Blondie

If you can find it, Juniper Green Organic Gin is excellent although frequently use Gordon's for mixing. Hendrick's is quite nice too. My favorite gin cocktails are the Aviation, Twentieth Century Cocktail and Pegu Club. Edited to add link.

You can say that again! I made a half recipe with shrimp and can't believe how well they turned out. I'm going to bring some out when I visit my nephews, thinking that it's a good thing for them to have a snack with no added chemicals, etc. The older one is looking forward to trying them, but the picky younger one (he's 8), doesn't do shrimp. We discussed alternatives, and he's comfortable with carrots and chicken. Indulgent aunt that I am, I have a batch of carrot-flavored chips underway, and can't see the harm in trying with cooked chicken. It occurred to me that the sugar content of the carrots could cause problems in the frying. Thoughts? Alternative suggestions? The proportions given were fine with the shrimp, but I had to add additional flour to the carrot version because of the higher moisture content. I grated them with the microplane and I suppose I could have squeezed some of the juice out, but decided to add them as is. I couldn't be bothered to get my food processor out of storage, but found working it by hand was fine, if a little tricky. I steamed the cylinders in the top of my rice cooker and dried the slices in a low oven. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Jack

What's good at Billy's? I stopped in with a friend the other day for a cupcake and was unimpressed. The cake part was ok texture-wise but had no discernable chocolate taste, and the buttercream was so overly sweet that I couldn't finish half of it. I'm still a Sugar Sweet Sunshine loyalist for cupcakes in general. The cakes looked good. What should I try if I make it back there?

Earthquakes I'm glad to hear everyone is ok. Ok, I'm sold. There's a place nearby that has one in stock, so by this time tomorrow I should be enjoying my first Toddy iced coffee. Thanks for the pointer to the agar agar thread. I'll be sure to report my results. And thank you again for blogging. It's obvious that you put a tremendous amount of time and effort into it, so thanks to your husband and adorable kids too for being such good sports

I don’t spend much time in midtown, but on my way to MoMA yesterday with a friend I almost walked right by Minamoto before noticing the beautiful displays. We stopped in to browse and I picked up a few pieces: cherry, white peach and yuzu. I’ve only tried the cherry (in jelly) thusfar, and it was fantastic. Has anyone tried making something similar at home? I’ve experimented with some fruit juice/gelatin concoctions with decent, if cloudy, results, intending to use them as a cheese accompaniment or to add interest to presentations. Minamoto’s versions, delicious as they are, cost $3+ a piece, and I’d be happy to get close enough to impress my friends Kristin, you mentioned using the Toddy cold brew method for your iced coffee. Do you use the commercially available toddymaker? Now that that it's finally iced coffee weather I've been considering trying it, but am trying to avoid purchasing another gadget due to space considerations in my Manhattan micro-kitchen.

Thanks for the rec, Magnolia. I'll be back in Dublin later in the year, and will make it a point to stop in. It's just a stones' throw from my old flat I concur with the others that food is essential.

Was this the place on Greene St.? If so, I had exactly that in mind when I read Curlz' suggestion of flights (as I date myself as well ). Great idea.

From the link tokyogurumegal posted:

FWIW Kristin, if the donuts are similar to the ones here in NY, they are *huge*. Easily twice the size of a regular donut, and they use top notch ingredients - Valrhona chocolate, fresh white peaches, etc. I'm not a donut person, but I think they're worth the money.

I agree on all counts. Fabulous noodles (I've only had the hand-pulled as well), good soup, charmless atmosphere, but worth the trip.

My nephews (8 and 11) absolutely loved the Austin Powers movies. Not to be too repetitive, but allow me to add my thanks for blogging again and to say how adorable your kids are!

Fantastic! When and where, exactly? If it's the east end of Houston I'll renew my lease right now

How about Pappardelle al Cinghiale? I don't have a recipe, but I don't think you can go wrong with a long-cooked sauce with tomatoes, red wine, and juniper berries.

Wow. That's quite a coup for a new business to get that sort of exposure. Congratulations, Glenn.

A tea shop near me (it’s called Sympathy For The Kettle ) does a green tea latte, which I’ve duplicated with good results at home. I take a bit of matcha, whisk in a small amount of hot water, add plenty of steamed milk and a little sugar. I use a regular whisk but can see how the bamboo version would be more efficient. It’s a nice change of pace from coffee.

Thank you so much, Lucy. It was thoroughly enjoyable and inspirational.

Sounds great. I finally got my hands on some Smoked Gubbeen (Murray's got some in for St. Patrick's Day) which makes a wonderful grilled cheese. Now to decide what bread - in Ireland I always used Adele O'Connor's sourdough. I had a very nice Taleggio and strawberry chutney on Sullivan Street ciabatta the other day.

aKa Cafe on Clinton St. has a great applewood-smoked bacon/avocado aioli version on the weekend brunch menu.

Since I moved back from Ireland I had been searching for Macroom Stone-ground oats from West Cork – by far the best I’ve ever had. I finally found them at Zingerman’s. Likely not worth the price for anyone but me and my sentimental attachment , but it is a wonderful product.

I have a small bottle of Poirelle. Is it a similar product?

Nice article, Josh. I tried Massa’s Coal Oven Pizza in Huntington Station last weekend. I’ll report back when I can try it fresh out of the oven but based on the takeout version I had it’s extremely promising. Certainly the best in the Huntington area, eclipsing my beloved Little Vincent’s.

You could check out some of the architectural salvage places for a vintage bar or even some moldings or details that will give you the look you want. Demolition Depot has a few bars on their website. Olde Good Things is another large NY dealer.

My gin of choice. I’m almost out and have had a hard time finding another bottle. Has anyone seen it in NYC? In my case, having this great bottle of gin definitely inspired me to start trying more gin cocktails, like the aforementioned Aviation and Twentieth Century, and vintage cocktails in general.

Congratulations, Glenn! I work with a bunch of people who live in JC and we're all dying to visit.

How about a Thai-type crispy duck salad with the kaffir lime leaves and the bergamot you mentioned on another thread? And larb, of course.