Santa's Spectactular Tonawanda Workshop

[blue_dolphin]

Having enjoyed all the posts, I feel I should offer to come over and help clean up....and maybe nibble on some of those leftovers???

Too bad I'm so far away....mostly too bad for me!

[kayb]

Looks like a fun, fun day -- the pictures make my feet hurt!

 

 

[patris]

41 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Having enjoyed all the posts, I feel I should offer to come over and help clean up....and maybe nibble on some of those leftovers???

Too bad I'm so far away....mostly too bad for me!

Come on up and I'll give you all the chocolate you can handle - as long as you bring those delicious kitties of yours!

[patris]

It is happening again! Kerry is due to arrive shortly and tomorrow the elves will again overtake my wee home. We’ll share the festivities as they unfold. For now, a little photo of the prep so far:

 

 

I rarely drink, but I am really looking forward to tonight’s cocktail. Any suggestions on that score?

 

[curls]

Looking forward to this, thank you for blogging!

 

On the cocktail front, depending on your mood, I'd recommend a winter daiquiri http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2013/01/winter-daiquiri.html or a spiked eggnog.

[Kerry Beal]

Here's what we have to work with - the unmarked ginger beer bottle is home made apple brandy and the square bottle home made vermouth

 

 

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

Adding this to the cocktail potential ingredients - and 6 bottles of homemade limoncello in freezer

 

 

 

 

[Shelby]

Ooooooh Pecan Liqueur! 

[patris]

8 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Ooooooh Pecan Liqueur! 

 

Lol - I think I bought that for a recipe something like 15 years ago and haven’t touched it since! Actually the only workout my liquor cabinet ever sees is when Kerry comes in for a weekend - I am definitely not a cocktailian.

 

Meanwhile, late breakfast for Choc Doc:

 

 

burrata and Campari tomatoes. My plate was similar but different - add a bit of bread and take out all that black pepper! We shared some pistachios and a satsuma as well.

[Kerry Beal]

24 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Ooooooh Pecan Liqueur! 

Sadly my trials to make a cocktail with it where not too exciting.

 

[Kerry Beal]

Thoughts on a Pecan sour? Based on am Amaretto Sour?

 

[RobertM]

Living vicariously through you this weekend!  Alcohol or no.....

[Shelby]

Just now, Kerry Beal said:

Thoughts on a Pecan sour? Based on am Amaretto Sour?

 

I love amaretto sours so yeah!

 

I was sitting here thinking of something that tastes like Christmas....something with orange???  I dunno.  I am definitely not a cocktail maker.

[RobertM]

A pecan mule?

[curls]

Negroni or a manhattan?

[Kerry Beal]

 

 

Yum - pimento cheese 

[Shelby]

Oh that looks good.  I haven't made that for a while.

[blue_dolphin]

I've been enjoying Dave Arnold's Cliff Old Fashioned from Liquid Intelligence (also here in the WSJ and somewhat modified in this blog post) It uses a coriander syrup as the sweetener, which gives it bit of a spicy, holiday feel.

I've been making it with different base spirits and my favorite so far was with Plantation Pineapple rum.  I see you have some rum there and the coriander syrup is quick to mix up.  

Cliff Old-Fashioned

Build over a large ice cube:

2 dashes Angostura bitters

60 ml Elijah Craig 12-yr bourbon

11 ml coriander syrup

 

I just made a small amount of the syrup (1/10 the book recipe), like this:

12.5 g coriander seeds + 55g water blended for a few sec to break up the seeds, then transfer to a pan with 50g sugar + .5g salt and heat to dissolve.  Add 5 g crushed red pepper, let sit a few min, tasting often and strain as soon as it gets a pleasant heat.

[Kerry Beal]

Dinner from The House of Hummus

 

 

chicken kabobs - salad - hummus

 

 

Falafel

 

@patris enjoyed falafel and hummus with pita of which I neglected to catch a picture 

[Kerry Beal]

Pecan Sour 

 

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

I've been enjoying Dave Arnold's Cliff Old Fashioned from Liquid Intelligence (also here in the WSJ and somewhat modified in this blog post) It uses a coriander syrup as the sweetener, which gives it bit of a spicy, holiday feel.

I've been making it with different base spirits and my favorite so far was with Plantation Pineapple rum.  I see you have some rum there and the coriander syrup is quick to mix up.  

Cliff Old-Fashioned

Build over a large ice cube:

2 dashes Angostura bitters

60 ml Elijah Craig 12-yr bourbon

11 ml coriander syrup

 

I just made a small amount of the syrup (1/10 the book recipe), like this:

12.5 g coriander seeds + 55g water blended for a few sec to break up the seeds, then transfer to a pan with 50g sugar + .5g salt and heat to dissolve.  Add 5 g crushed red pepper, let sit a few min, tasting often and strain as soon as it gets a pleasant heat.

Sounds good - sadly the only part we have is the bitters!

[Shelby]

6 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Pecan Sour 

 

 

 

And?????  

[Kerry Beal]

8 minutes ago, Shelby said:

And?????  

It's not too bad! Used the Pecan liqueur, apple brandy and lemon - no egg white, no simple 

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

It's not too bad! Used the Pecan liqueur, apple brandy and lemon - no egg white, no simple 

Yeah, pecan and apple=perfect.

 

[blue_dolphin]

32 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Sounds good - sadly the only part we have is the bitters!

I thought I saw some rum, but must have been mistaken and without the coriander seeds, you'd be out of luck anyway. 

 

That pecan sour sounds good!