CtznCane

My favorite inexpensive place is Cinderella Cafe & Bakery out on Balboa, I think near 6th if I'm not mistaken. An authentic Russian restaurant. I've never had anyone be disappointed with their food.

Dredging up an old subject with a new question. Super Bowl Sunday, one dish I fixed was a Red Snapper cooked in a salt crust. The week before there had been a couple of shows on Food Network dealing with the topic of salt crusted fish. One of the shows was Tyler Florence's Food 911 and the other was Cookworks. Both of the recipes called for lightly frothed egg whites mixed in with the salt. This brings up the question of whether or not the egg whites would be a good idea for helping with the salt coat on a Roast? I know I'm tempted to try this route , perhaps even in conjunction with cheese cloth..

I'm glad you brought up Ficklin. I almost mentioned them but I haven't had any of their port in quite some time. While many California wineries have gotten into the port game, most frequently with Zin Ports, Ficklin has been around for as long as I"ve been drinking (too long) and has consistantly made a good Port. As to the cocktail mentioned to you about white port, I think white port, unlike the more traditional red port has been used as a cocktail drink/mixer. Perhpas others know more on that but where does the use of white port as part of a mixed drink stem?

Andre's post spurs on a couple of questions. What are your favorite everyday/regular Port's and are there any special pairings you like? By "everyday/regular" I mean blended port and not vintage port. The major Port houses have strived through the years to create their blends to be consistant year to year in order to develop a loyal following. Whether Ruby, Tawny, or general blend this holds true. Their vintage port being reserved to be more unique. For myself, I like tawny's but don't have a particular favorite. Yet when buying a blended port, overall, the one I most consistantly buy/drink is Warre's Warrior. I find it to have a nice depth of flavor, a smooth finish and just a plleasing wine overall. As to pairings, chocolate, stilton cheese, and cigars are the classics. I'd love to have a cigar but being an ex-smoker that temptation could lead to too many problems. Stilton I enjoy, as well as blue, but it doesn't come to mind or be on hand as often. Chocolate on the other hand winds up being what I'll generally have along with my port. (Though I am enthusiastic enough to enjoy it on its own.) I'm really curious of any savory dishes one might serve with port. This might be best accomplished in a first course. I haven't found or thought of any yet but my curiosity in this vein is really piqued.

A big thanks to Phaelon for starting this thread. I've never been a big gin, vodka or martini fan yet my s.o. loves martini's and gibsons. At least 3 nights during the week (if not more) I'll have one made for her when she gets home from work. As for myself, I now will have a martini now and then after learning about orange bitters from Winesonoma. That said, when I saw this, it seemed like a good way to add yet one more martini like drink to the repertoire. Having gone out get the lillet (Lillet Blanc) I've served as well as indugled myself in Vesper's the past two evenings. My s.o. loved it and I enjoyed it as well. I used the 3 parts gin, 1 part vodka 1/2 part (3,1,1/2 oz) formula. I used Bombay Saphire and Chopin Vodka. As to the Lillet I could only find one Lillet Blanc. Is the Kina Lillet a now defunct brand? Yes, Chopin is potato vodka but I couldn't see it being better with the Seagrams Vodka I keep on hand to cook with. Guess now I have to go get a bottle of Belvedere to follow the books suggestion of better with grain vodka. Thanks again though to introducing me to a new drink I enjoy. Though just what I need, 1 more vice. hehehe

For anyone interested, Concannon is having thier annual Founders Day Sale this weekend. Though they open at 11 for sales, they will open up to start the line at 10. The sale, up till now has just been for wine club members to take advantage of early on. The prices for their wines can't be beat. I already bought a case of their petite sirah, cabernet sauv, syrah, and 3 cases of their pinot noir. (All their central coast label. I actually got one of each and went back to get 2 more pinot noir. Over the last couple years, the new owners (The Wine Group) have been trying to change their label and bottles. The wines though are good and at the prices they have spectacular. The cab sauv, and syrah is $36 a case, the pinot noir $48 a case, and the Petit Sirah $60 a case. The pinot is exceptionally good. The petit sirah is good and so is the syrah. The cab I'm not crazy about but, I'm typically not as crazy about cab sauv yet still for the price it can't be beat. Thought I'd mention it for any of youi that might be in the Livermore area. THeir Founder's day sale has sold out quickly each of the last 3 years. This is a point too for wine clubs. Concannon's is nice in that members get the first jump on this sale as well.

