Tri2Cook

:biggrin: I was already enjoying this blog... now I'm loving it.

30 bottles for an entire province? Still, anything is better than the Giant Sloth of the Forests of Bureaucracy which is BCLDB, where it seems they have a hate-on for rum - Alberta gets high-test Lemon Hart, you good people get S&C. BC gets, well, excused having to live in Alberta or Ontario, I suppose. Bah There are more than 30 for the province, more like 700. Kerry was just talking about the stores in her area. I'm still waiting patiently for them to give in and bring the LH 151.

I haven't tried that one yet but it's looking hopeful, the LCBO has brought in a "limited quantities available" run of Smith & Cross. If I do get my hands on a bottle or two, I'll check that one out. There are a few drinks I put in the tropical category that have a bitter side that I've enjoyed (the Montegomatica and Davy Jones' Locker both with Fernet Branca and the Jungle Bird with Campari) and I do love a good Mai Tai so it seems like an obvious choice.

Liquid. I've never seen it listed in the Alinea book corrections but I think maybe the recipe was incorrect regarding the amount of cream. I thought it might turn out a bit gummy at the levels Bryan used but after testing it myself, I think maybe that is the correct amount or somewhere very close to it. It's much easier to work with at that ratio.

Thanks Kerry. I stopped by the local store yesterday, the head honcho wasn't in but I left my request with the guy that was there. I'll check in again tomorrow and see what the verdict is.

Haven't googled them at all. I guess I thought if I stared at them long enough, they'd become embarrassed and tell me what to do so I'd go away. I did discover the hard way that popping them in your mouth and chewing is only nice for a few seconds. Those hairy seeds are not pleasant. I'll do some searching and see what turns up.

Olive oil and salt roasted green beans sounds like some tv-time snacking I could get into. I wonder which beer goes best with olive oil and salt roasted green beans?

The area where I pick wild blueberries also has huge growths of wild roses that become huge amounts of rose hips in the fall. I go out and look at them every year hoping something I could do with them will come to me... so far that's failed to happen. Still one of my personal favorites.

The LCBO has Smith & Cross in stock now! Marked as "limited quantities" and my local store, of course, doesn't have it. I'm going there tomorrow to start the begging process to try to get them to order a bottle for me. Wish me luck...

I'm only familiar with what I have (and I don't actually know if all of them are considered amari)... Lucano, Fernet Branca, Cynar, Campari and Aperol. I like all of them and I keep them all in the cabinet, not the fridge.

It's still listed as "available for pre-order" on amazon.ca with an expected release of Oct. 29. I'll most likely get this one, I got (and still get) a lot of use from Frozen Desserts.

Welcome and... ...you're not trying hard enough.

Your standard pecan pie made with hickory nuts instead is something I haven't had in a really long time but it's a delicious use for them.

I'm a big fan of using "modernist" ingredients but I'm not really a fan of using xanthan or even most of the modified starches like ultratex for the purpose of thickening stews. I've come to the conclusion for myself that I like the results from more traditional starches better for that purpose. In some dishes, I associate the flavor imparted by the starch as part of the dish and miss it when it's not there. Kinda like using xanthan to thicken a gumbo or etouffee instead of a roux... it's just not the same. But that's just one arseholes opinion, I'm looking forward to hearing what you two think. The flavor release will be better with the xanthan and you should get a more pure sense of the broth uninterrupted by a more prominent thickener which may be exactly what you want. As a side note, every time you two go north, I end up feeling like the world's biggest slacker!

If you're just avoiding pectin, liquid + .9% carrageenan (50% iota - 50% kappa) + .2% potassium citrate as a starting point works nicely and is thermo-reversible. Adjustments to the carrageenan blend and the total amount of the blend used in the recipe can be used to fine-tune the texture. If you're avoiding specialty ingredients altogether, gelatin can be used. I've played with gelatin glazes and they're easy to work with (plus they're really forgiving, if you're not happy with the result they will lift off after setting and you can try again). I've never been completely happy with gelatin for water-based glazes but that's probably more about me being picky than gelatin being unusable. Try it and see what you think... but I recommend keeping water-based gelatin glazes on the thin side or it starts to resemble dessert en gelee.

