KatieLoeb

Sicilian Martini 2 oz Charbay Blood Orange Vodka 1 oz Lillet Blonde 1 T Blood Orange Puree Sprite Shake over ice and serve in a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange zest curl Keywords: Cocktail ( RG860 )

Candy Apple Martini 1-3/4 fl oz Seagram’s Apple Vodka 1/2 fl oz Torani Caramel Syrup Splash Grenadine Sprite Shake and strain into cocktail glass, garnish with Dried apple slice. Keywords: Cocktail ( RG858 )

Candy Apple Martini 1-3/4 fl oz Seagram’s Apple Vodka 1/2 fl oz Torani Caramel Syrup Splash Grenadine Sprite Shake and strain into cocktail glass, garnish with Dried apple slice. Keywords: Cocktail ( RG858 )

Caramel Apple Martini 1-1/4 fl oz Seagram’s Apple Vodka 1/2 fl oz Jack Daniels 1/2 fl oz Torani Caramel Syrup Splash each of Sprite, Pineapple juice, sour mix Shake over ice. Rim cocktail glass with finely chopped roasted hazelnuts and serve “up”. Keywords: Cocktail ( RG857 )

Caramel Apple Martini 1-1/4 fl oz Seagram’s Apple Vodka 1/2 fl oz Jack Daniels 1/2 fl oz Torani Caramel Syrup Splash each of Sprite, Pineapple juice, sour mix Shake over ice. Rim cocktail glass with finely chopped roasted hazelnuts and serve “up”. Keywords: Cocktail ( RG857 )

Strawberry-Ginger Martinis 2-1/2 oz Vodka 1 oz Fragolino di Nemi Wild Strawberry Liqueur (this stuff is yummy!) splash Ginger Beer whisper of dry vermouth Shake and strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with a wedge of strawberry. Keywords: Cocktail ( RG845 )

Strawberry-Ginger Martinis 2-1/2 oz Vodka 1 oz Fragolino di Nemi Wild Strawberry Liqueur (this stuff is yummy!) splash Ginger Beer whisper of dry vermouth Shake and strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with a wedge of strawberry. Keywords: Cocktail ( RG845 )

Lemon-Ginger Cosmopolitans 2-1/2 oz Absolut Citron 1 oz Ginger Beer splash each cranberry juice, lime juice and triple sec Shake over ice and strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with lemon twist Keywords: Cocktail ( RG844 )

Lemon-Ginger Cosmopolitans 2-1/2 oz Absolut Citron 1 oz Ginger Beer splash each cranberry juice, lime juice and triple sec Shake over ice and strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with lemon twist Keywords: Cocktail ( RG844 )

i'd think that some people would look for that quality in a roommate. in fact, where i come from, that'd be considered an "awesome roommate". Even if I were into the random chicks from time to time, they were inevitably so inebriated as to have rendered themselves useless. If he were gay and had brought men home to stumble into my bed that would have been refreshing. Except they would have been gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just a small handicap in terms of stumbling into my bed and making themselves useful rather than an unwelcome/unpleasant surprise. Just another example of my theory that men are like parking spaces. All the good ones are either taken or handicapped

I had a Roommate From Hell at one point. Food was the ONLY thing that wasn't an issue as he was very into sharing the groceries and cooking responsibilities. It turned out that the seemingly normal guy was actually an alcoholic pig. He'd be trashed all the time, he'd tape pornography over my VCR tapes and run up the cable bill with pay per view porno, brought all manner of strangers home, etc. The last straw was when some drunken stupid bitch he'd picked up in bar got lost on the way back from going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and climbed into bed with ME! And my bedroom was on a different floor! I made him move out after that. Invading my effin' bed with drunk bimbos was more than I'd signed up for.

My two newest cocktails here at Rouge - featuring Charbay flavored vodkas Sicilian Martini: 2 oz. Charbay Blood Orange Vodka 1 oz. Lillet Blonde 1 Tbs. Blood Orange Puree Sprite Shake over ice and serve in a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange zest curl. Key Lime Martini: 2 oz. Charbay Key Lime Vodka 3/4 oz. Licor 43 (a vanilla and herb flavored liqueur) A splash each of sour mix, pineapple juice and Sprite. Shake over ice and serve in a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel. If you're feeling really ambitious you can rim the glass with crushed graham craker crumbs for a Key Lime Pie effect. This tastes just like a slice of Key Lime Pie!

I'll echo the former sentiments. You're a wonderful husband and a kind and caring partner. Your wife is one lucky lady South Beach Diet has a website that you can peruse for recipes. Some of them are actually very tasty. There's a ricotta cheese faux tiramisu type dessert that's really good and definitely packs some protein. I'd just surf the web/bookstore for all the high protein/low carb recipes you can find. You obviously have handle on the logistics of packing a protein punch without "wasting" precious minimal stomach space on carbs, so just adapt from there and find things that you both like. You can eat regular portions and she can eat whatever she can tolerate in one sitting. Having to analyze your food choices so carefully is a drag, but in the long run will be beneficial to you both. I wish you both the best of luck, and a safe and speedy recovery to your wife. I have an infinite amount of respect for her courage in making the lifestyle changes required for you both to live out your dreams. You're blessed to have found each other.

