Thift-store pot can steep a spicy ginger ale

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Dear Lynne: My husband haunts thrift stores for premium kitchen equipment that he buys on the cheap. He came home with a lovely copper saucepan. It is marked Melawa Holland, has a flat bottom, gently curved sides and an open top, measuring about 4-1/2 inches. It seems unlined. How would I use a pot like this in cooking? Is it OK that it is not lined? -- Puzzled But Saving MoneyDear Puzzled: What a gem you've got. Maybe your husband and I have bumped into each other; I haunt thrift shops and sales for equipment, too.The story with your copper pot is that you can use unlined copper for sugar syrup but not much else. Copper reacts with foods and can be toxic.Dutch copper is often thin with brass handles, which pick up the pot's heat and can be dangerous. In the best of all possible worlds, copper is about 3/8-inch thick, lined in stainless steel and has iron handle.But your little pot is a find for heating maple syrup, boiling sugar for caramel or French butter-cream frostings, and for making the base for spicy, homemade ginger ale.HOMEMADE GINGER-CHILE ALEMakes about 1-1/2 cups syrup, enough for 4 glasses of ginger ale. Holds for 1 month in the refrigerator.This is a less sweet simple syrup steeped with fresh ginger. Simple syrup usually is 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water. I find it too sweet for ginger ale, so I cut the sugar in half. Make it however you please.1/2 cup sugar1 cup waterPinch of salt1/8 teaspoon hot chili pepper, or to tasteGrated zest of 1/2 medium lemon3 pieces (2 to 3 inches each) fresh gingerroot, peeled and minced (use a food processor)Combine the sugar, water, salt, chili pepper and lemon zest in a little saucepan. Set over medium heat and cook until the sugar is melted. Pour the hot syrup into a glass or stainless-steel bowl, stir in the ginger, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes to 2 hours.Strain the syrup, pressing on the ginger to get all its flavor. Then refrigerate the ginger syrup and discard the steeped ginger.For ginger ale, fill a tall glass with ice cubes. Pour in 1/4 cup syrup, top off with club soda or bubbly mineral water, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add more syrup if needed. Obviously, rum, vodka, tequila or gin are viable lagniappes.Dear Lynne: A while ago, I was in Mount Horeb, Wis., and found the Mustard Museum. What an eye opener: Who knew that many mustards existed?Work has me traveling all over the country, and checking out food museums would be a great way to use an hour's break. Searching online about each of my destinations has helped, but it's too time-consuming. Is there a listing somewhere? -- Curious TravelerDear Traveler: What a great way to relax on a business trip. Nothing can take your mind off a merger like, maybe, International Pickle Day at New York City's Food Museum or a stroll through the hallowed halls of the Jell-O Museum in LeRoy, N.Y.The place to go for a list of museums here and around the world is food historian Sandy Oliver's site, Food History News (http://www.foodhistorynews.com/directory.html). Here, you'll find a directory.At ChowHound.com, you'll find a list of "Food Museums Worth Stopping For." For the loopy and the intriguing, check out http://www.chow.com/stories/10704. Do not miss the International Vinegar Museum in Roslyn, S.D., run by one of our favorite interviewees, Lawrence Diggs. What Mount Horeb is to mustard, Roslyn is to vinegar.Dear Lynne: You talk about bread salads, and they sound like they'd be good for inexpensive entertaining. Can you give a recipe to get me rolling? -- Sal in CaliforniaDear Sal: This is one kind of bread salad that works especially well for lots of people -- especially on the Saturday night after you've hit the morning's farmers market. Do the slices ahead, prep the salad ingredients and pull everything together when you want to serve.Any time you get a tomato near some form of yeasted wheat, you could bend the rules of tradition and call it "pizza." One caution: Do not be put off by the long list of ingredients. They come together quickly and easily. Certainly add and subtract flavors as the spirit moves you.TOMATO AND CHEESE SALAD "PIZZAS"Serves 3 to 4Grilled Bread:4 large slices (1/2-inch thick) chewy whole-grain bread1 clove garlic, splitAbout 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oilTopping:1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced4 tablespoons wine or cider vinegar2 tightly packed tablespoons fresh basil leaves1/2 tablespoon (loosely packed) fresh marjoram1/2 tablespoon Italian parsley leaves2 whole large scallions (green onions)1-1/2 cups fresh whole-milk ricotta or other fresh creamy cheese (including cream cheese)1/4 to 1/3 cup shredded Asiago or Fontinella cheese, or sheep's-milk cheese2 large ripe tomatoes, cored and vertically sliced 1/4-inch thick1 cup coarsely chopped arugula, or other tart greensSalt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil4 teaspoons balsamic vinegarToast bread on the grill or, using tongs, over a stove burner. Rub each slice with the garlic and drizzle with the 5 tablespoons of olive oil. Set on a large platter.In a small bowl, toss the onion with the vinegar. Set aside for about 20 minutes.Meanwhile, chop together the herbs and scallions, blending all but 1 tablespoon of them into the ricotta. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the ricotta mixture on each slice of bread, then sprinkle with shredded cheese.Divide tomato slices among the toasts, tucking pieces of arugula between them. Scatter onion and vinegar over the tomatoes, along with remaining herbs. Season everything with salt and pepper, sprinkle on the olive oil and the balsamic. Serve at room temperature.(Lynne Rossetto Kasper hosts "The Splendid Table," American Public Media's national food show, and is co-author of "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories and Opinions." Ask questions and find Lynne, recipes and station listings at splendidtable.org or 800-537-5252.)