KatieLoeb

I thought the Jamon Iberico was already here? At least something like it was on the charcuterie menu at Amada a few months back... Howabout a scrapple recipe contest. Incorporate scrapple into some other dish so it is unrecognizable as its former self. *slinks away* I like the idea of a scrapple carving contest myself. A bust of Ben Franklin perhaps? He was a frugal sort and would undoubtedly approve...

Actually I got in early decision. So I may never know the answer to that question... And yeah. I stayed.

I am truly sorry I missed this. The wine selections are excellent. You've all heard me waxing poetic on the Sept Grains for years. Probably one of my fave wines on the planet. Gosh I love that stuff...

Marcel didn't "cook" his pineapple poi either. He just stirred Xanthan gum into it, let it thicken and called it poi. Marcel is a hack. Sam deserved to be in the final.

Your instructions for cooking the broccoli rabe are verbatim what I was about to type. Easy, fast and never fails.

AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH! There. Now I feel better. I can't believe that hack chemist Marcel has made it to the finals. He's all technique and no soul whatsoever. I'm surprised he can see his reflection in a mirror. The head to head matchup of bitter rivals has Smackdown/Great TV written all over it, and I wonder if the results weren't a foregone conclusion. No surprise that Elia didn't make it to the final, much as I love her. And her last minute smack talking about Marcel did more to damage herself than it did him, although she was clearly out of the competition already. I would have much preferred to see a Sam v Ilan final that would have showcased some real talent and passion. Anyone else?

I would think a decent white wine glass would accomplish this well enough. Maybe not working for side by side comparisons of 18 oils though. Too many glasses on the table!

KYW Newsradio coverage of Senate Hearings

Thanks for posting that, Rich. It's good to see that Mr. Newman isn't going down without a fight and is shining a bright light on this egregious bit of political malfeasance and blatant cronyism so the cockroaches will scatter. I hope the Senate takes him up on his recommendations. Is there anything we can do as tax payers to demand that there is a formal inquiry into this situation?

I think the farina you're referring to is what is called "gries" in more northern parts of Austria. It's used to make dumplings and such. The best wine producers in Alto Adige that are widely available include Alois Lageder and Tiefenbrunner. Both make fine examples of the local varietals. And Mrlittlejas is criminally cute. I've seen him up close and personal.

Well of course a Sazerac or Sidecar or Louisiane is great after dinner. I was thinking Sidecar myself. I thought the challenge here was to make use of the Strawberry liqueur. If I'd known it didn't matter I'd have said a snifter of the finest cognac you can afford and have been done with it.

I've used the Bisquick low-fat version (yeah - I know. Kinda silly but I try where I can) for biscuits, pancakes and streusel toppings for pie or muffins. It works great. I know I've tried at least one of those back of the box recipes but I don't remember which one. I have no problem with using boxed, canned or jarred goods and jazzing them up or using them as one of many ingredients in a recipe. I could have been Sandra Lee before she ever existed. Too bad I missed that opportunity.

Try the Calvados Caramel. Seriously.

Victor: Hard to believe the little one is almost one! Time flies... I'll second the recommendations for Night Kitchen (totally worth the short drive to Chestnut Hill. Everything I've ever had from there has been awesome) or some of the South Philly bakeries. In South Philly I'm partial to the original South 8th Street location of Termini's. It's like stepping out of the flux capacitor into the 1940's. Everything is delicious. Varallo Brothers at the corner of 10th & McKean is pretty good too. I've taken their baked goods to friend's homes and there was never anything left.

Is your strawberry liqueur Fragole di Nemi? It's very tasty spooned over vanilla gelato with a turn of fresh black pepper, or made into a strawberry kir royale with Champagne or prosecco. Howzabout Strawberry liqueur, a bit of fresh lime juice, vodka and a splash of cream soda? Or a splash strawberry liqueur in brandy in a snifter? I dunno. Think of all the things you like strawberries with and start from there. Or substitute the strawberry liqueur for another similar ingredient (Chambord, maybe maraschino if you added some white vermoth/Lillet/Dubonnet to dry it a bit) in an established cocktail recipe and see what it gets you. Sometimes these experiments are like draining the bar mat. Sometimes they yield brilliance.

