docsconz

It really brings out the flavor of fried eggs.

I would agree that Saratoga is a better alternative than Albany for food. Two choices that I find reliably excellent are the aforementioned Chez Sophie in Malta. Paul Parker is a talented chef and the place has definite personality. The other place is Springwater Bistro near the track. David Britton is also a very talented chef and he has an excellent staff. Of particular merit there is his seafood. David has excellent sources for very fresh Hawaiian fish. As far as Albany itself is concerned, the restaurant I find most interesting is Yono's, a french-Indonesian hybrid.

I received an invitation to a dinner this past saturday night in NYC honoring Adria and Arzac. It was at The Four seasons with cooking done by Daniel Boulud, Rocco DiSpirito and others. The price was only $250pp. Alas I arrived home from Italy that night and couldn't go.

To borrow a cliche, this wine was liquid gold.What an incredible balance of vivid acidity and unctuous sugar with 10% alcohol. This proved a fantastic match for stir-fried chinese mustard greens, bok-choy, grilled chicken, shrimp, garlic, sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce and hot pepper flakes with toasted macadamia nuts. It wasparticularly special with the macadamias. The predominant flavor to my palate from this complex bouquet was lychee. This was a case in which, the food was ok on its own, but the wine really made it rock.

My two favorite wine lists (I know them reasonably well) in my locale of northeastern NY are Friends Lake Inn (It is very extensive, reasonably priced and comes with an excellent sommelier) and Chez Sophie Bistro which has an excellent all French list. what is notable about that is that they have gone off the beaten track and found all sorts of wonderful bottles from across France at generally reasonable and food friendly prices. They also go out of their way to have matches for their food.

A trip to Warwick could also combine a visit to Bobolink Cheese. Apples are still plentiful and amazing up here in Warren, Wsahington and Saratoga Counties. this has been the best apple season in my memory. I recently bought absolutely amazing Mutsu's and northern spies at a local farmer's market.

Thanks for the apology. Keep in mind that not all of us can afford to buy 12 year old balsamic from Modena. I never thought that it was traditional, but maybe part of modern Italian cooking. Just because it isn't traditional doesn't mean that it isn't good, or worth a try. It certainly may be good and worth a try and yes tradizionale is very expensive and out of the reach of a lot of people. My point about the white balsamico is that I doubt it is very much like tradizionale, although a lot of people might expect it to be because of the name balsamic with the added descriptor "of Modena". It is just that tradizionale is such a special product and most of the other stuff, while ok just isn't special.

Something to consider.

It may very well come from Modena, but not all Modenese balsamics are the same. The really good stuff is at least 12 years old and must be judged by experts before being considered balsamico tradizionale di Modena. Most of the other stuff is industrially produced plonk that trades on the name of the tradizionale. Of course, this stuff is much cheaper and therefore more accessible. I believe, howver, in this case one generally gets what one pays for. That being said, I have never had thewhite balsamico. I doubt, however, that it has much in common with the tradizionale. I'm sorry if I came across snottily in my previous post.

It isn't tradizionale .

Wasn't that owned by Gallo or some other huge conglomerate? Besides, I believe Rick James was into funk of another sort .

I roasted small whole jerusalem artichokes with shallots and olive oil tonight and now I know why they are called artichokes even though they most certainly are not of the same family. the taste and texture were amazingly reminiscent of fresh steamed artichoke hearts. The jerusalems were amazing. They were sweet and marvellously tasty. They were so easy to do. I had a fairly uniform small size, put them in a pan unpeeled with diced shallot, EVOO and pepper and roasted them in a convection oven at 400 degrees for about a half hour. What other preparations does anyone recommend. I have to go back to my local farmer's market and get some more!

Wow, am I envious and upset that I didn't buy wines in the 60's! Of course, I was only about 4yo when the CB came out What a fun tasting this must have been.

Sounds like an incredible evening! Kistler to me is oak done right. It is a supporting player that adds nuance without overshadowing the other components of the wine.

I just had the 1998 Allegrini at a wine dinner the other night. It was served with a veal braciola with gorgonzola over mashed potatoes. The wine was simply delicious on its own, but also was a fine accompaniment to the veal. Allegrini and Tomasso Bussola have been consistently my two favorite amarones, although I have yet to taste Campofiorin, dal Forno or Quintarelli.

This wine is one of the pillars in the renaissance of southern Italian wines. It was simply delightful with a unique and profundly fruity nose. I spent about five minutes just enjoying the bouquet. made from 85% negroamaro and 15% malvasia nero, this is indeed a fruit bomb, but without the heaviness and overall extract of the Parker classics. The acid and body was more than sufficient to enhance braised pork shoulder with pancetta white bean ragout and is a great wine for robust eating. Retail is around $15/bottle.

