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slkinsey

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Posts posted by slkinsey

  1. It is interesting, as even a teaspoon is pretty generous for "2 dashes".  Makes you wonder how sour the original Aviation was.

    It's always hard to know exactly what they meant by "dash" in those old books. Clearly two dashes from a dasher bottle such as those used for bitters would be a minimal amount. On the other hand, a quick dash from an open bottle of maraschino liqueur could easily amount to a half teaspoon or more.

  2. Discussion on the Daisy split from this thread.

    George, you have asserted elsewhere that "Pioneers of Mixing Gin..." was a book of cocktails whose primary spirit was converted from whatever to gin.  Did you ever find out if the 30s Cosmo started with a different base spirit?  Or, even better, find another correlating recipe for the 30s Cosmo?

    The Cosmo (1934) seems to have just been another name for a Gin Daisy; looking through other Daisy Recipes I see that it is nothing out of the ordinary daisy-wise. Its just a Gin Daisy, so the chances are that it wasn't changed from another spirit.

    Although non-bartenders, and I don't mean that in a derogatory way, might have trouble coping with the idea, the Cosmo (1934) is not that different from the Cosmo (1988). Bartenders do this kind of swapping around of ingredients all the time; it sometimes seems like they prefer this than to actually make a cocktail properly.

    Gin swapped for Vodka, albeit Absolut Citron.

    Cointreau stays.

    Lemon juice changed for Lime Juice.

    Raspberry Syrup changed for Cranberry (its just for colour remember).

    As for correlating recipes, and by this I assume you mean a Gin Daisy that is also entitled "Cosmopolitan, the answer is no (not yet!-)

    Doesn't a Daisy clasically have a short squirt of fizz water?

  3. All: Let's keep discussion in this thread focussed on BLT Burger. If we want to expand into a general discussion of Laurent Tourondel and his ventures, or name recognition and NYC chefs, that's what other threads are for. I'm happy to split selected posts out on request. :smile:

    Carry on.

  4. It's not surprizing that the Calorie Restriction diet isn't finding too many fans among the members of a culinary society. Still... a lifetime of constantly hunger, seriously reduced libido and meals of salad and quorn doesn't sound like something that would be worth another 10 years.

    One thing to clarify: what makes the Calorie Restriction diet different from eating disorders like anorexia is that a) it doesn't fit several of the key diagnostic criteria for Anorexia Nervosa, such as "intense fear of gaining weight" and "disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experience"; and b) although the diet is predicated upon around 30% fewer calories than normal, there is a central focus on getting adequate amounts of all the required nutrients, fiber, etc.

    Today's NY Times, perhaps influenced by the NY Magazine article, ran an article on Calorie Restriction in today's Science Times. Two "elderly" monkeys are compared: Rudy, who was raised on Calorie Restriction and is actually slightly older, appears to be the picture of health and vitality, with a shiny coat, upright posture, attentive demeanor and smooth skin. Matthias, who was raised on a normal diet, is stooped and lethargic, with a paunch, sagging skin and thinning hair.

    Experts theorize that limited access to energy alarms the body, so to speak, activating a cascade of biochemical signals that tell each cell to direct energy away from reproductive functions, toward repair and maintenance. The calorie-restricted organism is stronger, according to this hypothesis, because individual cells are more efficiently repairing mutations, using energy, defending themselves and mopping up harmful byproducts like free radicals.

    "The stressed cell is really pulling out all the stops" to preserve itself, said Dr. Cynthia Kenyon, a molecular biologist at the University of California, San Francisco. "This system could have evolved as a way of letting animals take a timeout from reproduction when times are harsh."

    But many experts are unsettled by the prospect, however unlikely, of Americans adopting a draconian diet in hopes of living longer. Even the current epidemiological data, they note, do not consistently show that those who are thinnest live longest. After analyzing decades of national mortality statistics, federal researchers reported last year that exceptional thinness, a logical consequence of calorie restriction, was associated with an increased risk of death. This controversial study did not attempt to assess the number of calories the subjects had been consuming, or the quality of their diets, which may have had an effect on mortality rates.

  5. Personally, I'd leave Arkansas off that list. I think the culture there (at least the parts where I've spent time) is more Southwest than South. And, although this does violate the "whole state rule," it's really only the top part of Florida. Much of Florida further down has very little to do with Southern culture.

  6. ... the food of a friend who grew up in east Texas certanly sounds very Southern.

    That kind of goes along with what I said above about areas in other states that are just on the other side of the states I defined as "the South." There's definitely some bleedover. But I think I'm safe in suggesting that Texas, as a whole, doesn't belong in the same cultural/cuisine continuity the way that Louisiana and North Carolina do -- despite the fact that Louisiana and North Carolina are much further apart.

