haresfur

So am I out to lunch / was I out of line? I ordered linguine marinara in a nice brew pub that shall remain nameless except to note it is in a small agricultural city and is owned by a well known food personality. The waitress made a nice show of bringing a bowl for the shells and a finger-bowl. The dish came with a pile of mussel shells on top - all of which were empty. Ok, one had an under-size mussel in it, which fell out when I picked it up. So I asked the waitress what gives? She checked with the kitchen and came back to explain that the mussels were cooked in with the rest of the dish and fell out when the shells opened. I thought ??? and suggested that it was a bit silly to pile up the empty shells for me to deal with. And besides I couldn't really see any obvious mussels in the dish. (ok as I ate my way down, I found a few of the small mussels hiding). The head waiter came by and gave the same explanation. I said, "Thanks, no worries". But really? Mussel shells about 5 cm long with 2 cm long mussels that don't stay in their shells because they don't seem to have, well muscles, are outside my experience. Then the cook fishes the shells out of the dish and perches them nicely on top as garnish. Am I missing something? On the plus side, they brought out some more mussels and comped me a pot of beer. And the linguine were cooked absolutely perfectly.

Yes caribou are the same species. I still remember eating delicious reindeer in Sweden when I was a 7 year old. The only time I've eaten 'bou it wasn't so great due to the preparation. It was poached (;-) then fried on a camp stove to ultra-well done. I had nothing to do with it except the eating. I didn't realize there are no wild caribou/reindeer in Sweden although I knew they were raised domestically. Too bad, the sight of a herd moving across the tundra is amazing.

A good time to revisit one of the best Daily Gullet posts (remember them?) ever.

I have this character flaw that when I feel stressed, the last thing I want is a drink. I'll try to do better.

Housemates of mine at Uni had a tradition that the person who got a bay leaf on their plate had to kiss the cook.

The Roundup

One of my father's go-to breakfasts was fried spaghetti. Fry up left over spaghetti until it is starting to get a bit crispy and scramble eggs into it. I often embellish with spices, spring onions, garlic, or what ever else is left over.

My sleazy-easy baby bok choy recipe is to cut them in half lengthwise and place them cut side up in a steamer with hoisin sauce over them. Steam until done. (ducks for cover...)

Haven't tried them but seems to me it would make sense to do it like nocino without sugar, adding other bittering and flavour agents as desired.

I really like the way quinoa turns out in my fuzzy logic rice cooker - fluffy and not soggy.

Modesty doesn't really enter into it here where drinkable cocktails are often $20. Perhaps a useful concept for you is the Japanese 'wabi'. I'm not really a fan of the WikiPedia article since it seems to miss the modest/unassuming/folk-art aspect that I associate with the origins of the idea. I guess I'll have to go back and look at Yanagi's The Unknown Craftsman. I like the term 'honesty' - as in fit for purpose. A $20 cocktail can be honest if it flows from the ambiance of the location while it would be out of place in your joint. Of course it can also be dishonest if it is just a way to sell an expensive drink rather than a way to use special ingredients or PITA preparation to elevate the experience. Even in the absence of inexpensive but obscure ingredients here, I like the idea of trying to bring out the best in whatever is at hand. So far there I have only found a couple of things that weren't worth the effort (and one of them I still have some hope for). ETA: I like a bit of cheese with scallops

I agree that blind tasting is useful but IMO there is quite a difference between 'tasting' a spirit in with a bunch of others and sitting down to enjoy a glass of it. Sometimes something that seemed good in a tasting has disappointed later. But something that is crap in a tasting will usually also disappoint later, although it might mix well.

I'm with Heidi, but don't have much to add except a story. A hippie/gardener I knew a long time ago sold veg at the local farmers market. He didn't even have a table or chair, just put the food out on a blanket and sat on a box with a serene smile. One autumn day, he picked all the little eggplants that weren't going to get big enough and figured he might get something for them. His description of his surprise at the jostling among the Chinese community for these delicacies was priceless.

Well, you might as well just f it all and use Stones ginger wine.

You go to London to drink American style beer? I wonder which hop varieties in the Yakima. My first batch of homebrew was made with road-kill hops that fell of the harvest trucks in the Yakima valley. You should make a trip there for the beer and wine, afterall Yakima bills itself as the Palm Springs of Washington.

Never done the cutting off the end thing but have had success cooking corn in the husk in a hotel microwave and the silk comes off very easily. So I guess it depends on if you prefer the somewhat easier shucking or prefer to have the stalk as a handle. That being said, I don't bother with corn on the cob in Australia. People here just don't understand what fresh corn is.

Armagnac and bourbon makes a smooth saz.

edit: I used anejo tequila, sorry.

Nice topic although not seasonal in this hemisphere. Still, one of the odd things about our Mediterranean climate is that my raspberries started to produce in early winter. The frost has curtailed that but I managed to get about a cup of late berries so I had something to start with. Fizzy Raspberry Rosemary Smash (for 2) Place raspberries and 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves* in cream siphon with 4 oz reposado tequila and charge with 1 CO2 cartridge Shake and leave in fridge for 2 hours or so. Discharge siphon and shake with 2 teaspoons syrup and ice. Pour over crushed ice Garnish with rosemary sprigs * All measures approximate because, well, I'm winging it anyway. Very pretty, quite refreshing. Pro tip: shakers don't seal worth a darn when the contents are degassing carbon dioxide. Thanks for hosting, Stacy! ETA: a tiny touch of lime might go well.

One of the advantages of living not-quite Back of Beyond. I could still up old WT 101 rye and also grabbed a bottle of 1800 Anejo Tequila. I'm not super impressed with the tequila although really like their reposado.

Whisky in a glass. (actually I prefer a hand-thrown ceramic sake cup)

Maybe he was suffering from low blood sugar. Always try to be nicer than the other person.

What rye did you end up going with? Well, now you know anyway.

Maybe you need to come up with some manly Tiki garnish. Like a chicken-bone swizzle stick stuck through a slice of durian.

Never mind him, did his date like her applejack sour?