JAZ

I love the look and feel of the bamboo boards, which is why I got one. But I agree that it's not a good cutting surface. However, I don't use it for cutting; I use it for serving cheese. I bought one of the new Epicurean boards, mostly because I got a good deal on it and the small one was the exact size I was looking for. It's fine -- lower maintenance than wood, doesn't seem to stain. It could go in the dishwasher if I had one. The chief drawback is that it slides all over the place -- worse than anything else I have. I've actually found that of all my cutting boards, the one I prefer is the poly board with the rubber back, precisely because it stays put, without having to put a damp cloth on the counter.

Here you go. You don't even need to use a mixer for these -- a spoon works fine. The only trick to them is that you can't make them very large -- the texture gets weird. I use a small cookie scoop but you can also use a pastry bag and squeeze out teaspoon-sized balls. Browned Butter Crisps 1/2 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg 1 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon cardamom pinch salt 1. In a small heavy saucepan, melt the butter and continue to cook until it browns. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn't burn. Let cool slightly. 2. In a large bowl, mix browned butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the egg and mix until smooth. 3. Stir the flour and spices until spices are distributed evenly; add to butter mixture and mix until blended thoroughly. 4. Drop by teaspoonfuls on parchment lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes, or until edges are turning golden and the tops have begun to crinkle. 5. Let cool on the sheets for a few seconds, then remove and cool completely.

Are you still looking for a cookie recipe? I make one most years for Christmas (and use it in a lot of classes) that's as close to foolproof as I know. It's easy too, and produces cookies that ship very well. It's a sort of butter cookie, but calls for browned butter, so the flavor is sort of caramel-like. They're flavored with a hint of cinnamon and cardamom. The only drawback is that they're not the most visually stunning cookies in the world. Let me know; I'll post the recipe if you're interested.

New places (new to me, that is) to try: Quince Petit Robert Frisson Plouf Places I'd like to go back to soon: Incanto Fringale Nizza La Bella* * Nizza La Bella's in Albany. Everything else is in SF

As Marlena mentioned and Squeat reported, the Chronicle's cooking classes are now going to be held at the Ferry Building (click here for article). The classes are reasonably priced and sound interesting. But I'm curious about how well they'll do. I have heard that the original slate of Chronicle classes weren't very well attended. Frankly, I'm not surprised -- and this has nothing to do with the quality of the classes they offer, by any means. It's just that, well, San Francisco, for all its food oriented citizens, doesn't seen to the the most successful place for cooking classes. The Maiden Lane Sur La Table, where I work, has suspended its regular cooking classes in favor of private team buildings and other private classes/parties. Those are wildly popular. But the regular classes? Unless it was a Hubert Keller or a Jacques Torres teaching, it was hit or miss whether we'd even get enough students to hold the class. Honestly, we could never figure out why. It's a "foodie" town. Lots of classes on lots of topics in venues all over the Bay Area, taught by a wide variety of instructors -- was it too much competition? And how important is venue? Will the Chronicle classes be more successful in the Ferry Building? I know the SLT classes that involved shopping tours were always among the most popular -- maybe that will prove to be a key. What do you all think?

Well, then, I guess I'll just have to organize my schedule so I can make it there before work some Saturday. Thanks for that visual image; it's been ages since I've thought of Senor Wences. Back when I did go to the market on Saturdays, it seemed that all the stands serving prepared food were in the back, which led to massive traffic jams in that area. Is that still the case?

If you don't count lunch places, it'd be Chou Chou, Chenery Park and Incanto. If you do count lunch places, it'd be Lee's, Briazz, and the salad/juice bar place on Sutter by the post office, which I never remember the name of.

Well, I can see marinating London Broil, but that's cooked "dry" and quickly. If you're braising short ribs, I can't see the reason either (three hours braising in wine or beer will make the toughest short rib meat fall off the bone).

I have a great recipe somewhere for sweet potato and apple soup. It calls for pureeing and adding cream, but it's great without the cream too.

