joey madison

I'm with Brian on The Family Guy. Give me both my martinis and my mojitos.

Isn't the title of this thread a little misleading? About the study in question, the author just claims that the press totally got the story wrong, at least according to the Slate article. She says that while the media reported the study suggested that wine and cheese don't pair well, the (still unreleased) study does not conclude that.

I use the outdoor freezer with regularity. Recently, I made the mistake of leaving unattended soup in a pot outside, while visiting my parents. They have a habit of feeding some of the local critters... and the soup was visited by a family of possums. They knocked the pot over, and the contents which they did not consume froze to the deck. I suppose it will serve as a possum popcicle for the next few weeks. I also happen to be one of those crazies who likes to go winter camping. The cold temperature makes eating on longer winter camping trips much more varied and tasty than their summer counterparts. Want to chicken? No problem! Worried about something with mayo? Nah!

I couldn't agree more with the folks who hate to clean-up the messy kitchens of previous tenants. My current kitchen -- 1930s vintage, barely bigger than most people's closets -- was especially bad. Unfortunately, the vintage kitchen also came with a vintage refridgerator. One of the last hold-outs that still requires you to defrost the freezer. That is what I nominate for my most hated kitchen cleaning project. It takes forever... you have to let all of your food get warm... foul smelling water inevitably gets everywhere in the kitchen... and worst of all, since the rest of the fridge is empty, you almost feel compelled to clean that, TOO!

Bringing kids to bars is a fairly well-established practice here (WI). And provided the parents aren't there to get sloshed, and the kids are well-behaved, I think it is a perfectly fine a acceptable practice (and I'm not just saying that because my parents always brought me to bars). It can be beneficial in many ways. It teaches kids how to interact with people that are older than them, and the basics of social interaction. That said, parents have to be vigilant in watching out for their kids while at bars. And certain joints are much more kid-appropriate than others. In many smaller communities, bars act as community centers, and I think that's a completely appropriate environment. A swanky cocktail lounge or a hard-drinking biker bar, not so much.

These laws have long since gone the way of the passenger pigeon, but in Wisconsin: It was illegal to add yellow coloring to margarine; they wanted to prevent it from looking like butter. It was manditory to serve butter with berry pies in restaurants. Thankfully, the cheesehead state is much more enlightened than many other states when it comes to alcohol. Reading about some other states' regulations is eye-opening. Luckily you can buy any kind of booze just about anywhere (groceries, gas stations, liquor stores, delis, etc.) on any day of the week. And it's legal to drink in public parks and such (unless prohibited by city ordinance).

Here's a link to a recent article on Canadian wines from Niagra and the Okanagan Valley. http://www.slate.com/id/2134157/?nav=tap3 Check it out!

This study elicits two reactions from me: "duh" and "this study doesn't really apply in the real world". My hunch is that any strongly flavored food, especially high fat foods, would deaden the taste of a food that followed. You don't see delicate consummes following a hearty spicy barbecue. But in a typical dining situation, how often are you going to eat a strong cheese, followed by a red wine. Where does the fruit that comes on the cheese plate play in? Ever have a bit of wine before tasting the cheese? What about cheese plates that focus on a specific region or style of cheese. What about those meant to be eaten from mildest to strongest? It would be interesting to see the same study performed in reverse. Would drinking wine before tasting the cheese enhance the taste of the cheese?

I've cooked for the purposes of seduction about a dozen times or so. Well, I didn't necessary consciously think, "I'm cooking so this guy will hop in the sack with me." But I did go a little overboard to prepare an elaborate meal because I was "enthusiastic" about the invitee. They all had a similar set of courses: Snacky treat hors d'oeuvres w/cocktails Soup Nice Champagne Salad Some sort roasted meat w/ appropriate starch and veggies and wine A custardy dessert Cognac or Port To date, it's never failed. I ended up dating each one... one for close to three years.

I routinely consume milk well past the "sell by" date. My sniffer is my primary guide. And even if the milk has gone sour, its not going to kill you. Some observations though... higher fat milk tends to keep longer than the skim variety; milk in glass containers lasts longer than paper containers; ultra-pasteurizing vs. pasteurizing seems to make little difference once it's open; homogenized milk goes sour more quickly than non-homogenized; if you have a roommate who constantly drinks from the carton/bottle, it goes sour quicker .

If you want to try roasting something vertically, you can generally do it from a hook with some wire or string. My fireplace has a well placed hook that I've used for roasting duck several times. They've turned out excellent. The biggest problem I've encountered so far is keeping the cat away until the bird is done.

