slkinsey

Two things here: What are your thoughts on using rye whiskey in a Manhattan? If one is going for authenticity, I think this was the original. I also find the fact that you appreciate the sweet smokiness of JD and yet do not appear to enjoy blended scotch intriguing. Is the scotch just too much smoke for you? Have you ever tried a Rob Roy (i.e., a Manhattan made with blended scotch instead of bourbon or rye)? I rather enjoy them with Famous Grouse, my family's blended scotch of choice.

I do agree with you about this. Perhaps I did not make it sufficiently clear in my previous post. While I think it is extremely unlikely that any such effects aren't almost entirely psychological or psychosomatic, I do think one cannot absulutely rule out the possibility that there may be some psychoactive properties in the other substances present that make themselves felt. That said, I think it would take a lot of convincing for me to buy that these effects are significant or produce a characteristic quality of inebriation separate from the psychological effects of expectations and associations relating to that beverage, etc. We do know, for example, that one can ingest a measurable amount of opiates by eating a poppy seed bagel. But I have a hard time believing that someone who ate a poppy seed bagel and then drank 4 martinis would experience an inebriation that was uniquely distinct from the inebriation of someone who ate a plain bagel and then drank 4 martinis -- despite the fact that we know opiates have an effect on consciousness and are potentiated by alcohol. In this example, if one of the drinkers had a strong psychological association with bagels I think that would have a much more profound effect on that drinker's quality of intoxication than the opiates in the poppy seeds. Nevertheless, you do make a valid and interesting point, and I hope I didn't give the impression I thought your comments were absurd. You are correct, of course, that alcohol may potentiate the effect of other substances. That said, I think there is enough variation in the reported intoxicating effects of various alcoholic beverages to make me take any such reports with a big grain of salt. If there were certain psychoactive substances in bourbon (or whatever) that acted on the brain either directly or assisted by the potentiation of alcohol, I think A) we would see a lot more commonality among reports as to the unique intoxication produced by bourbon, and B) if research scientists thought this was a significant phenomenon we would see some research in this incredibly interesting area. Given what we understand about perception and the mind, I am putting my money on psychological effects. It is, of course, impossible to separate the psychological effects that a person's associations with a certain alcoholic beverage may have on his/her perceived experience of the intixication that results from the consumption of that beverage. So, in that way, and to the extent that many associations and expectations that are connected with certain alcoholic beverages are influenced and formed by the culture at large, it is true that a "wine high" will differ from "bourbon high." And this goes a long way towards explaining why some beverages (Jagermeister, for example) are associated with commonly-reported characteristic psychological effects in certain cultures (American 20-somethings, in this case) and not particularly in others (German >40-somethings). Oh, ! What is wrong with a little precision of language? Although I clearly disagree as to the likelihood that such effects do happen, you are certainly not incorrect in pointing out the mistake in using such absolute terms. Although "extremely unlikely" and "impossible" are very closely related, they are not the same thing. So, while I don't think the evidence is there to give any credibility to such fraternity house myths as "Makers Mark gives a mellower buzz than Wild Turkey" and so forth, I suppose it is unscientific to reject them with absolute uncertainty. As you may note, I revised the language of my thoughts in my post of Aug 20 2003, 10:17 AM to reflect your comments. Not that I'm going to be putting down this big shaker of sodium chloride any time soon when it comes to this subject.

Wait... you would replace the capers and jams and not the tartar sauce? What I meant (as opposed to what I wrote) is that I find the capers and jams more essential than the tartar sauce. Ah. Of course I agree! Salt-cured capers especially... mmmmmmm.

On the OT side... my grandfather's name was McDowell. We always thought of the mountain house in NC as the "McDowell house." I still do. Wait... you would replace the capers and jams and not the tartar sauce? Aren't the capers already preserved in brine? Also, wouldn't the sugar in the jams/jellies tend to have a preservative effect? I don't think there is a heck of a lot of bacteria that can grow in an environment with so much sugar. That's why we call 'em preserves, right? Even in the event where you might grow some mold on the surface of a jam or jelly, the rest of it is perfectly fine if you scoop out the top centimeter or so (at least this is what my mother the biochemist used to tell me when I caught her doing it -- and I was always unable to detect any defects of flavor).

