slkinsey

Since Liz put Sidecars in my mind, but finding myself without brandy, I made a variation tonight: an Applejack Sidecar. 2 ounces Laird's blended applejack, 1 ounce GranGala and just unded 1 ounce fresh lemon juice. I'd love to try this with Laird's bonded applejack. Since the blended applejack is a little rough around the edges, I used GranGala instead of Cointreau to give it a bit more roundness. Very nice!

Tanqueray is very good, but I have a fondness for good old Gordon's gin. It's got a nicely emphatic piney-ness that I like in drinks like the Aviation.

Yea... at some point we get into the whole question of how much does the cocktail have to change before it's no longer a Sidecar. Using GranGala instead of Cointreau is close enough, I think. But the Cherry Smash strikes me as more Sidecar-inspired rather than a Sidecar variation. On the other hand, it's probably no more a deviation than Audrey's Tantris Sidecar -- perhaps less. Here is a link to a recipe for the drink, which seems to contain Courvoisier VS cognac, orange curaçao, Schladerer Edel Kirsch, lemon juice and muddled brandied cherries. The thing that's so great about a classic formula like the Sidecar is that it can be the basis for so many diversions. It's just brandy, triple sec and lemon juice. Substitute maraschino for the triple sec? You've got a totally different drink. In fact, it's almost impossible to go wrong with some variation of the classic combination of base liquor, orange liqueur and citrus. That's how I came up with the "Eighteenth Century Cocktail" which, while nowhere near as complex or inventive as the sorts of things a real pro like Julie or Audrey can come up with, still turns out to be the most popular drink I've ever thought up.

We note that an article on the Mint Julep by Gary Regan appeared in the 2004 year end edition of Entree and is now available online. Gary is in the "don't muddle the mint" camp. Personally, I'm in the "lightly muddle" camp myself. Mint infused simple syrup or pre-infused "minted bourbon" is right out, though. Dave, I know I'm responding almost a year late, but I don't see anything wrong with using brandy (and/or rum, applejack, rye, peach brandy... even gin). As you point out, they were made with any number of base liquors back when.

Julie Reiner's Sidecar at Flatiron Lounge, made with Hennessy VSOP and GranGala, is pretty cool too.

Gary Regan's column in the SF Chron today talks about guess what? The Aviation. The recipe he gives is the same as in his book, and it's the one I prefer: 2.0 oz : gin 0.5 oz : fresh lemon juice 0.5 oz : maraschino liqueur Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (I like mine with the addition of a lemon twist garnish). Gary's recipe actually bumps up the amount of maraschino from the more historical formulae, such as this one from cocktailDB which calls for 2 oz gin, 1 oz lemon juice and only two dashes of maraschino. This sounds like an excessively sour drink to me. No mention in the article of the creme de violette history Dave mentions above (which sounds so cool and makes so much sense I have to find some creme de violette).

Writer and eGullet member Elizabeth Johnson has a great article about the Sidecar that came out today in The Journal News. There is also a nice section on Audrey Saunders and her popular variation, the Tantris Sidecar. She gives a recipe for a standard Sidecar (Dave will be happy to note the 2:1:1 ratio, and I was happy to note that the glass is put in the freezer to firm up after the rim is sugared) as well as one for Audrey's Tantris Sidecar. Thanks to Liz for a great article!

I don't think there is such a thing as "Ruski Vodka." What I have heard of is called "Stolichnaya Lemon Ruski." It's been around since something like 1997, and I have seen it marketed as "a unique blend of wine flavor, genuine Russian vodka and lemon flavor." It's around 5% ABV and is Stolichnaya's entrant in the "premade 'cocktail' market" where it competes with similarly odious products such as Bacardi Breezers, Smirnoff Ice, Jack Daniel's Country Cocktails, etc. In other words, it's Russian Zima.

