Bill Miller

I went to a local butcher in Bryan--bought a whole rib eye--he weighed it and charged me , then age it 21 days--it lost a little over 10% weight--great steaks--he even trimmed and cut them. Check your locals out --you may be surprised--mine cost about $11.00/lb and are excellent!!(It was USDA Choice)

Go on www and google "Hot Brown"--richest sandwich ever--from Brown Hotel in Louisville--I don't even like turkey, but this is better than Thanksgiving.

For recipes I like B.A. , Cuisine At Home and Fine Cooking, in that order. For reading and info, history,"terrior", Saveur is head and shoulders above the rest.

Typical "flavoring" chilis are ancho, pasiella, and guajillo--all dried powders-sometimes sold in combination and including cumin and maybe paprika--not hot. Hot chilis are chipotle and the like or chipotle in adobo (dried smoked jalapeno in a tomato sauce) and the like. Chili's are not always hot--the heat could come from cayenne, jalapeno, tabasco, habenero, etc. Read the label--the first named chilis are the ones in "chili con carne"--add heat to your liking.

I find little difference in white or brown--I do prefer wild caught--your shrimp may have been a little old or not stored properly--I love the brown shrimp I buy at the docks in Galveston, or at Central Market, Krogers, or Randells. Make sure of your source and try a small amount again. Good luck.

You should be safe from suicide bombers---they will be afraid to come near it!!

Good illustration of the alcohol content of the properly stirred martini--I would like to add that Plymouth is lower in alcohol than Tanqueray and smoother in a martini. But my point is --is vermouth a main ingredient or a condiment to the gin in making a martini? I prefer the herbs in the gin with a little vermouth to enhance. The alcohol is not the main ingredient--more than two is too many anyway. Thanks for the response.

Some vermouth is required--here's to the martini.

If you believe Churchill's martini's were too heavy on vermouth, it would seem you're not proposing a martini, but rather, gin, up, with a garnish of caperberry. And while I'm sure the fine folks at Pegu would serve such if asked, they'd probably try to get you to understand that a proper martini includes vermouth. Such as the renowned Fitty-Fitty martini they serve, which is about as wet a martini as you'll find at equal parts gin to vermouth. No less elegant for actually containing more than one ingredient. Christopher ← Eight to one I think is proper--gin and vermouth--each to his own, but do be civil in your response--Churchill would have, I think. Actually he simply bowed toward France when no vermouth was available during the great war.

Order a very dry Plymouth martini--great gin--the original London dry and a little lighter on the alcohol--Churchills gin, but he used too much vermouth. I doubt they will have one but I like a caperberry instead of the olive.

Be sure you go to Gaido's, not the fried food family relative next door--easy to confuse until you see the menu!!

We were in Galveston last week and had a wonderful grilled red snapper with a lump crab cream sauce at Gaidos and it was fabulous--no oysters yet. The best shrimp is at Fisherman's Warf sitting next to the tall ship Elissa. We had a change of pace at Olympia--really good Greek food and wine and the place is full of Greeks--be sure and visit the Flight Museum.

I picked up my 13 lb rib eye today, now about 11 lbs- I got 3 -2 inch thick, appx 24 oz staeks and 7 --appx 1 1/4 inch thick steaks--dry aged choice--oh the anticipation!

Readfield Meats on Texas Ave. in Bryan. I'm picking mine up on Oct 9th. P.S. I loved my martini, wine and dinner at Veritas.

I like to tear and seed them. Toast them in a dry skillet until crisp. Grind them in a coffee grinder and enjoy! I like to do the same thing with pasilla chilis and mix them--great combo for most things--pork, beef, chili.

We share a love of wine with these friends so the wine will be the star and we see them so seldom (they live halfway across the country). The food is very important--1st course will probably be a creamy chanterelle soup and the main course will be a 2 inch dry aged rib eye (choice) with a ground porcini/sugar/salt/pepper rub, served with roasted potatoes. Everything else is up in the air. I believe this menu would go with either wine list. We want our guests to choose the wine. I am most concerned about the order of service with the wine.

Alison w/ the Houston Chronicle gives it three stars--give me a break--it's ok, but up there with Marks, Annies, Brennans? Maybe one star. The jalapeno sauce with the calamari she called brilliant was too tart--it needed sugar to soften, like you do with tomatillos--why did I say that? No heat. Service and wine list is great. Menu is limited. I had better calamari at Churrascos, and why doesn't she (or he ) review Simposios?

We are having guests either later this year or early next year and are planning a fall/winter dinner. The highlite will be the wine pairing. We are considering two flights--an Italian varietal or a California Cabernet comparison. Our favorite is pinot noir, but we love barolo and others too. I have arranged the order of service I believe to be best, first to last--I need your input to adjust or even change some of the wines. I have a small, young wine cellar so they have been stored well. Here are my thoughts from first to last--- San Vicenti Chianti Classico Riserva-04 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino Riserva-01 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis--96 or Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cab--99 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Cab--04 Caymus Reserve Napa Cab--04 (The Caymus 04 is ready and great!) I'll take any and all the advice I can get--Thanks!

We had this tonght with a Batali porcini rubbed 2 inch thick rib eye. The wine was rich with cherries and earth--slight tannins--smooth with the mushroom sugar rub on the steak. Absolutly fabulous for a wine in the $25 range.

I agree on both counts, but Zin is Californias unique contribution--I keep several bottles--It goes very well with smoked beef, hamburgers, even Bar BQ. It has a place in my celler and anyone that ignores it is missing a real pleasure

I never thought in this 30 mile radius there would be a World Market and a Specs across the street from each other in College Station, a City Mkt dry aging a whole rib eye for me 21, days, and the best Tex Mex in Texas at La Casita in Navasota. I hope it lasts.

I believe it's called "C's". Under a bridge --great seafood--very creative. We ate there a couple of years ago right after it opened.

I think I gained 10 pounds watching it the first time! That was seriously good - just when I was about to give up all hope. Those crostini with lardo, truffles and Parm? OMG. I was a little appalled at the use of an entire wheel as a bowl, but I probably would have felt better about it had I been invited to share. Mario is a man of large appetites, after all. I was truly hoping for a tie - it seemed only right, given the level that they were both operating on. ← Mario is a real trencherman who can cook!!! What a great battle!!!What a great subject--"the undisputed king of cheeses". If Mario is leaving it is because He wants too--Food Channel certainly isn't that stupid.

We were on I-35 near San Marcos--and hungry. We stopped at a Bennigans for a quick lunch--no that was not the mistake. We ordered and noticed they only had one red wine by the glass--I really wanted a little vino to wash down my meal--I should have known better . Never, under any circumstances drink a Yellow Tail Shiraz. It felt like it was made with a roux and someone poured half a bottle of vanilla extract in it. The water was so good. Be warned!!!!

Two Oregon wines I have in my celler are Prive', a pinot noir with fabulous flavor and promise of a long life and Cana's Feast, a bordeaux type blend that is almost chewey--I've not seen them reviewed in the magazines yet.