Yes. Walnut oil quickly turns rancid at room temperature. Putting it in the refrigerator slows this process down considerably.

I am interested to read how many people here keep jarred mayonnaise on hand as a refrigerator staple. I haven't bought a jar of mayonnaise in years, aside from the occasional jar of Dukes when I'm down in NC on vacation. Maybe we're unusual in that we don't use a heck of a lot of mayonnaise, but I have always found it easier/better to make my own on the occasions when I do need some. Totally easy to do. The small inner bowl on my KitchenAid food processor is just the right size for one yolk's worth of mayonnaise. Just toss in the tolk, some salt and a little lemon juice... turn on the motor and drizzle in the oil(s) of your choice. 60 seconds later I have a cup of fresh mayonnaise. Works every time. Keeps at least a week. This, for me, has two great benefits: 1. no jarred mayonnaise can compete with homemade in terms of flavor, texture, etc.; and, 2. when you make your own you really understand how much fat there is in there (one cup of mayonnaise equals... well... just about one cup of oil).

Bush I or Bush II?

Maybe some red eye gravy?

i look like i have a freakin mullet. i gotta get a haircut. You mean you don't have a mullet?

Good points, Trillium. My assertion was based on data I have seen as to the amounts of thujone typically needed to produce any consciousness-altering effects, the concentration of thujone in absinthe and the typical alcohol content of absinthe. This, along with my training in psycholgy, leads me to conclude that it is incredibly unlikely that the vast majority of drinkers drinking the vast majority of absinthe available can consume enough thujone so doing to experience any of thujone's consciousness-altering effects, and that any such perceived effects are almost certainly purely psychological in origin. I will concede, however, that rare people having a certain physiology and drinking a particular batch of absinthe, etc. may experience some of absinthe's alleged consciousness-altering effects over and above what they might experience from a similar-tasting beverage with the same alcohol content. Things like wine, etc. may have pharmacologically active agents in them, but that doesn't mean that they are agents which have any consciousness-altering effect on the brain's chemistry. Of course, to a certain extent everything has a psychological effect... The smell of vanilla can result in certain brain events in some people. That said, I think we can agree that vanilla and THC are birds of a different feather. Most people who study these things would say that the effects resulting from the smell of vanilla were psychological and not consciousness-altering in nature whereas the effects resulting from the ingestion of THC are chemical and consciousness-altering. Given the fact that alcohol is a very strong consciousness-altering drug whose effects would likely obscure whatever minute effect any other agents in wine or bourbon might possibly have, and given an understanding of the power of the mind to "invent" psychological effects, especially where certain effects are expected, I think it is reasonable to conclude that any percieved differences between the altered consciousness one achieves via alcohol intoxication from drinking wine as opposed to bourbon are almost certainly psychological and not chemical. That, of course, does leave the door open for the special 0.001% case.

In the same thread he says: I do think you have a point, however, that it is a great way to introduce people to an appreciation of wine -- especially those who might be intimidated or inexperienced. These same people may go on to leave Willie's book behind and become more expert as their interest grows. Me? I just don't have the time, resources or interest. I like a good glass of wine... I really like a good glass of wine. But I have too many other things going on to make a major hobby out of it. I find that I can follow Willie's advice on my own and/or rely on the advice of trusted wine shops (which Willie also explains about in his book) and expect to find very good wines at a reasonable price 90% of the time. Are there certain wines that I may miss out on by following Willie's advice? Certainly. But I feel that I am skipping a whole lot of losers and overlooking relatively few winners by doing so.

read a book. *the* book. this book. Willie is the coolest. Dated a roommate of mine for a while. I think this is the best book out there for people who appreciate a good glass of wine but don't have the time, money or inclination to do a lot of homework and become wine connaisseurs. However, because it is geared towards this kind of wine consumer I can see how real cognoscenti like Craig have problems with it. Tommy, have you ever been to Nancy's Wines?

Garbage disposals only became legal within the last 5 years. And even then, if I understand the law correctly, only certain buildings are eligible. I assume new construction has them, but the pre-war buildings definitely don't. AFAIK it's not strictly true that old buildings can't have them by law... It's just that the plumbing in many of these buildings simply can't handle garbage disposals, so many co-op boards have decided to disallow them. I believe that the prohibition against garbage disposals was originally intended to reduce the amount of organic waste in the NYC sewage system, although someone may have better information than I. Going back OT, we like to reuse our bags whenever/however possible. Usually this is for garbage. Our ferrets, however, love to play around in crinkly, crunchy, loud paper shopping bags.

