Orris

There's a relatively new restaurant in Toronto called Woodlot. I don't think I can over-recommend it. A small menu of delicious food and excellent drinks.

I went last month and ordered what was essentially a beefed up Gin & Tonic, then ordered another one because it was delicious.

I didn't note all the ingredients, but one that stuck out was orris root. I'd never heard of this before, and ye olde Googles turned up some answers. It's an iris root that's been dried and is commonly used in perfume, although it was once an herbal medicine.

So, not something that shows up in your local grocery store.

But, then I found some store of impossible-to-find herbs and spices not that far from me, and lo they did have this dried root.

Then Absinthetics went and tweeted about ras el hanout, a north African spice mixture that can contain orris root, and this got me thinking back to that drink.

So last night I searched my brain for what else was in that drink of many weeks past, and came up with something, while not the same, still solid, if a bit different.

I put around 1/2 a teaspoon of dried orris root in a tea ball and dropped that in 3.5 oz of good gin (I was running low, so it was a combination of Hendrick's and Tanqueray). The longer you let it steep, the more of a flowery flavour it imparts.  I'd go with lavender, even though the root's been compared to violets (and it's from an iris).  So unless you want to drink a bouquet, don't overdo it.

Along with the teaball of root, I dropped in a slice of lemon, a bay leaf, and a couple dried juniper berries (a la José Andres' gin and tonic, which has caused a not-cheap addiction to buying Fever Tree tonic whenever I pass it). This all sat in the gin while I prepared dinner and the rest of the drink. Perhaps a bit too long.

I put a glass in the freezer for a bit, and when I was ready to finish the drink, I dropped some ice in and poured in a bit of vermouth.  The vermouth as swirled with the ice, and then dumped out, with the ice kept in the glass.

I took out the root, and dumped the rest into the chilled, vermouth-coated glass. I then topped off the glass (about 50%) with some Fentiman's Tonic Water and gave it a quick stir.

The result? A gin and tonic with more depth and complexity. Yes, there was definitely some flowery flavour in there, since I had no idea how well the orris root would work - next time, less time steeping.  But very drinkable, and a nice change of pace.

One Peaty Night

The current assignment, due tomorrow, is to replicate a shot. The challenge of course being to reverse-engineer the lighting, angle, materials, etc. used in the original without having access to that information.

The original I chose can be found here.

This shot isn't my replicated version, but one that happened while trying to get it.  I almost stopped shooting at this point because I like the fall of the light so much more. But then, that wasn't the assignment.

So Close

First, the good on the weekend.

Saturday was a great day. Up, quick and easy and tasty breakfast, and the afternoon was spent wandering the AGO for the first time since the renovation. My friend and I opted to buy the Contributing membership - the selling point was the "bring 2 guests for free every time". The reciprocal membership to galleries all over Canada and the States is nice too, but I doubt I'll be anywhere near those cities before the membership needs to be renewed.

The AGO is great. Love the changes, love the size. The last time I went, with the same friend, we left disappointed. The place seemed small, and they had to rotate their collection due to lack of space. This meant that favourite pieces were no longer being displayed. This time though, they had galleries to spare. We spent hours and only got through the first floor. We did take the new staircases all the way up and down, but outside of wandering the contemporary galleries very briefly, didn't really see the rest of the displays. Which is fine, the place isn't going anywhere. We finished by visiting the member's lounge and enjoying a couple coffees (espresso for her, cappuccino for me), which were dirt cheap in a great setting. Sitting in the window looking out at Grange Park removed any doubts about the membership. The cute, friendly staff doesn't hurt either.

From there we grabbed some dinner at Harlem. Before Friday, we'd never heard of the place, but it was quite good. Drinks were solid, food was well done (ribs were a bit too sweet for my taste), and the ambience was relaxing. I'm pretty sure it was the owner who greeted us and kept checking in, and he knew how to make people feel welcome.

Then off to Lewis Black. Damn, he's funny. Nearly two hours of ranting, politicizing, and pointing out any number of stupidities in the world. He even handled the "contributors" from the audience well, shutting up the few who felt the need to add their own jokes (not heckling, just assuming they were witty enough to be heard). Hard to believe he's 60.

Finally, Beer Bistro to finish. A couple decent brews (Ephémère and La Roja), solid conversation, and called it a night. One full day.