This past weekend was the Barrel Tasting weekend for wineries in the Russian River area here. The region included Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley, Healdsburg and Coastal areas. This event, with barrel tastings, food, and overall atmosphere in the valley is one of our favorites. With so many to go to (over 100 participating) Some years we go to all new/different wineries we haven't been to and other times to the usual suspects. With trying so many wines, and not taking notes, I'll just give an overall impression with a few notes here and there. We made it to 6 wineries on Saturday, along with a winemaker's dinner Saturday night (after a nap at the motel), and went to 4 on Sunday. I'll go through them in the order we went to them. 1. Raymond Burr Vineyards - We always enjoy going here. The location has one of the nicest views in the area. Wine wise they only have 3. Chard, Cab, and Cab Franc. The Chard's are nice but in the price range they are middle of the road. The Cab's are hit and miss some good, some just average. The Cab Franc however is wonderful and keeps us coming back time and again. Another nice aspect of this winery, is that on non-event weekends you can get tours of their Orchids. Their orchids (for which Burr was well known) are spectacular. 2. Preston of Dry Creek. - This was our first time to Preston. Across the board their wines were good. Of particular note I liked their Barbera. They also make a nice blend of Syrah and Petit Sirah they simply call Syrah-Sirah. Both of these wines had a nice depth and character. 3. Dry Creek Vineyards. -- Dry Creek has a good reputation yet I didn't find any of their wines really grabbing me. Their Meritage is nice, but again, nothing really floated our boat there. 4. J Vineyards.& Winery. - J is absolutely top shelf. For one going up to this area, I think I'd choose going here over anywhere else. We never made it to the barrell tasting opting instead for the Bubble Room there. On normal weekends they typically will have a couple of tasting menus yet this weekend they only had their sparkling wine tasting. This consisted of their Brut, Brut Rose, 98 Brut Magnum, and 96 Late disgorged. These were paired with a Lobster canape, Lobster Bisque served in an egg shell, a sevruga & salmon caviar combo, and lastly a seared foie gras with dried apricot. -- We also tasted their Pinot Gris, Robert Taylor Pinot Noir, and Ratafia as well. We have not had any wine at J that has not been a winner. While we initially went there for the bubbly, it is their pinot noir's that top the chart. 5. Harvest Moon Estate & Winery - Our last 2 on Saturday were not planned. We stumbled upon this winery on the way back to our motel. Pleasant wines, a few interesting Zins and a nice Gewurztraminer desert wine. I don't really know how to classify the desert wine here as it is one of those artifically induced icewines. Still it turned out to be nice and we must have liked it since we bought a bottle. 6. Pellegrini Family Vineyards. This turned out to be our 'new find' of this years visit. We were very impressed with their wines across the board. They are definitely on our list now of places to go to. Wine Maker's Dinner at Paradise Ridge Winery. Paradise Ridge is off the beaten path, in Santa Rosa off of FountainGrove Parkway by the golf course. This is a largely residential area of Santa Rosa, tucked back, on a hill with one of the most spectacular views of the valley. They also have an eclectic sculpture grove and have art exhibits there as well. The wines at Paradise Ridge are sound across the board and, in my opnion, very good values. I'm particularly fond of their Zin's, though I enjoy all of their wines. Paradise Ridge has several winemaker dinner's throughout the year. We've only gone to the one they hold on Barrel Tasting Weekend and last year (1week ahead) we were already too late to get in so this year I reserved early. The dinner? Magnificent! One of the most delicious meals I've ever had. The event was catered and done by Jessie McQuarrie of Feast Bistro/Catering (I believe in Santa Rosa). All 5 courses were magnificent starting with Lobster Poached in butter and warm potato salad paired with the Paradise Ridge Chardonnay. I've never had a better lobster dish! Ther rest of the meal was equally stunning. The wines paired with dinner were excellent and nothing beats a meal with wines matched so well. Besides spectacular food and wine, Paradise Ridge keeps the cost of their events very reasonable. For 2 of us, as wine club memebers it was 180 something including tax and tip and only 30 dollars more than that for non-wineclub members. I can't think of many places, that with wine and tip that wind up much less. Sunday's tasting 1. Korbel Champagne Cellars - Yes, champagne. I know that name will irk some of you, and I am known here to prefer calling it champagne myself, not as an indiffernece but we just all know what we mean and champagne rolls off the tongue so much more easily than sparkling wine and heck, if I call it cava or sekt someeone else will complain anyhow. That aside, Korbel is a nice winery to visit. For an inexpensive sparkler, at 10 bucks a bottle it is a reasonable cost wine to have around on a summer afternoon. At the winery, they also have some great sales at these events. This time it was 40% off so yes, we got a case. Tax and all it came to $79 so how could we go wrong? Nothing spectacular here, but some pleasant sparklers along with some pleasant novetly ones as well. 2. Gary Farrell. This is another winery of which we are very fond. Overlooking the Russian River Valley theirs is the nicest view in this area. Their wines across the board are very good and we are usually most fond of their Pinot Noir's and Zinfandel's. We try to keep our purchases down to 1 per winery if we like them (with exceptions of course) and I had planned on buying 1 bottle while there. I figured I'd get a Zin or Pinot. What did I get? Their Sauvignon Blanc 2004 just released that day. I NEVER buy Sauvignon Blanc if given an alternative of buying a red. Why this time? Just unlike any I've ever had before. This one had a vibrant grapefruit tone. Crisp, great acidity, bursting with flavor, and utterly delightful. 3. Martin Ray Winery. Martin Ray has some top notch Cabs, other wines that are pleasant, and others that are so-so. So for across the board very up-and-down. Their lower end wines, while well priced are hit and miss. Mid level (15-25) are decent. Their high end cabs though, the Diamond Mountain and Santa Cruz Mountain cabs are exquiisite. 4. Iron Horse Vineyards. Yet another winery on a hill with a spectacular view, though this one is on the southern end of things in Sebastapol. Top notch sparklers and a decent chard and pinot noir. I did buy a bottle of their Pinot Noir but I'm a bit uncertain about it. In general I find sparkling wine producers such as J, Gloria Ferrer, and Domaine Carneros (to name a few) to have fine Pinot Noirs. I don't know if Iron Horse's matches up to those others (and certainly not up to J's or Gloria Ferer.) They did have a Cab that won't be bottled until December which is stunning. ALso, they are releasing (approximately in May) a late harvest Viognier they were tasting that I can't wait to get my hands on. Our bottom line of wineries visited was 11 of which 7 were the usual suspects and 4 new. Did anyone else make it there for the weekend? If so, any favorites you found along the way?

