KatieLoeb

I heard a rumor from a few of my bar guests on Friday night that they saw Tony having dinner at Supper. Wonder if he enjoyed it and if that changed his indifference toward our city's food culture? The City Paper article listing Must Visit Spots for Bourdain while he's in town was amusing, but I think they only stuck to those things that would make viewers squirm if a show were made out of it. I think a visit to RTM, in addition to the market or a stop at Shank's & Evelyn's would have been right up his alley. No eyeballs or offal, but I think he'd have left with a far better impression than he currently holds.

I'll second or third the suggestions of Hot and Sour and/or Tom Yum Soup. The best thing in the world to blast out your head and chest. Makes you sweat too. A hot toddy of Theraflu (the hot apple cider flavor) with a healthy dose of booze in it (I usually go for healthy dram of Stroh 80 rum which I only keep in the house for when I'm illin') also makes you sleep, sweat like a beast and wake up feeling renewed. At least it always works for me.

Pretty well, thanks! I strained the works through a fine chinoise and pressed down on the solids to extract as much flavor as I could. The "cran-cello" came out appropriately holiday seasoned due to the sweetening with a tasty spiced simple syrup and I cheated just a little and added a little cranberry concentrate since I did this infusion on such short notice. End result was a very deep ruby colored and very cran and spice flavored liqueur that made for some tasty Cranberry Mimosas both on Thanksgiving proper and the following weekend at a friend's housewarming party. A few folks enjoyed it just chilled in a cordial glass. I'll take a picture of some in a glass and post as soon as I'm able.

Bella: The brands I see out here are Land 'o Lakes and usually the supermarket has it's own brand of fat free half 'n half. It's in the dairy case right next to the regular stuff or it's with the other non-dairy coffee creamers. Other brands I've seen or read of include Garelick Farms, Hood, Darigold and Coffee-Mate. Don't know what brands are local to you. Perhaps if you ask the dairy manager at your local supermarket they might be more helpful.

In recognition and celebration of our inalienable right to distill, distribute and purchase spirits, our Repeal Day Party will be selling American spirits (Bourbon, Rye, Whiskey and Applejack) all night for $5 neat or mixed and $6 up. Should be a rockin' celebration. I'll get pictures if I can. If anyone has any ideas for good easy cocktails featuring American spirits (other than the obvious Manhattans or Blank-and-soda) let me know. I'd love to feature those too.

I want to throw a Repeal Day Happy Hour at my bar next Wednesday December 5. Are there any special cocktails or bar snacks that might be appropriate or historically accurate for the occasion? Or should we just discount the drinks and say "have a drink just because you can"?

I made a delicious Cream of Many Mushrooms soup for Thanksgiving that pretty much uses all of the techniques here. Some sauteed chopped shallots, about 1.5 lb of mixed, chopped fresh mushrooms (button, portobello, shiitake), a large carton of organic mushroom broth and an equal amount of water, half a cup of rinsed dried cepes, a couple of peeled diced potatoes, lots of fresh thyme, cooked until all was softened and then buzzed through the blender in batches. Add some fat free half and half and about half a cup of Madeira and it was quite yummy. Got rave reviews at the holiday feast as well.

1) Fat free half and half or evaporated skim milk subs nicely for cream in soups or flan. I've done both to no detriment before. 2) Ground turkey makes for delicious chili that's indistinguishable from beef based chili once all the spices are in. 3) Adding a potato or two or some cooked rice to a to-be-pureed cream of vegetable soup will make up for some of the dairy component. Then see tip #1. 4) A dollop of unflavored yogurt can make up for some of the oil in a hummus or baba ghanoush recipe. Makes it a bit lighter and fluffier too.

I was thinking the same thing. It's like waiting for Christmas cookies and cannolis at Termini's at the holidays. The waiting is just part of the experience that makes it that much more authentic.

I had a similar experience to Andrew's today. Stopped in for a surgical strike late afternoon dumpling snack and found the door open with the "OPEN" sign prominently displayed, but was told they weren't open. Weird. I ended up having a bowl of beef brisket hand drawn noodle soup instead. Good snack on a chilly afternoon. I still have half left for lunch tomorrow.

One of my strangest experiences ever was sitting outside La Lupe eating my lunch and hearing a rooster crowing. At first I thought it was someone's TV set that had their apartment window open. Then it kept happening. I finally realized it was coming from the poultry place just up the street. Quite bizarre. I've never forgotten that the poultry place is there, but I'm kinda skeered to go in. I prefer a rather impersonal relationship with my food. Wrapped in plastic and sitting on a styrofoam tray is just fine with me. Or even ordering over the phone and going to pick it up. But I don't want to meet it, necessarily. At least before it hits my kitchen or my plate.

grayelf: Should you ever find a reason (besides the tacos) to find yourself in Philly, I'm certain any number of us would be happy to accompany you on the quest for the Al Pastor tacos. Heck, I'm sure we could arrange a proper tour for you of the various taquerias and some proper libations to boot. Let us know when you're coming...

Wow. That's just amazing. Whodathunk such a thing was necessary. You'd have to be pretty lazy to need a gizmo to stir or shake for you. Not like it's that much effort for your average able bodied person...

