Plantes Vertes

I will probably not make it again soon as I didn't find it especially memorable, but I didn't spit it out I just felt it was lacking in contrast and found the spices from the Angostura and the herbs in the Chartreuse blended into one rather. I might experiment with adding a bass note with more bitterness or something a bit more savoury/leafy/funky than cognac to give it some more go. The party has not happened yet; it's for my birthday at the end of next month and will double as our housewarming. We are spatially challenged ... Once we have put in a table for food, some mixing decks and space for coats, the guests will have to go in the hall and there will be nowhere to sleep. On the other hand I am the fortunate acquaintance of a troupe of circus performers who will do acrobatics on our roof/deck for booze*, so entertainments at least are simple and sorted. *Acrobatics first, booze after. Health and Safety, Health and Safety.

At a certain time in my life (long, long ago) I became very familiar with 30p Tesco Value frozen pizzas. I was once served this in a restaurant. It was still partly frozen.

A Doctor was originally Swedish Punch + Bacardi as well, rather than dark rum. I am also looking forward to the result. Now that Adam has put his eG cred on the line he has no choice but to win, I feel.

I like them also with crème de cassis. We don't have Thanksgiving...

Agreed, although I find a Ward Eight much improved if you omit the lemon, orange and grenadine Those are only present to compensate each other's horribleness.

Yes, I've realised that three drinks at once works much better for me than one. As it happens, there were two other people involved this time, but still, from now on I will go with three. We used Beefeater and M&R, as JAZ recommended upthread.

Well, clearly I was not paying adequate attention during our previous discussion of the Palm Beach Special, because this is what we (I) chose for cocktail hour today.... Actually I enjoyed it. It tasted strongly of pineapples and I concluded it was good for me.

Royal Bermuda Yacht Clubs 2oz Mount Gay Eclipse 1oz lime juice 0.5oz Cointreau 0.5oz Velvet Falernum

I think it's called Hummus bil Lahme.

Shoreditch House has got very WankMixology since I was there. Funny.... I've been a different bar and had the waiter tell my female companion a drink was "strong". I put it down to staff training, really. I trained my staff previously to refer to drinks as either "spirit forward" or "easy drinking" rather than "strong" and "light". I really would like to see more effort put into training floor staff at decent cocktail bars. Wrong on many levels. Did the waiter look at you and think you were not to be trusted? Then again the dangerous drinks are strong and easy drinking. If she thought I was not to be trusted.... well, she was probably right

I think I thought I saw him try. He did, but I slapped his face. We shared a cigarette later so it's all cool.

Today we chose the Champs Elysées to relief the angst of an intense party-planning session. 2oz cognac 0.75oz Green Chartreuse 0.5oz lemon juice 0.25oz simple Dash bitters

These are some drinks we enjoyed recently at the Zetter Townhouse in Clerkenwell. Original recipes are devised by Tony Conigliaro. Negroni for my friend. He called this pretty standard and had some better ones in the Negroni Bar at Polpo restaurant later on... and after that, some superb barrel-aged specimens with mixed vermouths at Shoreditch House. He knows what he likes to drink. Flintlock for me. I was a little insulted when the waitress warned me that this was 'a strong drink' and asked whether I was sure I wanted it... Guess I looked either fragile or already drunk. Anyway, it's listed as containing: Beefeater 24 gin, gunpowder tea tincture, sugar, dandelion & burdock bitters & Fernet Branca The Fernet Branca was hard to detect; perhaps the waitress wished to spare me the shock. The drink tasted of sugar and absinthe. You also get a small gun cotton blast to top off your drink. El Presidente for my friend, which totally knocked him out and compelled him to drink another. Richmond for me. Chivas Regal 12yr, apple honey & Lillet blanc It was simple and delicate. Nice for a rainy afternoon. Later I ended up back there again for some Koln Martinis with Adam George, which we both could have enjoyed if I hadn't spilled most of mine into his man-bag. The waitress spritzes the citrus aromatics over your glass at the table. This bar is really comfortable and a nice place to relax early in the evening. The decor is country house library-themed so it's not the place to go insane with your liquor. Music is innocuous blues. That's not Michael Stipe in the background by the way, not matter what you think.

We went with Rafa's Bert Cooper to inaugurate our new flat's 5pm drinks rule. And we saw that it was good.

I cannot speak from experience as a heap of raw kale just defeats my morale, but I have heard from its apostles that it's wise to give your greens a thorough massage with dressing some hours before eating. Breaks down the roughage. A bit.

