beans

Grew up on my Gram's lumpy oatmeal. Never loved it or hated it. But wow! What a difference when I started to buy McCann's Irish oats. Yum. My collection is brinking at 521 at the moment. Wonder what the grand total would be with the volumes of food magazines I've saved and recipes I've printed from the web?

Old cool looking toasters. I've got about a dozen. All unique. All fabulous. Oh, and wine keys. I've got a bunch of different shaped, quality, varied method and logoed types. To boot, I *adore* Moët wine buckets. My trophy to date is a double, very heavy champagne bucket embossed with lovely grape leaves all the way around. It is stunning.

Oh, I'm the queen of magazines. My mail carrier hates me for all of the publications (catalog too) that I receive. #1 Chocolatier 2 La Cucina Italiana 3 (really a tie with the above) Pastry And for a non food mag who has an lovely food section feature, Coastal Living. I can hardly wait for their arrival into my mailbox. For a catalog: King Arthur Flour -- awesome! edit due to inability to type after a few glasses of wine.....ooooops

Rude, shmude. I honestly don't care terribly as I know I was polite and pleasant so whatever problem this service industry person is projecting upon you is no big deal. It's not about you, it's all about them; or in "their" case a "me" moment. A different spin on perspective: "I'm having the problem with you asking for warmer tea, how dare you!" Bleh. It's a lot to get too werked up over such a measely cup of tea. People are crabby, rude, happy, polite, pleasant. I don't expect the whirled to always greet me with the Disneyana Mickey Mouse smile of enthusiasm and cheer, however it is nice. I'm on a sliding scale of caring about my perception of rudeness in customer service. It rises expontentially and in direct correlation to the amount I need to depart with from my little purse. Now, if I were spending $250 on a bottle of wine and am being served some fabulous 5+ course dinner and sharing said experience with the special one I love, well then I'd be hopping mad and livid. Guess I've worked in service long enough not to care really if a coffee/tea counter shop person is having a bad day or a problem with my seemingly innocent and normal request. Pointing out that this is limited to perceptions of NYC, well that's just silly. That's Anyplace whirled wide at any given moment.

This is exactly the ticket for an outstanding Father's Day prezzie for my pop. He never cooked and only ventured into the kitchen to raid the cookies, grab a beverage or inspect what my mother was cooking. Then one day he suddenly started to cook, watch PBS cooking shows and buy cook books. He was inspired by Jacques Pepin. It is now on the must do list tomorrow -- two copies! One for me and one for him! I can't wait!

jakal: My favourite beer brewery uses Sitka Spruce tips as flavouring. So I'd guess pine tar would be very interesting. Jim: You mean the likes of say grain alcohol Everclear at 191 proof?????? Yikes! Those bring back the hairy buffalo days of an early, and underaged, collegiate dorm life! That stuff will melt your throat lining as you drink it!

This is a great thread offering up many suggestions I need to seek out and taste test myself. Unfortunately I know many of these lovely bubblies will not be found in my fair state of residence. Boo! I'm still a Möet & Chandon's White Star fan but I've discovered I LOVE an Italian sparkler with glorious colour -- Banfi's Brachetto d'Aqui which goes for something near $22. The Banfi is spectacular with chocolate. [when will I ever learn to spell?????!!]

Author Neil must not fare well in NYC or must need to vent publicly for validation of nothing that amounts up to a hill of *beans*!

Durian should be interesting! I ate it in Thailand and am not sure I would again!

Hi trillium. I see, it's the flavour thing. I keep picturing all of the drunken touristas pub crawling all over the island resort, where I bartended, sucking down those jello shots from a large shaped syringe wearing mardi gras beads, bright Hawaiian shirts and wearing Round House red beer buckets on their heads. Yuk. I myself haven't done any of the candy flavours, but I've done a lemongrass/ginger, a pineapple and a lovely, striking ruby coloured raspberry infusions. I want to try some sort of lavendar infusion this summer. And the fun part is taste testing the results! Salud!

Matthew: I'll be sure to tell my favourite regular that tonight as he orders one and I make it for him!

Hi cdh. First dacquiris are not made with gin. My gimlets are vodka because I still have yet to grow that acquired appreciation for drinking something similar to my Christmas tree! (Although Tanq 10 doesn't seem that way, but I wouldn't dare add anything other than ice for that one!) Next, Rose's was the sole flavouring agent where we made those margs. That lovely soda gun pumped out a fair amount of sour mix to boot. Cheers y'all!

