KatieLoeb

Whoa! Holy Crap Batman! That looks like a Death Row meal to me. Good God how did you all get up from table afterward?? Did they provide wheelbarrows? Sorry I missed this. The wines alone were worth crawling for miles over broken glass on my belly. Fabulous. Looks like a good time...

I'm a fan of eyedroppers (and small atomizer sprayers) for precision. It might be one of the few things in life I'm a bit anal about. However, I must agree that most drink recipes are at least a bit forgiving, certainly enough so that an ml or two here or there won't be perceptible to the average palate. It's a cocktail, not birth control or chemical weaponry. It'll be fine.

Thanks everyone. I'm still stunned that this thing fell into my orbit. I really do love it. Surprisingly, this objet d'art is found on eBay and there's 10 of them available at $15.00 or your Best Offer (+shipping, of course). Who knew? Heck, I'd have bought one new in the box but didn't even realize this design existed until I stumbled upon it. So now you don't all have to fight each other for them or go on the endless search for the needle in the haystack. Kitchensqueen, I think I know what your in-laws are getting for next Christmas... I also went barware a-thrifting a couple of weeks ago to find a nice set of snifters to accompany a fine bottle of sipping rum for a friend's birthday. I did find him a nice set of snifters but ended up with a set of 6 pretty etched glasses and some hollow stemmed champagne coupes as well as some snifters/tasting glasses for myself. Have no idea where I'll store all this stuff, but I figure I'll find a use for it at a cocktail competition or a photo shoot or something so I can make an excuse for myself that way. I'll try take some pictures of those and post them when I can. edited to add: It seems if you search for "Martini Lamp" on eBay these are all over the place, but seem to be mostly battery operated and vary in price from the $15 or Best Offer stated above to about $68 or so for one with the electrical cord like mine has. I kind of like the "Old School" look of mine with the cord running down through the stem of the glass and the small switch on the cord, but others might prefer the cleaner lines of one without the tether. I'll have to measure my lamp as well. I think it might be slightly taller than the "mini martini lamps" my eBay search uncovered. I'm guessing it's definitely over a foot tall. Will report back...

Best find EVER! A vintage martini lamp at a thrift shop in North Wildwood, NJ. It was marked at $15 but I ended up talking the guy down to $10. It's fabulous. I have to figure out just the right spot for it. It needs to have the martini pick glued down with some Super Glue or Gorilla Glue so I can cut off the ugly plastic tie that's holding it in place, but otherwise it's perfect in every way. I'm half tempted to make it my desk lamp but the bulb isn't really bright enough for that. Nonetheless, I love it. I need to find its home in a suitable place of honor.

Thanks for reminding me I have a big bag of blackberries from last summer taking up far too much real estate in my freezer as well. Might have to shrub those up next time I have a moment...

Dan: We make our own ginger beer in house so the cost issue isn't a big one. I'd be afraid the ginger beer would be too spicy and start duking it out in the glass with the orange flavors. The little tang of vinegar in the background is subtle so wouldn't want to mask that either.

We're doing a whole new punch menu for spring/summer at Oyster House. In addition to our adaptation of Mother's Ruin punch as the "house" punch each bartender was asked to create a new punch recipe using different spirits as the base. The "9th Street Punch", so named because there are so many Mexican restaurants in/around the Italian Market in Philly, was created by Jordan Stalsworth, my esteemed colleague behind the stick at Oyster House. It's a tequila based punch that contains a house made orange shrub we're making from orange zest and flesh, a small dose of sugar and champagne vinegar. A measured dilution of water, add Hornitos anejo tequila and a topper of ginger ale, garnish with a thin lime wheel and that's about it. Simple and refreshing. Shrub is a wonderful thing. Looking forward to creating some new ones as the season allows for more diverse produce offerings to do so.

Ordered for pickup later in the week. One bottle Plantation Rum 20th Anniversary by Cognac Ferrand. Delicious stuff. Aged first in bourbon barrels, blended and then aged in cognac barrels. Tastiest sipping rum I've had in some time. This bottle is a gift for a friend's 50th birthday along with a pair of nice vintage snifters. Hope he likes it...

I like getting the tiki torches. The best gifts are those we wouldn't think to get for ourselves. I have no doubt your friend and all his fortunate guests will benefit from his new menu of jelly shots served in the warm glow of the tiki torches on their porch or in their yard or whatever. Sounds like fun and the makings of many great get togethers in the future.

