JAZ

A little late, but I was going to suggest a dash of Tabasco, or other vinegar based hot sauce. This does two things -- gives the soup some acid, which heavy soups often need (I think), and provides some punch.

Check out this article by Mamster on storage from the Daily Gullet Archives. Not only is it full of information, but it was included in the Best Food Writing anthology.

I made goulash last night -- does that count?

After some more experimentation, I've come to the conclusion that bergamot juice blends best with gin and rum -- not so well with brandy or tequila. The drinks I've liked the best, in addition to Trillium's Friday After Five, are these: A variation on the Jasmine (from Harrington's book): 2 oz. gin 1/2 oz. triple sec 1/2 oz. bergamot juice splash Campari A Bergamot French 75: 1 oz. gin 1/2 oz. bergamot juice 1/4 oz. simple syrup topped with Champagne or other dry sparkling wine This one was a surprise. I had half a bottle of sparkling wine left over from a New Year's brunch, so I figured I'd give it a try, but I wasn't sure about the acid of the fruit and the champagne. But it worked very well. My favorite, surprisingly, was the rum drink I tried. (Surprisingly, because I don't consider myself much of a rum drinker.) I made a drink similar to the Nevada cocktail, substituting bergamot for the grapefruit juice. 2 oz. white rum 3/4 oz bergamot juice 1/4 oz. lime juice 1/2 oz. Velvet Falernum dash Angostura bitters Like the original Nevada, it's a drink that's complex, with layers of flavors playing very nicely.

I read about this Scotch on Drinkboy's site, and when I saw a selection of whiskies from Compass Box at my favorite liquor store, I indulged and bought a bottle. It's really unlike any other Scotch I've had. Extremely peaty, as the name implies, yet incredibly light bodied and smooth. Although it's 92 proof, so maybe "smooth" isn't exactly the right term. Some might consider it unbalanced, as peaty as it is, but I happen to like that quality in a Scotch. (I really like Laphroaig, for example.) In fact, the closest whisky I can recall tasting was a cask strength Laphroaig at the Whiskies of the World expo some years ago. Has anyone else tried this, or any of the other Compass Box whiskies? Compass Box

I realized when I glanced through this today that I've been remiss in reporting, although not in acquiring. Mostly they were on sale for absurdly low prices, so that's my excuse. Some appetizer/tapas/small plates books: Surreal Gourmet Bites, Clifford Wright's Little Foods of the Mediterranean, the Joy of Cooking collection All About Party Foods. On hold at the store until the next sale starts is also Little Italian Bites by Carol Field, so you may as well add that in. A couple of pressure cooker books. Paula Wolfert's Couscous, Flo Braker's Perfect Art of Simple Baking, and three or four more, which I can't quite exactly recall right now. Also, signed copies of Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way and The Apprentice (not on sale but how could I resist having M. Pepin sign my books?); ditto for Bourdain's Les Halles and Alice Medrich's Bittersweet. On Food and Cooking, sadly, not signed, because Harold McGee didn't come to the store for a signing -- it was cancelled. So that's -- well, let's call it 15 more.

Yes, and if you can remember to drink a glass of water for every cocktail you drink, you'll thank yourself in the morning.

As I sit here drinking coffee (with milk) and a Bloody Mary, eating toast (with butter and jam) and cheese, I think I can safely say no.

I made carrot soup to start our Christmas dinner, which had a vaguely Middle Eastern theme. It was easy, cheap, low calorie and good. I'll give an approximation: Peel and cut into chunks about 8 large carrots. Saute one small or half a very large onion, sliced, in some olive oil. Add a large can of chicken broth and about a cup of water and the carrots and cook until carrots are falling apart soft. Also add about a teaspoon each of salt and cayenne and a tablespoon of ground cumin. If you toast cumin seeds and grind them, you can add less because it's more powerfully pungent. Cool slightly (or not) and puree in small batches in the blender (small batches, because we all know what happens when you try to puree too much hot soup in your blender, don't we?). Reheat when you're ready to serve and taste for seasoning. Garnish with a big drizzle of yogurt and some chopped fresh mint.

I have no idea. Have you tasted it? It seems to me that that would be the way to find out. And if it tastes a little off, maybe you could still cook with it. Or use it in a sorbet.

