Haven’t been in Seville during orange season! Or tasted them but I’m sure they’ll work for a sour orange daiquiri. You want the mixture to be super tart with a distinct back note of orange. … and love eggs exactly that way!
Thank you. I gave your Cocktail Ratio book to my best friend for Christmas and she has been having a lot of fun with it. I believe Seville Oranges are available seasonally at specialty grocery stores and I think used typically for marmalade. We used to sell them at a store in Eugene, Oregon. Not near as fun and exciting as going to Seville!
Hola Michael, re the Restaurant Rustica in San Miguel. It is owned by a Mexican and Argentine and frequented by everyone. It is well loved by all. I was so happy to learn your first name and pig out equally. Alice
@Michael, over the years you've inspired me to cook, not so much through your recipes - they're bedrock in my home cuisine - but from reading between the ratios and recipes. It's from these passages that I learned to add a little of this or pair with a little of that. You've no doubt heard the likes of this many times from your readers. There's something else that I wanted to tell you. Your stories nourish my love for reading! I've found myself walking the streets of San Miguel and roaming the countryside in southern France (on more than one occasion). I've never been to either place, or many of the places about which you write, but I know the sights, sounds, foods, charcuterie, meat pies, and wines! I'm convinced that I can imagine the sounds of laughter, crackling bread hot from the oven, scraping of sauté pans on the hob, and warm conversation, wandering and intriguing. Thank you for writing this blog and all of your books. Most of all, thank you for nourishing my creativity!
What lovely words, Evvy. I'm truly grateful. Thanks for taking the time to write. Hope you'll share this newsletter with friends who might like it. Again. Thank you.
Michael, first became aware of your books when u used to appear on Leonard Lopate WNYC so many yrs ago. Tell me, your food choices whether homemade or at a restaurant all appear so flavorful, but do u spend much time working off calories by exercise, & are u generally mindful of salt & sugar content of foods u choose to eat or put in cocktails?
Not as mindful as I ought to be. And don't burn nearly enough calories. I'm way overweight. As for salt and sugar, I kind of let the body say when something is properly salted. And I rarely eat sweets. And Ann and I eat out or order in 50% of the time and we don't eat fast food or heavily processed food.
Hi michael, just subscribed to your newsletter and I love all the recommendations over such a range of topics. Thanks.
I do have a question/comment on your guacamole recipe. No recipe for guacamole is going to be good if the avocado is terrible. I just cut one open - watery and tasteless. How do I pick a decent avocado?? And I live in California where I should at least have a decent chance of getting a perfectly ripe, not black, not stringy, not watery avocado. Any tips?
Aside from feeling how soft or hard it is, no. Maybe pay attention to the varieties that are good where you are. Other than that, cutting into one is really the only way.
Re: books, have you had the pleasure of reading Jeffrey Steingarten's "The Man Who Ate Everything"? It is hilarious and filled with valuable food-related research. I read it years ago but recently got a free audio download. It's as good the second time as the first.
Guacamole: I grew up among avocado farmers. And while I agree with your recipe, I have to say that the best guacamole I ever had was at La Paloma https://lapalomasb.com/history/, where I would eat often as a teenager and always the same tostada with guacamole and refried beans, always made by Fidel. To this day that guacamole is my Proustian madeleine. But what made Fidel's guac so special? One day I glanced into the kitchen on my way to the restroom and spied Fidel, making guacamole. It was all very simple, like your recipe. But he had a cigarette in his mouth and a few ashes fell into the bowl. While I have never added cigarette ashes to my own guac, I must admit mine has never tasted as good as Fidel's.
And writers' conferences. I read about you and Ann going to yet another one and my reaction was as it always is - I'd rather have root canal than go to a writers' conference. I don't find most writers interesting as people, even the ones whose work I love. But it got me thinking. What would make me travel to a writers' conference: I'd go to one if I could spend time with Wilde, Stendhal, Stein and Nietzsche. I wonder which deceased writers you would like to spend time with at a conference?
Thanks for the links! Love the piece on Lee Smith--she roomed with Annie Dillard!. Ann's son Sam said is Grandma's meatballs tasted the best because she too would mix the meat with a cigarette dangling from her mouth. I wonder if it has to do with the alkalinity of ash, and if a little bit of baking soda might do the same thing. Liked the Salatin post. He's great. But I'm more interested in the kooky comments. Don't disagree about your comments re writers, though our pals are quite entertaining. Fitzgerald and Shakespeare would be high on my wishlist.
Hello,
would seville oranges work for the sour orange cocktail or are they more bitter than sour?
We also grew up eating soft boiled eggs in egg cups with the pointy bit sliced off and toast fingers for dipping.
Haven’t been in Seville during orange season! Or tasted them but I’m sure they’ll work for a sour orange daiquiri. You want the mixture to be super tart with a distinct back note of orange. … and love eggs exactly that way!
Thank you. I gave your Cocktail Ratio book to my best friend for Christmas and she has been having a lot of fun with it. I believe Seville Oranges are available seasonally at specialty grocery stores and I think used typically for marmalade. We used to sell them at a store in Eugene, Oregon. Not near as fun and exciting as going to Seville!
I read this just after eating an over-easy egg on a reheated piece of pizza for lunch. I have zero regrets!
