Michael M

I often have friends over for dinner at this time of the year and finish off the meal with a single-portion fruit pie/crisp/tart topped with homemade gelato of some sort. I tend toward the fruit side of the dessert menu, not the chocolate, but at this point in the season the market overflows with peaches, blackberries and those extra-special fall raspberries. I'd like to support those somehow with cream/caramel/herb/white chocolate flavors, but I'd like a special dessert for the end of the season. I'm moderately adept in the pastry kitchen, short of foams and spun sugar! My brain is dead in terms of inventiveness; any ideas?

Care to share the recipes for the peach p.c. and b.?

Thanks to both. I do think this had some depth and earth to it, but what would one match it with? I'm thinking grilled red meat?

A non-wine friend bought us a bottle of this Paso Robles wine, a 2004, I believe. It was interesting to us, who tend toward leaner, food-friendly wines or just lower alcohol wines in general. This didn't seem terribly out of balance for what it was trying to be, I believe. Rather rich, a sense of sweetness not from RS but glycol/alcohol, rich with some earth beyond the otherwise overwhelming fruit. But incredibly fat, and I don't mean that in a good way, necessarily. I assume this was meant to be drunk alone, or with chocolate, as it was almost port-like in its syrupyness and overall impact. It was fine by itself for a glass as well, I think. But what's the draw for a bottle like this? Wine w/o food I have no problem with; it doesn't have to be enjoyed in a certain way. But I wouldn't drink a whole bottle of tawny, either, with or without the food! Is this a good example of zins from the region? There wasn't much in the way of core to it, either tannin or acid, though I realize it's a CA zin. Are there better examples? How do people enjoy these? Are they marketed towards Bigger Is Better, RP scores, etc.? I guess I've been more impressed with the Italian primitivos.

So, Kerry, you obviously like this brand. Can you comment on its ease of cleaning and noise factor? I'm also confused: is there a bowl that you need to chill, or is there an internal cooler+

Right about the coldness issue (both canister and liquid ice cream). But...anyone have experience with the ones reviewed, or any kind of machine with a freezer component?

With those units that have a canister you must chill first, here are my tips. Make sure the liquid has had at least 6 hours in the fridge to chill. Make sure the bowl has had at least 24 hours in the coldest part of your freezers. Yes, 24 hours. In addition, I chill the liquid in the freezer in 15 minute increments to get it close to the freezing point, stirring it each 15 minute interval. It also helps to put your freezer on its coldest setting for those 24 hours.

In this weeks Dining section in the NYT, ice cream makers with self-contained freezer units were reviewed here. I'm looking to get away from my Krups freeze-the-container-first maker and move on to something like this, and the article (and current fruit season) has inspired me. Can anyone comment on these or others? The ideal machine would be easy to clean, quiet and...I'm not sure what else. Can you control the amount of overrun in these? That would be a plus.

Thanks. We liked SL so much we'll be going back. We did end up in Clayton, and had the same feeling your experience has given you - that it was a place to check out the 2nd time through. Thanks for the restaurant and bookstore names!

Did I say Regent? Yes, I meant Monroe, thanks. They're actually about to expand that location to include more tables, and bring in the more extensive food selection like their locations in Fitchburg and Middleton.

We stayed at the Monona Terrace Hilton, a hotel that overlooks Lake Monona and is 2 blocks from the capitol. There are 3 other hotels nearby that I know of, and a B & B with the word "manor" in it, I think.

