KatieLoeb

no, they all smell bad like that. those vomit berries contain the gingko nuts that you shell and eat. ← BLECH!!!!

Are there different species of ginko trees that bear different types of "nuts"? The only ones I've ever seen are the ones we affectionately call "Vomit Berry Trees" because the fruits smell so vile when they fall and get stepped on. Probably the most unappetizing and gag-inducing smell ever. I can't imagine eating anything like it.

I'm currently serving the Robertson Vineyards Chenin Blanc by the glass at my restaurant. It's quite reasonable and very crisp and off-dry. Lots of tropical fruit and good acidity. Pretty mouth filling for a medium bodied glass. Gives a good autumnal alternative to Riesling or Vouvray for a glass pour.

Wow. Everyone's feasts look and sound absolutely delicious. Here's what I had at the home of good friends: Before dinner: Cranberry Bellinis (I made these) Assorted Cheeses and Pates Cucumber cups stuffed with Smoked Salmon, Sour Cream and Salmon Caviar For dinner: Composed mixed green salad with Frisee, Watercress and assorted baby Greens, Bosc Pears and Shaved Parmesan with Mustard Vinaigrette. Roast Turkey Oyster Stuffing topped with fried oysters Sausage Stuffing Mashed Sweet Potatoes Grand Marnier Cranberry-Orange Sauce (i made this) Garlic Green Beans For Dessert: Asian Pear-Cranberry Cobbler (I "commissioned" this and brought it. It was delicious!) I'm still full! Everything was very good. Especially my seven year old nephew insisting we stand up before dinner and talk about what we were thankful for. It was very sweet and reminded me what a truly remarkable child he is. I'm thankful for that.

I assumed that warning people about Habaneros was akin to warning them about standing on the oven door. I suggested three Habs per liter of vodka. That seems about right for my non-suicidal chile-head friends. Habs do wander all over the heat spectrum and your milage will vary. What ratio of Habs to vodka did Herbacidal use? Jim ← I think it was about that, but I've asked Herb to step in an answer this question himself. You're right that the heat does vary pretty wildly. The ones he used must have been pretty damn hot because the resulting vodka was pretty scary stuff. We ended up diluting it down with more plain vodka.

The Asian Pear-Cranberry cobbler was absolutely delicious and a big hit, especially with my 7 year old nephew. He thought they were "really sweet!!" and wondered why they had to cook them. I told him it was so they'd soften up a bit. I'll have to bring him a raw one to eat out of hand and see how much he loves that.

Mike: Sounds delicious! And I'll just bet that the wine was perfect with the oyster and bacon stuffing. YUM! Sounds like a match made in heaven. I still have one bottle of that Foley left at home. Not sure what I'm saving it for yet, but perhaps it'll be good with turkey leftovers! Since you're in such a "Pinot Noir phase", you should definitely go see the film Sideways if you haven't yet. It's a great movie and the plot revolves (at least somewhat) around the quest for the perfect Pinot Noir. Funny stuff and great dialogue about wine.

Others may disagree, but I've had many good meals (both take out and sit down) from Empire Szechuan on 72nd between Broadway and West End. This place was practically in the lobby of a good friend's former apartment and I've always enjoyed the food from there. Is it earth shatteringly great? Probably not. But it is consistently very tasty and prepared with fresh ingredients. The Crispy Orange Beef was always a fave.

And so we shall begin to discuss the issue of is the customer always right? No of course they aren't. Certainly not anymore than regular retail customers or anyone at the receiving end of any professional service is ALWAYS right. There will always be the high maintenance entitled customer that asks for the impossible and won't take no for an answer, regardless of whether they're asking a restaurant to provide out of season fruit, insisting that their dry cleaner remove the well set in blood stain from their last murderous rampage or browbeating their physician into providing a more palatable diagnosis. That's just how they are and it's a lose-lose situation for the unfortunate individual that has to break the bad news to them. It how graciously the bad news is delivered and how diplomatically one is able to make Mr./Ms. Impossible Customer acquiesce to the alternative that defines great service.

Yeah but it's so tame and adorable. I want to see the stuff that would make you squirm when she showed it to your dates. I want you to know that your tales of Cranberry Bellinis inspired me to make a whole special trip to the Whole Foods market on the way home tonight and now there's a big cauldron of Roasted Butternut Squash, Garnet Yam and Chestnut soup on the stove as well. I still have to go make the Cranberry puree for the Bellinis. Oh well - nothing to do tonight but cook, sip wine and read eGullet.

