Xochitl10

Had some of Azami's last batch of posole and homemade tortillas. Does anyone have a good strategy for keeping dough round as you roll it out? The tortillas were quite tasty, but looked more like maps of Ohio than tortillas.

I agree -- it sounds like a great idea. I'd be interested in doing either of those.

4:1 Tanqueray Ten martini with a dash of Angostura bitters (because it was one of _those_ days) Ham, red pepper, and mushroom frittata Buttermilk biscuits

Ooh, I'd love to join the 10/24 evening at Dino.

Oh good, I'm not the only one who does this. Hope you're feeling better!Over the weekend, I made this for a friend's birthday: Cake is White Chocolate Whisper Cake iced with Lemon Curd Mousseline, both recipes from Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Cake Bible." The flowers are miniature Gerbera daisies, alstroemeria, and something feathery whose name I can't remember. We had to leave before the birthday girl cut it, so I have no idea how it tasted.

Grilled ham, steamed rice, and calabacitas (zucchini, corn, garlic, onion, cheese, and green chile) adapted from my grandmother's construction. Washed down with a Corona for the full "home in New Mexico" effect.

After we left New Mexico seven years ago, my mother regularly sent us good, thick Bueno flour tortillas. Lless frequently, she would also send Peyton's chorizo. It is very crumbly, has a great balance of cumin, garlic, and red chile, is an utterly unnatural shade of red, and mixes perfectly with eggs. Tastes great with cheese in the aforementioned tortillas. She also sends biscochitos, Mexican Christmas cookies, almost every year.

Pork chops w/garlic-tarragon pan sauce Couscous Mixed vegetables Flaky biscuits

1) I tend to drink aperitifs far more frequently than digestifs, usually traditional cocktails. I drink cocktails because I enjoy them, rather than for appetite-whetting or digestive purposes. Although I did specifically order Fernet Branca and soda the afternoon after a night spent killing a bottle of Maker's Mark with a couple of other folks...it was refreshingly settling. 2) I can most frequently be found with either a Martini or a Manhattan in my hand. Gin only for the former, please. 3) I fear that I'm out of the trend loop, although I have noticed that more places are offering aged liquors (i.e., Cruzan Cane Ten) than I recall seeing previously.

Green chile cheeseburgers Tater tots Corona Amaretto syrup-soaked genoise with raspberry buttercream

Raspberry buttercream. Gotta make sure it's fit to use, you know.

Without claiming any kind of actual attention to technique, we've had variable success infusing vodka with Hatch green chile (one chile per 750, charred skin and all). For our first batch, we intended to stop the infusion after about four days, but forgot. After nine days infusion time, it was really good. So we gave it away. For our next bottle, we tried it after three days and gave it a big "meh." We let it infuse a couple days longer, but the verdict remained "meh." The quality of the chile probably played a big role in the difference. In both cases, after infusion and straining, the resulting vodka was a dusky grayish green, sort of the color of tornado clouds

Azami and I just killed a couple of Red Clouds -- Tanqueray, peach brandy, cassis (shockingly discovered no grenadine, called for in the recipe, in the house), lemon juice, and a judicious dash of Angostura bitters. Served with a lemon wheel-and-cherry garnish, drunk on the porch with dogs at our feet. Ah, the life, she is good.

That sounds fantastic. Which Chartreuse did you use?

Surprisingly good bean soup from the cafeteria in the Cohen Building and a cinnamon raisin bagel.

Columbuses (Columbi?) -- Appleton's White Rum, lime juice, apricot brandy. We used Barack Palinka, the only apricot brandy we had on hand. Verdict = unbalanced and meh. The drink was greatly improved by adding a splash of simple syrup, so methinks the BP was too dry for the drink. Beef fajitas Rice

And fine Sidecars they are. I also had Gimlets with a dash of bitters there the other night -- one with orange, one with Angostura. I preferred the Angostura bitters because they took a bit of the sweet edge off the Rose's, which seemed right on a sticky, humid night. The orange bitters got lost in the drink, IMO.Cheers, Xochitl10

When Azami and I were in Japan, I developed a mad obsession with McVitie's Banana Black Digestive Biscuits -- little bittersweet chocolate cookies sandwiched with a banana cream. So inspired, I've been trying to create a dessert reminiscent of them. This is the result of Round Two of the Banana Black Project. Crust is the bittersweet chocolate cookie crust from The Pie and Pastry Bible, coated with Scharffen Berger 62% for moistureproofing. The filling is alternating layers of pastry cream mixed with ~3/4 cup unsweetened whipped cream and bananas, topped with SB 62% shavings. It's quite tasty -- the dark chocolate crust and banana filling play off each other well. I like this construct, but would like to find a way to get more banana flavor into the cream, which is just vanilla pastry cream. I'm leaning toward adding some creme de banane to the filling in the next experiment, but would appreciate other thoughts.

We had friends over for some New Mexican food last night: Margaritas made with old-school Cuervo silver tequila and Luxardo Triplum Aviations made with Tanqueray and Luxardo maraschino Corn chips and salsa Hatch green chile cheeseburgers Black bean and white corn salad Poundcake with fresh berries and cream

I've done this with sausages. The Akita dog was terribly confused by the open windows (though I think he liked the blast of cold air in the house) and the low-hanging ceiling of smoke.My favorite disaster story involves my first attempt to make Italian meringue. I realized after a goodly amount of time that my sugar syrup had gone beyond where it needed to be, and went to toss it down the drain and start over when I was seized with the thought that somehow, dumping hot sugar syrup down the drain was a bad idea. So I ran cold water over the stream of syrup, solidifying it into a lovely candy wave rising from the saucepan.

Buckeyes: 5:1 Tanqueray Ten and dry vermouth, garnished with a black olive Ham, mushroom, black olive, and sharp cheddar frittata with seven-grain toast

Would it work to infuse the syrup with cocoa nibs?

Grilled flank steak rubbed with mustard seed, tarragon, and sea salt. Inspired by a suggestion in the roasted red potatoes thread, I tossed some with olive oil, curry powder, garlic, and white pepper. They were tasty, but flavor was faint -- I need to get over my seasoning restraint. Green salad with vinaigrette. Sadly, no cocktail this evening.

Quaker Cinnamon Oatmeal Squares and Lion Gold coffee

Wednesday: Emerald Martinis (3:1 Tanqueray to dry vermouth, with a splash of green Chartreuse); Sausage and Spinach Pie from "How to Be a Domestic Goddess," made with Snider's sausage. Thursday: Beef and bean burritos on Bueno tortillas imported from New Mexico, Harp Ale. Tonight: Martinis and Cowgirl Creamery cheese tasting! 4:1 Hendricks martinis alongside a baguette, Gubbeen, and Red Hawk.