JAZ

As others have mentioned, it would help to know exactly where they're staying, and whether they'll have a car. Also, how do they feel about slightly seedy neighborhoods?

I don't know if you've chosen your book yet, but if not, check out James Peterson's Essentials of Cooking. It'd been a long time since I'd looked through it, and I'd forgotten how much great information it contains. A big plus is lots of photographs, not of finished dishes, but of techniques. If the couple is interested in learning to cook rather than just following recipes, this would be a great choice.

A Drink I Haven't Named Yet 2 fl oz light rum Juice from half a blood orange (about 1-1/4 oz.) 1/2 fl oz fresh lime juice 1/2 fl oz triple sec Vigorously stir or shake all ingredients over ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist if you like. Keywords: Cocktail, The Daily Gullet, eGCI ( RG508 )

Tequila Gimlet I know I said that Margaritas shouldn't be made with Rose's. But this is not a Margarita 2-1/2 oz Tequila 3/4 oz Rose's lime juice 1/4 oz fresh lime juice Vigorously stir or shake all ingredients over ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Keywords: Cocktail, The Daily Gullet ( RG507 )

Bitter Lemon Drop 2 fl oz Vodka 1 fl oz fresh lemon juice 1/4 fl oz simple syrup Big dash bitters Vigorously stir or shake all ingredients over ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. If you want, thinly coat the rim of the glass with fine sugar. Keywords: Cocktail, The Daily Gullet, eGCI ( RG506 )

Maybe not when you put it the following context The party go-ers are all wine lovers. You wish to assist the host of some wine duties in terms of choice and expense. Wine is always better when enjoyed with friends. I think what bothers me so much about this article is the author's unspoken assumption that his taste (and therefore his wine) is so much better than that of any host that might invite him to a party. Now, it might very well be true, but his approach just seems to me to be flaunting it and insulting the host. And what if the host doesn't like Zinfandel with ribs? What then? She's just supposed to put up with her guest's choice? I don't think it's rude to bring the wine for a dinner party -- it can be a wonderful gesture. But I think there are much more tactful ways to go about it than to ram one's choices down the host's throat. What's wrong with asking if the host wants you to bring wine, rather than announcing it as a fait accompli? I mean, I cook a lot better than most of my friends, but when they ask me over for dinner, I'd hardly announce that I was going to bring the main course, even if that would mean that I'd eat better food. Tommy: it's another thing entirely if you already have this sort of relationship with your friends. And maybe that's the sort of circumstances the author had in mind, but it certainly wasn't stated. He made it sound like he does it with everyone.

Lately I've been finding beets with very nice fresh greens, so I've been experiementing with cooking them. So far I've blanched them for five minutes, cooled and chopped up to add to the beet and orange salad I was making; and blanched them and then sauteed them with bacon and onion. Both were good, but now I have a new batch to play with, and I'd like to try something different. Any other ideas out there?

Thai beef salad, with mixed greens, wild arugula, spring onions, jalapenos, basil, mint, and cashews. Sliced strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar for dessert. Drank the rest of a Clos Malverne Cabernet-Shiraz with dinner (didn't really match, but it was there) and port with dessert.

well, you know, the host can just say "no thanks, i've got some ideas for the wine already." do you think it's wrong for the host to put the bottle (gift) away? i've found that if i want to make sure i'm drinking something i like, i bring it. 10 times out of 10 the bottles get opened and everyone's happy...and the host still has their gift. seems like a win-win. Tommy, as I mentioned (or meant to imply), I have no problem with guests bringing wine, or asking what I'm serving and thereby suggesting that they will bring something to drink that evening. I just don't like the author's manner. For instance, this passage really bothers me: I still feel that the author's approach is egotistical and presumptuous. He (she?) doesn't ask, he just makes an announcement. And that "I establish the rules" line just galls me.

One of my standbys: Tacos made with boneless chicken thighs (or breasts if you must) cut into chunks and sauteed with some garlic and chili powder. Saute some onions and peppers if you like them, heat up a can of black or pinto beans, and serve with the usual condiments. If you use prepared salsa and the thighs are already boned, you can whip this up in about 20 minutes easy. You can also make extra and have it for lunch the next day. Shrimp are good this way too.

You think so? I don't. I think the author's approach is pushy and offensive. If a guest of mine said that to me, he would not be on my guest list for long. It's one thing to ask if your host would like you to bring some wine, and it's fine if you ask what the host is planning to serve and run your planned selections by him or her, but I think that to "insist" and take over the way the author suggests is overbearing and presumptuous. I mean, you're a guest -- you don't get to "establish the rules."

I agree about the tequila to a certain extent, but your recipe sounds a little sweet for my taste. Do you really add equal amounts of tequila and triple sec? I prefer 2 parts tequila, 1 part triple sec and 1-1/2 parts lime juice. I don't care for Grand Marnier in my margaritas; they end up tasting like brandy instead of tequila. But back to the question of tequila quality. I think there's a point of diminishing returns when using high end spirits in mixed drinks. I do notice a difference when I use very expensive tequila in margaritas, no doubt about it, just as I notice a difference when I make a gimlet with very expensive gin or a sidecar with very expensive brandy. But I can only afford to buy a limited amount of very expensive spirits, and for me, there are better uses for them than sidecars and margaritas and gimlets, wonderful though they might be. So I use Gordon's gin in my gimlets and save my Cascade Mountain for martinis; I use Hornitas in margaritas and save the Los Arangos for sipping.