Okay, I'm no longer a virgin. This afternoon I went out and bought a free range chicken. It was from 'Coastal Range Organics.' At 2.79 per pound, and 3.54 lbs it came out to $9.88 To get something comparable to how I normally would cook a whole chicken, I cooked it in my Romertopf clay pot, with onions and celery inside, salt, pepper & fresh lemon thyme, along with a little melted butter over the top and drizzled with chardonay. Cooked along with it were pearl onions, red potatoes and carrots. My s.o. only eats white meat from the chicken (argghhh, but I can't fight city hall) while I like both and actually prefer the dark. She did not notice much if any difference on her part. Her statement was to buy the cheaper chicken. It might have been a bit better for her, then again, cooked this way it usually turns out delectable to begin with. I on the other hand, and I say this begrudginly, noticed a good deal of difference. Then again, I primarily ate the legs and thighs. I found the flavor noticeably deeper and more staisfying than the normal chicken I cook. Of particular note, is the fact that when I took the chicken out, I did not need to skim the fat off before making a gravy. That, to me, was the most noticeable and obvious difference. Another difference was that the bird crisped up more than is normal. While I occasionally crisp it up after taking out the vegetables and pan juices for the gravy, this chicken did not really need much crisping. All in all, I still feel the normal/other chicken offers more bang for the buck. 2.5 times (actually a little more) in price doesn't quite justify it in my book. When it comes to spending this amount I'll also probably lean towards beef, lamb pork or fish based on price and getting what I want. I will conceed however, that if I have a hankering for chicken that on its own is kicked up to another level, I will then purchase the free range. I guess after trying it out you could call me half a convert. I can apprectiate the difference and for special occasions yes, I can find justification. Day in and day out though, the other chicken is hard to beat for the combination of price and bang for the buck.

