slkinsey

Our microwave lives on top of the refrigerator. No counter space used.

Stroh 80 is not very good, IMO. Nothing I'd use in a cocktail.

Is that one of Phil's drinks? He's been playing around with jalapeno-infused tequila for almost as long as I've known him, and with very good and interesting results.

As far as I am concerned, the microwave is for three things only: 1. reheating leftovers, etc; 2. speedy defrosting; 3. popcorn. But it's crucial for those three things.

All of these things can be presumed to add unique flavors. Certainly the flavor of quinine (not to mention the flavor of chinchona bark) is different from the flavor of quassin (not to mention the flavor of quassia).

Quassia containes quassin, the most bitter substance in nature. It's 50 times more bitter than quinine. Speaking of quinine, chinchona is another possibility. There's also wormwood. It might be interesting to use the pith of citrus fruits. Hops is another possibility. If you to someplacel like Rain Tree Nutrition you can get extracts of potential bittering agents such as artichoke, Baccharis genistelloides and Simarouba amara.

For digging deeper, there's Straight Up or On the Rocks: The Story of the American Cocktail by William Grimes, and of course there's Dave Wondrich's Imbibe!. Not sure if there is a 20-pager with references available.

It also seems true, to my admittedly less-than-expert taste, that price is often a very poor indicator of quality.

I happened upon an interesting working paper from the American Association of Wine Economists today entitled Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better? : Evidence from a Large Sample of Blind Tastings. Here is the abstract:

It "maillardizes" the bread. As Wolke points out in What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained, "strictly speaking, caramelizing means the heat-induced browning of a food that contains sugars, but no proteins." When sugars or starches are heated up in the presence of proteins or amino acids, you get Maillard reactions, not caramelization reactions. Some free sugars are liberated as a result of some Maillard reactions, and can then undergo true caramelization, but unless you add sugar this is not likely to be a huge component of the reaction product. When proteins are nearby, the majority of the reaction is Maillard.

Both of those dates seem odd to me, considering that Harrington's "Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century" published in 1998, and the drink was presumably crafted at least a year prior to publication.

http://www.andiamnotlying.com/2008/murky-c...een-your-knees/ Interesting conflict. On the one hand, I applaud the coffee shop for insisting on high standards. On the other hand, it's a coffee shop, not Le Bernadin, and this is an order that they could reasonably predict would be made. It's a bit like a high-end cocktail bar refusing to mix a Cosmopolitan. Maybe you don't like it, but suck it up and figure out a way to make an iced espresso (Cosmo, etc.) that's up to your standards. Thoughts?

This is going to be a tough one, because America and, to a lesser extent, the UK are the only countries with a significant cocktail culture. It's never been clear to me that drinks such as the Margarita and Pisco Sour particularly reflect cocktail culture by and for the citizens of the countries normally associated with them. Speaking of the UK, might the national cocktail be the true Gimlet ("true" meaning that it uses Rose's Lime Juice and a high proof gin such as Plymouth Navy Strength)? France could be pastis and water, or a Tomate (add grenadine) or a Mauresque (add orgeat).

Alex, how much are you willing to spend? The easiest way to make this much yogurt would be to put containers of inoculated milk into a temperature-controlled water bath. The easiest way to get a temperature-controlled water bath: drop 500 bucks on a used/reconditioned recirculating laboratory water bath heater. This you can clip to a hotel pan of sufficient depth or other vessel (you want the water bath at least as deep as your milk containers), fill with water, heat to set point, insert your containers of inoculated milk and you're good to go. Your volume is limited only by the size of your water bath. As an added benefit, all you need to do is purchase an edge-sealing vacuum machine and you've got a sous vide setup as well.

This is a nice drink.

Having a beer that's alive can make a big difference as to its potential for beneficial aging. Also, like many things that age well, it helps if it's got some outsized characteristics (e.g., serious hop bitterness) that can benefit from the mellowing that comes with age.

The "poaching cups" seem more like "steaming cups" to me. Does the egg actually make contact with any water? Maybe if some water got in there, it wouldn't be so sticky.

Brunch in most restaurants is a horrible affair that involves getting rid of the leftover crap that's this close to going off. In some places (see Brooks's examples) it can be great. Brunch has been around for a long time, by the way. It's by no means a modern invention, and the word, at least, seems to have been coined by British students. The first mention in print was an 1896 edition of "Punch."

As far as I've heard (think this comes from Dave Wondrich) the only cocktail we know for sure was invented by JT was the Japanese Cocktail.

Snake root is toxic.

That makes sense only if you want to store, then reheat the food. If you are planning on taking the food out of the bag and serving it immediately, there is no reason to cool it at all. I don't understand the idea of multistage cooling. What you want to do is get it from the cooking temperature through the "danger zone" and into storage temperature as rapidly as possible. This argues for cooling in ice water right out of the water bath.

In further ansinthe-related news, Pernod's absinthe should be coming to the States in a few months. This is, IMO, one of the very best.

You want to get as much of the foam out of the shaker as possible, so that it goes into the glass.

