dlc

I use a marble board for rolling out short sticky pie doughs. I also use it for candy making. In the past I have been able to get scrap marble pieces from monument companies or counter top companies for almost nothing. When a large piece breaks they can rarely sell the scrap. Once at my grandmother's I even used the marble top of an old victorian end table as a work surface. If your marble board won't go in the refrigerator, icing it works great. A bag of ice or a zip-top bag full of ice just placed on top for a few minutes.

The Papirusa Manzanilla from Lustau is supposed to have this same "salty" component even more that their other Manzanilla's. I have started using this sherry more than any other as I find it so food friendly. I only wish that some of the sherries that are mentioned above were available in my part of the country. edited because I screwed up the quote

Chateau La Coste was the home of the Marquis de Sade and it was from here he went to prison. His supposed last words as departing were "I will return, take care of the castle". It was also owned for a time by Pierre Cardin. You can find information on the present owners and winemaker here. I think the present owners bought the properties in the 60's.

I am not familiar with this wine but there is info on it here. They also have and attached B&B.

You are dead on with dry vermouth. In Mastering, Julia recommends using it all the time when white wine is called for. I personally like playing with the fruit flavors of various wines that would compliment the dish being prepared.

I have had good results with Calvert Woodley (mentioned above) and with MacArthur Beverages both in the DC area. Another great source for good provenance wines is John Hart Fine Wines in Chicago. They have a comprehensive website with inventory & prices.

IMHO the 3 most important things are chicken stock (preferably homemade), cornbread, and buttermilk biscuits. Then you can use whatever aromatics and additions thrill your heart.

Boris_A, I agree with you about asking for and discussing the sommelier's recommendations but in an establishment known for an unusual wine list I have found that having an idea of the range of selections in advance helps. One of the most enjoyable wine related evenings I have had was also in a restaurant in France. I gave the sommelier a figure that I wanted to spend for wines for the evening and asked him to choose what he felt was the best wines to match our dinner. His choices were not only killer matches with the food, they were eclectic and unusual wines. They were also 10% less than the amount I wanted to spend. That 10% became his tip that evening.

I have had similiar experiences with wine lists in France and find them very frustrating. A year ago I stopped in a restaurant at the end of lunch service and asked to see the wine list as we were having dinner there that evening. I told the sommelier that I had heard how terrific the wine selection was and I wished to peruse the list at leisure and possibly pre-select some wines that needed longer decanting. He was astounded and was extremely short with me (I am relatively fluent in french) and seemed insulted by my request. I never had understood why as I viewed it as a compliment on the quality of the wine list and how much I was anticipating the evening.

Another fantastic dessert is a quince souflee. It lets the flavor of the fruit shine through. Just prepare a base using quince as you would for any other fruit flavored souflee

Another dolces along these lines was a meringue filled with strawberries & ground fresh black pepper, drizzled with aged balsamic and basil chiffonade.

The Carolin Wine Company has regular tastings and events at both the store and other venues. See Here for an eGullet event that they are sponsoring in conjunction with the sister restaurant. The CWC website.is here. edited to add links

You have had some fantastic selections up thread. My addition for the pink stuff would be Delbeck Rose. Attractive wine with and attractive price for the style. I also like Tattinger's Compte de Champagne Rose at a higher price point.

Ciao Craig. The thoughtful and gentlemanly way that this forum has been administered makes it a treat to visit and participate in. Thank you for all of your efforts and best wishes on the new projects. We will all miss you.

To add another good quality pinot grigio I have found the Lugano Pinot Grigio to be a suberb quaffer (19.95 per magnum here). Another Winebow product that hits the spot especially in summer is the Rose de Regali. My go to red is Guigal Cotes du Rhone which is priced from 7.99 to 9.99 locally. Just topping out over the $10 is Josemeyer's Pinot Gris from Alsace.

About 5 years ago I made the mistake of taking my wife to the FloraBama for lunch midweek. When she walked in and saw the place she could understand why I loved it but didn't want to be there in the daylight. It was a whole lot easier to take after dark.

I wonder what will become of the infamous mullet tossing contest that was a yearly ritual at the FloraBama.

My wife suffers from migraines also. One of the triggers for her is red wines and brown alcohols (bourbon,scotch etc.). White wines and clear alcohols do not trigger her headaches. In addition to tannins I have read about a group of chemical compounds called congeners (I think) that occur from barrel ageing that are also a trigger for these type of headaches

I too have enjoyed Cafe du Passage. Especially a boudin noir and apple tart with a lovely cote du rhone about a year ago

Varmint, I would highly recommend Pearl's from the list above. When we go to the Assembly for a weekend it is a mandatory stop.

Dover, Have you ever seen anyone put a penny in a glass before. At a winery in the Rhone we were tasting barrel samples and an English wine merchant dropped a "copper" into his glass. When I asked about it he said it reduced the hydrogen sulfide smell. This was the first I knew of this.

There is a long discussion of this here. Lots of good ideas on wine storage.

"If my memory serves me" on my last visit to Ch. Petrus they also had cement/concrete tanks. They were white-washed on the outside with all the trim painted red.

My Grandmonther did the same. It was alway poke salat. Her's grew in a fence row about 100 yds from her back door. We only picked young tender leaves. "Honey, go get me a mess of those poke salat greens"

Brad, I have had the Hengst from another producer and hought that it was one of his lesser quality products. I will have to try to find this but I don't think it comes into our market. PS I love Alsacien Reislings & Pinot Gris.