Mark Thorson > wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
>
> > A stick blender won't work any better than a regular blender or her
> > food processor.
>
> I'd agree that a stick blender is no better than
> a regular blender, but I disagree with regard to
> a food processor. �With a blender, there's at least
> a chance it would achieve a fine grind. �I'm pretty
> sure a normal food processor would produce a coarse
> grind, at best.
>
> > All else fails I'd try crumbling a few bay leaves and running them
> > through a pepper mill set on the finest grind... I've never done this
> > so I've no idea of the results, and I'm not intimately familiar with
> > Goomba's grinder but I've heard only good things.
>
> That's a good suggestion. �I think it might work.
> Of course, that assumes she has a pepper mill.

I think Goomba has all the best grinding equipment, she'd probably
grind my chorizo to death but what a way to go... ay, carumba! hehe

> > Maybe brewing a strong bay leaf infusion will suffice.
>
> That seems like an even better suggestion. �She could
> do a cold infusion overnight into the cider vinegar
> without upsetting the basic proportions of the recipe.
> I've never done a cold extraction on bay leaves,
> so I don't know how easily they give up their flavor.
>
> Boosting the number of bay leaves would help ensure
> the infusion had sufficient flavoring punch. �On the
> plus side, it would remove the bay leaf solids from
> the final product, which could only be beneficial.

Worth a try, I doubt it would hurt, and those bay leaves may still
have some oomph left to use them in a black bean soup. Bay leaf
infused vinegar should keep like forever (well, at least two years) so
it may pay to make up a good strong pint... I wonder how Bay Crystal
Palace would go down, bet it'd be fine for a bloody mary.