JAZ

I think an overnight brine for chicken pieces might be too long. I generally only brine pieces for a couple of hours, tops. The wings don't really even need a brine -- they have so much fat they're almost impossible to dry out. If you do brine them overnight, you might want to omit the soy when you roast them. Also, the honey will make them sticky (good, but messy). I've done chicken thighs with a jerk style paste on a stovetop grill -- I don't usually have any left over, but when I do, they're good cold.

How fascinating. A couple of thoughts: "Meaty" is a term often used to describe a texture as well as a flavor, and I suppose what most people mean by the term is a combination of factors: slightly chewy with some resisitance, but not tough; juicy and succculent; and substantial, for lack of a better term. When not applied to meat, it's used for mushrooms mostly. As for the taste, well, meat, like all protein, is relatively high in glutatmates, so you have the umami (savory) flavor going on, plus the flavors of cooking (caramelization and Maillard-related flavors). I'm curious about the salty taste you detected -- was it because the meat was salted and that's all you picked up on, or did the meat taste salty on its own? The "metallic" feel you detected is not surprising. If you've ever bit the inside of your lip or mouth, or otherwise tasted blood, you probably noticed a distinct metallic taste and feel. Although meat (ideally) contains very little blood, red meat contains similar compounds that can produce the same taste and texture, especially if it's rare. Chicken, especially breast meat, is very bland -- chicken thigh meat has more flavor, but it's still relatively mild. I think the lack of strong flavor is one of the reasons that chicken breast meat is so popular -- many people don't like strong flavors, plus the neutrality provides a nice platform for all kinds of sauces and other treatments. A little meat in sauces, soups or stews, even if it's not the main ingredient, can add a lot of "depth" to both the flavor and the texture: not only do you have the glutamates, which give you the umami taste and texture, but depending on the meat, you get fat, collagen and other substances dissolving into the liquid, which will give you a thicker, richer mouthfeel. Yes, I didn't really go into the detail, but that's what I was referring to when I talked about the "regulated doses of fear" that we get from capsaicin.

And sugar also lowers the freezing point, so if you add liqueur or other sweeteners, you're making it worse. If you want something to freeze solid, it has to be mostly water, with the liquor and any sweet elements only there for flavor. If I were you, I'd start with something like a margarita, then add an equal amount of water and see how it freezes. From there you can increase or decrease the water. Also remember that something frozen solid will taste less sweet than something merely chilled.

Thanks, Anna. I'm glad you're finding it helpful. In a way, I guess I presented Part III before Parts I and II, since way back at the beginning of the eGCI I did a class on Menu Planning. Maybe that will provide a little guidance. I'm not sure about a true Part III here. In the meantime, I'll try to provide a little more practical advice on this thread.

Ah, yes -- it's my current favorite.

I thought Seagram's was Canadian.

What's the retail price on this, Jason?

I've been waffling about buying a hollow-ground Santoku knife for a quite a while, trying to decide whether it was worth the money, since I already have a decent knife collection. I'd finally decided not to, when the Furi knife guy came to the store (Sur La Table, where I work) for a demo/training. I have to admit that I'd dismissed the Furi line, because I'm not a fan of the all-metal knives I've tried (Global and Wusthof's Culinar line), and I ordinarily like some weight to my knives. The Furi knives are all metal and very light. But then the Furi guy shows up and demo's the knives, introduces their new hollow-ground East-West knife, and leaves a sample to try. I'm smitten, but not thrilled about spending another $80 on a knife (the price on the original, non-hollow-ground edge version), so I'm trying to convince myself that I don't need it. Then we get it in the store, and lo and behold -- it's got this fantastic introductory price of $59.95, which means I get it for about $44. You've guessed the rest, right? I bought it, and now I'm planning my meals around the amount of chopping and slicing required. Salsa, tabbouleh, sauteed onions (didn't really need them, but I just wanted to slice onions). I feel like I'm cheating on my Messermeister chef's knife, but I can't help it. It's just so wonderful -- really comfortable, light but balanced so the blade behaves like a much heavier knife. Anyone else have one? Anyone else in love? Furi East-West knife

I've used stock made from smoked turkey for mole, and it's fabulous. I'd guess that it would be good for paella too -- I used smoked paprika in one version, so it seems to me that the smoked stock would provide the same flavor profile

I got a deal on some beautiful grapefruits, so I've been using a lot of the juice in cocktails. One of my inspirations was basically to invert the amounts of pomegranate and grapefruit juices in the Pomeranian, and the result was actually better, for my taste, than the original: 2 oz. rum 1/2 oz. triple sec 1 oz. grapfruit juice 1/4 oz. pomegranate juice It's much more complex tasting than the Pomeranian, and more refreshing too. I think it'd be great on ice with a splash of soda.

