Talking about Food, Wine, Beer & Liquor that you think no one else has ever heard of. Or maybe just impress someone with a little knowledge. You know, FANCY names and procedure's used in food preparation or a Restaurant setting. List names of alcoholic drinks that maybe only you have heard of or even care about. Get real FANCY SCHMANCY now.
Did you know that a Central Illinois resident created the Frontenac grape which is widely planted in Illinois due to its cold weather hardiness for wine production in the state? Yes, credit is given to the University of Minnesota where this gentleman was working on his masters degree in enology at the time and this was his team's project. Laugh if you want at Illinois wines, but Illinois Sparkling Co. in Utica has won some serious awards using this grape in their Demi Sec Rose which garnered 92 points by the BTI.
Did you know that Salvador Dali wrote a cookbook? I don't think I'd make much out of it. Some pretty bizarre stuff. I think this is where they come up with ingredients for Chopped.
I could go on and on. But I'd probably start to sound (well, fill in the blank). I went to culinary school at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. The CIA is a former Jesuit Seminary. Part of you graduating was a culinary practical. Not only did you have some Certified Master Chef watching/tasting/grading your 3 course meal, the kitchen in which this practical occurred was the former Seminary morgue. Yep, there was still some dying going on there.
Back in the 80s through the mid 1990s, Grand Marnier made a product called La Grande Passion. It was Passion Fruit Liqueur. I thought it was horrible. Last I saw, if you were fortunate enough to have an unopened bottle of this tucked away somewhere, it garnished just over $300 at a spirits auction about a decade ago. Someone had bad taste and too much money. Damned 1%-ers.
If you want spicy fried food, don't put red pepper in the breading. Fat has a way of severely reducing the heat in red hued items. I guess I could look up the specific scientific reason in Harold McGee's "On Food & Cooking", but I'm too damned lazy. Use black pepper in the breading/batter and sprinkle whatever digestional tract singing red pepper after it comes out of the fryer while draining.
I wonder if this drink was around before this Cheers episode? The ingredients: "Screaming Viking" cocktail recipe: "vodka, dry vermouth, lime juice, celery stalk, and [garnished] cucumber spear".