To generally address a few points here: 1. Contrary to some opinions, I think it is a bad idea to let the starter "age and become more sour" before adding it to the dough. The reason for this is quite simple: by the time a starter is becoming noticably sour it is already well bast peak growth conditions and the population of microorganisms is actually beginning to die down. When you mix the starter together with the dough, you want the yeast/lacrobacillus population as large and healthy as possible so it can do its thing. 2. One way to add a big slug of acid to your dough and still use a healthy starter is to "pre-ferment" a separate piece of dough. In this case, you would mix up about 1/4 of your eventual bread recipe, inoculate it with the starter and let that ferment until it became very sour (e.g., 24 hours). Then, when you mix the final dough you can mix the pre-fermented dough (full of acid now) together with the remaining 3/4 of the flour/water from your bread recipe and an inoculum of fresh starter. It is possible, however, to make a very sour loaf of bread without adding any "soured dough" simply by using a strong flour and doing a lengthy fermentation. 3. The sourness of bread is largely determined by the ash content of the flour. Sourdough lactobacilli aren't so much affected by acid concentrations, but they are affected by low pH. Flours with a higher ash content have greater buffering power and therefore are able to accumulate more acid before the pH gets too low (growth is inhibited at pH 3.8 and acid production stops at 3.6). This is why whole wheat doughs tend to be more sour than white wheat doughs (whole wheat has a much greater ash content). 4. It may also help to add a bit of diastatic malt powder to your dough. One reason that rye flour produces such strong fermentations is that rye flour has high enzymatic activity which breaks down the starch into sugars that can be consumed by the yeasts and lactobacilli. White wheat flour has comparitively low enzymatic activity, and it is possible that the organisme simply run out of food before they can produce enough acid to be inhibited. Diastatic malt powder includes diastase, which is an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugars (thus providing food for the microorganisms to do their thing). 5. One thing you have to be aware of is the fact that acid breaks down gluten. So you need to have a very strong flour with lots of gluten if you want to go extra-sour. 6. To improve the crumb of your bread, I would encourage you to go with more hydration as others have suggested. You might also experiment with retarding the dough in the refrigerator. I like the effect retardation produces. I also find that a slightly cold dough has less tendency to deflate when slashed and produces a much more dramatic oven spring -- both of which would probably help with your "healing slashes" problem. 7. I'm not entirely convinced on the whole "rising at high temperature" thing. Here is a chart of representative growth rates for sourdough lactobacilli and yeasts: Up to about 28C (82.5F) we have fairly similar growth rates for yeasts and lactobacilli. Yeast growth is increasingly inhibited above 28C, with no growth at 38C (96.8F). If one wanted to create temperature conditions that significantly favor lactobacteria over yeast 30C (86F) would seem to be the ideal dough temperature. However, this is problematic for a number of reasons: First, if the temperature dips much below 30C there is not much effect and you're going to a lot of trouble for nothing. Second, if you go much higher than 30C you're getting into an area where the yeast is significantly inhibited, which is not so good either. Third, remember it's the dough temperature that counts, not the ambient temperature. It's not as easy as you might think to keep the dough temperature right where you want it, and it's very easy to undershoot or overshoot. Fundamentally, though, I think the temperature manipulation method is based on some flawed assumptions. First, it is not the case that the yeasts do all the leavening while the lactobacilli only produce acid. In fact, scientists estimate that the lactobacilli typically do about half of the leavening. So, if the premise is that a temperature condition that favors lactobacilli over yeasts gives the bacteria more time to do their souring thing before the dough is leavened, that is unlikely to be significant. Second, as explained above, the sourness of the bread is largely determined by the buffering power of the dough, although the enzymatic action of the dough (as it affects the available food supply) and the gluten content of the dough (as it affects the dough's ability to maintain integrity and leavening after gluten is degraded by acid) are contributing factors as well. I've managed to make some loaves of mouth puckering sourness fermenting entirely at around 50F. To be honest, though, I don't think sourdough breads should really have that one dimensional up-front sourness like so many supermarket brands do. A mild sourness and greater complexity of flavor is more what I'm after.

Interesting, Stephen. I thought it was something like that. This may be one reason the Pomi products don't contain citric acid (I believe they're ultrapasteurized) and also why they don't seem to sell whole peeled tomatoes.

If you buy the ones that contain lysergic acid, I think you'll find the eating experience greatly enhanced. Are these acids used as preservatives? Absolutely! Produced in small batches by... er... artisans, usually in either "windowpane," "microdot" or "blotter" form. Seriously, though. Acidic products are generally thought to be safe from botulism when canned. There is some question as to whether tomatoes are acidic enough for this, and as a result citric acid is usually added (presumably to reach a certain pH point). Although Pomi doesn't add citric acid, most brands seem to do it. I can't say that I detect a difference.

If you buy the ones that contain lysergic acid, I think you'll find the eating experience greatly enhanced.

I don't like the "fruit salad" variety of Old Fashioned. For me, it's superfine sugar, bitters and a lemon peel in the bottom of the glass; muddle together so the sugar "abrades" the citrus peel and extracts its oils; add ice and whiskey; stir; enjoy. Turns out that's super old-school, but that's the way I like them. Too bad that the author decided to confine her search to the Lower East Side. It's an interesting concept, but the likes of Barramundi, Epstein’s Bar, Motor City, Sin-e and Whiskey Ward don't excite me too much. Milk and Honey, where I am quite sure a definitive Whiskey Old Fashioned can be had, is only a mere half block South of Delancey. Too bad she didn't visit there.

Also interested to see that poultry and pork in the US may not say "hormone free" or anything like that.

In order to qualify for the "free range" Special Marketing Term in the UK, chickens must have continuous daytime access to open-air runs, comprising an area mainly covered by vegetation, of not less than one square meter per animal for at least half the lifetime of the animal. In order to label chicken "free range" or "free roaming" in the United States, "producers must demonstrate to the [uSDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service] that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside." I was interested to read that the term "chemical free" is not allowed at all.

How about The International Olive Oil Council? In particular, this document probably has more information than you could possibly want. I am given to understand that terms like "cold pressed" and "first pressing" (etc.) are completely unregulated terms that are used nowadays mostly for marketing.

Er, chickens are usually slaughtered at something like eight weeks of age.

