birder53

My first cocktail book was Craft of the Cocktail. It has fabulous photos of beautifully garnished drinks. Inspiring! While not a book, I also use the cocktail section of Drink Boy quite a bit. When it comes down to picking a version of a drink from all the various recipes out there, we usually find Robert's versions to our liking. Gary's "Joy" is the second most used recipe source at our house.

I just returned from seven days in NM. Chile heaven! We were looking at the possibility of relocating to NM early next year and tried to make the visit less of a vacation and more of a due dilligence trip. Our first meal was lunch with our realtor in ABQ. Cafe Ting on Louisiana Blvd. This was our first experience with Vietnamese food. I tried the Pho since it seems to be a trademark of Vietnamese cooking. It wasn't bad but it wasn't memorable. The flavors weren't outstanding, just good. We also had spring rolls. Maybe we didn't try the right things, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat Vietnamese again. Excellent dinners in ABQ were had at Ambrozia in Old Town, El Patio and Gruet Steak House. Memorable breakfasts were at Casa de Benavidez and Mary & Tito's Cafe. I thought Mary & Tito's had the absolute best red chile. It had a wonderful fire roasted flavor. In Santa Fe good food was found at Cafe Pasqual's, Coyote Cafe and Bobcat Bite. Drinks at the bar on the roof of La Fonda provided an outstanding view of the mountains. We ate at the bar in front of the open kitchen at Coyote Cafe and had a great show and conversation with the cooks. The spiciest food of the trip was at CC! It was a great trip and we hope things work out so we can move there in the coming year!

The choice of gin might have played a part in our reaction to the Alaska. We used Plymouth. Maybe a more junipery gin would be a better choice. The Beefeaters probably balanced the drink better than Plymouth.

Dinner at Onera last night. The sweetbreads were available as an appetizer special. One of our group of eight likes them so much she ordered this as her main course. I had the grilled octopus appetizer which was not exactly what I expected. It was dense and a bit mushy in texture and lacking any grilled flavor. The grilled loin of lamb entree was cooked perfectly. The little bit of tzatziki made it very rich and I couldn't finish my plate! We shared four desserts and all were wonderful. There weren't complaints about any of the food but the whole table raved about the desserts. Service was good and the waiter was very helpful in steering us to a dish when we couldn't make up our minds. Everything recommended was excellent.

We tried this based upon the recipe in Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide. It called for 1/1/2 oz gin 1/2 oz yellow Chartreuse 2 dashes orange bitters Stir with cracked ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass; twist lemon peel over top and serve. The Chartreuse overwhelmed the drink and we put a little note next to the recipe so we wouldn't bother making it again.

That looks like a great place. Their menus are a hoot! I didn't know that Korbel was a brandy. Is that something regional?

Sometimes the calorie information is a big reality check for me. If I'm shopping for entertaining purposes I ignore the calories. If it's something for daily consumption I take it into serious consideration. That's the only way I can ignore the calories when cooking for friends.

A good basic menu supplemented with daily specials works for me. I'm not talking about upscale restaurants here, but not chains either. Innovative specials that capitalize on whatever is fresh and seasonal can be more fun than a total overhaul of the menu. Sometimes it's good to know that the old standbys are available in case the specials aren't what I'm interested in that day.

Ditto!

I have done most of my prep work today so I can assemble and dress this slaw when I get to the party. I have sliced cabbage, carrots and peppers in a large container. Sliced scallions are in a plastic bag and I wanted to do the same with the cilantro. I guess I could just chop the cilantro tomorrow morning and bag it. I won't be able to do more than blend everything together at the party. The kitchen is tiny and I don't want to take up space in her kitchen to do anything but toss everything with the dressing. I guess I can clean it today so all I have to do is chop tomorrow. I didn't want to end up with a black, slimy mess.

Can I chop cilantro today, store it in a plastic bag and add it to a salad tomorrow afternoon? I'm worried that it might get soggy overnight.

It looks icy cold and I actually like the little bits of ice that you get from a well shaken drink. You're using Gary Regan's bitters and Gary always says "There are no rules!". So shake away. I have some dry sherry, nothing very good, so maybe I'll give it a try. Do you think adding a bit more bitters would have helped this drink or is it just overwhelmed by the dry sherry.

