DTBarton

I have been enjoying wines from this producer for a couple of years now. The 2000 Cotes Du Rhone Villages, Vieilles Vignes we had last night was an excellent example of a nice Cotes Du Rhone. Beautiful balance of tannin to dark berry fruit with a wonderful peppery finish. Have found the Rhone wines of Domaine Les Aphillanthes to be consistently nice, mostly priced in the $20 range.

50 pretzels for 19.95 + shipping: http://philadelphia.about.com/gi/dynamic/o...ofphilly.com%2F scrapple for $1.79/pound + shipping: http://www.arnolds-sausage.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv For cheesesteaks I like to use a whole ribeye and slice it real thin.

Sure is nice to use really good reggiano to finish a risotto.

I have never understood why people use substitutes for fresh garlic and onions. These items are inexpensive and universally available. I have been served some nasty concoctions with overdoses of jarred garlic, or worse, copious amounts of garlic powder, onion powder, or the worst of all, garlic salt.

Agree about Los Nortenas (assuming it's the one in Edgewater?). Simple Salvadoran freshly prepared. I'm usually the only gringo in there. Entertainment is soccer matches on loud TV in Spanish. Is Taqueria Serrano the one on Forest drive across from Annapolis seafood? Haven't tried there yet.

Other ideas for the lunch and/or kids place: Mexican cafe on Bay Ridge: http://mexicancafe.com/nss-folder/folder/mexicancafemain.htm Chick and Ruth's deli on Main street. A little cramped inside, but good sandwiches and lots of atmosphere. http://www.chickandruths.com/

'First, places where a couple can enjoy a very good dinner together. Der Brucer and I like a wide variety of foods...think of this as the anything goes catagory." Two of my favorites for a nice dinner with the wife are Joss and Les Folies. Both very consistent and good. Joss doesn't take reservations, so can be a wait at weekend prime time. http://www.josscafe-sushibar.com/josshome2.htm http://lesfoliesbrasserie.com/ "Second, places where we can take der Brucer's daughter for lunch. This gets trickier, because she will not eat chicken huh.gif and is allergic to shellfish. But she works in the area and we'd like to get together with her on occasion." How about one of the Irish pubs downtown? All have decent pub grub, lots of meat and taters and such, plenty of non chicken, non shellfish choices. I like the corned beef platter at Galway Bay. http://www.seandonlons.com/ http://www.galwaybayannapolis.com/ http://www.castlebayirishpub.com/ "Third, trickiest of all, places where we can take der Brucer's daughter and her two boys (aged 8 and 5), for either lunch or an early dinner. Of the boys, the younger likes to try all kinds of things at least once, but the older is a very fussy eater...heck, let's just concentrate on the younger lad, since the older one will fuss his way out of eating anything." My favorite place for a good meal and a bargain is Jalapenos. Spanish and Mexican, the kids can get tacos or burritos or fajitas and the adults can get really good tapas the best margaritas in town. Been there with many young relatives, works well for them. Say hi to Gonzalo for me! http://www.jalapenosonline.com/

Herbs like good drainage, so try to plant in a sunny, well draining spot. Till the soil and mix in some organic material (compost, bags of composted manure, doesn't take much for an herb garden) and mild fertilizer, I use organic 6-2-0, just stay away from products with big numbers like 20 or 30. If your soil is very thick (lots of clay, say) mix in some sand to help with drainage. One other hint, we plant herbs on the southwest side of the house (and near the house) protected from the north wind and the rosemary, thyme, oregano, and sage all winter over unless the winter's totally brutal. We are in Central Maryland, though, near DC, so further south.

I agree with mizducky about cooking the veggies to get the flavor out of them. She roasts, I usually saute. I start the soup by sauteing diced onion, celery (with leaves), carrots and/or parsnips thoroughly over medium high heat. Give them a shot of salt and pepper while they saute to bring out the flavor. Add the bony chicken pieces and saute some more. Then don't quite cover everything with cold water. Stir, heat to boil and check for seasoning, usually needs more salt and pepper. I like a little herbs de Provence and bay leaf in my chicken stock.