Moos, it's interesting you should mention Chipotle Grill, and their efforts to sound "high-quality" and target a different demographic. Chipotle Grill, I was recently informed, if a McDonalds venture. Perhaps they recognize the futility of trying to change their food-quality image. And, consequently, are trying to diversify their brand portfolio in an effort to reach other demographics.

Vodka 1. Ketel One 2. Iceberg 3. Hangar One Bourbon 1. Booker's 2. Baker's 3. Maker's :-) Tequila 1. Don Julio Silver 2. Sauza Hornitos Scotch 1. Oban 2. Talisker 3. Glenfiddich Gin 1. Citadel 2. Bombay Sapphire 3. Tang Ten Rum 1. Goslings Black Seal (and that's it)

Carmelize 'em. Make a pissaladiere or something

Mark me down for #3. Because my kitchen is basically the size of a broom closet, it gets awfully tight if two people are cooking. Forget three. It is functional for one person washing and one person drying for clean up... and I hate dishes... so, if someone offers to help clean up, I'll definately take them up on it. I do often cook in friends' kitchens; kitchens that are significantly larger. In those cases, I like to have on-lookers with whom to chat, especially if they can handle the odd simple kitchen task everyone once in a blue moon. But, in a phrase, I guess I prefer to be master of my domain.

Today: Left over jambalaya and a bowl of gumbo from my hurricane relief dinner. The gumbo was definately better two days later. Tomorrow: Something much lighter... zucchini bread, yoghurt w/raspberry jam, and an apple.

I really didn't care for the last issue. Especially the cover. It looked like a cover for People magazine or something. The interior layout wasn't too bad, but again, it was a bit on the bland side. I thought it interesting that Bon Appetit and Saveur came out with Magazines covering virtually the same ground on the same month. Sigh.

I just picked up some cute-little orange bad-boys at one of Madison's farmers' markets. Little cherry-tomato-esque buggers. Holy-wah they're good. I've used them in a pasta dish with some tuna and capers and such. Plus they've been great in salads. Just as good to pop in your mouth plain. I think I'm going to put the last of the batch in a mozzarella and basil salad tonight. I'm definately going to have to pick up some more (though maybe a different variety) this saturday.

I'm curious to know if people notice the difference between a Bell & Evans chicken or a Smart Chicken when roasting. I've been buying B&E birds for years, but my market also carries Smart Chickens. They always get a flirtive glance from me as I make my way down the butcher's case, but I haven't ventured to try one yet. So, share your experiences!

Yikes, this thread makes me proud of tiny little Madison, Wisconsin. No shortage of decent-to-great locally owned groceries, delis, butchers, etc. Not to mention the great co-ops, and farmers markets. While we do have a Whole Foods, the place seems mediocre and over-priced compared to many of the other options. And Trader Joe's just announced its coming to town. Yay.

Ah, when I was a wee lad, Sukiyaki was my favorite dish. I always thought it was wonderfully exciting to break out the wok. I also constantly begged to go strawberry and apple picking when they were in season. And foraging for blackberries, blueberries and morels while camping was such a treat.

Yes, Target does in fact pay more, and they have better benefit packages too. Another big incentive for me, is that Target donates 5% of the pre-tax earnings to charity. As someone that works in fundraising development, I can tell you that Wal-Mart is a tightwad company when it comes to donations. There are tons of other reasons too, from Wal-Mart closing shops that unionize, to the litterally HUNDREDS of stores they've left derelict after opening a super Wal-Mart down the street. Then there are the business practices... lowering prices below wholesale until mom-n-pop places go out of business and then racheting up prices. A friend used to work as a district manager for Wally's world. I once asked him what he thought of Vermont's success at keeping Wal-Mart out of their state. He told me that the company was building 11 stores just outside state lines with the hope of drawing all the consumers out of the state. Once they got in, they were planning on closing all the stores. Don't know how accurate that is, but it seems pretty slimey to me.

As bad as heavily perfumed/cologned diners are, I think it's worse when a waitron reaks of lillies or vanilla or whatever. How can they accurately describe the food they've tasted when they can't smell anything? And worse, it interferes with your experience as a diner when the food and wine arrive. Very unprofessional. Luckily, I know most restaurants worth their salt around here specifically ban their staff from wearing such obnoxious products. But then again, I generally don't like it when people wear scents in any setting.

They aren't just an Ontario thing - I never realized they weren't eating them in other places though. I haven't seen one in a long long time, but as a kid they were often served.... I don't miss them ← Deviled eggs are quite pervasive here in Wisconsin. It never occured to me that they were a regional thing. Perhaps there's a connection to Euchre.

I've also heard that in egg dishes or oil applicaitons (like salad dressing) that the mustard in some ways aids in the emulsification process.