slkinsey

Again, as the people from Maker's Mark told me, they are currently producing only one kind of bourbon -- the same stuff that goes in the red wax bottles.

Skewers of shrimp and cuttlefish.

Okay, it's my turn to post about Thursday's dinner. Sorry I didn't get to this last night, but I was pretty hammered by the time I got home and went straight to bed. Before dinner, Kathleen and I headed to Flatiron Lounge, a favorite watering hole of the NYC cocktail conoscenti. We had a number of drinks. I took pictures of a few, but it was dark and they didn't turn out so well as a result (I wasn't going to take flash pictures in a lounge). I try to go to Flatiron when it's not busy, and often will just talk with the bartender about what sort of things I'm in the mood for and let them make whatever they feel like making me. This was an interesting tall drink made with rye whiskey, strawberry and milk. Just behind you can see Phil, one of Flatiron's many accomplished mixologists, shaking up another one. Whenever he's behind the bar, I love to have a taste of whatever he's been kicking around in his head. He once made us a tall drink with jalapeno-infused tequila, muddled tomatoes and cilantro that the friend I took with me that night is still talking about. This is a drink from the menu, a Mandarin Old Fashioned. More or less a whiskey old fashioned with some muddled Mandarin orange and other things. Deciding to stick with brown liquor, Phil said he had a "scotchtail" on his mind and we agreed to give it a go. This is blended scotch, Drambuie and lemon juice (roughly in Sidecar proportions) with a few big dashes of Angostura bitters. Scotch-based cocktails are not easy to make, and this was a real winner. Sticking with the scotch theme, Kathleen had an excellent Blood & Sand (blended scotch, cherry brandy, sweet vermouth and orange juice). There were a few other drinks, but my memory is a little less reliable after the first four. One great thing about the "cocktails crowd" hangouts in NYC is that it's a very close community and you never know who you're going to run into. Just as we were starting out last drink, who should we see on the next stool over but the Minister or Rum himself, Ed Hamilton. He's traveling all over the country these days bringing in the best rhum agricole you've ever had. If you're in NYC, get yourself down to Astor Wines and pick up a bottle of La Favorite white rhum agricole. It's a steal at around $30 a liter -- especially since this stuff is 100 proof. And you heard it here, folks: Ti Punch (white rhum agricole, a touch of cane syrup and a half-dollar-sized cut of lime peel stirred with crushed ice) is going to be one of the hot new drinks. Ed's got one in his hand. After a while, the three of us allowed that we had worked up a prodigious hunger, and we decamped for Bianca -- a restaurant featuring the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna. We each had a primo and a secondo. Here are the primi. . . Spiedini di gamberi e seppie. Fegatini con aceto balsamico. Gnocchi al gorgonzola. And the secondi. . . Salsiccia e fagioli. Cotechino con pure di patate. Salmone con rape saltata in padella. With all this we had a nice bottle of Barbera d'Asti, a high acid/low tannin red wine that worked very well with everything,

As far as I know, Captain Applejack is the same as Laird's Bonded. My favorite applejack cocktail these days is a simple "throwback" Applejack Cocktail: 2 oz : Laird's 100 proof applejack 1 tsp : 2:1 demerara simple syrup 2 dashes : Fee Brothers aromatic bitters Stir well with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a fat lemon twist.

Daniel and touaregsand, let's try to keep this on topic and not try to nitpick each other. The premise that Hesser had some kind of substantial financial entanglement with Vongerichten because he blurbed her book is absurd. It's not like she's one of the backers for Spice Market, or that they are working together on a new cookbook. People blurb books all the time as a matter of professional courtesy. To suggest that there is a quid pro quo relationship over a book blurb because of the dollar value that blurb brings to the table strains credulity. Now, there may be valid reasons for Hesser to have disclosed her relationship with Vongerichten. One could make the argument that she should have disclosed the fact that he blurbed her book. I'm not making those arguments, I'm just pointing out that they don't have to do with whether Hesser is profiting in any financial way from Vongerichten's blurb on her book cover. More to the point, going back and forth over this very minute point is not contributing to the dialogue on this topic of discussion.

