Gifted Gourmet

I had a remarkable lunch recently at Restaurant Eugene .. some visuals: Crispy Organic Chicken Liver on Soft Polenta, Baby Onion Marmalade, House Cured Guanciale and Aged Balsamico Florentine Gnudi with goat cheese filling with Toasted Walnuts, Lemon and Sage Sautéed Monkfish Tail with DOP San Marzano Tomatoes, Fennel and Black Olives Sauteed skate wing over lentil/corn succotash cheeses, fruits, matching port wines

Everything looks wonderful on a square white glossy plate! even simple fruit!

In 2004, I approached the idea of trying to do a tasting menu at home and there ensued a thoroughly interesting discussion on the concept ... eGullet thread here .. as for "do ahead"? It is virtually essential to do some of the dishes in advance, I should think ...

Allposters has some excellent photo prints of food and there are tons to choose from .. all sizes, all foods, all culinary themed! Just type in the words foods or culinary to locate the prints to look over ...

the one and only vinegar for me! and I am not likely to find this treasure here in Atlanta ...

On a particularly busy cooking day in my kitchen, I often have the food itself on the walls! With photos as professionally done as the two you are offering here, I can see why you had them framed and hung ...

Their comment may indicate that they will be eating something beforehand and plan to snack lightly or that they are not too concerned about what you serve ... it will be interesting to hear how all this plays out .. do keep us informed, yes?

and they would be able to eat off some nice new disposables with plastic utensils if they are new ... still, be aware that cooking in your kitchen may be a consideration for them if they are on that level of observance ... unopened bags of foods bearing the U inside a circle are kosher and acceptable to most observant people ... like SuzySushi says though, you do need to ask them about what is fine and what is not ...

one discussion on having observant Jewish guests ... and there are several on this topic ... I keep kosher as does Pam R. and we might be able to answer questions that you may have which will arise ... more links shortly to help guide you ... This is another great thread on this topic by Pam R. kosher questions

Perhaps you have seen a mad geranium? Seriously though, the article does bring up a number of issues related to our foods and their sources and what can be truly called organic ...

Correct .. but one can't be terribly certain that in the (rapid) processing of body parts of the chickens, some spinal tissue doesn't get mixed in with the rest ... maybe it isn't a cause for concern but it made me think and thinking of BSE always makes me, heaven should pardon me for this, 'nervous' ....

Wasn't the feeding of animal body parts one of the causes of bovine spongiform encephalopathy or Mad Cow Disease?

NY Times article Your opinion?Is it true that the farm-raised fish may actually be the best alternative in this debate?

and if they were older, the color might not be the only thing which would cause them to become hysterical ... another perfect recipe for a ladies' luncheon ...

I will post my daughter's photos of her vegan Thanksgiving meal ... pumpkin-veggie-bean stew cranberry citrus sauce The completed meal ...

I spent far too much time constructing my centerpiece last Thanksgiving .. this year I made some floral bouquets and focused upon the food ...

Haricots verts are very small and slender green beans ... and I sauteed the multicolored pepper strips in a little olive oil .. the garlic worked well so I am at a loss as to what other options I might use ... So, this dish is essentially ready to be reheated for Thanksgiving dinner with a bit of olive oil, or butter if you prefer, on the stovetop and I'll add a few pignola nuts for contrast, as the recipe indicates ...

Guess that there is no "Cheesecake of the Month" Club though? Just asking ...

Splendid Table, NPR, has an answer to this ...

SAUTEED HARICOTS VERTS, RED BELL PEPPERS, AND PINE NUTS is what I am making and which is a stovetop side dish ...

more predictions from the Perishable Pundit: TRAVELING CUISINE PERSONALIZED DRINKS ALCOHOL ALTERNATIVE WAR OF THE ROSES TOAST! VIRTUAL FOODS CANDY IS DANDY OPEN KITCHEN, LIVING LAB PLEASE (DON'T) PASS ON THE CARBS SPA MEETS RESTAURANT read the article on these .. me? I am very concerned about global warming on foods in the future!

See how well the predictions fared for food in 2006 ... article here ...

Will plan accordingly .. I think that Trois will do very well here in Atlanta and their menu had some very interesting items .... this city needs this type of place for the locals as well as visitors ...

Because I keep kosher, my pumpkin pies have been made with Coffee Rich Nondairy Creamer so that I am not serving a milk product after a turkey dinner .. while it isn't perfect, it does make life simpler ... and I add a little brandy to the creamer which makes it more festive ...

Relax .. at least we now have our Atlanta Trader Joe's to look forward to .. they have opened two stores already with more to come ... not the same, I realize but better than what we had to choose from before ... Eatzi's closing was a big surprise, it seems, and I thought their bakery was terrific! AJC information coming in ... looks like Whole Foods and Fresh Market aim to take up the slack created in this gourmet vacuum ...