scordelia

Is it illicit? It was all over the Veneto when we stayed there, on every grocer's shelf for about 3 euros a bottle. What I had was white and fizzy--like a sweet, strawberry infused champagne. Isn't it delicious? One of our favorite ways to serve it was to pour a little over those tiny woodland strawberries which were in season at the time and let the berries marinate a bit beofre eating them--accompanied by a glass or two of fragolino of course!

On his show, AB claimed that the filters were $1 a piece, but I have never seen filters that cheap for any model of furnace or AC. It always struck me that once these guys get a cooking show and have little producer minions doing all of their shopping, that these hosts suddenly "forget" what things cost or how much time it might take to source it.

They are not allowed to have guns (which they would have had in 1867), so no hunting. But there is quite a bit of edible cacti around. Also, that stream and swimming hole nearby might have some fish.

Hey, I have a Ronco dehydrator that I got at a yard sale for $1. It works very well.

Does Zier's carry hanger steaks?

No one has mentioned the Wellfleet! What makes the Wellfleet special is the water, because it is the same species of oyster that one finds up and down in east coast. Wellfleets come from Wellfleet Harbor and South Wellfleet on Cape Cod. They are raised in a brackish tidal creek in a black primordial ooze. Absolute heaven! And an oyster really should be enjoyed with a mignonette sauce. Cocktail sauce and horse radish really overpower the subtle briny beauty of a really fine oyster.

People, mistakenly, lump New England into a single culinary region. While there are dishes that common to all of New England (like chowder), there are distinct differences. In northern Maine, one sees a French influence on the local cuisine as the area has a sizeable (and very old) French population. That wonderful kale soup with sausage and clams is very much a Portuguese influenced dish and it comes from Massachusetts. New England like England is much maligned. New England has a real and wonderful cuisine. Its heart is Anglo, but the various groups who also settled New England, mainly the French, Portuguese and Italians, also put their mark on the food to create a uniquely American regional cuisine. You can't presuade me that life gets any better than a perfectly fried clam.

Trotter Boycott anyone ? ← Not sure this is Charlie Trotter's fault - he has said repeatedly that his decision to not serve Foie Gras is a personal choice, and he doesn't believe it should be banned or restricted in any way. He doesn't believe politics should enter the debate, period. He had a personal choice on the matter that got widespread press - he would be the last person to claim himself an advocate on the issue. ← Sorry, I think we can put the blame squarely on Mr. Trotter. Chucky is actually cited in the ordinance--twice--first for pointing out the "evils" of foie gras and second as Chicago's most eminent chef ! Foie Gras Ordinance If Chucky had stayed in the closet on this one, this ordinance would have never occured to any of those boobs on the city council. Now, I am not sure if Chucky intended to get foie gras banned, but I am sure he intended to get some much needed publicity. His food has slipped and he is now a follower, not a leader in American cuisine, and the James Beard Foundation no longer lists Chucky as a chef but as a TV host. PS Thanks to ChristyMarie for tracking down that ordinance.

We did that too. Last year, when this nonsense began, I posted the e-mails of every alderman and encouraged city folks and suburbanites alike to write, because let's face it, we eat all over Chicago, not just in our wards, and people like ronnie_suburban travel into the city and spend their money on fine dining which means taxe$. Alderman List I also posted that list on other food and wine forums and websites. I forwarded the list to everyone I know including some wine brokers and restaurant people. I got some feedback from people so I know the list was getting around and people were writing. The problem is PETA had a really organized campaign. If you googled "chicago foie gras", the first site was a PETA site. Sadly, us omnivores do not have a quasi-militant group of wackos to help us out.

Thanks for the link to the actual ordinance. Does anyone know if you can get a referendum on the ballot in Chicago? Hizzoner (and all the alderman) are up for re-election in Feb 2007.

I prefer cake. I don't make pie even for Thanksgiving (much to the consternation of my in-laws). Instead, I make a cake--a sweet potato and cranberry cake with cream cheese icing. Cakes just seem more special, and I love to bake them. Pies, oh well, I like some--a real blueberry or peach, strawberry rhubarb, and lemon or keylime. That's the end. I refuse to eat an apple pie, but I like apple tarts. Pies are too big, too sweet, too gluey. Let me eat cake!

I'll help you. I live in the neighboring ward. Also, here's a link for Gabrielle Hamilton piece, which is very good. What she says in part and parcel with the FDA and their obesession with raw milk products. Gabrielle Hamilton in the NYT

Can anyone recall the last time in American history that politics were driven by a social, moralist agenda? Hmmm? Thinking hard? I'll give a hint--you could have enjoyed foie gras, but not the Sauterne to go with it! Yes, it was the Roaring Twenties! What do the Roaring Twenties have in common with our current political climate? First, the gap between rich and poor is the largest it has been since the Twenties. Real Estate prices are the highest since the Twenties (really, no kidding--the average price of an apartment in 1500 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago's most exclusive co-op is $3 million. The last time 1500 had prices that high was 1929). The US elected conservative Republican administrations. Also, there are great similarities in the moral climate. The Twenties saw really quite naughty and promiscuous behavior from a certain segment of society and a huge increase in the evangelical movement in another segment. Sound familiar? Except now, we also have to contend with sanctimonious vegans as well as bible thumpers. So, the Twenties banned liquor and we are banning cigarettes and foie gras. The Depression put an end to all that moralistic claptrap. People stopped caring about what others drank and whom they screwed and whether or not in a state of grace when they had no money. Periods of "moral" legislation tend to come about in prosperous times. Victorian England is a prime example. If the economy sinks like a stone (which it will eventually), we'll get our foie gras back, and abortion, gay marriage, unintelligent design (take your pick) will cease to be important campaign issues.