I definitely like to marinate flank steak a good while (like 24 hours) for London broil. Then, as said above, cut it across the grain in thin strips. It will still have some beefy texture, not soft like filet mignon, but that's its nature. I usually grill it since my oven broiler doesn't generate enough heat to sear.

Seen it twice in my life. Once, as a teenager, I put a little oil in a deep pan to make popcorn on top of the stove. Then went back in the den and got caught up in the game on TV. Oil burst in to flame on top of the stove. I freaked, but my Dad did as the earlier poster, just grabbed the lid (it was already out waiting for the popcorn making) and slammed it on, slid the pan off the hot burner. Good lesson for me about paying attenion to hot oil and fire control The other time a good friend decided to broil some nachos in my folks' beach house oven. His mind wandered and he set the melting cheese on fire. I turned the broiler off and left the oven door closed. To his credit, he grabbed the fire extinguisher out of the pantry and was ready to let fly if necessary. It wasn't, just had to do some oven cleaning. Makes you pay attention, though.

We went last year in horrible weather, opted out this year to watch the Masters. I saw tailgates that ran the gamut from plebian to spectacular. Many folks were fighting the rain and wind and cold. Our group brought grills and smokers and had an assortment of burgers, bratwursts, smoked turkey breasts, salads, shrimp cocktail. My neighbor was cooking a bunch of ribs Saturday to take to Roedown Sunday. Glad you all had good weather!

Another way to cut the salt a little is to dilute your hot sauce some, you can use vinegar or chicken broth. Also, make sure you use unsalted butter.

I offered all my post college roommates the same deal: I'd cook dinner every night if they would clean up. Only had one roomie that this worked with, but we had a good thing going for about 3 years. He really cared about having home cooked food (his previous apartment was known for the leaning tower of Domino's boxes and the petrified skillet of hamburger helper on the stove that stayed there like a musem piece, lid on thank God) and would jump up to clean up after dinner. He was genuinely bummed out when I moved in with my now wife. I had to console him with a huge batch of lasagna. He begged me to make it for him before I left. I said, you buy the ingredients and I'll do it, and gave him a shopping list. He brought back enough to make about 30 pounds of lasagna. I made up about 5 huge pans and he and his new roommate ate them all in about 10 days, the all lasagna diet. Only thing that ever bothered my roomates was the time I brought back the stinkiest Raclette cheese I've ever had and made a big meal with it for my girlfriend (roomies were out). They returned the next morning and the house did smell like sweat socks in a locker room.

That heavy bone to meat ratio, plus a preponderance of skin makes the back a superior piece of chicken. And, since most people don't want them, they're cheap to buy. Around here (Maryland) chicken backs are sold in big packages for super cheap. The purveyors assume you're using them for crab bait! I used to have to fight my cousin for the back when I was little and my grandmother made fried chicken.

I make my own hot sauce and it works out great. Many, many recipes available through online search. I like a nice shot of cilantro in mine. Don't know if you have a place to do it, but I grow my own peppers. They are easy to grow, requires some patience. Here in Maryland, I put them in the first week of May, and you really don't harvest much until August, with September and October being the best times. I get my plants from this place in New Jersey, lots to choose from, including several varieties of cayenne and tabasco. http://www.chileplants.com/default.asp

Crunchy, salty, garlicky, what's not to like? I like all kinds of dill pickles, but my least favorite are the green cooked grocery store variety. For store pickles, I much prefer the uncooked Claussen brand. Years ago in South Carolina, the local Winn Dixie used to carry a cooked picke called Polski Wyrob that had hot peppers in the jar, now those were good! Haven't seen them in many moons. We keep a running container of fresh pickles in the fridge when the cucumbers are in the garden. Tupperware container with white vinegar, salt, onions, fresh dill. You keep adding cut up cucumbers (and squash). Get a new one and it's real crunchy, barely pickled. The longer they're in there, the softer and more pickled they get. Real summer treat. Perfect accompaniment to a sandwich, especially a hearty corned beef or pastrami.