For the past 15 years, my partner and I trek up to Mad City in the middle of the summer to enjoy the amazing Farmer's Market, bike miles around endless numbers of lakes and lake-ettes and drink cold beers on the Union Terrace. We're only there in the summer, but everyone's friendly, the vibe is relaxed, there's a granola/progressive presence there and an assortment of foodstuffs that rivals Chicago in some ways, falls short in others. We often end up going to the same places every year, vowing to try new ones, but never quite finding time. Places like Bandung (Indonesian), Lao Laan Xang (Laotian), Chataura and Himal Chuli (Nepali) all provide great, inexpensive and well-made meals, with Lao Laan Xang standing out to us as a few notches above others. So we made reservations at our favorite restaurant, L'Etoile, for the final night, and a restaurant we've enjoyed, Harvest, for the penultimate night just in case, but otherwise tried to pry ourselves away from our usual haunts. We arrived Thursday and went to the new Cocoliquot for dinner, whose menu we liked as it had a nice selection of smaller plates and "selections" of snacks for two, as well as a full menu. The wine list also appealed to us, with a significant number of wines by the glass, carafes and half bottles. The space is modern and attractive, the server we had was nice, the rest was just fine, but we will hesitate to return. Keep in mind, we're looking at all the city has to offer, and then paring it down to 3-4 days worth of meals. If we lived there, we'd certainly return. But here's why. First, we had 2 salads that we both loved. Often salads are small and uninteresting, but we were served a nice softball-sized mound of tasty mixed greens nicely dressed and a salad of mixed, blanched summer vegetables (favas, green beans, carrots, etc.) with a bacon/fresh tomato dressing. Too much going on in the last one, but both were truly well-made salads. We had a "selection" (they call them this, small plates for 2) of house-made charcuterie, a concept that excited us in the anticipation, but underwhelmed us with flat flavors in the tasting. So fared the grilled mixed seafood that started with a nicely done humongous scallop, but fell out of favor with the overcooked shrimp. The wine list represents a French-influenced selection of bottles that would retail $10-20, and with an appropriate mark-up, and the server was good about offering to let us taste before we ordered. He explained that the owner changes the wine list almost weekly, and that the staff do not get to try them. Their selection mimics some of the other wine lists in town, and there must be an influential distributor in the area. Each year we're there, we'll find more than a handful of the same bottles offered at Barriques (more on that later), Harvest, Magnus and others. One night, we had a particular Riesling at restaurant #1, then saw it featured by the glass at restaurant #2, then had it recommended to us when we went to one of the Barriques. I know Barriques supplies Magnus with wines, so perhaps there are other relationships between wine sellers in this city of beer drinkers! Nevertheless, Cocoliquot was pleasant, but we felt the money would be better spent elsewhere unless we wanted a very light meal at the (attractive) bar. The owner also makes chocolates for sale at the restaurant, though we didn't indulge. Last year Piper Odessa sold L'Etoile to her chef de cuisine, Tori Miller, and his sister. One of the changes made was in the first floor bakery/cafe (open during breakfast/lunch hours): they opened up the space so you wouldn't have to stand in an awkward line to get in or out, and they hired more people for Saturday mornings when the line for their croissants is almost as long as the line snaking around the farmer's market. Oh, and it's renamed Cafe Soleil. Sun in the a.m., stars in the p.m.; cute. We breakfasted here two of our three mornings, and would have the third if it were open Sundays. There just aren't many bakeries even in Chicago that bother to make croissants and puff-pastry-based items at the level they do. Their plain croissants are the correct size, crisp on the outside, all soft hollowness on the inside, and they use a good butter. Chocolate filled ones: outstanding. Puff pastry pinwheels with cinnamon sugar - superb. OK, their espresso drinks are not great, and they offer a number of other filled laminated dough items (ham and chevre, almond paste) that we've not tried, but it's a class act. Even their hickory nut shortbread (lightly salted on top) were a revelation. We tried Roman Candle Pizza for lunch. It's a new place on Williamson St. (Willy St.). Thin, NY style pizza. We split a surprisingly nice spinach salad, surprising in that it was really good spinach, and had a slice each. "Just like New York pizza, but without the grease," said my east coast partner. We both thought it fine, though perhaps a bit unspectacular. We thought we'd check out Magnus Restaurant by having some wine and food at their bar, before our dinner reservations at Harvest. I'd been impressed with the wine list on their website, their South American menu, and the stated reliance on organic beef and produce. I should have listened to Sara's recommendation (Sara being one of the eGullet Madisonites, and someone to go to for local recommendations; also Ian and Avocado post regularly here). We were vaguely nodded over to the hostess stand when we asked the nearest waitress where the bar was. The hostess was on the phone, and ignored us for the 5-10 seconds it took for us to locate the bar, and the bartender, well, we always try to warm up cold and bad-mood-inflicted servers, and for this