Food and Drink

Jason Wilson discusses 'cocktail scholarship', old guides to preparing cocktails, in his article The Literature of Booze at Table Matters. Wilson, who is editor of Table Matters and also writes for the Washington Post food section, has a collection of such guides. In this entertaining post, he writes that inside one of his books from 1944, there is a scribbled-in recipe for a Morning Mashie Pickup, composed of a jigger of gin, an egg white, the juice of half a lemon, two dashes of absinthe and a dash of anisette.

A Morning Mashie Pickup sounds quite . . . bracing; certainly it would have some sort of impact on a golfer preparing for an early morning round. (A mashie is a wooden-shafted, typically pre-20th Century golf club, equivalent to a 4-iron.) At the link, Wilson also provides a recipe for an Aviation Cocktail.

Cocktail scholarship was not an official course of study when I was an undergraduate, although many who, like me, attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison certainly undertook it as an informal, undeclared major. No word on what proportion of cocktail scholars were liberal arts majors; one suspects that it could be significant.

Say gin and absinthe are not your thing. During the November 1 broadcast of The Splendid Table, host Lynne Rossetto Kasper talks with wine guru Josh Wesson about affordable wines. Mr Wessons's recommendations:

Feudo Monaci Primitivo 2006, an Italian red.

Quinta de Pancas Parrotes 2006, a red from Portugal.

Columbia Crest Two Vines Sauvignon Blanc 2007

Gran Sarao Brut NV and Grand Sarao Rosé NV, cavas from Spain.

The Splendid Table is a terrific radio program for everyone who loves good food and drink. Ms. Rossetto Kasper's new cookbook, The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper, is loaded with great recipes. As the inevitable march to the holidays continues on, it is a book to absolutely consider for someone on your gift-list who is interested in cooking and eating delicious dishes.