Carolyn Tillie

Chris - I'm curious - WHERE was the filming? Where was a kitchen stadium set-up in SoCal? Or did you mention it previously in the thread and I missed it???

Gee... I love the idea that Farmer's Markets are the *dark side*!!!

So have we got you back for the FM, Carolyn? Yep, I'm thinking so! I just have to look into the Ferry times to determine when we'd actually be arriving...

Ah, I was waffling and you may have 'suaded me against it... Although I've heard it is loads of fun.

I remember seeing this last year and having to work... For those of you in Northern California, the Russian River Wine Road is the ultimate experience in getting in on futures or just great tasting for practically no money! Squeat and Jschyun, I think you may have lost Shawn and I for the FM on Saturday...

Spring 2003, Volume 3, Number 2 Editor’s Note: The digesting of this volume marks the beginning at an attempt to provide Amazon links to all the books mentioned (when available). Help support eGullet with your Amazon purchase! Cover Salmon Heads with Lemon by Áslaug Snorradóttir (undated) I always try to do a web search of the artists and provide links to other works so that you all get an idea of the images that get presented. In this case, the only links I could get were in Swedish and was subsequently unsuccessful. The image of the Salmon Heads are exactly that, except I can add that there are five of them, placed upright in decorative bowls, each with a lemon slice although one has its lemon slice in its mouth. The fish heads actually look like presentations. From the Editor Judging by the Covers by Darra Goldstein “I began to hear about readers who felt that the cover had gone too far. Too far from what, I wondered?” Introspection on reactions received from previous covers most notably that some were offended by the Fall 2002 image of a mustachioed man’s mouth Contributors – Mini-biographies. Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food Letters to the Editor Recipes in Rhyme by Toby Sonneman – regarding the Fall, 2002 article by Jan Longone adding that his (Sonneman’s) own great-great-grandmother wrote two cookbooks in rhyme and offered a recipe example, Vanilla Snow with Strawberries. Of Goose in Gascony by Randy K. Schwartz - regarding the Summer, 2002 article by Edward Schneider who asked readers to help determine why the document he recovered pays such little attention to the liver. Schwartz, an Ann Arbor, Michigan culinary historian, offers a suggestion. Oily Vegetable Humor also by Randy K. Schwartz – writes a very lengthy reaction to the Ken Albala piece in Summer, 2002 entitled Insensible Perspiration and Oily Vegetable Humor: An Eighteenth Century Controversy over Vegetarianism. Ken Alba replied, also at legth. A cartoon by Sidney Harris where two scientists are walking out of the MIT’s office of Genetically Modified Foods with one commenting to another, “If thinks go right for us, apples everywhere will become our intellectual property.” Matters of Taste by Timothy Cahill Announcement and review of an exhibit at the Albany Institute entitled Matters of Taste: Food and Drink in Seventeenth Century Dutch Art and Life of 55 Dutch and Flemish still-life and genre paintings. I would have loved to attend! With a half-page, full-color reproduction of Pieter Cornelisz Van Rijck’s Market Scene, 1622. Gluttony by Ray Boisvert An account of French luminaries attempting to get the Pope to drop gluttony as a sin. Quite humorous, actually – in that they are serious. The Cultural Meaning of Food in South Asia by Rachel Dwyer How the Centre for South Asian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London launches a new project looking into the cultural meaning of food in South Asia. Orts and Scantlings Somdel Squaymous by Mark Morton Extolling the virtues of flatulence. With a one-quarter page, black-and-white reproduction of an advertisement from the Toronto World, March 23, 1918. Americana Pigging Out by Timothy C. Davis An account of the Southern Foodways Alliance symposium on barbecue. A fine article, which could have been significantly longer than it was, in my humble opinion. With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of Taylor Grocery, Taylor, Mississippi. Feast for the Eye Stalin and Wheat – Collective Farms and Composite Portraits by Victor Margolin Interesting article about the propaganda magazine USSR in Construction, the Stalin Collective