If I'm using eggs, I generally use fresh eggs. Sometimes I go with pasteurized yolks if I need large amounts but that's mainly for convenience and not having a ton of leftover whites to deal with. Some flavors benefit (in my opinion) from not having the egg flavor present. What I use instead varies. Guar gum, locust bean gum, corn starch, carrageenan, gellan and gelatin have all made appearances in ice creams I've made.

An undiluted negroni... I bet that was an eye-opener.

Agreed... and the same goes for cell phones. Most people have developed a Pavlovian response to them that makes them physically unable to ignore the noise or vibration that signals a text no matter what they're doing at that moment. I once saw a server sit plates down on the way out of the kitchen to check a text and the line was drawn. I told the boss (restaurant owner) that the headphones and cells could be banned or I was going to start tossing them in the fryer every time I had to repeat myself or watch something not getting done while someone texted. The boss went with banning.

I just realized I forgot to mention in my post here that after straining the infusion, the liquid should be measured and an equal amount of sugar dissolved in. I really am an amatuer...

I'm not sure if I was supposed to give the link to my post if I posted my drink here but I can't edit the post now so... just in case.

I'm sure there are probably quality differences related to using overproof spirits for jobs like this but it's never been an option where I live and my falernum, pimento dram and limoncello all turned out perfectly tasty. I think maybe the benefits of using overproofs is only going to become relevant if you get the chance to compare, otherwise you will only know, and be quite happy with, what you have to work with.

Patong is reputed to be the party beach destination in, already famous for it's beaches, Phuket, Thailand. So when I decided to go with a Thai flavor theme for my drink, it seemed an ideal namesake. I'm an amatuer at creating drinks but I was pretty happy with the result. The W&N speaks loudly in this one but I like it so it worked for me. I had this image in my head of some guy in a small Thai village mixing this up with his homemade hooch and I imagined that hooch wouldn't be at all subtle so I wanted something that demanded attention without hiding everything else. I think I got that. The problem with being pretty new at this creating thing is confidence. I always wish I had a critique from someone with more experience before going public. But I didn't, so here it is... Patong Swizzle 1 1/2 oz Wray & Nephew overproof rum 3/4 oz fresh lime juice 3/4 oz Thai syrup* 1/2 oz unsweetened pineapple juice Swizzle with crushed ice, top with more crushed ice. *Thai syrup 1 1/4 cups coconut water 2 stalks lemon grass, trimmed, sliced and crushed 4 kaffir lime leaves 1/2" piece fresh ginger, chopped 1 slice from a hot green chile 4 fresh mint leaves 4 fresh basil leaves 6 fresh cilantro leaves Heat coconut water, lemongrass, lime leaves, ginger and chile at a slow simmer for ~5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and infuse for ~20 minutes. Blanch herbs in boiling water for ~10 seconds, shock in ice water and add to coconut water. Blitz everything with a stick blender and strain (I strained through a medium strainer, squeezed the liquid from the pulp through then strained it through a fine strainer).

Last weekend I added more allspice berries (the fat 1/4 cup I used at the beginning was all I had in the house at the time), a cinnamon stick, 5 black peppercorns and a piece of nutmeg, all toasted and lightly crushed. I'll strain, add syrup and bottle tomorrow... unless another week would be of benefit? I'm patient.

I'm still a "maybe". I'm kinda waiting to see what's going on with the possible Winnipeg version of the Heartland Gathering. I won't be able to do both and, as fascinated and impressed (and frequently jealous ) as I am with the work eGullet members do, I just don't do much candy and confectionary myself. Although seeing it being done firsthand might be a nice kick in the butt to get me going on it and meeting the people behind the names would be fun.

Made a Broker's and Fever Tree G&T and at the last second decided to see what a splash of the Fever Tree bitter lemon would do to it. I wasn't unhappy.