slkinsey

My mother is a fish. (Sorry, couldn't resist)

From this thread: Just mixed up a Last Word this evening for myself, bergerka and JAZ. Great cocktail. Janet and I were both struck by the way the cocktail evolved in the glass. The first sip was sweet and the maraschino came through very strongly, making us think that it wasn't balanced quite right. But both the sweetness and maraschino had married with the other flavors into something that didn't speak too strongly of any single flavor by the second sip. Indeed, every sip was a little different. Very interesting and enigmatic cocktail, somewhat evocative of the Twentieth Century Cocktail in being hard to nail down. And talk about a cool-looking drink! Great green color. I garnished ours with lime twists. I wonder what this would be like with a touch of Pernod...

No fry pans of which I am aware, but most of them include a "helper handle" on the opposite side of their 11-inch sauté pans.

To add my two cents: Definitely use yellow corn meal, coarser grinds being better. Traditionally, the best Italian polenta is cooked in an unlined copper kettle over an open fire. It is cooked for a very long time and a crust builds up on the inside of the copper vessel. This crust imparts a great deal of the toasty corn flavor. Understanding that, I would think that any crust-forming method for the home cook would be a good one. However, if you're planning on using chicken stock or milk or loading it with a lot of gorgonzola, it's probably not worth the trouble as these added ingredients will obscure the corn flavor anyway.

Hmmm... ths page seems to indicate that bacteria-produced rennet is okay, in which case there should be no barriers to making kosher cheese exactly like non-kosher (subject to the skill of the cheesemaker and the quality of the raw ingredients, of course):

Hmmm... Do you know what the enzyme is that they use? Frankly, I've always wondered why one couldn't make kosher cheese using rennet produced by bioengineered bacteria (which is where most of it comes from nowadays anyway, I am give to understand). And, of course, there's the whole deal with the fact that all milk contain's a certain amount of blood cells (aka "meat") anyway, but that's a discussion for another time. Is it possible to make decent mozzarelly without using rennet? I don't know. Are there any decent kosher cheeses made with the substitute enzyme? There are, of course, other elements besides the enzyme at play, but if their in-house made mozzarella isn't good, it's almost a sure bet it's due to the enzyme, all other ingredients being equal. Here is an information page on kosher enzymes that may be of some interest.

Fat Guy and I picked up a tub of what was called "Greek butter" at Titan Foods in Astoria, Queens a few weeks ago. Was extremely interesting. We figure it had to be some kind of cultured sheep or goat butter. Very strong and distinctive flavor. Probably not for spreading on toast, but could be very interesting on fresh pasta, incorporated into sauces, used as a cooking fat in the right context.

I have GOT to try this one. I love Chartreuse (and have a gigantic bottle of it), but have had a hard time working it into cocktails (mostly Audrey's Tantris Sidecar these days).

To restate Daniel's sentiment in perhaps a less confrontational way: Why should the law force liquor stores to close one day a week when there is no law for grocery stores, drug stores, bodegas and korean delis, restaurants, etc? In my opinion, they kept in the "one day closed a week" provision to appease the religious types who believe liquor shouldn't be sold on the (Christian) sabbath, because if liquor stores have to pick one day a week to close, most of them will choose Sunday. Now that we have (mostly) knocked down that silly law, how about allowing liquor stores to sell beer?

You probably got them as a gift. It's the equivalent of that "waterless cooking system" crap that is shilled out for way too much money on a shaky premise today. Looks like it's tin lined, which I don't recommend.

Actually, I am talking about more water than is strictly needed for survival. Because I am a singer, I drink lots and lots of water to keep myself properly hydrated for singing. We're talking at least 2 liters between the hours of 10 and 6. My body is "used" to getting this much water, and I begin to experience tension headaches and irritability long before I cross the threshhold of "thirsty." This, I would call a withdrawal symptom.

I should point out that this study is not about caffeine being addictive but rather about habitual use of caffeine causing withdrawal symptoms. These are two entirely different phenomena, and while many addictions include withdrawal symptoms, one does not necessarily equal the other. Lots of things can cause withdrawal symptoms, from heroin to caffeine to aspirin to dietary fiber. I experience withdrawal symptoms if I don't drink enough water. Is water "addictive?" It is noteworthy that, while the newspaper article throws around the word "addiction," the journal article does not. The study is called: "A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features." In their conclusions, the authors write: ". . . there is sufficient empirical evidence to warrant inclusion of caffeine withdrawal as a disorder in the DSM . . ." Note that the word "addiction" is not used anywhere.

Jay Rayner holds forth in The Observer:

Yea. If you want to make any classic cocktails, triple sec is a must (and Cointreau is the best brand of triple sec -- although it is expensive). I got an interesting idea from Audrey Saunders: try using Branca Menta in place of crème de menthe.

As others have said, it depends on what kinds of drinks you like to make, etc. Here's what I would want to have in any home bar for mixing: Reasonably priced premium vodka (e.g., Skyy, Luksusowa, etc) Reasonably priced gin (e.g., Bombay, Gordon's) High end gin(s) for martinis and other special applications (e.g., Boodle's, Hendrick's, Junipero, Tanqueray Ten) Mixing bourbon (Maker's Mark, accept no substitutes) Rye (Old Overholt is good, Van Winkle and Sazerac are better but more expensive) Blended Scotch (e.g., Famous Grouse) Silver Tequilla (e.g., Cuervo - anything 100% blue agave being best) Silver Rum (e.g., Bacardi) White and Red Vermouth (Vya is best, but Noilly Pratt for white and Cinzano for red is good too) Brandy Absinthe Substitute (e.g., Pernod, Ricard, Herbsaint, etc.) Cointreau Grand Marniner Crème de Cacao A nut-flavored liqueur Maraschino (an ingredient in many classic cocktails, Luxardo is the best) Bitters: Angostura, Peychaud's, orange These will allow you to make a very large percentage of the drinks out there. As you refine your tastes and preferences and see other recipes you might like to try, some of these things may drop out of your personal liquor cabinet and you may add others. If you like herbal drinks, you may add things like Chartreuse, Bénédictine, Drambuie. If you like sweeter, fruiter drinks you may end up acquiring more flavored vodkas and liqueurs like Chambord, etc. You may want to add things like Calvados, Cachaça and Pisco. If you like bitter herbal flavors, you might add Campari, Carpano Punt e Mes, or even Branca Menta.

