rlibkind

It's not made from curd. Rather, from whey which has been heated and caramelized, hence it's sweetness. Ekte gjetost is made exclusively from goal milk (it's the real thing); regular gjetost is made from a cow-goat milk mix. If you are so inclined, here's a link recounting one amateur's attempt to make it.

Mushroom foraging is fun. Eating what you find is dangerous. Unless you have a 100 percent certain ID, don't eat it. Those mushrooms that are toxic are frequently highly toxic, with particularly nasty routes to death.

Made a detour through Old Forge en route from Philadelphia to Wyalusing to try the pizza. Based on web research it appeared a number of places did not open for lunch, so we went to Salerno's Cafe. If I lived in Old Forge, I'd make Salerno's Cafe a regular lunch stop. Filling food, cheap. Friendly, happy barkeep who anticipated our needs, and Yuengling lager on tap. Talkative, friendly crowd at the bar. Our tray of red was pretty much as advertised: the cheese tended to the liquid side, simple red sauce on an airy thick, rectangular slab of bread (think white bread foccacia). I liked it for what it was, a simple, lowest-common-denominator pizza. Not at all unlike that served in my junior high school cafeteria, though of considerably higher quality. That said, it shouldn't be confused with real pizza. (She Who Must Be Obeyed didn't care for it at all.) Should I find myself hungry on my way between Philadelphia and the Finger Lakes, a stop in Old Forge would be enjoyed. But it's not worth more than a two or three-mile detour.

From Philadelphia Department of Public Health's regulations governing food service establishments: "Hamburger patties and other ground meat products shall be heated to ensure that all parts of the product are heated to 155ºF (68.3ºC)."

The sales clerk was right. I pick corn without pulling it open and only rarely does that system fail me. Too many people ruin a vendor's stock by rampantly opening husks. Besides, the corn will stay fresher if you don't open it.

Do I dare eat a peach, no matter from whence it came?

The Margerum sisters (formerly of the RTM) sell them, iirc. On Thursdays Nell is at the Clark Park farmers market and sister Carol at Fairmount & 22nd.

Did you use regular anchovies, either packed in oil or salt? Next time, try Swedish anchovies, which are really sprats preserved in a spiced brine. A bit of a different flavor. If you can't find them anyplace else. Ikea's food stall usually has them. Though I'm sure using the regular anchovies worked (never met an anchovy or a savory dish made with them I didn't like), the Swedish variety would be more authentic. Just make sure to drink some akavit with it. As for other dishes fusing anchovies and potatoes, well, since Swedish anchovies are really a type of herring, there are lots of herring and potato dishes. Does that count?

Late season raspberries much in evidence. Best deal was at Iovine Brothers, $3.99/pint for what appear to be locally grown berries. Over at Fair Food Farmstand a half pint sold for that amount. Earl Livengood also had some. Blackberries $6/pint or $3.75/half-pint at Fair Food, $4.95/pint at Benuel Kaufman's. Lima beans, shelled or not, plentiful at Livengood's, Kaufman's and L. Halteman's. Benuel Kaufman continued to have donut peaches at $4.99/pound or $6.96/quart, nectarines and yellow peaches were $1.99/$3.95. On the plum front, prune plums $2/pint, Santa Rose $2.50. Nice variety of cherry and pear-shaped tomatoes, $3.95/pint (photo below). Over at L. Halteman there were all types of plums as well as peaches and pears for $1.89/pound (a dime cheaper if you buy three pounds). Also, another sign of autumn: acorn squash, 59-cents. Also, Bartlett pears and three different types of apples: ginger gold, sansa, "tydomen". The last one is actually Tydeman's Red, a crispy, juicy McIntosh type apple. Sansa is a cross between Gala and Akane, slightly more acidic than a Gala. Ginger gold is a Golden Delicious-Albermarle Pippin cross originally found on Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Another good deal at Iovine's: dollar bags, weighing about two pounds, of mixed red and green U.S. seedless grapes (presumably from California). Local peaches 79 cents. Figs $2.99 pint. Bell pepper survey: local greens 79 cents, non-local reds $1.99, oranges and yellows $3.99. (For colored peppers, you'll get fresher peppers at one of the RTM farmstand vendors.

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I stopped by this afternoon and we were both suitably impressed -- and SWMBO is even more demanding about her chocolate than me. She went for the classic hot chocolate and pronounced it delicious; I very much enjoyed the frozen chocolate. We tasted some nut bark samples on the counter and were impressed by the European chocolate approach; it seemed made in the French style. We'll be back to sample more of the offerings. I was also surprised by the traffic. Even though it was 3 p.m. on a muggy Friday in late August, when everyone was either on vacation or taking an early quit to get to the Shore, they were busy, with a short line at the counter. My guess is that this fall and winter, especially leading into the holidays, they will be very busy.

