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Bahookahuna
Member
Eye of Erna-Erna Backyard Bali Hai, CA
Joined: Apr 06, 2007
Posts: 35
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Okay, so evidently not forbidden. Or secret.
But anyway, I phoned the Bahooka the other night to learn their secret, if they would tell me. They did. As Martiki has already divulged here and in another thread, the very best flame to be found anywhere -- anywhere in Rosemead, California, at least -- is with a dry crouton dipped in pure lemon extract. The Bahooka Restaurant has their lemon extract delivered from a restaurant supply place, so they didn't know where or even whether a civilian could get some.
After fruitless forays into Ralph's, Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, and two liquor stores, I did finally find it at Smart & Final -- again, territory Martiki had already mapped here. Someone else in the forums mentioned paying big $$$ for their lemon extract, but the stuff at Smart & Final is super cheap: 16 fl oz for under $5. The brand they had when I went was Chef's Review, ingredients being alcohol, lemon oil, and water.
Almost needless to say, I experimented that very night, and discovered that (a) the flame burns meditatively long, intimidatingly tall, and crowd-pleasingly bright, (b) it seems like this single 16 fl oz bottle will illuminate parties all summer long, and (c) soaking the crouton in the extract for 10 minutes first was *less* effective than quickly dipping it right before ignition.
It's this last discovery that makes me think that, while sugar cubes have been "floated" (conversationally, that is) as a possible analog to croutons, the fact that sugar cubes soak through quickly means -- I'd assume -- they would most likely burn less spectacularly, or at least for less time. If ever I have a sugar cube handy, maybe I'll perform a controlled trial to test this assumption.
At our inaugural Eye of Erna-Erna Backyard Bali Hai barbeque in a couple of weeks, I'll be floating (literally, not conversationally) the little flaming croutons on ice-blended drinks by taking an orange slice (quartered orange), removing the fruit from one half of the slice, spearing it (the orange peel with half its fruit liberated) with a sword cocktail pick for stability, propping the orange peel on the edge of the cup, and perching the crouton on the bare part of the orange peel before lighting it.
Our inaugural drink (I think invented by us that same night, and so named by us, though I could be wrong about no one inventing this before), and the signature drink of Eye of Erna-Erna Backyard Bali Hai, is:
Mona’s Flaming Volcano Taboo (named for a howler monkey we met in Costa Rica)
5 ounces dark rum (Cruzan; but am curious to try Captain Morgan Spiced, too)
2 ounces banana liqueur
2 ounces water
1 ounce Triple Sec
1 ounce cream of coconut
2 peeled ripe bananas
½ peeled lime (the fruit, not just the juice)
2 tablespoons sugar (raw, if handy)
Ice to top of blender
Puree until smooth and thick.
And safety first, please, with those flames! Leave the violent explosions and burnt flesh for the real volcanos.
_________________
Bahookahuna
*Look not into the eyes of the idol*...
[ Edited by: Bahookahuna 2007-04-26 15:37 ]
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