Susan in FL

I use LaRoche, but their web site isn't working for some reason! They are right here in the Daytona area. I go into their store and I have also shipped to family up north using their catalog. For what it's worth, their number is (386)253-1817, but it really sucks that I can't find them online for you. I love their honeybells in January. Pell's Citrus and Nursery is another place where I shop. I know they ship, but I'm not sure about their prices for shipping. It was another web site that wouldn't act right. What's up with this? I guess it's Volusia County, Florida for you -- not too sophisticated in anything, including technology. Maybe someone who lives south of here/around Indian River can suggest someone local to them who ships top quality fruit at a reasonable price. Meanwhile, I'll keep looking and check our phone book. Hale Groves has a good reputation and they ship. I drive by there occasionally, but have never stopped. Their web site seems to be functioning at this time.

I must give credit to a lady I work with. On Thursdays my work assignment is at our Hospice House, which is a five bedroom residence where five of our Hospice patients live, receiving end-of-life care. (Other days I visit private homes and nursing homes.) Judy, the CNA, taught me by demonstration when she was fixing breakfast for a resident. ...To do one egg, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil of course, but she put only enough water in it to just cover the egg. The sauce pan had a partially rounded bottom, and I've been looking to buy one of those ever since. In the water put about a teaspoon of vinegar and about a teaspoon of butter. She gently cracked the egg into the water. I felt the steam and thought it was going to burn me, so my drop of the egg into the water was not as gentle. Then let it go for a while before trying to get it all back together. Once the white starts to firm up, then gently spoon it toward the middle to get it to be intact, and spoon some water over the top of it as it cooks. Then when it's done, lay it on paper towel to dry a little. Judy loves to cook. At the House, we (staff) cook for the patients who are still eating. (That could be another topic... it is quite interesting for a "foodie.") Judy is retiring at the end of this month, so thanks for asking, and thanks for allowing me to give her a tribute here!

I've been eating out a lot lately -- holiday get-togethers and dinners and all that. When home, I've been busy, and haven't cooked quite as many full dinners as usual. Nevertheless, there have been some good ones. As simple as this was, it was one of the highlights of the past week or two... Cobb Salad. Another night we made a sushi-style dinner. It was mostly sashimi and rolls. There's lots to show and tell, but I'll abbreviate it. Included was salmon, tuna, octopus, shrimp, quail eggs, and appropriate condiments & garnishes. It was fun.

Tonight I cooked Dutch, Chufi's Butter Braised Beef. With it was served some classic accompaniments that she suggests, and one probably not so classic. ...That would be the salad. It was salad greens with tomato, onion, and beets on top, dressed with Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar (a Christmas present) and Kalamata olive oil, and then topped with fried quail eggs.

It turned out sooooo good. This was some of the best comfort food we've had in a while. It's seldom that I make well-done beef dishes, but I've been wanting this since you first posted it, and I'm so glad I made it. I took your suggestion of classic accompaniments, and served plain boiled potatoes with it and two vegetables, red cabbage and green beans. You're right, not so photogenic, but that's OK..... In the pot: On the table: Thanks Klary for this entire thread, but for us especially thank you for your Butter Braised Beef.

Great looking dinners... I am trying to get back in the groove. I'm uploading pictures from the past couple of weeks even as we speak. Lucia, I would love to hear more about the Cornish hens and the creamy beans.

Yeah... too many beers, too little time, and too-small-for-me jeans. I just finished my half of a 2005 Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. It is a very good year -- not overly spicy. Perhaps not spicy enough to some for a winter brew, but just a touch like this is ideal for my taste. I am trying to learn to identify a pine flavor in hoppy beers, and I think this might have some of that. It's robust, and nicely hopped... almost like a special version of SNPA.

I made my first successful poached egg during this past week!!! It remained partially intact, which was way better than before and better than I expected on this try. And, it tasted good. Nice breakfast, this with OJ and coffee... I was happy with it!

Braised Beef, Dutch Style aka Chufi's Butter-Braised Beef in our house, is simmering on the stove even as we speak. ...Smells good.

It's time to have a thread devoted to discussing this year's special brews, and for posting tasting notes if you're so inclined! What have you tasted so far? Which are favorites and which are disappointments? Who has collected what over the years, and what have your vertical tastings been like? I'm also interested in who else saves some holiday or winter beers for Christmas in July drinking. Happy Holidaze.....

...Always glad to meet another Hophead! That is interesting, because I am a regular drinker of Hop Devil also, and this was far from a disappointment to me. Regarding the ABV, both of us were surprised that it is 8.5; it didn't taste of that much alcohol to us. We didn't look until after tasting it. And the price... Good beer for me is like other fine foods and drinks. As long as it delivers, I will pay. We have had Hop Devil past the enjoy-by date that had lost it, and actually didn't taste good. The first time that happened, I wasn't expecting it, given the origin/history of India Pale Ales. The hop bitterness not being greater than Hop Devil was why I thought Jeniac might enjoy it, but maybe the bitterness is debatable depending on whose palate is doing the tasting. ...There is just something about Victory beers and my taste buds. It was love at first sip. And still, for me nothing beats a fresh Hop Devil from the tap in the brewpub.

Jeniac, if you like Hop Devil at times that you want a bitter beer, I think you would like the Hop Wallop -- perhaps even better. I thought it was more clean and refreshing and less bitter flavored than Hop Devil; at least that is the way it struck me tonight. I would be eager to hear how you like it. This is my idea of a perfectly balanced beer.

