KatieLoeb

Klary: Amada is as busy as ever, and as excellent as ever. Lunch is a particularly good deal and is conveniently located near many of the historic sights in Old City Philadelphia I presume you'll be visiting while you are here.

Jose is going to kick ass. Because that's what he does. Gotta root for one of my favorite ex-bosses for sure. Go Team Garces!!!

That's tragic. Ms. Lukins taught quite a number of people to cook, and fed an entire generation indirectly while opening up their eyes and mouths to new flavors and exotic (at least at the time) ingredients.1 I'll never forget the revelation of chicken salad with apples, walnuts and grapes in it! The soup recipes and the ratatouille are amongst my most referred to recipes. My Silver Palate and More Silver Palate books are two of my most treasured and well worn volumes on a very full bookcase of cookbooks. Absolutely one of my first reference sources for what to do with _____, if I find a new ingredient at the farmer's market. RIP Sheila. Rest knowing you changed the lives and yes, the palates, of an enormous number of grateful fans.

The ones I had were in white cupcake paper liners...

The Vieux Carre Absinthe bottles from Philadelphia Distilling are gorgeous. I love how the design on the label looks like the ironwork from French Quarter balconies. If you look really closely, you can see some of the herbs (hyssop, mint, etc.) contained within are part of that design. Pretty cool. It's damned tasty absinthe too.

There's a glorious photo in this NYTimes article from last summer about the Ramapo tomatoes. The signs today at Buzby's stand touted them as "the original Jersey Tomato". I never realized what a fuss was raised when this variety dropped off the map a couple of decades ago. Seems these are the real deal. I'm glad they're back. I just had one as part of my dinner tonight - simply sliced and sprinked with Alderwood smoked sea salt. It was like the essence of summer. Great texture and sweetness, but balanced with just enough acidity. Not mushy or with goopy seeds, but firm yet yielding to gentle pressure from my fork or my teeth. Absolutely delicious. That's one fine Jersey tomato.

Perhaps there was more than one kind of praline available. The ones I tried were at the dessert table with the mini cupcakes and two kinds of bread pudding, being seved by the folks from Standard Tap. They were definitely described as having bacon in them. So either the folks serving the pralines were incorrect, or I didn't get to try yours. It's probably for the best that I didn't know if there really were 2 kinds of pralines there. That could have been dangerous!

This was a really fun event, even with the interruption of the massive thunderstorm. Food was great, company was lovely and Greensgrow is a really cool urban farm. I had never visited the farm before and was happy to see such a thriving enterprise right in the middle of the city and just a few short blocks from Aramingo Avenue. Who knew? I definitely ate my share of the criminally yummy shrimp boil and had a few drumsticks of Meme's fried chicken to boot. Everything was delicious. Thanks for the brown sugar-bacon-pecan pralines, Janet! Those were heavenly...

I was bummed when there were no Asian pears at North Star this week, but managed to find some gorgeous Ramapo Jersey tomatoes, white eggplant and assorted hot peppers from Buzby's and some heirloom tomatoes from Blooming Glen. Lunch was a huitlacoche quesdilla from Taquitos de Puebla with a White Peach-Blueberry Lemonade from Twisted Lemonade. Delicious!! I sat outside at the fountain across the street to enjoy my lunch and this glorious summer day. Fantastic.

I got one of THESE bad boys while at Tales this past July and it's pretty cool. When I took it to work my fellow barkeeps wondered where I'd procured the "assassin bartender" tools. It works really well, especially on the large metal side of a Boston shaker if you're making multiples of the same cocktail. Feels good in the hand too...

See if you can purchase some bar rags/bar mops from a restaurant supply shop or a local linen company. Paper towels are a second choice for cleaning up spilled drinks. Rags are both more authentic and more effective.

Bummer. I would have gone, but I've been in bed for the last 24 hrs. with a stomach bug. Going to see food or even thinking about it this morning was out of the question. Feeling worlds better now and will have something to look forward to next Sunday. I'll be there with bells on for those pears...

::Happy Dance:: YAY! The North Star people are back! I can hardly wait for the Asian pears...