With an olive and just a couple of common household ingredients you can serve up a wholesome and satisfying Martini... or... Cannellini beans, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic in a paste is good with crudités or maybe crackers. You could make antipasti if you have tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic or some mozzarella or anchovies or vegetables in oil. Frozen fish fillets cook very quickly under the grill or even in the microwave. You can also microwave or steam fresh or frozen vegetables in a few minutes to go with them. Fish other than tuna, such as sardines, salmon, crab and crayfish also come in oil or water. Pitta in packets keep for a very long time if you feel happy about having them in the house, and you can get hummus, baba ganoush, olives, dolma, foul medammes and pickles jarred or tinned. Also feta in oil or brine. Tofu and miso are also very long-lasting; you could do noodles with them or a soup with nori, and you can get jars of red, yellow and black bean sauce for noodles as well, and bamboo shoots and water chestnuts in tins, and you could add frozen shrimp and soy sauce/oil or sesame seeds to a stir-fry. Tortellini and ravioli seem to come in long-life packets as well. They only take a few minutes to boil, and you can have them with pesto, butter or parmesan or in broth. Cous-cous is ready very quickly. You could serve it with some dried fruit and nuts as a side or to make a salad bigger. You can do tomato or pea soup in ten minutes if you have tinned tomatoes/frozen peas, some oil and an onion or garlic, plus a blender. Just saute the onion/garlic, boil the peas if that's what you're using, blend everything and heat. Tomato is good with some chilli and/or herbs, or you could add a tin of beans. A Niçoise salad could happen with eggs, green beans (frozen), olives (jarred) and tuna (tinned), as long as you had fresh tomatoes. Frittata is another eggy possibility.

My life's motto.

To preserve them in oil, use 1 cup white wine vinegar, 1/2 cup water and 1 1/2 cups oil (or to cover) per lb mushrooms, plus whatever aromatics you prefer (eg a few sprigs of thyme, couple of lightly crushed garlic cloves, bits of lemon peel, peppercorns etc). Simmer everything but the oil and mushrooms for ~20mins, then add mushrooms for ~10mins. Heat the oil to 170. Remove the mushrooms to a jar along with whatever bits of the aromatics you want to keep to develop the flavour, pour the oil on. Refrigerate it, leave it for 2 weeks, eat within six months. Always worth checking for any food safety issues with preserving, too.

Your drinks could drive one to patronise the arts.

I'm not obsessed with cooking, but I definitely like it a lot. I think it's because cooking involves so many skills and pleasures; not many other activities demand such varied aptitudes and satisfy such diverse desires. It seems like cooking needs precision, panache, timing, taste, imagination, generosity, dedication to practice, mechanical ability, curiosity, some willingness to err, aesthetic judgement, creativity, good memory, synthetic thinking, attention, a convivial nature, some sort of joie de vivre... that means that cooking can be a very fulfilling activity, but as well as that, the rewards are very good; you get to eat them and share them with people, please others and from time to time drink nice wine with them. It's just very gratifying. Maybe there's some patriotism or cultural envy; maybe there's also a wish to care for others, memories of family, nostalgia, a way of expressing love. In terms of a professional kitchen you can add a sense of the quest for excellence, camaraderie and bravura, professional pride, daring and exhilarating pressure.

You can clean it with a 3:1 paste of baking soda and water. Put it on and leave it for 15mins, then clean it off with a damp cloth and some elbow grease.

Couldn't sneak them into a dessert, eh?

Impeccable weaving, dcarch!

I decided to bring my own lunch the day the canteen decided to serve: protein - beans. Just beans. carb - boiled rice vegetable - roast potato salad - pasta salad in mayo dessert - rice pudding side - bread roll I realised the caterers were totally mad and that I would become fat, vitamin deficient and very very bored if I allowed them to feed me. Now I make myself a salad and take whatever is left over from the previous evening plus various snacks like nuts, fruit, dried fruit, small vegetables.

I agree with you! I dont even post my meals anymore. they never warrant praise or comment and pale by comparison. tug, I think that's a shame. I am interested in all kinds of cooking and I would not enjoy eGullet so much if there was no-one doing the same as me; normal home meals. That's what allows me to join in myself, and this is how we can see the cultures and habits of other members, as well as their skills. I know that this is a big part of what fascinates many people about food. I look on those sublime and intimidating creations as a way to learn and maybe improve what I do a little bit, not as a reason to despise the humbler sort of cooking that is nonetheless the most widely appreciated and loved in families around the world. I hope you will decide to start posting again!