lesliec

I agree with Rotuts that moderation is important. I haven't seen Liquid Smoke (brand) here, but I have a local equivalent that's really powerful (it actually works pretty well - in tiny amounts - sprayed onto a particular cocktail we do sometimes which should have real smoke). My main question about when to apply it for a SV application is whether it would 'wash off' in the bag if applied before cooking. But maybe that would be a good thing in terms of minimising the amount lingering in the food. Another question is how Liquid Smoke is packaged. Is it a normal bottle or does it have a spray attachment? If the latter, a small squirt just before serving would be my suggestion.

I can see that would be a problem.

They seem keen on their Mezcal as well. I could fancy a Fer de Lance, I think. Might have to get the Lear out again ... you free tonight?

That should work, as I suspect it would with 'normal' gin as well. Incidentally, or not, I made some genever on purpose last weekend, using some rye vodka from a previous experiment. Signs are it's turned out well - it certainly smalls delicious - but I'll give it a few weeks to settle down before passing final judgement. It's going to be rare; I have only 2.3 litres at 80%. No, I won't be drinking it at that strength! I think you may have that backwards. But yes, work on it.

You're saying bigger pancakes are a bad thing? Surely not! Glad it worked, though.

Am I the only one still drinking? Scary thought ... Last night, the Yacht Club - Genever, maraschino, dry vermouth, absinthe, lemon twist. I've had some of my own gin (which accidentally turned out closer to a Genever) at navy strength in a small oak barrel since February and it's coming along very nicely. It's picked up quite a bit of colour from the wood and has smoothed out really well, so it went into this. A nicely-balanced drink; the gin certainly makes its presence known but the whole thing works very well. Another one for the Top 10!

If I understood Jo's method, side 1 was all batter and side 2 was probably mostly blueberry (in contact with the cooking surface). A second squirt from the siphon after putting the blueberries on might be a worthwhile experiment.

Sometimes - often? - simple is really good. Such as last night: There's a new butcher at the Wellington City Market on Sundays. In keeping with the ethos of the market, Michael's meat is superb quality and he can tell you which farm it came from. I missed his first market appearance last week, when he rapidly sold out of his 'no filler' sausages; this week he had some fantastic-looking pork, lamb and beef - all free-range, grass-fed, everything you might want. I didn't take a photo of his market stall, but the Hereford Scotch fillet looked so good it persuaded me we had to have some for dinner. Michael cut two nice pieces to the thickness I wanted. Nothing special in the cooking, just a bit of oil, salt, pepper and dried marjoram sprinkled on the steaks beforehand and a good hot pan. These may have been the best steaks I've ever done! Seriously tasty, tender, juicy. Because of the late decision about what dinner was going to be I didn't have time for a full triple-cooked chips process, but I managed a pre-boil and a few hours' drying in the fridge before the final deep fry. Still pretty good. The beans were blanched in boiling water then tossed with butter and fresh garlic.

It occurs to me you could include a QR code - one of these things: linked to your daily/weekly specials. This may be a little more tech than you're up for, but would give smartphone-owning customers the ability to see what's good before they come to you. I'm not sure exactly how these things work. Have you got a tame geek you could talk to?

It's a fantastic place. We went when we were in London three years ago, but Wifey wasn't feeling 100% so we didn't spend as long as I'd have liked. But I think it's fair to say any market with the sorts of things Borough sells is likely to seem 'overpriced'. Thanks for the photos, Nicolai.

Not wishing to discourage you from giving chocolate to people, Kerry, but you get much the same result by rolling a teatowel in a tight circle round the bottom of your bowl!

Hi Sophie. Welcome to eGullet. ​You've come to the right place - nobody dissects cooking techniques like we do! Tell us more about yourself - your preferred food styles, cooking methods, that sort of thing. I've had a quick look at your site and it looks great. The chocolate hazelnut milk is calling me ... you might want to think about putting a link to the site in your post signature (click your username in the top right-hand corner of any eG screen, select 'My Profile' then 'Edit my profile' and 'Signature'). Anyway, have fun here. I see you've already started a topic on Parisian patisseries that's bound to get some good responses. If there's anything you're unsure of just ask. Regards, Leslie

Back to the topic, people - it's seeds, not leaves! Anyway, I fear I've been very slack in reporting my further experiments with the seeds from our big tree. See the Infusions and Tinctures topic for a full report, but briefly: the seeds make a really nice digestif at 'only' around 25% alcohol. I have another (double) batch just about ready to bottle.

