Shaker Style
I like a lot of fancy things. For example, I like fine crystal wine glasses with large bowls, thin rims, and no seams on the stem. High quality knives are worth every penny. My stainless steel All-Clad pans are the workhorse in the kitchen, and I don’t regret any of the money I have spent on good cookware. Well, I may have gone a bit overboard on the Calphalon back in the day.
But you get the point. Some things you just have to pony up for if you want to have something good. But that’s not always the case. In fact, sometimes it is just the opposite.
Last night I was reminded of this when marciepry asked me, “Are all cocktail shakers created equally? Size? Material? Extra features?”
The short answer is no. But to paraphrase the immortal words of Silent Bob, there are a lot of fine-looking cocktail shakers in the world, but they don’t all bring you lasagna at work. Most of them just cheat on you.
Maybe I should expand on that.
Ask the Profussor: Merry Christmas
We’re done. It’s over. The kids have their presents. My belly has been filled with fried foods. And now there is nothing left to do but bide my time until the Tour de Hot Dog.
I suppose I could start thinking about New Year’s Eve, but that seems way far off.
Instead, I’ll sit here in my sickness and answer the questions that have piled up over the past month. Seriously, it’s been a month. Where does the time go? Maybe in the days and weeks to come I’ll try and come up with some good Christmas gifts you can buy locally or online. That way you’ll have no excuse to skip the Tour de Hot Dog on December 18.
The Tea That Isn’t
I’m not feeling too well, and no, this has nothing to do with being another year older. I think it’s some kind of cold, and I hate being sick.
Sure, I could write about the curative powers of soup. In theory I could even have some homemade chicken soup in a jiffy. Last week I replenished my stock supply, so all I have to do is simmer a frozen cube of condensed chicken stock in some water and I’d be good to go. But for some reason that isn’t really what I’m craving. Maybe that’s because I’m not actually sick and still just fighting something off.
The hot toddy I had earlier actually had me feeling remarkably better, but cocktail day isn’t until the end of the week. And if I allowed myself to drink hot toddies all night, there would be no way I could compose a coherent blog post.
So instead I’m left with tea.
Except it’s not tea.
Not Another Question About Coffee
An Ask the Profussor is pending. It’s been on my editorial calendar for a while, but it just keeps getting pushed back.
A few days ago AddiesDad left a comment about coffee makers. If you missed it, here it is:
My Cuisinart drip coffee machine has finally died. This is the one with the internal reservoir, and both my wife and I adored it and the coffee it brewed (but probably not hot enough). We are now in the hunt for a new coffee machine, and while I’d love to buy the Tecnovorm Moccamaster with its copper heating elements, 5 minute brew time, and perfect 19o* degree brewing temperature, I just can’t drop $300 on a coffee machine before Christmas.
So, I’d like to hear from the Profussor and his milleu regarding best bets for a home coffee machine. I’m open to all brands and methods, as long as it’s not too, um, fussy.
Now the most observant among you will notice that there isn’t a single question mark to be found in the entirety of the comment. Bad, bad, AddiesDad. My method for sorting through weeks of comments for my regular Ask the Profussor post is to search for question marks. So please remember, if you have a question and want a response, use the appropriate punctuation.
Had this problem not been so intriguing, it would have completely passed below the radar.
Savory and Sweet Holiday Treats
Happy holidays. I’ve been enjoying the hell out of Chanukah. It may be too late for me to work in grilled haloumi cheese, but thanks to the comment from the Rabbi I’m thrilled to add yet another delicious holiday food.
My winter solstice holiday is almost over, but I thought I would give you a status report.
First night: Potato latkes at home
Second night: Fried fish in seaweed flour at ALA Shanghai
Third night: Potato latkes at temple
Fourth night: Jelly donuts from Bella Napoli
Fifth night: Latkes three ways and sufganiyot with friends
Despite how easy the blender latkes were to execute, I don’t think I’ll be frying up any more this year. But I did manage to buy some frozen latkes to bake off in an emergency. Tonight may be one such occasion.
