Gifted Gourmet

The four bottles arrived this afternoon and we had one with our dinner tonight .. you were so right, Katie, about the quality of the sparkling cider: very much an adult refined experience! It was only faintly sweet and very bright with sharply defined bubbles. I will most definitely skip using Martinelli's in the future and opt instead for this drink! Thanks for the link to it! La Provencale Cellars

Last year, I had some Meyer lemons and was looking for recipes. At that time I found this article with a lot of information and several recipes. So I wound up making the Meyer Custard-Cream Pie which was wonderful ... other things I liked reading from the article

Gotcha on the way in which Forbes' Susan Yara has handled the facts she offers in this article. I am in the process of writing her an email, which I will send with my, and should you wish to join me in this, thinking about the poor level of information she offers the readers. Input from you on the article? I will combine all of our "disenchantment" in the generalized name of "readers of eGullet.org". "I found your article misleading and information contained therein to be inaccurate because __________________"... or something to that effect. Should you want your comments included in my email, please post accordingly. I will pass it all on. Thanks.

case in point: Chef David Fouts and one of my best friends is a chef and has had his lapband since last May .. lost 65 pounds .. just tastes and nibbles but still loves food! Eat less, write more!

article from Forbes Magazine Since it is now the season to enjoy both good drink and good food, this article seems particularly appropriate. It is in keeping with another thread here World's Most Fattening Holiday Foods but is different in a way ... when you have had too much pie or stuffing, you can pretty well judge what you are doing to your waistline. After a few cocktails, caution flies out the window and it becomes less clear how many calories are being consumed in your drinks. Do click, if you dare, when you see this link within the article:See our list of the ten most fattening cocktails. L'chaim everyone!

You see what I meant when I said this earlier in this thread: The natives are usually right on target!

This was a rather atypical day for me .. took a friend out for a very special birthday lunch at Brasserie Le Coze here in Atlanta. Lunch was magical indeed: Duck Pate avec cornichons Tourchons de foie gras avec les cerises White Bean Soup, White Truffle Oil Roast Skate Wing, Spinach and Potato Batons, Brown Butter Caper Sauce Warm Valrhona Chocolate Souffle Cake Needless to say, the meals for the rest of this week will be decidedly downhill ... maybe downscale is a better word ...

What a memory, Andie! Thanks for the link .. I will batter and deep fry it!

Should you eat at either of these places, or perhaps at something more spectacular, I hope that you will "report back" on your findings in the form of describing your dining experiences in Columbia! I realize that you will be busy with the graduation but, hey, we here at eGullet, are dying to hear details! Oh yes, welcome to eGullet!

Luxist: source of information Anyone tried these lately? Does the variety sound enticing? Does the Godiva name on luxury chocolates still have panache and allure? Anything seem equivalent or even better? Washington Post on chocolate is, of course, a much more substantial story ... That demographic is the most likely to buy chocolate?? To those of us who are chronologically challenged (read that as "old"), we seem to consume our share of chocolate without regret ...

While I have never lived in Columbia, SC, my sister-in-law is from there and she did mention a couple of fine dining options: Diannes on Devine Hampton Street Vineyard Both of these restaurants have menus on their websites and you may find some very interesting options at both. I hope that someone else who is more familiar with the food there will chime in momentarily. Congratulations on your daughter's graduation!

check out this menu! Of course that is the classic menu .. today, there are more restrained courses for Christmas meals ... But wait! You mentioned Dickensian didn't you? Now this is a menu!! Even snuck in a ubiquitous latke

Article in Beer Advocate: I found this to be a real eye-opener: Has anyone thought about the potential ramifications for this? Do your vegetarian friends discuss this issue?

Ms. Reichl, Thank you for your responses to our numerous questions here. My personal collection of Gourmet Magazine dates back to the 1980's and I am thrilled to be able read your personal insights! I have been observing the rise of the food blog as a form of personal journalism over the recent past. Blogs on food have become increasingly sophisticated and some actually have the look on online publications. The professional-looking photography of the recipes today in many blogs is almost as good as that of the established food magazine. Bloggers even accept advertising and some request books to review from publishing companies. My question is simply this: what do you think of food blogging and how has it affected the formal food publication world?

A very interesting thread on preserved lemons is right here. and there are some great ideas in the discussion.

How about this recipe for kinder, gentler latkes? after following those 30 steps to make them, I would be anything but kind and certainly not gentle!

I don't suppose that you might wish to offer these particular recipes for those of us who indulge only on the holidays, Ruth?? We are already into December ... no rush, mind you ...

There are a number of local fine dining restaurants which offer excellent tasting menus: Ritz Carlton Buckhead: The Dining Room tasting menu at Soto Japanese photography by Julia Rachel Kyma Greek and located in Buckhead Seeger Canoe Park 75 in the Four Seasons Hotel Restaurant Eugene Nikolai's Roof in the Hilton Bacchanalia Joel Restaurant excellent thread with photos on the Tasting Menus of Atlanta

Only you, jackal, would lie in wait and, at the crucial moment, leap from the bushes waving your nearly perfect latkes! No fair! You have thrown down the potato gauntlet and we have no other choice but to launch our own latkes in your direction ... engarde! Made with other veg they are fritters?? Did someone say Fritter??

Where and when does Chris fire the starter's pistol and say in his best Yiddish accent "On your mark, get set, go fry!"? I am a fan of the not-so-very humble latke and will be joining in the greatest Cookoff since the Kansas Land Rush ... Are there any parameters, Chris, or is it very freeform and casual in its requirements?

Probably at a store which sells either pastry baking items or an Arab shop which sells foods from the middle east ...

I really believe that the photographs of food dishes on eGullet far exceed the quality of anything this article has to offer (couldn't Forbes have shown better pictures?)... and I have to agree, cakewalk, that to show food and say "no, no" is more than a little bit annoying! I wouldn't do that to anyone, not even my cocker spaniel! I am not so into halvah but, for me, the one food I would be loath to give up for a holiday would be latkes. It is, after all, almost a Torah commandment to eat latkes on Hanukkah! And the mitzvah of a dollop or two of sour cream? Who would risk eternal hellfire and damnation in the "world to come" by skipping those??

I just received an email from a lovely lady who is traveling southward and going through Savannah on Christmas Eve. She is looking for a restaurant, serving seafood, which will be open for dinner. If you have any advice for her, please post it here. Thanks so very much, as Wolf Blitzer says ... Is anyone familiar with one of these restaurants?

article from Forbes Magazine Be sure to click on the link which shows the worst of the heavy duty caloric offenders ... What is one holiday food that you positively must eat during the holidays in spite of the high calorie content?

and no Man Tan Bronzing Cream in the recipe either!