I can't help you with suppliers, Rob, but try to find Montserrat tomatoes. We discovered them in Spain and rapidly became addicted. Huge, ugly things (similar to the one Heidi posted but more evenly coloured and even wrinklier), and the tastiest tom you're likely to find. They like a bit of heat, but we've still had fairly good results in temperate Wellington.

Hi Tracie. Welcome to eG. Lots of brains here to pick, so dive in. At the same time, we'd like to hear more about what you do. Our members have their share of dietary restrictions; it sounds like you'll have some tips we can use as well. We're a pretty friendly bunch, even if some of us like to argue . Hop into the forums and get posting - see you out there. Regards, Leslie (I always thought an oxymoron was a particularly stupid cow ...)

That's a nice article, Takadi. Thanks. My magic spot for short ribs is 60.5°C/140°F. I thought I was happy with 48 hours at that temperature, until I tried leaving them an extra day for a total of 72. Amazing! But now I see I'm going to have to go through the ChefSteps options in detail to try the other textural possibilities. FeChef, I'm sorry your experiences haven't lived up to the hype. Here, short ribs haven't been 'discovered' yet so are still pretty cheap. Here's a thing, though; you talk about boneless ribs, but my experience, and I think that of the Chefsteps people, is bone-in. I'm not sure how that might affect the results to the degree you describe, but maybe track down some more ribs complete with bone and give them another try. It really is worth it when they come out as they should.

We found a small bottle of some mysterious liquid in the fridge yesterday. Scientific analysis (ie sniffing it) suggested it was either cinnamon syrup or Donn's Mix, so something to use it up seemed a good idea. The 1934 Zombie - good writeup and recipe here. I used the last 30ml or so from a bottle of Gosling Black Seal, some Cruzan Blackstrap, Appleton 12, W&N, home-made falernum, local lime cordial, absinthe, grenadine, Angostura bitters and whatever was in the bottle from the fridge. Very fine stuff, particularly served in a couple of our tiki mugs, and probably a lot stronger than it tasted but no adverse effects. Sorry, no photos this time.

Back in history, I walked some of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain (until one of my knees decided it had had enough). A regular morning snack was a bocadillo - essentially a baguette with various fillings. One particular favourite was bocadillo con tortilla, with Spanish omelette, not the thin Mexican pancake. And on the side, either a glass of red wine or some cider. On Saturday I spotted some bottles of Basque cider at my favourite food/booze shop, and the memories came flooding back. So, armed with a bottle, a baguette and some local chorizo, I headed home and created lunch: Very tasty. And filling. Incidentally, a couple of TV programs have put me onto a good tip for making a great tortilla. Most recipes will tell you to slice your onions and potatoes, mix them with your eggs and seasonings and put the lot in a frying pan. The variation is to deep-fry the sliced onions and potatoes until they're just starting to go soft, then mix them in with the other ingredients and frying gently. This seems to give a better texture, perhaps a little more taste and more control over the frying process - you don't need to cook in the pan for as long, so there's less risk of burning. And don't be afraid to use plenty of olive oil for the frying.

I may have been misinformed. The Wiki article on cochineal is a good read, and suggests the natural product may be making a comeback with concerns over artificial colourings. Now back to our scheduled program ...

In the case of Campari, I think it's because they're not allowed to use cochineal beetles any more. Same for Aperol?

Two-way communication for lazy people, so I can see what temperature the water is at on my phone without having to get up!

I found mine at a brewing supplies shop. And I found a much larger pot of alum than I'm likely to need at a pharmacist's. The two tricky parts are figuring out what whiskey to base it on, and measuring in drachms. I've had it made with Ardbeg, but I really wouldn't recommend it.

Jerry Thomas's recipe. Go here and scroll down to recipe 188 on page 73 (for some reason searching the book, even for 'Curacoa' as Thomas spells it, is unreliable). If you're in, or visiting, or know somebody from, New Zealand there's a 'commercial' version available from the man who makes Gunpowder Rum.

A few years back, in our very early cocktail days, my son and I came up with a pair of drinks; the Cheech and Chong. I don't remember exactly what we put in the Cheech - the name essentially came from chocolate/peach, so there's a clue that Curaçao and peach schnapps were involved - but the accompanying Chong (chocolate/orange) was half a shot glass of white Curaçao with an equal amount of Grand Marnier gently poured over the top. If done right, you get a subtle gold layer floating on the clear, and it's best drunk in one shot and held in your mouth as long as you can stand it. But would we call it a cocktail?

Call me a wimp, but I just don't have the stamina of another eG member who shall remain nameless (except she liked your post). Anyway, I don't need to play with variations. Mine's perfect.