Andrew Fenton

Phil, thanks for your interest. The road to weeniecello was a long and arduous one, beginning at a barbecue, and an amazing hamburger. It was big, it was greasy, it was dripping. It was fantastic, but I had to use two hands to eat it. I was standing there, eating this delicious burger, and I thought, this is great. Except that I have to put my drink down to eat it. So while I'm getting fatter, I'm not getting any drunker. You can see the dilemma. So it was at that point that I decided to combine these two great tastes that go so great together. Extensive testing determined that hamburger is not a very good candidate for infusion. The dream of the Hambellini died on the vine that day, and the cats got the vodkaburger. The logical direction was highly processed meat products. Unfortunately, the Spamhattan won't come to fruition; too greasy, too salty, too loose and floaty. The cats got that too. (By the way, have you ever seen a hung over cat? They just lie around with their paws over their eyes, mewing. It's kind of sad, actually.) So hot dogs (firm! flavorful! fantastic!) are where is for now. But I'm hopeful for the future of the Cheesetequila.

Over the years, I've tried various sorts of infusions, with vodka and other liquors. Fruit and herb-infused are the best known, and are often wonderful. But what I like is meat. Where's the infusion for people like me? I felt disenfranchised, and alone, especially after some research on the interwebs revealed a real lack of meat-based liqueurs. It would be up to me to blaze the trail. I decided that a hot dog based infusion would work best. Not as assertive as chorizo, but bolder than pork chops or steak; in addition, the preservatives in the dogs would lend themselves to prolonged infusion. With that in mind, I began with fine all-beef franks: Added them to 100-proof Smirnoff vodka and let them infuse in a large jar for five weeks. The hot dogs haven't colored the vodka in the way that lemon zest or berries do, just a slight discoloration: After infusion, I made sure to squeeze the dogs well and strain them through a cheesecloth, to release all the essential oils and lipids. The resulting weeniecello is delicious served straight up, whether ice-cold from the freezer or slightly warm. It has a fine beefy taste, with a hint of salt and gentle spiciness that lends itself to pairings with nachos or buffalo wings. I've also come up with a couple of cocktail recipes. The Weenie-Tini 3 oz weeniecello 1 oz dry vermouth splash of sauerkraut brine Garnish with a slice of frankfurter. Because of an irrational fear of cone-shaped things, I've served the Weenie-Tini on the rocks rather than strained. Others could of course serve it straight up in a stemmed glass. Either way, the Weenie-Tini has a richness and subtle beefiness not to be found in traditional vegetarian cocktails. VARIATION: serve in a shot glass. This is the Eenie-Weenie-Tini. Here's another cocktail. Take Me Out To The Ballgame 2.5 oz weeniecello 1.0 oz peanut liqueur Dust the rim with dry mustard and garnish with boiled peanuts. (An experiment with Cracker Jacks led to sogginess and tears that not even the free prize could cure.) This is a good cocktail to drink while relaxing in front of the TV while watching wrestling, reality TV, or (of course) baseball. It's a drink with wide appeal: As you can see, the meatiness of the weeniecello drove my cats wild! It makes good cocktails for pets; for example, I added a few spoonfuls to their kibble to make a rich gravy. They seemed to appreciate it. Next up, I'm interested in experimenting with cheese infusions... Velveetinis, anybody?

Yeah, that was what I was wondering... I've made cheese tortes, and once, a really great savory cheesecake. They're good, but it's easy to have a LOT of leftovers!

It's definitely a hard cheese, but nothing like a bowling ball- it cuts fine with a knife or with a cheese peeler. I don't know what the brand name is- the piece is small enough that all I can see on the rind is "ord" and "noo". Okay, the brand is "Noord Hollander". Downtown Cheese in Philly sells it, and Murray's has had it in the past, though evidently not at the moment: they don't list it on their website, but here is Google's cache of the 4-year-old, from back in April. Oh, and Abra? That torta looks amazing. It's a little hard to tell the size from the photo: what's the diameter?

Jerk tilapia, eh? I'm intrigued... Do you have a recipe?

Good to know, and I will try them when I visit Amsterdam. Really, I'd be happy to try them again in Philly, if somebody assured me that they'd changed their policy to prevent dirty hippies spreading sauce all over their half-eaten falafel. Because, yuck.

That's a nice-lookin' dinner you got there, Deena. Much like Owen, I could go for some of that focaccia right now. So, so hungry. Did you freestyle that couscous or use a recipe? When I've had fish couscous (in Sicilian or Tunisian versions), the sauce bit has gone on top of the couscous bit. Yours looks stewier. (And awesome, I might add.)

Lovely limoncello, Heidi. And a lovely presentation!

Hausbrandt is from Trieste, a city that has been Austrian as much as it has been Italian. I presume the explanation follows from that, but I don't know much about the company.

Come now, wasn't Garth Brooks bad enough? Hair metal qualifies as cruel and unusual, I think. Okay, here's another idea: kill them with kindness! Hear me out. Bring the froggies home. Put them in a nice little aquarium (lilypad, rubber duck). Stuff 'em to the gills (metaphorically) with flies. All the flies they can eat. Keep feeding them until they keel over from cholesterol poisoning. Cook and serve! Pros: Gives the frogs an unmatched depth and intensity of flavor, rivalling the finest (dare I say it) frog gras. Cons: Fly infusions not likely to appear on menus any time soon.

