KatieLoeb

Get thee to the restaurant supply store and buy yourself a fine mesh chinoise to strain your soups and sauces through. You'll never enjoy anything less than silky textured results for the rest of eternity...

Percy: Thank you so much for sharing this with us! It puts a lot of your cooking into context for me. You look very dapper in your Dagli, by the way. Thanks for letting us all in to such a personal trip and family get together. I feel like I know you just a little better now. Everything looks so delicious. I can almost smell it through the screen...

There's no inexpensive vodka in all of Australia?? The vodka needn't be the top shelf stuff since the lemon flavor will basically take it over. 100 proof Smirnoff will do just fine. How big a batch were you planning to make that you think you'll be spending 100's of dollars? As for adding the lemon juice, I'd be afraid it would make the limoncello far less shelf stable (if at all shelf stable) and the end result too cloudy. YMMV, but I've never tried to add juice to the original recipe I was given. If I wanted more tartness I'd add some tartaric acid powder available at the homebrew/winemaking shop before I'd add something I'd be afraid would cause it to spoil.

I'd probably call that drink a member of the "sour" family, since it's basically Booze + Citrus + sweetener. Not sure if the bitters disqualify it, but it isn't really that different in concept than a Margarita or Sidecar, is it?

One of these OXO Mini measuring cups perhaps? I have two - one plastic and one stainess steel. They are definitely what I use for recipe development. After the recipe is tweaked to it's final form, then I switch to jiggers at the bar. I've seen these OXO jiggers at various gourmet supply shops, hardware stores and department store housewares departments. Not too hard to find and they're all over online as well.

Wow. That sausage and pepper pizza is just downright sloppy and unappetizing looking. I'm kind of surprised because Jake's always had pretty high standards for food and presentation. That really does look like it "got dressed in the dark". You have to hope that was an aberration. Maybe the chef was off that night?

I get where you're coming from, but a writer or academic may not be equipped to have a cabinet post, or indeed want one. Perhaps they could consult. ← OK - perhaps I was being a bit glib (where's Tom Cruise when you need him) in my endorsement, but there might have been other politically savvy choices that aren't in cahoots with Monsanto or beholden to Big Agribusiness. And Dave, I think you'd be a breath of fresh air on Capitol Hill! They wouldn't know what to do. While the lobbyists and evil doers were trying to figure out whether to shit or wind their watch, you could get the secret eGullet agendas passed.

There's an interesting op-ed piece on this very subject HERE. I'll be cautiously optimistic, but I completely agree that Pollan and/or Kiple would have been far better choices. Unfortunately, they aren't "politicians" so they likely weren't even considered. Vilsack is a former governor of a big farming state, so he's more "qualified" for the post. I'll take a smart writer or academic anyday over a politico. Pollan or Kiple could have been a truly revolutionary choice. That would be change I could really believe in.

Good call! Completely slipped my mind, but an excellent suggestion. Matt always has at least a couple of very good varieties of oysters (Hama Hama and Kumamotos the last time I remember) and prepares them beautifully...

Thanks Mike! Somehow I knew that the "spanked" sage and the bartendrix joke was going to make it in there somewhere. Mr. Laban was quite amused by the reference. I did point out that since no one can actually see my feet behind the bar, I might very well be wearing stiletto boots with a tucked in whip... Of course the Blackberry Beret is on the menu right now, if anyone wants to come in and try one that hasn't already. There are just a couple of tiny tweaks in the recipe I serve at Chick's that the home cocktail enthusiast wouldn't necessarily have at home, but the published recipe is a very close facsimile and credible reproduction of what I'm serving at the bar. But mine taste better. As they should...

I think the Happy Hour oysters at Ansill are a bargain. If you could be patient, eventually the Sansom Street Oyster House space will be reopened under the ownership of the Mink family that originally brought it to fame. I live just a couple of blocks from Snockey's too, but it has always skeeved me a bit when I walked in. If you're braver than I am, please report back, but so far that place has only left me quaking in my boots. It just doesn't strike me as a place that's taking any care with the delicate needs of an oyster bar. No info on Coquette other than to call in advance and make sure they'll be open when you intend to come in. I go by there every night on my way home and it seems to be closed earlier lately. I'd check on the hours before heading over.

Why not make a trip out of it and try one of the restaurants in New York or Atlantic City? Seems to me that anything normally accessable isn't really a treat, is it?

Or put your raw oyster right into the shot glass with the horseradish vodka and do it as an oyster shot. Horseradish tequila works well this way too...

Don't forget a big stack of business cards too!

I had a very delicious and casual dinner at Lüke, a charming brasserie that serves really good French fare. I think you'd like it even more than Parc. This place isn't "upscale" per se, but it's at least as upscale as Cochon (where I would certainly go back for my death row meal). Chef John Besh is certainly a well recognized chef and in my (limited) experience both of my meals at his restaurants have been amongst my best in NOLA or anywhere.

baroness: Thank you for the tip. I will certainly inquire about the treatment to the beads I intend to purchase at my local bead shop.

I'm going to be making several sets of those lovely picks as gifts. What a great and easy idea. There's a bead store half a block from my house so that makes it just a bit easier. I found a vendor of stainless steel turkey lacers on eBay and bought up several sets for less than $2/each. As soon as they arrive I'll go over to the bead shop and start finding pretty beads to string on. I might even hang charms off of the top. Kim - if you're reading this please tell me the name of the dishwasher safe craft glue. If I don't find that I might use Superglue. That's always held up for me on repaired mug handles and such. I'll take pictures if they come out as nicely as Kim's did...

Matthew: Sounds like all was a success. The punch sounds delicious. I'm saving your recipe for the next time I need a large format beverage for a crowd.

At my bar I was serving the following drink specials: Sazerac Scofflaw Ward Eight Jack Rose We were pretty busy. A lot of booze went over the bar that night. A good time had by all.

Amen to holding the sugar. I'm right there with you on that one....

There are less expensive taste-alike alternatives available for both Grand Marnier and Cointreau. Gran Gala is almost identical to Grand Marnier and for an application where no one is going to see the bottle (unlike my situation where it's displayed on the back bar) will work perfectly. Luxardo Triplum is a dead ringer for Cointreau at about $8-$10 less per bottle. I've actually done a side-by-side blind taste test with this against the Cointreau and liked it better.

Have I mentioned lately how pleased I am that there are batches of limoncello going on several continents and I feel somehow inextricably linked to that strange and wonderful circumstance?? How cool is that?? I am awed and humbled. So happy to know there's an unbroken chain of homemade limoncello all over the world that I had some teeny tiny part in making come to pass. Let's all raise a glass to that. Here's to the power of the internet, eGullet, shared interest and just sharing. Cheers!

Iovine's or O.K. Lee at Reading Terminal, Anastasio Produce at the Italian Market, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's.

I've never seen Pomegranate concentrate, although I have no doubt it exists. Whole Foods carries a Cranberry concentrate I've used in the past to bump up a homemade "cran-cello" and it was a godsend. Don't remember the brand name off the top of my head, but it was in with all the natural juices and there may have been a pomegranate version as well.

Funny, Mike! Actually, I'd love to be serving those, but haven't gotten my hands on the Antica yet. And even if I did, I doubt we could serve them at the special 75th anniversary price. The Antica is pricey! But worth it...