blue_dolphin

I'm still looking for the Barefoot Malbec. My usual wine stops are TJ's and Total Wine and neither had it. I also checked BevMo and no luck there either. I go down to the Wine House in West LA to look for more unusual/interesting bottles but I don't think Barefoot is their thing. However, I'm continuing my Mabec exploration, prompted by the first round here. I didn't care for the Alamos. To my taste, it didn't have enough body to balance the astringency of the tannins. Obviously this is a young wine but it doesn't encourage me to set aside a few bottles to see how it would age. On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the 2010 Cruz Alta Grand Reserve Malbec. I served it with pasta with cranberry beans and greens from Deborah Madison's Savory Way cookbook. It's an earthy dish and the wine had enough body to stand up to the tannins and complement the flavors of the earthy beans, slightly bitter greens and tangy romano cheese. I also tried a Maipe Malbec Rose and enjoyed it with crostini, tapenade and the Spanish Cinco Lanzas "cheese with rosemary" from TJ's (mentioned over here). Lots of fruit but crisp and dry. Very refreshing for a summer afternoon. Obviously not in the same category as a red wine, but hey, I'm exploring the grape ! I've still got two more Argentine Malbecs to try and I want to pick up a French Malbec to compare. I'd like to try one or more of them with the lamb meatballs with spiced tomato sauce from Suzanne Goin's A.O.C Cookbook. I haven't tried that dish before so I'm not sure if it will be a good match or not, but I'll give it a go. Maybe I'll have found a bottle of the Barefoot Malbec by then.

In the oven, on a rack that fits into a baking sheet. Usually at 350°F. Edited to add: More answers in this thread on best ways to cook bacon.

The Alamos Malbec is $8.99 at my local (So Cal) TJ's and about a buck cheaper, $7.97, at Total Wine. Coincidentally, Total Wine's weekend coupons included a few other wines from Argentina. Since I'm unfamiliar with them, I picked up two others in addition to the Alamos. The 2011 Maipe Reserve Malbec was $14.99 (with the $5 off coupon) and the 2010 Flichman Tupungato Malbec blend was also $14.99 ($3 off coupon). I also found a 2010 Cruz Alta Grand Reserve Malbec (not pictured) in my wine rack. I have no recollection of purchasing that one, but I've clearly got some tasting to do ! I will wait until it's cooler to plan a meal around one or two of these but I did try the Alamos last night. Similar to what rotuts said about tasting at warmer temps, I found the tanins and alcohol a sharp contrast to the bright, fruity nose. It was probably around 80 degrees in the house at that point and I suspect it would be much more balanced when served at a more appropriate temp.

Like Lisa said above, a big tannic red really brings out the sweetness of a dark, bitter chocolate. It's a pairing I've enjoyed. When visiting Theo Chocolates in Seattle, I picked up a few of these wine and chocolate pairing kits. The kit includes 4 dark chocolate bars (Classic 85% Dark Chocolate, Cherry & Almond, Bread & Chocolate and Fig, Fennel & Almond) and mentions Merlot, Syrah, Tempranillo, Cab Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon as varietals to try. I gave the kits as gifts so I can't say how it worked out but I've tried their chocolates and enjoyed them all.

I'll play. The Alamos Torrontés has been in my "house white" rotation for a bit but I haven't tried the Malbec. I stopped by TJ's this evening and they only had the 2013 Malbec, not the 2012. I picked up a bottle to try and will keep an eye out for the 2012 or another 2012 Malbec from Argentina. I probably won't actually cook anything to go with until it cools down a bit - too dang hot at the moment!

Not exactly mimosas, but a variety of prosecco cocktails used to be on the brunch menu at Estate restaurant in Sonoma. When hosting brunch, I like to put out the champagne flutes, a few fruit juices, liqueurs, prosecco, sparkling water and fresh fruit garnishes and let folks mix their own. It allows people to choose as much or little alcohol as they wish. Sometimes, I've printed out a "menu" of recipes and put it on the buffet table.

I agree. For a quick dinner last night, I thawed some cooked, frozen shrimp and warmed them in this sauce, then used it to lightly dress some TJ's lemon pepper pappardelle tossed with steamed broccoli and orange bell pepper strips. Ready in the time it took to cook the pasta, pretty and fresh tasting. I thought it would be lovely on a piece of fish and will try that next.

That's a really impressive kitchen! I'm sure you enjoy fresh local ingredients along the way but I'm also curious about your pantry ingredients. I know you don't have a ton of space but are there pantry items - spices, etc. that you look foward to picking up in specific places on your travels?

I've been playing with grilled cheese lately. Today's breakfast was grilled brie with red bell pepper and ancho chili jam on whole wheat. Just the lightest smear of dijon underneath the jam. A nice bite before heading to the airport this AM.

Maybe this thread will get me to try the recipe for Really Easy Duck Confit from the NYT a few years back. Like the sous vide method, I liked the idea that it doesn't require extra fat but it should yield some that I can use for roasting potatoes or other things.

At the time of andiesenji's foodblog, I bought the same set that Smithy linked to above. I use them all the time. Like FauxPas, I use the small ones very often on Pyrex custard cups or the little square Duralex bowls that I use to microwave-defrost a hunk of any number of things (carmelized onions, pesto, puréed sundried tomatoes, chipotle pepers, etc.)

I don't think it's California. Unless, as anabelle said, it's an older picture. Tomatoes are still in the farmer's markets but haven't seen many eggplants lately. My CSA had avocados recently but not that variety and the last sweet corn was a month ago, in the boxes we got the week of Oct 14. Anyone in Mexico? Nancy in Pátzcuaro?

Another acorn article: Gourmet Foraging and Advanced Acorn Processing on Root Simple

I took a barge trip on the Canal du Midi last month and felt the same way about the markets! Thank you for sharing your photos.

