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Pumpkin Lover

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Posts posted by Pumpkin Lover

  1. gallery_15057_2681_3244.jpg

    This is so effin' AWESOME.

    And Krista G--I agree with everything you said. Like you said, chain restaurants for foodies is all about having a sense of humor. I love the drinxxxs at Applebee's: gimme a Bahama Mama and I'm good to go. And I recently had a lobster pizza and a gigantic (I mean huge, like bigger than a Texas-size marg at Dallas BBQ) pina colada at a Red Lobster in NJ. I loved Red Lobster as a kid because I loved eating fish and we didn't eat fish so much in my house as a kid. So I associated Red Lobster with fish entirely. Now in my old(er) age, I'd enjoy the swordfish at Tabla much more. But man, going back to Red Lobster a couple months ago was one of the best adventures I could imagine. I never thought I'd go back, but it felt like a relief to be there again. It's about balancing my snobby food standards with something...else. Don't quite know how to explain it beyond that.

    ETA an adverb.

  2. I think it's part of Alton Brown's schtick to use "alternative" non-traditional lowbrow equipment.

    I appreciate that about his show, though (not sure if yours was a critical statement, but)--the sentiment helps cooks to think on their toes, especially if they don't have a lot of equipment or gadgets (like me). I don't have much arm strength either, so pressing food for liquid on a chinois would probably be useless to me. So I'd be more likely to use the cheesecloth-strainer method.

    What about paper towels--what's the difference between using those and cheesecloth to strain stock?

  3. I surround myself with like-minded people, and some of my friends and I are going to try a pumpkin/squash-inspired dinner in the next couple weeks. I'd like to try some pumpkin cocktails and I'm brainstormin' like a little freak here, not just about liquors to use, but about the veg juice itself:

    1) (I should ask this in the cooking forums but whatevs)--pumpkin juice or pumpkin water. I don't have a juicer. What do I do to get this liquid? Should I cook down pumpkin and try to make a very thin puree and strain it? One friend suggested cooking cubes of pumpkin in water and using the stock, but I don't know how flavorful that will be. Are there any fruit juice sources that you guys recommend in case I don't have a viable homemade juice option?

    2) Is pumpkin even the best squash/gourd/whatever to use for these drinks? I usually cook with butternut squash. What are the sweetest squashes out there--maybe kabocha? I have easy access to that, living in a Latino nabe.

    3) Thinking about liquors to use.

    The only pumpkin-flavored cocktail I've ever had was at Kitchen 25 (23?) here in NYC. It was a pumpkin margarita as I recall, rimmed with cinnamon. NOW. I feel like there's a lot more that can go on here, but I need your advice. I'm thinking about using a spiced rum, or flavored vodkas (maybe mango? Berry?)

    Spiced rum--what else could I add to the pumpkin juice and rum? A little simple syrup, maybe? Rim of cinnamon sugar?

    Should I think about not using a spiced rum and instead go with a milder tasting rum? Ed? :smile:

    Vodka--here, I was thinking about what flavors go with squash in cooking. Herbs like sage, maybe mint. Maple syrup. Maybe I could infuse some maple syrup with mint? Maybe throw in an egg white for frothiness a la Audrey Sanders?

    Kahlua--would Kahlua and pumpkin even work?

    Tequila--I don't know tequilas at all, so any advice would be awesome about which ones would go with pumpkin.

    Spices--besides cinnamon, what kinds of spices or flavorings would work well in liquid form? Would it be cool to make a few infused syrups and try them out?

    My ideas are very scattered about what will and will not work. But I think this might be a lot of fun. Help?

  4. After reading the review, I don't see how the "concept" of Colors is any different from a restaurant like Stanton Social, or a generic American-style restaurant that borrows ideas from ethnic cuisines (using curry powder or chile peppers in chocolate desserts or risotto, for instance). I put concept in quotes because I'm not even sure, from the review, that there is a singular, solid theme behind the Colors menu--it's a collection of favorite recipes, and it seems like the restaurant's just going to roll with that and see how it goes. That doesn't sound like an automatic failure to me, and maybe I'm not experienced enough with finer dining trends, but the discussion surrounding the supposed failure of this restaurant seems very pre-emptive.

    What have you got to report on the concept and the food, those of you who have already eaten at Colors? Gimme evidence, I'm curious.

  5. One time, I mixed mayo, ketchup and sweet relish with rice and snarfed it in two seconds. I thought it'd satisfy my eternal craving for Japanese food, because relish is just so Japanese. :smile:

  6. My sister and I are hopefully throwing a cocktail party in two weekends, and we've been tossing around ideas for an apple cider-champagne cocktail. We were inspired by an apple cider tea we had at the Wild Lily Tea Room. I'm wondering if this drink is as easy as just combining cider and sparkling wine, but do you all have any recommendations on how we could improve on this? Would steeping tea in the cider beforehand work flavor-wise with sparking wine? How about apple liqueurs/eau-de-vie?

  7. I've written a piece on rum for the New York Sun newspaper. Here's the link; if you can't access the full article and you're dying to read it (which I'm sure all of you are, ha ha), please PM me and I can send you the full text.

    Quote for posterity:

    But rhum agricole offers a different taste altogether. Brands of rhum agricole include Rhum Neisson from Martinique, as well as La Favorite and Clement. Mr. Hamilton implores drinkers not to attempt mixing rhum agricoles with anything else: "Do not mix it with Coca-Cola," he said. "It's awful. It'll taste terrible."

    Who's the man? Ed's the man. Thank you so much for all your help with this piece!

  8. Happy Diwali, everyone!!

    We're actually Christian, but I love thinking about Diwali--I missed the NYC celebrations this year, and to be honest, I didn't remember it was Diwali today until reading this thread. But I did make a new dish tonight, the baingan ka bhartaa (sp?) from Suvir's cookbook tonight. So we're celebratin' a little bit!

  9. I made the kaddu ki sabzi from Suvir Saran's "Indian Home Cooking." Eating it right now with rice and a couple piece of lamb from my sis's soup from last night. Nice cold Corona and college football. Life kicks ass. :smile:

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