Zeemanb
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Posts posted by Zeemanb
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You know, I almost hate to post about my Nashville trip since I didn't really get to go out and discover what great foods your town has to offer, other than an evening at The Sunset Grill (which was highly enjoyable....and their "half off wine" happy hour is a thing to behold). However, I did have one of the best food and wine related weekends of my life, and it happened in your town....
I was lucky enough to be a guest of L' Ete du Vin; a non-profit organization that raises money for the American Cancer Society. The focus of is on wine, and I don't know if everyone from Nashville is this much fun, but you all have some very warm and gracious food and wine aficionados. The highlights of the weekend were many, including a tutored tasting at the Vanderbilt Marriott, a private patrons dinner at the Schermerhorn, and a grand auction event where we were staying at the Loew's Vanderbilt Hotel. If you're from the Nashville area and you love wine, go look these folks up, they have events year-round and are genuinely great people.
Anyway, I posted all of the wines we had over the weekend on the wine board, and of course I've got the entire weekend chronicled with pictures and tasting notes over on my blog, but to give you some idea of the kind of shindig they like to throw, here is what we had for dinner at the Schermerhorn on Friday night (food from Chef Grant MacPherson)....
Champagne Reception
Demi-Tasse of Crustacean Bisque
Porcini Arancini, White Anchovy Aioli
Bay Scallop Ceviche, Fine Herbs
Pol Roger Champagne, Brut
First Course
Parfait of Columbian River Sturgeon, Celery Leaves, Hazelnut Dressing
Pol Roger “Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill” Champagne, 1996
Small filet of sturgeon over a quenelle of sturgeon mousse, accompanied with small batonettes of celery root, apple and cucumber. Wonderful texture of the firm sturgeon meat against the smoothness and richness of the mousse, set against the peppery spice of the celery leaves and the earthy, sharp, crispness of the various pieces of fruit and vegetable. It was all about the acidity of the incredible champagne cutting through the richness and earthiness of the dish. Other than the foie (obviously), this may very well have been my favorite dish of the evening. There was a whole lot going on with it.
Second Course
Braised Filet of Black Bass, Heirloom Tomato Fondue, Basil Oil
Louis Jadot “Clos de La Chapelle” Duc De Magenta Chassagne Montrachet, 1998
Like a wonderful caprese salad with bass instead of mozzarella….what a great time of year for tomatoes, absolutely a delicious dish. The wine made it a perfect summertime course, with anise and grass on the nose of the Montrachet, low acidity and alcohol with the flavors opening up big after a few minutes…tons of apple and fresh cracked white pepper.
Third Course
Whole Roasted Foie Gras, Rhubarb Relish, Natural Jus
Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares, 1989
Now, the secret to really enjoying good foie gras at an event like this is to sit next to someone who is not a fan of foie….because you get to eat theirs too. This is one of my favorite foods and up to this point I’d only had it seared or in a torchon. The roasted lobe gives it an entirely different character, it is very soft with almost no caramelization on the outside, which makes it even richer and more luscious in character with a rosy pink slightly rare center. And the fact that it was probably the largest piece of foie I’ve ever been served did not hurt matters. I meant to ask the chef how many servings they carved per lobe, but forgot. In addition, I’m a bigger fan of savory accompaniments with foie, and while the rhubarb relish was still somewhat sweet it was a nice change of pace compared to the usual candy/jelly additions to this type of course.
As delicious as the foie gras was, it was practically eclipsed by the delicious Bonnes Mares. Only 5500 bottles of this wine were made, so it was a very rare treat. The nose on this juice was massive, with lots of leather, heavy, heavy dark fruit flavors and charcoal on the marathon-long finish. It was right around this time that Tom Black arrived at our table with a big glass of Chateau Latour from 1970 for us to pass around and enjoy. This would be an ongoing theme from this moment forward…with the “excuse” for the various wines being that they each represented the birth year from one of the guest winemakers. This wine was beyond me, I was way, way out of my element already, but if this is an indicator of the good life, I could get used to it.
