It called for a tablespoon of whiskey, but she didn’t have any.

She did, however, have Cognac. We told her to use the Cognac instead.

Which brings us to today’s tip:

If your recipe calls for a spirit you don’t have, you can substitute one that you do have. Just try to keep it in the same “family.”

 
The substitution will make a slight flavor difference, but it’s no different from, for example, using strawberry purée instead of raspberry purée, or cinnamon instead of allspice. The recipe still works, and nobody knows the difference. You may even prefer the substitute.

Along the same lines, you can substitute red and white wines. If you don’t have any wine, use sherry.

And if you have a situation we haven’t mentioned, use your judgment!
  

Who doesn’t like rich butter shortbread?
Photo courtesy Biscottea.

The makers of Biscottea and Biscoffee have enhanced a classic Scottish shortbread recipe by adding organic tea or coffee to the fragrant butter cookies. (The coffee beans are also Fair Trade certified.)

The result is pure deliciousness.

Each lovely gift box contains 24 individually wrapped squares of shortbread, for $29.99 (and free shipping).

We love the “portion control” aspect. Because otherwise, these cookies are irresistible!

 
As the company says, this is “real shortbread created with real tea and coffee for real tea and coffee lovers.” We say: Why can’t we buy Biscottea and Biscoffee shortbread everyplace we stop for a cup of coffee or tea?

The cookies are certified kosher by OU.

For more information and to purchase, head here.

During holiday season, radishes and greens deliver Christmas colors: a bright red exterior, crunchy slices and some zippy, peppery heat (the heat dissipates when radishes are cooked).

First pick your favorite greens: We like a mix of arugula, romaine and watercress; plus some red leaf lettuce, when we can find it.

Beyond the radishes, you can add more red color with cherry and grape tomatoes (you can cut cherry tomatoes in half), red bell pepper strips or dice and radicchio.

We also like to snip in a tablespoon of fresh herbs: basil, cilantro, chives and/or parsley. They’re the best way we know to brighten up a salad with “something special.”

Finally, we add a splash of yellow, via cherry and grape tomatoes, yellow bell peppers and/or a slice of starfruit.

We dress the salad with a vinaigrette: 3 parts olive oil, 1 part red wine vinegar or lime juice and 1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.

You can also use the radishes to make:

Fortunately, we don’t need to, because we can buy them from Veronica’s.

Anyone will be delighted to receive Veronica’s holiday collection cake pops, which include:

When looking for a copy of August Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire on Amazon.com, we found an elucidating customer review by Charlene Vickers of Winnepeg, Canada.

The great Escoffier (1846-1935) was a was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who updated and codified traditional French cooking techniques. In 1903, he published what instantly became the culinary bible. One hundred and eight years later, it is still the classic reference source for professional chefs.

An abridged English-language version, The Escoffier Cookbook and Guide to the Fine Art of Cookery: For Connoisseurs, Chefs, Epicures, Complete With 2973 Recipes, is half the cost of the original.

Ms. Vickers responded to another customer’s complaints about this abridged edition with such depth, that we asked her permission to reprint her comments. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into culinary history.

“However, to appreciate this book fully, it’s important to understand exactly for whom it was written. Escoffier’s original guide was never for a second intended for the home cook. Escoffier was a pioneer with respect to the education of professional chefs, and originally wrote this book for the use of those working in grand houses, in hotels, on ocean liners, and in restaurants, who might not have had access to contemporary recipes.

“Accordingly, the original book does not attempt to teach basic cooking or food preparation techniques. The American translation does include some details on cooking utensils and techniques unfamiliar to the average American chef (such as poeleing,* worth the cost of the book alone, and the old French form of braising), but even in the translation it is assumed that the reader is a trained, experienced chef.

*Editor’s Note: Braising calls for liquids to be added to the meat. Poeleing uses just butter and the meat’s own juices, with no added liquids.

“The recipes themselves are clear and simple to follow, but represent only a small subset of French cooking of the early 20th century. An earlier reviewer mentioned that there was no recipe for onion soup. This is true, but it should be understood that onion soup would never have been accepted by the class of restaurant patron for whom Escoffier cooked.

“Much of what has arrived on this side of the Atlantic as ”French cooking”—dishes such as pot-au-feu, onion soup, and steak frites—is distinctly middle-class fare, and consequently would have been rejected by the clientele of quality restaurants of the time as being unspeakably boorish. Escoffier personally enjoyed bourgeois cooking, but as an astute, intelligent businessman, he provided the haute cuisine his clients demanded.

“One interesting difference between modern cooking and the cooking featured in this book is that Escoffier uses few spices, and indeed declaims on the foolishness of using large amounts of spices in meat dishes. This appears bizarre from our vantage point, but Escoffier had sound economic reasons for his proscriptions.

“Most diners of the time grew up in the days before refrigeration, when old, deteriorating meat was heavily spiced to make it palatable. Fresh, unspiced meat was a sign of the highest quality. The association between strong spices and poor quality was powerful enough to survive long into the 20th century, as any reader of a 1950s American cookbook can attest.

“As for the recipes themselves, I doubt that many of them could be prepared by the North American home cook. Most of us cannot afford (if we can even find) foie gras, truffles, or capons, and few have espagnole sauce or fish fumet available at all times. However, many recipes can be adapted for the modern cook—using cepes or porcini mushrooms instead of truffles, for instance—and those that can be prepared really are delicious.”

Thanks so much, Ms. Vickers. If we ever get to Winnepeg, we would love to take you to dinner—although it sounds as if we might enjoy even better fare in your kitchen.