Gifted Gourmet

from Steven Shaw, circa 2001Even if you are not in the business of being a restaurant critic or food writer, do you ever dine out with friends and/or family and suggest that everyone have something different? This to allow different tastes among the diners? Or is the idea of "sharing" repugnant? I think it is a wonderful idea, especially with personally close friends ... your thoughts?

That rib roast photograph makes the earth move for me, Ellen! And the poodle in your avatar looks as if it is doing much the same for him/her!

Actually, bergerka, multiple is occasionally even better than one ... or so they say ...

There is most assuredly no penalty, Corinna, for enthusiasm for many types of intense food desires!

Here you will find the collection of digests for a number of media which are located in the Southeastern states. (Some do require a free registration to access articles) This week's Southeast Forum Digest includes, in alphabetical order, by city ... this week, of course, many of the articles focus on Memorial Day ... The Asheville Citizen-Times has a marvelously comprehensive article by Jim Myers on grilling and various types of equipment: .. now this may answer many of your questions ...The Atlanta Journal-Constitution offers up articles on eating outdoors ... Recipes: Tipsy Watermelon Salad With Mint Carrot and Beet Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette Fingerling Potato Salad Cherry Tomato Salad With Tarragon World's Best Garlic Bread Spinach-stuffed Beef Tenderloin Atlanta Creative Loafing has a marvelous collection of food articles and reviews (so what else is new??)Feature * Freaky For Tiki Fun is the finest sustenance at Trader Vic's BY CYNTHIA WONG This is one very cool read and takes me back to one of my initial visits to Trader Vic's ... enjoy!* Here Comes The Sun Eclipse de Sol opens with the talented Patti Roth as chef BY CLIFF BOSTOCK * BYO Baby Smyrna's Zucca offers affordable Italian in kid-friendly digs BY CYNTHIA WONG * Mouthful Lively Salads * Chef's Table Designer Duo BY SUZANNE WRIGHT * Sauce on the Side BY KIM O'DONNEL * Long Night's Journey Into Gastronomy BY BILL ADDISON * Quit Crossing The Line The Supreme Court rules on shipping wine BY TAYLOR EASON * Fairlie Forgettable Icon Bar & Bistro looks good but ultimately falls flat BY FLORENCE BYRD Charleston Post & Courier articles are worthy of our attention for the array of different topics: * C'est fromage Comte cheese worth the fare to France BY NATHALIE DUPREE and the recipes are incredible in this piece!!* Chandon's known for sparklers * Caterer hits high point in long, eventful career * Enjoy summer get-togethers with wine punch * THE WINE LIST * FRONT BURNER Sweet chili sauce perks up sea scallops The State (Columbia, South Carolina), is something new for me in terms of the media which I usually cover. Their articles this week are wonderfully appealing: * Layer upon layer of flavor Combine sweet and tangy. Or soft and crunchy. And all of a sudden, familiar foods will have a whole new allure By ALLISON ASKINS * Eat, drink and be healthy. Tomorrow it’s summer The barrage of new products on the grocery shelves can leave you wondering which ones are worth your money. This monthly review will help you navigate the grocery aisles. By ALLISON ASKINS and LICIA JACKSON * Media Bites A preview of food shows, cookbooks and food books to consider in the month ahead. By LAIN BRADFORD Charlotte Observer articles include: * A stove-free meal Kathleen Purvis: Breezing through a hot summer. * Nunley, she's cooking down in Georgia * MOORE | Boy's fried chicken a hit in '58 * Cheese gets a new squeeze -- beer * KATHLEEN PURVIS: Don't scuttle the scuppernong As I said, the Observer this week is full of great reading! Charlotte Creative Loafing articles for the week: * The Hungry Hobbit A quest for New Zealand cuisine by tricia childress * Tar Heel Wines Tobacco Road is now a wine trail by tricia childress * Sauce on the Side by kim o'donnel * Food At The Speedway Fans need to fuel up, too by linda vespa Memphis Commercial Appeal offers: * Lolo's Table at 128 Monroe is a busy place. Gary Hawkins is in charge of the * Simple, with a Twist * Kelly: Downtown grocery shopping a bit easier * Cool stuff There's something new on the cold front: stylish refrigerators that keep food fresher * Plastic grocery bags reused for kitchen garbage * Try healthier bean dip, guacamole Memorial Day weekend isn't exactly a health-food fest, but just by making small changes maybe this year can be a little healthier than usual. The Nashville Tennessean articles for the week include: * Barbecue bigwigs BBQ Queens build whole meals around the grill * Give it a whirl * Feed your flock's tastes with these tips * Light sabers * Enjoy fresh farm produce the easy way Raleigh News & Observer does themselves proud, as it is said in some parts, with: * Finding a balance ... * They're smokin' * Glenwood just gets hipper The hippest six-block stretch on the Raleigh nightlife scene nears the saturation point. * Fratello's fare Fratello's has quickly earned a devoted following in Cary after opening in December. * Transform leftovers into new dishes Here are some ideas for using restaurant leftovers. * The Wine List Each week, a Triangle wine shop recommends wines in three price ranges: under $10, $10 to $20 and more than $20. Wines mentioned are available locally; prices are suggested retail. * Grilling by the book * Veggie lasagna satisfies * Meat, sticks and a fire -- it's all good * Taste soft-shell crabs while you can They look like big bugs on a plate, which is part of the fun for me, although others think they're critters from a Halloween movie. Have a good week enjoying the first summer foods, grilling to your heart's content, be careful and safe and come back to this spot at eG next week for more of the Southeastern Digest!