Today's (Aug. 25) Wall Street Journal Weekend section has an interesting article about "wet hops" ales and beers which are about as seasonal as you can get, i.e., made with hops directly off the vine. More difficult to use vs. pellets because of filtration issues, more wet hops are needed than dry, and costlier to ship from hop producer to brewery (wet weight vs. dry weight). But from the description, sounds like an interesting seasonal product with a different flavor. Alas, can't link to article because it's behind the subscriber wall (very few WSJ articles available free online), but buy a copy of today's paper if you want to read it. Now I gotta find myself one of those Harvest Pils from Victory Brewing. (Most, but not all, wet hops are ales rather than lagers.)

I'm sure he will. The brandywines are coming in strong. Also try the Fair Food Farmstand and Benuel Kaufman, both usually have a nice selection of heirlooms. Benuel has one that's particularly interesting, which he calls a "stuffing" tomato. It's perfect for it's name. Red with yellow streak exterior, very thick strong walls, virtually no pulp or seeds -- the interior is a big, vacant space. Tomorrow I'm making salmon salad which I intend to stuff into a couple of them. On Tuesday afternoon you might also want to try the South Street & Passyunk market where Rineer's offers some excellent heirlooms, especially the Black Cherokee. I'm not sure, but Rineer's may also show up at the Saturday market at Rittenhouse Square.

I'll second that recommendation. One of the better yet less expensive lunches I found during a week's stay in town.

Found at this afternoon's Fairmount market: summer and fall. At Earl Livengood's, these concord grapes (photo above) could be found next to the peaches. Also for sale, carrots and tomatoes: Another harbinger of autumn: celery and celeriac. The celery was incredibly fragrant and sold with the full roots attached with thin stalks and profuse leaves ($2.50 for a small bunch). I'll be chopping them up to go into some salmon salad tomorrow. Today's Fairmount market had four different produce vendors. I also purchased corn, yellow pear tomatoes, individual fruit pies, cucumber, garlic, blackberries ($3.50/pint). I restrained myself from overbuying, because the peaches and yellow plums and brandywine tomatoes looked good, too, but I've still got some at home. I'll wait 'til I hit the RTM Saturday.

It's been a while since my last full report, so there's a bunch to catch up on: John Lohac of Green Valley Dairy is back from three weeks in France. He spent two of the weeks on a family vacation in Provence, but the other week was in Meaux where he learned more about making brie. He'll be putting those techniques to work soon, so expect some interesting cheese to emerge. As it is John thinks his Noble, which is a cheddar, tastes like French Comte; while both cheeses are pressed, cheddar's curd is cut (cheddared). In addition to hawking his cheese on Saturdays across from Golden Seafood, Green Valley Dairy cheese can be found at the Fair Food Farmstand. The Reading Terminal Market will inaugurate a new ad campaign next month under the theme "Make It Your Market." Samples of the campaign can be seen on the wall behind Salad Express and across from Foster's. The current campaign utilizing old-fashioned produce illustrations will be largely abandoned. O.K. Lee Produce and Earl Livengood have cut a deal where Livengood has an acre under contract to OKL. The deal enables OKL to sell some produce under Pennsylvania's WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, which provides additional food subsidies for low-income, nutritionally at risk pregnant, breast-feeding and certain postpartum women, infants and childen up to age five beyond the normal WIC program. Stopped by the Down Home Diner for the first time in a while and enjoyed perfectly done peach and blueberry pancakes with a side of scrapple and that 200-mile coffee. Jack McDavid is easing out of the Down Home Diner operation and, for all intents and purposes, it's now being run by a young man whose name I failed to remember. But he's doing a great job. He's been tweaking the menu (Philadelphia cheesesteak omelet added), but it's the same approach and quality and largely the same staff, including in the kitchen. There are also card inserts on the tables explaining what scrapple is (and isn't) and the wonders of thick cut, high quality bacon. If you haven't been to the Down Home Diner in while, treat yourself and stop by. Charlie Giunta is moving ahead on his natural meat store. As of last Saturday, all the old cases from the former A.A. Halteman's were gone and work was about ready to start on roughing out the space in the aisle between Iovine Brothers and L. Halteman. Also as of last weekend, work had yet to begin on moving Spataro's. The reason: continuing permitting and equipment delays for the Jewish style deli that will go into Spataro's space. Spataro won't be moving until the deli is ready to begin work. Now, onto the pricing... Over at Iovine's Saturday. California strawberries continued to be featured at two pounds for a buck. For a buck, I picked up a bag of shredded cabbage (white and a little red, plus some carrot) for making coleslaw. Clementines $4.99/box. Although local tomatoes are at their peak, Iovine's was selling bagged Canadian hothouse Romas for a buck a pound. Also from Canada, Ontario grapes for $4.99. Local purple eggplant 79 cents. Italian prune plums $1.49, West Coast Bing cherries $1.99. California Mission figs, $3.99 a pint. Washington State blackberries $4.99 a half-pint. The blackberries were a better deal almost anywhere else Saturday. Over at Fair Food Farmstand organic berries were selling for $6/pint; Benuel Kaufman had conventional blackberrries for $4.99/pint. It's salsa-making season, and you could do worse than make some from the Fair Food's tomatillos, $3.50/pound. Low-spray peaches $2.50, conventional nectarines and white peaches $1.25. Organic plum tomatoes $2. Concord grapes $3.50. Small lemon cukes pricey at $1 apiece. In addition to blackberries Benuel Kaufman featured donut peaches for $4.99 a pound or $6.95/quart. Nectarines and yellow peaches $1.99/pound or $3.95/quart. Prune plums $2/pint. On the seafood front, John Yi offered deals Saturday on Canadian farmed salmon: $3.99 for center cut filets, $2.99 for tails. Meanwhile Pacific NW fish were selling for $13.99 (king), $10.99 (sockeye) and $8.99 (coho). Large seabass priced decently at $3.99, softshell crabs $4 apiece. Over at Golden the soft shells were also $4 apiece, with a four for $15 deal to save you two bits per crustacean.

