Katie Meadow

[Host's note: this topic forms part of a longer discussion that grew too big for our servers to handle efficiently. The discussion continues from here.] Trip to stock up on gin and wine and Laird's applejack. Came away with an enormous family size bottle of Bombay Dry and a smaller bottle of Hendrick's, both on sale. Perusing some cocktail recipes this morning for drinks that use Fernet (which I do have) I noticed several appealing drinks that also use Chartreuse, which we have never had around. So I checked that out at the store. The bottle is big, I admit, but it's $50. I had no idea. There was space on the shelf marked for a smaller bottle but there were none, so we passed this time around. I take it that's no surprise to most reading this thread? I do so love that color, though.

Thanks Arey and Norm. Anything that makes fun of CI gets my seal of approval. Chris Kimball with his homespun routine annoys me no end. I hope his ex wife got the farm and the maple trees and everything else. CI blocks access to all their on-line recipes yet have the nerve to send out unsolicited emails to me for various things. After you "unsubscribe" to their unwanted attentions they wait a year and then start again. Aaargh!

Mmm, that would be yummy. One of my favorite apples is an early Vermont Mac. Can't get that here. CA gravensteins are a very good tart apple and make wonderful sauce, but like the mac, they have a very short season and the texture loses its magic quickly after picking, so getting good gravs is a matter mostly of luck if you don't have your own tree. I'm looking forward to Arkansas Blacks; I'm guessing they will make great applesauce. They are another favorite of mine, also not local (duh) and with a short season, but they are often excellent for the few weeks when they are in the stores here.

Love to have your adapted recipe for that swiss chard artichoke pie. Just curious: if I am cooking for gluten free person can the filling be baked without a crust? Will it hold together and be sliceable or is the crust necessary to keep it from slumping?

Boring mediocre apples just cry out for an addition of some kind of tart fruit in the mix such as rhubarb or plums and a splash of red wine and whatever spices you like. I prefer a small cinnamon stick and a vanilla bean. You can always add some lemon juice or lemon zest to perk them up, and a splash of good vinegar at the end doesn't hurt either. I prefer a tart apple. I did have a tree, way back when, but now I just buy my apples for applesauce. Since I have to buy them and I am not trying to use up my own crop or a neighbor's gift I like to use a decent tasty apple. Sometimes at the farmers' market the vendor will be selling interesting varieties that are blemished and I go for those.

Not so! Love mayo w turkey, lettuce and tomato sandwich, but my turkey sandwiches never have cheese in them. Love mayo for egg salad, chicken salad and tuna salad/ sandwiches. Love mayo for a BLT which is called a BLT and not a BLTC for a reason. And I don't remember ever eating a turkey club with cheese in it, just bacon and toothpicks. Never ate a cheesesteak. Don't eat cheeseburgers. When I grew up in NY mayo was really not typical on any hamburgers, just ketchup. But now I actually DO use a little mayo along with ketchup on a hamburger, although I rarely eat hamburgers any more. I'm wracking my brains and realize there is in fact one instance where I eat something with both cheese and mayo, and that's a tuna melt. So you got me there.

I ate Pimento Cheese once, a couple of years ago, when I went to visit my daughter in Atlanta for the first time. Once was enough. I just don't think the combination of mayonnaise and cheese is in my DNA. Growing up, if cheese was in a sandwich we used mustard, not mayo. That article was interesting; and I always thought Pimento Cheese was a form of revenge exacted by the South on the rest of the country. Who knew it was originally a weapon invented elsewhere and that the South tried to improve it? Apologies, y'all!

We looked at several Continuing Care Retirement Communities for my mother a few years ago. CCRC's are residences that have tiered housing and care, including independent living units, assisted living and skilled nursing. Most of them are pricey. They all have dining plans. They are a far cry from your basic nursing homes and looking to attract a different type of resident. Some are now using the food in the dining room as part of the marketing package, and my guess is this is really the focus of that NYT article. We can probably agree that many baby boomers on the cusp of retirement are now searching for options and some who have money may, in tune with the culture and the food in the big cities, put a priority on good food. It would make a difference to me, that's for sure. We checked out two places in Oakland and one in Portland. One place in Oakland had good food, and the place in Portland, which was the newer and more modern facility with a spectacular dead on view of Mt Hood had pretty bad food; better than most nursing homes or rehab facilities but not anything I would want to eat every day. That kind of surprised me, because the Portland place seemed to have a very progressive outlook and you might think the local prospects (and their offspring who are making decisions) would have pretty high expectations when it comes to food. The whole thing is very interesting, and I expect there will be more choices in the near future. Let's hope so, anyway. Given the cost of some of these places and the access to good chefs you would hope the trend would be upwards.

When I lived in NM some people roasted them and then tossed them into freezer bags--whole but not peeled. I used to do all my prep up front: roasting, peeling and chopping coarsely or just packing in strips. I don't remember seeing anyone toss them in the freezer before roasting. Seems like you would end up trying to roast some pretty damp flabby peppers once they were defrosted. Often now I roast my chile, peel it, and then dice it with salt and a little garlic, then freeze in small containers so I don't have to think about prep at all when I want to throw a handful into something.

Thanks, Rafa!

My latest favorite hot weather drink is a Gentle Persuasion. It calls for Lillet Rose, but so far I've been making it with Blanc just to use up a bottle. Now I'm going to buy some Rose and do it up proper. What other drinks call for Lillet Rose?

That contraption is beyond me, but then I've never had an Egg Mcmuffin. But what stood out from your post is that Kerry believes it is reasonable to pay for something specifically destined to be a drainage saucer for a potted plant. Well la-dee-dah!