I just bought 3 porcelain teapots at a restaurant auction here in Philly last weekend. At about $6 apiece they were a bargain. I'll be saving them for gifting as part of a tea basket with the pot, a tea ball and a selection of loose teas for last minute hostess gifts and the like...

Merryvale Starmont Sauvignon Blanc 2007. Code #18247. Oceans of it around Philly for $10.99. I picked up a bottle at the 5th Street Society Hill store on Saturday and enjoyed it (along with the company of several other PhilleGulleteers) with some excellent Chinese at Ken's in Chinatown. The winery website's tasting notes are spot on: This wine is listed at $18 from the winery! Merryvale is always a reliable producer. It's high quality and a bargain at $10.99. I'm going to go pick up half a case before it's gone.

I made a New-groni at work the other day: 1.25 oz. Aperol 1.25 oz. Plymouth gin 1.25 oz. Carpano Antica Fat orange twist on top. Very tasty and a tad less bitter than its cousin, the standard issue Negroni. Good for a hot summer night...

1000 watt metal halide lamps are readily available on the net. Like your own private solar system. My then-boyfriend did a bit of <ahem> amateur botany in college, so this is how I know this. Hey, it was the 80's. Everyone had a "home garden"...

I noticed a new (to me at least) stand today that had "magical -Aids" like lemon-basil etc. I wonder what they're charging? Maybe I could just set up across the street by the fountain and no one would notice me? At least no one who could lock me up. "No really officer. It's just fruit punch..."

Holly: There's that small matter of a liquor license, but maybe if I sold it in opaque plastic cups like a lemonade stand I might get away with it for a little while...

I was headed out to a BBQ at a friend's lovely abode in Bucks County today and didn't want to show up empty handed (my mother would roll over in her grave if I did), so I made a quick surgical strike at the Headhouse market and got all the fruits for what I decided to call Farmer's Market Sangria. A quart of green and yellow donut peaches, one ginormous Gingergold apple and half a small watermelon were all chopped and balled up and then soaked with brandy and some Thai basil syrup I had made earlier in the week. A big box of dry white wine, some more brandy, a spoonful of sugar, fresh lemon juice and some Combier orange liqueur got mixed into a big punch bowl while the fruit quickly marinated. Pour a big scoop of boozy fruit over ice and fill with sangria mix, and voila! The ultimate cure for a hot summer afternoon. It was delicious!

Report back. That sounds like it could be interesting. I'd be curious to see if the limoncello plays nice with the other ingredients. Speaking as one who mixes with limoncello with some frequency, it can be a bit overwhelming at times. That can be a good thing, when you really want a big punch of lemon flavor, but can be a bad thing when you can't taste anything else.

I'm sipping a great big 'Ti Punch with a splash of pomegranate juice in it. Delish!

Feeling like I was giving birth to a litter of baby porcupines all day. Any minute now... Dinner tonight. Lots of sliced Jarlsberg cheese. Chopped liver and Russian dressing on Italian bread toasts. Followed by spoonfuls of Shoprite imported (from Italy) Hazelnut Spread. Yes, I stuck the spoon in the faux-Nutella and I loved it. No shame. No apologies. Washed it all back with a diet Ginger Ale, but I'll be needing a cocktail at any moment. Just to take the edge off. The voices in my head are not benevolent ones this evening...

Audrey: I missed that, but not living in NYC I'm not entirely sure what he looks like. That is definitely a clever touch, though. I particularly enjoyed Julie and her hubby making the pilgrimage to the Smithsonian exhibit of Julia's kitchen toward the end of the film. Again, I think it's a shame the two never met. Not just to satisfy Julie Powell's adoration, but because they really were so very alike in so many ways. I'm certain they would've had a lively conversation and shared some cooking tips. And tipped their glasses to each other. I think once Julia Child realized that Ms. Powell meant no disrespect (in fact, quite the opposite) they could've been good friends. At least I'd like to believe that...

Finally finished my interpretation of the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster tonight. Fun stuff. A frozen drink that lemony and herbal at the same time. Will post the recipe as soon as I've recieved an answer back from the publisher...