Sunday I woke up in time for the Brit game. First one I've remembered during the BBT. I rolled over the game for the most part, knocking out at least 5 or 6 people. Decent hands, (AA twice for those keeping score), play I was happy with, in first place from shortly after the first break onwards, with twice the chips of second place at one point, and then we got down to 3. I went fucking limp. I basically backed off, let Pushmonkey catch up, and then played like a pussy until I went out on a shitty hand in a shitty situation. So close to a seat. I don't know who won between Muhctim and Push, but I'm sure it was a decent HU match. Nobody to blame by myself for that one. When I should have been forcing my opponents to decide, I was sitting back and waiting for... what? I haven't a clue.

Mmmmm... Beer

I was out last night with some friends. Some of whom I haven't seen in a long time. One guy who now lives in Israel (and who is getting married this summer - road trip!) was the reason for the gathering. He is sorely missed by all of us friends. It fell to me to pick a locale for gathering, so I chose...

The Beer Bistro.

But they were full and couldn't seat us until 9:30. So I switched to Volo! You know a place is serious about beer when they have an RSS feed of what's on tap/cask/new.

Let's see if I can recall my choices:

Dieu De Ciel!'s Péché Mortel - a delicious stout from Montreal

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, which has become a standby for me at beer bars, the beer that gave me faith that the US could actually produce a brew that was enticing and not just beer.

Granite Hopping Mad IPA - not as good as the Dogfish head, but fine nonetheless, and brewed about a 10 minute drive north of where we were.

Great Divide's Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout - at the recommendation of our waiter.

What I love about places like these is that the staff knows they beers COLD. Pick anything on the extensive menu (literally hundreds of beers) and they'll give you a full breakdown, comparison to other beers, food pairings, and general opinions. This guy saw that me and a buddy were drinking and figured we'd be the types who could appreciate the Yeti. He was right. Damn near chocolate in stout form, it was a rich, full-bodied beer that was a great finish.

Then he dropped a plate of chocolate in front of us. By this time it was just me and one friend, as everyone else was lame and lived far away. A chocolatier across the road made these for them - a 5 chili dark chocolate. Our server suggested they went really well with the beer. So we tried the chocolate - nice and spicy, but a bit off. My friend thought it was the wrong kind of chili being used perhaps, but I wasn't sure. However, with the beer, it was a great combination.

We mentioned our misgivings about the chocolate to the server, and returned with 4 more pieces - this time with vanilla bean in them. Also good, but this time I was able to place the problem - the chocolate was too dark.

This was a very high cocoa content (I'd guess 70-80% at least), and it created a very "dry", powdery texture and a bitterness that lingered far too long. It's perhaps possible he burnt the chocolate a bit in the processing, or perhaps just the region he chose didn't mix well with my palate, but it stopped these handcrafted nuggets from being sublime and made them merely an interesting curiosity in beer and food pairing. 10% lower cocoa content and I think they'd be a winner. Still, free gourmet chocolate? I can't complain that much.

Getting to bed at 3am hasn't helped me with consciousness today though. Yay Sobe Arush!

Cars and Food & Wine

The Wall Street Journal has a pretty good article on the current automotive mess. It should at least show you a few hallways to look down in how back-asswards the Detroit Three are.

One of my favourite annual traditions is this weekend. The Gourment Food & Wine Expo here in the T-Dot. A convention hall filled with wineries, tasty foodstuffs, and a few useless booths for hard liquor and bad coolers (generally surrounded by 20-somethings). It will undoubtedly be packed, cramped, and annoying... but I always come away amazed by a few of the samples I have.

This year, the spotlight country is France - I imagine a good wine or two will be found. I'm also doing a blind tasting of "cutting edge wines", which should be fun AND educational.

And of course, it has to start with a Kobe Beef burger with teriyaki glaze from the Edo booth.

So to those (now 3 or 4 people) who asked me to come to something this weekend, I again apologize, but I don't miss the Food & Wine show.

Good Booze and Bad Poker

I don't believe my booze collection was actually seen at Eh-Vegas this past February, so none may actually know its largesse. I've stated before that it puts many bars to shame, and I should really take inventory some time. Regardless, I collect. There are those who worry I have a "problem", but they often miss the mark. My problem is that I have a hard time not buying interesting liquors, not the drinking of them.

So naturally, I've decided that I'll pick up the Canadian Club 30 year-old Canadian Whisky. From all accounts, it's a rich, full-bodied option never before seen in our native drink (funnily enough, CC was actually started in Detroit until prohibition forced Hiram Walker to move his operations across the border and found Walkerville). It's a limited edition (only 3000 bottles made) celebrating their 150th. You only turn 150 once you know. I'm almost tempted to buy 2, one for drinking and one for keeping.