There are several possibilities why ex-smokers may not perceive any significant changes in "palate" after quitting. Per my post above, we're mostly talking about the sense of smell. Smoking does not seem to affect taste. 1. Smell sensitivity varies widely, and most people don't consciously notice whether their sense is acute or dull. It even usually takes people who develop asnomia some time to figure out what has gone wrong. This means that smokers and ex-smokers may simply not notice that they have reduced sensitivity because everything seems "normal" to them. 2. Similarly, because natural smell sensitivity varies widely, it makes sense that some people with a naturally highly sensitive sense of smell could have this sensitivity reduced by smoking and still maintain good sensitivity. 3. As jayt90 points out, it may be the case that the smell senses have already naturally declined with age. 4. Ex-smokers may continue to be exposed to significant amounts of secondhand smoke, thereby significantly mitigating any potential recovery of smell sensitivity. 5. Per my post above, it may be the case that cessation of smoking does not lead to dramatic repopulation of olfactory sensory neurons (and therefore increased olfactory sensitivity). In other words, it's possible that the decreased smell sensitivity that results from smoking may be, to a large extent, permanent.

"Suggested retail" means "the price at which the manufacturer suggests vendors sell the product." Some products, for example, are deliberately priced high because high prices are associated with perceptions of high value. For this reason, manufacturers often will not give vendors "authorized retailer" status (which is necessary for the manufacturer's warranty to be valid) unless they sell at the suggested retail price. What Bridge is saying is that they are selling at 30% below that price. It's unclear, however, whether this is always going to beat other prices. Amazon.com, for example, is offering some pieces at up to 48% off the suggested price.

There appears to be no evidence that smoking has an effect on the taste receptors. The smell receptors are a different story. There does seem to be some evidence that people who are exposed to a lot of cigarette smoke have a reduced ability to identify certain odors. One major contributing factor seems to be that cigarette smoke causes greatly increased death rates of olfactory sensory neurons which overwhelms the olfactory epithelium's ability to regenerate. There is also the fact that nicotine affects perception.

Mooshmouse is the winnah! First, of course, I had to have a drink. . . This one I made up on the spot. Two ounces of gin, an ounce of ginger-infused simple syrup, a quarter-ounce of Yellow Chartreuse, 3/4 ounce of lime juice and one raw egg white. Nice. Before the bibimbap, we had a pa jun. This one has kimchi, scallions and red bell pepper. Here's the finished pa jun with the dipping sauce. Here's one dolsot on the stove. Here's the finished dolsot bibimbap. Here I'm starting to mix it up. Note the crunchy bits of rice. Here it is completely mixed up (and slightly out of focus for your viewing pleasure) and dosed with kochujang.

It's a secret. Let's see who can figure it out. Here are my ingredients: Leftover short rib meat, leftover bean sprouts, leftover mushrooms, leftover asparagus, shredded carrots I had around, scallions, red bell pepper, rice, various spicy pickled vegetables, red pepper paste, eggs and two large thick bowls made of stone. Begins with a "B" . . . Ends with a "P" . . .

Cool stuff. I've found those small food processors to be the best thing for making mayonnaise or any other emulsified cold sauce -- much better than a blender. For a food processor, I have one of the KitchenAids with a mini-bowl inside so I could have a large bowl and a small bowl processor all in one. I probably use the small one more frequently.

It should be pointed out that there is a big difference between eating a food that contains enzyme-producing bacteria and just eating a food that contains the target enzyme. The enzyme-producing bacteria may (depending on the bacteria) survive the environment of the stomach, take up residence in the intestines and continue to produce the target enzyme or provide other benefits (such as breaking down molecules we cannot digest into molecules we can digest). That said, presumably some non-produced enzymes do appear to have some activity in the digestive system. Two good examples are lactase pills and Beano. Whether there are enzymes that provide any substantial benefits when consumed in the form of natural raw foods strikes me as unclear at best.

Very nice. Thanks for checking with Sitram!

I think this is easier to do with the whole leg than just the thigh. You have more to work with that way. My usual method of making them, and I usually make enough to fill a small Pyrex baking dish) is to roll them up with the skin on in foil as described above, pack them into a baking dish and bake them in the oven some unspeficied length of time until done (it's hard to overcook leg meat in this context). Then I cut a hole in the foil, drain the liquid into a small saucepan (this becomes the sauce), unroll and place the chicken onto a baking dish and broil them until browned on the outside. I've never had any problems with flabby skin, because the skin seems to shrink a bit anyway during the first stage and render out most of its fat. I've actually never made it your way. For some reason, I tend to stay away from using toothpicks to hold things together.