I hope this isn't too late -- I couldn't find the recipe. Martini Prawns Bring to a boil: 1/2 cup dry vermouth, 1/4 cup gin, a teaspoon or so of crushed juniper berries, and salt and pepper. Stir in 1-1/2 pounds large shrimp or prawns, cover and cook for a minute or two, or until about half cooked. Remove from heat and stir the prawns. Let them cool in the liquid (they'll continue to cook as the liquid cools) and then refrigerate until chilled. The aioli recipe is just a basic mayonnaise, but add 1-1/2 tsp grated lemon zest and 1/2 tsp crushed juniper berries along with the lemon juice, egg yolks and garlic to start. After you beat in the oil, stir in a teaspoon each of gin and vermouth, about 1/4 cup each minced stuffed olives and minced cocktail onions plus a tablespoon of chopped parsley.

San Pellegrino's soft drinks are among the few I like to use in cocktails -- they're less sweet and taste more of fruit than most American soft drinks. Their Aranciata is great with Campari -- one of my favorite summer coolers.

Hey! That could be their slogan: US Bartenders -- We're Proud to Use Sour Mix ™ or how about Gimlet? That's With an Onion, Right? ™

Okay, you shamed me into trying it again, and it was much better this time. I think the problem the first time I tried it was that I used Meyer lemon juice, which is not nearly as acidic as regular lemon juice. Also, I must have overpoured the cacao, because the chocolate was more prevalent in the first attempt. However, I've been drinking something very similar but with Velvet Falernum instead of the cacao, and I like that so much better that I doubt I'll switch.

Steamed artichokes are amazing with true martinis -- the artichoke smooths out the martini and the martini lessens the weird metallic aftertaste of the artichokes. But I'm not sure how you'd incorporated them into finger foods and I'm not sure how they'd be with other cocktails. On the other hand, marinated artichoke hearts would undoubtedly work well too. I also ran across a recipe for gin-and-vermouth-marinated shrimp served with a "martini aioli" -- a mayonnaise with a touch of vermouth and gin, plus lemon zest, minced juniper berries, and chopped cocktail onions and olives mixed in. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds fabulous.

Thanks for the link. It's always nice to see our eGullet members in print (for those who don't know, Audrey is libationgoddess here on the forum).

I've found that I like much less vermouth and cherry brandy than Gary's recipe called for. I've settled on 2 oz. scotch, 1 oz. sweet vermouth, scant 1/2 oz. cherry brandy, and about 1 1/4 oz. orange juice. I've been using blood orange juice for cocktails (blood oranges being on sale at my produce store) and find I like them better -- I think they're a little more tart, so the drinks don't end up so sweet. And the drink looks better, too. But back to Sam's original post in this thread, about the Twentieth Century Cocktail: I finally tried it, and I hate to say it, but it just doesn't work for me. It's not the gin and chocolate, it's the lemon and chocolate. Everytime I try that combination, I'm disappointed. This was no exception. It wasn't awful, but it won't be in my usual rotation.

An update: I did try this with the Herradura, but I think I prefer it with Hornitas -- a little more subtle or something. Also, it's great with blood orange juice, and gorgeous as well. I've been drinking it up, but I'd guess that on the rocks (maybe with a splash of soda), it would be a great brunch drink. And I wouldn't worry too much about the name. I visualize it marquee style, with a subtitle: MISCHIEF The Other eGullet Cocktail

Welcome to the cocktail lounge (uh, I mean, forum), limewine. Thanks for posting. Your recipe reminds me that one of my favorite bartenders serves a fantastic variation on the Aviation with mint. If you replace the sugar in your recipe with a splash of Maraschino, it sounds just about like what she makes. Check out the Aviation and Maraschino thread if you're interested.

I looked in my copy of Mr. Boston and found the Allen (but not the Aviation, interestingly). None of my other cocktail books mention it at all; they all have the Aviation listed. Mr. B's recipe is 1.5 oz. gin, .75 oz of Maraschino, and .25 oz. lemon juice, which sounds like the 2 to 1 ratio you mention.

One thing that no one else has mentioned is to pat out the dough rather than roll it. It might not be quite as even, but rolling compresses the dough more, so they don't raise quite as much.

That reminded me of a drink I haven't made in a couple of years -- Dale DeGroff's Anejo Highball (which I actually first saw in Gary's New Classic Cocktails book). It calls for Anejo rum, curacao, lime juice and a dash of bitters, topped off with ginger beer (not ginger ale). Very refreshing. For some reason, for me rum drinks are the quintessential summer drinks, although fizzy gin drinks are a very close second. As to Dave's question above about the type of rum, I've been using Bacardi (white) because I had a bottle left over from a class. I have to admit I don't know a lot about white rums -- I've tried Barbancourt and liked it, and usually fall back on Bacardi because it's available everywhere. What do you recommend, Dave?

A great suggestion. Make sure you get your reservations with the Helmand soon. And if you can't get in at Helmand, you can always eat at Brewer's Art. I had a great dinner there. It was a little uneven, but included one of the best lamb chops I've ever eaten. Great foie gras, too.

It would be interesting to know which other beers, besides Brooklyn's, didn't make the cut, and why. Very few of my favorites are there, and I'm left wondering if they tasted and didn't like them, or just didn't taste them.

Often, there is more than one way to do the same thing -- in cooking and cocktails. Well, yes, of course that's true. But I can't see taking two days to do something if you can do the same thing in less than a half hour. Now, if, as Trillium suggests, the version made with raw ginger is perceptibly different from the cooked syrup, I could see taking the time to make it.