Farm in the Ukraine, and artists who created which appeared in the magazine. With a two-thirds page, full-color Image of Stalin and crops, a portrait composed of grains millet, alfalfa, and poppy seeds. Also depicted is a half-page, black-and-white photograph image of trucks spelling out 1930.. Aesthetics In Praise of Mock Food by Patricia Roberts Enjoyable account of mock food – from margarine to oysters, from turtle soup to mock turkey, and more. Quite fun. With two half-page, full-color hand-colored photographs of Shells and A Fish Stick. Poetry Ripe Guavas by Katherine Case Two poems, one entitled Mopti, Mali and the other Marrakech, Morocco. The first begins: A sweet, fleshy smell suspended in twilight over mud puddles and Benz buses – a stench coating the half-hearted station house, where old men scribbled ticket numbers on discarded scraps of paper This poem continues for another 14 lines and the second is also 20 lines long. Origins A Roman Anchovy’s Tale by David Downie How and why the humble fish originated in Rome and expanded to other continents. The article includes a recipe for Roman Salted Anchovies. With a full-page, full-color photograph of twenty or thirty Anchovies on a blue background. Investigations The Political Palate – Reading Commune Cookbooks by Stephanie Hartman Lengthy, ten-page account of communal eating in America from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. Well-annotated and researched that includes recipes for Brotherhood Spirit in Flesh Soup, Flamenco Eggs – Like They Eat in Spain!, Heart in Surprising Sauce, and Peas Roll in Carrots and Mushrooms. With a full-page, black-and-white photograph of a young woman, barefoot in the kitchen, next to a large workbench and almost a dozen pans filled with dough entitled Commune member with loaves of bread. There is also an interesting photograph which is laid out atop two conjoining pages, black-and-white, entitled Communal feast depicting an overhead shot of several dozen people diving into a large offering of food set at a picnic table. Gut Reaction – The Enteric Terrors of Washington Irving by Frederick Kaufman How famed ghost writer Washington Irving REALLY began his writing career as a food journalist. With multiple excerpts. With a half-page, full-color reproduction of John Quidor’s A Knickerbocker Tea Party, dated 1866, oil on canvas. Also includes a one-third page, black-and-white illustration of Van Poffenburgh’s valor from Irving’s Knickerbocker’s History of New York, Volume I, illustrated by Edward W. Kemble, 1894. Bockenheim Revisted by Luigi Ballerini Amazingly in depth (12 pages!) historical investigation into the roasting of sponges (spongia tosta o usta). There is debate if the “sponge” is actually the root of the asparagus plant, eggplant, and more. The author sent out twenty-five invitations to a wide variety of academia (including Renaissance scholars, chefs, and philosophers) and provides all their various answers. Absolutely fascinating. Illustrations include a quarter-page, black-and-white woodcut Leucosolenia primordialis (Olynthus form), after Ernst Haeckel and a full-page, full-color reproduction of ”Portrait of a Lady,” follower of Jacopo Tintoretto, ca. 1590-1610, oil on canvas. Taboos Great Apes as Food by Dale Peterson Not for the faint-of-heart reader as the author discusses apes as cuisine. Well-annotated and I am personally thankful no recipes were offered. With a half-page, full-color photograph of a Chimp hand with beer – misleading title in that it is a severed hand lying face up next to three open bottles of beer. Working on the Food Chain Colony in a Cup by Gregory Dicum Concise history of the industrialization of coffee as a beverage. With a one-third page, black-and-white woodcut of The original coffee cartel: Mocha coffee on its way to Alexandria, a depiction of a Masonic-like turbaned character standing next to a laden-camel. A half-page, full-color photograph of a two hands holding fresh coffee beans with the inscription, the farmer plays a key role in your cup: these Mexican beans were hand-picked to ensure great coffee.. Peruvian Coffee, A Case Study by Todd Shapera Continuing the coffee exploration, this author analyzes the agriculture of the coffee industry and its affects on those in Peru. With a quarter-page, full-color photograph of Alejandro among the coffee plants. Travel What I Never Ate in India by Lela Nargi Rather odd account of a