bloviatrix

One of my friends made this Chilled Cantaloupe Soup this weekend. Despite what the directions say, let it sit for at least 24 hours so the flavors have a chance to meld. It was very refreshing.

Thank you for giving us a ring side seat as Alinea comes into existence. I wonder if there's been any thought as to putting all this documentation into a book when it's completed. I think this would be a wonderful addition to any library.

I believe my disgust with stinky cheese is well documented on this site. And believe me, I've tried to get over it. Just today, I stood in the cheese department of Fairway trying to enjoy the smell, but it just disagrees me. Last week I picked up some pecorino. The first tastes were ok - just salty, but the finish made me gag. I find it tastes like vomit. Other than that, I don't like the taste of liver. But give me chopped liver or foie gras and I'm fine. I think for me a lot of it has to do with the way things smell. We joke that I have scent hound DNA because I pick up all sorts of smells and scent is very related to taste.

Blovie and I had dinner at Solo on thursday night. I came away underwhelmed. I loved the room when the space was Shallots. It was lush and quiet with carpeting and tables spread far apart. It was calming. Solo is loud and brash. The floor is some sort of tile. Tables are packed in tightly -- everywhere you turn you see people. And the room is loud (Jews are loud to begin with, but the tile floors accentuates the noise level). If you take a look at their web site you'll see a design element that carries in to the bread plates and the waiter's attire. It was just too much. Plus, the knives had thick, clunky handles that didn't feel good in the hand. Now, that I got the exteriors out of the way.... Both Blovie and I decided to order the 5 course chef's tasting menu. I ordered the wine pairing that accompanied it. While waiting for the first course we were presented with a choice of bread: olive rolls, raisin-walnut rolls, or rosemary focaccia. They also put on the table a dish with margerine. Blovie and I joked that we were deducting .5 from the score (we've been watching Olympic gymnastics). My gut is that the bread is brought in from Tribeca Oven. I asked my bread guy if they have the account, he's getting back to me. The first course was a single potato dumpling with shaved black truffle, truffle oil and chives. It was served with the Bartenura Prosecco. We enjoyed this. The outside of the dumpling was a bit chewy but the potato was silky with an earthy flavor from the truffle. The wine was drier than I expected from a prosecco, but went nicely. Mache with shaved endive and apple with a light vinagrette. I can't remember the wine that was served. This course was boring. No discernable flavor. Completely unmemorable. Wild Pacific Salmon with grapefruit, tuna wrapped in seaweed and then batter fried with a hot guacamole and mango sauce. Terras de Belmonte, Beiro Interior, Portugal, 2003. This was the most confusing dish of the night. Each component was good, but there was just too much going on the plate. I'm not quite sure what the chef was trying to do. The wine on the other was fantastic. It's made from a blend of 5 grapes usually used in Sherry. It was a really nice light fruity red. Chicken roasted with rosemary and preserved lemon with edamane and dried cherries. Kinneret Ella Valley Merlot (Year?). I tend to stay away from chicken in restaurants. This was ok, but my favorite part was the edamame. Blovie really enjoyed this dish. I liked this wine as well. It was made in the Bordeaux style. Braised lamb shank with fennel and other vegetables. Teal Lake Shiraz 2002 (Australia, can't remember the region). After we ordered we were told that instead of lamb shank we would be served baby lamb chops, but they went with the original dish. I like lamb, but it's not my favorite. However, this was sublime. The lamb was beautifully cooked - melt in your mouth tender. And the vegetables were in a nicely flavored broth. As for the wine, I loved the 1999 Shiraz and horded several cases. Subsequent vintages weren't as good, but it seems like the winemaker has gotten back on track. At this point we decided to sit back and take a break. I asked to meet with the sommeliere as I was curious to get an idea of why he made the choices he did with the pairings. (I should note that some of their mark-ups are obscene. The Baron Herzog Clarksburg Chenin Blanc which retails for no more than $6.50 had a price of $36 Because the mevushal kosher wine universe is fairly limited, if you buy and drink a kosher wine you'll be able to identify the mark-ups which can be turn-off) I was quite interested in the Terras del Belmonte and wanted to learn more about it -- I plan on tracking it down for home consumption. For dessert we each selected something off their dessert menu. I ordered the blueberry springroll which came with vanilla "ice cream" and roasted pineapple and Blovie ordered the Mango sundae with coconut "ice cream," mango sorbet and some sort of praline. Both were enjoyable. The "ice cream" was some of the best pareve stuff I've eaten. We were also brought the Solo signature digestif - a chocolate liquor with passion fruit puree and I can't remember what else. It was a little sweet for my tastes. I then asked if it were possible if we could see the kitchen and meet with the chef. I have a feeling I am the first to ask about seeing the kitchen because our waiter looked suprised and said he didn't know if it was possible. Turns out, it was ok and we were brought back to the kitchen. The hour was about 10 pm and things were winding down. The kitchen is the usual stainless steel and white tile and still had all of its retained heat. The staff is about 25 including line cooks and dishwashers. The chef is a gentleman named Hok Chin. He's originally from Hong Kong. He's worked at Daniel and spent a number of years under Delouvrier at Lespinasse. He said that Delouvrier was a tough taskmaster but he learned a lot from him. We talked about the challenges of cooking kosher -- not being able to use shellfish or butter to mount sauces as well as his plans for the fall menu. They're doing about 160 dinner covers a night. And they started serving lunch last month. I saw a container of fish stock sitting on the pass through -- they make their stocks every 2 days from all the bones, etc. It seems our visit to the kitchen got around because on our way out, we were asked how our meeting with the chef went. I will say the service was quite attentive. I really want to like this place. But, there was just something missing. It could be that the restaurant meal we had prior to this one was at Per Se and everything else will pale in comparison. But I just wasn't wowed. Maybe it's that Mediteranean/Aisan fusion doesn't work so well. I can't put my finger on it. I have no doubt we'll go back sometime in the future. But since the final check (with tip ) is about $280 it won't be for awhile.