MM: Welcome to eGullet! Quite the auspicious third post mon frere! You're going to have to live up to yourself after this point. Great post, wonderful writing, and from the sounds of it, some damn fine eatin' as well. I'm eagerly anticipating your future contributions.

Not only do you eat well, but your wine parings are admirable as well. First the Prum and now the Quivira. Bravo! The cappuccino hearts are definitely getting better. More defined and more centered. Turbo is here purring and sends high paws to Texas and Rosie.

I'd speculate that Derek Davis doesn't have the organization behind him to keep another place going well. Nor do I think he is able to attract the people for one. Maybe he realizes where his limit is. Sonoma, Carmella's. Fish on Main (?) I think that's all he has right now, right? No more Vega Grill, Arroyo Grille, Kansas City Prime. That's just me. I can't say that others have an anti-Manayunk bias, but I sort of do. Herb: Just one note. Vega Grill was never in the Derek Davis stable. Owners were Lisa Martensen-Pauwels and her husband Greg. Guillermo Pernot was the opening chef and he left to open Pasion with Michael Dombkoski. The place never seemed to recover from that and eventually closed as well. I haven't been to Manyunk in quite some time. Is the old Vega Grill space still lying fallow? That was a cute little spot, and well set up for a restaurant. Nice bar too.

Holy Mother of God! You're EVIL!!!

I'm going to have to try the simmer-the-can method and do a side-by-side tasting with the long-suffering-all-day-burbling-sticky-mess version. Simmer-in-the-can is soooooo easy. And the results, in my experience, have always been excellent. I learned this trick from an Argentine chef that I used to work for. At the restaurant we used it as a dessert sauce, a plate decoration for desserts, swirled in ice cream (the BEST!), etc. Not a single guest ever complained that it didn't taste homemade.

This is the method I'm familiar with as well (although the dish towel trick is nice!), and it works like a charm and virtually effortlessly. You'll have cans of Dulce de Leche to your heart's content this way. They even keep on the shelf unopened once they're cooked!

Reminds me of a tale of my travels and travails through Europe whilst on my Grande Tour (circa 1985) in college. I had purchased a couple of Space Cakes (one a chocolate brownie type confection, the other a banana bread like square) in an Amsterdam coffee shop and stashed them in my backpack for a later snack. I was riding the train to Belgium and realized I would be crossing a BORDER! I was sure the jackbooted border agents (between Belgium and the Netherlands, no less ) would be arresting me post haste when I was strip searched on the train (OK - so I panicked needlessly and had a vivid imagination), so I wolfed them both down to "destroy the evidence". I was pretty useless for the rest of that day and into part of the morning the next!

Here's a link to an interesting article that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer last week. Biodynamic Farming And here's a follow up with some actual tasting notes for the wines sampled. Putting Biodynamics to the Test

Nice sig line Anna! I received an e-mailed invitation to come out to KCP in the waning days of December for two-for-one steaks before they closed. Alas, I didn't make it. The steaks there *used* to be quite palatable, but in recent years just didn't seem to be as good, so I guess I wasn't in a big 'ol hurry to get over there. Interesting that they've actually sold the place rather than re-tooling, which seems to be in vogue these days when something isn't quite working (e.g. El Vez, Angelina, and that horrid knock-off Buca di Beppo where Arroyo Grill used to be).

It is a cool business model, isn't it. I haven't taken a look in lately, but I hope they are getting customers. Can you be more specific about the "pitfalls" it avoids? I need to learn about that kind of stuff. Well - the thing that shuts down most startup operations is drowning in OVERHEAD. The Managers/owners are on salary and spend their time sourcing the product. No need for skilled cooking labor at extravagant salary. No Executive Chef means no huge salary to pay. The only people you need in the kitchen are a couple of hourly paid dishwashers/prep cooks that are plating the stuff and running the racks of little plates and glassware through the dishwasher. The rest of your staff (waiters, bartenders, bussers [if you even need bussers]) are tipped employees that are getting paid less than minimum wage. Your payroll costs are about half what they'd be under the "usual" circumstances. Without a stove you don't have to pay for the utilities to run it (gas or electric), you don't have to pay to have the hoods cleaned weekly, you don't have to pay to have your Fryolator oil hauled away each week, etc. You've cut down the "usual" expenses tremendously. By not having a conventional stove set up, you make for a better tenant, that doesn't have to rig the commercial space with vents and hoods and fans, etc. You won't be leaving a greasy film behind you if you ever move/close etc. You may be able to negotiate a much better deal on the rent because you aren't altering or "damaging" the space in any way. All you really need is a dishroom with a long prep table in it, refrigeration, and a lot of storage space with racks in it as your canned/dry goods area. But you don't need the usual long list of expensive equipment with expensive upkeep. It's bloody brilliant, really. The very things that are the usual downfall of a new venture have been cut down or completely cut out of the equation. These dudes are pretty clever!

Oh. My. God. I am so right there with you on this. This sounds too decadent for words. Maybe like hot cocoa or hot dulce with a wee dram of your favorite winter Keep-Me-Warm spirit? Rum? Brandy? Bourbon? Oooooohhhhh! I just got chills thinking about it...

Thanks for reporting about this place. I've been curious about it ever since I read about it at Herbacidal's urging. I like the idea of a true "tapas-type" bar with little plates and great wines by the glass. And the business model is brilliant! Avoids many of the pitfalls that put newbie restaurants out of business in their first year of operation.