A perfect unoaked white with crisp acidity and lovely fruit, this made a spectacular pairing with caramelized sweetbreads. I had never had this varietal before, although I have had many Giacosa reds. The retail price is around $25/bottle. I find myself moving further and further away from oaked wines. While I still enjoy wines with oak, I no longer do enjoy those in which oakiness is the predominant characteristic. Last night at dinner with a large group of friends a new restaurant in Saratoga, I had what for me was a revelation. The first wine poured was an Australian shiraz, the name of which escapes me, which was clearly of "the international style", i.e. heavily oaked, but smooth with minimal tannic bite. Not an unpleasant wine, but not one with any real sense of its varietal character. It was an oak wine with a little fruit thrown in. Next, in a new glass was 2000 Cakebread CS. Except for being slightly more tannic, this wine was a twin to the shiraz (fraternal rather than identical ). Once again, not unpleasant, but certainly nothing special. believe it or not, I had previously never had two such wines back to back before. I've certainly had similar wines before back to back, either from the same winery or same varietal, but never two different varietals from widely separated parts of the world that were so similar! I don't think I ever really understood this discussion before now. Vivre le difference! (sp?)

This wine has a little extra spot in my heart since I was there last year around the end of harvest beginning of vinification. A blend of 70% Inzolia and 30% chardonnay fermented in steel tanks, this is not a blockbuster or profound wine. Instead, it is a delightful wine with seafood (as I had it). It showed nice bracing acidity with soft fruit flavors and no oak! At a retail price of around $18/bottle it is a superior wine for food that is also nice for sipping. I put it in the same class as albarino for pairing purposes, although the flavor profiles are somewhat different.

I saw Shaq with a chicken sandwich. I don't remember which one.

It goes very well with a creamy porcini mushroom sauce. Variations of that are all I've ever really had it with, either there or here. It has been a while since I've made it. I didn't really use a recipe for the porcini sauce.

I believe in the benefit of the doubt. He has done too many good things to dismiss him so quickly, even though this action on the surface appears so egregious. While I do not necesarily agree with his rationale, it is not an entirely unreasonable one. I have signed up to accompany Rick Bayliss on a cooking trip to Oaxaca, Mexico next spring. The trip is organized by The Culinary Institute. I'll draw my own conclusions about him there.

I have to agree that ad hominem attacks are uncalled for and should not be a part of this discussion. Does the Clip work or not and if it does alter the wine does it "enhance" it, is the real question. I did another brief test last night with flawed methodology. I opened a 1998 JSM Shiraz/Cab franc from Fox Creek in Australia, poured without TWC first then with and served it blindly to a subject while also trying it myself. The subject seemed to notice a difference between the wines. She identified a diminished nose in TWC sample and preferred the sample without TWC. This was not a strong preference on her part. As far as my unblinded tasting, I thought the nose was diminished on TWC sample, but could discern no appreciable difference or significant preference for either sample. These tastings are certainly not science and are posted not to "convince" anyone for or against TWC. They are enough, however, for me to conclude so far that for the wines tasted, the "enhancement" certainly isn't significant, if there is any at all. In fact, the blinded tasters have marginally preferred the glasses that were from the nonWC pours. I Think Mr. Lynch has been a sport with the process and the discussion, which sometimes has gotten out of hand. Once again, I suggest that if anyone continues to have an interest in the product after reading the preponderence of posts on the subject, then that person should try it for him or herself. As for me I haven't been able to generate any real reason to invest additional time and energy into a more substantive study. I do think that if Mr. Lynch truly believes in his product, he should do so. Of course this would be a pretty big gamble. If good studies bore out his contention, it would go a long way to help out his marketing. On the other hand, if they didn't support the product, the company would not be able to make the claims they make without lying, in which case sales would dry up. Sales and potential sales are probably sufficient now to not risk the latter. Whether or not TWC has a"real" effect on enhancing the wine, this would not be the first product in the wine industry to take advantage of this gray area of perception. One may argue that this happens quite frequently with wines that one is supposed to "like" because of the producer, label, vintage or whatever. I'm not sure that it is necessarily a bad thing if the person using the product feels "enhanced" by it. As with any product - Caveat Emptor.

The pici roller is a scored rolling pin.

It is easiest with a special Pici roller. this is the official pasta of Siena. I don't really know if it is official, but that is the pasta's hometown. It is certainly ubiquitous and delicious there. I have made it at home with the roller I brought back from there.

Where was the Rainbow Jello?