Gin, Vodka and Scotch

A quick recap, especially for those that couldn't make it. We had salami (reviews below) and three liquors: vodka, gin and scotch. For each liquor Jake & Sarahmona had two bottles, one cheap and one expensive. The trick was to figure out a)which one was most expensive, and b) which one you liked the best. I was very good at figuring out which one I liked the best, but terrible (0-for-3) at determining which one was most expensive.

Salami Tasting at Jake & Sarahmona's

Salami #1: Old Forest Salami
1. A nice classic salami
2. Ditto
3. Moisture just right, mild flavor, very nice
4. Mellow and well-balanced
5. Tasty, good texture, mild
6. My favorite

Salami #2: Gypsy Salami – Tziganskaya
1. Super oily, fatty (not necessarily a bad thing)
2. Tangy edge and god smotiness (?)
3. Peppery
4. Will Kill You !!!
5. Yikes – easy on the pepper next time!
6. Oily

Salami #3: Long Teli Hungarian Salami
1. More spicy than smoky – a fair salami
2. Artificial tasting
3. Tasty, mild
4. Not great

Salami #4: Salami with Gelatin and Parmesan
1. Really Good
2. Smells like a junior high boys locker room
3. And tastes like sweaty undies from that same locker room
4. Deliciously treyf! 

Salami #5: Sopressata
1. Particularly fatty, greasy
2. Fatty, but tasty
3. Ick – Inedible, Way off flavor
4. Too oily

Real March Madness!

February Fun

Water, Flour, Dough, Common Salt = Bread

Hi Y'all,

Glad to see such a wonderful turnout so close to Spring Break. Hope everyone has a fun and safe trip. Look forward to seeing everyone in April. As an FYI, the next two OTS's will be on Saturday's. Details and dates to follow.

Michelle (thanks again for hosting) was kind enough to pass along the following information if you'd like to pick up some of the tasty tastings we had last night.

Breads (all from Fresh Market, in Memphis, except for 2-3-4-5):

1 Pane Rustico
2 Polish Rye (from Pumpernick and Pastry, in Buffalo NY: http://www.pumpernick.com/buffalo.html )
3 Pumpernickel (from P and P)
4 Marble Rye (from P and P)
5 Flax Seed (from P and P)
6 Foccacia
7 Sourdough
8 Baguette (French)
9 Wonder
10 Lavasch crackers

Spreads:
Goat Milk butter (Market Rhes, Oxford)
Plugra butter (Market Rhes, Oxford)
Strawberries (Schnuck’s, Memphis)
Bleu-cheese-stuffed olives (Schnuck’s, Memphis)
Artichoke tapenade (Fresh Market, Memphis)
Sun-dried tomato tapenade (brought by Gabe)
Maille Dijon mustard (Market Rhes)
Pastrami, sliced (Fresh Market, Memphis)
Assorted cured meats (Fresh Market, Memphis)
Eggplant dip, NOT baba ganoush (brought by Simona)
Bleu d’Auvergne (Fresh Market, Memphis)
Rosemary-Fig Cheese Spread (from Square Table cookbook: goat cheese, cream cheese, rosemary, black pepper, fig preserves)
Honey Jelly, orange blossom flavor (Fresh Market, Memphis)
Armenian apricot spread (Fresh Market, Memphis)
Raspberry-peach-champagne jam (Fresh Market, Memphis)
Nutella (Market Rhes, Oxford – but Lauren tells me it’s also available at Walmart)
Almond butter (Kroger, Oxford)

Pâté from Market Rhes, and an herb dipping oil from Fresh Market.

Boxed Wines were both made by Bibo, and purchased at Wine Market in Memphis:
Pinot grigio/Chardonnay (blend)
Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz (blend)

Addresses for Memphis stores (for those who use Google Maps):

Fresh Market = 835 S White Station Rd, (901) 682-3434 (next to Stein Mart, off Poplar)
Schnuck’s (they have a Kosher deli!) = 576 S. Perkins Rd., 901-765-4880
Wine Market = 4700 Spottswood Ave, (901) 761-1662 (in same shopping center as Williams-Sonoma outlet, Pottery Barn outlet; facing Target)

Market Rhes is in the Midtown Shopping Center on N. Lamar – now serving lunch! (if you like seafood)

Thanks also to everyone who brought wine!

White Wine Night

Hey Folks,

Unfortunately I only got comments on two of the wines we drank back in December, but here it is. If I can track down the others, I'll let you know:

Wine #1: Broadbentfrom Portugal
1. Tastes like a wine cooler
2. Sour aftertaste, likes a bathroom cleaner
3. Chard? Yuk! Smells like old cat litter, tastes gross.
4. Yum
5. Tastes dry like pear cider
6. Fruity

Wine #2: Adam Scott
1. Sour apple, sweet taste - good for brunch
2. Smooth, but sort of bland
3. Good, smooth
4. Champagne-ish, don't like much
5. Bad aftertaste

Wine #3:
1.

More on the cheese

I have a copy of the descriptions of the cheese we had last night. If you'd like a copy, send me an email and I'll zap you a copy.