JAZ

I had a similar experience years ago at a bar/restaurant. I ordered some single malt scotch neat and received it on the rocks. When I pointed out the error, the waitress took it and went back to the bar. When she returned, it was with the same scotch, which had simply been strained and returned to the glass. Another time, a very young bartender at a place that served mostly beers and shots was asked for a martini on the rocks. She started out okay -- she poured the gin and vermouth into a shaker and mixed it. Then, however, she filled a very small cocktail glass with ice and strained the drink into the cocktail glass. Except, because the glass was so small, not all the drink could fit; my guess is that the actual liquid in the glass totaled maybe an ounce. She was so confused; she stood there looking at the glass, then at the shaker. Finally, she handed it to the customer, who obviously was torn between saying something and just chalking it up to experience. But at least her heart was in the right place; she gave him the remainder.

Although the burner itself doesn't get hot, the heat from a pan that's on it can cause the surface of the burner to heat up. So you still need to be careful when you remove a hot pan from the burner.

Dave, I so completely agree. Glad I'm not alone. And thanks for the background -- I knew I could count on you.

Hollandaise.

I've had a couple of great drinks made with Pimm's. One was at the Orbit Room (San Francisco) and consisted of Pimm's, cucumber-and-apple infused gin and I have no idea what else -- ginger ale, but perhaps something else. The other was a Pimm's Rose at the Starlight Room (where Marco Dionysos, the creator of the drink, now works). Here's an article on the drink -- you'll need to scroll down to near the end: Pimm's Rose

Over ice cream. Drizzled on buttery pound cake with fresh berries. In iced tea. In a cocktail glass with vermouth or Lillet blonde. Ice cold in small sippable shots. Ice cold in large poundable shots. Really the possibilities are endless. Think of all the ways you'd love to incorporate an intense lemony flavor into anything and there you are. In a recent column, Gary Regan has a recipe for a variation on the margarita made with tequila, limoncello and lemon juice. Plus a recommendation on a not-too-sweet brand. click here This makes me think that a lemon drop made with limoncello instead of simple syrup might be a really good idea.

Welcome! For some ideas, check out this previous thread on do-ahead hors d'oeuvres: click here. Inside that thread is a link to yet another thread on the subject.

How much Scotch is a splash? .25 oz.?

Hitler was a vegetarian. Not sure about Schweitzer.

Thanks. Three of my favorite subjects!

Audrey, it's not really the level of sourness that's different. I mean, obviously, since the homemade lime syrup has no juice added, it's much sweeter, but that's taken care of by adding more lime juice when mixing the cocktail. What I meant was that there's just something about the flavor of Rose's that isn't present in the lime syrup -- it's not that the Rose's version is better; it's just different, but also, it's what I'm used to. That being said, I did find quite by accident that a splash of lemon juice, in addition to your lime syrup and fresh lime juice, really makes a fabulous variation on the Gimlet. It's more complex than the version with straight lime juice.

I guess that's an advantage to living in San Francisco. Even the diviest of dive bars here have Campari in stock.

Some general thoughts on sweet vermouth and martinis: As far as I can tell from various books, the martini almost certainly started out as a drink made with gin and sweet red vermouth (and bitters). Just after turn of the twentieth century, the dry variation came into being, and overtook the original, sweet variation in popularity. By the time Prohibition rolled around, "martini" meant "dry martini," the sweet variation was usually referred to as "Gin and It" (the "It" being Italian vermouth). Also, as DrinkBoy mentioned elsewhere, at that time, a "dry" martini meant a ratio of about 2 to 1 gin to dry vermouth, and not today's dribble of vermouth. But so much for history. I agree with Sam that the categorical difference in taste is between red and white vermouth rather than between the drier and sweeter whites. And I have to admit that until Mongo mentioned it, it never occurred to me that anyone would think a sweet martini would be made with anything but red vermouth. My guess is that if you simply asked for a sweet martini in a bar without specifying which vermouth you wanted, you would either get a dumbfounded look, or you would get a drink with red vermouth (maybe both).

I do everything in my power not to drink anything from a fountain. Not only is the carbonation almost always screwed up, the proportions of syrup to water can vary dramatically. But I know a lot of people who use the mostly-diet-with-a-splash-of-regular trick.