This bums me out. I am a Philly transplant but have now lived here for longer than I haven't. I'm a loyalist to our local products. Breyer's used to be really good. Now it's just better than most. However, the landscape has changed. With other local brands (Capogiro gelato, Bassett's, etc.) that may not be producing at the same levels, quality control is far more difficult at those levels. Like anything, as quantities rise, quality tends to fall. It is what it is. If I want artisinal product I now head for Capogiro. If I want commercial ice cream for my fridge I go to Bassett's. Mint ice cream, with or without chocolate chips was never high on my list of favorites, so that isn't my metric. I'm speaking in more general terms.

I just recently tried the Pages for the first time and think it's my favorite of the Violette/Parfait d'Amour that are available. Best flavor, slightly less sickly sweet than the others and a little bit goes a long way. Unfortunately there's too much inventory of the Rothman & Winter at work to get my manager to order it for me. Maybe need to run a special on Aviations and blow through 2.5 bottles of R&W Creme de Violette so we can have what we really want...

Andie: There's a whole thread on Jello shots where we all discussed the cocktail variation possibilities. The book you're discussing looks interesting and the shots are aesthetically beautiful, but I think the Jello shots thing is kind of a one trick pony. If your friend is really a home bar enthusiast, get him a copy of a good cocktail book like Dale DeGroff's Craft of the Cocktail or The Essential Cocktail, Gary Regan's Joy of Mixology, Imbibe by David Wondrich, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh, or The Modern Mixologist by Tony Abou-Ganim. All of these books are a great starting point for a home bar enthusiast and will teach your friend some truly reliable skills and recipes that he'll be able to apply to his next cocktail party right away. Throw in a nice shaker and a pair of cool vintage cocktail glasses found at a thrift store or on eBay and you've got the makings of a really great gift he's sure to love.

I participate in a fair number of events like this one with some regularity. My best tips. 1) Come up with a solid recipe that batches exponentially with ease. Try to stick to equal/half measures of ingredients. Example: Garden State Cup 1 part cognac 1 part Pomegranate tea 1 part Hibiscus simple syrup 1 part fresh lime juice .5 part Laird's 7.5 yr. apple brandy .5 part Combier orange liqueur .5 part cranberry juice 2 dash Angostura Mix together and strain over fresh ice. Top with approx. 1 part ginger ale. This works as a single serving with 1 part = 1 ounce or 1 part = 1 quart for batch purposes. For the batch you can just dash bitters into each glass before you fill it. Keep it simple!!! 2) Don't make too much. Find out how many guests you're expecting and assume that everyone will have one to one and half drink(s) and batch accordingly. This is most especially true when there's other drinks available because some folks won't have any and others will become your new best friend as they continue to make up excuses and such to keep coming back for everyone else's share. And the sooner you're done, the sooner you can enjoy yourself without the pressure of being on stage. I'm not suggesting short changing your hosts or the event, but having an abundance of pre-batched cocktail and nowhere for it to go looks either like no one enjoyed your efforts or that you don't know what you're doing. Always leave them wanting more... 3) Do you have running water or a place to at least rinse off your hands? A dump bucket? Clean bar towels? Scope out how rustic or well equipped your station is and ask for those things you can't function without. 4) Make sure you have volunteers to keep you stocked on glassware, ice, extra mixers or whatever, remove trash, etc. if need be. 5) Get yourself a big assed shaker. I couldn't do events without mine. When there's a crush of several dozen folks waiting for drinks, shaking up half a dozen at a time is a godsend. 6) This may seem silly, but definitely try and relax and have fun with it. A bit a "quality control" tasting can often speed this process... Hope this helps!!! I'm certain this won't be the last time you do this. It gets easier as you go along. Share Our Strength is a great organization. I've worked the event here in Philadelphia several times. They're good people. Have a blast!

For the record, the Ge-faux-te fish was pretty tasty. Not terribly fishy (and that's certainly not a bad thing) and colorful with a lot of texture. The perfect horseradish delivery system, which is exactly what it needed to be. The non-vegetarians all got a small piece alongside their traditional gefilte fish and everyone liked it enough to request it again for next year's festivities. Rounding out our seder menu was the vegetarian matzo ball soup, salad, spinach kugel, vegetable casserole, Passover "stuffing", tomatoes Provencal, quinoa pilaf w/almonds and dried cranberries, and potato/horseradish crusted salmon and Balsamic chicken for the non-vegetarians. Dessert was macaroons of various sorts, a huge fruit salad, Passover biscotti and the banana bread we baked the other day. I'm feeling fat and happy.

