ludja

These looks so good. I can almost taste them... Thanks for sharing your great road trip with us---photos and commentary are both wonderful. It's a blast to search out food places on road trips. Your batting average is pretty good so far.

Looking forward to your blog, binkyboots, from lovely Edinburgh. It will be fun to get another perspective following Adam's nice blog. Jams and jellies, visits to orchards, sounds great! edited for sp...

A friend is looking for a nice dinner in Santa Fe to have with his parents. They've been to (and enjoyed) Geronimo, Coyote Cafe, Cafe Pasqual. If they wanted to try something new would you recommend one of the following? Somewhere else? I'm also curious to hear about people's comments on these places before my next visit... Ristra La Casa Sena (I've had a nice lunch here, but not been for dinner) 315 The Old House (In the El Dorado Hotel) Rociada SantaCafe The Compound Has anyone tried Senor Lucky's yet at the Palace? (same owners as Geronimo's)

Panna cotta, You can make a bunch in advance and it is very quick to make. Buttermilk panna cotta is lower in fat (and very nice tasting). May or may not serve with a fruit sauce. Other 'homemade" gelatin desserts are also a good idea. They can be made with unflavored gelatin and lemon or orange juice or with pureed melon, like cantaloupe. Fresh fruit alone or with cream, whipped cream, zabaglione or with cheese. Fruit salad with scented sugar syrups and/or fresh herbs like mint, liqueurs (eg. pineaple with kirsch) or else cooked fruit compotes. In the fall, baked apples, roasted pears, sauteed bananas. Fruit crumbles or crisps. Homemade cookies with storebought ice cream. (It may take more than 20 min to make the cookies, but you'll have them for several meals). Crepes, mix batter before and let rest. Can even make the crepes beforehand; they also freeze well. Simple fillings would be jam, sweetened and spiced cream cheese or farmers cheese, orange juice and sugar a la crepes suzette.

Looks very nice! I love breakfast hash (Red flannel and not) with eggs. It's a classic old time New England recipe--it's what you can make from the leftovers of a New England Boiled (Corn Beef) Dinner...

As someone else mentioned above, minced carrot is also a really good add in. For a different flavor, another nice addition is capers. (enough but not too much).

I like tuna melts on almost any type of bread but rye is definately my hands down favorite. Other cheeses (besides cheddar) do sound interesting.

Make tiny meringues and sandwich them together using the ganache. With a piping bag one may also be able to fill meringue kisses from the bottom. (I haven't tried this)

I do love aged Goudas as well. Also nice, is a young goat Gouda. I'm also a fan of the Italian alpine cheese: Fontina Val D'Aosta. It has a nice nutty flavor and smooth texture. I'm just starting to explore American artisanal cheeses but one good brand you may be able to get up there is Cowgirl Creamery---Red Hawk is a nice variety.

As others mentioned, they are also commonly just called, "thai chiles". If you can't find them, I think the next best easily obtainable substitute would be serranos (which are less hot).

I was curious to see what a recipe might look like and found this on google...

Have a great time on your trip, c1628! The few recs I could have given would have been in Graz... It would be great if you could report back here on your dining experiences upon your return! One nice place to check out in Salzburg that I remember is the Augustiner Brau a little outside of downtown. It's a famous old (since 1621) brewery run by monks. There is a section of food stalls attached right to it that has hearty, good food for eating while quaffing the beers. Nice seating inside in old paneled rooms or outside in the beer garden.

Interesting anecdote trcroyle; I've had similar experiences. Curious to know in what part of the country a divey type bar would have the mixings (and knowledge) to make a Negroni. (one of my favorite drinks). Welcome to egullet, by the way!

It may be time to try this strategy again... ← about which foods exactly? ← Regular coffee after dinner. It is still amazing how many good top tier restaurants will serve mediocre coffee after an excellent meal. They may or may not be serving a good coffee brand, but the end result is still often a very weak, indifferent cup of coffee. (This problem is not at all relegated to SF; I've heard much comment re: this problem in high end NYC restaurants as well). When it occurs, I've taken to pointing it out at restaurants... i.e. "How was everything?" "The meal was wonderful but we were disappointed by the weak coffee at the end of the meal; it was not at all in keeping with the quality of the rest of the meal..."

Nice article. It may be time to try this strategy again...

It is good. I roast the cauliflower with some onion also. And in the last ten minutes I add some cherry tomatoes. Toss with pasta like oriechette, a little olive oil, parmigiano, red and black pepper and salt. I just picked up some cauliflower and tomatoes today to make for dinner. (I was luckier on the price here in northern CA though... $1.29 per large head). The rest of your menu sounds great. Welcome to egullet Joann!

Sounds like a great idea, jackaroo. I haven't been up Healdsburg way in awhile and it would be nice to have a dialogue about restaurants/food and wine there.

I love the menu Chufi; thank you for sharing it with us. The flavors, texture and presentation are very nice.. I need to look for that chocolate pear tart recipe; I love that combination.

Yum... the mussels and corn sound (and look) like a wonderful meal. I made a similar mussel dish recently minus the Pernod--I must try them this way. Anise and seafood is good! Thank you very much for so gracefullly sharing this week with us. The food and beautiful pix are making me homesick for New England. I also loved the shots from your 'camp'. The white wooden boards in the kitchen and porch almost make me smell and hear the Atlantic and feel the ocean mist on my cheeks.

Hot humid weather is de rigeur for a pig pickin... Just remember to start hydrated and then continue to hydrate with some water in between the beers and other alcoholic drinks. (A lesson learned from experience during my tenure in NC attending many pig pickins). I mentioned this somewhere before, but when I threw a Carolina bbq out here in NoCal a few years back the temp actually reached the high 90's, albeit with low humidity, which is not common where I live on the Peninsula. It was a pretty funny coincidence, but it ended up just adding to the laid back languor of the occasion. Have fun everyone, the plans sounds just great!

??? Not sure I understand...

Ludja, After reading your post last week, I was inspired to go pick up some of Dr Bob's ice cream. I was visiting my mother last weekend, and she just happens to live right next to CSU Pomona, and so I managed to get some right at the source. I really like Scharffen Berger's 41% Milk bar, so I decided to try one of the chocolate flavors. I picked the Really Dark Chocolate and it was spectacular. It tasted like an cold, creamy version of the perfect brownie...not too sweet, with a luscious cocoa richness to the flavor and aftertaste. Definitely an ice cream for the dark chocolate lovers out there. ← Glad that you found it good! I think the chocolate ice cream was the best I have ever had. I'm also lookng forward to incorporating Scharffen Berger Nibs into some home made ice cream as well.

I wasn't exactly sure when the 2nd Joseph's Table opened, but apparently it was before last December! Nice to hear that you had a wonderful meal. The reviews certainly sound good. I wonder if anyone has also checked out De la Tierra at the El Monte Segrado Resort. Both these 'high end' restaurants have opened since I've last been to Taos. It's difficult to tell just by reading, but Joseph's Table looks like it might have the edge over De La Tierra...

I heard good things about the first incarnation of Joseph's Table but never had a chance to eat there. I was happy to hear that Joseph Wrede has opened a second Joseph's Table in downtown Taso at the La Fonda Hotel. (I think it has been open since ~ December). Has anyone had a chance to check it out? Comments? Here's a website to the restaurant: Joseph's Table. There are some sample menus and reviews.

Yes, but at the upper end of the scale. It goes back to the old Italian restaurant joke: Pollo sorpresa--the surprise is, there's no chicken. ← Very funny. I need to remember this. I think the phrase could be discretely used in many situations among friends to good effect.