Fourth Course
Oven-Roasted Prime Beef Tenderloin, Wild Mushroom Ravioli, Drambuie Sauce
Chateau Palmer,1988
Chateau Palmer, 1995
I was really spent at this point. The piece of perfectly cooked beef was wonderful and almost tender enough to eat with a dessert spoon, with a big slice of black truffle tucked between the meat and the hand made mushroom ravioli. I had a couple of bites, but had hit the wall with the amount of food I’d had up to this point…..whole proteins will do that to you after bariatric surgery.
The 1995 Palmer was described as a “warm sun” vintage, and was very floral in flavor but still very tight. The 1988 was a “cool vintage” with bright acidity, some strawberry, but overall still quite tight in the glass. I’d love to try some different vintages from Palmer, in order to get a better idea of what this wine is all about.
And our generous ambassador of the finest vintages came over for a couple more visits……first with a 1950 Latour. The perfume of it and the way it coated the tongue was dreamy; so smooth you don’t even feel it when it is swallowed. Next up was a 1960 Latour, which ended up being my favorite because there was a lot more spice and more acid. It was at this point I began to truly understand what a “mature” wine tastes like, and how the flavors open up over the years. I knew that as good as the 1960 was right now, that in the coming years the bolder flavors would mellow out the spice and the acid. In contrast, we then shared a glass of 1965 Latour that was handed to us with the warning that we should “drink it quickly because it’s dying in the glass”. My first taste of it gave up leather and overripe fruit…..but then a few minutes later the character had changed even more with the finish becoming more like a port and the fruit becoming VERY overripe, flabby and loose. What a great experience to not only taste such rare and wonderful wines, but to also begin to understand more of the wine “lingo” that has always escaped me up to this point since I basically spend all of my time drinking grocery store wines (not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that)….
Fifth Course
Chilled Coconut Lemon Grass Soup, Pineapple Sago, Mascarpone Ice Cream
Hugel “Selection De Grains Nobles” Gewurtztraminer, 1988
This was a nice, beautiful and light dessert served in half of a coconut, but the star of the show was the Gewurtz…..I am not generally a fan of sweet wines, but this was a lot like drinking a wonderful icewine, with the sweetness never coming off as even slightly cloying. The nose was so big that even at an arm’s length away the fragrance came to find you. When describing the wine for us, Etienne Hugel told us that each bottle represents approximately three hours of manual labor out in the vineyard, picking out the good grapes from those that are too rotted to use.
So, not a bad dinner, but I have to be honest, I was a little peeved that I never managed to make it over to Krystal's during the weekend. They got rid of all of the White Castles in Kansas City, and as much as I love good food and wine, the slider is NOT without its own merit....
When I'm back in town next year, I will do my best to make it out beyond the free continental breakfast at the Loew's and whatever dinners are provided by L' Ete du Vin......
And I promise I won't KEEP asking everyone...."so they really call that the Batman building?"....
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You know, I rarely get over to this board just because I have so little to say about my usual house pours, but this weekend was definitely the highlight of my wine-neophyte life.
Not sure how popular or renowned Nashville's L' Ete du Vin organization is in the world of wine, but I was lucky enough to attend their major events last weekend as a guest of one of their main sponsors. If you are interested, it's a great organization that benefits the American Cancer Society, and these are fun people who love their wine....
The guest winemakers for the weekend were:
Thomas Duroux of Chateau Palmer
Etienne Hugel of Hugel & Fils
Jacques Lardiere of Maison Louis Jadot
Patrice Noyelle of Champagne Pol Roger
Anyway, I have tons of photos and tasting notes up on my blog, but I'll list out the weekend's pours.....
Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs 1999
Pol Roger Brut 1998
Pol Roger “Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill” Champagne, 1996
Hugel “Jubilee” Riesling 2004
Hugel “Jubilee” Riesling 1998 (one of my favorites)
Louis Jadot “Domaine de la Chapelle aux Loups”
Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot 1999
Louis Jadot “Clos de La Chapelle” Duc De Magenta Chassagne Montrachet, 1998
Louis Jadot “Clos St. Jacques” Gevrey Chambertin 1990
Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares, 1989 (another winner)
Alter Ego 2004
Chateau Palmer 2004
Chateau Palmer 1998
Chateau Palmer 1996
Chateau Palmer, 1995
Chateau Palmer,1988
Chateau Latour, 1970
Chateau Latour, 1966
Chateau Latour, 1960
Chateau Latour, 1950
Chateau Ausone Saint Emilion, 1967
Hugel “Vendange Tradives” Gewurztraminer 2001
Hugel “Selection de Grains Nobles” Gewurtztraminer 1998
Hugel “Selection De Grains Nobles” Gewurtztraminer, 1988
One non-French selection had at dinner one night, and I really did love it….
Martin Ray “Angeline” Russian River, 2005
So there you go, I couldn't let a weekend like this one pass without at LEAST coming over here and gloating about it.....that is, of course, assuming any of these wines are gloat-worthy
....I'm not a real wine-guy, but I do play one on TV..... -
Smithy - I, for one, take absolutely no offense at your question. It's a valid question and I wish I had been able to do it without surgery. But I couldn't. I was 44 years old when I had the surgery and had been fat all of my life. I tried every diet that existed and never really lost what I needed to and manage to keep any significant amount off. And every year found me just a bit heavier than the last. I was on diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol medications. I was completely out of control and ashamed of myself and my lack of willpower. The surgery is hard, but it is, at first, a FORCED change. It forced me to start what I couldn't manage to do for myself. Before I gained back any control over what I ate, I had already lost a significant amount of weight. And, 5 years later, I am still forced to eat smaller portions - just through the physical act of getting uncomfortably full so soon. I still struggle with food - I am stalled at a 100 lb. loss, because I eat too often. But while I would never recommend the surgery to anyone, I have never regretted doing it. Hope that gives you some understanding! Don't be afraid to ask me questions - I don't mind at all
!I concur with everything Kim had to say....next month will mark the first anniversary of my gastric bypass and I'm generally open and up front about the experience. I too tried every single diet program you can imagine, losing and regaining hundreds of pounds since the age of 12 or 13. I don't want to sound trite or overly dramatic with this comparison, but I literally think of this type of extreme eating disorder along the same lines as I do drug or alcohol addiction. You know in your heart there is absolutely no logical reason to destroy yourself with food....but it is a compulsion that is uncontrollable. I was fortunate enough to have surgery last year shortly after I turned 38, and within 2 weeks I was off of both blood pressure medications and acid reflux meds. Within 2 months I no longer needed my C-PAP which treated my sleep apnea (damn if it ain't nice to leave that thing at home when I fly now..). Surgery was a lifesaver for me, but to add to Kim's comments I will say that it is no "miracle cure" or magic bullet....the lifelong compulsion to overeat and rationalize bad behavior is still there, but now you have a tool to help you manage it. I've taken off approximately 140lbs in the past year, and have hit a self-inflicted plateau in the past month that I know has to do with simply eating too much of the wrong foods....so I'm in the process of working past that and the nice thing is as soon as you get back on track the weight comes off immediately. Besides the restricted stomach capacity, the surgery does come with a built-in "Ludovico Technique" tool that would make BF Skinner proud.....high fat and high sugar foods are not received well. I won't go into gory details there, but let's just say I can't pass by the potato chip aisle in the store without getting the cold sweats
. Overall, I couldn't be happier with my decision, and to piggyback on comments upthread, compliance with your vitamin/protein regimen IS mandatory. The aftermath of the surgery is far less dramatic physically than I expected it to be (although recovery SUCKS)......"will I be able to get enough food....will I feel weak all of the time", etc. However, I do know that if I don't keep taking my B-12 I could end up with permanent nerve damage, so there is that incentive. Still, even that is far less stressful than life prior to surgery, when I knew that my lifestyle would kill me before I turned 50. The self-hatred and loathing that comes along with the disorder has to mirror that of a junkie.....it's hard to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it. But I will say that the Mount Everest of ignorance is witnessed in people who say things like "here's an idea...why don't you just stop eating?". I weighed 200lbs by the time I was in the sixth grade, so people like me are just hard cases and need an extreme solution.