I must admit that I have not knowingly purchased, cooked, or eaten a free-range chicken. It is not that I don't like chicken, for I eat chicken several times a week, but as a friend of mine says, "the only thing wrong with chicken is that it isn't beef." To carry that further, nor is it lamb, pork, or fish, all of which I would choose over chicken. My reason for choosing to eat more chicken (typically at least 3 times a week) is driven by cost. The chicken I prefer, as well as the one I find to be the cheapest and most readily available is Foster Farms. I'm pleased enough with the stock I make with it as well as the other dishes so, for the price it seems very reasonable. At Costco I get 3 whole chickens for $12 and and occasionally, with specials for half that. So for $4 bucks (or $2 if I'm lucky) I have a hard time justifying the purchase of a $10+ chicken. If I get into a $10 plus chicken I can now have beef, lamb, pork, or fish which makes the chicekn s.o.l. to begin with. As to humane or chemicals. We are a society who indulges in alcohol, recreational drugs (for many), and chemicals in some form in many ways so I don't hold much store one way or the other about chemical free. As to humane, I guess I view it from the standpoint that, while not an ideal existance, they'd have no existance at all if they weren't being rasied to be eaten. I will say that I intend on going out (spurred on by this thread) and buying a free range chicken and to roast it and see how it tastes. Not so much to compare it to other chickens but to compare it to other meat choices in the same category. Just my l judgment or opinon, but while the people using the e-g forums are probably, for the most part, in a better position economically to ignore the cost factor, I think that for most peple that cost is a concern. After all, less money spent on food, more money for wine, drink and...... other vices let's say.

Fondue Fred's in Berkeley has been around since the early 70's. I've always found it a fun place to go with reasonably decent food. I've never heard any complaints either from friends who've eaten there. It is on Telegraph Avenue near the campus. The address is 2556 Telegraph inside a small mini-mall, between Blake and Parker St's.

Dover Canyon's Benito Dusi vineyard zin is very good. My favorite though is ZinAlley's zinfandel. If you're going over to Iron Horse there is also BellaLuna on the left just before you get there. Don't blink though or you'll miss it. They make 2 wines. Both are very nice and Sangiovese is the primary grape. Their Fighter Pilot is my main choice. That one is 75% Ssngiovese 25% Zinfandel. I also like the Cab Franc at Carmody-McKnight.

While this receipe calls for bone-in short ribs, I used this recipe for boneless short ribs for our SuperBowl party main dish. It worked out great. I used the Anchor Porter in part because Anchor is one of my favorite breweries to begin with.

