KatieLoeb

You guys are silly! And here I was just trying to think of an example of a ridiculous macho "sport". I suppose a cabre could be just as useful as a chopstick on one of those Biblically named gimungous bottles!

Good point. I've often bubble wrapped individual bottles for clandestine trips back from far away places tucked into my luggage. They've all survived just fine. As Brad pointed out - in the car, not the trunk, and presumably you'd have the AC on for your own comfort. Couldn't hurt the wine either although I don't think it's necessary to have your car at 55 degree "cellar temperature".

Abra: I'm a bit late to your wonderful blog, but this is a GREAT read! And the photos of your sumptuous creations are making me run out and fetch some lunch right now or I won't be able to continue reading. And a very happy belated birthday as well!

Lou: Congratulations! It's nice to see someone's hard work and dedication pay off! From everything I read here from people whose taste I trust implicitly, it's well deserved. Best wishes for continued success!

- Julia Child

Now that made me cry...

James Lipton always asks his guests on Inside the Actor's Studio what they want to hear when they arrive at the Pearly Gates. I think today it will be, "Your table is ready Julia. We're honored to have you..."

I met Julia Child during the IACP Conference in Philadelphia in 1996. I worked for the company that was providing the catering for a dinner in her honor. She went out of her way to greet everyone and was gracious to every single server. Her generosity of spirit and cheerful demeanor was evident in everything she did. I can't think of anyone with as much influence in bringing joy in cooking and eating to every American household as she. She will be sorely missed. May Julia rest peacefully. God bless.

I had the pleasure of attending a Book and the Cook event at the Ritz-Carlton here in Philadelphia with Andrea Immer playing hostess/author/cool sommeliere in March of last year. She's a fun and fascinating woman, and translates her passion for her subject in a painless and interesting fashion, rather than a pedantic and dull one (as is, unfortunately, often the case.) I'd highly recommend attending the event she is hosting. Her books are excellent and ones I often recommend to those wishing to learn more about wine without getting bogged down in technical terminology, "wine geek speak" or endless memorization of geography and vintage charts. To those of you that will be fortunate enough to attend, have fun!!!

Interesting. Was this event modelled after Philadelphia's Book and the Cook Festival which just celebrated it's 20th Anniversary?

i think the average wine drinker *does* understand that people are making money on wine and that it doesn't magically go from grape to glass. but the issue at work here, i think, is that i can get the same product in my home town at 100 Main Street for 8 dollars, and next door at 102 Main Street for 28 dollars. Tommy, The same is true of the steak you buy for $12 at the market and $35 at 102 Main Street. Or the eighty cents worth of well vodka or gin that just went into your cocktail.

If these were on the menu I would trek from Philly to DC for them. And the pink bubbly sounds perfect. I've always thought of sparkling rose as "brunch wine" because it's just so yummy with all those egg-based dishes. Actually I am going to trek to Firefly one of these days. I'll have to come late so I can catch Chef at the end of a shift and get a chance to chat.

Kim: Rx is in the University City neighborhood of West Philly that surrounds Penn, a very short ride from Center City. Address is 4443 Spruce St. which places it at the corner of 45th & Spruce. If you're coming to town tomorrow to check out Reading Terminal, a dinner at Rx is entirely feasible as it's well located via either public or private transportation.

A cursory search on Google for the "Champagne 'sigh'" quote has yielded the following: Open with a Sigh Apparently this is a common metaphor in the Champagne world.

Passarelle is very pretty. Somewhat of a "package deal" wedding kind of place since special events catering seems to be what their business is mostly about (when's the last time anyone you knew said, "I went to Passerelle for dinner last night"...) but that can be a good thing if you want to have a "wedding planner" thrown in as part of the cost. It seems they'd cover everything from A-Z, have pretty grounds for photos, etc. The cost may be high but you have to think about what else you won't have to sweat about if you were to choose a full service establishment such as that.

Yes - Drama and Tradition pretty much covers it. It covers a lot of other macho chest beating displays as well. It's just a silly fatuous display of some "specialized" skills. Like tossing a cabre. The violent release of the cork definitely wastes some of the precious contents, so I'm with you in doing this more gently. And "the sigh of a contented woman" thing was me. I'd heard it from someone else and it's stuck with me ever since.

