ChrisTaylor

Rogue's Juniper Pale Ale. Of the 2-3 Rogue beers I've tried, I haven't liked any. Until now. This one I like a lot.

One that I do like a fair bit more than the Morimoto: Hix Beer's Pale Ale. A local, mildly hoppy brew.

Morimoto Soba Ale. I'm not sure if I like this.

Tonic water on the rocks. I'm trying a new-ish tonic water: Cascade. It's a bit expensive, but not as stupidly expensive as Fever Tree. It's also more readily available. I guess this is mostly a PSA for haresfur and, perhaps, our southern brothers in New Zealand (maybe Cascade products are available there). Not at all sweet. Rather bitter. Better than the supermarket brands, Capi and Schweppes (and I'm not outright offended by any of them--I rather like the Schweppes stuff straight, for instance). EDIT It works nicely with some West Winds Cutlass.

Indeed. I wouldn't lend this person something else.

Does the crack go all the way through? I reckon it'll be fine--I mean, 'low heat' on a griddle is still bloody hot in terms of killing nasty things deader than black plastic--wouldn't be racing out to replace it, at least not until it started to spread.

Time for a classic. My very favourite classic. Old Fashioned w/ Wild Turkey 101 rye and Fee's whiskey barrel aged bitters.

Tooling around with the chilli-infused simple syrup I used in Edward Lee's jalapeno mint julep. It's weather enough for a Collins, I guess. So here we are with a jalapeno-infused Tom using West Winds Cutlass and, oh, because the simple is pretty mild, a few drops of Habanero Shrub.

The jalapeno julep from Edward Lee's new-ish cookbook, Smoke & Pickles. A half dozen mint leaves muddled w/ 1 oz jalapeno-infused simple (add a couple of chopped jalapenos to a cup each of sugar and water, bring to boil, set aside for 20 minutes) and 2.5 oz bourbon. Crushed ice. Topped up with a bit of soda water.

End of the Road: eq. parts Laphroaig, Chartruese and Campari.

Thanks for clearing that up. I normally drop them into the pressure cooker whole. I've never gone digging around inside.

It is, yes.

I love, love, love coq au vin but rarely make it because, mostly, when I make it I make it with actual rooster. Rooster is a little expensive. It also requires a trip. Anyway. I can get 'boiler chickens' locally. Boiler chickens are cheap, cheap, cheap. Normal times, I use them to make stock. I suspect they might make a workable substitute for rooster. I mean, at least, a better, closer sub than some fine dining place's use of poussin. And a more accurate sub, even, than a regular roasting/frying bird. The boiler's leanness seems much like the rooster's leanness. I think the regular roasting/frying bird is too tender for a classic braise. The tough, lean meat of a boiler might just be what it needs. Am I entering dangerous territory here? Is this a terrible idea? For science and all, I guess I'm prepared to make a sacrifice and give it a go but ... anyone done this before?

I saw that recipe today. I'm considering trying it tomorrow, altho' it's not too different to how I normally make a Parma.

Time for some microwave popcorn! On topic, tho', I'm reminded of something Anthony Bourdain said in one of his books: he mightn't agree with Donald Rumsfeld's politics, but if Rumsfeld made a nice sandwich Bourdain would eat it.

Have you ever made a rye beer?

Kooinda American Pale Ale. Seems to be a style that a lot of microbreweries in Australia and New Zealand successfully pull off. Makes me wonder if it's an ideal launching off point for home brew, seeing as everyone's doing one now and often doing them well.

As well as grabbing some savory and Viet mint I stumbled across something I'm hoping to have a whole lot of fun with. A wide selection of chilli plants. Normal times, you'll find jalapeno, habanero, cayenne, bird's eye and maybe two or three generic 'red chilli' or 'hot chilli' or 'sweet chilli' types. Names that mean little. I didn't get everything but I did get my hands on some ghost chilli, African bird's eye and fatali.

