wkl

35$ a pitcher??!! for real?

matthew, when you are there will you be bringing back a truffle? have you ever done it? has anyone ever travelled with one of these tubers? do you wrap it in a moist cloth and then seal in a small mason jar? would i be taking a big chance getting it through customs?

not fine china but, very cool stuff can be had at korin trading in nyc. or visit www.korin.com

yes, i used the recipie from "all about braising" with good results.not entirely clear on how much fat to render out of the belly though.

i know i am being picky here but, i hope the hunters are using birdshot. buckshot would turn a grouse or woodcock into a pulpy, mushy mess. it's made of lead, also. steel shot is reserved for waterfowl.

"Getting used to the time zone here....." where are ya?

" If we were not adventurous then how to explain the explosion of the Rhone Rangers here?" because french rhones are popular here? "The popularity of wines is not necessarily a result of a market being adventurous or not. If one looks at the history of the wines you note as well as the nature of the grapes used to make them it is easy to see why they have not become widely popular" but if we were truly, adventurous, as you stated, wouldn't these wines be more popular? i guess i'm just not following what you are trying to say. i can specify producers, if that is what you mean, not sure what that would prove, however. all i'm saying is, the large majority of american wine consumers are not adventurous.

"If Americans were not adventurous to a fairly large degree, there wouldn't be so many varieties of wines from so many countries sold here." America is a huge and wealthy market for any product. I think it's our amount of disposable income that drives the amount of wine available here. If our palates were so adventurous wouldn't we be sucking down mass quantities of marcilliac, juracon sec, and madiran instead of yellow tail shiraz?

i wonder what would happen if the state allowed independent and state run retail stores. a little in state competition would be interesting. it really sucks that a pennsylvania resident, who has the dream of opening their own retail wine shop, has to leave the state to do it.

i've never had aquacotta, so i guess i don't speak from experience, but i'll take a different route here. i don't see a "big" red working with these ingredients at all.what abouta tuscan white. trebbiano, maybe? i always lean to sparkling wine with soup, the bubbles tend to offer a nice contrast to the soup. prosecco, or sparkling riesling would be my choice. hey mcduff, what do you think?

if the wax on top of the cork was cracked, your bottle was exposed to heat.either at your house or the state store.or both. the heat would have forced the cork up, thereby cracking the wax seal. it doesn't take much temperature change to make this happen. the bottle may also have been overfilled, which can make leakage due to heat exposure happen even easier.

bryan sikora, (the ex chef owner of d'jango) has not been at sovana for at least a month as i understand it. he is pursuing a new venture. i've been to state street grill once and was underwhelmed. but alot of people do like it.

percy- i just saw your shots of charcoal pit. i've been going there for like my whole life.a wilmington institution. what did you think? natasha- give sovana another shot. i've been there about 25 times over the last 6 years and it can be a little hit or miss. lately, the so and i have been splitting a salad, having an app, then a 1/2 portion of a couple pastas. kinda creating a mini tasting menu. it allows us to taste some different wines. i had that stacked hierloom tomato app a few times and really liked it. however, there were a couple different versions. i don't think i had one with too much basil. they always do a good job with the fish entrees and the pizzas are indeed good.

my B's: first taste of 2002 Barolo ( a maligned vinatge to say the least), from elio grasso. they chose to make only one Barolo this vintage. the wine got good marks from s tanzer, especially considering the vintage, but I didn't care for it at all. i love grasso's wines and own lots of them, but this must have been just a terrible year. however, Bruno giacossa 2004 nebbiolo d'alba was simply wonderful with flank steak.

Brad, always enjoy your posts and was wondering were you had been. hope all is well. Cheers!

I'll be in Piemonte in the midst of truffle season and am wondering if anyone has advice on buying truffles from the Alba market. What does one look for in terms of quality in a truffle? Size, aroma, shape? Is it feasible to bring one back to the States? How would you pack it and how long will a truffle last? Is it too early for this seasons prices to be set?

v, thanks for making us all better cooks............

percy,v - i'm actually cooking my first pork belly today, i don't have suis vide equipment. should i just follow a braising recipie from molly stevens? thought i would finish over charcoal grill quickly before serving. thoughts? will short cure help?

v- okay to bump this back up? in the cooking forum there is discussion of the likes/dislikes of brining. and it brought up the concept promoted in the zuni cafe book of pre-salting. i haven't read it, but it's about 1 tablespoon of salt left on meat overnight. i've been getting great results using the brine technique from your copper river salmon thread on flank steak and pork tenderloin. i use about 2 tablespoons of salt/sugar/other seasoning per pound for two hours then wash the brine off. is this essentially the same technique? can you offer some thoughts/opinions on pre salting vs your salt/sugar brining technique vs. liquid brines. when would you use one over the other, are there protiens that take well to one but not the other. is there a meat or fish that you would never brine?

for shizzle, vadavizzle!

"I must admit though, for my palate anyway, Mexican cooking is the only cuisine where cilantro works/makes sense to me. " not even in asian cuisine?

the subs at white house are the best! they make a mean meatball sub too.

on apple slices........

not fine dining, but Doc's Oyster House has a very good wine list, that is very reasonably priced. i've enjoyed the food there, but wouldn't put in teh fine dining catagory.

i drink a wine from southwest france that carries the "clairette" designation. it's between a rose and red in terms of color and body. i believe the skins are left in contact with the juice longer than rose but not long enough to be a full red wine. the wine you refer to is obviously not rose, but they could be refering to how the wine is made and not the composition of teh grapes. just a guess.......