MattJohnson

I agree with jneu. I was at Bacchus last night and had a wonderful time. The new cocktail menu is inventive and the drinks I had were very well made and delicious. Ira and Nick are doing a great job and I will definitely be going back. Best cocktails in Milwaukee.

I got a set of three Japanese knives from epicurian edge: http://www.epicureanedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=568 Looking forward to learning to sharpen them

You mean it's no longer "Seven Summers Old"? That is ominous. Last year I had someone bring me back a bottle Pikesville Rye from Maryland (I know it's not made there, but I figured that they should be able to easily find it there), and it's my understanding that it used to be aged 4 years, but this bottle is clearly marked "This whiskey is 3 years old." I don't think I like this trend. I hope distillers aren't rushing to get product onto the shelves and cutting time off the aging process. Yeah, I looked at my bottle and it sported the label "7 summers old." Maybe thats ominous, however, whether 6 or 7 years old, I enjoyed my glass of it - so kudos to them if the got it out a year early. If you can't tell the difference, then why the difference?

The downside of a 5% brine is you have to be diligent about timing. Put it in too long and it will be too salty, not long enough and it will taste bland. With a 3% brine, you can leave it in for a week and then cook it and it will turn out perfectly seasoned. Sure. I guess I got in the habit of making the brine in the evening, chilling over night, put chicken in, go to work, take chicken out and let dry in fridge until the next night. Is 3% the magic number of perfectly seasoned? Is that why you can leave it for much longer? Abra - my brines end up pretty "chunky" I put a decent amount of stuff in there.

Ah, thats definitely a possibility. I think I'll adopt your outlook and just tell people that if they ask.

I've only made it with 100 proof, but after steeping for a couple weeks, I add another bottle of vodka, then the syrup. I think I used a 1:1 syrup. Maybe you want to do less water in the syrup since you're using 80 proof. It won't taste bad, whatever you do. I have a different question. I followed the recipe as well and it tastes fine, but I noticed after being in the freezer for a couple weeks, I have a bit of a waxy sludge at the top of the bottles. I did blanch my lemons and scrub them to try to get rid of any wax on the lemons - could this be residual wax? Anything else it could be? I think I'm going to try and strain it out, but I'm curious because last time I made it, I didn't get this.

I'd email her and ask her what her favorite dishes are and riff off of that. That list is a bit ridiculous.

The percentage means exactly that: amount of salt in the water. I generally follow Michael Ruhlman's brine recipe which is about 5%. I usually marinate a 4 lbs chicken for about 8 hours, then air dry for 12 or so before roasting. If you cut the chicken into pieces, I think you can brine for less time. Really the best way to go about it is by weight. So per liter of H20 (google says that its 1000g (I really should convert to metric for everything its so much easier)), use 50g salt. Put the amount of brine plus the flavorings you want on the stove to help dissolve the salt. I usually use a lemon, half head of garlic, thyme, cracked pepper, bay leaf. Cool the brine, then add the chicken/turkey and soak in the fridge for the amount of time you need.

Just tried some Old Weller Antique 107. It was like 21 at the local store and I wanted to try something different. I was worried that the overproof-ness would be too much, but I had it neat and it was quite good. Great for the price. Anyone else a fan?

Just got around to this topic. I have to agree with you! My grandparents live in New Ulm and growing up we often were passing through. I'd always angle for the beef sticks. The summer sausage is fantastic. The place is synonymous with grandma, grandpa in my mind. I wish I could get there more often.

Thanks for posting that. I've been trying to find a way to try these out without having to buy more appliances.

Just an FYI for anyone in the Milwaukee area: Discount liquor on Oklahoma has Plymouth gin on sale for 17/liter. Get it while it lasts. Cheers.

porchetta di testa? http://www.gourmet.com/food/video/2008/09/cosentino_pigshead Anyone who wants to stop eating pork belly because its passe can hand their plate over and fall in a well.

So I was at the local farmers market and came across these lincoln pears. They looked good, so I picked them up. They are quite small and very hard - in fact the texture is like a crisp apple. They are also VERY tart. I'm wondering if these are just unripe or if this is the way they are. If so, what do I do with them. Honestly, they aren't that enjoyable to eat out of hand.

Yeah, thats my go-to dry vermouth. I just like to try new ones and have only heard good things about Dolin.