On Thanksgiving, my hosts had splits of Casalnova Prosecco for the grownups before dinner. We were all walking around with them with bendy straws in them. Kind of like a juice box for adults. The Casalnova was quite tasty. Fruity yet not too sweet. Certainly still dry enough to mix with if one were so inclined. It's about $15/4pack 187ml here in PA.

Lately, I like the Grandin Brut Traditionelle for mimosas, or even for sipping on it's own. It's about $10/750ml and tastes like an exponentially higher priced bubbly. A great facsimile for true Champagne from the Loire.

The Crop Duster sounds awesome. Might have to mix me up one of those whilst I'm cooking up Thanksgiving treats all day tomorrow. I've got a batch of "Cran-cello" working that's on short notice. I buzzed up a bag of cranberries and about 3/4 cup of sugar in the processor a couple of nights ago. I dumped it into a wide mouthed infusing jar and added one 750ml bottle of Smirnoff 100 proof, and the zests of one lemon and one orange. I'm shaking it daily and I'll strain some off on Thursday morning. I'll add some spiced simple syrup to taste and maybe a tablespoon or so of cranberry concentrate if it isn't "cranny" enough. It will become Cranberry Mimosas on Turkey Day and again on the Sunday following at a friend's housewarming party. I'll report back on how they turn out.

I picked up some nice celeriac, shallots, hot lemon peppers and delicato squash today, in addition to snacking on a Taco al Pastor for lunch from Taquitos de Puebla. Nice looking baked goods today as well, although I resisted the temptation. Headhouse Market will be open this Wednesday from 10AM-until they run out for that last minute bit of holiday shopping. Mighty convenient of them to do that. If I think of anything I've missed I can just bolt up the block before work on Wednesday. Nice.

Spent some time at RTM today shopping for holiday produce. Lots of great grab bags at Iovines and there will be a lot of soups in my future this week. Creamy asparagus soup tonight and wild mushroom with thyme and Madeira for Thanksgiving dinner. Yum. Also picked up a few bags of cranberries for the two kinds of cranberry sauces I make every holiday - Cranberry-Orange with Grand Marnier and Cranberry-Jalapeno with Tequila. Is it any surprise that my cooking has lots of booze in it?

Keep in mind that these merchants will be pricing these wines however they wish. No reason to think the savings will be passed on to us. ← I asked him this very same question. The incentive for the retailers is their geographic exclusive for an "X miles" radius. This would vary from store to store and state to state. You're right that there's no guarantee that they wouldn't price the wines outrageously just to turn the profit, but their competition would be the other stores that are dealing with NewmanwineandSpirits and the ability to look up what others are charging for the same product. In regular retail states unlike PA, the competition is pretty fierce to get folks to come in the door and the difference in pricing for popular brands is often pennies. If you're perceived as having the best prices overall, you'll have more customers. Adding the new "X-Chairman's Selections" would be an even bigger draw.

According to Fee Brothers, Statewide Coffee Co. in Staten Island carries their products (I happened to be calling them on another matter). Their number is 718.967.2002. Or you could call Fee Bros. directly. Amazon.com has a very good selection of bitters at good prices. Might be worth checking out and having dropped on your doorstep rather than running all over creation to find them. Beyond Angostura I'd recommend having an Orange Bitters (Regan's or Fee Bros.), Peychauds, and the Fee Bros. Whiskey Barrel Aged in your collection. The Fee Brothers Lemon and Grapefruit bitters are also very nice.

I had the pleasure of attending a private tasting event earlier this week that featured Jonathan Newman as guest speaker. He talked a lot about his new venture and about how things had gone down at the PLCB. When asked how many states he'll be doing business with his answer was a wry, "Forty-nine." Success is the best revenge. I have no doubt he'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

How does the 12 yo compare to the 7.5? ← The 7.5 is more apple-y and tastes more like a whiskey. The 12 year old is more brandy/Cognac-like and the apple flavor is lost a bit. I think the 7.5 yo is the best bang for the buck in the Laird's Apple line, as well as the most versatile. The most apple flavor whilst retaining that American whiskey character that works so well in a cocktail. The bonded is great for mixing too, but moreso in a drink that has more mixer(s) in it because it's so strong. If you just want to sip it, the 12 yo would be a great substitute for a Calvados. I suspect it would make a righteous tasty Applecart if one enjoys Sidecars.

The latest of my experiments just happens to be gin based: Cherub's Kiss 2 oz. Plymouth gin 1 oz. St. Germain .75 oz. Apry splash fresh lemon juice Fresh lemon twist Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon twist over surface of drink and drop in. Enjoy.

Bob: The bonded is delicious but not what I have available at the bar. We'll soon have the regular listed Laird's Applejack as well (for hot cider toddies), but having tasted through the line we decided the limited shelf real estate was better served with the 7.5 yr. old since it was more versatile for mixing or drinking neat. The bonded is just too hot for that.

Tonight's experiment: Cherub's Kiss 2 oz. Plymouth gin 1 oz. St. Germain .75 oz. Apry splash fresh lemon juice Fresh lemon twist Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon twist over surface of drink and drop in. Enjoy. A gin drink that anyone could enjoy. Sweet enough for the girly drinkers and powerful enough for the serious drinkers. A definite keeper.