lesliec
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Posts posted by lesliec
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t's been far too long since I posted the above announcement that I was embarking on a new vermouth experiment, but unfortunately life got in the way - I'm sure many of you have had the same experience from time to time.
Anyway, the various infusions have been sitting on my kitchen bench since the middle of February (I strained the solids out after 24-48 hours, don't worry). I was struck by the variety of shades of colour of the different infusions - the cinchona bark, for example was a a rather delightful deep red/brown.
Finally today I got round to putting the thing together, and I can report the result was ... bloody awful! Highly unpleasantly bitter, even with 200g of caramel added. I can't identify which of the 14 (eventually!) components is dominating, but it's quite nasty. I've put it aside to see if it comes together at all over the next little while, but not holding my breath.
All is not entirely lost - I can put the mess through the still if it's a complete failure and at least get something useful out. My problem was probably overenthusiasm; going with something marginally less ambitious but proven, like the recipe in the very first post in this topic, might have been a better use of time and materials. In the meantime there's always Coccih, Punt et al. But I take comfort in the success of the mole bitters I made recently, and my nocino is nearly to the end of its second 40-day 'rest' period before I can bottle it. It tasted pretty good after the first 40 days, so there's hope.
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4 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:
That's one case where it absolutely pays off to make your own.
Definitely!
Welcome, KK. I'm not convinced about the D&C house orange, but I think their house Peychaud's has a certain something in, say, the May Fair. It may be just an illusion, but I don't know if I'll ever get to New York so it might be the closest to a 'real' D&C cocktail I'll get.
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What Chris said.
I make my own orgeat and falernum - the latter in particular because a commercial one I tried was vile. I'm on the way to making some vermouth, and this week I've done my first batch of mole bitters. Of course I also distil my own spirits, but that might be a step too far for the 99% (approx.) of the world where it's illegal.
The point is, it's kinda fun. And it's very satisfying to use your own stuff, aside from any considerations of knowing exactly what it is you're drinking.
Outvoted, Dan. Get thee back to Kindred!
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Franci, they look wonderful. How did they taste? If the answer is 'great', you probably don't have a problem!
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1/2 oz each of Denizen Merchant's Reserve, Smith & Cross, Cruzan Blackstrap molasses vodka, Novo Fogo aged cachaça, and house falernum, with Angostura bitters and a pinch of nutmeg.
Rafa, make me one of those and send it over. Put it on my tab, OK?
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Dream of self-zesting limes. It's really not that bad, as long as you avoid grated finger syndrome.
I'm convinced it doesn't go off. I keep mine in the fridge for months. And it's most assuredly better than the commercial stuff.
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56 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:
here were seven pounds of fresh white grapefruit sitting by my door. So of course this means a zombie!
That could be taken a couple of ways, Jo. White grapefruit are zombie droppings? If you see them, beware!
I must agree, soberly, with your assessment of Taylor's (or was it Velvet I tasted? No matter). Making one's own is the only way - have a browse; I can recommend both the Kaiser Penguin (both versions) and the Elmegirab.
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@Anna N, that's a beautiful loaf.
@liuzhou, welcome to the happy world of no-kneaders. I'm still using the method some five or six years on (I find to my slight horror). Try this method of shaping I posted - I've refined it by patting the ends of the shaped loaf in a little to make it even tidier, but the general idea is the same.
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Let us not fail to acknowledge the good Doctor Kellogg:
QuoteKellogg invented Corn Flakes breakfast cereal in 1878. He hoped that feeding children this plain cereal every morning would help to combat the urges of "self-abuse".
"John Harvey Kellogg" on @Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harvey_Kellogg?wprov=sfta1
Could it be that this accounts for the fall in popularity of cereals?
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If you can get a bottle of Champagne in New Zealand for under NZD50 you're doing well (or it's been dumped, or something).
The comonn ones (eg Moet) generally start around $60 or 70, and of course the sky's the limit.
I make a French 75 variation (called the Wellington 75, and why not?) with a local product called Joiy. It's a slightly sweet, slightly lemony, slightly fizzy, low-alcohol riesling-based product that its maker (full disclosure: friend of mine) is endeavouring to get into various overseas markets. I think it's available in some outlets in Australia, possibly Hong Kong and Singapore and he's working on the US. If you see it somewhere, give it a try. It's nice on its own as a summer drink, and the Wellington 75 recipe can be had for a modest fee.
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It appears Amer Picon has changed its label:
Left = old one; right = new, just purchased.
It's tempting to say it's a different product, but the new label has 'Amer Picon' in tiny letters. There are differences, though:
- The new bottle is lower alcohol (18 vs. 21%)
- The old is lighter in colour. The new one seems a distinctly darker brown
- I get orange and gentian in both, but I feel the new one is slightly less bitter.
Anybody know anything?
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I fear I'm now too elderly to know exactly what a millenial is, but I'm going to take a stab that it's somebody born this side of 2001 (or 2000, but let's not get into that).
If this theory is true, the cereal-shunners can be no more than 15 (or 16) and should jolly well eat what they're given and be grateful! [Cue dire warnings about starving children in Africa, etc.]
ETA: OK, apparently they're people born before 2000. In which case you can't tell them anything. Carry on.
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Rob, I'd be inclined to try something like the bay seed liqueur I've found very successful.
You'd probably need to dry the acorns and (if they're the size of the acorns I know) roughly chop them into quarters. After that you're on your own!
I'd go for high-stength alcohol if you can get it. The strength of course drops when you sweeten the final product. Instinctively I'd think acorns might be inherently a little sweeter than bay seeds so be cautious with your sugar syrup, but that's a complete guess.
