haresfur

I can't say I'd be tempted to try anything washed in chicken fat but I guess if you are going to do it, ginger and absinthe (?) might go with it as well as anything. I'd be more tempted to add some Pernod to a dish of ginger chicken.

I have a Breville 550, which I gather is less expensive than the models you mention. It's the best blender I've owned so, I don't think you will go wrong unless you really want/need the high end brands.

At MoVida Nextdoor in Melbourne: Rebujito – La Goya Manzanilla, Citrus & Soda Don't know the proportions. A low alcohol fizzy drink that tastes decidedly 'adult' to me.

Maybe if you substitute Cuban rum

Preparing for a trip to the US by drinking up my Russel's Reserve. It seemed a shame to do anything more complicated than an Old Fashioned. Used Regan's orange bitters as a change from my usual Fee's whiskey barrel or Jerry Thomas bitters.

I'm sure they put expiration date on the ingredients but I bet most of the dry powders will last forever. That being said, it may depend on the specific chemical. For example calcium chloride won't degrade but it can absorb water so your weights might go off. Keep them sealed, cool and in the dark is good practice. I plan on using mine until they are used up or I start getting failures.

Yeah, worth going once but not for the taste. I liked the food at Andena if I recall but it isn't a meal I remember much about. My cocktail wasn't that great. I really enjoyed Toro Bravo. Once again the cocktails didn't match the food.

I've never had a problem dining out with my vegetarian friends and relations. And the only time I've had the need to lecture a server on vegetarianism was to explain that bringing out a dish that they said would not contain meat but had ham in it was one thing, but after we sent it back to the kitchen, it was not acceptable to pick (almost all) the meat off the plate and bring it back.

I see the shrink-wrapped stuff that passes for corn on the cob here and shudder. I am so looking forward to decent corn when I'm back in the US in August. Wild blueberries or Saskatoons are super. However, there is nothing more disgusting than a Samoyed that has rolled in bear scat in berry season...

Well, I liked the name "Sexy Beast", but "Wedderburn or Bite" works too. But if you are going to name it after a town just up the road from me, and since I don't have any Smith and Cross, you should know that Inner Circle works well in this.

Sure.

No photo but Imbibe's website just published a Dave Wondrich article on the Singapore Sling. Nice article and recipe. Since it fits in with my recent drinking and I have some limes to use up, I gave it a shot. Unfortunately I was out of soda so used tonic and used a bit more lime to balance. Not bad but not high on my list.

The round-up is up: http://ginhound.blogspot.dk/2013/06/mixology-monday-lxxiv-cherries-round-up.html

I posted a version of this previously but I really like this new version with Benedictine. Even with the extra Benedictine sweetness it's still an adult drink IMO. 1.5 oz tequila - recently I've been using bianco but reposado should work 0.5 oz green walnut liqueur - made by a friend so I assume it is equivalent to nocino 2 tsp Benedictine 7 drops Xocolato (sp?) mole bitters I serve over ice but you could stir and strain. A lemon twist wouldn't hurt.

I sent the link in to Gin Hound because it is late on the 17th my time but you can still probably squeak an entry in if you desire.

I'd have to give this at least an 8.5 for 'wank'.

Ok cherries. Certainly gets me out of a rut since I don't have any kirsch or Heering in the stash. But I do have some cherry liqueur made by a Polish friend of mine who makes some really great sweet sips (his green walnut is excellent). And it has been gathering a bit of dust. But I didn't have much of an idea what to do with it so I pulled the Savoy Cocktail Book of the shelf and started browsing. I got as far as the Fernet Cocktail and thought that cherry might be an interesting sub for the vermouth. I mixed a small one up and thought that the cherry got lost so I added a bit more which was not an improvement. So tonight I mixed it up without the cherry and, yes, it needed something. So back to the original proportions. The verdict? Medicinal. But not in a bad way. Fernet Cocktail variation 1 oz gin (Beefeater) 1/2 oz Fernet 1/2 oz Cherry liqueur I built it over ice with a fat lemon twist.

If your temperature was high enough for pasteurization then you should be fine.

In the interests of internet harmony, I'll just agree that a gooey centre is vital.

