tanabutler

Jim, dear, Would you consider just having one thread for all your wines, so your devoted fans could subscribe to it, like a wineblog? Then all your poetry and wisdom would be under one roof, so to speak. I don't want to subscribe to the entire wine forum: that would bore (and annoy) me to death. Just a thought. Your biggest flan, Tana

Ranch dressing on potatoes? Heresy!

Do you mean THREE or THE best cooking mags? Saveur is in my top three food mags, but "cooking"? Bon Appetit is more user friendly. Gourmet is fancier. I like both of their diverse sensibilities. Cook's Illustrated is like Spock edited a magazine: scientific and linear and dry, but presumably (as in a good chemistry lab) you can replicate the results.

Though I haven't been yet with the new ownership, Theo's Restaurant in my little town of Soquel (pronounced "soKELL") is reputed to be fabulous. I have a gift certificate there that I hope to use in the near future and will report back. My only experience at Soif, alas, was not a great one, either. Garlic to the point of a burned mouth (for two days), small portions, way high prices....but the wines are great, and if David Kinch recommends it, I'll give it a second shot. I really like Hugh and Patrice, the owners. And it's a lovely room, with grapevines on the wall that look like antlers, in a certain fashion. Their wine store, as far as I know, is the only place in town to get Gruner Veltliners.

I am delighted by that article. I had expected to see her kissing corporate ass, since it's in USA Today. Hooray for Marcella for telling the truth about the Olive Garden. She should have toured the kitchen and pointed out all the crap in cans from Sysco, et al. That's why the food tastes like it does. Or, as I say about McDonald's: "It's not food, it's caloric entertainment."

Cinnamon and mustard powder on a chicken breast, discovered when on that fat-burning (cabbage soup) diet for a week.

I ate there last year, and that's why I strongly recommend skipping it. You'd have more fun at a funeral parlor, and the denizens would be younger, too. Second the rec for Santana Row. The Mexican place is supposed to be fantastic.

The chef who cooked the meal described above is no longer at Pearl Alley. I am hesitant to say anything, since I haven't given the new chef a chance. Prior to the departed chef, I never once had a decent meal or service there, and had completely written it off. I will ask around to see if anyone's tried the new guy's stuff. My top three recommendations for Santa Cruz are Oswald, Gabriella Cafe, and Ristorante Avanti--all three are remarkable because you will see the chefs at the Wednesday farmer's market every week, and those guys know what to do with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Make a reduction with shallots, wine and rosemary, and use it on a pork tenderloin. Or stuff them (sliced and pitted) with rosemary/other herbs in the cavity of a chicken or Cornish game hens. (That's what I do with apricots.)

As a child in Miami, we had a Cuban babysitter named Sarita. She told us: 1) Your stomach has two glasses in it: one for water, and one for milk and everything else. (No doubt this is the origin of "he has a glass stomach.") 2) When you are eating, the Devil is on one side and Jesus is on the other. The Devil is rooting for you to choke, and Jesus is on the other team.

Nice write-up. I think the main thing wrong with the restaurant is the unfortunate name. Who wants to think "Antidote" when eating? It's like the poorly named "Il Fornaio" (pronounced like "ill for now").

Zucchini fritters with feta cheese are just about my favorite way to use them in the history of time. (Or is that "the history of thyme"?) Recipe for zucchini fritters posted at Readerville Also, The Greens Cook Book has a recipe for zucchini (matchsticks) in pasta with pine nuts, lemon, and herbs. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and meanwhile... You need 1/2 pound zucchini cut into matchstick-sized pieces. 1/2 cups mixed fresh herbs (marjoram, basil, lemon thyme, and/or oregano are my choices--include the flowers). 1 lemon (remove a thin sliver of peel and mince it into fine slivers). Heat 2 T olive oil and add 5 T pine nuts. Cook until they begin to color, then add 4 shallots (sliced thin, chopped rough), cook over medium-low until the shallots are soft. Transfer to a wide bowl and add 4 T olive oil, 4 t capers (rinsed or not; I prefer not), the lemon peel, 2 sun-dried tomatoes (cut into narrow strips), and the herbs. Season with salt, pepper and 1/2 t. or so lemon juice. Add the zucchini and cook it for about one minute. Remove the zucchini (without dumping the water) and drain/shake off the water. Add cooked zucchini to the other ingredients. Cook taglierini pasta and add it to the bowl, too. (You will, of course, know to drain the pasta appropriately.) Toss with tongs, top with grated Parmesan cheese. That is my little sister's favorite recipe in the world.

