JAZ

I happened to see key limes at the store today, so I picked up a bag. I'm trying a side-by-side comparison of margaritas made with Persian and key limes. I tasted the juices separately first, and noticed a slight difference in the taste, but not really in the acid level, although that's rather hard to gauge accurately just by taste, of course. In the drink (2-1-1 proportions), the key lime is much sharper and almost overpowers the drink. The Persian lime (what I ordinarily use) results in a much better balanced and rounder drink, for my tastes at least. I'm not sure if it's the flavor or the acid level Interestingly, the key lime reminds me of the flavor of Rose's lime juice (which I happen to like, in certain applications). Makes me wonder if a Gimlet made with fresh key lime juice and simple syrup might make an interesting experiment.

I tried the Saicar last night -- brandy, tequila, Cointreau, lemon and lime juice. I didn't have Spanish brandy. It's great drink, and worth trying if you like either Sidecars or Margaritas (or both).

The Head to Tail dinner doesn't surprise me, given Incanto's penchant for including offal in their regular menu. They often have a starter with beef heart, and the last time I went they also had a beef tongue and potato salad, and sweetbread-stuffed ravioli. I was tempted to try the ravioli, but I ended up unable to resist the grilled poussin with braised dandilion greens and guanciale.

I've eaten at Incanto several times and Delfina only once, so that should be taken into consideration, but I'd say the service at Incanto was much better, the atmosphere more relaxing, and the food comparable. The restaurant is quieter and less hectic seeming. All of Incanto's wines (not an extensive list, though) are avaliable by the glass and in a two-ounce pour, which is nice if you're dining alone, or want to switch wines with courses.

Here's a link to a previous thread on Pimms.

I can't help with the cake recipe, but I was looking for a malted-milk truffle center for my Christmas truffles, and came across a filling for sandwich cookies from a cookie book by Nancy Baggett. I altered it a little, and it made a great filling. Maybe you could use it between the layers or even as a frosting. Chocolate-Malt Filling 1 cup white chocolate chunks or chips 2/3 cups milk chocolate chunks or chips 1/4 cup unsalted butter 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp plain malted milk powder 1 3oz package cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup milk 2 tsp vanilla extract Melt chocolate and butter in small heavy saucepan over low heat and cool slightly. Beat the malted milk powder and cream cheese until well blended and completely smooth. Beat in half of the chocolate mixture just until incorporated. Beat in the milk a little at a time until well blended. Beat in the remaining chocolate mixture and the vanilla until evenly incorporated. At this point the texture will be really strange and viscous. Don't worry. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until somewhat thickened but not stiff. Beat the filling on high speed until light in color and very fluffy, about 3 minutes more; scrape down the sides several times.

I wish this book had been around when I was just starting to make cocktails.

I'd go further than that, personally. If I could only use one base liquor for cocktails, it would be gin. One thing to keep in mind, of course, is that gins, unlike vodkas, really do vary quite a lot in their flavor profiles. If you can find a good supply of 50-ml bottles, it's worth buying a selection to compare. They don't all taste like a juniper forest.

I had a great new (to me) gin-based drink last night. Called a "Journalist," it was made with Damrak gin, sweet and dry vermouth, a dash each of lemon juice and Cointreau, and bitters. CocktailDB has two recipes which sound similar to the proportions in the drink I had last night. Even my friend who's not a big gin drinker loved it. It's definitely going in my home repetoire.

I have a double-burner sized stovetop grill pan, and many nights I'll throw one or two boned chicken thighs (or fish) on one side and some vegetables on the other. I'll make a sauce if I feel like it, or wrap it all in a tortilla with some salsa.

For more opinions on the subject, check out this older thread.

I have a copy of The Pleasures of Cooking Fruits and Vegetables; I picked it up last year for a few dollars but haven't done much with it yet. Now, after reading this, I'll have to look through it. Thanks, Maggie.

As a substitute for Pernod or other licorice liqueurs, try green Chartreuse. It has a faint hint of licorice, but so many other herbal flavors as well that the taste of it is very muted. It'll provide the alcohol and complexity, just not the big licorice flavor.

This is more a point of terminology, but when you wrap beets in foil, or add a little liquid and cook them covered, you're really not roasting the beets, you're steaming them. And while I agree it's a good way to cook them, a much easier and faster way is to steam them in a pressure cooker. I used to do the wrapped-in-foil-in-the-oven method, but often had trouble with uneven cooking. And although I really wanted to believe that they tasted better, I no longer think that's true. That being said, I have had roasted beets -- peeled, cubed, and tossed in olive oil and salt with a few other root vegetables and roasted at medium heat uncovered -- that were really good. In that case, roasting really did make a difference.

