A Kottkesque frenzy of links 2008

Oh so many things to link for you today!

Food!
I've only read a couple posts but already I know that I can highly recommend The French Laundry At Home. Carol cooks Keller - the entire book - at home and the results are great. Good photography and witty writing. Start here with Gazpacho with Balsamic Glaze. (PNord, you should be all over this one!)

Bento fans and parents will dig Lunch In A Box by Biggie.

Drink!
Lovely apple garnish here on the Angel Face Cocktail as made by Erik of the blog Underhill-Lounge.

Brilliant Cocktails is a nice video blog from bartender Chris Doig of Copenhagen. Must watch episodes: The Manhattan and The Old-Fashioned. Also recommended: The Cosmopolitan, The Margarita, The Sazerac, The Espresso Martini and The Cucumber Fizz/Collins. Unfortunately no new posts since last August, but a good body of work while it was active.

The friendly home host viewpoint is nicely provided by Steve & Paul of Cocktail Buzz. I like their low-key style and the way they do food pairings for each drink. Check out their episode The Vesper paired with Warmed Olives.

Though the delivery style of Alberta Straub of the video podcast Cocktails on the Fly and her chunky salad drinks can put me off, sometimes we agree and her episode on bitters is one of those times. I also confess to a desire to try her recipe for The White Russian which looks fantastic. Her Citrus Sugar and The Mary Ann With Ginger are also on my to-try list. (However, I will give my opposing viewpoint on two things: don't hit your shaker against the counter to loosen your glass, use the heel of your hand on the side of the metal shaker in the direction the mixing glass is already leaning (illustrated by Robert "Drinkboy" Hess in his bar tools & Caiparinha episode of The Cocktail Spirit), and don't sugar the rim of a glass on the inside edge).

Travel!
Buzz put up his guide to his favorites in New York City and mentioned in Twitter an addendum to the Cocktail Bars section: Employees Only.

All the video podcasts above can be subscribed to through iTunes except Robert Hess' The Cocktail Spirit.