whatscooking2

How about a dark, mysterious Italian stranger after dinner?

Liqueurs are mysterious things by nature. Most of the world's more popular ones are prepared with carefully guarded, centuries-old recipes consisting of complicated mixtures of herbs and spices. The Italian favorite, Sambuca, is no different, with its tightly guarded secret recipe.

Sambuca has its subtle and mysterious side, just like Brando in The Godfather, but it's the fiery kick-in-the-ass anisette flavor (think Joe Pesci in Goodfellas) that takes over and boldly smacks you upside the head. Deceptively potent at 84 proof, Sambuca is first and foremost an anise liqueur, in the same family as ouzo, pastis, raki and even absinthe. Sambuca's the smoothest and most internationally popular of all the black-licorice-tasting cordials. Read more

Sambuca

If you've ever eaten at an authentic Italian restaurant, you've been to a place where the owner hangs out with his patrons like they were having a party; where straw-covered Chianti bottles hang from the ceiling; where the pasta is made fresh; and where after dinner you're given a snifter of Sambuca -- on the house, probably -- with three coffee beans floating in it (odd numbers, never even, for good luck) to sip with your coffee. And if you want to stick with Italian tradition, make sure your coffee isn't a cappuccino: Real Italians drink cappuccino only at lunchtime.

Anisette's been respected as a wonderful digestive for centuries, hence Sambuca's popularity in Italy, where they'd rather sip a soothing after-dinner drink after enjoying their bountiful multi-course meals than toss back a couple of Tums. You can spell relief R-O-L-A-I-D-S if you want, but make mine S-A-M-B-U-C-A, with a cafe macchiato, por favor.

If you're not a coffee drinker, don't fret. Sambuca's also popular served straight up, either neat with coffee beans or over ice. In recent years it's also become more popular as a shot, and many in-the-know bartenders enjoy the fact that its high alcoholic content makes it flammable, and also that its high density makes it ideal for layered shooters. It's always fun to try a new twist on an old standby, but a drink doesn't thrive for centuries unless it just plain tastes good on its own.

Next time you're seeking a little Italian mystery after dinner, order up a Sambuca. And whether you're superstitious or not, make sure to count those coffee beans. Sleeping with the fishes is probably not nearly as glamorous as it looks in the movies. Back to top

… a great sentiment, shared by many enthusiastic cooks, across the globe. Imagine the scene: a glass in hand, as we pour a generous (preferably unmeasured) slurp into our ingredients, as we happily prepare our evening meal.

And, arguably, we have the French to thank for this relaxed liaison between food and wine. They can teach us a thing or two about cooking with wine, starting with the basic principle that the wine you use for cooking has to be drinkable - not corked or unfit for human consumption. Cooking will not, as if by miracle, turn duff wine into something that will enhance your dish - au contraire, it will ruin your masterpiece.

All you need to do is choose decent quality, cost-effective wines for cooking. Here are some suggestions: Read more

Cooking with Wine

Dry red wine

Basic fruity table wines, such as Pinot Noir or a lighter bodied Zinfandel are great for cooking, because they're fairly low in tannins and will not overwhelm your dish.

Use for making red wine sauces, gravy, soups, beef and lamb casseroles, game recipes, spaghetti Bolognese, ratatouille or even Greek pastitsio.

Dry white wine

Avoid dry whites that are too sharp or acidic or excessively oaked, because these characteristics, although desirable in a drinking wine, are not so hot for cooking, as they become accentuated during the cooking process. Opt instead for simple, fruity table wines, such as chardonnay or sauvignon blanc for cooking.

Use for making cream sauces, pasta sauces, white meat dishes such as chicken casserole, soups, seafood and fish recipes, especially salmon, or in a fondue.

Sherry

A gem for use in cooking, genuine Spanish sherry will add oomph to a surprising number of sweet and savory dishes. Avoid sherries at either end of the dry/sweet spectrum, i.e. extremely dry fino sherry or sweet cream sherry. Your best bet is a medium amontillado sherry.

Use for savory sauces and white meat recipes, pasta dishes such as chicken lasagne, and soups. Back to top

Technology

He founded Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater, a vanguard concept, in San Jose, Calif., in 1978 and took it public in 1981. Now owned by CEC Entertainment Inc. of Irving, Texas, the kid-focused Chuck E. Cheese's chain boasts nearly 500 corporate and franchised units.

While a location in Los Angeles for his uWink Media Bistro has not been finalized, Bushnell's new concept is slated to open in the fall. The goal is to bring restaurant entertainment technology up a notch with a networked system that will allow guests to play games, watch sports and other television programming, surf the Internet, view music videos and more at every table and bar seat.

In addition, guests will use the video screen to order meals, and they will pay for the meals with the swipe of an ATM or credit card, creating a cashless environment with lower labor costs.

"People have asked if this will be a Chuck E. Cheese on steroids," Bushnell said. "I say, 'No. This is aimed at the 21- to 35-year-old casual diner, and we're providing an environment where they can have so much fun [that] they can do it once or twice a week.' "

Unlike other entertainment restaurant concepts that feature coin-operated arcade and video games, Bushnell's prototype will showcase software developed by his company, uWink Inc., based in Los Angeles, which for the past five years has been creating a wide portfolio of sports, trivia, strategy and card games designed for use in bars, restaurants and amusement centers.

The games will have "no violence and no gratuitous complexity," said Bushnell, who contends that the trend toward hardcore war games has alienated many from computer gaming.

That's why only about 15 percent of Americans identify themselves as video-game players, down significantly from 40 percent in the 1970s, he contended. "Games have become isolating, where, historically, games brought people together."

To encourage more social play, uWink Media Bistro will feature a "tour director," whose role will be to encourage tournaments between tables or groups. "The types of games will vary by daypart, with more kid-friendly games during the day and sports, trivia or couples-oriented options at night," Bushnell said.

Unlike such chain concepts as Dave & Buster's, where games can cost up to $2 to play, uWink Media Bistro will offer games for as little as 25 cents.

"Since we're producing the games, we don't need to charge that much," Bushnell noted. New games also will be introduced regularly to keep guests from getting bored.

Gaming, however, is likely to represent only about 5 percent to 6 percent of revenue, Bushnell projected, noting that the other entertainment options are likely to be an even bigger draw, with total media representing an estimated 22 percent of sales.

Guests can watch cartoons, short news clips, movie previews and use the terminal as a jukebox. Some tables will offer a "cone of silence" speaker system, and all will have jacks for headphones.

Pizza, pastas, salads and burgers will be featured, along with Bushnell's "Extreme Menu," which allows guests to order "extreme amounts" of garlic, curry, onion, jalapeño or other flavors.

The average ticket for food and drink is expected to run $12 to $13. Including media, the per-person tab would average $16 to $17.

Analyst Eric Wold of Merriman, Curhan, Ford & Co. in San Francisco said uWink's diners are more likely to eat more, unlike at games-oriented concepts whose guests must leave their tables to play billiards or arcade games. Back to top