After living with a prolific Meyer lemon tree for over eight years, I finally got smart and plunked down $30 for an electric juicer at Bed Bath & Beyond. O frabjous day, calloo, callay. Stainless Steel Electric Juicer: "The auto-reversing universal juicer cone of this juicer provides efficient juicing, while final spin feature extracts more juice." (That means it twirls one way, then the other. Smart juicer.) Also, you can choose to close the spout or open it, letting the juice run into a container. It's usually messier that way. I love this little appliance.

Link?

Oh, do skip Original Joe's. It's food like your grandmother would make if she didn't know how to cook very well.

At a farm dinner last night, we were served smoked black cod, which is also called Japanese butterfish. What do the Japanese call it?

Russian saying: "Never trust a man who salts his food before he tastes it." German saying: "Hunger is the best cook." (That would apply to me: I'd have to be starving to death to crave German food.) From The Quotable Cook, some proverbs from around the world: Russian: "Better bread with water than cake with trouble." Danish: "For a good dinner and a gentle wife you can afford to wait." Scottish: "All that is said in the kitchen should not be heard in the parlor." Irish: "Laughter is brightest where food is best." Jewish: "Everything revolves around bread and death." Ghanian: "Good soup draws the chair to it." Spanish: "A melon and a woman are hard to know." Italian: "Eggs of an hour, bread of a day, wine of a year, a friend of thirty years." Chinese: "Talk doesn't cook rice." Swedish: "A forbidden meal is quickly eaten."

RentVillas.com is useful, and is an extremely well-designed website for European self-catering holidays.

Al Dente, have you ever been to Santa Cruz or the redwoods? If not, I recommend spending one of your Big Sur nights here, wholeheartedly. Not only does Santa Cruz have the ocean, but it's got redwoods (you could take a steam engine locomotive from Roaring Camp down to the Boardwalk and ride the wonderful rollercoaster (the old-fashioned wooden death trap kind!). Dinner? Oswald, Ristorante Avanti, or Gabriella Café. All those chefs shop at the farmers' market, and all of them serve local, seasonal, organic, vibrant food (and good wine lists!). Dinners in SC are much less expensive than fancy places in SF. And on your way out of town, stop at Gayle's Bakery and Rosticceria for a picnic http://www.gaylesbakery.com/ http://www.gabriellacafe.com/ Oswald and Avanti don't have websites, but Avanti is the CASCC member of the month now, and here is a piece on them (I took the photos): http://www.culinarysantacruz.com/profile-avanti.php To add one more bit of persuasion, because I really hope you'll visit for a whole day, read The Blackmailing Babysitter (me). I know, you've probably got your plans all made, but please consider staying a day in Santa Cruz. It's a little bit of Eden on the California coast. And not as costly as most of the rest of the cities on the sea. Regardless, I'll meet y'all, with pleasure. I'm looking forward to it.

I am not quite awake yet, but read that as "Please, please make it stop in Temecula." heh

Santa Barbara = very expensive lodgings. Be forewarned. I'd skip it, personally. And about the Slanted Door...I recently had chef Charles Phan's food at a farm dinner. Sad to say, I was not impressed, and I feel guilty saying so. It was okay, but that is damning it with faint praise. There are better eats at the Ferry Plaza Marketplace.

