ludja

Here is a recent write up in the SF Chron about another steel tank Sauvignon Blanc click. It's blended with some Semillon as well so it will have a different mouthfeel than the 100% s.blancs. Here's the link to the winery: wildhurst winery Not sure if this is another wine or if the Chron got the name a little different but the winery lists and describes this Clear Lake Sauvignon Blanc 2004 Reserve This wine won Double Gold, Best of Class for the 2005 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (1/30/05). Burch, winemaker Alcohol 13.8% Residual Sugar .26% pH 3.31 TA .79 Fermentation 100% Stainless Aging potential of wine 2 years Bottle price: $11.00 Case price: $112.20 Size: 750ml

Thanks for the photos, hope we get to see some berries when they are ripe. That will be in June sometime?

Is there more than one farmer's market in SacTown? If so, do you have a favorite one? And enjoy your fava beans and strawberries... It's a great time of year.

That sounds like a wonderful dessert. vanilla, cream, pineapple, ginger.... yum. I must make something similar! (Must also add my bravos for your Easter bunnies; they really came out well! oh,.. and the boxes and the purses..)

Cool. Even trying to source wild strawberries or special varietals was what intrigued me about the request. Here in Northern California I haven't noticed people selling frais des bois or other berries by name at markets although I haven't been to Berkeley's markets in awhile. And trying to ship them ripe adds another bag of worms as tanabutler mentioned. Does anyone know of places in CA (or anywhere!) where you can buy (rather than grow or pick) frais des bois or some of the other wild mix cultivars mentioned above?

Sunnyvale's Finest... Olsons's Cherries. I didn't know they shipped.

Luckily there will be good local berries there, just a few months from now...

Another New England cookie (Marblehead, MA): Joe Froggers Stories say there was a guy named Joe who lived next to a frog pond in Marblehead and made great, chewy molasses cookies. He modified the recipe one day after receiving a jug a rum and included it in the recipe when he made some for the people who gave him the rum. The recipe then became popular around town and its use spread. (I've heard this story before, but also just ran across it in King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

Okay, here a two other good places--probably familiar to people on the CA boards anyway but thought it would be good to put them up here. Rancho Gordo an many know is an active egulleteer to boot! I've gotten her jams up at the SF Ferry Market, but you can also order June Taylor's Jams on line. Here is a list of some of her great tasting combinations:' Marmalade: Grapefruit & Meyer Lemon Three Fruit (Orange, Grapefruit & Meyer Lemon) Blood Orange Bergamot Clementine Mandarin Meyer Lemon Meyer Lemon and Lime Meyer Lemon and Rose Geranium Seville Orange Silver Lime and Ginger Tangerine Conserves: Blackberry Blackberry & Lemon Verbena Boysenberry Boysenberry & Rose Geranium Cherry & Almond Damson Plum Fig & Plum Mariposa Plum Pluot (plum/apricot) Pluot & Lavender Rhubarb Fruit Butters Apricot & Almond Gravenstein Apple Greengage Plum Pear & Vanilla Quince Quince & Rose Geranium Pluot (plum/apricot) Santa Rosa Plum Spiced Pear White Nectarine Also some fruit syrups and fruit cheeses You can get Rancho Gordo's New World Specialty Food offerings up at SF Ferry Market, but now you can order dried heirloom and heritage beans, chiles, grains, posole and herbs from him online. Great website with a good page of recipes.

Interesting request. I looked at "Chez Panisse Fruits" to see what Alice says about sourcing these; sounds tough. She mentions that one might encounter them at a very few farmer's markets... She is addressing the home cook though, so maybe it is different for restaurant sourcing if that is your case. She does mention a few other varieties that have strong flavors reminiscent of wild strawberries: E. Moschata ("haunting, complex flavor") Profumata de Tortona (the *plant* is mentioned as available from some nurseries) Mara des Bois ("a new French hybrid strawberry with exceptionally deliciousness and fragrance"; she sources these from Chino Ranch in Southern CA but I couldn't find info re: buying from them on the web...) She also mentions that ripe wild strawberries must be "used very fresh b/c their aroma fades fast after they are picked". Her best rec is to grow them at home. Maybe this is not too easy in Brooklyn though and for your timetable... Well, sorry I couldn't be of more help but I'm interested to hear if others have more relevant info. (Growing up we had a few special places in the woods in Central CT that we went to each year in mid-late June).

Great line... (worth perfecting). Though I'm half afraid that the analogy to foie gras will bring in swooping anti-foie partisans to see if eating clam bellies should be banned for the masses...

It's likely that Keller recommends this, but immediately chilling the peas in ice water after cooking should keep the color fine. Then one only has to go gently on the reheating to keep the color.

I grew up with the exact same experience! (i.e. growing up liking HoJo's clam strips and then learning the epiphany of fried clam bellies... Although I grew up close to great clam places my "awakening" came later in life b/c mom and pop were not into the bellies...) I have already bookmarked this thread in anticipation of trips back home! I can't add a "best" because I have been gone too many years; rather my offering is only "another place" to get fried whole belly clams. They were quite tasty but I can't compare them to other places. I had them at Jasper White's Summer Shack at the Mohegan Sun in southern CT. Looking forward to trying some of the "real" shacks next time. My sis lives in northern Boston, so I have another good jumping off point- I think there are some very good places on the MA North Shore as well?