For whatever resason I haven't tried many of the Coppola wines. Had one once I recall and found it pleasant enough. I haven't tried the Emeril wines, but Fetzer puts out a decent product so they are probably decent enough wines for their price point. I may be wrong, but it seems like Tommy Smothers has pulled back the reins quite a bit wine wise. I know now he is alligned/partnered with someone else. The only place I found them to try was a wine shop (I'm sure Bruce knows the name) along highway 12 that was a co-op tasting room. I wasn't excited about those. As for the Raymond Burr, I like their Cab Franc though it is usuallly so limitited it is hard to get other than by being in their wine club. I'm very fond of the Fess Parker Pinot Noirs. To toss out another winery along this vein there is Carmody-McKnight (Gary Carmody Coway) down in Paso Robles.

The first time I used them was when the woman I ordered crawfish and turtle meat out of Louisianna gave me a recipe for crawfish etouffe with them and it was great. Since then I'll use them in a variety of dishes and always keep a few cans on hand.

One of my favorite ways for a Boston Butt roast is Rick Bayless's 'Cochinita Pibil' (slow roasted achiote pork in banana leaves.) I've done this several times and it never fails to come out any less than spectacular. It too is more a slow roast, 300 -350 on the grill. It just melts in your mouth. I must say too that I've never had any one of his recipes turn out less than excellent. This one came from his book 'Mexcio One Plate at at TIme.'

I can't think of any fish I don't like. I do however (outside of sushi which I love) have a few solid favorites and favorite methods. My all time favorites fish meals. 1. Fresh water channell catfish (years ago at my uncles in Huntland, Tenn.) Breaded in corn meal fresh from the local mill, cooked outside in a cast iron skillet in oil over an open flame. Just magnificent. 2. Cod baked in a salt coat. I had this at Ameilio's when Jacky Robert was the owner/head chef. Absolutely melt in your mouth delicious. 3. Poached Salmon with a mustard dill suace. This is one I do, poaching the salmon and then a simple sauce of butter/cream/stone ground mustard/ & fresh dill. 4. Northern Pike beer battered and fried. This was Northern my in-laws use to catch up on Cree Lake, 30 miles south of the Northwest Territories in the perma frost. It's hard to match any fish coming from such pristine waters. Other favorite fishes are Sturgeon, Thresher Shark, and Dover sole just to name the 3 other most prominent fish I like to eat.

2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. NOT!!! Seriously though there are 2 I would go with. Meat wise, I'd say 80-20 chuck & sirloin. I'd rather err to the side of a fattier burgert than too lean of one. Ya gotta have that fat to really get it nice and juicy. Grilled, or my preference done on the griddle. Medium rare works for me but medium to medium plus is fine too as long as it is juicy. From there, the best I've had out (long ago gone Burnetts/New Lucky's in Oakland) was done on a soft french roll. A little bit of mayo that those juices just mingled with and moistened the bun to perfection. A little bit of lettuce of crunchy lettuce was the only other thing on the bun. Along with it though, and what really made the burgers was the compliment of the pepperoncini peppers. Normally I'm not a fan of these but this combo was heaven sent. A bite of pepper and a bite of burger. The second type, just a nice seame seed bun or Kaiser Roll. Soft not hard. Mayo is a must. Enough to provide a good coating and transition between the meat and bun. The other essentials are crispy lettuce and Red or Bermuda onion's. No other onion works as well. As for a side, french fries. I don't care whether they're thin or thick as long as they are crisp outside and soft inside. As for a dipping sauce for them, I prefer a combination of catsup mixed with worcestershire sauce. For a drink. Nothing takes the place of a Malted milk shake, heavy on the malt. What a great topic, this is certainly one that most of us have strong opinions and love hate opinions on.

This morning it was something new, eggs in purgatory. Eggs poached in marinara sauce with parmesan cheese. Served over french bread toast. It turned out great.

I love braised dishes, with lamb shanks and oxtails being at the top of the list. This week I've made 2 braises, Coq au Vin on Sunday, and then Tuesday I just winged one which came out great. It was a pork loin that I browned with some diced onions, and then added crushed maraschino cherries and wild cherry pepsi as the braising liquid and cooked it for 1.5 hours at 350. It came out quite tender and then I thickened the sauce with a little corn starch. Turned out excellent. I too like the Molly Stevens book on Braising. I like that she is giving you the method from which you can then go your own direction. A large part of the pork roast I did was essentially following her guidelines and then plugging in flavors I like.