I slice the kernals off the ear of corn, toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and spread it on a lightly greased baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for about 15 - 20 minutes. About halfway through I toss everything around. The kernals dry out and the flavor becomes intensified.

Well, I'm back from my weekend away and I want to thank all of you for your advice. In the end, we kind of ran out of time -- the sabbath started at 7:20 pm and got up to the house a little after 6. Between grilling the meat and all the other vegetables, in the end we threw the corn in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes and then set it on the grill for a bit. Needless to say, it was still very good -- so sweet I felt like I was liking a sugar bowl. I'll keep all the suggestions in mind for the next time I have good corn and access to a grill.

You're thinking of Oliviers & Co. It's owned by the same group that owns L'Occitane. They have shop in SoHo (I think it's Prince and Mercer) that has a restaurant as well. They also had a shop in Grand Central Terminal, although it may have closed.

After reading many of the tributes and watching American Masters on PBS, the one thing that keeps striking me is that it wasn't until her 40s that Julia truly discovered her "purpose." Until then she was always trying to determine what she was meant to do with her life. The fact that she was so accomplished, and it all was done in the second half of her life should serve as inspiration to all of us who are still struggling to figure out how to leave our mark and maybe make the world a better place. We live a world where so many reach fame and wealth while still young and it can become disheartening to see these pups pass us by. But Julia is an example to follow -- you're never to old to do something really important.

We're going away with friends for the weekend. My contributions: Skirt steak rubbed with all sorts of spices and shoulder steak in a marinade of soy sauce, sherry, garlic and toasted sesame oil. Both will be grilled. My borscht with ginger and apples has been requested. Additionally, I'll be grilling lots of vegetables. I'll take some nice reds for drinking. I'm looking forward to getting out of the city.

Well, I'm getting a sense anything goes. Thanks for the serving suggestions. Since we're kosher the bacon won't be used. And since the corn is accompaning a meat meal, no butter will be served. Seeing that we're at the height of the season, I'm hoping the corn will be good plain.

Team blogging. I love this. Will we get his and hers perspectives?

Today at 97th street: Eggplants - purple and white Green leaf lettuce Butter lettuce Beets Corn Zucchini Spearmint Assorted heirloom tomatoes Nectarines Concord Grapes Plums (can't remember the variety but they smell heavenly) Sesame Pugliese, double onion rolls, sourdough rolls

I sat there last night watching and had tears rolling down my face. It was a wonderful program. My only complaint was that it was 1 hour. I wanted more.

I'll admit it. I know nothin' 'bout grilling. It's not that I'm a girl (though there are some who think my gender can't grill) But rather, I'm a city person. I'm going away for the weekend and will have access to a grill so I'll be giving it a try. I feel pretty confident that I can handle grilling the meat and the vegetables. But it's the corn I'm not sure about. What's the best method of grilling corn? You have until 4:00 EST to provide answers.

Quilted Giraffe was the baby of Barry and Susan Wine. One of their signature dishes was beggar's purses filled with caviar. Its final location was in the Sony building on Madison btw. 55th and 56th.

Corn stock is a wonderful thing to have. I use it as the base for my corn and potato vichysoisse (recipe in the Union Square Cafe Cookbook). Recently I saw a recipe for a corn risotto which calls for corn stock instead of chicken broth. That also looked very promising.

Before you do anything, get your hands on a copy of the Sept. 2004 issue of This Old House magazine. They have a great article called Why Didn't Somebody Tell Me? 25 things you Need to know before starting a remodeling project. Not everything will apply to a small kitchen re-model, but there's good advice in there. Even if you're not currently planning a project it's worthwhile reading. My copy is going in my "renovations" file.

Dinner tonight was eggplant parmigiana. I found kosher pecorino and grated it on top. I was ambitious - I even made the tomato sauce from scratch. Sweet Corn ice cream for dessert

I can't look at a Yule Log without thinking of Julia. That show is one of my all-time favorites. I've considered trying my hand at a Yule Log because of her, and I'm a Jew!!

Once again, Russ Parsons is going to make you cry.

Mmmm, those pastries look good. Your husband is a lucky man.

To get an idea of how many people Julia Child touched -- the new issue of Sports Illustrated has a small obit. Seems she was quite a sportswoman, and a huge Red Sox fan.

Johnny Apple wrote a lovely article in today's NY Times. Additionally, Julie Powell contributed her thoughts.

The fun thing about having your own ice cream make is you get to play around with flavors that tempt you. Try it. The worse that happens is that it doesn't taste the way you had hoped. It's just milk, cream and eggs. Not neuro-surgery.

Amen.