bartender, we only mildly succeeded. Turns out their wine list isn't accurate, and there really wasn't much there we were interested in. The appetizers were fine, but nothing spectacular. This is a place rated as one of Madison's favorite almost every year by The Isthmus Dining Guide, and I just don't get it. It would be worth a second chance if we lived there, but we won't bother returning. I will put in a quick but careful plug for the Isthmus; the Dining Guide "Madison Favorites" is a good place to check things out in the city, but we've often been underwhelmed by some of the selections. So on we went to Harvest restaurant, which we've always liked, but always with a lack of vigor in our praise. A decent (but imitated) wine list, a small menu focused on local ingredients, nice service, a nice space. But it comes down to the food, and each time we leave thinking it was...pleasant. The prices at Cocoliquot and Harvest are nearly the same as L'Etoile, but the food at the latter is just so much better. I think we've decided to skip Harvest for a year, enjoy L'Etoile, and save money by eating at the smaller ethnic selections. I'm sitting here trying to remember what we had there, and the fact that I can't speaks volumes. I should add that in between all of these, we attempted a number of other new places, and bombed with some of them. Tubb's Taco Palace, recommended for fish tacos, only open for dinner. Francois Bakery, closed for remodelling. Greenbush Bar, recommended for pizza and a "decent wine selection" (by someone at Barriques), also only open for dinner. Greenbush Bakery, unrelated, was open. Very good donuts. Though not the best I've ever had, and I shied away from the neon red "cherry" filled ones, the pumpkin cake and bavarian cream filled were steps above chain store selections. We did hit Marigold Kitchen for breakfast, at least for its proximity to our hotel, its clean, bright space and ability to nosh outside. We've eaten here before. Everything here is fine the counter service is always very friendly. Their fried potatoes I think aren't good, soft, over oiled, feeling like they are leftover, but that's a problem I have with a lot of breakfast places. We finally tried Lazy Jane's for breakfast, and were really impressed by the cinnamon rolls. I'm not easily impressed by pastries, but these were well made. Our omelettes were nice, and the hash was better than that at Marigold's. The owner is from the much-mourned State St. breakfast and lunch haven, Ovens of Brittany, but this spot is a casual, cook-yells-your-name-when-it's done kind of place. We'll definitely return. Speaking of breakfast, we're also coffee afficianados, and so far the best we can find is at Ancora Coffee Roasters and Fair Trade Coffeehouse. The former roast their own, and always have good espresso drinks and friendly service. This is not at the level of Milwaukee's Alterra Coffee Roasters or Chicago's Intelligentsia in terms of sourcing/roasting/blending/preparing, but it's the best we've found in the downtown area so far. Fair Trade Coffeehouse is a relatively new place along the coffee-shop littered State St., but one that is clean and neat, running a bit counter to the university vibe of the others, and whose coffee we've only had twice, but enjoyed. The downtown farmer's market Saturdays is a morning in itself. There is no market like this in Chicago, in terms of its size (gigantic) and what it offers (produce, yes, but honeys, maple syrups, various meats, smoked fish, specialist nurseries, sheep's wool, pastries, breads, cheeses...). You would not need to go to the grocers except for milk and dry goods. It's worth the trip; in fact, it's the reason we started going to Madison. Finally, L'Etoile Restaurant remains one of the better restaurants we've been to. It's more than a few notches above any of the other fine restaurants I've been to in Madison, and only has Sanford's in Milwaukee as an equivalent in SE Wisconsin that I know of. Their beet salad perfectly contrasted sweet, tender beets with crunchy, thick bacon and tangy goat cheese. The zucchini blossom was a bit overwhelmed by its chevre filling, but was still tasty. The snapper was excellent, and the scallops fantastic, though the pasta they were on was texturally dull. We shared the homemade donuts with lemon curd and berry "dipping sauces", which were fun, though nothing special. The molted chocolate dessert was, however. Their wine list is spectacular, lots of small, interesting producers, and all the servers are articulate and well-informed. Their space, though updated a bit recently, still needs a major facelift in my opinion, but we leave there feeling like we've had something special. We've also enjoyed a late afternoon visit to the Barriques location on Regent St. A wine shop with a bar, they have a nice selection by the glass ($4-8), and are willing to open fresh bottles when necessary. They offer a good selection of under-$10 bottles, and have tastings for a small fee on weekends. Their food selection isn't stellar, which always seems odd to me for a wine bar, but so much wine nowadays is meant to be drunk as a cocktail, I suppose. Their Fitchburg and Middleton locations are larger, and offer more foodstuffs. I hope someone finds this useful; it's a great city. Fair Trade Coffeehouse 418 State St. Ancora Coffee 112 King St. (multiple locations, but this is downtown) Marigold Kitchen 118 S. Pinckney St. Lazy Jane's Cafe 1358 Williamson St. Francois Bakery and Cafe 4429 Milwaukee St. Greenbush Bar 1305 Regent St. Greenbush Bakery 914 Regent St. Bandung 600 Williamson St. Lao Laan Xang 1146 Williamson St. Chautara 334 State St. Himal Chuli 318 State St.

