Ron Johnson

Agreed. Although I occassionally guffaw at Tommy's posts. At first I thought all of the petty fighting and seeing who can get the last word was funny, but then there was so much reading, ugh!

Ugh, not again.

Riesling gives you a great balance of acidity and fruit in a wine. For very acidic dishes based in vinegar or mustard I would recommend Alsatian riesling, especially those from Trimbach or Hugel. Other whites known for acidity are Muscadet (sometimes lacking in roundness) which pairs well with oysters. Gruner Veltliner, a lovely wine from Austria, can also have a pleasing level of acidity. Gewurztraminer from the Finger Lakes rergion in NY would also be good. White wines to avoid would be those from the Rhone Valley and American chardonnay. For reds, the classic high acid wine is Chianti, and really anything made from 100% sangiovese. That is why these wine pair so well with tomato based sauces, which are quite high in acid themselves. Cabernet Francs from the Loire Valley such as Bourgueil and Chinon are medium-bodied with that lemon-squirt acidity. As Tommy said, they are nice served with a slight chill on them. Red wines to avoid would be american merlot, cabernet sauvignon, or Aussie reds.

Malawry: Scott Turow wrote a book called "One-L" detailing his experiences as a first year law student. He was a writer before he attended school and it is my understanding that he kept a diary, much as you are doing, through-out the first year. Later, he turned it into a best selling novel. With the increase in attention given to culinary matters by the public, coupled with your gifted writing style and attention to detail, I think your diary has the makings of such a novel as well. I hope that is something you are considering.

I thought you said you liked the Cult Cabs? Those wines see more new oak than a North Carolina furniture factory.

Beachfan, I shall try to do as you have instructed.

Who is John Whiting? and how does he know how much money I make?

It's a slightly different dynamic when you are on the mailing lists. Then is it worth it to drink it or sell it. While I disagree that a Guado al Tasso is the equivalent (let alone better) than Harlan, I agree with your overall comments that the best Italian and Rhone wines are just as good (better for some palates) and better buys if you aren't on the mailing list. ( The whole purpose of the mailing list system was to create an artificial market and otherwise increase demand. Sure these wines fetch huge prices on the secondary market because people always want what they can't have. However, I do not think that this is a reason to think that a wine is good. I have not had Harlan because I am not a fan of wine that tastes strongly of oak, fruit jam, and alcohol, especially at that price point. However, I have other cult cabs and feel very confident that Gaudo al Tasso is superior to any of them. Interestingly, Gaudo shares much of the same characteristics as it is markedly new world in style. The problem with the cult cabs is that they are way out of balance. Not enough acidity, not enough tannins, not enough herbal qualities. They are all fruit and wood with out of whack alcohol percentages by volume. The very talented winemakers at these wineries have suceeded in isolating the few characteristics that are most noticeable and marketable, as well as favorites of a certain influential wine critic. They have then manipulated their wines, through reverse osmosis, super hot fermentation, high extraction, extended new oak contact, and use of ultra-ripe fruit to make relatively one-dimensional wines that showcase these limited characterisitics. I think there are better buys out there.

That is freakin' hilarious. . . and true

I am speaking of the Cinq Cepages also. The 1997 is noticeably better than the 1998 because of the near perfect weather conditions that year. GordonCooks: I have had Bryant Family, Grace, Colgin, Turley, and a few others that I am forgetting. These are good wines, but they are simply not worth the exorbitant price tags. In fact, the auction prices of these wines are falling at an alarming rate. Many people spent $1,000 for a bottle of Screagle that is now worth maybe $400. I just think your money is better spent elsewhere. These wines are more about status and name recognition than anything else. Joseph Phelps Insignia is every bit as good as the cult cabs (IMHO, better) and it retails for $100/bottle. If you really want to spend that kind of money on a wine, I would look at the following wines Rhone Valley: J.L. Chave Hermitage, Ogier or Jamet Cote Rotie Spain: Vega Sicilia Bordeaux: Ducru Beacaillou 1995 Burgundy: Any DRC from '96 or '99 Italy: Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Gaudo al Tasso, Tignanello from 1997. I think that any of these wines would be a far superior drinking experience than a cult cab and offer a much better value, although none are cheap. I opened a bottle of 1990 Ogier Cote Rotie the other night and I was literally speechless. It was an astonishing bottle of wine.

