Gifted Gourmet

Rabbi, on this most awe-spicious occasion ... Behold, I bring you good tidings of Southern Comfort and Almond Joy .. and just a bit of non-haiku birthday poetry ... Another birthday? be of good cheer! Drop that schmaltz live one more year! (optional last line? Burma Shave..)

You may be assured, a la carte, that this very thing will occur forthwith ... He, Rabbi R, is considered to be the absolute ultimate authority on all things gastronomically Hebraic here ... Trust me on this, he does know his food ...

Now that's an awesome amount of alliteration indeed! Why didn't I think of doing just such an ad in the "personals" columns? Possibly because I might attract a school of sensually-starved scrod (NOT the past tense of anything, you realize!!)?

Since discovering the joys of dining in organic, health obsessed California, central coast actually, I had begun to think of gribenes as the Anti-Christ ... perhaps I ought to reconsider and become reacquainted with the joys of schmaltz ...a book title no doubt rejected by Alex Comfort, who chose an equally compelling, yet far more lucrative and engaging topic ... comment triste ... the piece here is, and will always be, the zenith of notoriety that schmaltz will achieve ... a sotto voce, yet hearty, "yasher koach" to Rabbi Ribeye ... keep those stents open and your "creative juices" flowing ...

Not unlike Rachel Perlow's soup, one of my all time autumn favorites is Mollie Katzen's Gypsy Soup ... all gloriously jewel-colored with golds and reds and deep greens ... and floating garbanzos! ... sometimes I even top it off with a chilled dollop of sour cream to balance the warmth .... and contrast the deep colors of the vegetables ... delectable indeed! (but it actually serves more like 6, rather than the 4 as noted) http://www.ivu.org/recipes/soup/gypsy.html

This is the dressing I make from Benihana which appeared in "Top Secret Recipes" .. it is pretty good actually .. with a little bite from the ginger .. but it is sweet and oniony .. 1/2 cup minced onion (try to use a mild onion if possible) 1/2 cup peanut oil (or regular vegetable oil is equally nice) 1/3 cup rice vinegar 2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger 2 tablespoons minced celery (may make it a bit watery and it will separate) 2 tablespoons ketchup (really!) 4 teaspoons soy sauce 3 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon white pepper Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high speed for about 30 seconds or until all of the ginger is well-pureed. Makes 1 3/4 cups.

Yes, to my parents owning a lot of art books (grew up thinking our true last name was "Abrams!") and taking me to the Louvre at 8 years of age ... took my own child there for her 25th birthday ... a wiser notion on my part, it would appear ... it was, naturellement, as I grew to adulthood that I came to have a greater appreciation of art, food, naked anybodies, and the joys of enigmas ... (do be a dear and don't read this as relating to colonics of any sort!) I think of this painting as either seductive foreplay for these two men or perhaps a little enjoyable "cigarette" after the first act ... has a certain je ne sais quoi quality to it .. personally like Renoir's Boating Party Luncheon better and Seurat's Afternoon in the Park ... neither makes women look unduly foolish ... but that is just my opinion (credit here to the one and only Dennis Miller ... now he would have just the right caption!!)

Perhaps part of Tony Bourdain's success is the fact that he is unafraid to tell it like it truly is ... however, that said, he has this incredible sense of humor which makes the reality palatable and entertaining ... and one can read and reread his books over and over and always find new things that were missed the first time out ... eminently readable, yeah, that's the ticket! (credit to Jon Lovitz here!)

I once recall reading about the best way to keep cut ginger: after cutting it into pieces, store in a jar (or some type of container) covered with sherry .. honest! That seems to make sense in a way ... I think I may even give it a try myself ....

as a Purina purist, I think any reference to any kind of chow primarily helps to further the promotion of the feed-and-grain industry ... but that's another silo for another day ...

That is the general objective all of us foodporn writers are aiming for ... Having just written a similar piece for my local website, AtlantaCuisine.com, I find a highly stimulating correlation between the sensuality of eating and the sensuality of sexual matters ... so much so, in fact, that my first attempt at writing is entitled "Table Dance for the Gourmand" ... and the reading of Tim Davis' article here this morning prompted me to email him today to share my article ...hopefully, once my editor allows me to do so, I will be able to share it here on eGullet for your personal pleasure (no lubricant needed ...).

Now why was my very first impression of the picture along the lines of "Prozac: the Most Profound Amuse Bouche" .... She looks oh-so-retro when something more current might have cheered her out of her morose state ... perhaps new Manolo Blahniks? or even a little Isaac Mizrahi couture (although that is an oxymoron when paired with Target) .... at her local Target? In any event, the article had me contemplating the far too common use of the term "foodie" ... one must opt for the latest, au courant meaning, no?

http://www.madrascafe.com/directions.htm How about that? It is even in the metroAtlanta area which is good for you, no? Actually since the person who said Madras Cafe lives in NYC, I rather imagine his info was local to him ... sorry .. no buffet takeaway here, tryska ....

if I recall correctly some of the earlier press on Oliver himself, the kudos he has received have been well earned (for his restaurant)... but I also remember that "Jamie Bashing" was quite the sport in London and their "nit picky" press, some time back, was "on his case" so to speak because he had not done enough charity stuff ...

