suzilightning

or, and this is a plug for my profession, read or borrow it from your local library(at least if youare int he states) i've been picking at this during my meal breaks. loved ronger angell's piece since i am a 40something who about 10 years ago discovered the joy of a really well made maritini. i also felt gopnik was quite negative about the greenmarket. the cartoons on pgs. 83 & 124 were great - especially since my other addiction is hawk watching kolbert's article on health inspectors brought me back to when i took my food handlers certificate and the horror stories the sanitarians told us about some of the restaurants they inspected. on tap for today's lunch hour i think will be the batali aricle and, if i can get it in, the trillin.

i hate being sick(especially since it usually goes into bronchitis) but i head directly for : theraflu; hot, sweet tea with bourbon; homemade chicken soups that i add a generous bit of garlic to(always have soup in the freezer) and, though i may crave ben & jerry's coffee heath bar crunch, i have some kind of sorbet since dairy is the worst thing if you are likely to produce mucus. now - go home and rest.

Thirsty Moose - Jefferson Township(Lake Hopatcong) Krogh's - Sparta

my husband has just gotten into port in a big way- something to do with the 20 year old bottle i bought hin for our 20th anniversary. he has also picked up '77 vintages for about 100 at several places up here in n.jersey - dow and warre and possibly one more

this is one of our favorite meals and some of the things i make include: chicken or turkey refridgerator velcro* soup sweet potato soup with cinnamon and maple syrup leek and potato onion manhattan clam chowder scallop chowder brunswick stew venison stew * refridgerator velcro - whatever can be added such as leftover rice, pasta, couscous, vegetables which includs my favorite 1 lb. bag of frozen peas

lone star beer frito pie hush puppies frogs legs the open pit in texarkana okra sweet tea chicken fried steak

carrot seed - 1945 harold and the purple crayon - 1955 my mom used to read to her second grade class all the mrs. pigglewiggle stories. i especially liked the one about the fussy eater. some new favorites are "i will never not ever eat a tomato" by lauren child "thunder cake" - patrica palacco and check out the recipe for her grandma's thunder cake in the back "alphabet soup:a feast of letters" by scott gustafson "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" by judi barrett and for non humans - "feathers for lunch' by lois ehlert

i'm lucky my bday is in august and i'm on the east coast. my favorite meal right now is: baby greens sliced fresh jersey tomatoes(both red and yellow) topped with crumbled blue cheese and drizzled with catalina dressing fresh silver queen corn or, if the queen isn't in, butter and cream on the cob steamed lobsters serve the above with several bottles of marquis de la tour in the backyard on a table spread with newspaper i'm not a sweets person so i'll finish with a glass of la grande dame when i was about 9 it was the tomatoes, succotash and cube steaks or lamb patties on the grill - go figure "burgandy makes you think of silly things; bordeaux makes you talk about them and champagne makes you do them" - The Body in the Cast

i don't know about the y'quem, beachfan. neither of us like sweet or sweetish wines though we did like some inniskillen ice wine a friend got for me from canada. the other problem is i am in the back of beyond in northwestern nj though there are two smallish wine shops where i can locate some things(the pol roger winston churchill - not sure of vintage- for about 125.00, pommeray louise for about 100.00).

i'm pretty sure that can be arranged. would you prefer popeye's, or the colonel. colonel's, skinless, extra crispy - pol roger or tat's? thanks all for the suggestions. i cut my teeth on dom '72-'75 but agree the widow is consistently one of my favorite tipples. jordan - sorry i didn't see your campaigns but my everyday drink is either champagne or sparkling white wine(domaine chandon, rondel brut extreme, banrock station's sparkling chardonnay) a glass for an appertif and one for my dessert. well, off to two local wine merchants to see what i can find with some of your suggestions as a guide.

so tommy- when we have the nj picnic you bring the fried chicken - i'll bring the champagne?

it also happens to be our 20th wedding anniversary and, since we aren't going anywhere, i figured to put the part of my vacation money into this so i have around 350.00us to spend. with such diverse foods i was going to try to find several bottles and/or half bottles we could sip on and enjoy.