Anyway, I'm rambling here, as is my custom when talking about surgery. Less than a year in, my life is more enjoyable that it has ever been....even though I still need to lose about another 50 or 60 pounds I'm wearing the same size clothes I did in high school, I can fit comfortably into coach airline seats, walking/stairs are no longer a consideration when figuring out where I want to go and what I want to do........so overall it's a great trade-off.
So Smitty and anyone else who is curious......FIRE AWAY! If you can even come close to offending someone like me, then I'd probably end up admiring you and wanting to learn your methodology
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I think I finally realized the dynamic that best matches this show........ You know those super-duper extra crazy pageant moms who dress their children up like Vegas showgirls at the ripe old age of five or six? They are the kinds of mothers who set unrealistic expectations for the kids and then when they fail (by coming in second place), instead of being supportive they go through the laundry list of "things they could have done JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER!". Well, the two hosts of TNFNS remind me of those moms...........stupid challenges with no real hope of success, followed by humorlessly nitpicking weepy contestants on the finer points of appealing to the lowest common denominator.
The Romulan or the cheerleader will take this.......they obviously had the most damaging pageant moms and will continue to succeed in the shallowest end of the pool.
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Breaking news on the KCTV5 website......according to the State Board of Pharmacy, the word "drugstore" has to be taken out of the name because there is no pharmacist on duty. Man, you can't even make this stuff up. Some state govt employee is really earning their money.........
Here is the story on the news website.
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This show is like Hell's Kitchen where the contestants look like they were pulled from central casting instead of an episode of COPS. No matter how tiresome Ramsay's rants become, I still think they are less annoying and offensive than the two smarmy FoodTV muckety-mucks on NFNS who seem to only dish out variations of "you really need to be able to reel in the stupid people who are going to want to eat your garbage food".
Winning this contest is pretty similar to being named "the smartest guy with a lobotomy". Yes, you ARE the winner, but there is still the issue of the lobotomy......
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Oookay, I'm just curious if someone else heard Andrew say the same thing I did at the end of the "cussing chefs" segment, because I was literally laughing my ass off.
Was it something along the lines of "butterscotch waterfalls made from unicorn ***"? Because if it was, then I think they picked the wrong t-shirt slogan for this year.
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Obviously, there has never been a more polarizing character in all of KC food-dom as Tom.
I can think of only one exception . . . and he has so many personalities, perhaps . . .??
Well, I was going to be NICE, but since you took me there.......yes, pure pscycho material who has about as much talent as the worst that Top Chef has to offer....
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Obviously, there has never been a more polarizing character in all of KC food-dom as Tom. I think back to the night where he smashed the credit card machine when it wasn't working as quickly as he liked.........or when he hammered on some folks who broke one of his windup toys.......and I know there were plenty of reasons to write him off as an insane flower-loving eccentric.....but dammit I'll miss those floor shows. Macaluso's was one of the first places where I drank TOO much wine just to keep watching the show..............rest in peace Tom.
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I do wish the producers of those creepy Burger King commercials would just cut to the chase and let Eli Roth of "Hostel" fame direct the next couple of installments.
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This looks like the most appropriate and recent thread to add an experience we had while in DC last weekend....
I scanned this board before leaving Kansas City, and for whatever reason (probably the fact that my sense of humor is like Beavis) New Big Wong was the one place that stuck out in my memory. So when we were in the Chinatown/Gallery area to see a movie, we went around the corner from the Metro to walk through Chinatown and there it was.....