Having fun is what it's about. If you like the drink, that's good enough; if you don't like it then blog about that. I'm sure people here cringe at some of my drinks.

eG has not been keeping up very well on participation in Mixology Monday, the online cocktail party. Maybe we can get something going this time, although it will be a challenge for me since I don't tend to do cherries much. June’s Mixology Monday's host is Andrea of the Gin Hound blog. Post your entries here and we will send the link along by the deadline. This month’s theme slated for June 17th is perfect for what is beginning to ripen on the tree in some parts of the world, for it is “Cherries” which Andrea describes rather well in her announcement post. Here’s a brief description: Singapore Gin Sling, Blood and Sand, and the Aviation wouldn’t be the same without them… But cherries in cocktails are also horribly abused, few things taste worse than artificial cherry aroma, and the description of how most maraschino cherries are made can make you sick to your stomach. So it’s my pleasure as the host of Mixology Monday… to challenge you to honor the humble cherry. However you choose to do that, is entirely up to you. You could use Maraschino Liqueur, Cherry Heering, Kirchwasser, Belgian Kriek Beer, cherry wine, or any spectacular infusions invented by you in a cocktail. Or make your own maraschino cherries for a spectacular garnish. So whether you want to go fresh via the supermarket, farmer’s market, or your own orchard for a muddled, syrup, or infusion approach, or go with something off of a liquor shelf, it’s time to start looking around for inspiration! Even canned, dried, or frozen cherries will work here as well — plenty of ways to play with this theme! Briefly, here’s how to participate: Find a drink recipe or create one featuring one or more cherry-based ingredients in some form. Make the drink and post a photo, the recipe, and your tasting notes and commentary to your blog, website, or Tumblr. If you lack one of those, use eGullet’s Spirits and Cocktails forum. Include in your post the MxMo logo and a link back to both the Mixology Monday and Gin Hound sites. Once the roundup post is put up, updating your post to include a link to that one as well would be appreciated. Let Andrea know about your post before 11:59pm on Monday, June 17th by posting a link to your post in the comment section on her announcement post, by shooting her an email at andreadoria56 (at) gmail (dot) com, or by tweeting her at @Husejer.This gives you two weeks to scope out which neighbors’ cherry tree limbs cross property lines into public access space (yes, I support gleaning) or dust off that bottle of Cherry Heering that hasn’t been used since you made that Remember the Maine last fall. And muddling fresh or preserved Marasca cherries has been a great way to integrate flavors rather quickly. With all these options, I’m excited to see what will pour out of your collective Boston shakers!

Let us know how it turns out. Cheers!

Great idea on the twine. I'll use that when I pressure cook chicken for soup or chili. I don't have a SV big enough for a whole chicken. Do you think pressure cooking or SV off the bone would work ok?

Pressure cooker cauliflower leek soup, very loosely based on the MCAH vichyssoise. Rather than SV leek juice, I do them in the PC at the same time as the cauliflower (I've tried potato but I liked the cauliflower better). Quarter the leeks lengthwise and trim to fit in the bottom of the PC and cover with water. Put coarse pieces of cauli on a steamer tray above the leeks. Cook 12 minutes on high pressure and crash-cool. Put the cauliflower in a blender. Fish the leek out of water and mash through a strainer, catching the liquid. Discard the solids. Add the leek juice to the cauliflower, salt & white pepper to taste and puree. Add the rest of the water as needed to thin to where you like it. Serve, garnished with parsley and freshly grated nutmeg. A lot easier than mucking around with the sous vide.

I realised that the Miquelon punch I just posted in the drinks topic was well on its way to being a Sazerac. So I decided to try a Saz, first muddling lemon peel with sugar to jack up the oils a little. Muddle a decent size piece of lemon peel with 1/2 tsp fine sugar 4 dashes Peychaud's and 1/2 tsp water and muddle some more 3/4 oz Rittenhouse 100 1 1/4 oz VSOP congnac stir with ice and strain into iced glasses rinsed with absinthe. I found the rye really walked over the cognac, even though I cut it down to less than half. Perhaps I had too much absinthe but I much preferred the cognac only, no bitters, no absinthe version.