A Tasting Party,

[Jinmyo]

Thanks, Cathy.

[LaNiña]

Yo, my beau brought plastic cups, utensils, and napkins, too.

More salamis detail: I brought 2 Hungarian varieties - long skinny smoked dried ones, an oilier moist paprika one, a somewhat spicy sopressata - housemade from A&S pork store, and a German beef cervelat from Schaller & Weber.

[Sandra Levine]

Sandra Levine: from the sublime to  ridiculous -- we tasted eight Dijon mustards (Amora, Grey Pupon, Maille regular, Maille extra hot, Delouis Fils, Temeraire, Bornier, and Martial Picat

I thought, as I bought the mustards, that the differences would be minimal. I was surprised to see that the mustards varied quite widely in terms of texture, color and taste. Maille has been my "house" mustard for some time; I see no reason to change.

The party, BTW, was a lot of fun, as well as instructive. Many thanks to our gracious hostess for inviting us to her beautiful home.

[=Mark]

Here's the datas on the salsas. Most folks liked the red chile salsa or the Mango salsa. Everyone agreed that the Jose Madrid Salsa lived up to it's rating of "Stupid Hot"

Jose Madrid Salsa

Spanish Verde

XX Hot (Stupid Hot)

Tomatillos, Chiles (New Mexico), Green Tomatoes, Jalapeños, Onions, Water, Cilantro, Garlic, Vinegar, Spices, Green Chiles, Habanero Peppers, Salt

Salsa Borracho

The El Paso Chile Company

Heat not rated

Tomatoes, Tomato Puree, Roasted New Mexico Green Chiles, Fresh Onion, Corn, New Mexican Red Chile Puree, TEQUILA NACIONAL Silver, Roasted Green Jalapeños, Fresh Garlic, Mexican Lime Juice, Chipotle Puree, Spices, Salt

Zuni Salsa Verde

Green Salsa

Mild

Tomatillos, Onions, Jalapeños, Cilantro, Garlic, Salt, Red Wine Vinegar

Green Chile Salsa

Garduno’s Chile Packing Company

Medium

Fresh Roasted Tomatoes, Fresh Roasted Green Chile, Fresh Roasted Jalapeños, Fresh Onions, Fresh Roasted Garlic, Water, Spices, Modified Starch

Roasted Red Chile Salsa

Coyote Cocina

Clear Cutting Heat (?)

Fresh Red Chile, Red Bell Pepper, Apple Cider, Tomatoes, Onions, Vinegar, Red Jalapeños, Garlic, Sea Salt, Spices

Mohave Mango Salsa

Goldwater’s Taste of the Southwest

Mild

Mangos, Pineapple, Water, Fresh Onions, Tomatoes, Red Bell Peppers, Brown Sugar, Jalapeños, Evaporated Cane Juice, Distilled Vinegar, Sea Salt, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Spices

[stefanyb]

CathyLs place was wonderful and full of interesting architectural elements. I so appreciated her generosity in providing us with a venue and hope we didn't leave her with too much to clean up.

Meeting, for the first time, Shermar and her Beau was a special added attraction for the evening. Shermar is up on all the egullet goings-on and we all got a kick out of her apparent fixation with what goes on around here. I hope we can convince her that its not always as *wild* as it has been recently.

Also, I brought baguettes that we didn't have a formal tasting of- Balthazar, Sullivan Street and Le Pain Quotidien. PQ is best, in my book.

We shamed Suvir into going out and getting a tasting of vanilla icecreams and he did so with good spirit. Does anyone remember which one came out on top in the tasting?

There was a tasting of apples, Cathy can fill in the varieties, but why I mention it is because there were two caramel sauces for dipping, one by Cathy and one by Toby, that were mind-blowing.

Thats all I can think of right now- maybe tomorrow I'll remember more. We took lots of pictures that I think we're going to be posting.

Thanks to everyone for participating. I had a blast.

[Suvir Saran]

CathyLs place was wonderful and full of interesting architectural elements.  I so appreciated her generosity in providing us with a venue and hope we didn't leave her with too much to clean up.

I met several of our members for the first time. Some yet again.

The home (CathyL's) was most beautiful and warm. It was inhabited in every corner and in it's details with great energy and also foodie sensibility. And yes the architectural details and the art on the walls and around the house were inspiring and conducive for pleasant exchange of thoughts amongst us all.

The greens cooked by Shermar and prepared painstakingly to showcase their differences were most spectacular.

The Tarte Tatin's that Toby cooked were amazing at the very least. I could have finished each of them... But I knew I had to be on my best behavior and share....

