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swingers: Thank you for the heads up on Mercury. Will see if we are able to obtain a bottle in the near future. I'll have to bug some of our liquor reps I'll be seeing tomorrow afternoon. P.S. Your English is just fine! No need to apologize! I look forward to your posts!

ohiomartini78: Welcome! I am still attempting to acquire my taste for the juniper berry brew so, I've enjoyed a few Gordon's gibsons. But in all honest, I'm a wimp. I have a hard time drinking what smells like my Christmas tree (!) so I tend to choose Tanqueray 10 when gin is the poison of choice.

Very cool on meeting members of the Noblet family! I remember Grey Goose introduced all of those multi-unnaturally-coloured and flavoured cherries one Summer. All of those little jars! I'm not sure (I work with a large staff of bartenders) if those cherries made it for one customer to have with their Grey Goose cocktail. (A similar problem with our gibson onions -- a bartender's lunch!)

The mozzarella -- I slice mine. Did it become smoked pizza? Yesterday, I made two pizzas. I made the first (smoked chicken and apple sausage, caramelized red onions, walnuts and Maytag Blue cheese) and I automatically turned the oven off out of habit. Now comes pizza No. 2. (a multi tomato, roasted garlic, rosemary, thyme, feta, fresh mozz and pine nuts with fresh basil and grated parmigiano reggiano) Shit! I forgot I turned oven off. Well, let's see. Too late now as I watched the dough on the pizza stone sort of become softened goo. Shock, all was fine. Thanks to my oven, pizza stone and certainly no thanks to pilot error. I've got left over dough and miscellaneous ingredients in the fridge. They are calling to me! I like the jelly pan underneath. Saved much cleaning when it comes to fruit pie season -- why not do it with pizza too?

Oh, this is *torture* to read!!! My return to Sitka isn't soon enough. Thanks Chef Fowke!!!! I've got some smoked sockeye (family caught, smoked and jarred). Must do this preparation SOON!

I was at my favourite cheese shop this morning and I saw the Italian import and WOW on that price! It was great tho. Small indulgence to make the day bright. Sorry about your oven cleaning expedition and the death of one bad ass pizza.

I love Stoli Vanil, but have found that I like the Absolut Vanilla better too. Which is odd because I always felt Absolut's flavourings were a tad overkill. I couldn't STAND to pour Absolut Kurant after a wild Saturday night/Sunday morn nearly watching the sunrise with a bunch of tired coworkers and then dutifully reporting to work my favourite Sunday afternoon shift of regulars, one of which drinks the stuff. Katie you and I have a similar palate! Stoli Ohranj over Absolut Mandarin (yes, VERY baby aspirin) ! What are views on Grey Goose? Belvedere? Ketel One? edit to add: swingers: Welcome to eGullet. I LOVE meeting fellow mixologists here. You're in Paris? I have a really good friend that worked at The Hideout (11, rue du Pot de Fer). I always meant to get there to visit....

That sounds *sublime*

I've even heard of "wet dog" too. Wonder if that's similar to wet wool?

I've had a barnyard pinot noir or bordeaux. I've had a grassy sauvignon blanc from time to time too. Some of my favourite descriptors include: smelly socks leather (chianti and rhone) tobacco (cabs) tar (cab franc and malbec) ashphalt (say a '99 Canon la Gaffeliere) lead pencil (bordeaux) Can't say I 've tasted asphalt, tar or smelly socks, per se. I've chewed a pencing when I was a kid in grade school....

I've been to our little Asian Plaza in Chinatown and I have seen rambutan. I was elated!!! I bought up their entire stock. When I got home I was so sadly disappointed. I once traveled to Bankok. Those little gems were refilled daily by housekeeping. My first moments at the hotel I stood in the room holding the small bowl of fruit with a puzzed look. I remembered housekeeping was in the hall. I did a pointing and smiling routine and they grabbed one and tore it open. It changed my life. Damn, even Seattle, my fav haunt, doesn't even get good ones. Spotted lychee "nuts" today at the market in my hood. They were small. Guess that's the best I'll see in these parts. Just damn happy to find glorious Ranier cherries.... Oh, I'm so sorry. Ideas for lychee. Sorry. I'd say make icecream or sorbet (I know, not very original). I got all carried away with the travel memories.....

I went to the market today and saw those red bananas too. I did give them some thought, came home and saw this thread! Is that an eG moment? Sort of? A suggestion about the red bananas came from the organic folks at Melissa's. I found the Red Banana and Pink Grapefruit Brulee with Fruit Salsa and the Strawberry, Rhubarb and Red Banana Crostata of interest. Click here.

I've got my favourite Alaskan Amber, one remaining bottle, in the far corner of the fridge from my last trip to the Sitka homestead. Not sure why I'm saving it but I just can't bring myself to drink it! Labatt's Blue was left over from a recent afterhours party on my patio, I drank it with gusto last night at 9:45 p.m. It was really cold. It tasted sooooo good!

I've been playing with the Bacardi Vanilla. It's selling and the customers are liking these newly introduced rums.

Oh God. I can't type to save myself today!

I concur: I HATE airbake. I find parchment is the most versatile and have often reused the same sheet (wipe it off, flip it over) until it begins to brown. I've had some mixed results with silpats too so I just resigned myself to the "wastefulness" of disposable parchment paper. I once believed I had to have the All Clad cookie sheet, but then realized it was frivolous for such an expenditure and went with several aluminum commercial restaurant supply pans. They're almost indestructible. edit: boo boo fixer!

