I had your boulevardier last night. Delicious! Was out of oranges so threw in a splash of orange vermouth too…
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And that guac looks perfect! Nice and chunky.
Nothing to forgive! Most people I know have never heard of salteñas!
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Nope. The usuals. Lots of cilantro though, and plenty of salt. It is the best I’ve ever had.
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Okay, you have convinced me. When I get home from work tonight, I shall have one.
I’m thinking of using Maker’s Mark.
Maybe a dash of orange bitters? I thought the only orange component was an orange peel garnish.
Also I see it served mostly on the rocks, but may end up going straight up with it like you.
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Yep, were just out of oranges. Bought some today.
And yeah, I may try it tonight with a big, fat, square ice cube
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Tonight we made Melissa Clark’s wild rice and clementine salad with many tweaks. I subbed tricolor quinoa for wild rice (actually made stovetop) and Guara almonds for pine nuts. Added butter lettuce, fresh goat cheese, asparagus, and herbed chicken breast for a complete meal. It was really good. DH made a light cauliflower bisque to start.
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Some things off my To Do list, Including driving Christmas presents down to my sister and BIL’s house on the South Shore of MA to drop off.
I knew I wanted shrimp tonight, and took some out of the freezer to defrost (Gulf shrimp). I didn’t want to do a typical scampi with garlic and lemon, so I rooted around in my pantry and found some Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning mix. Figured I’d try it since it’s been awhile.
Simply sauteed after seasoning with the Cajun blend, dried parsley and a healthy pinch of turbinado sugar, served over the rest of some leftover Basmati rice, with steamed asparagus alongside.
Bad decision on my part to use the Tony Chachere’s. WAY too salty for my taste. (Salt is the first ingredient in the blend, so I should have known.) So it goes into the trash bin. You live and learn.
There was wine alongside.
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Drooling !!! Seriously
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WFL. Friend brought us these from a place at Fisherman’s Wharf, but we actually liked the Costco ones the other day a lot more. Fatter and sweeter. Still, great lunch!
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Potato, toma truffle, speck, and rosemary pizza. I wondered if the potatoes would stay purple after cooking.
See for yourself.
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We dined at Cafe Panache in Ramsey, NJ for the first time sine the passing of beloved Chef/owner Kevin Kohler. Details and pictures are in the below link for those that might be interested.
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I picked crabs today. Made Maryland crab cakes for dinner, sides were cauli rice and Carolina slaw. I made a really good stock from the shells. Does anyone have a favorite recipe for crab bisque?
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Well, here it is folks. Maybe not as faithful to the original Boulevardier: a 2-1-1 ratio of bourbon, Campari, sweet vermouth. I also added a literal drop of Cointreau. And a thin orange slice rather than a peel.
Better than I remember. Its been years. So good I think I’ll have another. A very complex cocktail!
(Pairing well with Thai food takeout)
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Chinese for dinner, a little homemade and the rest takeout.
Sweet corn chicken soup, yangzhou fried rice, beef with scallions and ginger, and char siu pork.
I made the pork, which was quite delicious even though I drastically scaled down the sugar for our low carb days - of which today was not one 
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Recipe for that amazing looking pork?
Yet another dinner of that beautiful marbré steak, this time at my sister’s cuz she hadn’t had any. So great, it doesn’t even matter if it’s cooked beyond medium rare. It’s still so tender and flavorful. Wedge salad on the side.
And yes, that’s a Chardonnay with it. My sister doesn’t do reds. I have never, ever, ever liked Chardonnays. Hadn’t even tasted one in at least 20-plus years. I hate California chardonnays, can’t stand the buttery/oaked profile. I do enjoy a good dry French Chardonnay, though. But this one was gifted to my sister, so I thought I’d try it. It was very meh, not super oaky/buttery. Just kind of dull. I wanted to see if my taste had changed over the years. It hadn’t.
And my take at a more proper Boulevardier. Really tasty!
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They looked really delicious! And all those work!! If you’re making them the 4th time, I’ll be there!! 
From @shrinkrap 's SE thread:
One wrong bite will leave hot broth bursting through the pastry, both scalding your fingers and threatening to stain your reputation. In Bolivia the first to dribble is stuck with the bill, while excessive spilling means you’ll be haunted by five years of bad sex. I usually smash the whole thing in a bowl and dig in with a spoon—I wonder what that says about me?
Sounds like a challenge, I love enclosed broth in food. Maybe we should all try to make Salteñas together!
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