scordelia

Lemon Tarragon Sorbet Serves 6 as Dessert. This summer, my tarragon has exploded, so I decided to try and duplicate a delicious sorbet that I had in Madrid. Very nice with strawberries or strawberry puree. 1 c sugar 1-1/4 c water 1 grated lemon rind 1 c lemon juice 2 sprigs of tarragon 1 T chiffonaded tarragon 1 T limoncello (optional) Boil the sugar and water until sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Transfer syrup to a container and add tarragon sprigs, grated rind and lemon juice. Cover and gently shake to combine. Chill overnight. When chilled, remove the tarragon sprigs and pour mixture into an ice cream maker. Follow manufacturer's instructions for freezing your sorbet. When sorbet is about 5 minutes from being done, add the chiffonade of tarragon and limoncello and allow to distibute evenly throughout the sorbet. Freeze to harden. Makes about 1.5 pints. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Ice Cream, Ice Cream Maker ( RG1311 )

Lemon Tarragon Sorbet Serves 6 as Dessert. This summer, my tarragon has exploded, so I decided to try and duplicate a delicious sorbet that I had in Madrid. Very nice with strawberries or strawberry puree. 1 c sugar 1-1/4 c water 1 grated lemon rind 1 c lemon juice 2 sprigs of tarragon 1 T chiffonaded tarragon 1 T limoncello (optional) Boil the sugar and water until sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Transfer syrup to a container and add tarragon sprigs, grated rind and lemon juice. Cover and gently shake to combine. Chill overnight. When chilled, remove the tarragon sprigs and pour mixture into an ice cream maker. Follow manufacturer's instructions for freezing your sorbet. When sorbet is about 5 minutes from being done, add the chiffonade of tarragon and limoncello and allow to distibute evenly throughout the sorbet. Freeze to harden. Makes about 1.5 pints. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Ice Cream, Ice Cream Maker ( RG1311 )

The secret is Pepperidge Farm Very Thin white or wheat bread. It is the perfect dainty slice and firm enough in texture. Radish and mint tea sandwiches are very nice and refreshing.

Thanks! I re-crisped a couple in the oven last night just before serving and worked like a charm!

Brace yourself, Danielle: most of the research on kids and food suggests that, when your kid hits five or so, she'll likely not only deny that she ever liked these things but will regress all across the food board. Don't push -- that's the best way to make sure she hates the stuff! -- and hang in there until seven or eight, when she should be back on the foodie track. ← This is very apt! My almost nine year old used to eat anything and loved it all, then entered a picky phase, but he is becoming adventerous again. But back to the topic at hand, what were the first signs you would be a foodie? There is a photograph of me at age 2 at the party after my baby brother's christening. I am all dressed up in a smocked dress, bow in the hair, etc and I pulled a stool up to the buffet table and proceeded to eat my mother's homemade pate with a spoon.

Unfortunately, Chicago does not have very good restaurant critics at the major papers. Phil Vettel is a bit of a pushover and a kind reviewer. Pat Bruno does a poor job of explaining his ratings. Also, another poster aways back pointed out that Bruno obviously only visited once. Another thing about Bruno and Vettel is that neither really bother to hide their identities when they review a place (I did a lot of waitressing in college and grad school and worked for a couple a new places when they opened and we knew when they were coming, unlike Reichl's account of her days as a reviewer). Bruno's only real criticism is that Alinea is not for everyone--well, duh! At a minimum of $75 a head, of course it's not!

Tried to look on-line and find out today, but is there any prediction as to when the clam and oyster beds in Wellfleet will reopen? I will be in Wellfleet at the end of July, so I am quite concerned.

It's nice on lots of things--like sliver it and top a sorbet, or on a coconut cake. It is beautiful and tasty garnish for any dessert that tastes good with lemons. Or how about on fresh berries and whipped cream. You could send it to me!

Thanks! It is humid--100% and it is 95 out, but it is supposed to cool off.

I finally decided to tackle tuilles today, and make lovely little tuille bowls to serve my homemade lemon tarragon sorbet in. They came out of the oven great and molded beautifully (why had I been afraid of this?--they are not hard), but they got soggy and collapsed later. It is very hot and muggy here right now, so I think the humidityy got to them, but I have some left. Is there a good way to crisp them up again?

