KatieLoeb

I definitely missed a couple of those things. That's what I get for showing up late. What is that in the upper right corner? That looks really good. Those sesame buns are the best I've had. Really fluffy and not overly sweet. Yum!

Phlox: Your points are well taken. And, might I add, that you sound like one of the few hostesses I've met that understand their job and all of the implications of it. I have never understood why that four top over there looks any more appealing than the one you've just been seated at in the same noisy dining room. The lighting is the same, the table top accoutrements the same, the menu is the same, etc. Why diners feel the need to be the alpha dog in the seating game I will never understand. Just sit the f*%k down where you're told unless there's some truly compelling reason to move like a back injury and needing a padded booth to sit in. There's a reason you've been seated there. It's that server's turn to be seated. You're messing with people's livelihoods because you want to make a fuss over nothing. Sit down and shut up!

Tonight I made a gigantic pot of potato-leek soup for the coming week. Diced up three ribs of celery and began to saute those in about 5 Tbs. butter over low heat. Added three washed and chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only) and let that saute until translucent. Added about 7 peeled and diced potatoes and turned to coat the potatoes with the butter. Added a large carton of vegetable broth, plus one half carton of water to cover and let it all simmer for about half an hour. 15 minutes in I added salt, white pepper and about 1 Tbs. fresh thyme. When the potatoes were quite tender I pureed in batches in the blender with some whole milk and a dollop of light sour cream. Added all back into the pot and heated through. Tasted one more time, added a bit more salt and just the tiniest pinch of Death Rain habanero powder to wake it up. That did the trick. I had two mugs full for dinner and tomorrow will have some croutons on top too!

Bob: O.K. Lee had signs all over the place that they are open on Sundays. Given that I was at the market pretty late yesterday( after 5PM), they might have still had some of those three packs of avocados left. You coulda scored some too...

Please report back with photos! I'd be excited to see a better alternative to those nasty little picked mothballs in the dusty jar behind every bar.

Right. As was the case with Buddakan and Morimoto. Everyone wondered why Iron Chef Morimoto would want to come to Philly, of all places. It was because he was offered a place with his name on the front door that someone else put up the money for. Seems like a great deal to me.

Wasn't that chicken liver and bacon wrapped water chestnuts, aka Rumaki? Pretty good recipe to be found HERE.

Tonight I cleaned out my fridge. Never a pretty sight. I did find a couple of limes in the crisper drawer that needed to get used or tossed, so I chose to make a Pomegranate margarita out of them to try and use up some of the overabundance of Pama Liqueur I have around. 2 oz. Cabo Wabo Anejo 1.5 oz. Pama pomegranate liqueur 1 oz. fresh lime juice .75 oz. Gran Gala orange liqueur .5 oz. spiced simple syrup ('cuz it's what I had in the fridge) All in all a pretty tasty concoction. It was a record breaking 70+ degree day here in Philly so a summery drink didn't seem so out of place.

Stopped by RTM this afternoon for a surgical strike of groceries for the next few days. O.K. Lee Produce had such a nice selection of .99 bags and styro trays of stuff I never made it over to Iovine's. I got: Two trays of ripe plum tomatoes (1.98) One tray with three ripe avocados (.99) One bunch of three large leeks (.99) One Sugarbaby watermelon (.99) One bag of washed baby spinach (.99) One bag of ripe pears (.99) One 5 lb. bag of potatoes (2.49) Two Vidalia onion (1.20) Altogether just over $10 and enough to have my parking ticket stamped for $2.00 parking. A steal! I also picked up half a pound of smoked gouda cheese at Downtown Cheese and made some delicious whole wheat angel hair pasta for dinner this evening that contained minced garlic toasted in some good olive oil, the chopped fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped spinach, grated smoked gouda, a bit of grated parmesan, some of the pasta water and a bit of white wine. Very tasty and the easiest dinner I've thrown together in a while. And I've got leftovers for tomorrow!

The Chalfonte V.S.O.P is my "house" Cognac for mixing and there's about a half bottle in my cabinet right now. Perfectly acceptable for mixing and even for sipping neat, although clearly not of the caliber of stuff that's twice the price. It costs $19.89 here in PA. The E&J is extremely woody. In fact, I've seen it used diluted with water as a sensory example of what the effect of oak barrels smell and taste like in one of my friend Marnie Old's wine seminars. It's a damned fine example of that. The E&J works better as a secondary ingredient in a mixed drink. Or as part of the solution to macerate sangria fruit in, for example. But in the finished product, I'd surely use a low level Spanish Brandy like El Presidente to get that real Iberian flavor, instead of that over-wooded California flavor we hate so much in cheap Chardonnay. It's like French kissing Pinocchio.

I'd be happy to buy Bryan a drink on his 21st birthday. In fact, I'd be honored to mix it up myself. Hopefully when that day arrives I'll be working somewhere I can make sure that happens. All he has to do is show up. I know Bryan to be an honorable sort (from his posts here, at least) so I presume whatever ID he's wielding that evening to have his correct birthdate on it. That way we're all covered.

Julie: Thanks so much! That definitely gives me something to work with. And thanks for the recipe! Will try one soon. In fact, next time in in NYC I'll plop down at your bar and order one and try it in it's natural habitat.

Julie: Care to share your tea infusion technique with us? Sounds like you've been doing this for a while and have it down. I'm curious about the Beijing Peach recipe too, if you're really feeling benevolent...