I've found it next to impossible to find veal bones. This isn't even considering their price when/if I did find them. This I find to be surprising living in the Bay Area. Beyond that I often will use 1 or 2 veal shanks when I'm making beef stock. The basic recipe I use (with my own slight variance) is from Emeril's Lousianna Real & Rustic (his veal stock with beef bones instead). I typically make my beef and chicken stocks (along with vegetable broth) in large quantiities and keep it frozen as I am constantly using it for rice if not for sauces or stews. Contrary to having a light stock I choose to go for a hearty stock. If I need a more delicate flavor I can always cut the strength of a stock but I can only bolster it so much.

When we recently bought our new appliances I was shown the Advantium but opted instead for the Viking Microwave/convection combination. Since I haven't had a chance to play around with the convection, and especially the combo features I'd be interested if anyone has tips on those as well.

Well, due to comments on this thread I have gone out and purchased several. I got a 9 qt round, 7.5 qt Bouillabaisse pot, and there multifunction pan.. I even picked up a stoneware covered casserole. A big advantage, due to tips here, was going to the outlet store as well as signing up for their mail offers. I wound up hitting it when I got an extra 30% off of already deep discounts. So far all I've been able to use is the 9 qt for a pot roast and not only did it perform great the cleanup was very easy. As our kitchen remodel gets finished (waiting as I type for them to install our granite counters today) I'm sure I'll be using them frequently. Through all this I'm still a big fan of Lodge as well. For purchasing Lodge I always go to the hardware store. Most good hardware stores (Ace I know for sure) have some selection and the prices there are certain to be reasonable.

It will be interesting to hear the trials and tribulations of someone else in their kitchen remodel. We are almost through ours and I'm just reading this thread before cooking an inaugural meal on our new stove. (Nothing fancy just bacon and eggs on the griddle.) While exciting, I know for us it has been a very draining experience as well. Good luck!

[ BTW-We've never noticed this, but I must confess we don't check our bills against the receipts like that. We just glance through the charges; if the date and company looks correct, and the charge seems approximately correct, we pay it. Someone could add $10 to each meal and we probably wouldn't notice it. This COULD BE a really good scam. This is exactly the point. Had this been on a credit card, as long as it wasn't outrageously different we wouldn't notice either. Even when noticed, if the amount is under $2.00 does it really fall into an amount that one wants to make an issue over? Yet multiply it out and the dollar amounts can easily soar. As to Pan's suggestion of lining it out and paying cash for the tip, that is what I'm inclined to do from now on. As to WineSonoma's thought about a surcharge, they can't charge you a sur charge without prior notification so that isn't it. We (actually my better half) usually check after we get home as well as a couple days later. Typically, depending on the amount, the first one that shows is without the tip (the preapproved amount submitted) and then it is adjusted within the next couple of days to reflect the tip. It is on the smaller amounts (last nights dinner was 30.xx before tip) that it shows up the first time with the tip included. The first time this happened, a couple weeks ago at a local ethic restaurant we said nothing and let it slide. Last night was just up at Denny's and Carolyn did call up there to complain though I don't know what the result of that call was yet. It does though have me wondering just how many times it may have happened in the past.

In the last 2 weeks, we've encountered what I feel is a serious flaw in using a debit or credit card for tips. On both these occasions we used our debit card and when we later compared our balance on line the figure was off. Last night it was off by $1.10 and the other time it was also off only by a dollar and some small change. These differences are slight enough that (and especially if on a credit card) it doesn't seem worth the time to make an issue out of it, yet over a period of time it could really mount up. Has anyone else noticed this kind of trend? The first time we didn't make an issue, but now, since this could be a big time scam we're taking the time. (We do tip well to begin with so it is not the amount but the principle.