Alex

A good friend of mine (who has an excellent palate) is getting together with her sisters for a vacation and staying in Yountville this Friday and Saturday. Their meals are pretty well planned out but they still need guidance about which wineries they should visit in those two days. Which ones do you think would be the most interesting, fun, etc?

I recently started making yogurt at home, after hooking up with a raw milk co-op. There's no way the two of us can drink most of a gallon of milk a week (we skim off the cream for coffee and sauces), so I wind up making yogurt and fresh cheeses. A friend gets her yogurt starters from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, so that's where I go, too. I haven't researched much past that. She also recommended this book, so that's where I started as well. The quick-set starter is for one-time use; the Bulgarian starter produces a yogurt that can be used as a starter for the next batch. I usually make about three quarts at a time, in a large jar. My KitchenAid oven has a bread-rising setting (100°F convection) that's perfect for yogurt. If using store-bought milk, you heat it to 110-115°F, add the starter, pour it into the jar or whatever, cover it securely, then let it sit at about 100° ± 10 until thickened to whatever consistency you like. I usually let mine go for 10-12 hours. (Raw milk needs to be heated to 180, then cooled down.) Why homemade? Taste, I imagine. Mine is rich and tangy. My experience doesn't quite match Katherine's. After skimming most of the cream, the milk probably is the equivalent of about 1%. It still turns out thick enough for me. Maybe it's the long culturing time, or the raw milk. If I need it thicker, I just drain some overnight through several layers of cheesecloth.

Gelato. (I'd have said ice cream, but that's two words. )

Hmm. I like pb + tomato a lot. But only with natural pb and in-season tomatoes on good toasted bread (onion-dill rye is my favorite). A few hot pepper flakes really add something. A little crumbled bacon doesn't hurt, either. But then, I like groundnut stew, too.

Just a suggestion Nick.........I would remove the eggs before you saute and then add them back into the pan after you have deglazed,this will give the bisque a richer and deeper flavour.IMO. Agreed. Roe, roe, roe your bisque.

As Sam so astutely pointed out, Perception is everything, yes? Did the NU food service folks ever considered asking MLK III what his father's favorite foods were? Just wondering.

Northwestern University students were invited on Monday to "honor" Martin Luther King Jr. with a "special lunch," which included collard greens, cornbread and fried chicken. This story was posted yesterday at obscurestore.com, which referenced a student's letter to the editor of The Daily Northwestern. (Scroll down to the second letter.)

Heartburn, by Nora Ephron. The so-so movie version was on We last night.

Bargain Books strikes again! Six more (for just $49 ): Hardcover: A New Way to Cook, Sally Schneider The Classic Food of Northern Italy, Anna Del Conte (UK printing) Fields of Greens, Annie Somerville Softcover: How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman The Wine Lover's Cookbook, Sid Goldstein James McNair's Grill Cookbook Most of my cookbooks are within view when I sit down to eat, so I contemplate my Desert Island 30, or 10, with regularity. I know what they'd be right now, but 6 months or a year from now, ...?

I called the other night to make a reservation at Woolfy's and got a recording saying they were closed until mid-February because of vandalism. In St. Mary's?!! Kathy, can you or your husband reconstruct any of Smith and Latham's menu? They don't seem to have a web site. Thanks.

I posted this last year (Lynn Rosetto Casper's recipe): Use 1 cup cornmeal, 4 cups boiling water, and ½ teaspoon salt. Get a double boiler situation set up. Put the salt and water in the top part of the boiler. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Cook, covered, for about 1½ hours, stirring a few times. (She recommends a rubber spatula; I use a whisk.) I recommend using all water instead of water + milk. I'd also reduce the amount of water rather than do the extra cooking if you want a thicker product. After cooling, blot up the exuded water with a paper towel. Here's a thread I started about browning polenta. The slow cooking method worked really well for me.

Homemade beats all commercial brands, imho. I get my cultures from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. Click on Ingredients, then Cultures. I use certified raw milk, skimmed (we use the cream for coffee and sauces ), and usually make about 3 quarts at a time. My oven will hold a constant 100°F -- very convenient.

King Arthur light ww flour; a little each of toasted wheat germ, shredded coconut, and granola; a glob of sour cream and/or homemade yogurt; eggs from free-range chickens. I agree w/Kit -- sour cream makes it. My dad always used it in his pancakes.

