Alex

Bought some "fresh" Morels from a PA Wegmans yesterday for $29.99/lb. ← Hmm. They're the same price here in MI at a local supermarket chain. I smell a price-fixing scandal. The store said they get their morels from a supplier who follows the morel trail, so to speak, all over the country. For example, a week or two ago the morels were harvested in Nebraska.

Dave, can you say more about this? One of our staple dishes here is scallops seared in brown butter with white pepper, salt, lemon, and EVOO. My anecdotal evidence over many years of making this dish is that never-frozen scallops do not give off very much liquid on the high heat, whereas frozen ones that have been defrosted give off quite a bit -- so much, in fact, that the scallops never properly sear. And, since I know you're all wondering, they're properly (that is, New-Englanderly) called "SKAWL-ops." Ahem. ← Ms. Alex laughs at me when I say SKAWL-ops. Are the frozen ones you've used "dry" (never treated) or "wet," which will exude lots of liquid. Even when I've defrosted dry ones, they'll still give off some. If I make sure that they're completely defrosted then pat them dry with paper towels I can get a good sear. Buried in a thread somewhere is Paula Wolfert's tip: sear the scallops on either side over high heat, then hold them on a wire rack over a pan in a 200F oven while you finish the sauce or whatever. The scallops continue to give off some liquid, which then winds up in the pan instead of on the plate.

Also $19.99/pound for sockeye here in Grand Rapids.

FWIW, here's a letter to the editor that I sent today to my local paper (Grand Rapids Press). Let's see if they print it. Commenting on the May 16 Supreme Court ruling about out-of-state wine shipments, Kim Gary, president of wholesaler Kent Beverage, Inc., said, "You don't know what's being sent in. It could be shipped to someone underage. And the state would be losing taxes." ("State mulls options in wine ruling," Press, May 18) Those are the identical arguments that Michigan and New York brought before the Court. However, in its majority opinion, the Court called the claim of increased risk to minors "largely unsupported" and that of lost taxes "a diversion." The Court also wrote that the States "...provide little evidence that the purchase of wine over the Internet by minors is a problem" and "provide little concrete evidence for the sweeping assertion that they cannot police direct shipments by out-of-state wineries." Even with the clarity and directness of this ruling, the state still intents to push for a ban on all wine shipments. So, it also is clear that the revenue the Michigan beverage wholesalers fear losing is their own, and the revenue that really matters to our state government comes from the wholesalers' lobby.

Alex, I bought the butter ruler at that cookbook store( name escapes me now as I ran in and out of there to take pictures). The mill is open on Sunday from noon-5pm. Are you coming to Ontario? ← Yes -- we'll be on our annual Memorial Day Stratford Festival weekend pilgrimage May 27-29. This year, we'll arrive on Friday just in time for lunch and a matinee of As You Like It. Dinner will be at Sapori Pasta House. Saturday will see breakfast probably at Tango, shopping (including, of course, Cooking Up a Storm), lunch somewhere (maybe Bijou or The Belfry), a matinee of Into the Woods, more shopping, and dinner again at Sapori. Sunday is unscheduled, so if the mill is more or less on the way back home to MI it might be fun to stop there. Where exactly is it located? Maybe you and Robin could join us for a meal -- I'll PM. ← The mill is located in Arva. Arva is about 5 min from N. London. If you drive back to GR thru Port Huron, you can go to Arva, then come back thru Exeter and Grand Bend and take 21 to the 402 to Sarnia. Does that make sense? ← It looks like we can take 7 then go south on 4; that makes it right on the way home. We we leave we can take Rte 22 and head toward the Strathroy interchanges of 402. Thanks!

He'll be shooting himself in the foot financially, which is no insurance against stupidity, unfortunately. I pay, and other California wineries pay, sales tax on our customers' orders to states like New Hampshire, Montana, Wyoming, etc. We're too small to interest distributors in those states, so we will not be sending pallets of wine through the three-tier distribution system in those states, but we do collect and pay sales tax on individual orders to the states that require it. If Gov. Granholm says that MI can only collect taxes if wine is subjected to the archaic three-tier system, how is he going to explain that other states are merrily pocketing taxes generated by online interstate sales? ← BTW, that's a "she," as in Jennifer Granholm. The state argued both issues (tax and minors) to the Supreme Court. The Court's majority opinion stated, essentially, that the state had absolutely no case for either. Whether the voters have the intelligence, courage, and energy to keep the shipping lines open remains to be seen. As I mentioned earlier, the distributors' lobby is extremely strong.

"Ditto states whose politicians have ties to wholesalers and their deep pockets." What a great point. I think you hit the nail squarely on the head for Michigan. Add in Michigan's being the plaintiff in one of the suits, and I think we know what the ultimate result will be. Our in-state wineries have negligible political clout compared to our beverage distributors and their lackey, the Michigan Restaurant Association. The only hope is for consumers to speak up, and loudly, but I doubt that this is a high-priority issue for the vast majority of the electorate. We're in a nasty budget crunch right now, so I fear that Governor Granholm will play the "tax revenue" card, back it up with the "protecting the children" card, and that will be that.