I've been meaning to try Cortez for quite a while and finally made it last week. Although I went primarily for cocktails, we did try a couple of the dishes, including the fries (very good, with two sauces) and grilled spicy prawns on top of a coconut rice. I'm not ordinarily a big fan of coconut, but this was subtle and worked well with the prawns. The highlight, though, was a complimentary shot glass of carrot soup topped with chive oil. The flavor was great, but what made it memorable was the ethereal texture; I wish I knew how they got that. The cocktails were superb; at $9 and up for specialty cocktails, it's still worth it -- not more expensive than any other hotel bars, and much better than most. The cocktail with Tanquerey Ten and elderflower syrup was a standout. I'm not sure I'd categorize the food as tapas, though. Small plates, yes, but not particularly Spanish in inspiration.

I've tried both cointreau and regular ol' cheap curacao and found that because of the aromatics of the gin and the flavor of the two bitters that it doesn't make THAT much of a difference in this case. Of course, I may not have as exceptional a palate as you! Well there's always food coloring! ← One thing to keep in mind if you go the food coloring route is that it stains. As in lips, teeth and tongues. (So does blue curacao, for that matter, since it also contains food coloring.) Another idea for the pink cocktail would be to substitute blood orange juice for regular orange in just about any cocktail calling for it.

I made this drink for a class last year. It's a very accessible drink: The Pomeranian: 2 oz. white rum 1 oz. pomegranate juice (I used Pom Wonderful) 1/2 oz. lemon juice 1/2 oz. triple sec 1/4 oz. grapefruit juice Shake and serve up in a chilled glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel. I also made a nice non-alcoholic version by (obviously) leaving out the rum, upping the amount of grapefruit and topping with soda.

Cool. Any idea what kind of distribution they'll have?

Well, the classic Campari drink is probably the Negroni ( here's an earlier thread on that topic). The Jasmine from Harrington's book is also a good one to try (1.5 oz. gin, .25 oz. Cointreau, .25 oz Campari, .75 oz lemon juice) -- the Campari isn't as pronounced as in the Negroni, but it's very good. For anyone in the SF area, Pesce is a good choice for serious cocktails. Jacques is a very nice guy and a fabulous bartender.

I've experimented with it and use it in some dishes. If you're interested in reading about my conclusions, you can check out this Daily Gullet article (the first part is about citric acid; the second part gets to MSG).

The EGullet Culinary Institute presents a new course on Plating and Presentation the week of March 21. The instructor Currently a Chef Instructor at a Central Florida culinary college, Chef Tony Adams first developed an interest in culinary arts in his hometown of Fairfield, Maine. He pursued his passions and pursued a Bachelor's Degree in Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. While in Providence, Chef Adams joined the team at Empire, the restaurant owned by Chefs Loren Falsone and Eric Mosier, two of Food and Wine Magazine's Top Ten Best New Chefs, working up to Operations Manager there when the restaurant closed in the early fall of 2003. He then traveled, working as a stagier in the kitchens of some of the world’s best restaurants and hotels: Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons in England, Daniel in Manhattan, Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, Primo in Rockland, Maine, and Magnolia Grill in Durham. The course The Plating and Presentation course will teach the participants what to look for during the cooking and plating process in order to make their presentations more visually appealing. The course will cover the handling of food, equipment that will aid in the presentation of the food, and the merits and pitfalls of certain plate and platter styles. Click here to go to the Plating and Presentation course.

Do you mean these? I love them; they're my everyday cocktail glasses. They're comfortable to hold, and don't have a seam where the stem connects to the bowl, which I prefer.

And don't forget ginger, which can add a nice touch to cocktails, Asian or otherwise. Ginger syrup can even make a lemon drop more interesting.

Most of the really good, interesting cocktails to be had in SF can be found at restaurants, not dedicated bars (with the exception of the Orbit Room). Try Cortez, Enrico's, Absinthe and Pesce in the city; Nizza La Bella (Albany) or Cesar (Berkeley) if you're in the East Bay. Of the hotel bars, the Starlight Room in the Sir Francis Drake hotel is better than most -- although their best bartender left, they at least have his cocktail menu to work from. I've had good, if not very imaginative, cocktails at the Pied Piper in the Palace Hotel as well. I've heard very good things about the bar at the Fifth Floor, but haven't made it there myself, so I don't have any personal experience.

A variation on the Vesper is to sub a mandarin-flavored vodka for the plain. In that case I like a little more of both the vodka and the Lillet. Hangar One Mandarin Blossom is especially good in this drink.