beans

While I adore Crate and Barrel, and this is more of a girl thing, patterns come and go. I'm having fun hunting down a few pieces from their Water Music pattern, now discontinued. But that's a problem with all manufacturers, even Wedgwood. Last I was in Seattle, I stayed with my cousin and was admiring how he had a decent set of dishes and flatware. I expected chinet, or mismatched pieces that he used in college. He took himself shopping at Ikea. Attractive, and very reasonably priced.

Oooooh, he is. I emailed what I thought was his "people" at FN asking about what has happened to his show (it disappeared for a period of time in the States) and I got a very personable, lovely response from Blummer himself. He's an absolute doll.

Thanks for reminding me. I'll have to pack some vanilla beans and chocolate if I'm going to do any baking. Although I am usually surprised at the selection at the two differing grocery stores, but more so by the prices!

Golly, I'm glad I'm not the only child that does this! I think I going to be re-reading this when I get to Sitka in a couple of weeks. My Mother and I will be at my Grandfather's house, and sharing the kitchen.

Hi pattimw. Welcome to eG. This is echoed ad nauseum on the FN fanatic boards. Who cares? The woman makes some good food. She attended Le Cordon Bleu and worked with Wolfgang Puck before going on her own. And what's wrong with minding your weight, eating healthy and going to the gym to stay in shape?

Rich, For the record, I don't agree with you. But let me ask this: Can you tell if a chef is a smoker or not by their food? Perception is everything.

Oh, I think I've been there! While hunting down some fresh sugar cane for my cocktails class I kept eyeing that Goya Bitter Orange stuff. Think I'm gonna buy a bottle of it the next time I'm at the store and see what I can do with it. Yum.

Any thoughts on that Almond Breezes stuff from Blue Diamond? Here's a Rice Pudding with Almond Essence recipe that includes some nice rehydrated, dried cherries. Although I'd skip on the non-dairy whipped topping suggestion!

I was a manager at a Shula's not very long ago. Most of their menu selections/choices all relate back to Papa Shula's preferences, either that or corporate restauranteur concept magician, Uncle Walt's.

What does "TN" stand for? Tasting Notes

One dimensional? Boring? You have got to be kidding. What, are brownies suddenly the height of sophistication? Pl-ease. Did someone mention brownies? Lesley, concurring or not, everyone's got an opinion and a right to it! KarenS -- great to meet you! I love Nancy Silverton. Solid stuff. PastryLady -- Re-reading Malgieri seems like a good idea. I think I have a few of his books. Time to make use of that kitchen now that the heat of Summer seems to be coming to a close and I can once again venture to turn up the oven!

FoodZealot -- ouch! Hot sauce on my toes I think I'd probably be stomping the accelerator out of pain and in a hurry to get somewhere to whip that sock out the window to dispose of it a quick as possbile! elyse -- Two purple, kinda brownish (think cough syrup) small stains on my just washed, pastel blue shirt!

Rich - The quitting smoking and have a whole new sense of taste -- Isn't that great?! Trying as hard as I can understand and explore wine (a life long dedication) and reading another's posted TNs are difficult. Althought it may spark my curiosity and interest, I don't trust anyone's palate, and not even mine! Which is entirely why I've lurked on WS forums for almost 1 1/2 years and have never posted a single TN. I've often read notes on a particular wine and thought 'Really?!' too often to count. Palates are tricky.

elyse: I think we both eat the same stuff that spills in the same way! My spills are different. And for unknown reasons it is *always* Jägermeister! One sweltering afternoon I came into work and changed in our little employee room into my fresh uniform. I go upstairs to the bar and realized the a/c was really cold! Well, I jump right in and find out a customer wanted that one microbrew in the farthest of the far corners of the beer cooler. I had already quickly poured a couple of shots of Jäger and thought I wiped up any splashes. I lean over and grab another darned microbrew beer for that customer. Grrr, I *think* I brushed up against a few dribbles of the purple spill. Yup. Two perfect spots. At least it made my grumpy coworker giggle. Note to self: always carry around those little Shout packets. You never know.

