KatieLoeb

Chris: I agree - broccoli rabe and provolone (aged stinky provolone if possible) is just about all a roast pork needs. No need to mess with DiNics as recommended. Peppers are gilding the lily. Sorry I missed you at Chick's. Looks like you ate a pretty wide swath through town with no guidance! Next time you're here we'll have to drag you over to Shank & Evelyn's for a really killer roast beef sammie and maybe a chicken cutlet parmesan sandwich. That's a place with no equal anywhere...

LOL ← LOL as well. And I'd sell tickets to see that matchup.

Um. Don't necessarily count Georges down and out yet. His restaurant in the burbs and Table 31 are still very much operational, as is the now more casual and less starred Le Bec Fin. I'm not saying it's their heyday, but it's a long way from circling the drain like some other likely suspects in town... When they start cutting their hours back to nothing or unpredictable, stop paying the help, close down for days with no notice or inexplicably turn into a macaroni and cheese cafe then we can talk about the end of an empire. And don't forget. You need to have established an empire to lose one.

What days will you be in town? Many restaurants are closed Mondays, some Tuesdays and even some others on Wednesdays. What dates are you staying in Philly and what sort of foods do you like? We can be a lot more helpful if we know when and where you're staying and whether you'll have transportation available or are relying on your feet, public transit or cabs....

What they all said. To me the Bulleit is about the halfway point between a wheated bourbon and a good rye. In a very good way. I'm a big fan of Bulleit. I always thought it was pronounced Bull'-it, like bullet.

Eden: Can we see a picture of one of the square eggs?? That sounds interesting looking. You could build a foodscape of a bed with a poached egg pillow... Reminds me of the hyper-hybridized square watermelons that Japanese farmers created for better shipping and easir storage.

I'm currently using the Corralejo Blanco as my basic mixing tequila at my bar. It's all agave and has all of the appropriate flavors that go along with that. So much better than the Cuervo blanco. I'm a huge fan of the Siembra Azul line of tequilas that are imported by local Philadelphia restaurateur David Suro. They're a little pricier, but the flavors are astonishingly pure. For something that is guaranteed to be available nationwide, I'd go with the Sauza Hornitos products. Always reliable and taste great either mixed or on the rocks. The Anejo is tasty enough to drink neat in a snifter.

Cran-cello!! I made a batch of this for Thanksgiving last year and it was a big hit. Crush the cranberries with a rolling pin and place them in the bottom of a large wide mouthed jar. Cover with a bottle of 100-proof Smirnoff vodka and allow to sit for at least two weeks (preferably 3-4 weeks) with an occasional shaking. Strain carefully and add approximately one half volume of simple syrup (or even better a spiced simple syrup made with cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom and red pepper flakes) and allow to rest in the bottle for a week or so. This is delicious simply chilled in the freezer or as the base for cranberry mimosas before a big festive dinner.

I am far from being anti-technology and am not a conspiracy theorist, but really - there is something in this that makes me feel uncomfortable. ← Perhaps. But most folks are cooking their eggs in a Teflon or some other form of coated cookware. Having seen those coatings flake off before, that sort of direct contact (if I were bothering to think that hard about it) skeeves me a lot more than the two minutes in cling wrap. Anyone else a fan of the Joe Jackson song, "Everything Gives You Cancer?"

Update. Note to self. Advice to oil/butter the wrap is both well intended and necessary. Having spent some time earlier this evening peeling/scraping one of those pre-poached eggs off it's wrapping with a spoon, the preparation of the cling film shall not be forgotten in the future... The technique remains in the realm of genius. Clearly it is I, who is not equal to the task.

I didn't get, but I gave a nice set of Cuisinart knives (a chef's knife and a nice paring knife) and a 10th anniversary edition of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything to my dear girlfriend that is just getting her feet wet in the world of cooking-for-ones'-self. Since I was always the one at the end of the panic stricken phone call or the odd "I bought this cool fruit/vegetable/piece of protein now what do I do with it?" call, I figured I would give her the tools to fend for herself now that she's moving back to Florida and won't be close enough by for me to come over and try and fix the impending disaster. She did tell me I won the "Best and Most Useful Christmas Present Award" and is genuinely excited by the book and proper tools to start cooking more things on her own. I hope this launches a new home cook after some practice.

Dearest Maggie: Sorry to hear of your unemployment. In this economy, there but for the Grace of God, go I... Rest assured that there are fine box wines to be had. The occasional foray into "off-label" spirits will be rewarded by feelings of calm and warmth. As one who has often had to deal with making do, I've learned that it isn't the quality of hooch in your cup, but the quality of the folks that you're clinking those cups with that matters most. Stick with ethnic foods and ethnic markets to nourish your belly and soul. You should be able to do so frugally and well. Best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2009. For you and the rest of us as well.

if you put the clingfilm into the ramekin, and break the egg into it, you don´t even have to wash up the ramekin!! I poach eggs like this all the time. I usually brush the clingflim very lightly with a little oil to make sure the egg doesn´t stick to it. ← I think I might have my winner for the best food tip for 2009! This is brilliant... *slaps forehead* ← Klary: Thanks for the oil tip. Will try that next time with a very quick spray of olive oil. I suppose if I'd read the instructions more carefully the first time I would have seen the part about doing it right into the ramekin. Yes - this is brilliance!!