Exactly. Although I'm not sure how much difference this makes in a home kitchen and on a home stove. The oval pans, in my experience, are primarily useful for cooking one fish or fillet at a time. This is something that happens often in a restaurant kitchen, but rarely at home. A fish large enough for two (or more) is impractical to cook on the stovetop in a single pan, and a fillet large enough for two (or more) is easily portioned prior to cooking to fit in a round pan. This is not to say that an oval "fish pan" is completely useless in a home kitchen, but I think a large high-end nonstick skillet is a lot more functional.

Very interesting idea, Ian. Another thought on your temperature thought: You could do a flight of three 1 ounce portions of tequilla-cointreau-lime, one room temp, one shaken & "up" and one frozen & slushy.

Heh. Me too. Or is there another word for "straight from the bottle?"

Hi Greg. Sorry for the delay in my reply. It's been a busy time around here with the move to the eGullet Society, and I haven't had as much time as I would like to view the forums (plus, you posted on my birthday). Thanks to Moby for bumping this thread, too. Anyway... What you're talking about is more or less a "curved rondeau" (you can see my description of a rondeau in the class. Most everything I say in the class about the rondeaux would also apply to a curved rondeau, except that the cooking surface area would be smaller and thus not as good for searing, etc. Despite the fact that Falk calls it a "stew pot" I am not sure this is an ideal vessel for stewing, which is a "low and slow" undertaking. For long stewing, I tend to prefer enameled cast iron with heavy lid. Considering that Falk's 3 quart "stew pot" goes for $180 without a cover, it's hard to see why you'd want to buy one when a 5.5 quart enameled cast iron casserole from Le Creuset can be had for 185 bucks, and a 5 quart enameled cast iron casserole from Staub (the best, IMO) can be had for for $180 (both prices from Amazon.com and both pieces with covers). The one case I could make for acquiring this Falk pan would be if you plan to use it more or less like a large curved sauteuse evasee with two short handles instead of one long one. Since I think the single handle design works much better for a large curved sauteuse evasee, the only reason I would ever want one with two short handles would be because I needed to conserve stovetop real estate. If you're asking about Falk's "oval casserole," most of what I said about their "stew pot" also applies here. I just don't see why it's worth sprending the money for copper and would gravitate towards enameled cast iron, which has the added advantage of being much less expensive. If you're talking about gratin pans, it gets a little more complicated. The thing about a gratin pan is that looks do make a difference, because you will be bringing the pan to the table. Whether copper makes sense will largely depend on how you think you might use the pan. Strictly for making things "gratinée" (which is to say, cooked in the oven or under the broiler until brown and crispy on top), it probably doesn't add anything to use copper and you might as well use porcelain. Metal gratin pans can have added functionality, however, because they can be heated on the stove. You could use it as a "sizzle plate" to finish items in the oven. You could toss in some fat and garlic on the stovetop, start a whole fish in the pan, and take the whole thing to the oven. You could roast poultry in the gratin pan, use the same pan to make a pan sauce, return the poultry to the pan and take the whole thing to the table. There are a lot of things you could do with a metal gratin pan. For many of these extended applications, heavy copper could really come in handy. Keep in mind, however, that the 1.6 mm Mauviel line is called "table service." It is fine for the oven, but is too thin for stovetop cooking. The Mauviel copper paella pan is, afaik, only 1.6 mm. It is not useful for stovetop cooking.

Something can have calories and no carbohydrates. I think there may be a misunderstanding here: Yes, alcohol is often made from starches that have been reduced to sugars via enzymatic degradation. Yes, both starch and sugar are carbohydrates. But alcohol is not a carbohydrate. The fermentation process results in a different kind of molecule, and afaik it is not broken down into the same components by the body. It is theoretically possible to convert all the carbohydrates in a ingredient to alcohol via enzymatic degradation and fermentation. In this case, there would be no carbohydrates remaining. It is also possible, I am guessing, to remove any carbohydrates that are not fermented into alcohol via distillation/rectification/filtering techniques. Refining to this degree will remove most of the flavor components, but with vodka this is not a problem (indeed, it is a goal).

Sounds interesting, George. It also interested me to see the inclusion of apple juice. Seems like a number of bartenders I have talked with lately are experimenting with apple juice. Have you noticed this trend? What do you think it brings to the table? To be honest, it's something I would never have thought of using.

It strikes me as entirely possible to make a vodka that contains no carbohydrates. The question is, who cares?

I think a glass siphon is a must. And you have to make sure you keep it sparkling clean, including all the parts. I have one of the metal ISI siphons, and after a while all the water from it started to taste like water out of a musty old Boy Scout canteen, and nothing I did could get rid of that taste. So, I eventually threw it out. Of course, around here we go through seltzer like... er... well, like water. So having a bottle of the stuff go flat is never an issue.

Just another thought: It's quite easy to make a coffee-infused vodka... Something as simple as coffee-infused vodka, cold espresso and a tiny touch of coffee cordial (Kahlua, etc.) for sweetness should do the trick.

In recognition of the fact that we would at least like to appear to try to be responsible here -- I don't think we should be in the business of repeating unsubstantiated rumors about Bacardi or whoever.