    Well, I spent some time in Arlington, TX back when I was single, young, and still had a fire in my belly.

    I had the priviledge of being courted by the epitome of Southern Gentlemen, Bill who worked at the Bomber Plant. Robert E. Lee himself would have felt rude in his presence. Culturally, he and his friends and the majority of those I met (including Mexicans, who if thier forebears are Mexican "Indians" are truly Native to the American Continent) were uniformly slow speaking and absolutely old fashioned in their manner.

    Hmm. I've been to the Dallas/Fort Worth area a number of times, and never thought it had anything that reminded me of what I think of as "Southern culture" as it would be found in e.g., Georgia or Tennessee.

  7. Texas was really the state that got me scratching my head initially on the southwest side and W. Virginia on the northeast side.  Cajun and Creole food is clearly of the "south" but what about TexMex?

    No. Cowboy food is not Southern food.

    I think most people from Texas would agree that, with respect to culture and cuisine, Texas is a region unto itself.

  8. With respect to culture and cuisine, I see some continuity in the swath of land that starts in Virginia, goes down the coast, cuts across the top of Florida and ends in Louisiana. This would encompass Virginia, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the top of Florida. States like Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, etc. seem more "Southwest" than "South" to me from a cultural and culinary standpoint. This is, of course, if one is going to define it on a "whole state" basis. Clearly the parts of the surrounding states immediately adjacent to the above-named states will share many of the same traditions (the same is true, for example, of the areas in Italy immediately adjacent to the borders of Emilia-Romagna). But I don't feel that the states as a whole are reflective of what I think when I think of "Southern culture and cuisine."

  9. FWIW, the recipe I have for the Improved Holland Gin Cock-Tail goes something like this:

    <blockquote>2 oz : genever gin

    1 tsp : 2:1 demerara simple syrup

    1 tsp : maraschino liqueur

    2 dashes : Peychaud's bitters

    Mix in a glass with ice. Garnish with lemon twist.</blockquote>

    Seems pretty different to me

  10. maxmillan, I'm not sure why you'd want to go to all the trouble to make your own amaretto.

    First, it's highly unlikely that you could make something as good as what's commercially available.

    Second, amaretto isn't that expensive (Amaretto di Saronno, the most expensive, can be found for around 15 bucks for a fifth).

    Third, excellent (better, really) brands like Luxardo's Amaretto di Saschira can be had usually at a lower price than Amaretto di Saronno.

    Finally, considering that you want to use it for baking, the qualities that distinguish a good amaretto -- either store-bought or homemade -- are likely to be lost. Why not use a cheap amaretto brand at around 6 bucks a liter, or simply use a high quality almond extract?

  11. Here are two I like. They'd probably work pretty well with a fuller-bodied prosecco.

    ChamPino (for Pino, an Italian diplomat):

    1 oz. Campari

    1 oz. Sweet Vermouth

    2 1/2 - 3 oz good quality Champagne

    Garnish:  Lemon Twist

    Glass:  chilled martini

    Measure campari & sweet vermouth into a mixing glass.  Add ice, shake (yes, shake) and strain into a chilled martini glass.  Top with champagne.  Add lemon twist.

    Punt e Mes Fizz

    3/4 oz Punt e Mes

    1 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth

    3 oz champagne

    Garnish:  Lemon twist (or orange, if preferred)

    Shake punt e mes and sweet vermouth with ice.  Strain into a chilled martini glass and top with champagne.

  12. Interesting. Your experience is almost exactly what mine was the first time I was there. . . which was also near the end of service. Since then, I've had several very good meals there. But I also haven't gone late again.

    The general consensus seems to be that their stewed okra either a) sucks, b) is in a style that many of us don't like/understand, or c) both. I'm leaning towards c) myself -- but, then again, I hate okra anyway. :smile:

    IMO the can't-miss sides at R&S are the collard greens and baked beans.

  13. I have a friend who is going to be spending a month in Austin. Back in the day, she had a job as "the girl on the red velvet swing" at the Austin Old San Francisco Steakhouse. For those who don't know, this is a girl in a skimpy "1890s style" outfit swinging on a red velvet swing high above the room and, at least in those days, eventually swinging high enough to kick a bell attached to the ceiling at the front end of each swing.

    I'd heard rumors that the Austin Old San Francisco Steakhouse was going through roigh times and might have closed. Then I heard it was back. Anyone know about it? Is it still there? If so, what's it like these days and how's the food? Also, are they still doing the bit with the girl on the swing?

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