Because it's fun and candy flavours are a huge hit. I don't liken that in any way to jello shots when I make mine. Eeeegads. On the whole an entirely different sort of appreciation.

Hi cdh. Robert was the one that has turned me onto the lime and simple syrup, although he has, I think, admitted to using Rose's for gimlets. It's all a matter of personal preference, but pouring out gallons of the sticky, sugary goo for several seasons of making endless margaritas I have grown to dislike Rose's on the whole.

I'm with Mark. I shudder everytime I view the WS Off Lines, which are fun without a doubt. However, if a restaurant does not permit a BYOB, then that restaurant is axed from the consideration list. Currently, I know of one that is being planned and in hopes of dupping the restaurant owner in allowing it to occur in a state that prohibits same. (okay, I know it happens, but the seriousness of the potential repercussions alarm me as I wouldn't ever want to be a part of a loss of business and/or liquor license). I am of the belief that great time and thought is placed into selecting a wine list. So, if you wish to eat there, order their wine. If you wish to drink your wine, ask in advance if the sommelier, chef or some other beverage manager type will stock it for you! This is all of course in exception to the various state liquor laws and in the instance a restaurant that does not maintain a liquor license to sell wine and welcomes the corkage fee and BYOB. And I sooooo understand the 8 top bringing their own 12 bottles, the decanting et al. is a nightmare on a slammed night.

That does sound lovely. I often get quite excited about using other fruits as the basis for a nice drink, like the tamarind. Particularly all of those beautiful exotic tropical ones.

I've grown to enjoy the fresh squeezed lime juice with a dash of simple syrup.

Robert will surely enjoy this. As we all know any bar worth its salt does not have Rose's Lime juice in its stock!!

Hi Robert. emmerlee sent me here. Glad to see a familiar 'face' and welcome. Gosh I love Webtender, but lately.... I think there is much to enjoy here and glad to see you've joined as I know you will be a fabulous contributor! lynn p.s. Don't you wish we were better web surfers to have discovered eGullet earlier than we have? Especially to have participated in the Dale DeGroff Q&A!!!!!!

What is the name of that book by that woman dubbed "The Queen of Clean" ?? I've seen it, can picture it but need to buy it one of these days. My mother swears by it and she's a stain removal junkie. I hand over my toughies for her reference book expertise and they always work. It is sort of satisfying to see success right before your eyes on what you thought was a hopeless effort.

Mmmmmm. My fav vodka by far, especially for the price. Too bad they don't have a better distribution, at least in northeastern Ohio. Only one bar I know of stocks it regularlly and thankfully its in my neighbourhood. Never saw it in Alaska either.

I'm rehabbing an old cranky smaller Victorian home that a previous owner tired of doing the work but somehow managed all of the messy stuff -- plaster removal being one of the benefits. So I walked through and got to decide which of the smallish rooms would be the kitchen and then had the plumbing roughed in. Its only about 12' by 20' but the largest home kitchen I've ever had, however I already wish it was a bit larger to accommodate an island and enough space for two cooks to be able to work together comfortably.

No matter the flavour you are infusing, you are still stuck with that cheap vodka hangover. Go with a moderate, neutral type, say like Skyy. Ginger-Lemongrass infusion is lovely, but keep in mind that like making jams and jellies, "fruit protector" is needed on occasion according to my Cordials from Your Kitchen, Easy, Elegant Liqueurs You Can Make and Give by Pattie Vargas and Rich Gulling. I've made a Raspberry infused which I gave away and saved a bottle or two to enjoy and now wish to start with other flavours. Post your progress and results! Did you like what you did? Would you do it again? It is fun to make and enjoy, particularly after a rather hairied night at work.

I remember the parish of St. Michael's did have a cookbook for sale last I was there. May pick it up the next time I'm in town to add to all of my other uniquely Alaskan cookbook collection. Sitka is a small town, and yet, small world too. My first official kitchen position would have been for Shee Atika's restaurant if I let their current kitchen manager continue to bend my ear, but I opted to remain at the P bar and cook hotdogs and distribute spiritous liquids. Gee, it is peak "nearly deads and newly weds" season right now. *sniff*

Sitka? New Archangel?????? Where I grew up and once called home from that little now yellow house with a picket fence at the end of the road at the turnaround across from Totem Park???? My Sitka?????? I kept thinking of St. Michael's throughout this thread! I have Sitka recipes of Nawtet, Pirok, Rosky, Kulich, Boalotchkee, Paskha, Pirozhki and "Russian" tea.