OK. The Herbfarm Cookbook, Jerry Traunfeld It's All American Food, David Rosengarten Both from Bargain Books.

1) Butternut squash soup with cranberry purée and maple cream. This has won a couple of cooking contests for me. 2) Ratatouille (Cook's Illustrated recipe) with goat cheese and fried polenta 3) Orange and chocolate chunk cookies.

How about The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie?

Yuengling = PA beer Iggles = Eagles Our favorite local purveyor carries Huber Bock. It's one of the best values in beerdom, imho.

Sorry, I mistakenly posted this in the Heartland forum first. Ms. Alex and I spend three or four days in Stratford each year. Our current favorite is Sapori Pasta and Seafood House, an authentic and reasonably priced Italian restaurant. We like the food at Bijou very much but during busy times, with the small room and open kitchen, we walk out smelling like we had worked a shift on the sauté line. We haven't been to Down The Street in several years but used to like it very much. York Street Kitchen is reliable. We also like Tango Coffee Bistro for coffee and pastry or a light lunch, or just hanging out. We haven't been to The Belfry (at The Church) but probably will try it this year. We generally avoid Rundles, The Old Prune, and The Church. Are there any other recommendable places in or near Stratford? For example, we've heard some good things about Woolfy's, in St. Mary's, but have never been there. The Brittany and The Waterlot, both in New Hamburg and both apparently French-oriented, sound like they might be promising.

LONDON (Reuters) - The reputation of fish and chips as Britain's national dish has taken a battering after a historian said the classic meal originated elsewhere. Panikos Panayi, history professor at Leicester's De Montfort University, said his studies had shown deep-fried battered fish and potatoes were a mixture of French "pommes frites" and fried fish dishes brought by Jewish immigrants. Full story here

A propos the previous two posts, I've been very happy with my Solis Maestro Plus. Here's a thread I started last month.

I'm very happy with the machine so far. The grinds are very even and appropriate for the type of brewing method. I hardly ever have to shake the beans to get them into the burrs except occasionally when the hopper is nearly empty. I *love* the near-absence of static electricity in the grind container -- no more coffee grounds all over my counter!

I hated mushrooms until I was 20 and fell madly in love. About three months into the relationship my girlfriend was making dinner for us and two friends, featuring steak with sautéed onions and mushrooms. I was way too embarrassed to admit my distaste, so I asked myself, WWJD? (What would Julia do?) (Actually I didn't, but I've been waiting for an opportunity to use that line. Sorry.) I decided to take the plunge, and -- lo and behold -- the stuff was pretty good. I also hated beets until about 12 years ago, when some friends put together a beet-bacon-mushroom salad (out of Larousse, if I remember correctly -- Salade Forestière?) Mmm, bacon. Guajolote's beet and gorgonzola salad, from last October's Heartland Gathering, was pretty wonderful, too. Mmm, cheese.

Cancellation fees exist to minimize lost revenue for the business and to encourage responsible behavior by the customers. Unfortunately, businesses that are prone to frequent cancellations or no-shows often don't have the leeway to allow for last-minute cancellations. (Well, actually, they do, but it would have to be reflected in their prices. Perhaps that's what you were referring to, Scott.) Katherine, I'm sure your car breakdown was legit. However, if such situations routinely justified waiving the cancellation fee most people, imho, would not be terribly honest in the face of having to lose a significant amount of money and would concoct a reasonable-sounding excuse with nary a twinge of guilt. Ideally, situations such as yours should be handled on a case-by-case basis. It would have been nice, for example, if the motel in Orlando could have issued a refund after receiving a copy of the receipts for your Savannah motel and car repair. Granted that it might be more difficult to prove justification for a restaurant cancellation. (A signed statement by the no-show babysitter? ) I'm a clinical psychologist. When I established a strict cancellation policy (cancellation any time after setting the appointment incurred a fee of ½ the session rate), the cancellation rate dropped dramatically. I tried to be reasonable, though, and would waive the fee if we could reschedule for another time that week or if there was an understandable and documentable last-minute conflict such as a funeral.

I've had the Fine Muscat, Fine Tokay, and Tawny. The Tokay also is a super value. (I have a slight preference for the Muscat, but nothing approaching major significance.) The Tawny was very good, on a par with similarly priced Australian ports. I don't have more specific tasting notes -- sorry.