KatieLoeb

Thanks, Doctor!

James: Grand Marnier and Cointreau do not do the same thing in a cocktail. Both are 80 proof but Cointreau is the very best triple sec known to man, distilled from sweet and bitter orange peels, a bit of pure laser beam focused orange flavor. Grand Marnier is sweeter and has vanilla and Cognac in the base as well as getting some oak ageing. If you want Grand Marnier and don't want to shell out the $32.99 it costs in PA, you can buy Gran Gala (PLCB website spells it "grangala" all as one word if you're searching) liqueur which is an able mirror image of it for $17.99. There's no substitute for Cointreau that's as close a match except perhaps the Marie Brizard Triple sec. But even that's different. Cointreau is it's own thing IMO. It's an old "secret recipe" that no one has seemed to duplicate well.

I had this very same experience with Mr. Arroyo in 2000 (on my way to Chateau Montelena). Wandered in and saw this lovely man playing with his dogs and walking them along a stream on the property. He was so laid back I thought perhaps he was a caretaker or something. Then he introduced himself and I was floored. He didn't have too many samples lying about back then, and actually was only selling "futures" for the next vintage, so alas I was unable to purchase any of his lovely wines to take with me. But the little I tried was amazing!

Apparently there's ONE bottle of Luxardo Maraschino in all of Philadelphia county that isn't SLO. I'm going to try and snag it so I can try some of these fabulous cocktail ideas. Bourbon and Maraschino! YUM!

Jeff and Evan: Glad you both liked the Campillo Rioja! I have to go pick up a few more of those to sock away for future reference. My wine consumption (at home at least) is down lately because I'm trying to be good and drop a few pounds. So for now it's lots and lots of iced green tea and not quite so much wine. Except when I'm hanging out with Percy and philadining and Capaneus and all those other bad influences...

Robertson Winery is one of my favorite producers. Their Chenin Blanc is brilliant and the reds are quite lovely and complex as well. Reasonably priced, with a full line of varietals and fairly well distributed, it's a good spot to start seeing what one likes of SA wines. Stellenbosch Vineyards also produces some very fine wines. There are numerous labels and price points under their umbrella.

Any screechingly acidic white will do. The original idea was to sweeten up the tart aligote with the cassis to make it more palatable. Usually an unoaked chardonnay, but a low level Sancerre might benefit from a bit of cassis too.

Tonight I did the first riff on this recipe. More zucchini but I boiled down a couple of sliced carrots and some shredded ginger in the zucchini steaming water. Added all to the blender with a big handful of cilantro leaves. Tasted pretty good still warm, but I want to check the flavor and texture tomorrow when it's thoroughly cooled.

Aww Marlene - that's cheatin'! Heck that's a house on wheels fer sure! But I bet the beds are a lot more comfortable! To this day one of my proudest culinary achievements was a high end foodie magazine picture perfect shiitake mushroom and brie omelet cooked in a cast iron frying pan over a campfire. It was a minor miracle that it came out of the pan so perfectly folded. I wish I'd taken a picture of it because they don't even look that good coming out of Calphonlon non-stick in my regular kitchen.

Marshmallow on a skewer?

No contest. Mom made the best black beans and rice on the planet. And really good tostones. And she did a fine impression of a good Jewish mom and her Chicken Matzoh Ball soup was rockin'. (Our poodle seemed to be "allergic" to some sort of preservative in canned dog foods so he got cooked chicken. There was always fresh chicken stock in the house.) And I still sautee fresh spinach in nothing but good olive oil and minced garlic. It tastes like my childhood. This is what comes of being a nice Jewban girl.

This has to be one of the most hilarious turns of phrase on this board in some time.

The service at FL is what blew me away (not that the food and wine wasn't superb as well) on my one visit there. My water and wine glasses were filled as if by magic. There was always a warm roll or slice or bread on my plate and never a hovering waiter/busperson that placed it there. It was utterly seamless - an experience that I will hold up as the standard to which I will strive daily for the rest of my career. Truly awe inspiring. After indulging in the 10 course tasting menu my dining partner and I literally ate one bite of our desserts and pushed them away, lest we explode like Mr. & Mrs. Creosote. Without so much as a word the plates were whisked away and two compltely new desserts were in their place. "No, no! We're just full - really!", we insisted. The waiter insisted we couldn't leave if there was something we didn't enjoy. THAT is service of the highest order, and an experience I shall never forget.