Now that the bird-brained city council has banned the foie--should we agree to get together at Sweets and Savories and have a foie feast?

Yeah, but I think Tiffany can be equally un-likeable (personality-wise,) personally! ← Ugh! Tiffany! Her horrible comments about not pandering to ten year olds--I want her to cook for my ten year old--Stilton is his favorite cheese; he loves steak and kidney pie, and sushi is a favorite treat. What she going to do if some hot shot celebrity brings their kid to her restaurant and requests a cheeseburger? Will she pander to Jet Travolta (but not to some far more deserving kids at a Boys and Girls Club)?

The inclusion of St. John is actually one of the redeeming qualities of this list ← Amen to that! Any top 50 list that includes Charlie Trotter's should not be taken seriously. I had one of the best meals of my life at St. John, and one of the worst at Charlie Trotter's! My Dinner at Chucky T's

Well, Ald. Joe "Gooses" Moore though sponsoring the bill, admitted that he is not sure that had ever eaten foie gras and did not know what it tasted like. If the numbskulls who voted for the damned thing can't tell foie gras from chicken liver (and at $90K annual salary plus whatever they got going on the side, they certainly could endeavor to find out), then how would the less well-paid food inspector or cop deal with this?

The Chicago City Council snuck in a vote. Sacre Bleu! No More Foie Gras For You!

MSG is not just for Chinese and junk food. It's a staple of the southern spice cabinet as well (which I was surprised to learn, I admit). A few years ago, my husband and I were traveling through Kentucky and we stayed at the Beaumont Inn in Harrodsburg--famed for their yellow-legged fried chicken and country ham. The food was awesome. It was a true southern fried, gravy ladened feast, so I bought their cookbook. MSG everywhere! Next, we went on to Lexington. I was perusing the museum gift shop at the Henry Clay House and came across the Lexington Garden Club Cookbook called "Bluegrass Winners" (I highly recommend for large party dishes and brunch food and potato chip cookies), and more MSG! Now I have gotten headaches after eating cheap Chinese food, but I cannot recall a single headache down in Kentucky. Perhaps it is not MSG, but a not so fresh shrimp that slipped in.

I always thought they would reopen as a non-union shop--and what does Carolyn get? A big savings of $4 bucks an hour for the waitstaff (plus healthcare)! Let's open our arms and welcome a few dozen more to the ranks of the uninsured. I hope she goes out of business and loses her shirt.

Your menu sounds really nice. You might want some champagne for the non-pregnant ladies (and the pregnant one for that matter--I drank champagne often when preggers and my kids are fine). I would say no to any activities. Just enjoy eachother's company, and no shrieking when the presents are opened, no matter how cute they are!

How about good, old-fashioned tea sandwiches? Watercress and mayo, or cucumber, cream cheese and dill, or radish, mayo and mint? Use Pepperidge Farm Thin Sliced Bread (white or wheat, it is the perfect texture and thickness), trim the crusts and fill as you desire. I make these for cocktail parties and people love them. They are inexpensive, but elegant and original. You can make them ahead, but place damp, clean towels over the sandwiches and then wrap in plastic wrap and chill.

Thanks for the Wikipedia link. So, quark is just an acid set cheese. Sadly, we will not be able to try this cheese. May I live vicariously and have someone describe the flavor and texture?

This particular cheese is fully illustrated in Culinaria Germany on pp 60-61. Apparently, this cheese from Wurchwitz (Wurchwitzer Spitinenkase) is made by tiny relatives of the domestic dust mite. One takes a wooden ease of cheese mites and feeds them every day with rye flour, and gives them dried organic quark that is free of preservatives. The mites' excretions permeate the cheese by diffusion. The enzymes containes therein cause the cheese to ripen. After about a month, the skin will be yellow, but aficianados claim that the black-skinned, year old cheese is the best. A similar cheese is made Oviedo, Spain using mites. The mites are consumed with the cheese. This raises a few questions. First, what is an organic quark? I am only familiar with the quarks from physics class. Second, has anyone had this cheese (either from Oviedo or Wurchwitz), and did you like it? Can you buy it in the US?

At the moment, I am totally laid up back in my parents' home with a ruptured achilles tendon. I am in quite a bit of pain and unable to really go anywhere. My parents are being very sweet and indulgent. The most recent indulgence was scones. My parents were shopping at ALDI (a discount grocer owned by the same folks as Trader Joe's), and saw that for a limited time, ALDI had a scone mix. Given my love of tea food, they decided to buy it and make me some. The scones are awesome! They have a perfect texture--rich and crumbley, not leaden. My mom doctored up the mix with grated orange zest, but you could add berries, chips, whatever. A box is $1.29 and makes 12 good sized scones.