I'm up for meeting you & the GF, Al Dente. Have you got a budget for lodgings? I've got a ton of good stuff for you, SF-wise. Go to HotelRes.com and book a room at the Hotel Majestic, if it's in your price range. It's an Edwardian era hotel, and looks and feels European inside. The rooms are big and beautiful, and it's in a quiet part of town. It's one of my favorite places to stay, and I have turned some of my best friends onto it, happily. (Be aware of extra costs at certain hotels: parking near Union Square can be exorbitant...and it's so loud there.) You will of course go to the Ferry Plaza Market? Good. Have oysters at Hog Island Oyster Company: get a dozen sweetwaters with a bottle of crisp white wine: only $38. You can augment that with a salad or sandwich, or just be the hedonists you've always dreamed of: have TWO dozen oysters. Three. The sky's the limit! If you come down the coast to Santa Cruz, you can have a wonderful meal at many of the restaurants that feature local and organic produce. Oswald, Gabriella Cafe, Ristorante Avanti, Theo's, Bittersweet, and lots of others. I'd be happy to join you for a glass of wine or something...another "don't miss" in this neck of the woods is Gayle's Bakery and Rosticceria. World class, and we're blessed to have them. Bonny Doon and Storrs are worth a visit; also Pelican Ranch is out there on the west side by the Bonny Doon tasting room. Hey, there is an Outstanding in the Field farm dinner in a sea cave south of San Francisco, on August 15. That would be wild and unforgettable. Obester Winery in Half Moon Bay is supposed to be good; they're doing the wine for this dinner. Also, in Half Moon Bay, 3 Amigos Mexican restaurant gets my highest endorsement for the "burrito as big as a baby's leg," and the roasted chicken is as good as it gets. South of Santa Cruz, I found the cabins at Cambria Pines Lodge to be quite charming and not too expensive. The gardens are just lovely. The vibe is welcoming. Just make sure you get one of the little cabins: they're duplexes, as opposed to getting a room in the newer lodge (more crowded, less private). Hearst Castle is nearby and not expensive. We did a couple of the tours (and I recommend seeing the movie beforehand): the one that includes the kitchen is great. There are a great many wineries in Paso Robles (about 30 miles from Cambria), so you might like visiting them. Anything else? Definitely I'd like to meet y'all.

Santa Cruz is having a spectacular year for stone fruits. And berries, for that matter. Farmers Joe Schirmer (Dirty Girl Produce) and Joe Rubin/Thom Broz (Live Earth Farm) have the best strawberries I've had since I was in New Orleans in 1982. And the peaches are fine. (I buy from Thomas Farms at the Saturday market at Cabrillo College.)

Okay, now I'm massively confused. While dinner at Jason's house, or hanging out with Ellen at a restaurant, are indeed very exclusive invites, they are hardly the results of privledge which imposes on the eGullet membership. Using Jason as an example, since I'm less aware of the circumstances of Ellen's photos, the shots you took the most aesthetic exception to were his dinner. Earlier shots, of the BABBP, were pretty crisp--almost definitely within whatever silent criteria most of us would impose--and while they benefitted from the post-processing suggestions of a member hardly broke any kind of trust barrier between the eG team and our user base. Not to mention the fact that the purpose of the eG team at exclusive events, on the occasions when they occur, are not usually based on us being there as photographers. Sometimes the intent is to report, sometimes it's merely to be a representative of a forum where many of the participants have used our resources in various ways. Straight constructive criticism is fine, but you seem to be digging deeper. You can say something is blurry without questioning someone's motives or obligations, or invoking creative adjectives. I'm not talking about eating dinner at someone's house. I'm talking about times when eGullet is included in more unusual or "exclusive views," and I don't mean the BBQ. And I'm not going into the site and dragging up examples. It's just something that, hopefully, this thread is going to raise awareness of: what composes a good shot, and what composes a bad shot, and how to breach the chasm, if possible. Clearly lots of shots that might seem marginal have tremendous potential for improvement. Toliver's tips turned six shots I had today into shots I can actually use, as opposed to going, "Oh hell, I have to go back and do it again." I understand the definition of reporting, andd I know no one in their right mind need spend a half an hour fixing the lighting on the photograph they're going to post about their dinner. It's just dinner! I know that.

And you would be smart to do so. I forgot my camera has that functionality. But it's okay--I'm telling myself that all the shots I'm taking these days are experimental. How convenient, since I have to photograph a 500+ person party at a winery tomorrow, and a farm dinner of 100+ on Sunday. Tomorrow isn't as critical, but Sunday I will also be taking my G1, with which I am quite familiar, as a back-up.