tanabutler

I shouldn't have said "underrated," but relatively unknown in the U.S.

Growing up in the Deep South assured that the only fresh vegetables one would ever have would be corn on the cob or tomatoes in the summertime. Otherwise, it was "boil the shit out of frozen or canned" veggies. I disliked many foods as a child for the simple reason that I realize, "No one really knew how to cook good food." I dislike few foods now (brussels sprouts, liver, raw onions or garlic, which burn my mouth for days). One epiphany I remember was having lunch at a "lady food" place: the Swan House in downtown Atlanta. Our math teacher took my best friend and me to lunch there, and ordered a yellow squash casserole. It was very traditional Southern fare, with cheese and onions and, I think, crackers. But it was fabulous, and it inspired me to learn to cook. Another healing moment came when attending a workshop in Nashville in the mid-Eighties. Our instructions for lunch were to order something we'd never ever otherwise eat. I ordered a Reuben sandwich and a dark beer. Oh, God, it was so good. I doubt I would have had the same delight had I ordered the vilest food on earth (that would be liver, which I still hate, never having been a fan of animal diapers). I wish I had $5 for every time someone said, "You'd like liver the way I cook it." No, I wouldn't. Trust me. (I must say, I've had decent foie gras at some of the farm dinners I've attended, but it's nothing I would ever order.) I have an aversion to olives, though I continue to try them on at least a yearly basis. I admit this to people as being my own genetic deficiency. I know, it's a crime and a sin not to like olives. Maybe I should finally bite the bullet and drop LSD. Carolyn, your story reminded me of something similar. I never liked coffee, yet my mother often said, "You really should learn to drink it because someday, you're going to be somewhere and that's all there will be to drink." Fast forward to purple-haired party waitress days at TGI Friday's in the early Eighties. Our heroine awakens, bedraggled and hungover, at the home of the tall waiter for whom she has lusted for months. What is there to drink? Nothing but coffee. Tall, sexy waiter brings a cup to the bedroom, steaming and sweet (the coffee wasn't bad, either). It was my first cup of coffee, and I loved it.

Two words: Gruner Veltliner. I predict it will come on strong soon. Which might be a bad thing that drive prices up. We had a fabulous bottle at Blue Hill, and it was only $30.

Awwww. I guess I'm glad I went a couple of years ago. My next plan is to trade websites for lodging and meals in Italy.

BTW, I was in Italy for two weeks in April of 2001. It was warm most of the time, but snowed on the day before Easter when we were in Siena. Be prepared for the cool weather.

Lovely work! I was happy to see Swanton Berry Farm included. Also, which farmer's market is pictured? It looks like the one in downtown Santa Cruz, but probably not.

Ben, The best Italian hotels website online is (by far): ItalyBy.com. There are specialized branches of it for the various regions of Italy, as well as some in France. You can see tons of photos, and the navigation is wonderful. I recently helped a friend plan her trip to Italy, and they stayed here at Palazzo Abadessa, and said it was the nicest hotel they've ever stayed in. (They've been to Europe several times.) I recommend ( thousand times!) going to Tivoli, which is about 45 minutes outside Rome. We stayed in Tivoli in a 4-star hotel (Hotel Sirene) for $90/night, and I would do it again in a heartbeat, as Rome is so very loud and expensive. (Our three-star, fifth-floor room was over $200! This was the Hotel Locarno, near Piazza Popoli. I don't recommend it, though it was nice enough. I am sure I could do better next time, but I don't plan to stay in Rome again.) In Tivoli, you can see the hundreds of fountains at Villa d'Este. Palazzo Abadessa Another thing you might do is get a free catalog of (gorgeous and not all expensive) vacation rentals from The Parker Company (go to the Villas/Apartments section). There is also a lot of information about Italy on their site, including Autostrada stuff. You can search online, but the catalog is a piece of art. It's filled with glorious photography, quotes, and is a beautiful, big book that will educate you. My favorite book for traveling in Italy was Eyewitness Guide to Italy. I will send you some more information via PM that I've got saved from my trip. Congratulations on your good news, too!