There's some fabulous stuff on deck in the Chairman's selections: Upcoming Chairman's Selections The Artesa Pinot Noir should be great. I visited Artesa Winery (take virtual tour) when in Napa and thought it was architecturally one of the coolest buildings I've ever seen (view #4 on virtual tour), as well as having one of the most breathtaking views of Carneros (or anywhere - view #7 on virtual tour) I've ever had the pleasure of sipping a glass of wine to and toasting. The Chateau St. Jean "Cenq Cepages" Cabernet is a bargain even in the $40-ish price range. The Chateau St. Jean "Belle Terre Vineyard" Chardonnay is stupid cheap for $14.99. The Montes Alpha wines from Chile are also excellent. Newton "Puzzle" is also a steal at $22.99. Cool! Lots of new stuff to go shopping for.

Hmmm. I made chilled zucchini soup today too. I steamed three zucchini cut into coins until soft, whirled them up in the blender with 1 cup sour cream, a bit of the zucchini steaming water, a splash of milk and some ground cumin, salt and white pepper. Very tasty and refreshing. I made a zucchini, onion and prosciutto frittata-in-a-pie-shell with some mint in it last week. It was supposed to be a quiche but I realized after it was baked I'd forgotten to put the shredded cheese in. D'oh!

A-hem! Seems I sobered up enough to get my long post in before yours, buddy. ← You must have cheated! I bet you used your Uncanny Admin Powers to sneak past me at the finish line. Confess, wicked woman! Besides, I never claimed *I* was sober. It's been a very very slow day. ← Actually I was composing that reply all day and going back and forth to it. I suspect we were both writing at the same instant and I hit send before you did. I did feel fine today, although I woke up obscenely early (6:30 AM) with a tiny bit of indigestion. All that rich food on a basically empty stomach will do that to me. You'd think I'd learn. But it was well worth it. I went back to snoozin' for another few hours and woke up none the worse for wear. It was a very leisurely meal and as Jeff's photo attests, we definitely added to the collection of wine corks in the front window! What a lovely restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Who knew? Well, Percy and Jeff knew, but I remain amazed. Such fabulous food and gracious service. The waitstaff was wonderful as well. I hope they enjoyed all the wine we left for them. There was at least a glass or two of each that I hope made it to our very sweet waitresses.

Of course, well, after all, anyone with any sense knows that the greater Philly area (including northern DE of course) is the center of the Universe. Why should it be any different culinarily speaking? ← True 'dis. :two snaps up:

A-hem! Seems I sobered up enough to get my long post in before yours, buddy.