Not sure that the title will be explanatory enough but what is the one food that you can never get enough of and must have? I know that the title may be problematic (although medically correct), but I am so tired of the overused, tired, word "favorite" ... For me? Anything made with real butter in the pastry ... and/or anything shrimpish ...

'Se'udah Shlishit' is the third Shabbat meal typically eaten during the late afternoon before sunset on Saturday ... it is a light meal which may contain bread and therefore requires saying Bircot Hamazon (thanks to G-d) and singing zemirot (songs) with one's company. I have always seen it done with egg salad and herring and tuna salads. Then the final prayers are said and Havdalah is done. more on this here

rather interesting chart on cheeses made with different rennets Thanks to Trader Joe's for the neat chart! more on the subject of rennets from Whole Foods this time

thead running currently on many of the same places from Slate Magazine! "An American Barbecue Pilgrimage"

Chilled the Domaine Pinnacle last night and reveled in the clean Granny Smith opening taste ... what a marvelous drink that is! Wine, schmine .. I love this heady brew of tart and sweet pommes which has a softly tantalizing mouthfeel ...

That's where I began as well, mizducky ... something which piques my interest may have resonances with others as well ... and so it seems ...

What incredibly beautiful work on these cakes! The closeups of the detail work are amazing! The luminosity of the "ribbons" on some takes my breath away ... almost worth getting married again ...

On the ways of making various wines, a brief, but related, question please, Rogov: Is sake actually a wine? It is made from rice rather than grapes ...a bit more ...

Today I went to lunch at the Atlanta Fish Market, one of the best local seafood restaurants here, and had sea bass "Hong Kong Style" .. in a light sherry soy sauce with lemongrass slivers on top and they were chewy, but distinctive, and set off the dish beautifully!

Please don't shoot the messenger ... just found it of some minor culinary interest ... I do buy vine tomatoes thinking, probably incorrectly, that they are more tasty ....

article from Slate Do you buy the tomatoes on the vine even though it is more expensive to do so? Do they really taste better? How did we manage to go through so many years with off-the-vine tomatoes?

This must indeed be a first .. at this very moment, there are three ongoing eGullet threads on archaeological food findings from three separate publications! Delicious and highly historical finds ... What are the odds of that ever happening again?

I have just throroughly read these critics' reviews and found some difference on this as being either a fruit wine, a cider, an apple beverage in the area of wine nomenclature.... Some brief reviews all showing the different "appelations": While I am not exactly sure of what category this falls into, I do know that it is a most enjoyable, engaging treat as a dessert or accompanying a dessert ... or even foie gras!

Have I got a thread for you, daracooks!

Went to the liquor store where my "trail" left off and found the apple wine .. refrigerated it ... now, I am in love! What a remarkable wine! Beautiful flavors and a little tartness ... amazing! Worth my long search!

In an attempt to eat more healthy foods, I have been using turkey cutlets for some time now ... I usually make them in a schnitzel form .. pounding them out, dipping in egg, then panko crumbs, and sauteing them in oil ... not a very healthy combination .. but have done them with an orange-ginger sauce and stir fried with vegetables as well ... and with no disrespect to Oprah, whose recipe looks dreadful to me ... Other options exist here: several options from Cooks.com like piccata, cordon bleu, etc. with Marsala wine Turkey cutlets with balsamic glazed peppers There are so many ways to make them .. hope one will be perfect for you!

article from Food Processing Which elements of Thai cuisine do you like best? Do you make Thai dishes at home? Have you learned more and more about Thai cooking over time? Your very favorite dish? Mine is, without a doubt, pad thai!

I had a tough time tracking it down here in Georgia .. went through a Savannah distributor and then found a distributor in Atlanta who then sent me to a beverage center in Roswell, Georgia ... not easy when it comes from Canada ... but I am nothing if not determined ...

A couple of months ago, I had inquired about locating a kosher eiswein .. and, with everyone's help, finally came up with and ordered Yarden Vineyards Heightswine 2000 .. and it was divine! It lived up to the true wine connoisseur's review many times over .. thank you, Rogov! Now I have finished the bottle (with some assistance!) and have located something else which I must try: Domaine Pinnacle Apple Cider .. also kosher and from Canada ... Domaine Pinnacle Ice Cider Question here is this: has anyone either here in the states, or in Canada, tried this wine? If so, your impressions?

What are some factors that you will neither accept, nor even tolerate, in a fine restaurant? What are your hot button "issues"? Possibly the table you are given? The attitude of the staff? Noise levels measurable in decibels?