The lable says "Vodka Marinara". The ingredients list: tomato puree, cream cheese, vodka, salt, sugar, garlic, onions, citric acid, basil, parsley, oregano and black pepper.

I'll admit to really liking their jarred vodka sauce. I tried their other sauces to see if they were as good and they weren't. I'm glad others like it too or they probably wouldn't carry it anymore. They used to have a frozen cous cous salad with raisins, scallions and some other stuff that we liked, but it's been gone for about two years now. It was great with grilled shrimp. They also discontinued my husband's favorite cereal because it wasn't a big seller. (Barbara's Grain Shop). It was a much better buy there than at any other store we shop at.

Besides geeky scientists, you'll find plenty of geeky birdwatchers at The Owl. It isn't far from Bosque del Apache, a wildlife refuge famous for huge flocks of wintering Sandhill Cranes. We ate at the bar and had the famous chile cheese burgers. Good stuff!

We had a wonderful green chile stew with posole at The Shed back in 2001, our last trip to NM. It was so good that we went back there our last night and drank Margaritas and ate lots of stew for our farewell dinner. Our best meals on that trip were at Pasqual's. Breakfast and lunch there were our favorites.

This will be fun! We haven't attempted this is such a logical manner. We do try to make one new cocktail each week to keep things interesting. Keep up the good work. You are a brave man to take on such a challenge, particularly when you know there will be drinks to be made that you would otherwise never attempt. I'm looking forward to your posts.

Congratulations! I'm looking forward to the show. Can you explain why you can no longer be a judge on Iron Chef? I've seen the show but don't know what the qualifications are for being a judge, or not!

I just happen to have Gary's "The Joy of Mixology" out tonight. His recipe for the Debonair calls for Oban or Springbank single-malt scotch and Original Canton Delicate Ginger liqueur. He states that the drink is based upon a UK drink, the Whisky Mac which calls for scotch and green ginger wine. He likes these two scotches for their "briny characteristics". We don't have any single-malts that fit that category, but the scotch and ginger combo sounds interesting. Maybe tomorrow.

I picked this up a while ago and don't know what to do with it. If I had an idea at the time it was fleeting. Their website has some drink recipes. Stone's Ginger Wine Has anyone used this and can suggest some cocktail ideas?

Thank goodness Pegu is there for those who do "get it." It is not for everyone and it isn't trying to be either. I wouldn't appreciate Sushi Yasuda since while I like sushi, I'm not aware of the finer points that a sushi enthusiast would recognize and truly appreciate. If chefboy24 didn't think Pegu lived up to all the hype, then just leave it at that. I'm in the group that would go there to enjoy the "genius" of that perfectly mixed cocktail. I would definitely look to sit at the bar and enjoy the show! Someday!

I enjoy the Algonquin with Vya dry vermouth and Old Overholt. Gives it a fuller flavor, IMHO. ← Maybe the Martini & Rossi vermouth was the problem. It overwhelmed the taste of the other ingredients.

A trip to West Paterson this morning ended with our first trip to AHD for a great lunch. Two of us polished off a small order of fries, two limeades, and three hot dogs! The Schmiero, the Jersey Breakfast and the Melt (wit wiz). It was pretty hard to decide what to have since everything looked and sounded so good. Since we had never been to Verona before, I guess it's what you would call destination dining. It was all great and we look forward to a return trip with friends who will absolutely love this place. One thing I really liked about the place was how clean it was. With the number of families with small children eating there I was amazed at how spotless the floor and tables were. Keep up the good work!

Tonight was an Algonquin. We've been trying out our newly found ryes. ALGONQUIN 2 oz rye 1 oz dry vermouth 1 oz pineapple juice Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. We used Old Overholt. The drink looked good but didn't really taste like much. We tried adding more pineapple juice, but it didn't help or hurt.

A trip to Brooklyn to attend a bridal shower that I couldn't get out of today turned into a good thing as we finally got to Smith & Vine. Picked up the Rittenhouse Bonded as well as Old Overholt. This was my first taste of rye. I like it. We celebrated by using the Rittenhouse in Audrey's Little Italy. I wasn't sure what to make of the first sip. The flavors really came together after that and just got better and better until it was all gone. Manhattans are next on the list. It will be interesting to see how they compare to the ones we usually drink with Makers Mark.