I concur. This was my workhorse lab timer for many years. I often had all 4 timer channels running and appreciated both the recall and count-up functions . I have not tried the Thomas-branded version - most of the scientific supply houses sell this timer under their own brand. Some units have the display visibility issues common to LCD units, not a problem unless there are specific positioning requirements. It is a bit annoying that the Amazon price is about 30% above what I would pay for one of these at work but I think it's still worthwhile.

Ok. I'll play, but on the interesting scale, I think my haul is only a notch above toilet paper and soap! Trader Joes: 4 lbs organic yellow onions (presently roasting in the oven with sage, olive oil, balsamic vinegar) 2 red onions Heirloom cherry tomatoes Red bell pepper Bagged organic broccoli Blueberries TJ's Triscuit alternative: Reduced Guilt Woven Wheats Raisin rosemary crackers Speculoos cookies Manzanilla olives, pimento stuffed (already incorporated into egg salad for lunch) 2-year old New Zealand cheddar (August's "spotlight" cheese @ TJs) Applewood bacon (so I can make a BLT with the the CSA Pineapple Pie tomato) Greek yogurt Flax seed ciabatta Petit pain pascal (for the BLT) 12 bottles of sparkling mineral water Cranberry juice Underwood Family Farms CSA box (from earlier this week): Galia Melon (eaten with cottage cheese for lunches) Pineapple Pie Tomato (soon to appear in a BLT) Purple Bell Pepper Hungarian Bell Pepper Orange Carrots Green Leaf Lettuce (half gone into salads, some left for BLT) Bok Choy Yellow Bell Pepper Bi-color Corn (used in Chipotle Sweet Corn Fettuccini from Pinch of Yum) Yellow Zucchini (added some to the above Fettuccini, still a few left) Still need some sausage to cook up with those peppers

That's not "grocery shopping" - it's a foodie tour!

The local paper informs me that today is National Tequila Day. While the flavors seem more appropriate to cooler autumn weather, my sage is growing by leaps and bounds so the other day, I warmed up for the event with a Tequila and Sage Smash and enjoyed it very much. The "spanked sage bouquet" garnish cracks me up but I spanked it well indeed. This evening, I am enjoying the Margara version posted by tanstaafl2 subbing Bittermans Xocolatl mole bitters for Angostura orange bitters. Very nice.

Has anyone had much experience with infusing herbs in their 'cellos? I saw Abra's effort upthread to perk up a Meyer 'cello with bay or lavender. I love the combination of citrus and rosemary and have been wanting to try something like that. I found Thinking-Drinking's recipe for Grapefruit and Rosemary 'Cello and am going to give it a go. In my experience, herbs usually need only hours to days to infuse full flavor vs. the weeks I usually give to limoncello so I thought I'd infuse the citrus until it's done and then add the rosemary for a shorter time at the end. I'll also use rosemary infused simple to sweeten the 'cello. I want the rosemary flavor to be fresh and piney, but not too woody if that makes any sense. It may be better to just add some rosemary right before serving but I want to bottle some for Christmas gifts so I thought I'd give this a try. Anyone have any advice to share? And just to add to the collected 'cello experience here: Since moving to a home with several citrus trees, I've been making what I thought was limoncello. I knew the yellow fruits weren't the standard Eureka lemons as the pulp was slightly greenish but assumed they were just another variety of lemon. Turns out I've been making Bearss lime 'cello, using the fully ripe yellow limes! It's a very nice 'cello and my favorite way to serve it is poured over a small scoop of lemon sorbet and one of vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmm!

I'm with Chris. I love sipping a Manhattan after dinner and nibbling on walnuts and some dried tart cherries. And maybe some sort of caramel or dark chocolate confection....

Drinks I tried last week: On the weekend, I wanted a G&T but had no tonic so I tried this quick, cool and refresher from the kitchn and found it a pretty good substitute. Limoncello gin cocktail 1 ounce Limoncello ( "faux cello" made with Persian limes from my tree) 1 ounce gin (Plymouth) Over ice in a tall glass and topwith sparkling water Following the tall-cool protocol but using the recent MxMo cherry theme, I tried and enjoyed: Rosemary Cherry Crush Muddle: 2 heaping tsps cherry preserves rosemary leaves from one 3-4 inch stem Add: ½ oz fresh squeezed lime juice 1¾ oz reposado tequila Shake, strain into a tall glass over ice and top with ginger beer I like this and found it more interesting than most tall drinks. I really liked EvergreenDan's Wedderburn or Bite cocktail originally posted without a name over in the Daiquri thread. Truly more than the sum of its parts. Using my newly purchased Amaro CioCiaro as an Amer Picon/Torani Amer substitute, I went with a Hoskins cocktail and very much enjoyed it. From the same source, I tried: Footloose No. 2 2 ounces Nolet’s Silver Gin 3/4 ounce Cointreau 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters It's a very pretty pink drink, floral and fruity, without being sweet. I like it.

I regularly make double or triple batches of the Roasted Onions with Sage from Deborah Madison's Savory Way cookbook. That would cook them down to something easily stored in the freezer for future use.

10-12% = 10-12 grams in 100 milliliters of water or 100-120 grams per liter

Since we've veered a bit, I'll share what I use instead of a box grater: I use that old Mouli rotary grater a lot - I think it's time to pick up a back-up from ebay. And like some other posters I use the Microplane paddle graters and prefer the all metal versions like the one pictured.

I buy the Trader Joe's Greek Feta that comes in a tub of brine. I'd never thought of changing the brine. Usually use it up in a couple of weeks, maybe up to a month at the longest. I'm careful to use a clean utensil to break off what I need and never return cheese to the brine, any leftovers get bagged up separately.