Don't be sorry. That was a good post. Thanks! I've had infected beer that was awful. There was no question about it. However, I am wondering... Is an infected beer and one that "has gone bad" the same? That brings me to what beers we drank today. One was Baltus O.V.S. Ale, Heavyweight Brewing Company, and we both poured it down the drain. It was undrinkable -- quite sour and yucky. I wasn't sure if it was "a bad bottle," or infected, or if they are one and the same thing. Is sometimes just one bottle -- say out of a sixer -- infected, or is it always an entire batch? On the other hand, the good beers were (in order of how much I liked them) Victory Hop Wallop, Anderson Valley Winter Solstice, Dominion Winter Brew, Lancaster Hop Hog IPA, and River Horse Hop Hazard. We didn't each drink a bottle of these; we split them. The Hop Wallop is wonderful! It tastes sooooo Victory! It may have at least temporarily replaced Hop Devil as my favorite beer. There was one other beer tonight which I didn't like, an Allagash Grand Cru which has been in our fridge for a year. We didn't think it was bad, though; we thought more likely it was a style of beer we don't care for.

Russ went to Delmarva (mostly Delaware) as he does twice a year or so for reasons including beer shopping. It was a good one! We are now restocked with some old favorites, a couple of new ones, and a nice selection of the current vintage of winter brews: Tuppers' Hop Pocket Ale and Dominion Winter Brew from Old Dominion Brewing Co. Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout and Boonville 2005 Winter Solstice from Anderson Valley Brewing Company Cave Creek Chili Beer River Horse Hop Hazard Pale Ale Snow Cap Winter Warmer, Pyramid Breweries Baltus O.V.S. Ale, Heavyweight Brewing Co. Victory Hop Devil IPA and Hop Wallop Ale Rogue Dead Guy Ale Sierra Nevada 2005 Celebration Ale and Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale Lancaster Milk Stout and Hop Hog IPA from Lancaster Brewing Company Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout '05-'06 Yards Brewing Company Love Stout Comments about any of these are heartily welcomed. I'll be back with some comments and/or will mention them in the What Beers Did You Drink Topic. Post here if you would like to share your findings from a good beer shopping. Cheers!

One year!! Special congrats and thanks go to you, Chris. This is your baby, and we are grateful. It's been educational and best of all, great fun. Cheers!

I am Home Alone for a while... horray!!! Tonight I had stone crab claws, a bottle of bubbly, and apple strudel with vanilla ice cream for dinner. I still have some good photos from last weekend's delicious dinners to post. I hope to catch up soon.

In 2006... I will eat well, as always; I will make recipes I have been wanting to try, such as Klary's Dutch Style Braised Beef; I will find more time to devote to my culinary passions, including eGullet; I will learn to use more features of my new camera for taking food photos; I will teach myself more about food photography; I will read more; I will try to spend less time prepping and cooking on weeknights, and have simpler, less time-consuming weeknight meals; I will taste everything I possibly can; I will use my skills more efficiently and more productively; I will give more time to the eGullet Society; I will decide whether or not to turn CulinaryPassions.com into something; We will continue to be good together, in the kitchen as well as in other rooms of the house; and My kids are great, and in 2006 and forever more, will mean the world to me.

The wine club offered by our own Mary Baker, whose thread you referenced, is the best wine club I've known. It has only recently become legal for wine to be sent in and out of Florida and the wines she sent us are awesome... delicious... fine wines that are very food friendly. When we lived in Delaware, we belonged to a couple of clubs, but not as good as this. I highly recommend Dover Canyon's wines and for us, in addition to an occasional trip to CA, that is the way to go to get to drink them on a regular basis.

Interestingly, after the mentions about the decline in quality of the Shipyard beers, Friday night's Happy Hour brought us to a bar in New Smyrna Beach that had four Shipyards on draft. Russ got the seasonal/winter ale and I got the stout. They were both quite good. There was also an orange blossum beer that the owner explained to us was brewed in Florida, for Shipyard! What is up with that? I wonder if some others are being contract brewed and this has something to do with the poorer quality. They said it was brewed by Indian River Brewing Co. in Melbourne. I can't remember what the fourth Shipyard on tap was. At home we haven't been drinking much new lately. Russ is going to Delaware soon, so hopefully he'll bring home something new to try, or something we haven't had recently.

This morning for brunch we had a potato pancake with steak and eggs. As I said, Russ cooked, and he did use only the grated raw potato with salt and pepper. He made one, skillet size, and we divided it between us. It was good.

Beautiful, ALL. Photos on eG are getting better all the time. We are good!!! Here is my latest egg turn-on. (This thread is near and dear because so often it features eggs and/or sweets. ) We usually have over-easy eggs, but today mine was sunny side up... Steak cooked medium rare -- even though it looks more done in the picture -- and potato pancake/hashbrowns and eggs.

That looks really nice, and the idea of grated raw and cooked potato is interesting. Is that plate an example of your ceramics work? ...Beautiful! We had a potato pancake for brunch today, with steak & eggs, and I am getting ready to load the photos and take a look. Russ made it, and if I'm not mistaken, used only grated raw potato and S&P.

That looks sensational! I agree, and thanks for the additional discussion. Now I want lamb shanks.

Unique, interesting, and entertaining Foodblog! Being an amateur interested in food photography, I am curious about the pictures you are using in this blog. They are very pretty, but look so colorful and brilliant that I'm thinking they have had a lot of processing after being taken. Some colors look almost artificial. Is it because these are the very photos that have been, or would be, printed in a magazine? They look like they are on the glossy pages of a magazine! Thank you for the time you are putting into this enjoyable blog.

I'm kind of glad to hear that about the Shipyard brews, because I was starting to doubt my own palate for beer tasting. It was about 10 years ago that I drank them more often and loved most of them. I have had the Fuggles more recently than 10 years ago, and didn't find it that distasteful, but I do trust the opinion of you all who regularly post on our Beer Forum. Any ideas about why they have gone downhill? Please pardon me if that has been discussed before and I missed it.