Hassouni

Does that mean that the self cleaning setting could be used to make a really mean pizza? Best pizzas I've ever made! I read this long thing and followed his instructions: http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

Sazeracs made with cognac are the best. Sort of expensive though...

Re: Turkish, Greek, Lebanese coffee - it is all Turkish coffee. It was invented in the Ottoman empire and drunk among the high society of Istanbul, from where it spread throughout the empire - the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa. Lebanese in Lebanon seem to almost universally call it Turkish coffee, while restaurants here seem to call it Lebanese/Arabic, but I suspect that's to avoid confusion ("but this is a Lebanese restaurant, why is the coffee Turkish?")

Also, briki is Greek. It comes from the Arabic "ibriiq" which simply means pitcher. In Arabic the device for making Turkish coffee is called either a rakweh or a dalla, with the latter more specifically being what's used to make traditional Arabic coffee (in Iraq, dalla refers to both). Personally, despite my Arab background, I call the Turkish coffee pot by its Turkish name, cezve (pron. jez-veh)

I suspect Turkish coffee is what's meant. "Arabic coffee" is a lot rarer and means two different things depending on where you are - in the most traditional sense (Iraq and the Arabian peninsula) it means barely roasted, still mostly green coffee coarsely pounded with about its weight in cardamom, and boiled up into a thin, sort of odd-tasting drink. An acquired taste, with no sugar, usually reserved for serving to guests. In the Levant, "Arabic coffee" is extremely dark roasted coffee, without cardamom, with or without sugar, simmered for 1-2 hours to create a super concentrated dose drunk in little shots, usually from street vendors or after a meal. However, in the Levant, Turkish coffee, usually referred to as such, is much more common.

Do you count things like Guinness as a macrobrew?

So I've seen that a lot of the soups shown here on the Mexico forum have corn on the cob in them. How do you eat that? Do you pick it up out the soup with your hands? Isn't it exceptionally hot?

That picture on the link looks about right...I don't think what I've had had cardamom in it though

Hahaha, well, I dunno, maybe the Landshark I had was really fresh vs all the skunked and otherwise vile Corona I've had. Also, come to think of it, I think I've only had Landshark "Mexican style" (which, oddly, is a Lebanese invention usually done with Almaza) - with added lemon juice and a salted rim on the glass. In any case I'm not saying it's a good beer or anything, I just can't stand Corona

So at some Yemeni cafes here that I've gone to, the drink of choice seems to be a big glass of strong, very sweet, very milky tea - almost like masala chai without the spices, but thicker in mouthfeel. I'm guessing low-grade tea is boiled and then evaporated milk and sugar are added, or even condensed milk. Has anyone had this? It's kind of nice when it gets cold out.

I haven't seen Michelob at a bar in a long time, and other than Bud I haven't heard of most of those. As for Dos Equis, I'll echo that it's actually a decent beer at a decent price, especially the Ambar. If that's the only beer at a bar in a sea of macro-lager, I'll happily have it, whereas otherwise I'd prob just get something hard. As for Corona...where do I begin. Even though they're really similar to it, I vastly prefer Sol and Landshark. I have yet to finish a bottle of Corona while relatively sober, because by the time I get halfway down the bottle, the chill has worn off and I can actually taste how gross it is.

Ok so for those that decided to put their teapot on low heat on the stove vs. stacked on top of the kettle, here are some words of wisdom that I've found out the hard way just now... Either use less tea in the pot than described above, or add less tea concentrate to your glass, because wow, the stove-brewed tea is WAY stronger than the steam-brewed tea on top of the kettle. (I almost always use steam, so haven't really figured out the perfect way to do it on the stove yet)

Iraqi style cardamom tea, either Ahmad or Alwazah (can't remember, threw away the box and transferred the tea to an airtight container). I think I brewed it a bit too strong today....

I'm curious what you mean by this, given whisky and Cognac are made out of different things

how so? I've never had either

When I speak from my experiences, that's as growing up in the East Coast (DC). Most of the veto-ers I know are from the coast too - the two that stick out most are actually from Tampa and the Jersey shore, so right on the ocean/Gulf, so I'm not sure there's a correlation between access to fresh seafood and acceptance/appreciation of it.

In the UK, it's very easy for me to find quality dry cider, such as Aspall, or even the Waitrose house brand. Back here in the US, most of the cider I've had has been fairly sweet, unless it's imported, in which case it gets to be quite expensive. Is there any domestically produced dry cider that can be fairly easily obtained? I've recently noticed a brand called Crispin, which looks nice, but all the varieties mention some sweet element such as honey or whatever else.

For apartment dwellers I think the hardest part is not so much the heat (though that's a challenge), but the ventilation. On my crappy weak gas range the stir-frying fumes get EVERYWHERE because of a lack of a serious vent fan. Those ones under the microwave DO NOT work, and until I own my own place, I'm not sure if there's anything I can do without getting smoke everywhere. Hell, I've even set smoke detectors off.

Applejack and Calvados are the same right, just one has a DOC?

Late last night, lots of Mount Gay XO. That stuff is WAY too easy to down in large quantities

Why is it a) so hard to find, b) so expensive (compared to any other vermouth I can find) and c) only available, when available, in huge bottles? Any good alternatives that are easier to get a hold of? I can find Martini & Rossi everywhere (dry, sweet, and "blanco), as well as Gallo, and Ravita. I've been wanting a martini forever....

Some lapsang souchong my friend got me from Zabar's on a cold morning. Really hits the spot.

An ounce or maybe a bit more of Wray & Nephew overproof over a 1-inch cube of ice. First time I've had it like that, very good!

I can't imagine it'll be a problem with all that salt

What I've noticed at the places where "karahi chicken/karahi lamb" etc are served, it's a fairly quick-cooked, onion-less curry, served at the table in the same karahi it was cooked in. Regardless of where I order it, it always tastes reasonably similar. Also, like I said I've only seen it at places specializing in Lahori food.