We were ready for some lunch, and I have to say that while it's a typical "American" Chinese dish that you see on every carryout menu, their Mongolian Beef was without question the best I've ever had. I've always been used to the texture of the beef resemble something like a rawhide chew toy, but the beef in the New Big Wong version was nearly melt in your mouth tender. The look of the grain reminded me of slow cooked brisket point. Perfect amount of sauce, lots of onion, a deep smoky flavor.....more than enough food for us to share.
I also saw something on the menu that I've never seen in any of the Chinese restaurants in my hometown..."General Tso's Bean Curd". I may have to see if I can special order it around here. We did try an order at Charlie Chiang's one day at lunch, but I'm guessing it can be made with less oil than their version......
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Not sure if he's been mentioned in this thread or any other, but Mark Decarlo from Taste of America on the travel channel has to go on my "favorite" list.
I know, I know, I'm sure he annoys the hell out of a lot of people, but there is something about a guy who really doesn't seem to know anything about food or necessarily like it go all around the country being a smartass. And I haven't witnessed such blatant sexual innuendos since "Xena: Warrior Princess" went off the air.
As Food Network becomes less and less about food and more about "branding", they could stand to mix things up a little and give Decarlo a late night spot.
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Lisa, that batshit crazy June Cleaver wannabe in high heels and pearls with the $150 Burberry scarf on her head in the kitchen needs to go next. The pastry chef where I work was watching with me and was livid that someone would try to work in a professional kitchen dressed like Anna Wintour in stilettos. And she so doesn't listen to anything that is said to her. She's in her own little world and the rest of us are just interlopers in it, I guess.
Is she the one that looks like she stepped out of an 80s euroband video?
I keep expecting 99 Luftballons to crank up.
When I saw that hair I was thinking Aeon Flux!
Judging from some of the cooking and the preview for next week it looks like the theme of this season is "you can win this thing as long as you look good on camera and manage not to cause a botulism outbreak".
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Okay, I managed to finally get a write-up from our meal last Friday night posted on my blog. It's pretty long and I'm just too lazy to post it over here too, but feel free to copy, quote whatever.
In short, it will definitely be one of the most memorable meals of my life. Any worries you may have about the "theatrics" of the meal are eclipsed by the deliciousness of the food. A truly wonderful time. I really hope to go back for another meal sometime.
The Cotton Candy Eel and the Thai Dessert........two dishes that were by themselves worth the trip.
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Hi Doc, I was at minibar Friday night (just got home, report to follow soon....minus anything even remotely approaching your photography) and have to chime in on the bonelesss chicken wing that you were served.... it was one of my favorite dishes of the evening. I can see where it would be a bit much, but my friends and I had just done a KC bbq contest the weekend prior and it was just so....appropriate for my tastebuds at the time. Very intense.
And something about the usage of corn nuts and Fritos during the progression just hit the spot......
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Damn, reading through this week's posts just now I was hoping I'd be the first one to scoop this little tidbit.....
All I know is her stylist must have told her to go to the doctor, then go to the mountains, look to the children and drink from the fountains.......but what I'm looking forward to most is how the new cut will look when she's making that sour face where it looks like she's trying to touch her navel with her chin.
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And so a very dramatic choice goes home......snore.....
Totally weird and coincidental, but it was funny to see Jose Andres, if for no other reason than I've got minibar reservations next Friday night.
Just my opinion, but the bigger the guest chef..............the bigger the graciousness, all class all the way.....
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I was fortunate to attend a birthday party (yes, Z, old hippies in Lawrence) last weekend and a friend showed up with a grocery bag full of morels. If I were any more specific she would use vice grips and a blow torch on me, but they were from around Baldwin. She spent most of the evening flouring and frying and she never did get ahead of us. I guess we forgot to go outside and tell the others that there were morels to be had.
Some of my other disgusting friends - who literally find them in their window boxes every spring - saute them very slightly in EVOO (no flour) and put them on homemade pizzas. Yum.
I've been to the Lawrence market and the OP market so far this year. It took so long to warm up, the pickings were pretty slim at both. And I've been trying to get to the Bad Seed market on Fridays, but haven't made it yet. Brooke sends out an email each week to let us know what the farmers are bringing and it sounds fabulous - including some goat cheese in various forms (marinated, spreads with herbs, etc).
