with Tanqueray London dry gin, Noilly Prat extra dry vermouth, Briottet wild peach liqueur, Berg & Hauck celery bitters. The celery bitters add a strong herbal note that cuts some of the sweetness of the peach liqueur in this Martini variation.

@ananthI have a few. Three Dots and a Dash (Don the Beachcomber via Jeff Berry) with La Favorite cœur de rhum aged agricole, El Dorado 8 Demerara rum, lime juice, cara cara orange juice, homemade falernum, allspice dram, homey syrup, Angostura bitters. The only reason I don't make this more often is because it's a bit hard for me to get La Favorite cœur de rhum. Because that is one spectacular drink! (I went back to the Jeff Berry version. The small amount of orange juice is nice in that one. I am not sure using dry curacao a la Paul McGee is a better option.)

Not imports, right? This looks like a restaurant in Mexico... I would talk to the sommelier/mezcalier and tell them what flavor profile you are after, what you like or do not like, etc, and they should be able to guide you.

Congratulations on your business Franci!!! The cakes (and the website) look fantastic! It's impressive what you are able to do in a home kitchen.

Heaven is a Place/This is The Place (Paul McGee) with Tanqueray London dry gin, lime juice, Cointreau (substituted for Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao), homemade falernum, honey syrup, St Elizabeth allspice dram, Angostura bitters. All the spice with an assertive gin like the Tanqueray makes for a very interesting drink. This is layered and tasty.

I made another batch of crepes last night (a double this time)... I went through 6 eggs for the batter alone! Honey and lemon crepe for dessert (with just a little squeeze of lemon juice). Very nice combo.

Depending on how strongly you would like the twist to impart flavor to your cocktail, and the final look of the drink you are after. Tradition too - for example it's traditional to discard the lemon peel used for a Sazerac.

Smoked Julep (Phil Ward) with Laphroaig 10 (subbed for the 12), Daron XO Calvados (instead of Laird's apple brandy), maple syrup. Like a very smoky apple. Similar to the Shruff's End in Julep form, and with less flourish.

Chandeleur, 2016 edition. I went traditional with egg + ham + cheese. That combo always delivers. Brittany dry cider. Followed by a granulated sugar crêpe for dessert.

Martin Doudoroff just came up with a new app in collaboration with Robert Simonson, Modern Classics of the Cocktail Renaissance. He shared the list of cocktails included in the app here.

I've been making the pain d'épices (the French version of gingerbread) from Sunday Suppers at Lucques for years now, but always forget to take a picture! Here is it. With a little bit of good butter, it's my favorite Madeleine de Proust moment. Instant childhood memories with my maternal grandmother. In the book Suzanne Goin serves it with kumquat butter, which is also an excellent choice.

Ocean Side (Erick Castro) with Tanqueray London dry gin, lime juice, simple syrup, Berg & Hauck celery bitters, salt, mint. Better than I remembered! Actually super nice, tart, crisp, gin-forward obviously, and a touch savory.

As mentioned in the opening notes of the 5 Minutes of Rum article, a lot of this information about rum is available in the Beachbum Berry books and app. The app is especially convenient - you can click on any ingredient and a list of suggested brands/bottlings pops up together with a general description of the category.

I made this root vegetable soup with apples a few weeks ago when I got a kabocha squash and all the other vegetables I needed from my CSA (carrots, parsnips, leeks, fennel). The thyme was from my backyard. I absolutely love this recipe. It's from Tom Colicchio's Think Like a Chef. I didn't have any duck prosciutto left so I garnished with Parma ham.

Based on experience, common sense etc. For example if the drink calls for one brand of demerara rum I don't have, I will replace it with another demerara rum of similar age/proof. If I don't have something in the same family, I usually look for tasting notes online and use something in my home bar with a similar flavor profile. Once you know general categories it's much easier to make substitutions and not affect the overall result too much.