Hi Patty. Don't even worry about it. Thanks for bringing the article to my attention. It was quite interesting and I've saved a copy of it for future reference.

I'm pretty fond of microwave popcorn myself, and don't have a rotating carousel in my oven. My best bet has been massaging the contents of the package before oven insertion, starting the package at about two thirds the minimum time recommended on the package and then removing it and shaking it hard. I then finish cooking it in 20-30 second bursts, removing and shaking the package until the popping has slowed enough for me to know it's basically done. Not a perfect method, but it works. My favorite popcorn toppings lately have been a light spray of butter paired with various Penzey's spice blends like the Mural of Flavor, Szechuan Pepper-Salt or Trinidad Lemon-Garlic marinade. Mmmmmmm....

No you aren't! Or anything Fra Diavolo. But I still like the showy aspect of something served flambéed.

The obvious answer is to get one of each and share with a friend. But you just can't miss that pork sammie. No siree.

Yeah, I thought that myself after I turned the computer off last night. I too thought the challenges were quite creative. For a self-declared Deadly Sins aficianado, Cliff didn't seem to know that "Greed" is really a poor synonym for "Avarice". It would have been neat to see some sort of dessert involving edible gold leaf for that sin. Sloth? a slow braise, I think. Lust...oyster bisque. Or a pasta with a puttanesca sauce. Gluttony...well, what (edible) animal do most English speakers associated with gluttony if not the pig? Pork, three (or four!) ways. Wrath...I liked the spicy theme of Sam's dish. No brilliant alternatives from me! Envy...again, Michael's idea was brilliant. Pride...something very showy. I'm still thinking about that one. ← I did a cocktail menu based on the Seven Deadly Sins and my thoughts were similar to yours. Greed definitely needs the gold leaf. In my version there were flakes of Goldschlager in the drink. Envy needs to be GREEN! Lust - definitely oysters in a champagne mignonette. Gluttony - over the top richness. In my case a very creamy dessert cocktail. In their case either a rich sauce or expensive ingredients like foie gras and sauternes would have fit the bill. Wrath - spicy and served flaming, of course!!

I finally just noticed this particular post and checked out the NYT article. While the gist of the article certainly showed our fair city in a favorable light I was mortified at the following: They went to John's Roast Pork, the Holy Grail of the Roast Pork Italiano, and they ordered a CHEESESTEAK!!! Are you kidding me??? Pffffft! Peasant New Yorker tourists! Stooopid travel writers! Gah!

Bob: You're a genius! And first in line for Campaign Manager. I'll be close behind...

Right. I think the "classic" matches like Muscadet and oysters or Sauternes and foie gras or Rioja and Jamon Iberico fit this model moreso than others and that's precisely why they're considered classics! JohnL: I must seriously try the lambrusco with Mexican food or barbeque pairing. Sounds perfect and not something I ever would have thought of.

Penzey's recently opened a store in Philadelphia, which is not nearly as conveniently located to commuters as the New York outpost would seem to be. Yet I will happily drive the 25-30 minutes it takes me to get to the Chestnut Hill almost-suburban-but-still-in-city-limits location of the store for exactly this reason. The quality and freshness of the spices and particularly the selection of proprietary spice blends the store carries. Great products, great quality, great prices.

I received confirmation to post this here. In his own words... RESIGNATION STATEMENT OF JONATHAN H. NEWMAN I am resigning as Chairman and as a Member of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board effective January 12, 2007. I will certainly make myself available after that date to assure a smooth and seamless transition. I have enjoyed my 7-1/2 year tenure, the last 4-1/2 years as Chairman of the Board. I would like to sincerely thank all the hard working employees of the Board who have taken this Agency to the next level in customer service and promoted social responsibility. The substantial increases in revenue and record profits generated over the last few years have benefited all taxpayers in the Commonwealth. There are so many accomplishments that I am proud of that have fundamentally changed consumer perception of the PLCB and the vibrant retail shopping experience we have created. However, it has become abundantly clear to me during the past few weeks that this Administration is adamant in standing by its decision in hand picking a CEO without any true process whatsoever that is consistent with transparency and good government. There was no public discussion about whether the decision to bring in a CEO was appropriate, no national search process to find the best qualified individual, and no opportunity for public comment or media scrutiny before this rushed decision was completed. I am hopeful that the Pennsylvania legislature will review this entire process and determine if it is appropriate for the Commonwealth and the future direction of government. Since the Board's statutorily mandated full time responsibilities have been abrogated and the Board will only provide regulatory and policy authority, I do not believe I can remain at the Board and justify taking my $65,572 salary from the taxpayers. Part-time board members from other control states like Oregon receive per diems for participation in board meetings that would now certainly be more appropriate in Pennsylvania given the fact that the day to day and other important responsibilities have been removed. I would like to thank the citizens of this Commonwealth and express my appreciation for all the well wishes I have received.

Thanks for the update Rich. I can't wait to see what Jonathan has to say for himself when he has the opportunity to. I'm not surprised that a man of his integrity felt the need to step down after how this whole debacle was handled. I'm awaiting permission from his office to post his Resignation Statement which I received via e-mail this afternoon. If I'm able to, I will post that in its entirety as soon as I get word.

Ohmigosh! I just don't even know what to say. I was afraid this would happen and sadly have been proven right. Damn. Mr. Chairman. We will miss you immensely, but I hope will still see you around here. Excuse me. I'm going to go have myself a good cry now. This is really incredibly upsetting. edited to add: HERE'S the story.