traveler who DIDN’T eat notable dishes and how Westerners traveling through parts of India wouldn’t be able to get reputed dishes either. There is some introspection as to why some of these dishes were unobtainable, but the overall disappointment was hardly inspiring. Ecology Wine, Place, and Identity in a Changing Climate by Robert Pincus Very in depth, scientific analysis on how climate change breaks the traditional links between Wine and Place with investigations into weather and viticultural adaptations. These are looked at through France’s Alsatian, Germany’s Mosel, and Austria’s Kamptal regions. With a full-page, black-and-white set of charts depicting the variations between monthly temperatures which show predictions of climate change for twenty-year periods centered on 1990 and 2025 in three wine-producing regions of Europe. Style Tempting the Palate – The Food Stylist’s Art by John F. Carafoli Well-documented look into the world of the food stylist – how photographs are staged, how food is made to look that much more appealing, how details like the direction of the silverware do not go unnoticed. Includes commentary on ethics. With a full-page, full-color photograph of a Thanksgiving turkey, After the Shoot. (editor’s note: it still looks good!) Chef’s Page El Bohio – Illescas, Toledo, Spain by José Rodriguez Rey Named a rising chef by Splendid Table in 2003, this is a loving account by a son who, along with his brother, Diego, carries on a family tradition. With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of the author’s father, Diego, pictured with Ernest Hemingway. Journey’s End Darryl’s Last Meal by Jan Zita Grover A one-page account of a dying man’s wish for a final meal reminiscent of one his mother and grandmother used to make. editor’s note: Although not specified, the tone of the piece suggested that Darryl died of AIDS – I’m guessing, however. WWFOOD Here We Come, World! Food Trends in Finland by Eeva Salonen Very fascinating account of Finnish cuisine, from seafood to sweets and a note on wine. With a one-page, full-color photograph of Finnish fish roe. Stunning! Notes on Vintage Volumes ”As Worthless as Savorless Salt”? – Teaching Children to Cook, Clean, and (Often) Conform – By Jan Longone Very full account of various children’s cookbooks – mostly an analysis on how adults should be taught to teach children but the books illustrated and used are all fifty to 150 years old. Extremely well-annotated. With a full-page, full-color reproduction from The Mary Frances Cookbook: Adventures Among The Kitchen People – “Mary Frances took the hint and turned Toaster carefully over.” Also includes two, quarter-page, full-color illustrations from Kritters of the Kitchen Kingdom and How to Make Them – Militant Corn-elia Cobb. Lastly, a full-page, full-color depiction of Jell-O Girl tells how to do the daily exercises from The Jell-O Girl Entertains. Review Essay Literary Consumption – Ronald D. LeBlanc A compare and contrast of two books: Writing the Meal: Dinner in the Fiction of Early Twentieth-Century Women Writers by Dinae McGee and Food, Consumption and the Body in Contemporary Women's Fiction by Sarah Sceats. The Bookshelf Books in Review Books review include The Mystique of Barolo by Maurizio Rosso and Chris Meier Barbera by Burton Anderson, Mario Busso, Maurizio Gily, and Donato Lanati Vinum: The Story of Roman Wine by Stuart J. Fleming Nature’s Perfect Food by E. Melanie Dupuis Black Rice: The African Origins of Rice Cultivation in the Americas by Judith A. Carney Food and the Rites of Passage edited by Laura Mason Food Nations: Selling Taste in Consumer Societies edited by Warren Belasco and Philip Scranton Fast Food, Fast Track: Immigrants, Big Business, and the American Dream by Jennifer Parker Talwar Encyclopedia of Foods: A Guide to Healthy Nations by Dole Foods, the Mayo Clinic, UCLA Center for Human Nutrition Chicanas and Latin American Women Writers: Exploring the Realm of the Kitchen as a Self-Empowering Site edited by María Claudia André A Month of Sundaes by Michael Turback Lagniappe Kullerpfirsich by Nina M. Scott The memories and joy of a German tradition of “rolling a peach” in champagne. With two images – one quarter-page and the other slightly larger, both in color, depicting a kullerpfirsich sitting on a table next to what looks like a couple of Dresden china figures and the smaller image, a close-up shot of bubbles all over a peach.