I seemed to like the Cointreau Caipirinha on their long list of suggested drinks to make with their product. Cointreau Click on "Shake and Create" and then onto "The Cocktails Menu." There are several choices! Cointreau Caipirinha Cut half a lime into 5 or 6 pieces Crush the lime in the glass Fill to the top with crushed ice 4 cl (1.4oz) CointreauTM Stir That or their Whisper 3 cl (1,06oz) CointreauTM 3 cl (1,06oz) Vodka 1 cl (0,35oz) Dry vermouth Stir Strain into a cocktail glass Or, their You and Me 2 cl (0.7oz) lime or lemon juice 6 cl (2.1oz) grapefruit juice 4 cl (1.4oz) CointreauTM Strain into a tumbler glass filled with ice Top up with lemonade Stir

Hi jackal10. The pousse café literally translates to "push coffee." This was a popular French originating, after dinner drink, replacing an after dinner coffee, or to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee alongside. It grew in popularity in New Orleans during the 1800's. Pousse Cafés are a beautifullly layered drink to be sipped in a slow progression to taste and savour each complementary flavor. Experiment! I think I've read that part of the fun of the failures to layer is drinking the mistakes! Duck Farts were wildly popular when I tended bar in Sitka, Alaska and the B-52 pops up every now and then. In fact, once in a great while a B-52 is quite a treat with coffee. Here is a nice, compiled list of recipes courtesy of the talented Miss Cheryl Charming. Here is a handy liquor density reference chart: Clickety Here This should start your journey to enjoyment. I view Pousse Café drinks to be similar to golf -- I love the game (flavour) for all of its athletic grace and beauty (pretty layers) but find it the most infuriating and frustrating quest to perfect! Cheers!

Malawry: This may help on the homemade sour front: Thank you DrinkBoy! He's a lovely eG'er and invaluable web source on cocktails!

I twist over the drink each time. I want to blame the lemon from time to time too with the breakage issue, but I guess it all really boils down to my level of patience at the moment I'm executing the twisting motion and how well the twist was zested! I watched, with amazement, a recent Martha Stewart show when she was zipping out some twists for cocktail garnish. She got hers to spiral in a tight, uniform, beautiful manner and the twists continued to retain their shape! I think she is the magical charmer of all things citrus. (I *never* have the patience to supreme a grapefruit). Ahead of time multiple twists: Not sure how well they work. The essential oil has been released with the twisting motion and I guess would "smear" onto the container that they are temporarily stored until their use. Perhaps you could revitalize it a bit by another twist of the twist and encouraging it to a tighter, aesthetically pleasing spiral. Thicker? I go as thick as the skin of the citrus allows before hitting pith. Once in awhile a microscopic amount of pith still scrapes on which I don't mind. I'd like to think my tastebuds would discern this faux pas, but alas, and to my chagrin, they fail me on that ability! Does this help? Perhaps another "cocktailian" could add to this as well?

Wow. Thank you Malawry! Our garnishes: That really depends upon the season (busy Summer or slow Winter), the interest of the bartender, the interest of the restaurant owner/general manager/bar manager and how often is this drink with the piped milk chocolate flouish or blueberries are requested by the clientele. If we have a regular that makes their request for any particular item, we respond by stocking it and making it available as an option for all, via newly printed table tent, often credting that regular. (i.e., "Uncle Joe's Coffee" which BTW has a silly and *bad* anecdotal story behind it, but that's not one to render here!) For the most part, where I work, we have all of "the usual suspects" (oranges, lemons, limes, olives, celery, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and maraschino cherries) on hand at all times. During busy Summer nights we'll do six figures in overall gross sales volume, banging out as many dirnks to be made as humanly possible. The basic garnishes remain consistent in presentation 99.99999999% of the time. During the slow Winter months, much more attention to detail with food, cocktail and individualized guest service is the norm. That's when we'll work on featuring special items and/or plan out "themed nights" to draw interest back to the "cozy" Winter version of the wild, busy Summer hotspot. However, I have been saddened that we stopped using our (year round) traditional cooked, chilled, tail-on shrimp and draught beer chaser garnish to our Blood Marys. Of course, it was a cost issue behind this decision -- the managers got tired of seeing the barstaff eating their lunches or dinners! Other Cocktail ("Martini") bars, at least here in little ol'Cleveburg, do have a larger array of unique garnish on hand to use and support their signature cocktail menus. As for what garnish I'd recommend: Have the basics on hand, at a minimum. Elsewise: Decide what direction in cocktails you'd like to showcase that sets your establishment apart from the rest. That, and how much cost are you willing to eat? (read: Garnish is expensive and the prices go up exponentially with the cool little toy like gimmicks, such as the "litecube"). How receptive is your barstaff to minding the recipe and producing a consistent product -- both in taste and presentation. Grrrrrr. That's much easier said than done! But what is life without challenges? How much $$$ is your clientele willing to pay for creativity? My cosmo in South Beach makes me cry to order when I shell out the baht for the same lousy drink that I would be sipping at home for 1/4th of the cost. But that's what vacation is all about! Know your audience (or market)! Is this a neighbourhood pub of retired steel workers and and urban revitalization yups where most that is ordered is a shot and a beer? (I worked in one of those places and finding the olives was often difficult because the jar got squirrled away to various remote locations due to lack of use!) Or is it the newest hot destination for the afterwork crowd to see out for happy hour? ummm, errrrrr, did I get carried away? I hope this helps!