The best guacamole is the one in your mouth.
I have faith in eggs, not fear.
I completely agree with your stance on guacamole! Heading to the farm market this morning for avocados, shallots, and limes.
Hola Michael, re the Restaurant Rustica in San Miguel. It is owned by a Mexican and Argentine and frequented by everyone. It is well loved by all. I was so happy to learn your first name and pig out equally. Alice
@Michael, over the years you've inspired me to cook, not so much through your recipes - they're bedrock in my home cuisine - but from reading between the ratios and recipes. It's from these passages that I learned to add a little of this or pair with a little of that. You've no doubt heard the likes of this many times from your readers. There's something else that I wanted to tell you. Your stories nourish my love for reading! I've found myself walking the streets of San Miguel and roaming the countryside in southern France (on more than one occasion). I've never been to either place, or many of the places about which you write, but I know the sights, sounds, foods, charcuterie, meat pies, and wines! I'm convinced that I can imagine the sounds of laughter, crackling bread hot from the oven, scraping of sauté pans on the hob, and warm conversation, wandering and intriguing. Thank you for writing this blog and all of your books. Most of all, thank you for nourishing my creativity!
What lovely words, Evvy. I'm truly grateful. Thanks for taking the time to write. Hope you'll share this newsletter with friends who might like it. Again. Thank you.
Michael, first became aware of your books when u used to appear on Leonard Lopate WNYC so many yrs ago. Tell me, your food choices whether homemade or at a restaurant all appear so flavorful, but do u spend much time working off calories by exercise, & are u generally mindful of salt & sugar content of foods u choose to eat or put in cocktails?
Not as mindful as I ought to be. And don't burn nearly enough calories. I'm way overweight. As for salt and sugar, I kind of let the body say when something is properly salted. And I rarely eat sweets. And Ann and I eat out or order in 50% of the time and we don't eat fast food or heavily processed food.
Hi Michael, wrong link for the Guardian profile on the Sing Sing story, goes to Amazon :)
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/feb/25/sing-sing-clarence-maclin-sophocles-shakespeare-prison
BTW, great column this week!
Thanks for the catch! Fixed on line.
I suspect your body has learned how to recognize and fight off the H5N1 pathogens…. Eggs-posure (get it?!?) 🤣🤣🤣🤣🥚🥚🥚🍳🍳🐣🐣🥚
Great review - one question, are you missing word here?
“This kind of shit me bananas!”
Yep. Def left out a verb here.
It’s a Canadian saying, and grammatically correct. 💩🍌🇨🇦👍
Hi michael, just subscribed to your newsletter and I love all the recommendations over such a range of topics. Thanks.
I do have a question/comment on your guacamole recipe. No recipe for guacamole is going to be good if the avocado is terrible. I just cut one open - watery and tasteless. How do I pick a decent avocado?? And I live in California where I should at least have a decent chance of getting a perfectly ripe, not black, not stringy, not watery avocado. Any tips?
Aside from feeling how soft or hard it is, no. Maybe pay attention to the varieties that are good where you are. Other than that, cutting into one is really the only way.
Re: books, have you had the pleasure of reading Jeffrey Steingarten's "The Man Who Ate Everything"? It is hilarious and filled with valuable food-related research. I read it years ago but recently got a free audio download. It's as good the second time as the first.
He’s a great writer. Would like to know what happened to him.
I believe it’s the same experts saying runny eggs are no good as said the genetically modified Covid medicine would stop Covid…
Thank you, Michael for writing about eggs, guacamole and Lee Smith. My husband, a longtime fan of Smith, wrote about her in 1990 https://raysawhill.info/2022/04/26/lee-smith/.
Guacamole: I grew up among avocado farmers. And while I agree with your recipe, I have to say that the best guacamole I ever had was at La Paloma https://lapalomasb.com/history/, where I would eat often as a teenager and always the same tostada with guacamole and refried beans, always made by Fidel. To this day that guacamole is my Proustian madeleine. But what made Fidel's guac so special? One day I glanced into the kitchen on my way to the restroom and spied Fidel, making guacamole. It was all very simple, like your recipe. But he had a cigarette in his mouth and a few ashes fell into the bowl. While I have never added cigarette ashes to my own guac, I must admit mine has never tasted as good as Fidel's.
Eggs: curious what you think of Joel Salatin's blog postings https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/blog/2/27/2025/bird-flu-and-the-usda
And writers' conferences. I read about you and Ann going to yet another one and my reaction was as it always is - I'd rather have root canal than go to a writers' conference. I don't find most writers interesting as people, even the ones whose work I love. But it got me thinking. What would make me travel to a writers' conference: I'd go to one if I could spend time with Wilde, Stendhal, Stein and Nietzsche. I wonder which deceased writers you would like to spend time with at a conference?
Thanks for the links! Love the piece on Lee Smith--she roomed with Annie Dillard!. Ann's son Sam said is Grandma's meatballs tasted the best because she too would mix the meat with a cigarette dangling from her mouth. I wonder if it has to do with the alkalinity of ash, and if a little bit of baking soda might do the same thing. Liked the Salatin post. He's great. But I'm more interested in the kooky comments. Don't disagree about your comments re writers, though our pals are quite entertaining. Fitzgerald and Shakespeare would be high on my wishlist.