I LOVE TJ Maxx and that is where I've purchased a huge amount of my Chantal collection of ceramic bakeware. (not pots and pans) They usually have a healthy selection of them from the ramekin to the large ceramic lasagna pan. The colours are beautiful and often they have also introduced holiday inspired shapes (I have the various heart and flower casseroles and purchased the star shaped ones as gifts). I am determined to have one of each and every size and style!

I use both equally. However, I do like how FN's recipes print (the format). I also live for the chocolate recipes at Godiva.com, however they print out with the smallest size font. I know, I can cut and paste, but where's the convenience then? I also have printed a bunch of recipes from www.italianfoodforever.com. Particularly the cookies. Yum.

It does look yummy. Heck DeGroff was promoting the stuff -- gotta be good!

Something makes me a little sad when I think of PBR. Reminds me of when my dad, a Northworst Air mechanic was on lay off because of whatever union's squabbles and he was economizing from his usual German import. That was a long time ago now.... One of my favourite watering holes, Liquid, has a one weeknight only PBR special -- a shot of Beam served up neat and accompanied with a can of the swill. (The table tents are everywhere around the whole place!) The bar is patronized by a mix of yups, in the biz folks and the tragically hip. The stuff sells! I'll walk in and see everyone smiling, laughing, chatting and seemingly thoroughly enjoying themselves with a can of PBR in one hand.... I couldn't cave in, but it looked like fun! Just the sight of a few of the prosecutors, bailiffs, an occasional judge and any other miscellaneous bunch of lawyers (the bar is near the majority of our courthouses), all suited in their Brooks Brothers best, complete with a can in hand. Who would have thought?

Thanks Kim.

Tonyfinch and Nickn: Nope. Nope. Sorry Anthony Bourdain, I wasn't aware of your existence until this year while watching FN. (yes shame on me -- booo!) I was already seven years into sweating my ass off serving up spiritous liquids; sending our barbacks out to the bar two doors away at last call to purchase a few beer cases togo and to setup a borrowed lexan of ice until we were all through with counting out our drawers; have some good laughs with my cohorts; snoozing until noon, taking my boat out for a few rays of sun and relaxation and then promptly off to work to do it all over again. Eight Summers of the same schedule (when I wasn't on doubles). The wannabe theory doesn't work. I now know his words very well as I felt they were hauntingly similar to many of the crazy experiences I've had or observed after leaving corporate life behind. Speaking of afterhours....damn I've got to run!

Glad you qualified that! I work in a job that I'm expected to throw a party for all that enter into bar and yes that does entail drinking on the job. *hiccup* really, this is just as effective as Fat guy's post about the LML and CWS fight... but . beans, you are nearly as tiresome as CWS. Get a real life. You are nearly a grown up. and abbey, really, do you feel the litle smiley drnkers you post ? Are you over 21? WHY won';t egulleters of a certain age just BE eguleters of a certain aaaggghh. forget it I loose. Huh? As for the comment on being as tiresome as CWS, thanks for such high praises! Babe, my rock star bartender life is quite real. So was the part about drinking on the job. I'm paid and expected to do just that. This is really work? I'm throwing a kick ass party, expertly concocting some damn good tasting and aesthetically gorgeous cocktails, chatting with my friends and being paid HUGE amounts of money! Hmmm. Why did I ever want to be a corporate, soul sucking leech of an ambulance chaser, oops I mean lawyer, and attend Michigan? Gee, it's been 8 years/9 seasons of this life and the satisfaction and fun hasn't faded...nor have I crossed the balancing act line and earned myself a DUI. That's what cabs are for. Yes, I guess I am personally accountable. Is that indicative of being a "grown up"? Not so sure I was able to respect myself during those days I awoke each and every morning and I donned the navy blue wool gabardine suit with italian pumps, Coach briefcase and headed into work knowing I will be the sorry grunt to dig up supporting case law to what newest poop pile our client stepped into.... I likened those days to being a conservatively well dressed prostitute -- I was paid hourly (at least our fee bill broke that down for our client) to do as the client asked, and at times contrary to what society may deem as ethical or moral. Yikes, look, now I'm ranting. Boak. Thanks Kim.

That line bothers me for some reason. Why is it looked upon as a snobby, snooty, "I'm better than you" attitude if you think people screwing themselves up is, kind of screwed up? The current situation, I am speaking of a particular upstairs office witch accountant for the restaurant wherein I am employed. She is a snoot. She is a snob. She casts this distain for anyone that even as much as enjoys a cocktail or smokes a cigarette, much in the same that she will sneer at the owner's newest 20 year old newbie hostess girlfriend.... She lives to dole out her holier than thou commentary. She dangerously speculates that all of the heart of the house are on crack, all of the bartenders are lushes and theives and that the servers are stupid. She is always busy with a resentful almost hateful filled day of toil with her calculator, mechanical pencil and gigantic checkbook. Regarding the "maybe he wouldn't be in jail" end of the topic -- I've been the ass kicker. Having a childhood friend I consider my brother and close family that is chemically dependent -- I've learned by watching his self destructive tendancies, the numerous arrests, several failed attempts of rehab. Can't help someone that doesn't want it or thinks they need it. Now we let him sit in the clink. If supportive family and friends can't help him, certainly no employer can succeed to change his habits. I can no longer beat myself up emotionally thinking I could have curtailed the resulting consequences to his escapades. I believe in personal accountability. edit: sloppy proofreading. bleh.