Oh, good, I was hoping you or Liam would answer! In regards to Magnus, among other bottles, their wine list includes a Rioja Blanca, a Basque Txakolina (the huh?! grapes being Hondarrabi Zuri and Munemahatsa), two Priorats and two reds from Ribero del Duero. Beyond that they have an extensive and interesting selection, and not just because of those more esoteric offerings. But not impressed by the food, huh? You also mentioned Cocoliquot was slipping, too, so maybe Harvest will be our other selection. Thanks for the input! We'll try to check out the pizza, too.

We're off to Mad City in a few days, and will be hitting L'etoile one evening. We have 2 more dinners to plan, and we've been to Harvest many times and enjoyed it, though sometimes had helpful but uninformed servers. We've always wanted to try Magnus for their wine program, but have been turned off by the loud music we've encountered there when checking it out. I'm not sure how their space is organized, but when I want a restaurant experience, I don't want live music, though perhaps tapas at their bar would be the way to go? And then there's Cocoliquot, which is at least intriguing. We might end up doing one other "big" dinner (Magnus, Cocoliquot or Harvest) and one small one (any of the ethnic diners we've enjoyed there), so if we have to pick one, what would it be? edited to add: just read about Fresco, which seems to be in flux a bit? Hmm.

I'll be going to St. Louis for not much more than 36 hours. We'll be visiting the Botanic Garden, and staying at a hotel just south of Forest Park. I know St. Louis, or knew it as a youngster, but am not sure where I want to "hang out" as an adult. I'd prefer the free time we have to be spent at the best bakery in the area, the best coffee shop, the best bookstore, the nicest neighborhood breakfast place, etc. A walkable hood. Going over the archives reveals a small sampling of passionate St. Louis entries, but with no focus on neighborhoods. We have, basically, an afternoon, a dinner, post-dinner and breakfast. We are passionate wine lovers, so a wine bar would be great, with knowledgable servers, a list that goes beyond Kendall Jackson, etc. We love good breakfasts, fine pastries, good coffee. Where should we go? Thanks!

Excellent. Thanks!

Ok, I came to the right people here. Thanks for all this help. I didn't realize loin chops were so lean!

Ah, I see. So does one typically not use salt in a marinade for chops that are more meaty and less fatty? Shoulder chops. Have to look into that.

