I'm generally impervious to the blandishments
of the cocktail shaker.

And as you have gathered I am fond of mixed drinks.

As you can guess, I like them only when
I'm in a mood (not The mood).

My general favorites are
brown liquors neat if of best quality or else
on the rocks with a splash.

But some days that too is what I want.

So my friend got me some Henry McKenna,
10 years old, bottled in bond, and it was
harsh and terrible. Counterfeit, maybe? So
I returned to her liquor cabinet and found
some Courvoisier, but it wasn't opened yet,
and there was a big 1.75 of CC open, and I
poured myself a substantial tot only to find
that her son-in-law, whom I otherwise approve
of, had mixed a batch of perfect Manhattans
in the jug. Cue puzzlement followed by
disappointment followed by rage.

I finally discovered a way to use up my Fireball whisky

I was glad not to have paid money for it.

And I am glad I bought a small bottle and not a large one!

You could have had spent the rest of your
life playing mad scientist.

A short philosophical piece on recent food trends ...
"Is there such a thing as too much fun? Too much wonder? Too much

As far as I can see, the only danger is of
getting jaded. Too much fun, too much sex, too
much heroin.

euphoria? What about too much flavor? It's easy to assume you can't
have too much of a good thing, but with flavor, at least, that's an
idea that can lead you straight off a cliff.

That, though, is a toughie. Depends on the
circumstance, there can be too much flavor for
a situation or setting. Unless you're me, a meal
of seven platters flavored with hot pepper and
garlic to the max would be too much.

Several years ago, I dubbed a phenomenon that I'd been observing in
the restaurant world the "Flavor Arms Race." In a never-ending
attempt to one-up all the recipes that had come before, chefs were
throwing more and more flavor at a dish. More salt, more acid, more
funk, more umami. Everyone is unleashing umami "bombs" left and
right these days, a word choice that speaks to the assault our
tongues are sometimes under.

There's a difference, too, between too much
flavor and too many flavors.

A simple roast chicken seasoned with salt and pepper gets a fistful
of herbs shoved in it, then 40 cloves of garlic. Eventually, we dump
fish sauce and lime juice on top and claim victory. Maybe the result
is delicious, but maybe we're at risk of losing sight of the chicken
in the process."

But the issue here is that a decent chicken
has all the flavor you'd want. The rest of
the stuff beyond garlic, salt, pepper, and
maybe lime just adds distraction, not
augments the flavor.

Daniel Gritzer, Serious Eats
To All: New thread ... Agree or disagree?

Nah, disagree, that's not a new thread at all
- people have been fussing about gilded lilies
since time immemorial.

... When you start to take all this too seriously, you're in trouble.

Or dead, or something.

AL SIMS` CHILI
categories: stews, main, New Hampshire
yield: 18 c

10 lb bone-in chuck roast (8 1/2 lb boned)
1 c cooking oil
1/2 c chili powder
1/4 c cumin powder
1/4 c salt
2 Tb fresh-ground black pepper
1 ts crushed red pepper (scant)
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
8 md onions, coarsely chopped
6 lg sweet red peppers, diced
9 sm finger-shaped hot peppers, seeded and diced
2 cn (18 3/4 oz ea) peeled tomatoes, with juice
12 oz cn tomato paste
8 oz cn tomato sauce

Bone chuck. (More expensive cuts may be used, but
flavor will not be improved.) Cut out all fat and
cut meat into 1/2-in cubes. Absolutely do not grind.

Place cubed chuck in 4-qt pressure cooker, add
cooking oil, chili powder, cumin, salt, black
pepper, red crushed pepper and garlic. Cook
under 10 lb pressure for 1 hr. (If pressure
cooker is not available, regular roasting pan
with cover may be used, simmering ingredients
on top of stove. Cooking time will be up to
8 hr, or until meat is stringy.)

Place vegetables in 10-qt pot. Add tomatoes,
tomato paste and tomato sauce. Mix thoroughly
and cook over low heat until the meat is ready,
about 1 hr. Add cooked meat to pot. Bring to a
boil, stirring frequently to prevent sticking
and scorching; reduce to simmer, cover and cook
slowly for 2 to 3 hr. Stir frequently. Taste
just as frequently, too. If there seems to be
excessive liquid, add a little cornmeal and
cook to thicken. Recipe freezes well; thaw
over low heat.

Al Sims, via Gail Perrin, Boston Globe, 5/28/92
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)