Oh, and Pendleton's is open for asparagus picking and they have morels daily right now. There is a full list of what's currently available at their website. For those on the Kansas side, it doesn't take long to zip over on K-10.
On one hand I'm jealous, on the other.....if a bunch of Lawrence hippies showed up and only had a bag full of......morels, then that is pretty anticlimactic. I'm sure they were tasty and plentiful, so no knocking it.
More importantly, my feeble brain just rattled and I remember that there is a farmer's market in Briarcliff Village every Thursday (I think it's from 3pm to 7pm). I have not been, but it is worth doing some recon this week......
Any experiences with that one?
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Yep, I found those morels a few weeks ago. So, what are you going to do with them??
You know, Zeemanb, we should gang up on this guy and find out where his stash of Jane Mansfields are; I have no idea what wooded areas in our 'hood are hiding these blonde beauties.
Very nice specimens UE, similar to mine.......bad photo, but you get the general idea. The big one there is bigger than my hand.
I'm too impatient to do anything too fancy, I'll just do a simple dusting with flour and saute them in butter. They will make a nice side dish to my bay scallop and mixed green salad with a fried spring green onion dressing that I'm making for dinner tonight. Fresh flavors of spring!
Oh, and I'm way ahead of you with this guy....stopped by the hardware store on my way home and picked up some vice grips and a blow torch. By this time next week, we should be gorging on the Mansfields.....
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Okey dokey....topping this bad boy so we can get to ramblin' about our Heartland markets....
I've been extremely busy in the past few weeks, so this was my first Saturday to make it down to my local farmer's market here in Parkville (I am nothing if not loyal.....okay, lazy and gas is expensive). Usual stuff for this time of year...I did pick up some rosemary and summer savory plants for growing, mixed greens, beautiful baby arugula, and ................................MORELS! I was getting all angsty and impatient like I do every year, wanting to see more stuff, but then I spotted these GORGEOUS blonde morels.......seriously, the Jane Mansfield of fungi. For any of you local folks, the extremely popular vendor who sets up at the west end across from the elk meat guy has got the goods, and hopefully he'll have them next week too. He has all kinds of price breaks when you buy more, half pound for $20 and a pound for $30. Cruel as a drug dealer, I tell you. They are sliced and soaking in salt water as we speak....
So, any good finds so far this spring?
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Clearly my brain has been rotted from reality television and the incredibly deceptive editing.......but I half-wish in the next couple of weeks Richard would be outed as some kind of raving lunatic and evil genius. He's just such a decent and even tempered fellow that it would be an Emmy worthy moment to finally see him flip out a la Dale.
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Okay, after this episode I have to say....I'm confident enough in my masculinity to admit my man-crush on Richard....
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Anyone remember Sixlets? Little chocolate orbs coated in all different colors, that came packaged in a cylindrical plastic packaging. Simple, but I was addicted to them.
Forgot about Sixlets! I think the packaging came in different sizes, but what I remember most are the small cellophane tubes you'd get at Halloween. They held less than a mouthful, so what we'd do is put the whole thing between our teeth and strain out the Sixlets......you know, like whales do with krill!
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Okey dokey, new contender.......the new Pizza Hut commercials where people are attending a "New York City Pasta Tasting" and are suckered a la Folgers crystals into eating Pizza Hut Toscani pastas.....which are of course loved by all. I guess MAYBE if Rocco's place was still open they could pull that off.....
Gastric Bypass Surgery and Recovery
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
Great point, and I will say that although once in a while I do "miss" being able to eat a gigantic cheeseburger, I'm a completely different person when I approach food now.... going to a restaurant is so different, because for the first time when I look at a menu I'm not thinking "okay, which entree has the MOST food?".
Eating for flavor instead of quantity is an incredible paradigm shift....and it makes my Saturday morning trips to the farmer's market even MORE enjoyable!