Absolutely, Age of Innocence! If you read the book and then see the film, you see how Scorcese paid attention to detail. Wharton will mention certain dinner services and menus at particular events at different houses, and there they are in the film--the correct china, flatware, centerpiece and courses. But I have to add Upstairs, Downstairs, while technically not a movie, it is fun to watch Mrs. Bridges (Angela Baddely) cook! Her mother actually was cook to the Duke of Marlborough, so Angela grew up in that era in a grand home. She used her mother's recipes in the show to create authentic, turn of the century, English dishes. She also insisted on having a working kitchen for her set and to really cook the dishes in her scenes. She was not going to just pretend to prepare sole with parsley sauce!

When I go to NY, I like to hit Little Italy for pastry. There are quite a few good places. Chinatown is also right there and you are near the lower east side so you can have quite the cross-cultural experience.

A vegan place--I am sorry, but tasty vegan fair is an oxymoron (and the person who chose that place is obviously a moron). I agree with the poster who suggested an elegant lunch at Mr. Beef. That would have been a great Chicago lunch (combo with extra jus and hot giardinara for me please!).

I love the Bonbonnerie. My aunt lives down the street from there and when we visit it is a daily ritual to go and get scones.

Quite a few years ago (like 8-9), NPR from Orono, Maine did a series on what happened when Wal-Mart came to town. It was interesting. The reporter tracked several businesses over the course of the year. Some businesses went about things the way they always did and went under. Other businesses re-examined their models and changed their strategies and succeeded. One of the success stories was a hardware store. The owner realized he could never compete with Wal-Mart on the price of cheap paint or a Mr. Coffee maker, so he dropped the lines and went upscale. He purposely carried more expensive, higher quality brands of paint, tools and appliances not found at Wal-Mart. A year after the Wal-Mart opened, he was making more than before.

If you live in a rural area, WalMart is a life saver! I used to lived on Mount Desert Island in Maine. Before the WalMart opened in Ellsworth, the nearest place to get cheap underwear, paper towels, a coffeemaker was Bangor--almost a 2 hour drive. The island grocers really cut down their selection in the winter. During the summer, there were plently of truck farms to buy vegetables from, but in the winter, the island grocers only carried head lettuce. WalMart may not have had the most gourmet selection, but at least I could buy leaf lettuce in January.

So I got some goat. I went with goat kid racks. I ended up marinating in yogurt and roasting with tandoori spices. It turned out great! Even my kids loved it. Definitely will be doing this again. Thanks for all the help!

One stunner that I brought back from Barcelona (and impossible to find in the US!) is Cordineu's cava made from Pinot Noir. It is a deep pink in color and dry and crisp with many subtle flavors. Try it with dark berries and dark chocolate. This goes way beyond the standard pink champagnes!

In today's (May 5) Chicago Tribune, Phil Vettel does a head to head review of Trotter's and Tru. Vettel hints that the article had been planned before the whole foie gras thing, but the foie gras controversey puts a new spin on it. Here is the link: Charlie Trotter's v. Tru--who wins?

For those of us who missed it, Discovery has been re-running the first 3 episodes. It's pretty good, a little repetitive at times and overly dramatic, but interesting. Next episode, the red king season will close after only 80 hours, but then they steam off because another crab season opens in the Bering sea.

What about gin and lemonade?

If you have not eaten Indian food in Chicago, then do not knock it. There are a few stellar places here.

Sadly, I think the one on Devon has slipped now that Hema has opened her new location. I have not tried the new spot in Lincoln Park because I am up north, but her original location (which is now run mostly by her daughter) is not that good anymore. Hopefully, they are just working out the kinks of having two locations. I will probably give it another go in a couple months.

Bourillon D'Orleans is a good producer in Vouvray, and very reasonable stuff.

I can go to the trouble of candying my own peel. Thank you about the summer heat. That was my main fear, that I would pop this out at Xmas after a long Chicago summer and have some horrible science experiment. The cats do a good job of keeping the mice down in the house (old house near a forest preserve, I also have a skunk den and snake nest in the yard and a coyote that regularly patrols the alley).