nightscotsman

I've seen some creamy yellowish liquid called "Advocaat" at local liquor stores. It's described as a "Liqueur from the Netherlands, made of brandy, egg yolks, vanilla and sugar, between 15 and 18 per cent alcohol by volume". Sounds like eggnog to me. Has anyone tried this stuff or know its history?

Uwajimaya, the Asian supermarket here in Seattle, sells real grated wasabi. If I remember correctly it was more expensive than the faux powdered stuff, but not outrageous.

Forgot about Di Laurenti's and Uwajimaya - good call, Fish. Di Laurenti's is especially good for really obscure ingredients. For example, they are the only store in the state of Washington that carries orange bitters for cocktails. You're right Ben, I guess I was thinking of the furniture store that Costco may be working on in Kirkland?

I think Larry's has really gone down hill this year. They greatly reduced the number of items they carry, especially in the meat and bulk drygoods departments. They don't seem like much more than a standard supermarket these days. Whole foods has great produce, bulk drygoods (amazing spice collection), and dairy/cheese. Central Market (which totally and completely rocks) in Shoreline would be my grocery store of choice if only they were a little closer to home - great wines, produce, seafood, meat, bulk items, and asian foods. Of course I stop by Trader Joe's a couple times a month to stock up on certain high quality items that they have way cheaper than anywhere else. By the way, The Seattle Times had a story earlier this year saying Costco would be opening a huge "gourmet" food store in Kirkland, I think next year.

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us! Your answers so far have been fascinating and informational - great stuff. How do you feel about measuring cocktail ingredients vs. just eyeballing amounts? I see many seemingly experienced bartenters just start pouring into the shaker, but my feeling is that the quantities of each ingredient in a single cocktail are so small that the ballance can be thrown off too easily by sloppy mixing. Or are graduated jiggers for tourists.

I'm wondering how you go about pairing cocktails with dishes? Do you serve cocktials during a meal, or do you tend to relegate them to before and/or after (aperatif/digestif) the meal proper? Do you have any favorite cocktail/food pairings? Any tips on which type of cocktails go better with food?

Other than your own recently released book (which is on my wish list, of course ), which cocktail books would you recommend as essential to a serious home bartender? Personally I'm more interested in well ballanced, classic mixtures rather than the overly sweet, fru-fru tropical drinks-with-umbrellas which seem to dominate many modern cocktail books.

Someone as talented and dedicated as, say... Michael Jordon? Is this your way of coyly announcing a career change, mamster?

OK, I had to post my gloat - I just back from Klink's where I was able help a tiny bit with stuffing the second half of the current batch and lend moral support while he stoked the fire. We pulled some off the smoker about an hour ago and sliced one up for "testing" purposes. I'm completely drooling right now just thinking about how wonderful they taste! He used much more garlic and black pepper this time and it made a huge difference. And can I just say that pork fat is a wonderful thing? I even got one to bring home and was unable to keep from consuming half of it as soon as I got it to the kitchen - still warm from the smoker. Mmmmmmmmmm... Klink is da Man!

Pronuciation tip - in Japanese, "e" is always pronounced short as in "bed". So omakase does not rhyme with posse or Tallahassee. Neither does it rhyme with way or bay since it ends in "e" and not "ei". I can't think of an english word that ends in a short "e" sound, so rhyming may be difficult if not impossible. I was taught that "dozo" more specifically meant "please accept this from me" as in when you are giving something to somebody else or granting a request, rather than "kudasai" when you are requesting something be given or brought to you. "Onegai shimas" means please and is more polite/formal than kudasai. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong about these things.

I may be exposing myself as a rube here, but I've found Trader Joes frozen bay and sea scallops to be excellent. Much better that the stuff sold "fresh" (usually previously frozen and oozing lots of milky liquid) in local supermarkets. By the way, I made this recipe for Sauteed Scallops with Fennel Compote in Curry Sauce from Le Bec Fin as an appetizer for Thanksgiving last year. It was fabulous and not at all difficult.

Seems you don't have to be drunk to be stupid. See The Tabasco Challenge for blow-by-blow descriptions and photos. Be sure to check out all the other Challenges, especially the original Cinnamon Challenge.