Yes--baked, stuffed lobster or shrimp. In Central CT anyway, this is getting more difficult to get in restaurants Growing up we made this at home and I still make the shrimps (harder to get lobster out here). The recipe we have used for years was procurred from a local restaurant. No competing seafood in the stuffing... it is incredibly simple and delicious and is one of my favorite recipes for lobster or shrimp. Stuffing: Dry bread crumbs, chopped medium walnuts, lemon juice, melted butter and tomalley and mashed coral (for lobster), parsley if you like and salt and pepper. Pour a little more melted butter over stuffing before baking.

Is anyone else a fan of Giuliano Bugialli's books? They are the only "picture" books that I've really enjoyed--incredible photos, good historical and regional background and I've had very good luck with the recipes. They *seem* authentic in the ingredients and prep but I can't vouch for that; also very interesting classic recipes some which I haven't seen in other places. Two that I particularly like are his books on Tuscany and one on Sicily & Sardinia.

double post...

In English: Breakfast 6AM Elevenses 11AM Lunch 1PM Tea 4PM Dinner 7PM Bedtime snack 1030PM Makes you wonder if it's not an English thing, eh? ← I've also heard the second breakfast (in Austria anyway) "Gabelfruhstuck" or "fork breakfast" implying the need to eat it with a fork... In visiting my grandparents in Austria we do sometimes eat off of that schedule or close to it... A small breakfast of a Kipfel (or roll) with butter and honey or preserves and coffee. Then, a promenade downtown in the inner City (of Graz)-- around 10:30 or 11:00 we might stop off at a place to have "Brotchen" (open faced little sandwiches that are like canapes or smorgesbord)--might have a mini glass of beer with it (can't remember the special name for this; it's about 6-8 oz, it might be called something like a "pfif"). Then back home for midday main meal of meat, potatoes, salad and a fruit compote around 12:30 or 1:00. Later in the afternoon, stop off somewhere for a "kleine Braune" (an espresso llike drink) and a piece of Austrian pastry or torte. Later in the evening ~ 6:00 or so an "Abendbrot" of rye bread, cured meat like Speck or Kasslerripchen, pickles and cheese. And then, yes, might have a snack later on although that is the part we did least... Note: I usually get up before breakfast for an hour walk around the city as it was waking up--wanted to burn extra calories so I could have my 'mid morning treat" and afternoon pastry...

Any difference between a processed cream cheese like Philly which has preservatives in it vs. a more natural cream cheese without gum, etc?

Interesting. I can certainly see that there would be less preparation of foie gras at home in the U.S. at anytime of year. But is it really true that fine dining restaurants in Paris treat it as a seasonal dish? (i.e at Christmas and New Year's)

Lots of good suggestions for unoaked CA sauvignon blancs here. A New Zealand Marlborough S. Blanc producer that I have really enjoyed is Isabel.

Check out this recent article on bargain wines in the SF Chronicle: click (may want to copy it if you're interested; can't recall how long the article is available for free). You might get more info looking back a few weeks as well. The articles are pinned at the top of the CA forum.

A New England (Mass/Boston) traditional pie I became aware of thru egullet is Marlbourough Pie. A custard pie made with applesauce and sometimes flavored with sherry. I missed making it this year but am eager to try it next fall. recipe Definately fish, shellfish, corn and chicken chowders and also stuffed clams (stuffies in Rhode Island). Clambake!. Salt Cod Cakes. A dish I recnetly made for a small Easter dinner but which I have read was traditional at Fourth of July a while back is poached salmon with egg sauce. (The sauce has fish stock and juices, cream, parsley, butter and cream and chopped hard boiled eggs). It was very nice! New England Boiled Dinner and Red Flannel Hash. New England is the birthplace of many of the classic diner dishes. Succotash, baked beans, Harvard Beets. Cider Doughnuts, Blueberry Pie and pancakes, pumpkin pie, cranberry nut bread and relish... And fruit grunts, fools, flummeries, slumps, crisps..., gingerbread and ginger cookies. Some of the more regional jams and jellies: beach plum, rose hip and Concord Grape... Oh, there's lots more...

Besides the classic Austrian cucumber salad, we also always use it with green salad--can use a combination of pumpkin seed oil and another oil. Also-cold bean salads. I have also found it to be an excellent garnish with a pumpkin or squash soup. (i.e. drizzled over the top before serving) as a couple of folks have mentioned above. I think it could be interesting with other soups as well such as cauliflower.

I suspect that the 'loonies' who vandalized Sonoma Foie Gras and intimidated Chef Manrique would consider themselves 'left-wing loonies'. Ok, maybe they don't consider themselves to be loonies but I would be surprised if they id'd themselves as right wing.

yes; agree with this completely. Halibut also has a nice texture (on the firm side) and goes with many other flavors such as asian and mediterranean. Do you like spicy food? If you have good asian restaurants near you another great avenue to explore are spicy thai or chinese preparations.