I agree wholeheartedly with you, but, that said, kinda depends on what your definition of "is" .. is ...

That was pretty much my thinking as well ... not to denigrate the women of Walmart in any way at all, of course, but pretty much anything can be molded and refashioned into a sexually stimulating piece of "artwork" ... hence the allusions we all seem to have picked up from the introduction of the "Adult Happy Meals" seen here .... yet another sign'o' the times, I rather imagine ...

funny that as soon as someone attaches the word "adult" to something nowadays, our minds automatically think "hmmm, something lewd and lascivious"? or at least I do ... and are the meals there (McD) now rated "G" and "PG" and even "R" or "XXX"? exactly how old must one be to consume the Adult Happy meal? 17 or with a parent?? and just how far can one go with this schtick? answer? several threads and several pages ... you folks are reallllly appealing to my most prurient interests ... thank God! as a food writer here in Atlanta, I have a new piece coming out in mid-October about the correlation between eating certain foods and their erotic connotations ... this one is about the luscious, unctuous, succulent gravlax I love to make at home ... and, you'll see ... will be online and in a print publication ... my husband says I am writing "fishporn" with a salmon "centerfold" ... "Playlox" he called it ...

Having been a resident of Atlanta, not Alpharetta, nor Marietta, I must agree with you that, after watching the restaurant situation evolve over some 26 years, I have indeed seen a number of good and not so good and downright horrific places open and close ... but now, even with my historic perspective, I can see new trends and growth in this area about a number of things, restaurants, in this particular case ... and that evolution has brought many of us gourmet diners blessed relief! You hit the nail on the head, Willy Wonka! Even as we speak, there are some very exciting and intriguing places either opening or about to open within the next few months. The passion the new chefs have brought to their cooking is clearly evident in the fare being offered now. The creativity and willingness to experiment with the tastes here are gratifying to an "old timer" like me ... and while we are not offered the range of choices a city such as NYC can offer, we "have come a long way, baby" .... hopefully, we'll continue this forward progress!

I am also a frustrated cook who has had to contend with my personal passion for wonderful culinary delights and a spouse who chooses to maintain a high standard of kashrut at home, for some 30+ years, no less ... so I began to do a lot of experimenting to create pareve desserts worthy (or semi-equal) to the dairy delights that I treasure ... to that end, I have now found a solution for a quick and delightful summer fruit tart in a shortbread shell ... basically, it utilizes either a homemade shortbread pie shell which is pareve or, much to my delight, a new product made by Mrs. Smith's, which is crisp and tasty when prebaked and can then be filled with fresh peaches and red tart plums, sliced and laid out in concentric (or one multicolored) large circles in the prebaked pie shell ... add a bit of sugar, margarine, almond extract, lemon juice, tapioca and bake ... covered(with a round of foil or parchment) until the last 10 minutes ... top with glaze of melted fruit jelly (red currant or sieved apricot) and it looks lovely and tastes quite fine ... for a pareve dessert ... also have experimented with a pareve creme anglaise for cream puffs ... not great but religiously correct ....

my quick response would be something to the effect that getting a goose in NY should not be very difficult ... reading the double entendre is not an error here, however, if one is actually trying to locate this type of poultry, I would say the odds are better there than anywhere .... or, then there is the Net ... going to Budapest in early November and looking forward to a wide array of game and ducks, etc ...

hmmmm ... simply ruminating on succulent, unctuously decadent duck confit ... the duck flesh slowly tenderized in a warm bath of silky fat .... then, the fat becomes infused with the rich, gamy flavor of the dark meat .... yum! Heavens! how could I have forgotten the sublime joys of duck confit? or is that way too European for our Americanized palate? or too rich for our cardiologists' EKGs??

From my own perspective, the price is usually high and much of the duck winds up being poured off as fat ... which is fine, if one can use it later in other ways ... but, since I don't do that, the price seems a bit out of line, among the other poultry choices .... that, coupled with a desire for white meat chicken, turkey, that we Americans revel in may contribute to the lack of ducks being prepared at home. Perhaps caloric concerns? and when I eat in Asian restaurants, I invariably gravitate to the duck dishes! Mahogany duck on Wardour Street in London? Simply to die for!

Perhaps you enjoy your popcorn with olive oil ... but most of us like it with butter ... and does the EVOO make the finished more chicken kosher(er)? Yep! Ya Betcha'! Flies outta the oven like a brand new El Al 747!

I adore butter cookies and shortbreads ... so Butter Chessmen made by Pepperidge Farms is high on my list and anything from Walker's of Scotland ... I even make my cheesecake crust out of crushed Chessmen and a bit of melted butter ... garcon, please bring me my Lipitor Industrial Strength, s'il vous plait ...

Pounds as in money or weight? Let's say the former...Okay! Tickets and boarding pass for Virgin Air just ordered! Ah, the chill in Waterloo Station on a crisp fall day ... I miss all of London! even the terrific high tea at Fortnum & Mason .... What a super city that is .... best lentil soup? actually found in the crypt at St Martin in the Fields ... and veg, without my missing bangers ... more's the pity!