Good Morning Ladies! Thank you for your kind words Anna. Single malts For as much fun as I think making and enjoying a Blue Berry Smash, sometimes a nice Macallan is simply the only thing that will due!

Janet do you mind if we both answer? Katie -- All are subtle differences in taste and preference. Also, in the commercial context, one must consider the varied liquor cost of each when selling and pricing a cocktail. However as for the subtle differences in taste, I'd guess that is if all various orange liqueur products were sampled side by side! A long ago reading of Robert Plotkin seems to remind me Cointreau being described as drier in taste than curacao and triple sec is very sweet. Yes, very true! As far as the use of triple sec, it is very much so considered as "well" liquor. Liquor cost has prompted many bars to consider the use a not very long ago, annual Vegas barshow that introduced an alcohol free version -- the thinking being liquor cost (hmmmm, $$$$$ bottom line) and that the low liquor proof of the triple sec really doesn't add anything to the drink other than sweet, orange flavouring. Coloured curacaos sell based upon the gimmick of colour and recent readings on the topic has eluded to their being comprised of a blend of artificial flavourings. Only Curacao of Curacao claims to produce the true orange liqueur from the original Laraha oranges of Curacao. Generally, very little flavour is sacrificed when subbing triple sec or curacao in a Marg. As an upgrade from triple sec, from a bartender's perspective, Cointreau is natural choice. However, Cointreau is a complex, carefully blended orange liqueur of bitter Carribean Bigarade (picked unripe and sundried) orange peels, sweet Spanish Conuma, Cadanera and Salustiana oranges (using some fresh fruit), as well as sweet Brasilian Pera oranges. Ahhh, Grandma. (many a barkeep's choice term of endearment for this lovely French orange liqueur). Grandma's made from cognac and bitter Carribean "Citrus Bigaradia." This is decidedly sweeter and has, IMHO, a "honey like warmth." This is luscious in a Golden Marg, complementing the warmth of a decent golden tequila, and without a doubt, again IMHO, the "Cadillac of all Margaritas." However, use Grandma in a Cosmo, and I would rather order my fave Russian Vanilla Vodka.... Does any of this help?

Well Janet, nice work. So, it is your opinion that cocktails do not evolve as does the rest of the culinary world? Or perhaps to consider an adaptation of a drink from, let's make it an even in the middle stab and say the 1800's, into a homage of a classic style of a cocktail to grow into the 21st century? I find it all quite the opposite of pedestrian and rather exciting to see endless combinations to suit as many differing tastes. I'm not saying one view is more right than the other either. I'm all for enjoying and exploring modern approaches to a much beloved oldie and adapt to the myriad of choices that are currently available today. Gosh, I missed out on asserting a personal rant in my class! edit: tired typing fingers make plenty o'typos!

It was painful to view on my little pentium II. Some of the links go nowhere (they lead back to the default home page with the 'yes I'm over 21') An attractive website tho' Someone worked hard on it!

nero -- That was a reaallly good read! Wow! I get through a day with maybe a few croutons (carbo addict) and some ranch dressing to dip them in. Of course, with loads of caffeine. The liquid diet is probably more than the solids! BTW, we light our Irish Car Bombs. And you lucky thing you! Smooched by bourdain? woo hoooo!