Shamanjoe

Wouldn't "rich" simple just be a 2:1 instead of a 1:1 syrup? I can't think of how you'd make honey syrup either, wouldn't it just end up being another batch of simple with a little honey flavour added?

You bartend your own baby shower because you don't trust anybody else to get it right..

A couple pictures when I get home. I have to punch bowl sets (the bowl, glasses and ladle) that I inherited from my grandmother that I'd love to know more about. They are fairly small bowls, which makes me think that they are more recent (when punch became a more intimate and less social experience).

That cornbread looks so good. I'm, going to have to go home and make a batch right now.

Add another one for me, Real Cajun Cooking. I can't remember the author right now (the book is at home, and i'm not) but it was beautifully photographed and the recipes looks delicious just as a list of ingredients.

I used to love milk, but for some reason I couldn't palate it for a long time. Only recently I've started drinking it again, but only in limited quantities, and usually with a baked good or over cereal.

I want to try that too. I've roasted many veggies, usually with some olive oil, salt and pepper, but not many fruits, and never tomatoes..

I know drinks get watered down some when shaking and as the ice melts, but it has always seemed counter-intuitive to me to add water to a drink, especially hot water (as I'm not a hot drink type of person generally). I guess the thing that most confuses me is a hot buttered rum. Hot water and and pat of butter added to rum? I've never gotten up the nerve to try it, is it really that good? Although, Toby, your drink does sound pretty tempting..

Is there a difference between unrefined sugar and white sugar with molasses added back in? I heard from Alton Brown that most brown sugars these days are just refined white sugar with molasses added back to it.

I'd definitely say hit up Trader Vic's. 800 W. Olympic Los Angeles, CA 90015 A Mai Tai is a must, but try the other drinks too!

Dan, those cookies sound amazing. I think they're definitely something I want to try as part of my eating well. I don't make NEARLY enough cookies. Feel free to post both of the recipes here. Please

Maybe one of those sweet dry salt-cured herrings? It would sure turn some heads

I have two go to drinks whenever I screw up royally. If I have the pineapple juice, I make my version of an Alabama Slammer: 3/4oz Southern Comfort 3/4oz Vodka 3/4oz Amaretto Splash Sloe Gin Add ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice, then fill with pineapple juice. Shake the hell out of it, then strain into a pint glass filled with fresh ice. Give it a minute to let the foam set if you have the patience. If I don't have any pineapple juice, then the old standard is my Tom Collins (not the original recipe, I'll admit, but the first one I learned to make): 1oz gin (2oz if using Plymouth) 2oz sweet and sour (I like Dr. Swamee and Bone Daddy's for this, about the only time I use a bottled sweet and sour) Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass filled with ice and top with club soda. For either of those, I have the recipe in my head and the actions down as muscle memory, so no thinking is involved at all, and they never fail to cheer me up.

Back when I got a bottle, it was because it came with a nice champagne flute or something like that, and I had no idea that grenadine was made from pomegranates. At that point all I knew about grenadine was that it was bright red, came in a bottle like Rose's lime, and was popular in Smirnoff Ice's with all the barely legal college girls. I have to say though, I used to pour a good portion of the Pama in the flute and top it with presecco. It was nice and light, perfect for sipping during dessert.

That just looks sexy. Is it a salt or sugar rim? I'm leaning towards sugar, but salt might be interesting too, depending on how tart the lingonberry juice is.

Tammy, I love the double shake there, very impressive. I usually use a boston shaker, so the double would be hard for me What's that short squat bottle next to the can of pineapple juice? It looks like Pyrat to me..

The rice cooker is a great idea. You can make hard-cooked eggs in it, add a whole mess of different things to the rice while it cooks to make a one-pot dish, steam things, etc. etc. Even in my full kitchen, I find myself using it for a lot of things.

First of all, welcome mig! Glad to have you here. The two things I want to try this year are truffles and foi gras. Nobody around me has ever tried either, and most of my friends/family doesn't want to try them But they are definitely on my list for this year. I WILL get around to it, I will, I will..

My my my, how could I forget celeriac and chinese celery. For some reason I was thinking celeriac was a different species. Chinese celery is apparently closer to actual wild celery in both appearance and taste. I love celery though, so I'd love to be able to get more kinds, I definitely think heirloom celeries would do well with the foodie crowd. Maybe we can start an heirloom celery movement

Despite my talk, my new year hasn't started off as well as I wanted. I've been redoing the kitchen and currently do not have a stove. So a lot of things that I wanted to do, I haven't been able to. But a new stove is coming next week, so many good things will be coming out of the kitchen soon!

As far as I've ever seen, there's only one commercial variety. I haven't seen any "heirloom" varieties like they have with tomatoes, pumpkins, etc. The only criteria I have when picking celery is that it must look nice and hydrated, and bruises are to a minimum. A few more leaves on the top are desirable because you can judge the freshness, the leaves wilt a lot faster than the stalks, and they're good flavourings in pasta dishes, like parsley but better.

I'll have to try that. I've had a bottle of club soda in the fridge for a while now, to make the occasional Tom Collins, etc. But I've been thinking about pouring a glass and adding a few drops of orange bitters to make a light soda. I'll do the NY mix and give it a try..

I had this very problem when I first started getting into cocktails. The wisdom I read at the time was to pick up all the bottles you would need to make a favourite drink, and then start seeing what else you could make with the bottles in that set. Since I didn't have a favourite drink at the time, and I was still young enough to remember when I thought Smirnoff Green Apple Twist was a good thing to keep in the freezer, that didn't help me much. I finally ended up going out and buying the following bottles though: Appleton Estate Gold Rum Gosling's Black Seal Rum Bombay Sapphire Gin Herradura Añejo Tequila Southern Comfort (for the all important Alabama Slammer) Cheap Vodka (run through a Brita filter and then used for infusions) Gentleman Jack Campari Bailey's Irish Cream Kahlua Coffee Liqueur I edited this list down, because I went to BevMo! and bought a case full of bottles, but these were the 10 that I ended up using the most to start out with. Of course, now my liquor cabinet fills the hall closet and half of my bedroom closet, but these were the humble beginnings.

What's this NY Mix? do you take them out of the bottle, mix them and put them back in, or just add equal dashes when making a cocktail that calls for orange bitters? I have both, but I'm sad to say that I haven't even cracked them open yet.

I love the Ove Glove, I have a pair that I use to lift the grill grate off the barbecue to add more charcoal, and I even pick up the hot coals and rearrange them sometimes. They're fantastic.