Here's a more substantial salad with celery root, ham and Gruyere cheese: click here And somewhere, I remember seeing a recipe for "Three Celery Soup" -- a creamy soup made with celery and celery root, garnished with chopped celery leaves. I never did make it, but it sounded good. I'll have to see if I can find it.

I like to experiment with vermouths for martinis, so I've tried quite a few, dry, sweet and somewhere in between. Carpano Punt E Mes, for example, turns a martini into a drink remarkably similar to a Negroni. Katherine's suggestion for a sweet vermouth and a little Campari would, I imagine, be in the same family. Blond Lillet, which is not exactly sweet, but is much more floral and fruity than most dry vermouths, is a great addition to a martini. When I use dry vermouth, I often add a drop or two of something else -- Green Chartreuse, Pernod, Pimms, Campari, bitters of various sorts -- just for variety. I somehow don't think that perfect or sweet martinis (or any variations, for that matter) would appeal to drinkers of vodka martinis, who, as beans has pointed out, rarely even like any dry vermouth in their drinks. If what one likes is the relatively taste-free effect of ice cold vodka, it doesn't seem likely that one will enjoy the complexity afforded by substantial additions of vermouth.

For infusing citrus into alcohol, though, there's no need to grate the peel. I just use the serrated peeler and add the strips of zest to the vodka. It's easier to strain that way, too. The only time I use a Microplane is for limes, which tend to be too tough for even the serrated peeler.

A couple of years ago, I read an online article about a side-by-side taste test (not blind) in various glasses. The author was skeptical in a good way, and the article was very interesting. The glasses (as I recall) were a paper cup, a "juice glass," a cheap generic stemmed wine glass, a Vinum Reidel of the appropriate type and a Sommelier Reidel. His findings were that the type of glass did definitely make a difference with the aroma and bouquet, although as I recall, the cheap wine glass finished barely in front of the paper cup in that regard, and behind the juice glass. But when it came to the taste, he said that the only glass that made any difference at all was the Sommelier Reidel, which actually tasted better than the others. He was obviously very surprised by that, and had no explanation. I've never had a problem believing that Reidel glasses (or other glass lines with various shapes) can help to optimize the bouquet and aroma of wines, but the taste claims have always seemed silly to me. I've drunk wines out of Reidel glasses (Vinum line only) at Reidel sponsored tastings and at home, and I don't get the hype. But I've never tried the Somelier line, so I have to reserve judgment on that, given the conclusion of that article (which, stupid me, I didn't bookmark). Oh, but the stemless glasses have got to be the best marketing gimmick since -- I don't know, Members Only jackets. (Although the white stemless glasses would make way cool rocks glasses, even if they are a bit fragile.)

Um, that's 29 percent higher, not 29 cents.

Uncrush yourself. Good news for Sears fans I just talked to the new chef there (who happens to be a friend of mine); they're planning to do some test runs in early August (when, of course, I will be out of town and unable to act as guinea pig). Assuming all goes well, they'll be open mid- August.

Unless I need it for a specific recipe, I buy very little milk, so I have to admit I haven't noticed the price.

If you're in the Glen Park area, stop by Destinations, on Chenery at Castro. They make incredible cinnamon rolls and really good individual tarts, too.

Do you mean Tyger's? It's on the corner of Diamond and Chenery.

Vanilla vodka and fresh orange juice, shaken hard and served up, make a nice, if simple, adult version of the Dreamsicle (you can add a touch of triple sec if you want it sweeter).

The San Francisco Bay Area has always been a big sake market; I believe I heard that it's the largest outside Japan (although that was during a sake tasting, so I'm a little fuzzy on the details). Lately there's been a noticeable push to pair sake with non-Japanese food -- several months ago our store hosted a class pairing various sakes with pizza, Mexican and Chinese food. My favorite barbecue place sells more sake than any non-Japanese restaurant in the city. I haven't heard anything about Napa Sake, but Takara Sake opened a brewery in Berkeley in '82, producing some fairly well-regarded sakes. They do tastings and tours, and even have a sake museum.