My favorite new trick is The Perfect Poached Egg. See method #4 - the Clingfilm Stampede. Break egg into a ramekin or espresso cup. Fold a large sheet of plastic wrap into a square and drop the egg into your palm in the cling film. Wrap and tie up the ends so you have a little egg-in-a-plastic-bag. Drop egg baggies into boiling water and set timer for 2 minutes 30 seconds. Fish bags out and drop into ice water to suspend cooking. Perfectly round little poached eggs every single time. And the pan isn't even dirty. I've tried every other poached egg method and all I've gotten is an egg white variant of weak egg drop soup. This works like a charm every single time. Bloody brilliant!!

So here is the first set of martini picks I've created, as inspired by Kim. Apologies in advance for the poor quality photos. It's late and the cell phone is handier... This is the full set of six that I made. The beads are handmade lampwork that are black with pink flowers and green swirls. The flat diamond shaped beads are vintage Czech glass. Here's a closeup: I'm sure the future sets will look a bit nicer. This was sort of the first shot/experimental set to get my feet wet. But they look very pretty. This all turned into a much bigger project than I imagined. Between having supplies delivered late, spacers having the wrong sized holes in them, having to purchase a bead reamer to enlarge the holes in some of the glass beads, this has really turned into a bit more of an ordeal than I anticipated. But I think now that everything is here, I can create these at my leisure and gift them for birthdays etc. since I've already missed the Xmas deadline. I have some very pretty beads and spacers I'm looking forward to combining in future sets of martini picks. I'd love to use them at my bar, but I'm sure they'd get stolen and that would really piss me off!

As both a professional and a home cocktail enthusiast, I have to contribute and show some love in this thread. First of all, the topic itself is fascinating. Clearly things have changed quite a bit in the past century or so, in terms of availability (or even unavailability) of some spirits, and certainly in marketing and distillation technology. I have little doubt that absinthe would still be unavailable in this US market, were it not for better distillation technology (things have changed quite a bit since Van Gogh cut off his ear - you'd be likelier to die of alcohol poisoning before the hallucinations set in) and the ability to describe the thujone content of modern (and now legal) versions of absinthe in parts per million. How cool is it that we have the inner circle, a veritable Cocktail Mafia discussing this as an academic pursuit here on eGullet? How much fun is it to be part of it? As for the modern era, I have to agree with Sams's point about the Internet. Certainly it's contributed mightily to my understanding of the old school and the drinks and recipes that are now part of my daily existence. Yes - you can get a rye Manhattan or an Aviation in my bar. But I only have one kind of rye at my disposal. There's another bar here in Philly that has an enviable rye selection. Probably one of the best in the land. And most of the time I spend on the customer end of the bar I'm there. And that's just fine. I have the additional hurdle of having to work within a state run monopoly to stock my bar. I prefer to make my own mixers and work with that end of the spectrum of possibilities instead. Perhaps that's the trend of the future. More thinking slightly "outside of the box" of the old school, hopefully still showing some respect for it and influence from it. I'm very much looking forward to the day when I can order an Aviation almost anywhere and not have to tell the barkeep the recipe.

Out and about on my day off today, I was close by my favorite Mexican market, where the fresh limes are cheap and the selection of juices is enviable. Once the seed was planted in my head, I just had to make myself a caipirinha or two. Actually the seed had been planted on Christmas day last week, when a dear friend's dad, and convivial host of my annual Christmas repast had asked me about the bottle of cachaca that his friends that had recently returned from Brazil had gifted him with. "What do I do with this?" "What is it?? I explained the differences between rum and cachaca, and tried to explain the process of making a caipirinha. He still needs to go out and buy a muddler, or perhaps I'll send him one. But nonetheless, the seed was planted and I'd been thinking of caipirinhas for days. I finally fed and watered that seed tonight. So my stop at the Mexican market yielded some fresh limes and a can of Jumex Coconut-Pineapple juice. I sliced up a lime and put half into my shaker and covered it with Sugar in the Raw. I muddled away and added a couple of tablespoons of fresh lime juice I already had in the fridge. I muddled some more, put a bunch of ice in the shaker, added a good healthy glug of some Mae de Ouro cachaca and shook the hell out of it. Dumped it all into a tall glass and topped it off with some of the Coconut-Pineapple juice. A stir, a big sip and equilibrium was restored. I just finished my third one. A delicious reminder of warmer days and the well balanced cocktails of summer.