Yesterday I made the first of his cola-based recipes: the black barbecue sauce. The main ingredients are cola, coffee, tomato ketchup, black bean paste, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, molasses, Worcester sauce and sesame oil (he adds a lot). The sauce is sweet, yeah, but not as sweet as I expected. Still, I only stirred a small amount--less, I expect, than Mr Lee would--into the pulled pork. He makes his pulled pork in the oven, incidentally. First time I've not made it in a smoker. It's still good. But, again, how can it not be?

I added some other things yesterday: bird's eye chilli, rosemary and chives. I'm picking up some Viet mint and savory, too. Keith: that was my thinking with the tomatoes, too. The only time I've had very good tomatoes from a store is when I've gone to one specific stall in Queen Vic Market and paid through the nose through them. This is not a day-to-day solution to the problem of bad supermarket tomatoes.

Cheap South African wines--the ones at and just above the bottom of the market--are a mixed bag. One weighted in favour of the terrible. The good ones I've had would be priced at over $20AUD, which is close enough to 15GBP.

I suspect a few of us down south are starting to (or have some time in the past two or three weeks) get to work in the garden. I'm in the process of poisoning/ripping out/nuking from orbit (only way to be sure, right?) the weeds that took a stranglehold on things during winter and replacing/adding in a few things that died off or I didn't have much luck with last season. A jalapeno and habanero plant to sit alongside my serrano plant. Jerusalem artichokes. I didn't have much luck with them in a (large) pot last year so this year I've dedicated an entire bed to them. I'm tempted to rip up another bed--this one would be hard work, considering it's been overgrown since I moved in three years ago--and plant some shallots there. A few varieties of tomato, although not as many as last season. I realised last season, too late, that tomatoes require a lot of real estate. Some of the plants did well but a few died as I planted them close together. I've got Black Russians, tho', which are my favourite tomato. I also have San Marzano. Fleshing out the herbs that died off over winter: coriander, dill, bay, mint, thyme (this didn't die, but I use it enough to justify having more than the one tiny plant), tarragon, oregano, sage and sweet basil. Will probably pick up some chives and Thai basil, at the very least, next time I go to the hardware store. I'm tempted to plant some strawberries again. I had two from last year that survived most of the way through winter until a few days of heavy rain washed them out, Noahstyle. I need to find or create a more sheltered and better drained position.

Having gone on a similar journey myself some points come to mind. Don't rule out whites as part of a blanket rule. No. I had the same attitude once. I didn't like whites. They were either too sweet (i.e. dessert wines) or too acidic. As with reds, it's important you think about your starting point. It's like ... you're a cocktail drinker, so you'd get this. Imagine you wanted to get someone into Amari. Would you start with something like Aperol over ice or would you start with Amaro Sibilia? Or, to put it in whisky terms, would you introduce someone to the brown stuff with something like Laphroaig or a gentler Speysides? With both amari and spirits you need to work up, right? A lot of wine writers/reviewers/forum participants drink a lot of wine. While some--a good sommelier, say--can easily dial their experience back and think 'accessibility', you'll often find their ideas of accessibility do not match your own. On the white front, I found gewuz would Alsace was a very easy starting point. Riesling from the same region was also pleasant. After that you can move onto drier, 'bigger' wines. I guess being in Australia my ability to recommend specific bottles is a little limited: I see they stock a lot of Australian and New Zealand wines but many are outside your budget. As for reds, I wouldn't start with a Californian Zin or Australian shiraz. Maybe I've just had a bad run, but I wouldn't recommend starting with Bordeaux, either. I'd aim straight for pinot noir. It's also worth noting that you don't want a red that's only a couple of years old, particularly if you are buying Zin or Cab. Age mellows them. They're more accessible 4-5 years down the road (they don't need to be old--they should still be available for reasonable prices) than they are when only a year or so old.

I made a Not Dark and StormyTM with Dawnie ginger beer, Inner Circle green and, because Dawnie is slightly sweet, a couple dashes each of Bitter Truth Lemon and Angostura Orange.

Duly made and tested. You are a man I would follow into combat.