SC - OOP recipe and Re: vodka for bandy in cordials was

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/26/99 5:52:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
oftraquair at hotmail.com writes:

<< Being much fonder of brandy than of vodka, I can't imagine why the 
 substitution is considered better.  There is talk of vodka being more 
 neutral.  In my opinion, it is so neutral that a certain richness of flavor 
 is lost in the end product.
  >>

Agreed. A lot of substitutions for period ingredients are a direct result of 
the subs being more 'neutral,' or less flavorful. I think this is a direct 
result of commercial food production. They either supply a totally unnatural 
intensity of flavor or the exact opposite. As a result the current generation 
has no concept of flavor layers and their palettes are for the most part so 
dulled by fast food, frozen pizza, and microwave meals tasting more than a 
little like poorly flavored cardboard that they have come to expect 
explosions of single flavors from beverages or tasteless cardboard flavors 
from meals. Unfortunately, this is oftentimes reflected in A&S entries and 
attempts at creating period feasts.

On a more upbeat scale, my student Puck, on our recent sailing trip produced 
some of the finest 'home' cooking I have eaten in a very long time by 
combining modern and period ingredients. One of the dishes that I can still 
taste is his version of 'Fried Potatoes'. He first sautéed chopped onion in 
olive oil until it was very soft and translucent, added thinly sliced new 
potatoes, salt and pepper. As a final addition he sprinkled rose water all 
over the top. Stirred it. Put a cover on it and let it steam on low heat 
until; the potatoes were fork tender. The resulting dish was absolutely 
wonderful with an aftertaste of mild horseradish. I have put this in my 
'favorites' file under 'Boat Potatoes Puck' as a memorial to this fine chef. 
:-)

Ras
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