Yeah. Probably. But what exactly is a "Turkish Hot Dog"?? In a topical aside, I'd like to give props to the nice folks at Cafe Fulya. It's like stumbling distance from my front door and the food is absolutely delicious and completely off the radar. I don't understand why they don't have a line out the door. And they're so NICE. I've never actually had a Chicago hot dog. I was too busy eating deep dish pizza and killer Italian food when I was there. I think I'm going to have to get myself over to Blue in Green to check out the local version. Neon relish doesn't scare me!

Inspired by a segment of Mario Batali on Martha Stewart I caught a fleeting glimpse of last week, I decided to look up and make his version of Sopa de Ajo, or stale bread and garlic soup. Oh my, this is the most delicious and simple thing to achieve. The perfect antidote for a chilly winter's day. Great way to use up the stale bread (although I confess I purchased a bag of four day old baguettes at the market specifically for this purpose). The bread might have not been quite stale enough, as it did crumb up a bit as I removed the crusts. No matter - I put the cubes in a 250 degree oven for about 15 minutes and tossed them a few times to dry them out a bit and that seemed to do the trick. The whole house smells like garlic soup now, but it's a tasty smell and I don't mind it. I did serve the soup with a poached egg in it just like in the video segment, although Ms. Stewart makes the egg poaching look so effortless. Mine weren't quite as pretty, but still fulfilled their function admirably. This may be my favorite new soup recipe. Sooooo easy. So yummy.

Chili and cheddar cheese. Ranch dressing and crumbled bacon. Sauteed onions and mushrooms with a little cognac. Chopped broccoli or spinach and cheese.

I think Walt's was in the space where the Lyon's Den bar is now, across from the 24/7 Mart. The 900(?) block of South 2nd Street, perhaps?

Glad to hear Snockey's was worth the trip, it being all of a couple of blocks stumbling distance from my abode. In a further update, Coquette does indeed still seem to be open, despite rumors to the contrary I'd heard from one of my wine purveyors earlier in the week. It looked like there were a few tables of diners in there tonight as I passed by on my way home (early) from work. XIX sounds worthy of a trip in the future. It's a gorgeous room with a gorgeous view. Add a cocktail or glass of wine and some oysters and I'll go out of my way to check it out on my next night off...

Y'know, sometimes I'm just flat out stoopid. Sometimes I forget I'm a girl and such things are entirely predictable if I bother to do the math. Yesterday morning I was certain I'd merely eaten too much at the Xmas party I'd attended the day before, and that explained the 4 POUND weight gain I'd experienced overnight. Sure, I'd had a bit too many sweets, something I rarely bother with under normal circumstances, but really, FOUR POUNDS OVERNIGHT???!!!??? I should have realized it was the lunar cycle kicking in... Forgive me, my sisters, for I have sinned. Again... So this morning, after a miserable night's attempted sleep with cramps and fitfulness, I was a ravenous beast barely contained. I ordered some salty Chinese food to slake the beast before my shift at work started. Nothing better than Chicken with Eggplant in Garlic Sauce to shut me up for at least a little while. It being the holiday weekend, we were less than busy as usual for a Saturday night so I willingly volunteered to go home early when it looked as if we didn't need all three of us on staff. I headed for the pharmacy, and picked up the prescription I'd called in earlier, and refilled my medicine cabinet with Menstrual Relief pain killers and the appropriate feminine hygiene products. When I got home is when it started to go downhill... I've recently become a big fan of Pillsbury Savorings, ready-to-heat-and-eat puff pastry filled hors d'oeurves that are available in several different flavors. Having just gone grocery shopping a couple of days ago, there were a few boxes in the freezer. I woofed through half a box (six) of the Pepperoni and Mozzarella flavored ones before I heated up two more and added a couple of the Buffalo Chicken flavored ones I'd opened before. God help me. They were awesome. Especially washed down with most of a bottle of Innocento Sangiovese Toscano 2004. :shrug: At least I didn't hurt anyone but myself...

I will eat less meat and more fish - doctor's orders. I will make more homemade meals and eat less expensive and unhealthy takeout. I will find more fresh fruits and vegetables at the market and make sure I eat them before they spoil. I will learn about a new cuisine (not sure which yet) and spread the gospel. I will (continue to try to) teach my less food adventurous friends to try more things. I will read more about sustainable agriculture and try and incorporate this into my life through my purchasing habits and support of farmers that are subscribing to this belief. I will not eat "bad" food if I can avoid it. And I know enough to try...

That prickly pear syrup turns things a shockingly neon shade of fuschia, but it's so pretty in the glass, everyone wonders "what was that?!?" when it goes by on a tray and wants to order one. And it's pretty tasty too, which doesn't hurt... This cocktail sounds like a keeper. Will most definitely test it out when my prickly pear syrup arrives in the mail.