Orange gatorade is key, it must be included in all hangover breakfast combinations. If that is unavailable try the red. Do not under any circumstances consume the original green flavor. As far as food goes, you are best served by hitting the nearest diner/greasy spoon. As far as food goes, these all work well: Hash browns with onions, cheese, sausage, and chilli. (scattered smothered, covered, and corrupted) Huevos Rancheros Biscuits with sausage gravy. Corned beef hash with louisiana hot sauce and fried eggs with toast. BLT w/ lots of mayo Country ham and red-eye gravy with biscuits White Castles (this is only for days when you do not have to go to work) Good pastrami on rye bread w/ mustard As you can see these are all quite healthy

I like Chateau St. Jean and luckily have a few bottles of the 1997 cinq cepage socked away in my cellar, However, that being said, the sink seepage is no longer the deal it once was. The 1996 was wine of the year by Wine Spectator (if you read that kind of thing) because it was very good and very cheap. The 1997 scored even higher (1997 was the vintage of the century in Napa and Sonoma Valleys) but Chateau St. Jean priced it accordingly. Now, the 1998 has been released (1998 was a mediocre vintage in Napa and Sonoma) and the price creeps upward further. I think that you can find better. You are unclear whether you would like a case of wine or a few bottles for your $500.00? I would recommend looking to the Rhone Valley. The recent vintages have been excellent and most of these are on store shelves right, with the exception of heavily allocated brands such as Ogier. For 500 bones you could pick up a mixed case of Northern and Southern Rhone wines from the 1998, 1999 vintages. Another option is to go with the 1997 Brunellos that are just being released. These wines are uniformly considered on par with the stellar 1995 vintage and may be even better. California Cabs have deservedly made a name for themselves in the last 20 years. However, they, and some Aussie wines, are becoming known more for winemaker skills than terroir or good fruit. New World wines now are earmarked by overuse of new oak, higher alcohol levels, extraction, lower tannins and being extremely fruit forward. I think your $500 would be better spent on a few bottles each from Cote Rotie, Gigondas, Cornas, Chateauneuf du Pape, Crozes Hermitage, and Vacquerayas. Cheers.

I had a similar experience once, and I had consumed a few cocktails, so I did sit down . . . in his lap.

Malawry, These installments are just excellent. Please keep up the good work. I look forward to each new one.

Thanks for the insight Marcus, that explains it perfectly. Just the sort of response for which I was hoping.

I have not been to this particular greek restaurant, but I am somewhat surprised by the review by Mr. Asimov. In the body of the review he has numerous criticisms, but gives it a score of 2 stars. Given what was said I was expecting no stars or one at the most. Does this surprise anyone else in light of the critical comments he made? Has anyone dined at Molyvos?

How did you grill your raddichio? Did you halve the heads and place cut side down? Thats is what I did after drizzling with EVOO, but it didn't warm them all the way through before the cut side was charred.

Today's NYtimes food section has an article by the reviled and regarded Amanda Hesser about pressed sandwiches. She implies that waffle irons work as well as sandwich presses. Is this true? Do certain waffle irons work better than others? If so, does it make more sense to buy a waffle iron so that it is good for two purposes? Are waffle irons cheaper than sandwich presses? What are your favorite pressed sandwich combinations?

I saw him make this on one the Great Chef's episodes. Eveything was the same except he used regular pastry and two crusts, top and bottom.

Although I like Indian food very much, I have not yet participated on this board because of my admitted abject ignorance regarding Indian cuisine. In order to learn more I was hoping that Suvir or others could recommend some books that will explain the fundamentals of Indian cooking styles, methods, and technique. Also, perhaps a cookbook or two to begin practice in making some of the food myself. Generally, I am loathe to follow a recipe, but it may be a good way to grasp the intricacies of this cuisine. Specifically, I would like to know of some books that will give me an overview of the food, its regional differences, ingredients, and history, and then a seminal cookbook that contains recipes for the most important elemental dishes. Thank you.

Soba's way will work, but here is something to add. Take the corn kernels off of half of your corn cobs by slicing them cleanly with a sharp knife. Place in a bowl and reserve. Take the other half of the cobs and runs the back of your knife down the cob at an angle pressing fairly hard. Do this over a bowl as you will get a lot of fresh corn milk-like liquid that is the germ being extruded from the kernel. This liquid is sweet, creamy and has an intense corn flavor. However, the corn must have picked very recently, as its sugars begin converting to starch as soon as it is harvested. Following Soba's recipe, I would use this liquid in place of the puree that he has.

If Sissy Biggers and Gordon Eliot had a child, would it be Steve Rooney's clone? Note to self: Keep Gordon and Sissy apart from one another at all costs.

Disgruntled housewives frustrated with their husbands charter a deep sea fishing excursion with strapping young first-mates aboard? I think I saw this film in college. Quite good.

Is that PC-speak for "honky"?

Amazing, Whenever someone asks for an example of a time that I did not agree with Alton, I always cite the stock in the pressure cooker show. The underlying science was sound however.