I was unable to find any such pan on the All-Clad website, or in an Amazon search. However, I own one of the older MC sauciers which one could describe as "deep saute" or "saute pot". I think it's a 5.5 quart pan, rounded where the side meets the bottom. I love it, though I rarely use it for traditional saute work. Instead, I do a lot of braising and sauce-making with it. I usually start out by sauteeing the veggies and/or meat in it, then adding the liquids. I can use it either stove top or put it in the oven. A very versatile pan.

If you have access to car during your stay in Inverness, a 30-40 minute drive to Fortrose for a visit to The Anderson would be enjoyable. Moderately priced (by UK standards). Very good food, great whisky bar, frequently with music. (The proprietor is also a beer maven, so there's an excellent selection of Belgian brews, too.) And if you have a few too many, it's also a hotel. The Anderson is directly across from the remains of a medieval cathedral.

Sorbet. I made some two weeks ago and it was delightful. Put the skinned fruits through a food mill (you may want to extract additional juices by pressing what remains in a strainer), add your sugar (or sugar syrup) and some lime or lemon juice. Freeze as you normally would in your ice cream freezer.

Let me add another museum space for consideration: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. An incredible space inside, typical Frank Furness architecture They have an exclusive caterer, however, and I'm unaware of its qualities. Cherie V's suggestion of the Union League is a good one, too; they do a excellent job on the food side for both large dinners and smaller receptions, plus it's a fascinating building (like PAFA) with intriguing interior spaces and an interesting history. Pretty hard to think of a more "Philadelphia" establishment. Holly's Waterworks suggestion is also intriguing, though I haven't tried their food yet.

Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard Dry Riesling 2005 won "best white whine" and "best in show" at the New York Wine and Grape Foundation's annual Wine and Food Classic. It can stand up to rieslings not only from NY but from around the world. It retails for $16. I haven't tasted the 2005, but previous vintages of both the Dry and the Reserve rieslings have been super. They can stand up to rieslings from around the world.

Here's an article from today's Portland Press Herald.

Yeah! Lamb Fat! Had it shashlik style more than 20 years ago at Shemesh on Ben Yehuda St. in Jerusalem, reminding me of the best part of my mother's untrimmed lamb chops! My favorite form of cholesterol (next to butter).

What Michelle said: mild, flaky. Various breams are found in many parts of the world. Along the East Coast you can get porgies, which are a bream, and they are sweet and delicious. Get one at a Greek restaurant that simply grills it whole with a little lemon juice and light seasoning.

It's not one of GR's restaurants, nor would I expect it to be. What surprises me is that nearly 48 hours after the broadcast, Red Rock Resorts still hasn't updated their webpages to promote the winner. That's a PR failure. Unless they didn't want to. Hmmmmm.

If Heather is, indeed, the exec chef for one of the Red Rock Resort restaurants, they sure as hell aren't promoting it. I just searched the website and there's not a single mention of her. In fact, the only "Hell's Kitchen" reference on the website is an old news release (which reads as if it's a repost of a Fox release) from last winter announcing the restaurant would be the prize. None of the dining option descriptions mention her or Gordon. (Nor do any of the restaurants appear to be anything out of the ordinary for a resort away from the Strip).