A local Jamaican restaurant makes a very nice dish called a goat roti. Braised goat with potatoes wrapped up in a flour tortilla, kind of a big ol' Jamaican goat burrito, it's quite tasty. Has a bit of curry flavor to it, but not overwhelming, plenty of other Caribbean flavors also. Here's a link to a recipe for potato curry roti, add some braised goat and you've got it, I think. http://www.caribcon.com/triniroticur.html

Here's the link to Hollyeats for barbecue. Non barbecue listings on other pages on the site. http://www.hollyeats.com/NorthCarollina.htm

Not a restaurant, per se, but I love fresh Pamlico sound shrimp steamed up at Risky Business seafood at Oden's dock in Hatteras, NC. Get a cold beer next door at the marina store, sit and watch the boats, peel and eat the shrimp.

Here's a link to Hollyeats reviews including Memphis. Scroll down to Tennessee section. http://www.hollyeats.com/South.htm

It's very good braised in beer with onions, carrots, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Keep in mind the veggies aren't very good, don't count on them for sides, but the meat is great. Brown the meat first coated with salt and pepper.

I'm glad another poster mentioned Derby Day, how can you forsake bourbon until after the Derby? I have known some old timers that didn't drink brown liquor of any type between Memorial Day and Labor Day (gin and tonic season, you know), same idea, I believe. I know many people that consider the eating of fresh shad and shad roe to be a southern spring time ritual. I like the first days that are nice enough to long cook something on the grill, love that first rack of ribs or pork shoulder. Definitely concur with the garden anticipation and bud/bee/bird watching. Trophy rockfish season is traditional here in Maryland, starts April 16th, looking forward to that first grilled rockfish fillet. We had a ritual at college in South Carolina, but it was personal. Several of us would get a bottle of vodka and some bags of grapefruit on the first nice warm afternoon (usually early/mid March) and sit in the sun in shorts and drink Greyhounds.

Pretty good information, I mostly agree. True or false: Foods can last forever in the freezer. - Certainly true barring power failure, but quality obviously suffers. Wrapping makes a huge difference. For short term storage a double wrap of Saran and then in a freezer bag makes a big difference. Long term, you can't underestimate the value of vacuum packing. I find sausage freezes particularly well if wrapped properly. A tip from my parents who have a vacation house where they leave the freezer on while they're gone with food in it. They put a "canary" in the freezer, which is an ice cube on a saucer. If you get back and the icecube has melted and is a frozen puddle on the saucer, you know the power has been off and the food in the freezer may be suspect. True or false: A doggie bag from my favorite restaurant will last at least a week if the fridge is cold enough. - Depends on what it is. Your leftover fried shrimp won't hold at all very well, your leftover osso bucco might be better 5 days later. Definitely re-wrap, don't throw it in in the foam box or foil unless you're going to eat it in a few hours. Chect the temp on your fridge occasionally and don't let it get overloaded, this will help keep it colder. Also, the bottom shelf towards the back is the coldest spot, door the warmest. True or false: Using the salad and/or meat drawer in the fridge preserves your food for months - These areas are where the fridge tries to maintain a little humidity, the regular parts of the fridge are very dry. Again, wrap, package well. The best thing to do is try not to overbuy and use up your stuff. It's taken years, but we've gotten pretty good about periodically (quarterly, or so) going through, throwing out jars with little bits in them, purging nasty stuff. We also declare a "freezer week" every couple of months to make us eat the nice stuff we have frozen.

I had a Claggett Farm share two years ago. I found the shares to be smallish and somewhat lacking in variety. This can't be taken as representative, however, because 2003 was an abysmal growing year, cool and soakingly wet all spring and first half of summer. Veterans of Claggett said that 03 was really meager compared to a good (or even average) year. Got plenty of collards and kale, some nice salad greens, and some tomatoes, peppers, and chili peppers. My favorite times were picking some things myself. They opened the broccoli patch at the end of the harvest, got a great bag of stuff there. Same for tomatoes, I got a nice big bag 2 weeks in a row by picking them myself in the mostly finished field. Also have nice cutting flowers for pick it yourself, so take some clippers if you're in to that. I opted not to do it again because of the somewhat lengthy drive (I live near Annapolis) and the fact that I'm growing much more of my own stuff at home lately.