No spices. Just salt and white pepper. I am, in general, not a fan of heavily spiced chicken skin. I like the salty chicken flavor to come out uninhibited. The vegetables were blanched to not-quite-tender in salted water and then shocked in an ice bath. Then they were reheated just prior to service in a very intense reduction of chicken broth. Once warm, I placed the vegetables on the plate, plated the chicken and mushrooms, then mounted the chicken glace with butter to thicken it and give it some gloss, gave it a touch of fresh lemon juice for acidity, threw in some minced parsley and drizzled the sauce over the vegetables. Exactly. I wrapped them rightly in several turns of heavy duty foil, then twisted the ends to pack everything tightly together. Completely watertight -- in fact, a fair amount of liquid came out when they were opened (this went into the sauce). Prior to browning these pieces, they rested for a while and then I patted them dry. Ordinarily, I brown the skin under the broiler when I do chicken legs like this. But it seemed like a waste to do with just two pieces.

Just for the dessert record, I did make bread pudding for Sunday's dinner party. Okay, here is the rest of tonight: Here are the legs. I've deboned them, so they are now rectangles of skin-on dark meat. The turnip greens and diced mushrooms went inside, then they were wrapped in heavy foil and put in a water bath in the oven. Here I am cooking the breast meat (skin side down about 70% of the time) and also browning the skin on the cooked leg meat rolls. Meanwhile, I needed a drink. The true classic Martini: 2 parts gin, 1 part white vermouth, a dash of orange bitters and a lemon twist. Here is one view of the finished dish. Here's another.

Yes, congratulations Marlene. That looks great. It's always intimidatingly touch-and-go when you're using a technique you haven't used much before. And spit roasting is not as easy as it looks. I know some people will revile me for this, but... I... I... don't usually eat dessert.

Okay, chicken with Spring vegetables. Rather than roasting a whole chicken, I am going to cook it in sections off the bone. The legs will be deboned, stuffed and gently poached; and the breasts will be fried for a crispy skin. This will go with a melange of Spring vegetables glazed with butter and chicken stock. Here are the vegetables. I'll blanch/shock the turnips, onions and radishes prior to the glazing step. I'll also blanch and peel the fava beans. The morels I'll cook separately, and the asparagus is tender enough that it doesn't have to be blanched. I want everything with just a hint of crunch left. Here's the chicken. It's free roaming/organic. I'll stuff the legs with (blanched) turnip greens and diced mushrooms.

Tuesday's breakfast. Yadda yadda yadda.

Sorry. Probably the booze talking. The variety of potato is "Russian banana." The dish itself is inspired by Peter Luger's "German potatoes," which as far as I can tell is diced roasted potatoes.

We could do Thai food for the mystery meal, but only if I get to borrow JosephB.

I am by and large not a fan of vodka, but it is useful for the occasional drink and Charbay does make a good product. That is their blood orange vodka that I bought because I wanted to try making a kumquat-based drink from Town called Convent in Chile. The best place to get Charbay is Astor Wines down by Astor Place. That is actually probably the best area to get liquor in Manhattan, because right around the corner from Astor Wines is Warehouse Wines & Spirits. These two places combined likely represent the best selection of liquor in Manhattan.

Nothing fancy tonight. And light. We definitely wanted something light. First, though, a drink. . . This is the Pear Martini from Blue Ribbon. 2 ounces Belle de Brillet, 1 ounce citrus vodka, 1 ounce fresh line juice. In the glass and garnished. For dinner tonight, we made "hot soup featuring garlic" as the main event. In this case, it was what I call "faux pho" -- bean sprouts, slivered garlic, boiled short ribs, cilantro, scallion, garlic chive and pieces of paper thin lime with hot beef broth poured over. Just what the doctor ordered after a night of overindulgence.

I saved all the rendered fat and poured it back over the steaks on the platter. It's important, in this style, to cut the steak right on the platter on which you will be serving it (after resting the steak in the same platter). That way all the juices from the steak are in the platter and can be spooned back over the steak. For this reason, I didn't feel like it needed any additional butter. For a grilled steak, though, I like a pat of anchovy butter or herb butter melted over the steak in the platter. For the roasting stage, I stood the steaks up on their end bones (something you can't really do unless it's a very thick steak), put a thermometer probe down into the strip and roasted them to 125 degrees in a 350 degree oven.

Marlene, here's the truly amazing thing: Thanks to bergerka (still asleep), the kitchen this morning looks exactly the way it did before I started cooking yesterday. Maybe even better.