As for poker, I forgot a sad consequence of having no roll - the levels you play at increase the terrible play by an order of magnitude. I decided to spend a wee bit of time playing a $2 SnG on Tilt and watched terrible play after terrible play, the likes of which I hadn't seen since the early days of the Wheatie. The scary part is that if I actually made the "wrong" decision in a few places, I'd have been crushing the game. It's scary how much bad play is rewarded. When I have a roll again, I might try an extended expriment on making the wrong call in borderline situations and see how well I do.

Back In The Saddle Again

And falling out of it of course. So, in my quest for bankroll management, I put $11 into The Mookie, $5.50 into The Dookie, shipped $5 in a pushfest, and put $1.25 into a turbo SnG. I came in the 3rd in the SnG for my only cash... a whopping $0.55 profit! WOOHOO!

So my roll is now less than half of what it was when I started. I never said it would be GOOD bankroll management. The challenge now is to win a Mookie buy-in for next week. This could be tricky since I plan to go see a movie tonight, along with picking up a costume for tomorrow night's Halloween party. Saturday I'm either heading west to a friend's birthday, or north to a Tuckfard game (if such a thing occurs). It's a tough call since I've seen the Tuckfards more recently than this friend. Sunday is craps day! Likely the last craps outing before Vegas. So that doesn't leave much time to play poker. Good.

Actually, last night was fun. Some good chatter going at the tables and IM, standard donkish plays and amazing suckouts... the usual. The highlight of the night though? Cracking open this:



Lagavulin single malt, Distiller's Edition. 17 years old, double distilled. Damn is it tasty. Not the liquid smoke of the 16 year (good as that is), but milder, and just as complex, and still good and peaty. Especially served in this:



The first ever Canadian whisky glass (based on scotch tasting glasses, and made by Glencairn, who has a similar version). The description talks about concentrating the vapours in the neck, with the rim gently pouring the whiskey on the tongue. I'll be damned if they aren't telling the truth. My first sip was met with a nose full of scotch smells, and it was like butter in my mouth. Now I'm upset I didn't listen to myself and buy TWO glasses. I might just have to swing by my local LCBO and pick up a bottle of something else to get the $4 discount on the glass :).

Hell, take a gander over here at Taste T.O. for a rundown of the current Whisky Legends promotion at the LCBO. It's a better writeup than the press releases. I'm tempted to pick up the 30 year-old Canadian Club, but $180 is a bit steep for a Canadian Whisky. Anybody try it? Maybe the Robbie Burns Scotch for $50. I'm sure BamBam has already picked up The Glenlivet Archive 21 year. Maybe a rare rum or cognac is in order. Ah damn, I'm getting all mature in my booze tastes, and I haven't even mentioned the selection of ancient Scottish ales and small English beers I picked up. Not to mention how thrilled I am that Innis & Gunn is readily available now.

Just in Case You Were Wondering

A sloe sour southern/comfortable screw against the wall on the beach with satin pillows and a kiss the hard way in Manhattan would have:

Sloe gin (sloe)
Southern Comfort (southern or comfortable)
Vodka (screw)
Galliano (against the wall)
Amaretto (with a kiss)
Frangelico (satin pillows)
Whiskey (the hard way)
Peach schnapps (on the beach)
Sweet Vermouth (in Manhattan)
Bourbon (in Manhattan)
Sour mix (sour)
Orange juice
Cranberry juice
Angostura Bitters
A marashino cherry
A twist

A little umbrella probably wouldn't be out of place either.

With the Upcoming Bash...

So at last count, I was dragging Kat and VinNay down to The Bash with me next week (I should really book a hotel room... damned lazy me). Arriving on Friday, sometime in the late afternoon/early evening with luck. Anyone else want to hitch a ride?

So, with the thousands of people who will be in the bar on Saturday night, I got to thinking back.

For one school year, I tended bar at the student pub. This was hardly a demanding task as it was only open Friday or during event weeks, and involved pouring copious amounts of beer for Engineering students. The non-beer behind the bar consisted of some limited supply - vodka, rum, peach schnapps, blue curaçao (that's a SOFT "c", it's not curakao), maybe gin, rye, amaretto, tequila, and some mixes. Basically what you need for the standard University student to get drunk on or do a few shots.