Katie's recipe for limoncello (or, more precisely, one from the LA Times based on Katie's recipe) just tied for first place in the LA Times article on the Ten Best Recipes of 2004. Way to go, Katie!

After regaining my sense of taste and smell, I've been experimenting with my bergamot oranges and have found that a Jasmine-like drink works well with them: 2 oz. gin, 1/2 oz. Velvet Falernum, a splash of Campari and about 3/4 oz. of bergamot juice. They also make a great nonalcoholic sparkling drink mixed with simple syrup and sparkling water. I find the bergamots have a juice somewhat reminiscent of grapefruit juice, as far as the level of acidity and bitterness. I'm looking forward to trying them in a version of the Nevada, as soon as I make it to the liquor store for some rum.

A drizzle of olive oil and a big pinch of salt.

I don't have any Torani Amer, but when I do, it's on my list to try.

Most of the classes I teach are on appetizers and cocktails, and one of the appetizers that consistently gets the best reviews is a roasted red pepper and caramelized onion spread on crostini, topped with aged gouda cheese. 2 red peppers 1 large onion, sliced thin 2 tablespoons sherry salt and pepper Aged gouda cheese, sliced thin Caramelize the onion slices: over low heat, saute in butter or oil until soft, then cook, covered, stirring every 5-10 minutes, until they turn dark golden brown. Roast the peppers, seed and peel. Chop roughly and add to the onions. Add the sherry and cook briefly to reduce. Puree with a stick blender or in the food processor until chunky but spreadable. Spread on crostini and top with a small slice of aged gouda or other grana style cheese.

I don't think Meyers have enough acid to work in the usual Sidecar -- you'd probably want to reduce the amount of Cointreau/triple sec. They do work really well with Lillet (blond) -- I make a drink with 1.5 oz. gin, 1 oz. Lillet and .25 to .5 oz of Meyer lemon juice, with either a dash of orange bitters or a drop or two of Chartreuse, shaken over ice and served up. It really showcases the Meyers. Meyer lemon juice also works well in a variation on a Margarita -- substitute Meyer lemon juice for the lime, and Grand Marnier or curacao for the triple sec. Both those ingredients are sweeter, relatively, though, so you probably want to use more Meyer (than lime) and less curacao (than triple sec) than you would in a traditional Margarita.

Or you can skip the hot water and sugar and just sip a few ounces of Compass Box's Peat Monster. That worked for me.

I used it in some cookies, so I hope it's good. I'll let you know when I can taste again.

Well, I found them and bought some, but --wouldn't you know -- came down with a head cold the very next day, so I can't taste anything now. I did try a Friday After Five, which was great -- the herbal flavors in the Chartreuse work well with the bergamots. Then I tried a Sidecar with the bergamot juice instead of lemon. It needs some adjustments, which I'll work on after my cold goes away, but it shows promise.

I have a set of 10 or 12 glass ornaments shaped like hard candies in "wrappers" with twisted ends. They're cool. Sur La Table used to sell miniature copper ornaments -- saucepans, coffee pots, beer steins, colanders -- but we don't anymore. Wish I'd bought some.

You can try Incanto -- I've had some great meals there, including one of the best quail preparations I've ever eaten. Wines are all available by the glass or half glass/taste as well, which is great if you want to match wines to courses. It's on Church St at about 28th -- very easy to get to on the J Church streetcar, if you don't have a car. They're open on Sunday, and usually not too busy then. Here's their web site: Incanto Edit to add that Incanto is where Jamie Oliver went to dinner after his book signing in SF -- if that will help to impress your wife.

I got them directly from Greenleaf, a wholesaler that Trillium recommended. You have to go there (it's down in the wholesale produce market on Jerrold -- off Bayshore), and be sure to call ahead to place an order.

For "relaxing after work" drinks we like, check out this thread: It's Friday, it's after five, and I think I'll have a . . . Nice collection of after dinner liquors. I just bought a bottle of Compass Box Peat Monster Scotch, which will no doubt be my after dinner dram of choice until I run out.

It actually is Friday after five, and since I finally bought found some bergamot oranges, I'm having a Friday After Five, created by Trillium. I tried a version with a "faux" sour orange juice mixture when I first read about it, but the bergamot juice takes the drink to a new level.

I'm off to buy them from Greenleaf. Thanks for the tip and link, Trillium.