KatieLoeb

I want hormone-free, free-range organic sea salt brined olives, dammit! I won't settle for anything less. Surely this is a niche neurotic market that some savvy olive marketer has sought to fill, nest ce pas?

I am in hysterics over this comment!! My mother makes a point of remarking to guests that it was my father's family introduced the shmushing to our family So, is this meant to imply that it is a genetically acquired trait passed down on one's paternal side of the family? Or, rather a learned behavior? The scientist in me wants to know the details ... lest it be mentioned at our dysfunctional but oh so p.c. seder!! In my family, the tradition revolves around whtether you are a "dunker" or a "shpritzer". This has to do with whether you make a pile of cinnamon sugar on your plate to neatly dunk bites of matzah meal/cottage cheese latkes or whether you sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over your matzah meal/cottage cheese latkes. Yeah - so we're neurotic. What's your point?

I just received a sampler of various olives from the Santa Barbara Olive Co. because the olives we're using now are the texture of giant moth balls. The Blue Cheese stuffed olives were inedibly gag-inducing salty. Still going to try some of the other ones in the hope of finding a better alternative. Martini Beach in Cape May, NJ had blue cheese stuffed olives for the martinis. The kitchen would cream some gorgonzola and pipe it in with a pasty bag for the bar. They were damn tasty. Still are... I was told recently that any jarred olive will be of inferior texture and taste because the jars have to be heated and pasteurized (like any canned good) and that ruins the olives. I want to find some decent "fresh" brined olives for the drinks soon, because the lousy ones are really ruining a good high end cocktail IMHO.

Is there an easy way to zest all those lemons? The Microplane. Takes about 10 minutes. And you only get zest - no pith. Mantee - Thanks! Just let me know and I'll be off and running to try and make some truly flavorful Limoncello. I like a wee dram of Limoncello in my Iced Tea in the summertime. Quite refreshing!

Unfortunately, Charbay isn't available everywhere. Beans: Try HERE to find a distributor or to have it shipped to you for recreational use.

I've always thought Parker was full of shit. But at least he's consistently full of shit in the same way. And he's consistent with himself, a quality I find maddeningly absent in many reviewers/raters/scorers/quantifiers of whatever the subjective subject at hand might be - wine, restaurants, travel, etc. Consumer Reports is an example of a rating system that has real value because they are rating objective criteria like repair records, cost, features, etc. And I won't even go into the rant about how big advertising dollars in The Wine Spectator seem to translate directly into higher scores from Mr. Parker. That would take too long... The only way that ANY of this nonsense is of value is if you know that your palate is similar to that of the "score giver". If you've agreed in the past that the wines Mr. Parker consistently scores in the 90's are the best ones you've tried, then yes, his ratings system has value to you. If you don't like what he likes, then you take all his ratings with either a spoonful of salt, or ignore them completely. Another metric that disturbs me is the direct price-value assumptions that some folks try to make about wine. Is a $100 bottle TEN TIMES better than a $10 bottle? Of course not. How do you explain the equation when the less expensive bottle is better? That's where you have to create your own personal Price Value Quotient. How good is the wine vs. what you paid for it? What utility did you get from the wine? Is it good "grab-and-go" wine to just have sitting around the house to take to a BYOB restaurant on short notice? Is it a versatile product? Is it only appropriate for certain occasions? Does it work by itself or only with food? Does that matter to you? All valid points for one's own personal PVQ.

The "add the peel of ONE lime" secret was given to me by the Italian restaurateur in Germany who gave me his recipe. It's definitely the best "homemade" I've had that didn't have the benefit of the Italian lemons. I'd love to make a batch myself with the Amalfi lemons, but where would one procure those here?

Since I seem to be the proclaimed "Limoncello Queen of eGullet" I'll give you my super easy recipe. The limoncello is fairly simple. Take the peels of one dozen lemons + 1 lime (that's the secret!) either removed with a vegetable peeler, or microplaned off. I think the infusion goes much faster with the microplaned little shreds of peel as there's more surface area exposed to the alcohol. Place the peels into an airtight container (I use a large screwtopped jar) and cover with one bottle of 100 proof vodka (I use 100 proof Smirnoff). The higher alcohol level seems to get better extraction from the peels. Place the jar in a safe place (on top of my refrigerator works for me!) for at least two weeks, giving it an occasional shake and sniff to check on it. You'll be able to see the vodka turning bright yellow as it pulls the flavorful oils from the peels. When the peels no longer look colorful and the vodka doesn't seem to be gaining any more visible color or scent, it's done. Filter through a coffee filter or cheesecloth into a large bottle or jar and press down to remove all the vodka and oils that you can from the peels. Add a 1:1 simple syrup (I usually start with 2 cups water to two cups sugar, boiled lightly until completely dissolved and syrupy and cooled off) and then thin further with approximately another 750 ml bottle of your favorite regular vodka. If it needs to be cut down or sweetened further, just use filtered or bottled water and more simple syrup. It's really a matter of taste as to how sweet and/or strong you like it. You can also make "Orangecello" the same way. It's quite tasty too! You could, if you wanted to, use Everclear grain alcohol for the extraction, however, I find that it makes for a much harsher tasting end result. I find that the 100 proof vodka and then flavoring/thinning to taste with simple syrup, more regular decent neutral vodka (last batch I used Denaka from Denmark) and a little filtered or bottled water seems to get the best and most palatable results.