Eggs in Literature I just remembered a favored riddle which Golem tried to stump Bilbo with from J.R.R. Tolkein's The Hobbit:

I'm jealous... What a perfect spot!

I miss Newport Beach -- it is an absolutely lovely destination and if you are coming from the cold midwest, you should have a delightful visit. Here are some old favorites of mine: FIVE CROWNS 3801 Coast Hwy E Corona del Mar, CA 92625 949-760-0331 Old world prime rib in a stunning, vine-covered Tudor. It has been there for at least 35 years and while I haven't eaten there in over 20, I can't imagine it has changed much. QUIET WOMAN 3224 Coast Hwy E Corona del Mar, CA 92625 949-640-7440 Another restaurant that has been around for ages -- I remember wanting to go there when I was a kid because their sign was a picture of a woman, circa 1700, holding two buckets, with no head... An expensive restaurant, but interesting. AUBERGINE 508 - 29th Street Newport Beach, CA 92663 949-723-4150 Expensive French. Very good. CRAB COOKER 2200 Newport Boulevard Newport Beach, CA 92660 949-673-0100 Relatively inexpensive must! Another restaurant I've been dining at for 30+ years that ALWAYS has a line to get in. Absolutely the freshest, best-prepared fish on the coastline. Don't be put off by the fact that everything is served on paper plates - it is part of the charm. Sage Restaurant 2531 Eastbluff Dr , Newport Beach I've only heard good things about this place - never eaten there. It is driving me nuts that I can't think of the high-falutin Mexican/Seafood restaurant that lies right on the coastline. Very expensive, but quite a treat. I hope the others are helpful. 949-718-9650

There is an amazing scene in Tampopo where a man and a woman pass a yolk back and froth from one mouth to another... Finally the yolk breaks and drips down the woman's mouth as she orgasms. Soft porn, totally soft porn. Gives a whole new light to food toys and sex!

Thanks -- but did you know there are mobile bottling units? It surprised me as GunBun has their own bottling line and when I started working at Ladera and asked to see it, was told they have this company who comes in a giant truck, sets up, and bottles everything in a few hours! Amazing, really. And our cellar workers do all our racking. Apparently, there is a heirarchy to who is allowed in the caves. Isn't THAT interesting? BTW, for those of you unfamiliar with some of the jargon that will inevitably be thrown about, I'll attempt to define. From WinePress.com, the definition of racking is: Racking is done quite often...

The word from Gabriel, the vineyard manager: "Vertical." I'll be getting a picture of him for my next posting as I rely on him daily... He's a fabulous guy who has been with the estate over 18 years (back when it was known as Chateau Woltner and the winery produced mostly Burgundian-style chardonnay).

I'm looking forward to it! As a recent transplant, I'm still working my way through all the restaurants and greatly appreciate all the opinions offered...

I'd like to say that *we* (I'll speak as a collective) understand and weren't trying to talk you into drinking if you feel strongly about abstaining. Just offering an alternative, if you weren't positive... With that in mind, I am sorry that there aren't very good non-alcoholic wine alternatives. There just aren't. To my knowledge, there does not exist any product on the market that *tastes* like wine without the alcohol -- they are juices and nothing else. Best of luck with your little sommelier!

A scoop of really good coffee ice cream (Starbucks, B&J's, or Double Rainbow) and fresh, hot, really strong French Press coffee made with Wolf-brand coffee. Perfection.

I know this is hugely controversial but I tend to agree... Here in the wine industry, the general thought is to abstain for the first trimester but to start a moderate regimen during the fourth month. I know that when I was in my Mummy's tummy, she had a glass of wine and cheese crackers every night she was preggers with me... but this was an era when women chain-smoked and drank martinis! (and look where I work now!).

Now THERE was an image I didn't need in my head...