Well, I experiemented a little with Cynar and Boodles, and have a starting point, at least. 1 1/2 oz. Boodles 1/2 oz. triple sec 1/2 oz. lemon juice 1/4 oz. Cynar Shake over ice and serve up.

Do you have Cinzano Bianco? (Cinzano also makes a dry white vermouth and a sweet one). The Bianco is fruity and sweeter than the dry. If so, you can try it on the rocks or with a splash of soda. I like it with gin (about 2 parts gin to one part Bianco) with a big squeeze of lemon. You can also use it in place of dry white vermouth, but it will change the flavor of the drink.

Or you can do what I do and go on Tuesdays (the joys of having days off during the week -- almost makes up for having to work on the weekends). There aren't as many vendors, but there are still quite a few, and you can actually stroll up to the stands without having to negotiate strollers and crowds. Plus, you don't have to get there at the crack of dawn -- the market opens at 10 on Tuesdays. Chardgirl, Rancho: are you guys there on Tuesdays?

Try club soda. You might also want to cut back on the peach schnapps and substitute some fresh peach puree for some of it.

It's friday, way after 5, and I'm having a Hemingway daiquiri, because although I'm in San Francisco, it feels like I'm in Cuba (it's not supposed to get hot here, damn it!).

I thought I heard that Miss Millie's stopped doing breakfasts. Good to know that's not true. I haven't eaten there in years, but now that I'm back in the neighborhood, I'll have to go back.

I tried the Quintessential, which I found light and not very junipery. I wasn't crazy about it, but I like juniper in my gin. I had it in a martini; it would probably do better in a G&T. Tanq 10 is a great gin for non-gin drinkers; my vodka-drinking friends love it. Another lighter gin for beginners is Bombay Sapphire.

If you explore the Stinson Beach/Muir Woods area, you can drive down the coast and end up at the Pelican Inn at Muir Beach. It's been a while since I've been there, but I had a great time there. It's in a beautiful setting, you can walk to the beach or take longer hikes; plus there's a pretty good restaurant there and a great pub. Pelican Inn

Ah. You mean this Homeskillet. It sounds interesting.

If there's a place near you that sells stained glass (or maybe even offers lessons in making stained glass), chances are pretty good that they can blow glass too, so they could probably make you a stopper to order.

Congratulations to all involved. This sounds like a great project.

One thing to keep in mind is that most of the sauces mentioned here are vinegar based, so they add not only heat but acid, which can serve to perk up flavors. They can also contain blends of other spices as well. Also, since the sauces are liquid, they can be incorporated more evenly into some foods than minced fresh chiles or dried chile flakes. In a Bloody Mary, for example, I can't see any way to use fresh chiles instead of Tabasco or another similar sauce (unless you begin by infusing them into the vodka).

Ida, check out this thread on vodka and infusions for some good information. The point in using a 100-proof spirit is that the higher the percentage of alcohol, the faster and more complete the infusion is. Most of the time, you'd want to add water (or sweeteners, in the case of liqueurs like limoncello) to bring the proof down to around 80 after you're done infusing. While it's true that I haven't done lots of infusions, I haven't found much difference using 100 proof and 80 proof spirits -- the 80 proof takes longer, but the flavor is not noticeably different.

Count me in on the "dumb idea" side. I like the taste of alcohol; if I'm going to kill brain cells, dammit, I'm going to do it drinking something that tastes good. [Note: no brain cells were killed during this post.]

What? And drop the baby again? (Sorry, Ned -- couldn't resist. I'm very glad to hear the baby is fine.) Me? I'm having a margarita, just because I haven't had one in a while, and it sounded good. It is. I might have two, in fact.

I should have made it clear that I was recommending the Svedka as a mixing vodka (the only way I use vodka). The only brands I've compared it with directly were Skyy, which I thought was harsher, and Vox, which seemed about the same in drinks.