Sounds like shakshuka, an Israeli staple. Lots of different recipes, but the eggs and tomatoes are its essence; adding the peppers is common but not required. ← Yep, that's it. Thanks!

Pontormo, there's a recipe for the lamb here. Beware: the site has a really annoying noisy ad. The recipe is dead easy, and very satisfying. Jas, great looking meal! I like the little squids all lined up on their skewer. I've always been a little intimidated by cooking squid-- not that it seems so difficult, but that I'm afraid I won't be able to get good quality ingredients. I should just get over that, I guess, because I loves me some calamari. (Oh, and aren't those peach tomatoes just crazy good?)

Hey, Philly Felafel is really good! I enjoyed my felafel sandwich this afternoon, the salad options were good (especially these crazy little purple pickled peppers), and while the fries were kinda lackluster, next time I will just ignore them and stick with the felafel. There's also a dish on the menu whose name escapes me: it's eggs and peppers in a tomato sauce. Has anybody tried it? Looks good.

Stopped in at Hausbrandt today. I'd heard that, in addition to being an Italian chain, the owners of this franchise are Italian. They weren't around (and the kid at the bar wasn't Italian), but there were several people-- either Italians or just more stylish than typical inhabitants of our fair city-- speaking Italian. A good sign. Ordered a caffe macchiato, my go-to Italian coffee choice. The coffee itself was pretty good: smooth, not bitter, aromatic. But they served it in a double-sized cappucino cup with about a quarter cup of foam. And okay, I'm not a coffee snob but GODDAMN IT, IF YOU'RE SERVING ITALIAN-STYLE COFFEE, GET THAT RIGHT. I'll give them another try. But next time, I'll be one of those obnoxious customers who gives explicit instructions to the barista... (It's okay if I also tip well, right?)

We had dinner at a friend's house last night. She'd asked me to bring cheese, so I used it as an excuse to get a burrata: This is from Claudio Caseificio in Philly and was made yesterday morning. Since I was with company, I didn't take any photos of the inside, which was soft and sort of rough and shredded looking. Not as much sangue as you'd get in an ideal mozzarella, but it was still pretty darn good. I served it caprese-style with tomatoes, basil, some oil and salt.

So, so awesome.

There you go. Just leave early and drive real fast and you'll have plenty of time in Savannah. You'll enjoy it; it's a great city. And be sure to report back! Especially if you have any new discoveries..

It's definitely a hard cheese, but nothing like a bowling ball- it cuts fine with a knife or with a cheese peeler. I don't know what the brand name is- the piece is small enough that all I can see on the rind is "ord" and "noo". But I bought it at DiBruno's, and here's their product page: 10-year old Gouda If you want more information, Lisa Alois, the buyer for DiBruno's, is an eGullet poster; she can no doubt tell you more than I can.

I just finished a nice snack of a little (okay, more than a little) ten year old Gouda. This is one of my favorite cheeses. I'm blown away by the alchemy that takes place in the aging process. In one end goes a fresh Gouda (bland, pale, dull) and out the other comes this amazing golden cheese. It looks like caramel. It tastes like nuts and toasted wheat. And the texture is amazing, with these little flavor crystals that pop between your teeth. Plus, how cool is it to eat something that's ten years old? Not even the Cap'n Crunch in the back of my cupboard comes close to that.

Interesting. Barbecue chefs and nuclear scientists seem to vie with each other in pursuit of secrecy, don't they? Still, sausage is one of those things that is so easy to make, and rewards experimentation so richly, that it'd be worth a try to come up with your own version. (And then you could invite me over.)

I guess the dilemma with burrata in the US is: is it better to buy an imported (and probably better) product, even though it's less fresh? Or should you buy something domestic, since it's been made more recently? In my experience, burrata loses its freshness even faster than mozzarella does, so this is a real issue. Anyway, I've just bought a burrata from Claudio Caseificio in Philadelphia's Italian Market. It was made this morning, and I'm planning to eat it tonight, along with some nice fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden. I will, of course, report on whether it's any good or not...

You could probably learn how to make them. I don't think the sausages themselves would be too hard to make. Getting the smoking down is an art, of course, and you'd have to buy a smoker. But you'd quickly become the most popular kid in school...

Sounds like there's a story there... Here is an earlier thread covering much the same material; here's another. A lot of your decisions will depend on how far from I-95 you want to wander: I've taken this trip several times and it's always a dilemma. How many hours a day are you driving? It's about a 12 hour trip from Philadelphia to Savannah-- NJ will be a little more, of course. That makes it a good destination for the first night: here's a thread on Savannah, and another. Plenty of good eating there. On your way up to Ocracoke, head through Wilmington, and eat at the Yacht Basin Provision Company in Southport. It's a fun, funky place with great seafood. In Ocracoke, I liked Harold's okay, and had an absolutely horrible meal at the Atlantic Cafe.

Yeah, but if you do it wrong you'll just pith it off...

Pizza bianca. There have been moments when I would kill a man to get a nice warm piece of pizza bianca, all salty and just a little bit oily.