Tri2Cook

Tasty indeed, did you do it with vodka or gin? Tanqueray #10. You could drink that stuff neat! Haven't tried that one but, to be honest, I haven't met a gin I couldn't drink neat. Right now I'm wondering which rum that I have could stand in for the Barbancourt in a... Don's Little Bitter 1/8 oz Peychaud's bitters 1/8 oz Angostura Orange bitters 1/4 oz Angostura bitters 1/2 oz Fernet Branca 1/2 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz simple syrup 1 oz Barbancourt 8 year rum Shake, strain, coupe.

Tasty indeed, did you do it with vodka or gin?

Spray or freeze dried apple powder would boost the flavor without upping water content but that's venturing into increasing costs significantly. I agree with Shalmanese on the acids. I use that trick anytime something made with apple flattens out. In moderation, it brightens things up and gives an illusion of freshness. It was the missing link when failing to get a caramel apple consomme the way I wanted it. I made a malic/citric solution, added it to taste and suddenly I had apples with caramel instead of caramel with an apple background.

The El Dorado 6 year silver is available through the LCBO as is the Havana Club Anejo Blanco. In my non-expert opinion, both of them are well worth having. Either would be a good choice.

Nope, not available at the LCBO and doesn't show on the MLCC site either. I have a list for Manitoba that I'm going to have picked up when one of my friends is there in October so I was hoping they'd have it. A Barbancourt (they have the 3 star and the 5 star) and the Matusalem Gran Reserva are on the list. They have Zacapa 23 year available there but they want $80 for it... I think I'm gonna pass.

I liked it. A bit boozy compared to the things I've been drinking lately so I had to sip it a little more gently but I did enjoy it. I got the Cherry Heering in Manitoba... maybe it's going to drift into Ontario if the LCBO is listing it. It wasn't listed there not too long ago.

I'll have to see if I can find that Kerry, there's no Loblaw's near here but there is a store that carries President's Choice products about an hour away. Gave the Prime Minister a try last night... 1.5 oz Mount Gay Extra Old .75 oz Lillet Blanc .5 oz Cherry Heering 2 dashes bitters Stir, strain, lemon twist.

They sell many of their products in retail packaging here.

I like the Tic Gum products. I work with the Ticaloid 310-S and their spray dried pre-hydrated gum arabic fairly regularly. For some reason it never occured to me to try stabilizing orgeat with it, I'll have to check that out.

Didn't bother with a picture, I didn't compose anything pretty anyway. Tonight was beets from the farmer's market, potatoes from the garden, carrots from the garden, the greens from the beets and, just when it was sounding like a veggie-fest, some elk and wild rice sausages I picked up at the farmer's market.

...and not a croquembouche. Croquembouche is essentially a showpiece. Done well, it looks nice, it can be impressive and it takes skill. Yes, it's generally meant to be eaten but it's just not particularly practical as party food for people to graze on. Lisa already offered the best advice I can think of. I'm not suggesting you shouldn't do it if you want to, I just think you may end up happier in the long run with what she suggested. Even if you don't want to be tied down to filling on the fly, you could fill them closer to party time than you could build the croquembouche and place them on the table around it so they can grab them while admiring your work.

You ladies inspired me to jump back out of tiki land for a bit so tonight I revisited the Juliet & Romeo. I'd almost forgotten what a nice drink it is because I tried it for the first (and only) time during a flurry of trying a bunch of drinks over a few days. I want to go back and try a few of them again now that I've been doing this cocktail thing a little longer.

He did... they serve it in an edible napkin.

Hit the local market Friday (only runs 2x/month, July - September). I grabbed red and gold beets (with their greens, gotta have those), corn, a couple cheeses from a semi-local (about 5 hours away) producer and a few things from the lady from the elk farm. I also placed my annual order with her for a fairly large quantity of both fresh and smoked elk bones for stocks. She'll bring them with her next month. I took a peek at assorted pickled veggies including some tiny pickled green tomatoes that I think might make a nice cocktail garnish... but passed on them this trip. Hopefully the veggies will be better next time, the pickin's were a bit slim this time for some reason.