But Engineers are voracious drinkers, especially on a Friday after putting 30-60 hours of class and lab time in, and a weekend that looks like it'll be spent in a lab or buried in a text book. So we'd have 2 or 3 bartenders avoiding one another behind the small bar, the manager getting more ice and hoping the new keg settled enough, and general mayhem for a few hours. You got good at filling multiple cups simulataneously, and estimating a "shot" based on how well you knew the person ordering (or how cute they were).

Now when it comes to drinks, I love nothing more than being asked to "surprise me" at a party, or my place, or even during the rare slow times at the bar. Other bartenders I knew back in the day also got a wicked gleam in their eyes when those words were spoken... with a caveat - that they weren't completely swamped with a million other orders.

When a bar is running full steam, you can barely hear, and you've got people impatiently wanting to add their drinks to the already growing list you have in your head. Beer is easy and done quickly. Basic drinks comes next - a screwdriver, a vodka and cranberry, rum and coke, rye and ginger - the ones that have 2 ingredients and often describe themselves. Real martinis aren't terrible, since they're generally one booze, a hint of vermouth, and some accoutrement. After that though? It starts getting ugly with the shaking and the stirring and the 3 mixes and 5 alcohols and 14 fruits. Sure, an Old Fashioned sounds classy, but would YOU want to muddle fruit with hundreds of screaming drunks in your face?

So, knowing that there will be millions in attendance at The Bash on Saturday night, do the bartenders a favour - don't ask for "this pink drink I had once, but I don't know what was in it... maybe passion fruit or something?", or that drink that has-a-long-name-that-you-have-a-hard-time-remembering-when-you're-drunk, or "surprise me" (although I imagine any pros out there have a mental list of "surprises" that can be thrown together - Paralyzer anyone?). Keep it simple for the poor boozemongers - beers, SoCo, shots everyone knows, [booze] and [mix] names. And if you absolutely HAVE to have a "sloe sour southern screw against the wall on the beach with satin pillows and a kiss the hard way in Manhattan" while a million people are yelling drink orders, make sure you tip the tender at LEAST the price of the drink itself, and do so before you even order. Remember, we're Al's friends, and want to be invited back next year.

Something I Won't Get Around To

I was browsing through Webtender and realized how horribly set up it is. Pure middle-era web programming that hasn't changed much.

Which of course got me thinking that I can do a better job. After all, it's not THAT hard to set up a database of drink recipes with queries for the ingredients. What needs to be done is cross-referencing of ingredients, so generic terms, brand names, and specific types are connected. ie.- Smirnoff=Vodka, Canadian Whiskey=Canadian Club=Rye, etc.. A better method of selecting from "what's in my bar" is also required. Holding CTRL to select multiple ingredients is ridiculous.

At the very least, I should set up my own personal database of my booze and mix collection (it's vast) for my own perusal.

Which then got me thinking I should do the same for my herbs and spices. Which now leads to other dried goods. Then non-perishable and long-lasting goods. Then all ingredients in my house for everything.

And once that's done, I'll obviously need to set up a tablet PC in my kitchen (or subnotebook or something) with these databases on them, with a variety of queries.

So I can simply enter "quick meal, chicken" and get a list of possible recipes. Or "random drink". This of course would necessitate web access so I can check from work what I need to pick up for a recipe. Once that's set up, it becomes trivial to set up a web page and go public with it all and build a user-generated recipe database and personalized ingredient collections.

Yah, you're so going to steal my idea. It's not like I'll ever get around to it.

Which means I'll spend this weekend itemizing my bar and spices... and DVDs while I'm at it. Or not.

Poker + Booze

Let's kick off with the poker stuff.

Last night was interesting.  I purposely skipped the Skill Game, despite being interested by $12 HOE.  Instead I decided to focus on tokens for BBT Cubed.  When it came to lvl 1, I couldn't miss, going 3-for-3 with no problem at all (3 pocket aces at one final table was fun too, including 2 in a row followed by AK).  The lvl 2 frenzy however, that was a different story.  I played a decent game, and then found red cowboys in the SB.  Cutoff raises big, and I push over the top, happy with a fold.  Unfortunately, Mr. Raiser decides his ATo HAS to be good and calls.  2 spades on the flop,  and I know I feel that good ol' "here it comes" feeling.   Spade on the turn, spade on the river, and I'm done because he has the Ts.  Sweet baby jeebus did that suck.