27 C.F.R. § 5.22 The standards of identity. (b) Class 2; whisky. “Whisky” is an alcoholic distillate from a fermented mash of grain produced at less than 190° proof in such manner that the distillate possesses the taste, aroma, and characteristics generally attributed to whisky, stored in oak containers (except that corn whisky need not be so stored), and bottled at not less than 80° proof, and also includes mixtures of such distillates for which no specific standards of identity are prescribed. (1)(i) “Bourbon whisky”, “rye whisky”, “wheat whisky”, “malt whisky”, or “rye malt whisky” is whisky produced at not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn, rye, wheat, malted barley, or malted rye grain, respectively, and stored at not more than 125° proof in charred new oak containers; and also includes mixtures of such whiskies of the same type. (ii) “Corn whisky” is whisky produced at not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of not less than 80 percent corn grain, and if stored in oak containers stored at not more than 125° proof in used or uncharred new oak containers and not subjected in any manner to treatment with charred wood; and also includes mixtures of such whisky. (iii) Whiskies conforming to the standards prescribed in paragraphs (b)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section, which have been stored in the type of oak containers prescribed, for a period of 2 years or more shall be further designated as “straight”; for example, “straight bourbon whisky”, “straight corn whisky”, and whisky conforming to the standards prescribed in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section, except that it was produced from a fermented mash of less than 51 percent of any one type of grain, and stored for a period of 2 years or more in charred new oak containers shall be designated merely as “straight whisky”. No other whiskies may be designated “straight”. “Straight whisky” includes mixtures of straight whiskies of the same type produced in the same State. (2) “Whisky distilled from bourbon (rye, wheat, malt, or rye malt) mash” is whisky produced in the United States at not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn, rye, wheat, malted barley, or malted rye grain, respectively, and stored in used oak containers; and also includes mixtures of such whiskies of the same type. Whisky conforming to the standard of identity for corn whisky must be designated corn whisky. (3) “Light whisky” is whisky produced in the United States at more than 160° proof, on or after January 26, 1968, and stored in used or uncharred new oak containers; and also includes mixtures of such whiskies. If “light whisky” is mixed with less than 20 percent of straight whisky on a proof gallon basis, the mixture shall be designated “blended light whisky” (light whisky—a blend). (4) “Blended whisky” (whisky—a blend) is a mixture which contains straight whisky or a blend of straight whiskies at not less than 20 percent on a proof gallon basis, excluding alcohol derived from added harmless coloring, flavoring or blending materials, and, separately, or in combination, whisky or neutral spirits. A blended whisky containing not less than 51 percent on a proof gallon basis of one of the types of straight whisky shall be further designated by that specific type of straight whisky; for example, “blended rye whisky” (rye whisky—a blend). (5)(i) “A blend of straight whiskies” (blended straight whiskies) is a mixture of straight whiskies which does not conform to the standard of identify for “straight whisky.” Products so designated may contain harmless coloring, flavoring, or blending materials as set forth in 27 CFR 5.23(a). (ii) “A blend of straight whiskies” (blended straight whiskies) consisting entirely of one of the types of straight whisky, and not conforming to the standard for straight whisky, shall be further designated by that specific type of straight whisky; for example, “a blend of straight rye whiskies” (blended straight rye whiskies). “A blend of straight whiskies” consisting entirely of one of the types of straight whisky shall include straight whisky of the same type which was produced in the same State or by the same proprietor within the same State, provided that such whisky contains harmless coloring, flavoring, or blending materials as stated in 27 CFR 5.23(a). (iii) The harmless coloring, flavoring, or blending materials allowed under this section shall not include neutral spirits or alcohol in their original state. Neutral spirits or alcohol may only appear in a “blend of straight whiskies” or in a “blend of straight whiskies consisting entirely of one of the types of straight whisky” as a vehicle for recognized flavoring of blending material. (6) “Spirit whisky” is a mixture of neutral spirits and not less than 5 percent on a proof gallon basis of whisky, or straight whisky, or straight whisky and whisky, if the straight whisky component is less than 20 percent on a proof gallon basis. (7) “Scotch whisky” is whisky which is a distinctive product of Scotland, manufactured in Scotland in compliance with the laws of the United Kingdom regulating the manufacture of Scotch whisky for consumption in the United Kingdom: Provided, That if such product is a mixture of whiskies, such mixture is “blended Scotch whisky” (Scotch whisky—a blend). (8) “Irish whisky” is whisky which is a distinctive product of Ireland, manufactured either in the Republic of Ireland or in Northern Ireland, in compliance with their laws regulating the manufacture of Irish whisky for home consumption: Provided, That if such product is a mixture of whiskies, such mixture is “blended Irish whisky” (Irish whisky—a blend). (9) “Canadian whisky” is whisky which is a distinctive product of Canada, manufactured in Canada in compliance with the laws of Canada regulating the manufacture of Canadian whisky for consumption in Canada: Provided, That if such product is a mixture of whiskies, such mixture is “blended Canadian whisky” (Canadian whisky—a blend).

I think that's too much citrus, which can sometimes curdle both cream and egg white. See my recipe in post #2. What kind of shaker are you using? How much head space does it have? How much ice are you using? What kind? How cold? The sad reality is that sometimes it just won't work out. Try, try again.