Here are a couple of cocktail recipes containing Brizzard Parfait d'Amour I co-created with the former day bartender at Striped Bass. Orange Creamsicle 1.5 oz. Absolut Vanilia 1.5 oz. Brizzard Parfait D’Amour Half and Half Shake and serve on the rocks with an orange twist Philly Water Ice 2 oz. Absolut Citron 1.5 oz. Brizzard Parfait D’Amour Splash sour mix Splash Sprite Shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry. These are both quite tasty.

You realize that we are getting into a kind of rhythm here, Katie! Who will split San Francisco Bay beneath the Golden Gate Bridge so that we may pass-over into the "promised land" that is hippie heaven, namely Berkeley?? Perhaps Alice Waters (no pun intended??) will split the Bay?? and how shall we make our journey with our alfalfa sprouts tucked beneath our arms and our trendy Chez Panisse seasonal produce on our backs? :laugh: Yeah, but which one of us is the "straight man"??

Could be. Stranger things have happened I would consider it a distinct honor to be even remotely related to such a wine afficianado, Katie! Now trying to decide on whether it would be totally p.c. of me to try out the California charoset variation among the myriad variations possible, and we could offer it in a hottub to recall our days of slavery in Marin! .. Gee thanks! I think we would definitely have some fun at our "family" gatherings, don't you? I like the idea of mellow and laid back Northern California style slavery. We must celebrate our freedom from bondage and the cruel taskmasters that forced us to carry bushels of grapes, roll joints until our fingers bled and open the corks on thousands of bottles of wine!

Could be. Stranger things have happened

This is true, but I guess I was just thinking of the statistical sample of michpoche that I know. Most of them will clean the house and keep "kosher-for-Passover", but normally don't keep kashruth anyhow, so it isn't an issue. They'll still eat a bacon cheeseburger with no bun during the holiday, for example... The Syrian Nutcake recipe looks delicious, but SarahB mentioned people with nut allergies so I wouldn't want to risk it. Even if it's just peanuts and not walnuts or almonds or whatever, a case of anaphylactic shock and a visit from the paramedics can cast such a pall over the Seder, don't you think?

There's a recipe for Passover Baklava Right Here And another recipe for Spiced Dates with Mascarpone Cheese HERE Either of therse could probably work Or find a Middle Eastern dessert cookbook and find a recipe that doesn't have any chametz in it. I have a great book called Patisserie of the Middle East, but I can't think of anything off the top of my head since many of the recipes are phyllo based. But I'm sure there's something fruit based in there somewhere.

A little cup of Mushroom Bisque and Lobster mashed potatoes

Just finished having one of today's specials - Penne with rabbit ragout, fava beans and asparagus.

They live in Chicago, drive Slick PT Cruisers and are good to their mothers. See - it IS the Heartland water! My theory still holds true... Besides, dearest Fress, I had to wonder whether you had any competition out there

Dang - where the heck are all these hunky Jewish boys??? Thanks for the props. Your MIL is most welcome. Let me know how the recipe turns out. I always wonder if the directions translate from the page well enough to reproduce the results we get in the restaurant every day. Those short ribs are on our menu right now and are quite a big seller. The only change to the recipe was to substitute Kosher for Passover steak sauce for what would normally be SOY sauce. It should still color the sauce and provide the salt that the forbidden soy sauce would have. The Tuscan wines sound lovely! Actually I'm certain that a nice Brunello or Sangiovese would be delicious with these as well. YUM!!!

SNL has an embarrassment of riches in this category: Bass-o-Matic. Dan Akroyd as Julia Child severing a finger and projectile bleeding all over the set. Any of the Belushi "Samurai______ (fill in the blank)" skits. Mrs. Loopner's Egg Salad.

Thanks Maggie! Save those recipes. I thnk they'd be great for any occasion, no? What I want to know is where'd you find the HUNKY Jewish boyfriends? Must be the water out there in the Heartland. <she heaves a heavy sigh> Shiksa here too. Those hunky boys were all over Cleveland's eastside when I lived in Shaker Heights. I love your fantastic article. Aha! So my "Heartland-water-makes-Hunky-Jewish-Boys" theory holds water (so to speak) Thanks Beans!

LOL why would you ruin Guinness that way?! Actually... its quite good. I wouldn't do it with a vintage champagne... but I like Black Velvets, a lot. but I think stout goes with all kinds of things. I was offered an interesting after dinner drink at one of my fave Seattle restaurants: a glass of Guinness with a float of ruby port on top. Yes, the flavors worked together, quite well. Fair enough, but I think one would have to use the "cheapie mixing Brut" that one uses for Mimosas and such. It'd be a shame to sully either beverage with the other of equal "authentic" caliber, would it not?

Why on earth would you ruin the Champagne that way???

I waited in line to have him sign one of my cookbooks when he made a local book signing appearance. He was indeed a rather nasty man. Short tempered and really rude to his fans that had waited a good long time to see him. I realize he might have been overscheduled, but he should have saved that wrath for his publisher and manager, not the public that had bought his book and no doubt helped put his kids through college. I nonetheless enjoyed the shows because he was always pleasant on camera. I still really like the immigrant book. It has a lot of cuisines in there that often get ignored.

Thanks Maggie! Save those recipes. I thnk they'd be great for any occasion, no? What I want to know is where'd you find the HUNKY Jewish boyfriends? Must be the water out there in the Heartland. <she heaves a heavy sigh>

Carolyn: Brilliant idea. Brilliant execution. This has been and I'm positive will continue to be, fascinating. We forget sometimes, that wine is simply produce, in a liquid and fermented form. It comes from the earth just like the vegetables and fruits we consume daily. Thanks for the gentle reminder of our and the wine's, connection to the earth. Oh yes - and I want YOUR job!