blue_dolphin

I'm quoting my post from back in Dec: I really like that coriander syrup. I've always shied away from the sweetness in an Old Fashioned but this syrup includes some red chile flakes, which provide a bit of heat to balance the sweetness. It also makes very nice coriander soda. In addition to the Elijah Craig bourbon specified in the recipe, I've made this cocktail with various base spirits: Wild Turkey 101 - not recommended Rittenhouse Rye - so so Laird's 100 proof apple brandy - good Appleton Estate Reserve - excellent Koloa Kaua'i Coconut rum - (I used a dash Angostura and 1 dash orange bitters for this one) sweet, but very nice Cazadores Añejo tequila - no, no, no Hacienda de Chihuahua reposado sotol - nice! Maybe I should try a brandy or cognac version. What I've learned from my experiments it that a sippable spirit will make a sippable Cliff Old Fashioned. Also, coriander seeds are cheaper by the pound

It's been quite a while since I bought anything new but a spate of holiday Réveillon cocktails used up my Laird's and it's not available in my immediate neighborhood so I placed an order with Hi-Time yesterday. Here's what was delivered today, all but one still wearing their travel attire The Laird's, Plantation pineapple rum, Punt e Mes and Elijah Craig are restocks. The pineapple rum was $22.99 vs $31.99 @ Total Wine and the vermouth was $15.99 vs $23.99 @ Total Wine so those 2 covered the delivery charge of $11.99/case. I wanted a bottle of the Bigallet China China but it's out of stock so I tossed in the Elijah Craig to fill up the box, even though it's exactly the same price. New to me are: The Barr Hill Gin is a recent purchase from Trader Joe's and decided to join the group photo. I've been enjoying it with some fresh lime juice - thanks to the honey, it doesn't really need more sweetening. Suze is new to me. I''ve been using Salers so I'll be interested in comparing them in a white negroni. I really can't remember what I wanted the Batavia-Arrack for but it was out of stock last time I ordered. I figured it will come to me eventually . The Strawberry Brandy is a local product and I've been meaning to get over to their distillery to try their Persimmon Brandy. I don't believe they are distributing that one yet so I went with the berries. Finally, three new-to-me amari - 2 from SoCal: The Amaro della Sirene is made by an Italian in Oregon and is flanked by the 2 LA offerings.

That looks really good and more saucy than mine turned out. I subbed some diced pancetta (browned and drained) for the prosciutto. I usually roast Brussels sprouts so it was nice to try something different. Could be a very rich side or stand on its own as a main dish. Had a serving for lunch yesterday: Leftovers were reheated in the CSO and topped with a poached egg for today's breakfast:

A small nit - there's a table of contents but no index of specific ingredients so when looking for a cup to gram conversion for mayonnaise, I found it in the "Various Mix-Ins" section, rather than in the "Fats" section where I was looking. When I first got the book, it did feel like I was flipping pages a lot but now that I'm familiar with the organization, I can find what I need quickly.

Picked up 2 of these pretty pink glass soup/salad bowls at the local Goodwill yesterday for $0.99 each. I think there were 8 of them so I may go back when they open this morning and get a couple more. They are 8.5" diameter at the widest point and every third swirl is frosted (actually a very light molded texture on the reverse.) They are marked Vereco France, a company later purchased by Duralex. I believe Duralex continues to make something very similar, but in other colors, as the Beau Rivage pattern. I don't imagine they are particularly valuable but I think they'll look pretty for salads. I already had the pink plate. Also picked up 2 of these cute oval plates and 2 Old Fashioned-sized glasses, also $0.99 each:

I couldn't find a mention of the Baker's Appendix so I thought I'd give this little book, which has earned a spot on my counter, a shout-out. It contains cup/spoon to gram conversions for ingredients, conversions for oven temps, volume charts for baking pans, high altitude adjustments, ingredient substitutions. All the info you'd find in the appendices of various cookbooks, combined into one small volume. All of that info is readily available online but there are times when I find it easier to check the book rather than fiddle with my phone or go to the computer. I used to keep some printouts around but this is tidier. It also includes a few basic baking recipes. That's not what drew me to the book, but I can see it being handy to use for things like browned butter, crumb topping, glazes and frostings. I think it would make a great little gift, maybe combined with a few utensils, for a new cook or baker. It's available as an ebook, although to me, the value is to have the info handy WITHOUT needing to refer to a device.

I picked up some nice broccoli from the farmers market this afternoon specifically for this Charred Broccoli with Tonnato, Pecorino, Lemon and Chiles from Six Seasons p 183. Great combination of flavors. I broiled the broccoli in the CSO and it was OK but next time, I think I should use the big oven for more char. I also compared the tonnato recipe from the book, p 45 with one I made recently from a Lady & Pups blog post, based on a Gabrielle Hamilton recipe and tasted them side by side with the broccoli (and Triscuits ) The tonnato from Six Seasons is both delicious and a little quicker (a few less ingredients to measure) but I like the depth of flavor that that those ingredients (Dijon mustard, shallot, anchovy, white & black pepper, fish sauce and a pinch of brown sugar) add to the mix so I'll take the time to make that one.