I've been thinking about trying my hand at making some nocino next year. Can you describe the flavor a bit? Is it similar in taste to any other liqueur? David Lebovitz has a recipe for nocino in his book "Room for Dessert". The ingredients list includes green walnuts, cinnamon sticks, cloves, vanilla bean, lemon zest, sugar and vodka. He uses it in a recipe for a very rich custard. I did make vin d'orange earlier this year and it was really quite nice with ice and sparkling water.

Since the request was for sources only and specifically in New York City, shouldn't this thread have been posted in the New York City & State board and not in General Food Topics board? I don't mean to be inflamatory, but if the discussion is city or region specific then it would help to know so that others may choose to skim over it.

I love my two microplanes and would never consider being without them - essential kitchen tools. I use the fine one for citrus zest and the "coarse" one (just slightly less fine) for hard cheeses and fresh ginger. One tip I picked up from Cook's Illustrated that is helpful is when you are zesting fruit, instead of resting the grater on the counter at an angle and running the fruit over it, it works better to hold the lemon or orange in one hand, hold the grater face down in the other hand and sort of stroke the fruit with it. Much easier to see when you are getting just the zest, and all the shavings end up on top of the grater ready to be dumped into the other ingredients.

Mmmmm... babas...

Sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist of lemon is a really nice starter as is Lillet Blanc with an orange slice. Of course kir and kir royale (as mentioned above) are classic. My favorite if I can get it is a glass of chilled Pineau des Charentes. Often I will scan the house cocktail menu for anything that sounds interesting and different.

5 years and still a tourist. I've read exactly 1 (one) of Mr. Kimball's Editorial essays - that was plenty. Now I don't even glance at that page on my way to the good stuff. Speaking of jealousy, I confess to being envious of all the rare, organic produce that seems to be all over the Bay Area, as well as their extra-long growing season. But then I like the rain up here.

I'm an egg nog fan from way back. I'll even make do with supermarket nog, though some are way better than others. About this time of year Oregon Chai comes out with a "Chai Nog" concentrate that I really like. It has black tea, sugar, honey, vanilla and spices (no eggs or dairy). You mix it half and half with the milk of your choice, steam it or zap it in the microwave, or pour over ice and drink cold. It's good even using skim milk. Haven't tried it will al-kee-haul yet, but a spot of rum couldn't hurt.

For more information and discussion on the plastic vs. wood issue, you might want to take a look at this thread.

I made a point of visiting Maison de Miel on my first trip to Paris this year. Amazing! I was so overwhelmed and a bit intimidated by all the different honeys I couldn't decide and ended up not buying anthing . I wish I had tasted the rosemary - that sounds wonderful. I bet the thyme honey is great, too. Thanks for the link!

two that I would recommend to get you started are: The Cook's Bible by Christopher Kimball (from the Cook's Illustrated folks) "Featuring over 400 essential recipe's, reviews of kitchen equipment, and 200 step-by-step illustrations". Not fancy, but good American-style cooking and lots of detailed explanations of what works and what doesn't - like the magazine. How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman Not as completely exhaustive as it claims, but it is amazingly extensive. Most of the recipes are very simple with added tips for tarting things up.

I just went to check out your site and saw that the image on the splash page seems to be missing in action. Thought you would want to know. It looks like the file name of the image has a couple of spaces in it - "Adrian & Julie.jpg" which translates in HTML to "Adrian%20&%20Julie.jpg". This can cause problems with some browsers. You might want to change the file name to "Adrian&Julie.jpg" and relink it to the page.

That new "communal 'harvest table'" mentioned is just crying out for an eGullet gathering, don't ya think? Thanks for pointing us to the good news, Schielke!

I LOVE honey! If I see it mentioned on a menu as an ingredient I'm drawn like a magnate. Desserts of course, but I also like it in savory dishes - especially meats. I fondly remember a honey lamb dish I had at a Moroccan restaurant many years ago. Anybody have a recipe for a dish like that? Clover honey is the lightest in color and flavor, so it works well in recipes where you don't want it to overpower the other ingredients. Lavender honey is wonderful (Mmmm... lavender honey ice cream ), and orange blossom honey is very flavorful, but can be too strong in some recipes. I've never had tupelo - what does it taste like? I love the scent of honey, too. Votivo, a Seattle company that makes beautifully scented candles, uses mostly high grade bees wax. They have a lavender candle that perfectly ballances the herby/floral scent with the rich warmth of the honey aroma of the bees wax. I prefer their richer, mellower candles over l'Occitane's anyday.