I recommend extreme caution in how many peppers one uses for this infusion. Herbacidal made some Habanero vodka a while back that had to be dispensed with an eye dropper when it was done. It practically made the tomato juice start to bubble and smoke when you put it in the glass.

The Asian pears are from a local orchard and they are incredibly sweet, which is why I thought having some cranberries in there for a bit of tartness would be a good balance. Apple-Cranberry is a great flavor combo, so I thought this would be as well. I'll report back after dinner on Thursday how it was...

I've commissioned an Asian Pear-Cranberry cobbler which will be delivered to me this afternoon. Knew I wouldn't have time to cook anything besides the Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce so I turned over the responsibility to trusted chefs to handle for me. I think I like this idea.

A pastry chef I worked with in the past taught me the best trick. You fill a pyrex measuring cup with Kraft Caramels and melt them in the microwave. Then pour this into the bottom of your fruit pie crust or better yet, as a bottom layer of a cheesecake! You could probably cheat and use the jarred Caramel Apple dip in a pinch.

I had Salted Bitter Almond and Wild Turkey/Poached Pear last time I was there. Two of the very best flavors I've ever had ANYWHERE. And their pistachio tastes more like pistachio than an actual pistachio nut does. How do they do that???

Since the potatoes are already cooked, basically you're just crisping the outside and heating them through, correct? If you made them flatter like a latke rather than like a "dough-ball" type fritter (think hushpuppies) they'd probably heat through and crisp up fast enough not to burn the pecan meal. But the only way to know is to try a few. I hope you realize we expect a full report with photos at this point.

Flour Power is VERY cool and works on a few different levels.

And one would serve this to, um, cleanse their palate??

This just in from the "things work in mysterious ways" department: Just as I was bitching and moaning upthread about no one bringing me any Thanksgiving wine surprises, this evening as I was literally walking out the door of my office, one of my wine purveyors presented me with a 3 Liter bottle of Renwood Old Vines Zinfandel! Apparently it's my "prize" for selling quite a bit of Renwood Pinot Grigio by the glass (we go through 3-4 cases per week). Color me sheepish for having so little faith. Sometimes the karma runs over your dogma. I'm going to save this for a "Girl's Weekend" I have planned for early January. Several of my very favorite women and dearest friends are all descending on Philadelphia for a weekend. There will be about five or six of us total. We will undoubtedly go out for a BYOB dinner one evening, so we'll just walk in and make a big splash with the double magnum of Zin! We'll be the BYOB table.

Oh this is nothing. Wait 'til she starts posting the diaper down around the ankles baby pictures! So Mrs. Kinsey - hit us with your best shot (of Sam, of course... )

John: There was definitely Yeungling Lager, Stella Artois and something else I can't remember ON DRAUGHT. The wines weren't there yet for the soft opening but the list looked like there were mostly failry inexpensive to moderate selections. I think the by-the-glass wines looked ho-hum. [grumbling under her breath as she slinks away] I told them to call me for help, but does anyone listen to me. Nooooo! Of course not... [/grumbling under her breath as she slinks away]

Now there's something to be thankful for!! No one's giving me any Thanksgiving wine gifts. Actually since Thanksgiving and Christmas are the only two days of the year we're closed, the vacation day is an unexpected gift. I'll be thankful for that.

Kurt: I'm looking right at a bottle of it as I type this. It's the Calvados Coeur de Lion Sélection that we use for Sidecar mixing here at my restaurant, Rouge. That's the one that's $25.99 from the PLCB. The sugar rimmed glass that Ian and Sam both mentioned is also de rigeur for a proper Sidecar. Sam's recipe proportions look just right.

Bill: Glad I could help and such a happy coincidence that you already have a bottle on hand! It's tough to make recommendations not knowing if certain products are available in another city, so I try to stick to those things which I'm certain have national distribution before sending someone off on a wild goose chase for a product that is unavailable to them where they live. Cheers and report back with tasting notes!!

Percy: Thanks for posting that. I've been wondering about Nectar for some time now. Might be worth a drive to the hinterlands to try. My favorite places in Chester Co. are Spence Cafe and Avalon in West Chester. The Dilworthtown Inn is always nice for a special occasion. I'm embarrassed to say I've never tried the two best BYO places (according to what I hear), Gilmore's and Birchrunville Store Cafe. I've heard nothing but good things about both these places but haven't had the gumption to just go try them. I guess it's the long drive...