I've been eyeing the carrot recipes in the book and trying to decide which carrots to use. Here's the selection from one of the vendors at my local farmers market last week: round, yellow & purple in the top row and the ever popular orange down below: Sorry. But you'll be having great stuff later in the year. And I will never get ramps.

I'll look forward to that. Down here in So Cal, we're getting into spring. Broccoli, Cauliflower & relatives are at their peak - they're featured in the mid summer chapter of the book but they will be long gone around here if I wait that long! A variation on the Crispy Sugar Snap Peas with Tonnato & Lemon from Six Seasons p 124. The recipe calls for deep frying the sugar snaps in a light batter. I'm sure they would be delicious but I'm not particularly good at deep frying (I was also a little afraid of them filling up with hot oil) and so I gave these a quick steam/stir fry to give them some color but maintain their crispness, squeezed the lemon juice over them right in the pan and served with the tonnato sauce. Yum!

I'm going out to lunch today so I decided to have just a small bite of breakfast: A slice (OK, there may have been two slices involved ) of the little baby Panettone I received for Christmas, toasted and buttered, plus a mug of black coffee.

Thanks! It used to be available down here in So Cal but no longer. I was told that it was due to a family dispute but I didn't know if that was just the long distance distribution or if it was still available locally. I'll look forward to your wok adventures! And back on topic, I posted my lunch over in the Six Seasons thread. Radishes with Tonnato, Slivered Almonds (subbed in for the recipe's sunflower seeds) and Lemon:

Looks wonderful - I need Dim Sum! I am hoarding my last jar of Yank Sing Chili Pepper Sauce as I haven't been able to find it locally. Did you see it being sold at the restaurant?

I am not the biggest radish lover but I just happily lunched on a big ol' bowl of radishes in the form of the Radishes with Tonnato, Sunflower Seeds and Lemon from Six Seasons p 112.I picked up some at last week's farmers market for another recipe and had quite a few orphans that ended up in today's lunch. I made a few minor modifications: subbed slivered almonds for the sunflower seeds and served it all on a bed of greens. The more major mod was using a Tonnato recipe I know and love rather than the one in the book. I'm sure that one is fine but it seemed a little heavy on the tuna and under seasoned. Next time I'll give it a try.

@Anna N, what did you think of that parsnip bread? Was it very parsnippy tasting? Seems like that could be a good thing or not, depending.... @Smokeydoke, looking forward to photos and your thoughts after serving the Brussels sprouts salad. I generally agree with your assessment. I thought the upsides were that it was much lower labor than the Brussels sprouts salads that ask you to separate all the little leaves and Brussels Sprouts salads are handy to have in your back pocket during the winter (or just lazy shopping) months as those sturdy sprouts store so well. Here's repeat of the Pasta alla Gricia with Sugar Snap Peas p 123. Recipe available online here. For the first round (link in the first post), I made this as written in the recipe so the sugar snaps were slivered into the pretty much the same shape as the spaghetti. It was excellent and I wondered if it had much to do with the slivered pods and thin spaghetti having so much surface area to coat with the sauce or if it would work as well with a shorter pasta shape and compatible larger slices of the sugar snaps. I also had some cute pod-shaped capunti pasta so I did the experiment: Yes, indeed, it works very well! So cute the way the little pancetta cubes lined up in the pasta like peas in a pod! This is certainly a winner - comes together in the time it takes to cook the pasta.

I wanted to try the Heston Blumenthal-inspired sous vide scrambled eggs that @Anna N posted about upthread. They are indeed luxurious and delicious. Sharing a plate with the Half-Steamed Turnips with Alla Diavola Butter from Six Seasons.

Half-Steamed Turnips with Alla Diavola Butter from Six Seasons p 370. I used small white Hakurei turnips because that's what was available at the farmers market instead of the late season turnips specified but they worked fine. Probably not as peppery, but the butter makes up for that.Once that Alla Diavola Butter p 33 is made, this comes together very quickly. I loved the flavors here and am looking forward to trying it in other ways.