Here is what Quaker says: This sounds to me like there is no lye involved in Quaker's grits. But I wonder how accurate this actually is. I can see how the Quaker folks might think it was bad PR to say that the corn is treated by soaking in slaked lime or lye. Interestingly, though, if you look at Quaker's information page for their Old Fashioned Grits, it says it is made from "white hominy grits made from corn." This leads me to believe that they are selling actual hominy (i.e., treated with slaked lime or lye) grits. It would be interesting to cook some Quaker oats and Quaker cornmeal side by side to see whether it tasted different. Having cooked up plenty of Quaker grits (although I'm on to better these days) as well as polenta from Quaker cornmeal (ditto), my tastebuds tell me that they are different.

Hmm. I've never found that to be the case, but I'll have to pay attention to that specifically the next time I go. I will say that "wafer like crisppness" isn't one of my particular criteria, though. Oh it's on, you bottomless-gulleted freak! I'll make you eat that pie, too! Er... yea! No arguments from me there, although you need to go to Franny's too. Somewhat different aesthetic, but every bit as outstanding IMO.

Oh, I agree. It is highly rated for a common pizzeria. There are a few good Mexican places in the neighborhood on Amsterdam. At around 101st Street is Noche Mexicana and at around 108th is Taqueria y Fonda la Mexicana.

Huh. I've never been disappointed with the crust there. I think it's a bit of a mistake to expect that the crust will be crisp at the tip of a slice, however. That's not what makes the crust great. If you have a crust that is "crisp" all the way through and "stands up to the toppings" all the way to the tip without being folded, I think you are sacrificing the etherial flexible moist middle layer that is what makes a great pizza crust truly great. Really?! I think the toppings are Grimaldi's real strength. That sausage is imo hands down the best pizza sausage in the City, and the roasted peppers are also right up there. Now, the sauce may not be as "zippy" as some people prefer (I think it's nothing more than crushed tomatoes, salt and maybe a little evoo), but I like that simplicity.

East Harlem. Yes, the pepperoni at Patsy's leaves much to be desired. This is the one area where I feel that Patsy's has a lot of room for improvement. But I prefer the thinness of Patsy's crust. Cal & Carmine's has been my neighborhood slice joint of choice for going on 14 years now -- but that's more reflective of my neighborhood than anything else. For what it is (a steel oven pizzeria selling slices of flavorful but fundamentally "most of America style" pizza) it's very good. But I wouldn't call it a destination place, and I wouldn't put it remotely in the same category as Di Fara, never mond Patsy's or Franny's (then again, I also thought L&B Spumoni Gardens was horrible, so Cru and I clearly don't share the same pizza aesthetic). I certainly do. It's overall my favorite pizzeria in the City, but it's a minimalist crust-centric approach that will not appeal to everyone. See here for some detailed comments on Franny's.

The aluminum used in cookware is typically not pure aluminum, rather it is aluminum alloyed with other metals. The "3000 series" aluminum alloys are the ones most commonly employed in non-cast aluminum cookware. The other metals presumably make the metal easier to work with and may provide other desirable properties (e.g., hardness), but they also unfortunately reduce the thermal conductivity somewhat. Here is the composition specification for a 3003 and a 3004 aluminum alloy: 3003 Aluminum Alloy 3004 Aluminum Alloy Component Wt. % Component Wt. % ---------------------- ---------------------- Al 96.7 - 99 Al 95.5 - 98.2 Cu 0.05 - 0.2 Cu Max 0.25 Fe Max 0.7 Fe Max 0.7 Mg 0.8 - 1.3 Mn 1 - 1.5 Mn 1 - 1.5 Other, each Max 0.05 Other, each Max 0.05 Other, total Max 0.15 Other, total Max 0.15 Si Max 0.6 Si Max 0.3 Zn Max 0.1 Zn Max 0.25 For the most part, when we say "aluminum cookware" we are really saying "aluminum alloy cookware." And while the alloys may be less reactive than pure aluminum, they're still plenty reactive.

There are a number of pizzerie named Patsy's in Manhattan, but they are not really related to the real thing up in East Harlem (imo the best traditional coal fired pizza in NYC). The deal is that the original East Harlem place licensed the name out to the other places, but they are not involved in the management, training or quality control of those other places. Interesting to hear that you preferred Lombardi's. To a certain extent it depends on what you ordered and what your preferences are. Patsy's is all about the coal oven crust, which is why the toppings are so light. Really, their best pizze are the marinara (just sauce and garlic), the plain tomato/mozzarella and the mushroom ones. Any pizza ordered with multiple toppings in the "typical American style" won't really do Patsy's justice, because the crust really suffers. Lombardi's is a lot closer to what most people expect in a pizza: denser crust, heavier toppings, etc. It's not bad compared to 90% of American pizza, but it doesn't seem to have that NYC coal oven magic like it could. What was it that attracted you more to Lombardi's pizza than Patsy's? (I should mention that the Patsy's style really needs to be consumed immediately. It doesn't travel or hold well.)

Charles, which Patsy's did you visit? If it wasn't the one on First Avenue and 117th Street, I can well believe that Lombardi's was better.