Alex, I bought the butter ruler at that cookbook store( name escapes me now as I ran in and out of there to take pictures). The mill is open on Sunday from noon-5pm. Are you coming to Ontario? ← Yes -- we'll be on our annual Memorial Day Stratford Festival weekend pilgrimage May 27-29. This year, we'll arrive on Friday just in time for lunch and a matinee of As You Like It. Dinner will be at Sapori Pasta House. Saturday will see breakfast probably at Tango, shopping (including, of course, Cooking Up a Storm), lunch somewhere (maybe Bijou or The Belfry), a matinee of Into the Woods, more shopping, and dinner again at Sapori. Sunday is unscheduled, so if the mill is more or less on the way back home to MI it might be fun to stop there. Where exactly is it located? Maybe you and Robin could join us for a meal -- I'll PM.

I'll be very interested to see who voted yea or nea. When looking for the posting: "The case is Swedenburg, et al. v. Kelly, et al. Edward D. Kelly is the chairman of the New York State Liquor Authority. The court has combined the Swedenburg case with two other related cases, Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of Michigan, et al. v. Eleanor Heald, et al.; and Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Ass'n v. Eleanor Heald, et al." (from an April 5 Washington Post article referenced in an earlier post)

Done. Heck, have 'em all come.

Randi, you're fast becoming my tour guide. At what store in Stratford did you find that butter ruler? And where exactly is the flour mill? Do you know if the mill store is open on Sundays?

Two months and counting! tammylc & crew Alex HeatherM Fresser & his slick PT Cruiser BeJam Maria & husband & friend and maybe friend's girlfriend CaliPoutine & Robin TJHarris & spouse & maybe other foodies Devilkitty (a definite maybe) maggiethecat (tentative) Lady T (tentative) daniellewilley (& Michael?) Bacchusrogue & spouse Jean Blanchard Sam Iam & Joyce [your name here]

Sounds delightful. As an ex-pat Canadian, I might make a special request for some particular chocolate bars to share around too! ← Robin and I could always bring some too. If we can find some local goat cheese, we can make crostini with the fig jam I made last weekend. I'll be glad to share a couple jars. ← Oh, yes, please.

There almost certainly will be others coming from Chicago. Fresser has already said yes, and a couple of others are tentative. I'm 55 , if that helps. ← Alter-cocker! ← Yeah, but your time will come, heh, heh.

There almost certainly will be others coming from Chicago. Fresser has already said yes, and a couple of others are tentative. I'm 55 , if that helps.

Good luck! We love Cooking Up A Storm! Nice owners, too. Did you check out their vintage salt and pepper shakers? Two years ago we couldn't resist buying two sets -- a flute- and harp-playing tomato and ear of corn, and a jogging fork and spoon. Too silly. They've adapted well to their new roles, though, of mascots to our Hello Kitty wind-up toy.

What about The Whitney, a short cab ride north of downtown? I haven't been there in ages. Beautiful old mansion, expensive but excellent, half-priced bottles Tuesdays in May. Has anyone been there recently?

I agree with carswell -- covered cooking will not produce crispy potatoes. I'd parboil or steam, drain, heat a little more to dry them out, then coat w/olive oil, toss w/kosher salt, and roast at 400-425 until brown. Red Bliss potatoes

Congratulations on becoming a non-smoker! Does food taste any different to you now? Has quitting smoking changed your eating habits?

Hi Alex, We're looking forward to meeting you too. We've eaten in Stratford a few times, but nothing that remarkable. I've never eaten in St. Mary's but we did visit a cheese shop there( the name escapes me now) that was small but impressive. I'll be going to Stratford on Thursday for a dr.appt. Do you have an suggestions? ← For dinner I'm very fond of Sapori Pasta House. We'll be eating there both nights when we're in Stratford later this month. We also like Tango Coffee Bistro for pretty decent lunch and brunch food in a fun atmosphere. Here's an eG Stratford thread. ← Thanks Alex, Tango looks good. I think I'll try that for lunch on Thursday. ← Not to throw out too many choices, but how could I have forgotten about York Street Kitchen?

Hi Alex, We're looking forward to meeting you too. We've eaten in Stratford a few times, but nothing that remarkable. I've never eaten in St. Mary's but we did visit a cheese shop there( the name escapes me now) that was small but impressive. I'll be going to Stratford on Thursday for a dr.appt. Do you have an suggestions? ← For dinner I'm very fond of Sapori Pasta House. We'll be eating there both nights when we're in Stratford later this month. We also like Tango Coffee Bistro for pretty decent lunch and brunch food in a fun atmosphere. Here's an eG Stratford thread.

Looking forward to your blog and to meeting you both in a couple of months in Ann Arbor. As a once-a-year visitor to your part of the world, I'm wondering if you ever go to Stratford or St. Mary's to eat.

C'mon and join the crowd! -- tammylc & crew Alex HeatherM Fresser & his slick PT Cruiser BeJam Maria & husband CaliPoutine & Robin TJHarris Devilkitty (a definite maybe) maggiethecat (tentative) Lady T (tentative) [your name here]

MY MIL lives in New Bern. I've been there only a few times, and not in the past six years or so, but Ms. Alex goes there regularly. She said that "New Bern is no Chicago" but that a decent meal can be had. She's eaten at The Chelsea and Clementine's and enjoyed both. She's heard very good things about A Catered Affair Cafe but hasn't been there yet. Also, Wilmington isn't all that far away. Here's an eG Wilmington thread.

I agree re the Magi-Cake strips. But then, how can one disagree about brownies with an eGulleteer named browniebaker? I also have experienced more of a differential when using a glass baking dish, but that might be just me.