I also played a couple satellites to the 50-50, but got smacked down in the $2 rebuy with 28 left (top 12 paying seats), and then went out 3rd in a 3-handed push-or-fold fest in a $7 SnG satellite.  I would have been better off going all-in every hand at that point than waiting to be first to act.

After the 4-flush in the frenzy, I got up and did a few things around the house to relax.  Then I came back and played 3 or 4 $1 turbo SnGs for tilt therapy.   Some $1 donks no doubt have notes on me now that say things like "will push all-in on first hand with nothing" and "will bluff at paired flop with 9-high".  Or maybe not, since they're playing $1 SnGs.  Good fun all around.

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Fear.  I think it was Kajagugu that mentioned a conversation going on in at Pokernews about Stu Ungar calling for a pot heads-up with only T-high and winning. This got me thinking.

It's not uncommon to see someone call down with A-high, or even K-high on occasion. We've seen people go to the river with bottom pair. I seriously hope everyone here has at least TRIED to take down a pot with absolutely nothing in their hand on the turn. Yet how often do we fold on the river to even a small bet because our suited connectors missed their draws?

Yes, this is a safe move. If you're playing with 9Th and the board has missed you completely, you lose to any J, Q, K, A or pair. Better to fold your nothing than donate more chips. But what if your inital read had them on crap? Say it's a blogger game and you put them on the hammer? Or you've seen them play low connectors hard pre-flop in the past and bet their draws?

Let's say you're in the SB with 9Ts. The cutoff raises 3 or 4x the BB, and you call. Your read here could easily be "standard steal move." Say it's someone you KNOW can steal with absolute crap, or who loves 56d and has played it (or something similar) in position in the past. Flop comes 47J with two diamonds. You check, and they bet 1/2 the pot. You've seen them bet draws before and figure they're on one now, so you call. Turn is a 2s, helping nobody, you check, they check. Now you're positive they're on a draw with 56. River is an Qh and you check again. They bet the pot, or even overbet it. How many of us can call here, with only T-high in our hand?

Immediately we start thinking of ways we're beat. Any 2,4,7,J, or Q beats us, any pocket pair beats us, Ax, or Kx beats us. We have to fold!! But wait... this entire hand you put them on low connectors and a now busted draws. Why has your read changed? They could just as easily be trying to take the pot here and now. If they wanted a call, would they bet so much? You've read them for one thing the whole time, and now you've tossed this read out the window from one bet that could very easily be an attempt to take the pot. But a fold would be seen here 99% of the time, because fear has just changed our minds.

Which leads to reads being remembered. Last night I threw a read of mine right out the window in the $2 50-50 satellite and it cost me. A LP player minraised, and I had QQ in the SB. I automatically thought "he's strong... AA, KK, maybe AK". I called and in fact almost folded because of the alarm bells going off in my head. Flop came down 8-high rainbow, and I bet. LP raised, and I re-popped all-in, to get autocalled by... AA. It was as if my memory went away for the 2 seconds required for me to push. As soon as I hit the raise button, I said, "oh shit... KK or AA?" I had a dead-on read pre-flop and threw it away when the board looked so good for an overpair.

I've seen it time after time in games, recaps, and discussions. People put someone on a hand, and then forget it or alter it drastically post-flop. "I put him on an A with a mid-kicker, so my AK was ahead. Board comes AT8 and he bets and I call..." both T and 8 fall under "mid-kicker", yet the player neglects this part of their read and is pissed that they got beat by 2 pair. Or a range gets neglected. "I put him on a mid pair, or a draw. Flop comes KJ2 rainbow and he bets the pot, I autofold my JT." Why?? Nothing you put him on before matches that flop, yet you caught a piece that beats the initial range. Did KK suddenly become a mid-pair? KJ is a draw?

A huge part of this game is reads and playing without fear. Ungar was fearless and a genius with a photographic memory. Daniel Negreanu and Phil Helmuth use their uncanny reading abilities to be hugely successful. These are supreme exceptions in the poker world, but to ignore what abilities you've developed on your own simply because the odds are bad can hurt you immeasurably. As has been said many times before, scared poker is losing poker.

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Now the Booze part. I went down a rabbit-hole of links today and came upon a bunch of coffee-based cocktails from Illy, a frozen Mojito recipe, and more. So tonight, pre-Mookie, I think I'll have to do some experimenting. I think my base of choice will be... tea. I have a drawer full of teas, from the mundane to the exotic. I'll have to figure some stuff out. I'd do coffee, but I don't want to be up all night.

