Happy St Patty’s, and even Irish days lead to France
Happy St. Patrick’s day! Logan, I hope you & the boys are tearing it up, and I am so sad I could not make it.
Today, a friend told me about a drink that calls for a liquor called “Chartreuse.” I’ve never heard of it, which is shameful on two counts: one, I’m a literature M.A. and Chartreuse is mentioned in prominent literature (for example, The Great Gatsby), and two, I went to bartending school. Yeah, I should know of this stuff. So my friend was asking me what to substitute for it, since it is pricier than he wanted, so I nosed around…and lo and behold, this stuff is not only “Proprietary potent classic French high proof multi-herbal monastic liqueur,” but “only three Carthusian monks know the formula of 130 herbs and flowers for the 110 proof Chartreuse at any given time” (from CocktailDB). Pretty neat, and now I must try the stuff. But I found it so funny that it’s from France, given my current immersion in things French.
And following along a French line of thinking, I was out picking up a few things I needed tonight, and I decided to pop into TJMaxx just to browse their cookware selection…and what did I find but THE exact Le Creuset pot I want, plus several other Le Creuset items! I never knew TJMaxx carried the brand…well ok, I’ve never looked for it until now. The price of the pot I want is *wonderful*, but I couldn’t quite justify buying it just yet, and tried to put it on layaway—yes, I would have a cookpot on layaway—but this store is about to do remodeling and they don’t have room for layaway right now. Argh! Well, I’ll go back and hide that pot if I have to, so that it’ll be there when I’m ready to get it. ;-)
If there is a Tuesday Morning (Kind of like a smaller, more messy and petite version of Big Lots) near you, you may wish to check them out.
I have found a variety of wonderful cookware there – solid 309 stainless with copper bottoms and rivited handles for easy oven transfer. And we’re not talking the simply bent metal handle – cast solid and riveted. I bought a saucier and a large fry pan at the one closest to me back in december. I think it set me back all of $60.
TJ’s is good now and then, but this place definitely can hit the motherload for outstanding prices on semi-professional cookware.
Hi Joseph–thanks for the idea! I was going to say I’ve heard of Tuesday Morning but we don’t have them around here, but then I decided to check just in case, and voila! We do have them! I’m going to go peruse one the first chance I get…I sense danger ahead…lol!
Chartreuse is pretty good stuff! It’s one of the drinks my Dad always has in his drinks cabinet – a very nice digestif, and imo better as an after dinner drink than as an aperitif. It is really designed as a digestif – it settles the stomach and aids digestion. It’s very herbal tasting and of course the colour is a vivid green. Worth a try – but expensive to buy a whole bottle should you then find that you don’t like it!!