Stemmed glassware is essential in drinks that are served up (i.e., chilled but without ice) so that you don't warm up the drink with your hand. Other than that, I don't think it makes much real difference, except in terms of tradition. Margarita glasses are larger because they're usually served over ice (or blended with the ice), but that's the only meaningful difference between them and other cocktail glasses. Hurricane glasses can stand in for Margarita glasses quite well. I probably should have mentioned that all of the sweet/sour drinks do pretty well served over ice -- much better than Martinis and Manhattaans, certainly. They stay colder, obviously, and the extra watering down can make them even more amenable to pairing with food. If you do want to serve them that way, then hurricane glasses are a good way to go -- they lood a little more festive than Old Fashioned glasses.

Good point. Yes, citrus vodka does give a very nice boost to a lemon drop. I should have mentioned that in the recipe. Another interesting variation is a mandarin (not orange) vodka with Meyer lemons (which, being a cross between a lemon and a tangerine, have a mandarin sort of aroma). Just be sure to use less simple syrup, as the Meyers are sweeter than other lemons.

It's hard to believe that a commercial could make peanut butter unappealing, but that one does it for me.

I always thought the difference between Southern and "Yankee" cornbread was that the former was crumbly (the better to mix with greens) and the latter was cakey. Is this true?

From an old issue of Fine Cooking magazine: "Butterscotch is caramel -- and then some. Whereas caramel is made with white sugar, butterscotch uses brown sugar for a deeper flavor. It's also enriched with butter or cream, and it gets a flavor boost from a generous dose of salt."

Nice summary, but your information on pink peppercorns was not correct. Pink peppercorns come from a different plant entirely (schinus terebinthifolius). Their flavor is different too, sort of resinous rather than hot.

At the risk of being obvious, I'd say that pepper adds the flavor of, well, pepper. A little heat, a little bitterness, both of which serve to cut through other flavors and act as a sort of wake up call to taste buds that are satiated with other tastes. If you want to know exactly what it adds to any given dish, make the dish without it, and taste. Add some pepper to a portion of the dish and taste again. I think you'll find that it does add something -- a bit of piquancy, a hint of bitterness. It doesn't belong in every dish, certainly, but some kind of heat or bitter element does help many foods. Whether it's cayenne, black pepper, chili oil, or sriricha, you find a hot element in many dishes, even if it's subtle. That being said, black pepper is not something I often add at the table, unless the food is sorely lacking in flavor, and then it's usually because it's the only option. And I do hate the question, "Would you like fresh ground pepper on that?" asked by a waiter before I've even tasted my food. If the chef has done her job, I shouldn't need pepper added at the table, and in any case I can't know if I haven't tasted the dish. Edit: since 20 minutes or so passed between the time I began this and the time I posted it, most of what I've said has been said by others. Oh well.

This sort of statement is completely incomprehensible to me. I can't ignore the smell of a food if it's bad; the smell is inextricable from the taste. This statement is borne of ignorance... No, it's not, really. I wasn't making a judgment about durian. My point was that I hear people say things like "it doesn't taste as bad as it smells," and I really don't understand what they mean by that. To me, things pretty much taste exactly as they smell. Every time I've tried something described as "not nearly as bad as it smells," I've found that it was, indeed, at least as bad, if not worse.

This sort of statement is completely incomprehensible to me. I can't ignore the smell of a food if it's bad; the smell is inextricable from the taste.

This is a minor detail, but it might help you when you get to the point of "fine-tuning" your recipe. A Chinese cooking instructor I know always tells her students to use Chinese soy sauce, not Japanese, in Chinese recipes, because there are perceptible differences. And keep in mind that Chinese soy sauce comes in two varieties, light and dark, so you may have to experiment a little to find the right one (or combination).

My lasting A&W root beer float memory: When you drive from Seattle east to Pullman (which you do regularly if your parents live in Seattle and you go to Washington State University), a good place for a break is the A&W in Vantage (or at least it used to be 20-plus years ago when I was making the drive). So there we were at the A&W -- my sister, my parents and me -- outside at the car, drinking our various drinks. My father was standing outside the car and had set his root beer float on top of the car. My mother was sitting in the car, but with the door open -- she was sitting sideways with her legs outside. Of course Dad reached out for his drink without looking and knocked it over onto Mom's head, and of course Mom was too surprised to get out of the way, so she discovered a new hair gel the hard way.

If you're interested in a recipe for beet salad, I have one that's pretty good. I won't pretend that everyone loves it, but it has converted a few borderline beet-haters. Since your beets are already cooked, just drain and slice them. Toss with a few tablespoons chopped fresh mint, and a vinaigrette made with (preferably) walnut oil and raspberry vinegar with a little garlic. Let them marinate for a few hours at least, then crumble some feta cheese over and serve. It's also good without the cheese, if you'd prefer it plain.

Rock Cornish game hens were created in 1965 by Donald Tyson, because he wanted a specialty poultry item he could charge more money for. They are a cross between the White Rock and Cornish breeds, but the significant point is that they're killed very young (they come to market in 28-30 days, as compared with 42+ for regular chickens). Basically, then, we're talking about the veal of the chicken world. (info from the Food Chronology by James Trager)