:cough: Was it really that many?? Well, I suppose it helped that we were sending the "leftover" glasses of wine back to the kitchen and staff to <ahem> lubricate them as we went along. As an aperitif Taittinger Domaine Carneros, CA I love this stuff. So sparkly and refreshing. Makes your mouth water and revs up your appetite. Just like it oughta. Grouper ceviche with black ink. Warner Vineyards "Grapes of Love" Liebenstrauben, MI A most interesting and riesling-like wine from the shores of Lake Michigan. Very light and refreshing and my first taste of Michigan wine! Thanks Percy! That was very cool! Ahi Tuna with Aged Balsamic Glaze Calamari stuffed with crawfish, organic tomato coulis Lobster with Langoustine and Bourbon Sauce Graf Hardegg Pinot Blanc/Chardonnay 1999, Austria I'd smuggled this bottle back from Austria in 2001 and had held onto it waiting for the appropriate moment and good company with whom to share it. A very pale straw colored wine that had subtle spice, a nice pear-y flavor and lots of that telltale Austrian minerality (like licking the slate patio tiles). Quite tasty with this course and much better with the food than without. Crispy Pheasant with Seared Foie Gras, Marsala Reduction, Roasted Fig and Champagne Grapes Saintsbury Reserve Pinot Noir 2000, CA This wine was perfect with this course. The rich earthiness of the Pinot Noir went really well with the slight gaminess of the pheasant and the foie gras and fig. Lots of bright red fruit flavors. This wine reminded me of a more "new world-y" and voluptuous Côte-de-Nuits. Vol au Vent with Sweetbreads and Wild Mushrooms Arrowood Syrah "Le Beau Melange" 2001, Sonoma, CA The last sips of the Pinot Noir was good here too, but this dense inky unfiltered Syrah blew it away density-wise. A very tasty wine that is yet another of the wonderful Chairman's Selections (Thanks Mr. Chairman!) Rabbit Tenderloin with Burgundy Sauce and Wild Blueberries Flora Springs Trilogy 2000, Napa, CA Percy had stealthily hidden this in his cellar and saved it just long enough to have it make an appearance with this rabbit. YUM! Really lovely Meritage that shows that Napa can compete with Bordeaux for elegance. Again, a bit more voluptuous than it's French counterpart would be, but silky and a good match with the blueberry sauce and bunny wabbit. Venison Filet with fresh Morels and Barolo Sauce Montes Alpha Cabernet 2001, Santa Cruz, Chile La Jota Vineyard Howell Mountain Cabernet 2000, Napa, CA Oh yeah! We were eating Venison and it was time for the North American vs. South American Cabernet Smackdown! This is the source of that silly picture of me doing the "horizontal tasting" above. (I got plenty horizontal when I got home too!) Interesting contrast on these two wines. Both quite full bodied, I'd give the oak and fruit edge to the Chilean wine and the fruit and briar edge to the Californian. The La Jota also seemed to desplay a bit of that aroma of violets that fine Cabernet-based Bordeaux do from time to time. Both were delicious and went very well with this course. It was quite interesting to do the side-by-side comparison. Cappuccino Creme Brulée, Banana Mousse Cake with Sesame Nougat Yalumba Museum Muscat "Victoria Dessert Wine", Australia Jeff was kind enough to bring this along from his private reserves and it was a great finish to an obscenely wonderful meal. The muscat is very honeyed and intensely fruity and played well with the fruitiness of the banana mousse. What a wonderful dinner! What lovely dining companions! I hope to be breaking bread with this crew more often. These folks sure do know how to have a good time!!

If someone were to start a thread on food aphorisms, I'd put this one at the very top. Katie Loeb, Resident Zen Goddess of eGullet. ← I'm going to have to add that to my sig line... I don't think I'd ever thought of a barely organic "cheese food product" as zen before.

Whiz be Whiz, don't it? I didn't realize there were any other levels/possibilities to this question. Whiz jus' is.

Congrats! (Sorry! I couldn't find the "wine glasses clinking" smiley) I hope to follow in your footsteps some time in the near future.

Evan: You'll have to let us know if you liked it. That newton Merlot is pretty darned tasty too!

Decided to bump up this thread with a wine I'd bought as a Chairman's Selection a short time ago and decided to crack open this evening. Campillo Rioja Riserva 1996. $14.99 - listed at twice that and more everywhere I've searched for info. This is some damn tasty and well made/aged wine. 100% Tempranillo, close to a decade old, aged for almost two years in American oak barrels and held for three years in bottle prior to release, this wine can only be described as smooth and seductive. Tastes like a bowl of fresh cherries sitting in a cedar lined leather cigar box. Incredibly smooth with really supple tannins. I had it with a steak I'd tossed on the George Foreman, but suspect this could stand up to game meats or cheese really well. Delicious and a freakin' bargain for the price tag. Seems to be readily available in the Philadelphia County PLCB stores. Must. Go. Buy. More.

Hiya folks: Just wanted to place a link to the results of the 50 Best Brewers poll that was conducted by RateBeer.com. Seems the folks in San Diego have a lot to be thankful for. 3 of the top 10 brewers are in San Diego or the environs. I'd like to give a shout out to three of my favorite local breweries in PA whose products I've featured in restaurants I'm buying for. Victory Brewing Co. of Downingtown, PA came in 14th, Stoudt's Brewery of Adamstown, PA came in 24th and Troegs Brewing Co. of Harrisburg, PA came in 26th. Not a bad showing for the PA brewers in the top 100. The poll claims to be the world's largest, with some 30,000 beers from 4000 brewers eligible. Voters from more than 65 countries participated. Full Story Here Seems the USA has a wealth of riches to be proud of in the brewing arena.