Thank you, Merle.

Are there details about that, or should one just walk in and order five of them?

The Oakville Grocery Store has abundant provisions. They're crammed with every kind of food imaginable. I'd give them a call. Oakville Grocery Store

By coincidence today, I received in the mail a copy of the William Grimes NY Times review in early December. I hadn't seen the photograph...so it's nice to get to see the picture. What a lovely room!

Thirteen months in a year? In Georgia, we always had black-eyed peas on New Years day. One black-eyed pea = one day of good luck in the coming year. No way could you choke down 300+ beans when you're a little kid, though, so more believable, I think, that the one-a-month (13?) theory, but don't tell your kid that. If my grandmother made greens, I'm blocking it out. I hated them.

Oh, I have had that Texas Toast crud. Gotcha.

Hey, Varmint, what's Texas toast? (It's mentioned in the first review posted.)

Loving water is fabulous. I have a bedside glass that I guzzle in the middle of the night. It's got a squeeze of Meyer lemon that makes me happy and rinses my tongue. All I am saying is that the "8 glasses" thing is not currently accepted theory. But yes, drink water. Without the guilt of "I'm not drinking enough."

My understanding is that "8 glasses of water a day" is no longer being preached. (I would find a link but this has been the longest day.) You get water in vegetables, tea, coffee (though too much coffee is a diuretic AND it tastes bad), and from other sources. I was so relieved when I read that news. Water can't hurt, but you don't need to be superstitious about it.

Word. But it's cute in the right hands.

Wow. Sean, normally I look askance at PDAs, but that big wet smooch seems just about right for such a glowing review. Congratulations. I'll try to get to Nashville next year and come say "howdy."

For a brief and horrifying moment, I was envisioning "Cling Wrap" as a line of clothing. I'm still shaking my brain out.

Zingano, those sound fabu-lust.

Shallots -- always as of about three years ago (I learned!) Olive oil Eggs Garlic Peppercorns Jasmine rice (by the 25-pound bag) Butter (salted and unsalted) Earl Grey tea Onions Pasta Meyer lemons (got a tree, got an ice cube tray in the freezer) Mayonnaise Flour And I had already written something at the bottom of my big long page...and I asked my husband, "What am I NEVER out of?" He answered instantly. "Condiments." Oh me. At the bottom of my page, in tidy yet emphatic capital letters (so that I could bust myself)...AN EMBARRASSMENT OF CONDIMENTS. Man, if I see something called "Maple Chipotle Spongebob Marinade," I am all over that stuff. I have yet to secrete them from stores in body cavities, but I'm a condiment slut. I just like to taste them for ideas, and to see if I can replicate them myself. Speaking of which, Trader Joe's has discontinued The Best Salad Dressing On Earth. Who wants to raid your local TJs and e-mail me the cases of leftovers? I'm stricken. They've disrupted the best salad I ever made. I have one unopened bottle. I am probably going to preserve it like a fine bottle of wine, only to be opened on a very special occasion....at least until next year's crop of Vidalia's comes in. Oh, and I'm never out of coffee. People send it all the time but it's only here for the guests.

I totally agree. I've been buying Pomi in a box at Trader Joe's for quite a while. I do like the Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes very much in spicy sausage pasta dishes.

I dreamed up (literally...in a dream) jalapeño pesto in 1991 (before anything like it ever appeared in the pages of Gourmet or Bon Appetit magazines)...cilantro instead of basil, no cheese, and jalapeños added in. The very next day, I got my first catering gig. Several years later, looking into what appeared to be an empty refrigerator, I improvised a dish with that pesto, smoked chicken, red onions, pine nuts, and orzo. It is probably my husband's single favorite dish that I make.

Are you serious in telling people they/we are unsophisticated? "Sophisticated" comes from the same root word as "sophistry," and both have in common falseness and corruption of the natural.

Mahalo = Hawaiian for "thank you," and "mahalo nui loa" means "thank you very much."