Happy Passover Pam!! Watching your preparations are making mine seem rather simple. Though I'm not hosting, I'm in charge of charoset, and horseradish as usual, as well as helping my hostess with the cooking at her house. We got together last Thursday evening and made the matzo balls for the soup, quinoa pilaf and banana "bread" for dessert. I made the horseradish on Friday. I'm finishing my charoset right now. One of our seder attendees (hostess' brother) is vegetarian so we try to accommodate as much as possible. Veggie broth in the soup, no schmaltz in the matzo balls, quinoa pilaf as a side, etc. She even made vegan gefilte "fish" for him this year with kelp granules, dulse, carrots and ground almonds. I'll let you know how that turned out... Looking forward to seeing the pictures of your seder. I'm certain it'll be mouthwatering!

I had a fantastic meal at Salt of the Earth recently. Adventurous food, delicious cocktails and a well chosen wine list. Highly recommended. Embury is a really neat place for cocktails as well. An old firehouse converted to a speakeasy style cocktail lounge. Should be high on your list of places to go.

If you don't mind taking a short drive a visit to Green Meadow Farm in Gap, PA might be interesting. Green Meadow provides a great deal of the fresh produce and herbs for many of Philadelphia's high end restaurants. They're super nice folks that are very green in their thinking and farming practices. If you call for an appointment ask for Ian Brendle and tell him I sent you. It's a lovely farm that does good work.

He seems somewhat more credible to me than Rocco Dispirito, which isn't saying much, but says something. Some might say the same thing about Jamie Oliver. Bobby Flay is all over the place and no one is questioning his cred. I recall watching Nigella Lawson deep throat a wooden spoon in a scandalously low cut blouse on one episode and no one questioned that except me, I think. Not sure I understand what the problem is. If it annoys you, change the channel. 'Tis the nature of the beast.

D'oh. Sorry about that. I Googled Whirl (since I didn't know what it was) and one of the entries was for ordering via Costco. I didn't investigate it any further beyond that since I don't need a tub of it myself. And I really am not certain at all what's so "special" about any detergent, other than it hopefully does what it's supposed to. If you're using it to build bombs or make illegal substances, perhaps it's best you don't answer me here in a public forum. In fact, I wouldn't want to know if that's the case...

If you need commercial dishwasher detergent/chemicals call Termac. They're the biggest suppliers in the area. If you need home dishwasher detergent the wholesale clubs will have that in huge buckets for you. Costco carries Whirl according to my Google search.

I've enjoyed a couple of lovely and memorable meals at August over the last couple of years when in NOLA for Tales. It's never disappointing. Creative, interesting and delicious food served in a beautiful atmosphere with impeccable service. What's not to like? Definitely a fine dining destination, both in New Orleans or in any city where it would be located.

Restaurant Depot in Manayunk has food, although it's a lot of frozen stuff, but you need to have "proof" of working in a restaurant. If you have a friend that works in a restaurant with a pay stub or proof you work for a non-profit I think that will get you in the door. Otherwise, you can buy restaurant sized cans/boxes/jars at any of the wholesale clubs like BJ's, Sam's Club, Costco, etc. What is it you need, exactly??

If the Leader of the Free World can't get his food as he likes it (or a little somethin' from an over-eager intern in a prior administration, for that matter...) there's definitely something wrong with the world... I am surprised and a bit disappointed to find out that President Obama isn't a fan of beets, though.

Refund whatever small amount is covering their meals and tell them their demands are simply too diverse and too time consuming and you can't possibly accommodate them as well as care for your other guests that are staying in the same time frame. Let them bring their own food or fend for themselves when there's nothing nearby. Not your problem any longer. Simply don't charge them for services not rendered/partaken in. And if they don't pay for it they shouldn't be allowed to have anything but tap water. To rinse their mouths out when they brush their teeth. But nothing more. Let them bring their own bottled water to drink. Done. That ought to teach those entitled beyotches a lesson they're clearly far overdue for...

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