Recently made: 2 oz home infused lavender vodka 1 oz limoncello .5 oz Vya extra dry vermouth Juice of 1/2 lemon Shake and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with extra-long spiral of lemon peel cut with chanel knife. Pretty good, but it lacks something... perhaps a touch of simple syrup. Really cool pale green color, though.

What I want to see is how often you need a "fix" of buckwheat noodles. And I want to hear where a true soba addict goes to score.

Oh, I'd agree. Different strains of yeast -- and fresh yeast is certainly a different strain from those used in instant and active dry yeasts -- will always produce different results. If one has a ready and convenient supply of fresh yeast, I think that would always be the best choice. Instant yeast is merely a convenience as one can have a reliable supply in the freezer available at a moment's notice.

Never mind, of course, that an infinitely better cup of espresso can be had on most any Italian street corner for about a buck.

Oh, I know what you mean. It's just not the same unless the air smells of blood and gunpowder, and there is some guy two tents over having his leg sawed off before gangrene sets in.

There is no way you can get enough thujone from drinking absinthe to experience any of its mind-altering effects. You would be unconscious from alcohol poisoning before that happened. Any such perceived effects are purely psychological... much like such canards as "the mellow buzz you get from wine as opposed to the hard buzz from bourbon" or the often observed phenomenon whereby someone gets "high" smoking something they think is marijuana but in fact is not.

This is a variation on Chicken Marengo, which is a classic dish. According to legend it was created on the battlefield on June 14, 1800 after Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austro-Hungarian army at the village of Marengo in northern Italy. It is chicken sauted in olive oil and braised with garlic, onion, tomatoes, olives, white wine or brandy, and sometimes garnished with crayfish or eggs ("Italian poached eggs" -- eggs poached in olive oil -- if you're lucky).

Ah... my father is a physical chemist, so I doubt you would have crossed paths with any of the people I know over there. Growing up as the son of two academic research chemists, I was lucky enough to figure out at a very early age that I hated most math and science (although strangely enough I have come back around to an appreciation of amateur science). Just recently I was reminded of how I developed my befuddlement with and hatred of math when my father attempted to explain to my 9 year old nephew what was so cool about doing the proof showing that the square root of 2 is not a rational number.

Rock on. What were you studying at MIT? My father was faculty there for around 25 years, so I know the school and a lot of the faculty quite well. The falafel truck, BTW, has been legendary for years. I can remember hearing about it perhaps as early as the late 70s -- certainly by the mid 80s.

Poke through this recent thread for some good ideas and suggestions.

Why was it mandatory? (Sorry if this is a silly question.) For a lot of smaller schools, such as the one I attended, residence on campus and participation in the meal program is mandatory. If the school has, say, 1,100 students it needs to provide the housing/eating facilities to accomodate right around this number of students. If half the students then decide to live/eat off-campus, the school would end up taking a significant financial hit. Also, for many of these schools, again such as the one I attended, having all the students live/eat together on the college campus is a big part of the experience/philosophy. I was able to live in an on-campus fraternity house most of the time I was at school. The university would give us the board portion of the comprehensive fee for each of our members, so we were able to hire a cook, eat much better food than the cafeteria was serving and still have plenty of money left over for parties, beer, guests, etc. Marion cooked fairly standard Wisconsin fare for the time (heavy on the meat and starches -- her ides of the four food groups was "meat, bread, potatoes and pasta"), and we cooked for ourselves when she had the day off (usually more of the same). It was on these days off that I was able to hone my formidable bratwurst grilling skills and, somewhere along the way, almost blew my arms off starting a charcoal fire with gasoline.

There's drool on my keyboard, dude. That's always a fave around the Kinsey household. The trick is to pull it out of the oven while the yolks are still runny. I like to do it with thinly-sliced home-roasted red peppers and a sprinkle of minced parsley when it comes out of the oven. I don't know if it's terribly traditional, but I got the idea for it from the "Pizza Big Ben" at a friend's Marchegiano trattoria "Big Ben" in the little mountain town of Urbania near Urbino.