Chanukah is almost over, but the drumbeat of Christmas is just getting louder and louder. The malls are filled, and people are starting to look for party food recipes. When I saw this tweet I knew it was time to write up this wonderful, easy and delicious treat.
I learned it from Chef Cory, and it’s yours today, thanks to his generosity.
Read more…
What’s That Smell?
This week I met a man. It was Tuesday. And I can already tell that this is an encounter I’m going to remember for a long time. In many ways, this man is a lot like me. He’s passionate and opinionated, which I respect immensely, even though we may not exactly see eye-to-eye.
And this meeting happened purely by chance, based on a string of unlikely incidents.
Little Miss Fussy and I headed out for a date to Crisan. Father and daughter had planned to enjoy a little hot drinking chocolate and a croissant, only to find the bakery closed (on an extended Thanksgiving break). So instead, we headed across the street to The Daily Grind for a lesser hot cocoa and something to eat. Afterwards, I wasn’t quite ready to get back in the car, so we were going to just take a quick look around at the Daily Ground’s retail store upstairs.
A quick look around turned into a thirty-minute conversation with Lee Cohen, who is apparently one of the co-owners of the establishment.
We talked about a lot of things that morning, and would have talked more if Little Miss Fussy hadn’t had enough of my blabbering. I may have to go back there just to hang out with Lee some more and engage in some spirited debates on taste.
What does any of this have to do about wine? Good question.
Some Starter Scotches
It’s been all wine and malt liquor around these parts lately. But after my post on Laphroiag a few weeks ago, there was a burning question about Scotch that I’ve been meaning to answer. Given the chill in the air, and the present gift giving season, I think now is the perfect time to tackle this topic.
It sounds like you are describing Laphroig as a drink for seasoned scotch drinkers and it would be hard for a non-scotch drinker to appreciate. If one wanted to try to appreciate Laphroig, it would seem to me that you would start with milder or more gentle scotches…not necessarily less flavorful but flavorful but with less intensity. If you agree, could you suggest a few to get started? If you’d like, I’d be happy to have you join me as my “scotch coach”.
The short answer is a qualified yes, and I’m not saying that just because I want free Scotch. Although being a “Scotch coach” sounds like an awesome job. Mind you, the goal of this should not be about working your way up to anything, but rather enjoying and exploring one country’s particular take on a spirit. The full exploration of fine Scotch whisky could easily take many lifetimes.
Chanukah is Grate
Happy Chanukah. Mrs. Fussy is surprised I don’t spell it Hanukkah. I mean officially since Hebrew and English have different characters, you can anglicize it however you like. But dammit, the word starts off with the mellifluous back-of-the-throat “ch” sound that some people find difficult to pronounce.
Today is actually the first day of the holiday, even though last night was the first night. That’s how we do it. So officially this post isn’t late. It’s exactly right on time.
Last year I wrote about why this is my favorite holiday. The short answer is that it’s a celebration of fried foods. The most traditional of these, potato latkes, did not really get the attention they deserved. Honestly, it wouldn’t feel like Chanukah without them. And I was recently reminded by my mother of a easy and delicious shortcut to make them on a weeknight with little fuss.
So today, I’m going to share it.
What the Hell Happened to Eggnog?
Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax…you’re goddamn right I’m living in the fucking past!
–Walter Sobchak
Happy almost-Chanukah. Tonight at sundown it begins. Hope all your shopping is done. The good news is that since Chanukah ends early this year, Thursday, December 9, you can quit with that Happy Holidays nonsense, and just start wishing everybody a Merry Christmas. At least, that’s my plan.
So you may be asking yourself, what does a nice Jewish boy from California know from eggnog? Well, first I’m not from California and second I’m not so nice. But for some reason when I was growing up as a kid eggnog was always a part of the holiday time.
Granted, when I say eggnog, I’m talking about the stuff that you buy in cartons from the store and give to kids, not the stuff you make at home with raw eggs and spike with booze. Although I’m happy to report that after many December trips to the Pennsylvania farm, my father-in-law is finally ready to make me his storied boozy potion for the upcoming visit later this month.
That said, have you looked at the ingredients in a carton of eggnog recently?
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