Dinner... I've got some bread, some elk, and the means to make a quick gravy. Do up some quick fries while I'm at it, and that's a meal. Leftovers are awesome.

A Vegas Request

I'm looking for this:


It can be found in these places apparently:


They've added some states to the distribution, including New York, but the referenced site only talks about distributors, not stores.

If anyone can find a bottle and bring it to Vegas for me, I'd be eternally grateful. Well, maybe not eternally, but for a while at least.

There's another booze I want too, but I'm looking into if it's available in Vegas before requesting (the Tortuga isn't, as far as I know).

Second Best

This time it's not about me. Nope. Last night was the second best sushi I'd ever had.

Bosses in town led to drinks and dinner after work. Always a welcome respite from the usual business interactions within the group.

We went to Blowfish, which is fantastic. Any night that starts with 16 year-old Lagavulin, has both kobe beef and toro in it, and is capped off with some Grand Marnier Louis Alexandre, with a variety of other tasty beverages (gotta love a place that actually understands the phrase "Ten and tonic" without blinking) and dishes in between, can't be a bad one.

The best sushi I've had? Doku15, which happens to be the same group. They know their raw fish.

Anyway, I missed the MATH completely, which as 6-max turbo might not have taken much time to miss. Congrats to whoever took down what was surely a pure skillfest. Next week is a $10 rebuy? Oh could that ever get ugly.

I suppose I also missed Heroes.

Monkey Tourney is tonight (Stars, 8:30pm EST, $10, password is "monkey"). I guess Smokkee's Bodonkery continues as well, despite his honeymooning, but I believe us Canucks are shut out of that. I plan to get a few things done around the house first, but should be able to make it and build up a massive chip lead only to donk it off once the bubble approaches.

A Good Weekend

The poker side of it kinda blew, but the rest of the weekend was pretty solid.

Poker first. Out in the donkament on a suitably donkish play. Friday was a break-even day though as my final run of $22 Turbos made back any other buyins for the night.

Saturday - I played a couple SnG's far too late at night and lost. Bad choice by me.

Sunday - Live poker is rigged. Pocket tens in EP, I raise, get called by the BB. Flop AKT, I bet, raise, all-in, called... flips over QJo. Damn. I had him covered by a few thousand chips (10k stacks), but was pretty much treading water from there out. Big hands got nothing, and any wins were small. Out 10th of 17 when my presto (why do I even bother?) shortstack met jacks and I was done.

Big Game - out 20th of 51. At least there's a "2" in there. Absolutely nothing of note happened for me in this game. I did like the superstacks though. Congrats to VinNay on the win and TOC seat.

Then fired up an ill-advised couple of Turbos and lost in poor fashion.

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Non-poker now.

Saturday was a full day. Up early for no good reason. Well, there was a reason, but it became moot when the factory outlet store I was going to ended up being closed for the past month without that info propagating to their website. Tools.

I did, however, have a successful clothes shopping trip. My work wardrobe has now grown to an acceptable level again. The old stuff was showing its age. I still need a decent pair of shoes though. Preferrably before Vegas.

And then came the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo. Mmmmm. We started off with a Kobe Beef burger (which is tradition now), with wasabi mayo and some sort of teriyaki sauce. Then the wines... sooo many wines. I don't think there was a bad one in the bunch this year. There's a picture I need to get up here soon. You'll understand immediately. There were, in fact, some truly fantastic wines that can be found at reasonable prices. I definitely need to get my wine cooler bought and set up pronto so I can increase my collection. That's the beauty of this format - you can sample a wide variety of wines, and make some great finds that could easily become the "I discovered this" part of your collection, for the cost of a decent bottle. The trick is keeping track of them all.

Somehow I woke up in time to meet up with friends for dim sum on Sunday. This is a weekly thing. It's always good food, which is nice to have before spending 2 1/2 hours playing Texas Fold'em. The redhead from Halloween also made it interesting.

There's a very good chance I'll miss both the MATH and The Mookie this week. At the very least I'll be a touch inebriated on good wine and full of great sushi if I make it home in time tonight. I've decided to take a shot at the charity game on Wednesday. The pool is determined by the number of tables. They're up to 13 for a $6000 purse, with $2400 going to first. If I recall from last year, that COULD increase based on rebuys. I hope so, otherwise it will tough to break even without a win. But it's for the kids.

Disappointment

So you sit down at the local pub, browse the draft menu and then pick an English ale that sounds just right. It arrives. You take that first drink and it's exactly what you wanted. The flavour, the texture, everything is perfect for that moment.

