Open Thread #18

Alright you friends and lovers of the world... how was last night's meal? Any photos to share (of the meal, of course)?

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Comments (14)

A friend told me about a popular drink in the 70s that was the thing to order. It was called the Golden Cadillac. You can't order that drink anymore, but it got me thinking. Do anyone have a book to recommend about old cocktails and their recipes? When I hear about numbers like the Golden Cadillac I would love to serve them instead of the old standbys. (Sounds like I want to drink my way through history lol) Thanks!

posted by dani on 2006-02-15 10:00:54

I love it when guys order old school drinks at a bar - i think it's so sexy! there's this website called webtender i think that lists thousands of drinks and their recipes, but it doesn't sort them by decade or anything, so you'd really have to know what your looking for or you'd be completely overwhelmed.

posted by pamela on 2006-02-15 10:08:30

It was pretty darn perfect - photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenblossom/sets/72057594064843564/

(dani, my husband swears by Gary Regan's "The Joy of Mixology" - you might check that one out.)

posted by jenblossom on 2006-02-15 10:45:26

Dani, "Classic Cocktails" by Salvatore Calabrese is a good one.

posted by nora on 2006-02-15 10:59:00

i bought my boyfriend this book at the strand (to accompany my groovy "the girl's guide to entertaining by the editors of cosmo (from the 60's natch!))
Esquire's Handbook For Hosts
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1579120431/002-5708940-3704827?v=glance&n=283155

it has TONS of classic drink recipes, plus some food recipes, lots of WONDEFUL advice on style and entertaining, and some rather risque pictures to boot!

posted by ann on 2006-02-15 11:53:01

How To Cook Everything by Bittman has a cocktails section in the back . . . as does the NYPL (as in public library) Desk Reference. Love that.

posted by guido on 2006-02-15 11:54:41

We made Mark Bittman's Steak Diane and the Azo Family Chocolate Cake that were both featured in last week's NYT. Both were delicious and are definitely recipes worth making again. The texture of the chocolate cake was incredible: at first like a brownie and then melt-in-your mouth like a meringue.

posted by Arin on 2006-02-15 13:30:09

Thanks guys for the ideas! I'm looking into those right now. @Arin- that cake sounds crazy good.

posted by dani on 2006-02-15 14:07:07

My friend, a fellow Break-up Bertha and I, made a steaming bowl of our own shrimp pasta--with a lot of basil and white wine and some roasted tomatoes. Somehow, it held off the ain't-got-no-baby blues quite well.

posted by lisa on 2006-02-15 18:23:35

Wonderful! We had goat cheese stuffed chicken with red pepper cream sauce, asparagus tips and crimini mushrooms in lemon butter, spinach and strawberry salad with poppyseed dressing and chocolate torte with raspberry coulis for dessert :)

Don't know if image posting is enabled, but here goes:

posted by Ken Sloan on 2006-02-15 18:36:53

Guess not ;) You can see the pictures on my website, if you like.

posted by Ken Sloan on 2006-02-15 18:37:22

We ate a simple dinner of pasta at one of our favorite low-cost restaurants. For dessert we had panacotta. I want to make this at home. Any recipes?

posted by ebrown on 2006-02-15 18:56:51

Made a delicious caponata using a recipe from the Food Network, served with an herb-crusted, spinach florentine-filled salmon fillet, and a salad of mixed greens with Mediterranean herbed goat's cheese and a honey vinegarette.

Photograph here:

posted by Christina on 2006-02-16 01:40:50

Hmmm, above link didn't post, trying again:

http://static.flickr.com/34/99963020_67ac443a03.jpg

posted by Christina on 2006-02-16 01:41:28