In another thread, @kayb said: There is indeed some delicious-sounding stuff in that "Go-To Recipes section. I spent some time going through the book and writing the names of the recipes that utilize these items underneath the condiment recipes so I can see where they are used. There are a few orphan condiment recipes (for example, the Artichoke Mayonnaise, Pickled Vegetable Mayonnaise, Lemon Cream and the Classic Salsa Verde). Not sure what's up with that. Maybe I was just careless and missed them. It's mildly annoying that info was not included somewhere in the book or the index and it's generally lacking from the Eat Your Books indexing as well. Below are a few things I've made from the "Go-To Recipes" section so far. The first thing I made was Frico p 31 (link in the first post). As I mentioned there, I'm not sure I needed a recipe for 1-ingredient snacks but they are very tasty. Next, was the Brined & Roasted Almonds p 30 Whole, raw almonds get a 30 min bath in salty water before being toasted. They are rather addictive. They are salty but there's no loose salt crystals sticking to the nuts so they make quite a pleasant nibble. So much so that I ate them all up without taking a photo. Next time. The Dry Breadcrumbs p 30 get used in 15 subsequent recipes, one of the most commonly used Go-To Recipes. They're just dry, unseasoned bread crumbs. I followed the author's suggestion to use a whole grain loaf. The bread cubes get dried thoroughly @ 250°F and are then to be ground in a food processor to a Grape-Nuts-like consistency. With this sturdy whole grain loaf, they seemed to go from large chunk to powder without making much in the way of intermediate-sized particles so I put them into a heavy weight bag and bashed them with a rolling pin. I think I will return to my more usual method of making the crumbs from dry bread and then toasting the crumbs to dry them out. Either that or I'll just use Grape-Nuts cereal instead ! The crumbs do look like Grape-Nuts, don't they? Next up is the Pistachio Butter p 37 that gets used in the recipe for Beet Slaw with Pistachios and Raisins that I made the other day. This came together nicely using the Blendtec Mini blend jar. Ingredients are just toasted pistachios, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and a bit of water to loosen things. This stuff absolutely makes that beet salad. Not sure what else I will do with it. Maybe a dressing for some spicy noodles or something like that? Next up are ingredients for 2 of the compound butters, Cacio e Pepe Butter p 34: And Alla Diavola Butter p 33: And the finished products: The Cacio e Pepe Butter uses black pepper that's been toasted to bring out the flavor and then coarsely ground, plus Parm & Romano cheeses. It was delicious in the Pasta alla Gricia with Slivered Sugar Snap Peas that I made last night. I'll be happy to have this in the freezer so I can cut off a chunk to use on potatoes, steak or pasta. I only tasted the Alla Diavola Butter but haven't used it in any of the recipes. Seems pleasantly spicy.

Mai Tai French toast could be interesting!

Host's note: this cookbook can be found at Amazon: Six Season: A New Way with Vegetables A few of us have posted dishes from Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables and I'd very much like to cook from it a good bit more so I thought I'd give it a "Cooking with" thread in hopes of encouraging myself and hopefully attracting some cooking companions to the book. This is not a vegan cookbook, there's lots of cheese and butter and for a vegetable-centric cookbook, it includes quite a few recipes that contain meat. The author seems to love scallions as they appear almost everywhere and he may not care for cilantro as it makes an appearance in relatively few recipes. The book starts with a section of "Go-To Recipes" for compound butters, dressings and sauces, pickles, etc. I'd especially love to hear how people are using these condiments, even if they're being used in other applications. The full list of recipes can be viewed on Eat Your Books here. I'll start this off with links to existing posts using the book (this is what I could find easily, feel free to add anything I missed): @Anna N kicked things off back in May: Smashed Broccoli & Potatoes, Celery Salad with Dates, Almonds & Parmigiano Cream of Celery Soup Broccoli Rabe, Mozzarella, Anchovy & Spicy Tomato Fried Potato & Cheese Pancake Raw Brussels Sprouts with Lemon, Anchovy, Walnuts & Pecorino @koen posted about the Israeli-Spiced Tomatoes, Yogurt Sauce & Chickpeas @liamsaunt made the Rigatoni with Broccoli, Sausage and Whipped Ricotta and the Corn, Tomato, Scallion and Torn Crouton Salad Summer Squash Pickles Pasta with Eggplant alla Norma I started in with the book this year and so far, I've made: Frico - did I need a recipe for this? Apparently so, as I'd never made it before Raw Brussels Sprouts with Lemon, Anchovy, Walnuts & Pecorino Turnip Salad with Yogurt, Herbs & Poppy Seeds Beet Slaw with Pistachios and Raisins Pasta alla Gricia with Slivered Sugar Snap Peas Leeks with Anchovy and Soft Boiled Eggs Please join in!

@Shelby made them here

Leeks with Anchovy and Soft Boiled Eggs from Six Seasons. p 108. I started the leeks in the CSO on steam-bake @ the recipe temp of 425°F and they cooked more quickly than I expected (maybe they are smallish...) so I had to drop the temp so they could cook through without getting too black on top. That bit of crispy char on the outside turned out to be a nice contrast to the softer center of the leeks and that lemon & anchovy dressing brings brightness and depth at the same time - really delicious! After I took the photo, I realized I forgot to add the dry bread crumbs. They added a nice crunch but since I served this with crispy toast on the side, it wasn't absolutely necessary.

Pasta alla Gricia with Slivered Sugar Snap Peas from Six Seasons. Recipe available online here. A bit of a nuisance to sliver the sugar snaps but they're just right with the spaghetti - both perfectly al dente!

This is the Beet Slaw with Pistachios and Raisins from Six Seasons and it's absolutely delicious! The recipe is available online at this link. The beet slaw gets dressed, then served atop a layer of pistachio butter - one of the book's pantry recipes. If you try this, DO NOT skip the raisins!!! Even if you are not a raisin lover, you should give them a try. Once they get that hour long garlic/vinegar bath, they add the perfect note to this salad.

Excellent point. I should have thought of that! Ditto on the smartphone as they can do many of the same things. I've been such a voice-recognition-phobe that I haven't explored that option.

Interesting. Alexa and I haven't come to swear words yet. Then again, my expectations are low - I'm the one always screaming, "SPEAK TO AN AGENT" into every automated phone system