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/topofthetimes/features/la-fo-herbrec11b-2009mar11-story.html This recipe can be found all over the place--I guess Nancy Silverton's Chopped Salad with Oregano Dressing has been a big hit for several years. It's a great rendition of an Italian-American classic--- sort of a sandwich without the bread. Very satisfying, and I think it meets the criteria for a nostalgic Italian salad/dressing. As usual, adjust the oil and vinegar to your taste. The original recipe is awfully heavy on the vinegar. Italian red wine vinegar can be very acidic, and I prefer generally a ratio of 1 vinegar to 4 oil. But it is kind of a fun throwback salad. I also don't use iceberg lettuce in my version, but it would certainly be appropriate. You try buying iceberg lettuce at the Berkeley farmers' market!

Sweet Maria's (in Oakland, btw) also carries a very good aromatic chicory, which I believe they import from India. Inexpensive and, for those of us who like a little chicory in our coffee, yummy. We grow chicory here in the US in the midwest, but the two places I know of seem very disorganized and I gave up trying to order. Of course, easy for me to say, I am a 10 minute drive from Sweet Maria's. They are oh so nice, too. And when I say aromatic I mean that a zip closed plastic bag that I keep in my cabinet emanates lovely perfume every time I open the door. The last time I bought Jamaica Blue Mountain it cost about $10 per pound. Okay, so I'm old. But I don't remember anything earthshaking about it. The best coffee I ever had was cowboy coffee boiled in an enamel jug when camping in New Mexico. No doubt it came from a can, since that was around the same time.

This is fascinating. One thing we notice about the root vegetable cake I make is that it can sit out for several days (draped in cling-wrap) and get neither dry nor gummy. It disappears before it needs to be refrigerated usually. I love the term "death recipes."

Chili and worcestershire and sugar are three ingredients that come to mind.

RWood thanks so much! Shel, the ingredients for my buttermilk ice cream has somewhat different proportions, and no creme fraiche: 1 1/4 c heavy cream, 1 vanilla bean, 4 large egg yolks, 1 1/2 c sugar, 4 c buttermilk. The direx are intimidating; my husband has made this twice, and although it was very good, it is indeed not for the semi-lazy and cholesterol watching like me. We haven't made it for years, using instead the buttermilk sorbet recipe you have. I don't see how RWood's ice cream could be anything but swoon worthy.

Oh yes, I have used beets. There are several recipes floating around that make a chocolate cake using beets. Nigel Slater has one, and there's one on The Vanilla Bean blog that I have never made but that sounds great. I make a root vegetable cake that uses a "whatever you have in the fridge" philosophy: a combo of grated beet, carrot and sweet potato or yam. It's about the healthiest great-tasting cake you can make, and also uses oil instead of butter plus some applesauce. I also have made a cake that uses a surprising amount of butternut squash and another that uses Japanese yam. Then there are some versions of Red Velvet cake that use beets instead of food coloring. Never tried that either.

I had a very nice experience at Buvette several years ago. I went with my 90 yr old mother, who likes her French food. We went on the early side and sat at the bar. The bartender was incredibly solicitous and the food was right in my mom's wheelhouse. The martinis were huge, and we both got very tipsy, so it would be hard to tell you what we ate. I'm pretty sure it had rabbit in it. And I'm pretty sure we had some type of apple tarte tatin for dessert. Right away we noticed how uncomfortable every seat in the house is, but the friendliness and alcohol and lovely food made up for it. If I was looking for a long and leisurely meal I might go somewhere else where there were chair backs and a bit more padding. Having cocktail hour with food at the bar at 5pm was a good way to go.

Only in Kansas City would anyone try to make Italian dressing taste like BBQ sauce. Even Lidia would cringe.

I agree that oregano is what makes Italian dressing in a bottle taste like mid-century Americans thought Italian dressing ought to taste, which is essentially like American pizza. My mother's interpretation of Italian dressing was simply olive oil and vinegar (that would be a mouth-puckering amount of red wine vinegar in her case) with some herbs. That's to distinguish it from dressings with ketchup, mayo, buttermilk, blue cheese, etc. When she added dijon mustard and a little garlic she called it French dressing.

RWood, it should not take me more than a couple of hours to drive down to Monterey. See you soon! But really, I need to make that fig dessert. Can I get a recipe for everything but the buttermilk ice cream (already have a good one for that.) Thanks!

Giving diners an opportunity to rate their food probably increases their willingness to pay large amounts of money for the privilege. Everyone seems hooked on rating everything, and wow do most of them love sound of their own....keyboard. See Delia Ephron, also in today's paper--it's very funny.

Yes, they typically are labeled Orange Honeydew. Right now is the best time to find out what kinds of melons you like best, and the biggest selection will probably be at a farmers' market. I'm also very partial to the Yellow Baby watermelon. It is indeed yellow or golden fleshed, and there may be other varieties of yellow as well. They taste slightly different from a red watermelon--more vegetal perhaps. My opinion is that seedless melons don't have as good flavor as ones that are grown w/seeds, so I don't buy seedless watermelons, even though they are becoming more popular. And after all, spitting seeds is part of the watermelon experience. Surely there are some farmers' markets in your locale. When I lived on the east coast my mother was always waxing poetic about New Jersey tomatoes, so maybe there are some legendary Jersey Melons.

Happy Boy sells at many farmers markets in the Bay Area. I have had most of their melons, including the Charentais. It's not my favorite melon--it's very sweet. I'll take a straight ahead perfect cantaloupe over many of the super-sugary juicy melons now in abundance. My favorite melon (not in the watermelon category) these days is the orange honeydew, which has become pretty common in the last few years. But I'm sure all melons have their devotees, and it is also very possible that I tasted a mediocre or over-ripe Charentais and formed my opinion that way. No matter how many "techniques" people give me for picking a good melon I find it's mostly luck.