Incredibly sad news. Bux was such a strong voice in these forums. And I know how hard he worked to help get eGullet off the ground, so my hat is off to him for that as well as his many contributions in the forums. There was always something to learn from Bux. I had the pleasure of sitting with Bux and his lovely wife at one of the China 46 Chinese New Years dinners a couple of years ago. Bux was just as he appeared here. Incredibly knowledgeable about food, wine and travel, incredibly passionate and even occasionally cantankerous. But also incredibly charming, undeniably articulate and shamelessly generous with his knowledge. He'll be missed. My deepest condolences to his wife and family. I can imagine that their dinner tables will be conspicuously quiet without him. Godspeed Bux. You were a dear sweet man.

Phil: I haven't tried the late harvest, but the EXP dry viognier bottling is always pretty good and a good value, FWIW.

I'm lazy. I have a Black & Decker under the counter electric opener that works just fine for me. I guess I don't open as many cans as some folks because it doesn't get terribly dirty. I just wipe the blade with a hot rag every so often and it's fine.

All valid points as well, mon frere. I particularly agree with you about the ill will that's been directed at the Whitehall Lane CS releases. If you're marketing a product that has never existed before, you will undoubtedly use a Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price as your baseline. No different than any other industry. If you were unhappy with your $12.99 bottle of cabernet then don't buy another one. If you only bought it because you thought it was a $55 bottle then you shouldn't believe everything you read. I'm certain there are some consumers that thought it was worth every penny. I hardly see this as a conspiracy on the part of the LCB.

A 2001 vintage wine shouldn't have that much sediment in it. That of and by itself is kind of strange. And why on earth would they decant it away from the table? That's really odd. The whole point of the "show" is to do it in front of the customer, so the supposed "added value" of the wine "service" is part of your dining experience, and also so you can see that it's the bottle you ordered getting poured and not some plonk out of a bag-in-a-box. Sounds to me like these folks don't really get what they're doing with wine service.

When you say decanted, do you mean simply poured into a decanter for aeration, or actually poured through a meshed funnel into the decanter to catch any sediment? Big difference between the two. Some restaurants do "wine service" to appear to add value to your dining experience. A lot of the chain steakhouses with wine lists filled with relatively young vintages on the list do this, for example. Sadly, when done improperly or incompetently, it simply detracts. Owning a shelf full of decanters and bringing one to each table is meaningless if they don't understand what they're trying to accomplish, and is really a waste of time in many instances since the wine doesn't need decanting in the first place. Unfortunately yours did, and it was handled poorly, it would seem.

Try to find a bakery (or restaurant) that keeps the shells separate from the filling and waits until each cannoli is ordered before they addd the filling. I've been consistently disappointed in cannoli - even from Italian-Americn bakeries - until I stumbled across a small shop that did them this way. ← [minor thread hijack] Don't all Italian-American bakeries do it that way? I've never seen it done any other way. There's at least half a dozen excellent and legendary bakeries in South Philly (conveniently and dangerously not far from my house) that all leave the shells empty until they're filled to order. They just get soggy otherwise, no? My favorites are the ones with the chocolate dipped ends and Strega scented ricotta filling from Varallo Bakery. Drool. [/minor thread hijack]

Because they can sell 800-1200 cases in one shot at a guaranteed price and free up their warehouse inventory space for the incoming vintage. It's a no brainer for them. No having to carry the inventory or have to mark it down later and sell it piecemeal if it doesn't sell. Now it's someone else's headache to sell it off. Not theirs.

Sam: If you don't mind going domestic, the Niebaum-Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine in a can actually isn't too bad. Pretty convenient packaging too. $15 for a 4 pack of 187 ml cans.

I found a store with little wine bottle kimonos that slip over the bottle and make it look "dressed up".