Then the next day you go to a different establishment, order the same pint, and when you take that first drink it tastes different than the perfect glass you'd had less than 24 hours earlier. Not bad, but not the ambrosia that passed between your lips not a day before.

I hate that.

Damnit!

Well after another display of luckboxery, I donked out in 20th in the MATH. Yay points? As usual, I wanted the win.

Came back from the brink a couple times with timely hands and tables willing to pay me off, maintained chips with some steals. Lost chips to resteals. Made one HORRIBLE call against Don early on (which was why I needed the comeback soon after) when I completely ignored how *I* played the hand, letting him turn his straight, and generally played like crap.

Went out with Presto AGAIN. If I started running a "Presto is Garbage" thread, I might catch up to Fuel's pontification of it's auriferous properties. Then again, I wouldn't have needed to push with it into a SB steal attempt (QT? AGAIN?) if I'd pushed with my AKo the hand before, but something about twoblackaces' checking of a paired board put me on edge. Every time I reached for the "bet" button, my instincts were telling me that I was doomed.

Anyway, The Mookie is tomorrow, and I'm already signed up. 19 to go. Maybe I should start writing my blog submission.

Congrats to Kaja for taking down the MATH win and a TOC seat!

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Forgot a drink yesterday from the weekend - Kahlua, Caramel Baileys, vodka, and chocolate milk - Brown Mudslide? Caramel-Chocolate Mudslide? Whatever you want to call it, it was good.

Monday Already?

I heard a rumour that there was a weekend recently.

Friday was spent on the Donkament and with a few drinks:

- Sweetened Key Lime Juice, Navan, Tanquery Ten, Creme de Cacao = Tasty

This started as an attempt to approximate Key Lime pie, but I lack any sort of graham cracker-flavoured liquid. Also, Bailey's curdles as expected.

- Orange vodka, Grand Marnier, Peach Schnapps, Apricot Brandy = Okay

A bit harsh, but drinkable. I think too much went into it.

- Strawberry Vodka, Creme de Cacao, Navan, Fragoli = Tasty

Neopolitan flavours = Neopolitan Martini. If only they were coloured and layered. Still, very tasty.

Saturday was where 4 hours of shopping became 8. That said, my freezer is packed and my fridge is well-stocked again. I also have a few more toys in my kitchen. I did manage to make it to a buddy's 30th about 4 or 5 hours later than planned, and stuck around until it broke up 2 1/2 hours later. Apparently my friends are getting old as I haven't seen a party go past 1:30am in months. Laaaame. Also, THREE babies present, and plenty of mommy talk going on made for all the single guys looking for the bar.

Sunday went about as planned - woke up around noon, set the clock back an hour and slept some more. Got up, ate breakfast around 1:30, vegged, played poker, watched TV (finally saw I, Robot - uh... yah), took a nap, played video games, did laundry, made dinner around 10pm (grilled dry-rubbed (garlic, salt, black pepper, chili powder, cayenne, ground coriander seed, ground lemongrass and habanero powder) Tilapia with perfectly steamed zucchini and broccoli, and some leftover scalloped potatoes (with broccoli, bacon, 3 cheeses and cream)), geeked, and went to bed. Somedays you need to lock out the world.

Poker was a bust all weekend. Couldn't win a thing. Due in large part to me sucking and not really paying attention.

MATH is tonight - I've final-tabled the last two, so I'm due to Gigli tonight no doubt. Will we see 82 runners again? More? Less? Who knows! 20 chances left in BBT II.

Ze Plan For Tonight

For anybody stalking me:

I've got to finish getting my costume together. This means finding a cheap pair of oversized white sneakers (harder than you think. I'm not dropping $80 on shoes I plan to draw on and wear one night). Chinatown, here I come!

I also need a wooden dowel. This will be glued, although I realize too late I could screw it on (but I drilled a HUGE hole in an attempt at a different attachement, and don't think I have a screw with a large enough head. I could use filler I guess).

Then I have to assemble it all. I'm hoping one piece holds together, otherwise it'll be a disaster of trying to rebuild in time. I may need more green spray paint too.

The final decision is - projectile weapon or not? I think we all know the answer.

After all that, it's donkament time! Naturally, this requires drinking. I think I'm going martini-style tonight. I also think I'll be creating as I go. Considering my mix currently consists of milk, cream, a bit of cranberry, and a variety of pops (but I may be out of club soda). it could be interesting.

