Let stand until they have softened, about 5 minutes.. Ladle the soup into bowls.

To hear LeNell Camacho Santa Ana tell it, I was a regular customer at her pioneering Red Hook, Brooklyn bottle shop from pretty much the get-go in 2003, and seeing as I dorked out every time I came in, she offered me a job to which I replied, "You can't afford me."In my recollection, that is true up to the last part of the sentence, because A. I'm not prone to that kind of sass and B. what I imagine I was trying to convey is that the last time I'd worked in a retail shop where they sold something that spoke to my passions (that'd be the HMV record store in Herald Square, kitty-corner from Macy's in the mid '90s) I couldn't actually afford it because I took full and frequent advantage of the employee discount and essentially had to deposit my paycheck right back into the till.

Still, she didn't seem to take great offense and I hung on her every bit of wisdom about whiskey in all its forms, as well as life, love, and the importance of not missing a chance to open the good stuff.On a random weekend in the winter of 2008, for instance, she'd busted out a couple of bottles of 1970 Lafite to enjoy alongside a. potato-chip-topped squash casserole.my husband and I brought over to her loft because that's just how she lives.. Just a few weeks prior to that classy casserole night, LeNell had noticed the vultures beginning to circle.

She was several bottlings into her limited Red Hook Rye production, which she'd carefully selected from four barrels of 1984.Willett whiskey.

and sold exclusively at her namesake shop, when she noticed they were suddenly available via more far-flung channels.

From a store newsletter at the time:.1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped.

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks.5 tablespoons sugar.

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour.Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease twelve 4-ounce ramekins or aluminum foil molds with the softened butter.