:tweet: The only reason I hadn't mentioned this sooner is because I sort of had an "in" at Drexel. One of the culinary professors there was the former chef at my very first restaurant job, in addition to being dearest of friends with another friend that suggested my wedding reception be one of perhaps two or three non-school related events that were taken on there annually as a "project" for the culinary students. That being said, they did a phenomenal job with the food and service. A five course sit down meal with wines matched to each course, a wedding cake brought in from outside and an hour of delectable butlered hors d'oeuvres during cocktails came to less than $6000. Frugal but top notch classy. I'd like to think it was a reflection of the bride Perhaps you could contact some of the culinary schools in town and ask if they cater "outside" events. Certainly any of the four restaurants at The Restaurant School of Walnut Hill College might be worthy of consideration.

Read the full article here. Cheers! I definitely have to try and make one of these this week. Sounds much too tasty to ignore! I usually use Minute Maid frozen limeade as the "base" for my Margaritas so I'll have to figure out the appropriate proportions. Will report back after the reconnaissance flight.

I like their riesling too. The whole Villa Maria line is Stelvin capped and of good quality, especially for the price.

It doesn't. You'd do nothing except possibly decapitate a bystander. It's both the internal pressure and the lip on a mushroom shaped Champagne cork that gives the sabre something to "grab onto" that makes this possible with a sparkling bottle.

Kim: How many does the van hold? And at $30/person is it a "fancy" van, or could we maybe find something a bit more proletarian for less $$/person? Thanks for looking into this.

Sara: Andalusia is a lovely mansion on the Delaware River, about 20 minutes north of Center City off I-95. I worked a wedding there when one of Ted Kennedy's boys married the local heiress to the Pep Boys fortune and it is a glorious space. They had a tent outside with lumineria candle-lit walkways, Waterford crystal, bone china, real silver place settings and crystal chandeliers and more flowers in the tent than I've ever seen in my life. It was breathtaking, although obviously cost was no object for them. It really is a pretty space with lovely grounds, though. Another pretty space that isn't far from the city is Merion Tribute House in Wynnewood. It's off the lovely tree lined road behind the Saint Joseph's seminary off City Line Avenue. I played sommeliere for a winter wedding there and they had the fireplaces going and the bride wore a beautiful white cape over her gown and it was just gorgeous. I'm certain it's very pretty in warmer weather as well, as the landscaping outside looked pretty too.

I attended a charity party once at the Horticultural Center in Fairmount Park. It was a very cool venue for an event and since all the guests got styrofoam pith helmets at the entrance it was very "Dr. Livingston, I presume?", all evening, Check out all of the possible public venues with the Fairmount Park commission. In addition to the botanical gardens there's the Japanese House and Garden, Memorial Hall (probably too big and expensive for your purposes, but who knows), the Morris Arboretum and I believe the Philadelphia Zoo is technically a part of Fairmount Park as well. It is the largest urban park in the country (possibly in the world), so there's probably a whole mess of other venues that I don't even know about like the various mansions, other gardens, etc. At a minimum, any of these locales are available as a spectacular backdrop for your wedding photos if you request and pay for a $20 permit at least two weeks in advance from the Fairmount Park Commission at 215-685-0060.

I've not heard of double oaking because of sickening or depleted soils, but because the winery can't afford to continually buy new barrels. Double Oaking is done in a variety of different ways -- from oak chips added to old, used-up barrels to a more technical process called "interstaving" where long, thin strips of oak are lined up inside an old, used-up barrels. If anyone wonders how wines like Two-Buck Chuck get their oak flavor, it is because oak chips or sawdust is added to the stainless steel tanks in which the wine is being made -- they don't spend their money on barrels. I'm not so sure the motivations of the wineries that are "double oaking" with wood chips, suspended staves or sawdust are as noble as might be implied previously. They do it because they're overcropping and growing far too many grapes per acre (NOT dropping fruit as Carolyn mentioned earlier) and getting shitty quality juice from thin and weedy tasting grapes, more often than not in areas that aren't as ideal in terms of the growing conditions for the grape varietal in question. By giving it the "oak treatment" they can pass it off as having seen a real barrel and hopefully by conforming to the prevailing flavor profile that the less educated customer has come to expect, can get more money for their crappy manipulated wine. A real winemaker with some skill and viticultural knowhow doesn't have to resort to these sorts of cheap tactics.

It'll do the same thing to your fingertips as well. Been there, done that. Took three days for my hands not to look jaundiced. But yes - it's a big plastic bag that says "Thai Iced Tea" on it. Quite generic looking but it's definitely the same stuff that I've had served to me in restaurants.