Possible alcoholic components: Golden Pear, Creme de Cassis, Sloe Gin, Green Tea, Honey, Herbal Vodka, Ultimat Vodka, Butter schnapps, creme de menthe, creme de cacao, Navan (vanilla Grand Marnier), strawberry liqueur....

hold it.. think I've got one.

The strawberry liqueur I have (blanking on the name, but it's got a bunch of wild strawberries floating in it), creme de cacao, navan, and some base (likely strawberry vodka, or maybe a more premium one)... Neopolitan!

Hmm.. vanilla could be a base flavour for the night. Perhaps a variety of ice-cream inspired drinks. Mint chocolate... honey orange... vanilla pear... black cherry vanilla... mmm. I may have to pick up some vanilla vodka. That would bring my vodka count to something like 13 bottles. Seriously. Lime sorbet martini!! Lime vodka, crushed ice, lime juice.

Expect nothing resembling reasonable play from me tonight.

Booze

Since poker can suck my balls at the moment (or, more specifically, the asshat donkeys and bullshit "random" number generators I've run into the last few days), it's time for alcohol.

I've got a couple food posts to put up, possibly tonight, on some dinners from the past couple weeks. For now though...

Martinis!

Besides cooking, I also happen to be a pretty mean bartender. I don't juggle bottles or anything, but I love experimenting. My palate, which serves me well cooking, is great for drinks too. It's a definite benefit when you can figure out what a combination of flavours will taste like before actually mixing them together. It also helps that my alcohol collection puts most bars to shame in terms of variety... seriously.

Note: I'm trying out stirred instead of shaken. It's easier cleanup (my tumbler is too complicated, I need a simpler one), but more importantly, shaking dilutes the drink as the ice breaks up and melts. Stirring lessens this, and I've heard works better for chilling.

1.- Blueberry-Orange Martini.

I need to tweak the proportions a bit, or maybe it's just the sub-par vodka. It started a bit harsh (yet still quite drinkable), but seemed to smooth out. I threw this together last night after getting knocked out of a $5 SnG I was playing with Kat by yet another retard who decided my all-in meant his K5o was good. It helped take the edge off when Wil freakin' Wheaton knocked me out the Monkey Tourney with his nines vs my presto. Right in the middle of my big comeback from the edge of oblivion too.

2 1/4 oz Blueberry Vodka
3/4 oz Blue Curaçao
Splash of Cointreau (or triple sec, or even Grand Marnier)

Stir (or shake if you wish) with ice and strain into a martini glass. MUST be cold.

I'm thinking of reducing the Curaçao, using Grand Marnier instead of Cointreau, and possibly cutting the Stoli Blueberry with a premium vodka to smooth it out. As it stands, the curaçao is a bit overwhelming flavour-wise. I'll let you know how it goes. Regardless, it's a decent drink and good for a buzz. I shall have to name it once I've got it where I like it. I'm thinking Blue Ahrange. (pronounce like orange, but with an Arr, I know you've heard of that Family Feud episode).

EDIT: Tried 2oz vodka, 1/3 oz curaçao, and 1/3 oz Grand Marnier... Very cool colour (turquoise or seafoamish), but I think the Stoli Blueberry is just too harsh. Next attempt will cut the Stoli with a premium vodka.

2.- Blackout

I came up with this for two of my favourite women in the world at the birthday party of a friend who had a somewhat limited supply of non-staple booze.

2 oz Premium Vodka (ie.- Grey Goose)
1 oz Black Sambuca

Stirred (or shaken) with ice and strained into martini glass.

This one packs a whallop I'm told. It's two 80 proof liquors but you can't taste the alcohol. The Sambuca is strong enough to give the whole thing that black licorice taste some people actually like.

It stands to reason you could do the same with regular Sambuca, but then you don't have a black martini. I guess it would be a Whiteout then.

3.- Pomegranate Green Tea Martini Pomegreenteani

So many punny names possible, but I think I'll settle on... Pomegreenteani! Yup, that works. I came up with this at the same party as the Blackout, because I wanted something sweet and don't like sambuca.

2 oz premium vodka
1/2 oz Zen Green Tea Liquor
1/2 oz Pomegranate Liqueur

Stir or shake with ice and strain into martini glass. This baby will be neon pink, so you have to either be female, or really secure in your manliness to carry it around. What can I say? I'm cool enough to get away with it.

There, now go, get wasted and think of me.