mr suzi was going up to visit family in poughkeepsie but he brought me ribs from famous dave's in minneapolis when he was on travel and i had macaroni salad from good to go deli in rockaway - a veritable feast finished off with a beer. tomorrow leftovers then pasta and gravy sunday(i have to work), something mr. suzi can cook so it is ready when i get home- assuming he is home before me. wednesday out to plaza bistro with a friend

was moving some brush the other day and found some morels about two-three days before perfect. went out today and they were ripe for the picking. a little brush-up, a saute in some butter/olive oil and over some fresh pasta with a sprinkle of truffle oil - heaven!!!!

my earliest memory would probably bring dyfs to our house nowadays. i was four years old standing on a chair at the stove and cooking my grandfather's breakfast of bacon and eggs and toast. so funny since i have been cooking since and was a "betty crocker future homemaker" award winner in my senior year in high school. i earned the money to go to grad school and support myself and even in my first professional position(an audiovisual librarian at a community college) i proudly displayed my food handler's certificate on the wall because i can always make my living professionally though right now i revel in the fact that i can enjoy my avocation.

in july mr suzi will be celebrating his 20th year at work(2/3 of his hated work life will be over). he wants to have a special meal that reflects our history but he wants a great bottle of bubbly. i would appreciate any suggestions. so far the menu includes frito pie and corn dogs(i figure beer with this stuff - most likely his homemade beer) for the time we spent in east texas. shrimp wrapped in bacon; filet mignon(i have a premier cru stashed away for this part). mixed green salad with fresh jersey tomatoes, fresh jersey corn-on-the cob with godiva and neuhaus chocolates for dessert. i've been thinking pommeray louise, the widow or cuvee winston churchill. any ideas/suggestions for where or pairing will be greatly appreciated.

famous dave's is a "semi- chain" that started in minneapolis. they mix blues and food and serve some of the best ribs anywhere. i'm sooooo happy there's one here in nj now - getting the husband to lug the 'q back on the plane was getting messy.

at our holiday dessert and appetizer blowout at work someone brought endive leaves that had a dollop of a stuff on it. the stuff was chutney with chopped nuts, raisins and some softened cream cheese. amazingly good.

tonight is plaza bistro - i don't feel like cooking, tomorrow some sort of seafood at home sunday, since i work till 5, the husband gets to pop a chicken i prepare in the oven to roast.

krogh's, restaurante il porto on the boardwalk, arthurs and plaza bistro are just off of 181(old 15) in what is called the plaza. only draw back to krogh's is it can be very smoky, especially at night when there are bands playing. the beer is yummy, the burgers are good and somtimes the music is really good. if you want further directions i can supply them or check out krogh's website - www.krogh's.com

HMM.... if the husband is away i feel comfortable at thirsty moose - wings, ostrich burgers and game plaza bistro - american cuisine and a byo krogh's - brew pub with great burgers i'm trying to get a bit more comfortable going out on my own and trying places for lunch(if i ever get a day off )- red barn in ledgewood, a new spanish place in mine hill, a new peruvian place in dover. got to red barn so far on this list.

Fiddleheads in Jamesburg

should be interesting to see this series when it starts next month!!

i've been using this recipe since 1982 when one of the ladies i worked with at texarkana public library gave it to me(needless to say she was NOT southern baptist). i actually use only half the alcohol in the original recipe and start the base in october, making a base every two weeks or so until we begin using it around thanksgiving. 6 eggs, separated 2 cups sugar 1 cup bourbon 1/2 cup rum 1/2 cup brandy 2 quarts milk 2 quarts cream mix the egg yolks with the sugar then add alcohol. put in a container in fridge and shake every day to redissolve the sugar. put whites in a separate container and store in fridge. the base must sit at least a week. when ready to serve put base in a large punch bowl. add milk and cream. beat whites until soft peaks form and fold into the egg nog. top off with freshly grated nutmeg.

since i am a librarian i borrowed it from the library i work in and am about half way through. i also thought the first essay about following the process of slaughter to eating instead of just calling a procurer was well written and expressed what i had been trying to say about connecting with the land and food and respecting it even more. his first book just reminded me of most of the obnoxious jerk cia chefs i worked with in the 70s who usually were pretty coked/drunk and obnoxious as ####