Carolyn Tillie

Carolyn It is Napkins, not Napans, for those of us here in the wonderful Napa Valley. And for those of us who drink hard likker, we're Cocktail Napkins!

Then there's that old adage -- when in doubt, Pinot Noir; it goes with everything. I'm not kidding either. A good balanced Pinot is the perfect food wine. I've had it with everything from foie gras to popcorn (sneak it into a theatre! It's great!). It goes well with spicy food and mild food. And I have often enjoyed a good Pinot with all sorts of Chinese food...

What time were you there, Russ? Shawn and I were sitting downstairs around 7:30! I was a bit disappointed by the Peach Empanada and we had a new waiter that screwed up almost every dish we ordered. The special Scallop Ceviche that evening was a winner. Although I still think you should've gone to Pilar! Drop a line the next time you are in town... we Napans would love to say 'hello!'

Okay, I called Dairy Queen (952) 830-0200). I asked to talk to the Marketing Department. The first guy (Luke Felbriggy) is out of the office. The second person I got was named Scott Spawn, a Marketing Director! Scott and I spoke at length about the MooLatte (almost 10 minutes!). He explained the development of the name and now feel they should have searched for similar meanings, but it didn't enter their minds. They have already had a dozen or so calls and are very appreciative of hearing feedback. "It was never their intention to offend and our hearts are pure. " We spoke at length about derivations of the word and how I felt about it. He appreciated my calling him and greatly likes the feedback that he has been receiving from people who have called about the word. By-and-large, it has not been as badly received as some on this board might have indicated. At this time, however their legal advisors are telling them to not change the name of the product. Howz that, folks?

In CDH's question Marketing vs. Preservation, he asked about the plastic wrap that is so often the culprit to fast degeneration of cheese. You indicated that "pre-cut, plastic-wrapped cheese is perfectly fine, because it is rare that a piece is more than 48 hours old." My query is this -- I'm quite a cheese fanatic and living in the Napa county, have access to some amazing cheeses, both imported and domestic. However, I don't necessarily want to have to shop for my cheese selection every other day to ensure freshness and I like to keep a large selection on hand (eight to ten varieties at a time). What is the best way for a home consumer to keep a large selection of cheeses? Can you discuss how home refrigerators might damage our cheese? I guess, in short, how does one become a home-based cheese monger? Thanks ever so much!

Absolutely fascinating... yet another faux pas in corporate advertising history. (Anyone else remember the Pinto -- I know but can't recall others, and this is the first one that comes to mind.)

My goodness.... I never knew!!!! (But should've, huh?)

"A really good wine" is really subjective. I think it's more accurate to say a wine made for aging. Completely agree. I should amend that there are some really good wines that are meant to be drunk young and have no age on them whatsoever. It is these young wines that are probably a better bet for the screwcap market.

I didn't know automatic ones existed for John-Q-Public. I thought all we could get were hand-held ones...

I would suggest making a rather large batch of Scotch Broth (Scottish Lamb Soup). Before you know it, fall will be upon us and defrosting some comforting barley soup would be a lovely thing. Soup freezes extremely well and batches of it can go a long way and be a nice gift!

The problem with even creating a comparison is that screw caps haven't been around long enough to make the comparison legit. The biggest argument AGAINST screw caps that I have been hearing is a matter of longevity. A really good wine needs to be aged and there are no really good wines being made with screw caps that have gone the test of time. MAYBE some premiere cru bottled their wines in screw caps back in the late '80s or early '90s (although I doubt it). We would need to taste these wines after 15 or 20 years of aging to see if the screw cap assisted in the wines aging or detracted from it. There's the rub -- who wants to wait 20 years to see if the screw caps work that way???

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea ???

That would be Ken Russell's 1969 Women in Love.

I'm slightly regretting that I picked the PV to blog -- the rest of the grapes are starting verasion but this is the one grape that takes the longest to mature. The backside benefit is that this blog will last a bit longer.... Vine -- can't see much of a far-away difference. However closeup, there are a *few* leaves beginning to darken. And the grapes look similar as well:

Charming kitties, Walt! Thanks for sharing -- I'm glad of that tradition. And, to set the record straight, not ALL Wine Geeks like Scotch! Maybe its 'cuz I'm a GIRL, but the joys of scotch have never thrilled me. I was briefly engaged to a man who prided himself on his 100-bottle collection of scotch, so no one can say I haven't tried good ones. By all accounts, I've had some of the most rare and expensive scotch available and all I seem to taste is burned tar (I'm told that is the peet moss flavor?) Whatever.

Enrevanche, well said. We do need to get back onto the food aspect here. Jeff Smith's troubles have been well debated within this forum before and need not be gone through again. It is good that we can remember the man for his contributions and ease him into his afterlife with kind words. Auntdot, many of us know that word -- WHY we sometimes know it is best left private, capiche?

In the photographs, you refer to "we" and "us". Will you tell us which one is YOU? And thanks for inviting us into your world... always wanted to go to Italy.

Jeff Smith Dies I'm sure we'll be merging this with the entire Jeff Smith thread later, but I wanted to get the out asap. There was the Wuzzut wi' him thread The Collaboration thread The original Jeff Smith thread As well as several additional threads about Chefs as Writers, TV Personalities, Favorite/Least Favorite TV Personality, and T.V. Food Chefs. I, for one, will mourn.

I had the pleasure of meeting Brian Loring 'online' through another site when he was just getting started and I was poor and unemployed. At that time, he was only making two vineyard-specific Pinots. His wines are truly amazing and sell out very quickly. They are available through his website Loring Wine Company. Now that I look, I see that his business has grown tremendously. Thanks for reminding of him! I had forgotten and now that I'm gainfully employed, I'll look into getting some more.

One of my cable channels has been rerunning the 1993 version of Three Musketeers with Charlie Sheen, Oliver Platt, and Kiefer Sullivan. Oliver Platt, as Porthos, has some of the best lines:

I'm not sure what you meant by this, it is a quote from the movie, about food. I meant that I didn't think the quote ORIGINATED in that film, but from Star Trek as a "Klingon proverb." I was being a stickler on the quote's provenance, but proved myself wrong and thought its origin was interesting. That's all.

What country would your friend be shipping from? And for what reason? I'm assuming you are not a retailer but a private individual. I have had wine shipped from Europe. The best route is DHL and (the more crucial part) is to have it shipped in the winter. Now that it is summertime, you risk having your wine completely ruined by it being stored in very hot shipping containers and trucks.

So, RDaily.... how DO you get so many reservations in such a short amount of time???? Do tell!

Welcome to eG, Julia's Child! Nice that your first visit here is a review of my current favorite restaurant. Here was my first visit: Pilar. Hope you'll come back often!

I've been making my own cookie cutters for years -- it is not nearly as difficult as you would think. This company, Off The Beaten Path, sells a kit and explains how you can do it. Foose Cookie Cutters also sells the copper strips used to make one's own. The trick is having really good, clean pliers. Once you have your outline shape, practice on some cheap wire to make the shapes with the pliers before you make it in the copper stripping. Don't try and bend it with your hands -- you won't get a tight-enough bend to it. Mark the spots where you want it to bend and use the pliers.