Go forth and experiment, young man.
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Feni's website quotes Eater as saying "It's hard to not get lost in the funky, sour, fruity—think banana meets mango meets durian".
I'm thinking Tiki!
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I'm with those who have suggested tortilla espanola as a reference.
There's a trick I haven't seen in any recipe, but I've seen at least two Spanish grandmothers do it on TV (in José Andres' and Rick Stein's shows, I think), and since I learned it my tortillas have become legendary. It's simple: rather than slicing the potatoes thinly (or shredding, as above) and hoping they'll cook in the same time it takes the egg to harden, deep-fry them first, along with similarly thinly sliced onions. You don't want to get them crunchy, just softened.
The recipe I use is (roughly, depending on the size of your raw materials) six spuds, two onions and six eggs. A mandolin is useful for the slicing, but I can see using a grater or food processor to shred. Pre-cook time for shredded would be significantly shorther than for sliced, I'd imagine.
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A new project is born:
It's time to attempt some proper vermouth.
There are innumerable suggestions for this on the Net (and, shame on me, I haven't even dug into eG yet), with several different techniques advocated, but I'm going with those who suggest making individual infusions of the different botanicals then blend them into one's wine to taste.
So .. from nearest to the camera: cinnamon, nutmeg, hyssop, marshmallow, fresh sage, fresh mint, orris root, wormwood (home-grown, as mentioned in the post before this), elecampane, cardamom, gentian and cinchona. Yes, I hadn't heard of some of them before either! I would have done a few more - bay leaves and rosemary - but I ran out of small jars.
Everything is sitting in 40% vodka, where they'll stay for differing lengths of time depending on when I think they've had enough, then they'll be mixed into a base of wine sweetened with caramelised sugar (I'm going for a sweet vermouth, as that's what I seem to use most of).
Wish me luck!
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On 14/02/2016 at 8:39 PM, lesliec said:
The Duboudreau sounds like something I'd like - that might be tomorrow night's treat. I think somebody should hurry up and add it to Kindred, though ...
Oh look - somebody did.
And not bad, either. I used Rittenhouse 100 (most recipes seem not to specify the rye, but there's at least one out there that says Rittenhouse), and Cocchi di Torino for the vermouth. It was interesting to drink. The first taste was smooth rye, then later a little Fernet, then finishing with a surprisingly strong burst of lemon. I wasn't aware of the St Germain, but it must have formed the background to it all. Very pleasant and I'll do it again, but I might see if I agree with Jamie Boudreau, who thinks it should be orange rather than lemon zest. Or maybe this is one of those cases we talked about here recently where the zest should be squeezed then discarded, not left in the glass.
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Welcome back to Drinks, Chris. I think I speak for all of us regulars in saying you've redeemed yourself.
Glad you iked Diamonds on my Windshield. It is a bit of a cracker.
The Duboudreau sounds like something I'd like - that might be tomorrow night's treat. I think somebody should hurry up and add it to Kindred, though ...
Mine won't have Dubonnet, but there are one or two alternatives in my collection.
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Looks like fun, Chis. Have to try and get over sometime.
I take it we're taling tableside nitro ice cream?
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I feel your pain, Smithy, having also broken a baking stone some time ago (then finding my oven manufacturer no longer sells them).
I looked around for alternatives, but I've now got used to using a baking tray (sheet, in your part of the world). I've been making some of my best-ever bread over the past few months, so I guess I'm not missing it.
Haven't tried pizza recently, though ...
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3 hours ago, paulraphael said:
Believe it or not, there is never a reason to temper egg yolks. It's a vestigial tail of old kitchen thinking. It doesn't offer anything.
I'm stunned, sir!
How do you avoid the 'scrambled egg' effect? Or is there a bit of technique I'm missing (which is very likely, given my level of sophistication as an ice cream maker)?
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The trick, when ordering kangaroo at a restaurant in Oz, is to get the roadkill joke in before the waiter does.
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Smithy, us Antipodeans would probably also call that a prime ri, or perhaps a standing rib (provided it still had the bone in). The sort of thing Konfident Kook is talking about can be seen in the second photo in this post by somebody you may know.
KK, welcome to eGullet. I can't add to much to the good advice above, other than to say that fillet is great fun to unleash technology on, should you be so inclined. It's very rewarding to cook sous vide (say around three hours at 54 Celsius) then blast in hot rice bran oil. The tail Rotuts mentions can be folded back and attached firmly with meat glue (transglutaminase - use the search box at the top of any eG page if you're not familiar with it) or, even better, cut off and top-and-tailed with a second one, also with the assistance of meat glue, to form a nice even-shaped minifillet.
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Very much as FP said - it depends on how much flavour you need from the twist.
I've had some interesting personal experiences in this area lately. The Hawthorn Lounge, a Wellington bar whose praises I cannot sing loudly enough, has a drink on their current menu called the Gin Rummy - gin, white rum, Luxardo apricot and dry vermouth. I don't recall which gin they use in the bar, but their drink is quite a delicate, albeit delicious, concoction. They express and discard the orange zest that finishes the drink specifially because they feel it would be too strong if left in.
I've tried to recreate the recipe at home, using my own gin, which is nothing if not assertively-flavoured (to the point where last time I made this I used Wray & Nephew as the rum. The two beasts got along very well together as it happened, and I'll do it again). In my version, not leaving the orange in would be to miss out on a necessary ingredient.
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Making Homemade Vermouth
in Spirits & Cocktails
Posted
Definitely an option. It worked for my attempt at Cynar.