And for anyone not in New York who was as intrigued and curious as I was after reading this, the recipe is available on Audrey's write-up on the Starchefs site.

As a person of southeast U.S. origin and upbringing I feel I should inform you that the correct pronunciation is "K-Mark". Just in the interest of accuracy of course. I've never done a chili competition, I based my thoughts on other types of cooking competitions I've seen. For example, the annual blueberry muffin competition where I live involves a core group of ladies who always enter and one of which always wins. They know what the judges want and they give it to them. No experimenting, no "this would be better", just "here's the recipe I used last year, give me my ribbon". I would like to argue against that method but the bottom line is that they win. Hard to argue with success.

Didn't realize the new season had started, I'll have to check it out.

Because the judges are? Actually I'm somewhat serious. I'm not saying there are no judges that would appreciate stepping outside of the pedestrian box but there are usually a whole lot of judges at those things and most of them already have their mind made up as to what constitutes a winning chili... which is whatever constituted a winning chili last year and the year before and so on. Most of the top competitors have done enough of them to know that and know what that winning chili ideal tends to be. I'm betting there's not a lot of potential reward for not giving them what they're looking for in the interest of giving them something technically better.

His second series of "Heston's Feasts" includes a Chocolate Factory Feast, Fairytale Feast, Titanic Feast, Gothic Feast, 70s Feast and 80s Feast. It has a book to accompany it that gives a more detailed insight into what he was trying to do and how he did it and provides a few recipes from each feast as well. The second series and the book are as over-the-top as the first series but I enjoyed them for the same reason I enjoyed the first series and the "Perfection" series and books. There's a lot to pick up from them if you can take your eyes and mind away from the actual dishes. Not that there's anything wrong with the dishes but I view them more as the result of the main goal which is how to achieve it and why. The real value of Feasts and Perfection is that they make you think. I think the main reason they aren't more popular than they seem to be is... they make you think and, if it doesn't make you think, it probably all seems a bit strange and pointless.

I've considered doing my own violet infused booze that I can rinse the glass with or spray on top to at least get the character in the drink even if it's not authentic. I really don't expect to see creme de violette at the LCBO anytime soon. As for other drinks that use it, I'm not sure. I've never searched for them because it seemed kinda pointless without it.

I like the Aviation (regular proof Luxardo, didn't even know there was a high proof version) with the diclaimer that I've never had an authentic one. I don't have creme de violette.

I'm safe from that sort of thing. I don't research, I just go if I'm interested/curious. What happens next determines if I'll ever go back but I'll give almost anybody that first chance.

I use orange (Angostura orange, Regan's orange or Twisted & Bitter orange depending on the drink), Angostura, Peychaud's, grapefruit (from the Canadian company House Made), Adam Elmegirab's Boker's and Bittermen's Xocolatl Mole regularly. I have many others but they don't make nearly as frequent appearances.

Your posts are keeping me in the rum mood so I decided to try the Final Voyage. 3/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum (1/2 oz Appleton Extra + 1/4 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof) 3/4 oz Rothman & Winter Apricot (Bols) 3/4 oz Green Chartreuse 3/4 oz Lime Juice Shake with ice, strain, up. Best I could do with what I have, it was tasty even if not authentic.

Yeah, I've had bitters shipped from the U.S. and other parts of Canada as well. I'm assuming there's something involved that causes some businesses to prefer not to (Kegworks won't ship bitters to Canada according to their website). I'm not sure about Boston Shaker, if they don't ship them to Canada or if it's just a matter of contacting them to arrange it. I'm going to contact them and find out though. I know Cocktail Kingdom has all of Adam's bitters listed except this one and they definitely ship to Canada so that's an option I'm watching as well. Regardless, didn't intend to sound like I was disparaging Boston Shaker, was just venting about an online shopping pet peeve