This is sort of a brainstorm that I hope will work out... Inspired by the recent food blogs (Melkor's, Pim's, and Marlena's, specifically), I thought I would start a year-long Wine Blog - but not of what I am drinking (which CAN be excessive), but of the growth of a vine with production towards wine. I have a distinct advantage as I work at several wineries (Ladera Vineyards in Napa county on weekdays and Gundlach Bundschu in Sonoma on various weekends. I often marvel at the changing seasons and speedy growth of the vines. As we are coming out of winter and the dormant period towards the budding of spring, I believe this is an excellent time to get started. My plan is to introduce you all to the agricultural parts of the industry as well as winemaking in general. I have picked a particular vine which I will photograph once a week - over the next eight to ten months. You will see that vine be pruned, bud, grow, produce a cluster, and be harvested for wine. Along the way, I will introduce you to the winery itself and the people that work here. I'll show you how wine is made and try to answer basic questions (I'm an office slug, but I have great resources at hand!). To begin... as an introduction, the winery was built in 1886 by two Frenchmen, Jean Brun and Jean Chaix. It was called Nouveau Medoc and is literally a French Chateau... It passed through a number of hands over the past 100+ years before being purchased by Patrick and Anne Stotesbery who have painstakingly restored the building (on the business website, you can view pictures of the restoration). But onto the grapes... At the end of the harvest (November-ish), the vines go into dormancy and all of the leaves fall off. Starting in late January, they have to be pruned back to their stalk but the initial pruning is just to get long, spindly arms. It is a bit cold and rainy as our guys are pruning: This is our Vine-of-the-Year: It is a Petit Verdot varietal - it was chosen because I can walk to it from my office: As a contrast (which you can't tell yet until there are leaves and clusters), this is a Cabernet Sauvignon vine: Right now there are still tall arms on the vines. Once the rains are closer to stopping, the vines will be pruned back to the stump (we don't do it now because it is easier for disease to go into what is essentially a raw, open wound on the vine when there are still rainy days ahead). edited to fix pictures and some spelling

I did it as well -- but got to say that some of the questions (#16, for example), are pretty lame. Choosing between Opera and Sports with no option for a movie???? (Although I am an Opera buff... it just seemed odd that there was not a wider range of options for what one does on a Saturday night...)

I think that is now considered an urban myth -- that was the "story" behind the Charles Shaw wine when they first started selling it (sorry can't find the original news stories that back this up). I remember a lot of their salesmen offering this story but the TwoBuckChuck wine was never offered on any airline and subsequent stories confirm the fact that it was produced by the Franzia company specifically for TJs. Part of the reason the story doesn't make sense is that airlines could not have sold wine to another retail outlet -- wine distribution laws simply don't allow it. They MIGHT have been able to return it to their distributors, but it is highly unlikely there would have been a general train of "from airline to TJs" transaction. Most of the salespeople still have that story stuck in their craw and it has perpetuated since...

I think they are trying to refer to the fact that he is no longer involved in the business, having sold it years and years ago...

The funny part for me is that I remember shopping at one of the first Trader Joe's over twenty years ago... I was a young college student who wanted cheap wine, good cheese, and nuts. That's about all they sold then - it was more of a "SoCal Health Food" store with an emphasis on dried fruits and nuts alongside their cheese selection. My favorite memory is buying Tyrrell's Long Flat Red (a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet, and Malbec) for $1.25 a bottle. I had to save up to buy several cases. Three years later, the very vintage I purchased was on the wine list of a hoity-toity restaurant for $30.00 a bottle and I felt on top of the world, having "discovered" a great wine so cheaply.

This is a great article that appeared in this morning's Napa News with Joe Coloumbe Brilliant.

I used to adore Bonnie Doon's Le Cigare Volant because of its label -- with the image of a "flying cigar" above a winery. The wine is not as good as it was 15 or 20 years ago...

I adore the Oscars. By I am biased... about twenty years ago, I got to go because a friend of a friend new Christopher Lee and he didn't want his tickets. Since then, I've been hooked. When I lived in Southern California, I had friends who were like me - real groupies. And we would all get together for elaborate potlucks and parties, with a pool on the winners, and always Champagne! Our potlucks were sometimes gourmet affairs and sometimes not - from Boullaibaise to Artichoke Heart Dip. I will miss my friends this year and have to watch solo (Shawn really doesn't care for it either way) - but I wouldn't miss a minute of it even if I am drinking my bubbly alone.