I'm not a big meat eater, and thus, though I feel more than competent using meat as a flavoring in other dishes, cooking the actual piece of meat usually befuddles me. Chicken I can do. Pork, I fail at. Miserably. Tough But Flavorful is what I usually end up with. Here's an example. Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong? Two 1" thick pork loin chops, bone in. Marinade in a wine-based liquid (with salt) for 12 hours. Pat dry. Fry on each side for 3 minutes or so to get a little browning, then toss marinade in pan, cover, stick in oven for an hour or so. I've tried every temp between 225 and 300 with various times in the oven. Each time yields a flavorful but tough piece of meat. What’s they key to

Tonight, tomorrow, whatever. The wine is a blend (65 % Shyraz, 20% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot) called I Quattro Mori from Castel de Paolis. I was really surprised by the layers and dusty/earthiness of this wine, given its region. I think it would go well with the foods I see here! The Frascati I didn't take a picture of, unfortunately.

Great thread. I just breakfasted vicariously on everyone's meal pictures. I'd like to mention two Lazio wines I enjoyed on my recent trip, but the pictures/names are at home. One was a bone dry, mineral Frascati that was recommended as a pairing with artichokes, favas and assorted fritti misti, although I don't know if it's available in the U.S., or as Brad said above, was better due to the surroundings. The other was an interesting Lazio red, which for me meant I enjoyed it (hadn't met a red from the region I'd bother ordering again until this one). I'll be back with their names tonight!

I'm wondering if you didn't enjoy the meal you had when Sanford D'Amato was back in the kitchen? We were there recently and had a truly exceptional experience, from service to the food. When we ate there a few years ago, it was different, but the current dining experience was memorable. In a nutshell, I'm asking if you are looking for more adventurous food styling, or was there something about the experience that didn't work for you?

I just returned from a trip there and will report on it soon. In Praiano there seem to be three contenders for restauranta, La Strada, La Brace (both near each other on the main road in town, which is the main road of the penninsula) and the other one down nearer the beach which was closed. I think I can find its name somewhere. Praiano is a very small town with few offerings. We ate at La Brace and enjoyed it.

Wendy, I just saw this thread, and I live in Evanston (also a Chicago 'burb, for those who don't know). When we redesigned our kitchen (a light redesign, no appliances changed spots), I researched for about a year like someone mentioned: found cabinets I liked in stores (EXPO, KdA, big boxes) then looked them up online. We eventually went with Merillat Cabinets, and you can see every single thing they have online, which proved very, very helpful. For instance, we have a small house, so we ended up using bathroom cabinets in one part of the kitchen, since they are less deep, 18" vs. 24". In another example, we created a sliding drawer in the previously unused 6" wide area beside the stove by purchasing a piece of cabinet filler and a pair of sliders that we found at one of the big boxes. The filler sizes were all given on their website. Then, once we had some configurations, we made mock-ups of the cabinets on the (now empty) walls using old liquor boxes (free from behind the liquor store!) and lots of tape. Pulling paint off walls wasn't an issue, as we repainted later. We also used painter's tape (easily removable) to mark out different things on walls to see if they felt right. In our case, it was a hole in a wall we eventually cut to open up the space. As others have mentioned, looking at the stores and finding products, looking things up online, then perusing ideas in books/magazines turned out to be the way to go for us. You will run into things you didn't expect, but if you have the patience and the desire, it's possible.

Hmm. While I don't have it or use it anymore, what I do remember are two aspects. One was talk about how 100% whole grain loaves would differ in terms of hydration, kneading time, the bran/germ breaking through gluten, etc. And the second was the recipe for desem (sp?) bread, an all whole wheat sourdough bread with nothing else in it but salt and water. OTOH, I can't even access it anymore, as I tossed it. Maybe I thought the same as you? I know that the Bread Alone book has a 100% sourdough rye recipe, and I think the Village Baker has a 100% whole wheat sourdough recipe. Both of these books I still have and can more heartily recommend.