Cabrales's macarons were superb. I was enjoying even the not very good Payard ones. But those reminded me of the tacky and poorly prepared Indian confections found in sweet shops in Indian areas....Artificial coloring and flavoring seeming to be their core.

It was great meeting everyone. I was most amazed at how in-life meetings dissipate any differences we may have had online. We all shared far too much in common to have noticed even for the most brief moment any of the stuff that can so easily divide us online. It was a great thing... since we all understood yet again that we have far more in common than what separates us.

Many thanks to CathyL. And thanks to everyone for sharing with an unexpected guest all that was at the tables.

[Shermar]

I brought a selection of four leafy greens: Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Kale, and Dandelion Greens. I prepared one bunch of each variety by sauteeing them in EVOO with finely minced garlic until wilted. Salt and pepper(in identical amounts) were the only seasonings. I included uncooked examples,washed and shredded for tasting and whole leaves on their stems for visual recognition purposes. The Dandelion Greens and Mustard Greens were the most popular.

The evening was great fun. Our hostess, CathyL, was gracious, the company congenial and the setting ideal. There were so many things to taste, Dijon mustards, ham, smoked fish, potato chips, corn chips, salsas(My beau liked Stupid Hot-no surprise there), Cheddars (Wilfrid, so dreamy), salamis, baguettes, apples, jarred tunas, macarons, blue cheeses, and Tarte Tatins. I tasted things in no particular order. I remember returning to the smoked Sable, the salamis, hams and cheddars more than once. The Fauchon macarons were my favorites.

[tommy]

so shermar's a chick?!? i don't think i'll ever be very good at guessing gender.

sounds like you guys had a wonderful time.

[Wilfrid]

And her husband's bigger than you, so watch it.

Great evening. Imagine a private food fair. I can't think when I've had the opportunity to do so many comparative tastings. I was struck by the consistency of judgment amongst us, although I won't draw any sweeping conclusions right now. Everyone seemed to prefer the Isle of Mull Scottish cheddar, with its looser texture and curious, almost alcoholic, aftertaste, to the two great English cheeses, Keenb's and Montgomery's. There seemed to be general preference for the sweet, juicy Missouri ham (I can't eat Smithfield ham - far too salty), and for the distinctly firm-fleshed tuna from Dean & Deluca in delicious oil (which one was that?).

There seemed to be a preference for the dandelion and mustard greens over the kale and collard. Also, universal approval for the mouthfeel and texture of the Fauchon macarons, although coffee fans like me will be going to Wegman's for the espresso hit. And the potato chips cooked in lard (Granda Utz's?) were standouts.

I don't think I got through all the mustards and salsas. Another highlight was the New Zealnd blue (Kokorangi?). Uncompromising old-fashioned blue, austere and almost bitter.

Much thanks to Cathy.

[Liza]

Yet again, I fall beneath the radar.

I brought American goat cheeses and I swear I was there.

[Bux]

so shermar's a chick?!?  i don't think i'll ever be very good at guessing gender. 

Sounds like you've had some rude morning after awakenings in your day.

[Suvir Saran]

Yet again, I fall beneath the radar. 

I brought American goat cheeses and I swear I was there.

Both you and I. I bought Vanilla Ice Cream, I swear. And I too was there.

Enjoyed meeting you briefly. Thanks for the American goat cheeses....

[Wilfrid]

Yet again, I fall beneath the radar. 

I brought American goat cheeses and I swear I was there.

You were? I don't remember. Might have missed you, because I left early with someone or other, I can't remember their name.

[Suvir Saran]

Yet again, I fall beneath the radar.  

I brought American goat cheeses and I swear I was there.

You were? I don't remember. Might have missed you, because I left early with someone or other, I can't remember their name.

All I can say is that you and the person you left early with were both missed afterwards. Especially the rich red ..... someone was wearing...

[=Mark]

so shermar's a chick?!?  i don't think i'll ever be very good at guessing gender.  

Sounds like you've had some rude morning after awakenings in your day.

Feel like a new man?

[CathyL]

Yet again, I fall beneath the radar.  

I brought American goat cheeses and I swear I was there.

I have pictures to prove it. Not to mention a fridge full of American goat cheese. You also ran out to buy corn chips, flew up and down the stairs to get the door, and sliced salamis. Many thanks, Liza.

Suvir was definitely there too, with a dazzling array of vanilla ice creams.

Thanks to everyone for an entertaining and enlightening evening. Cabrales took some superb photos of the food, which I'll post soon.

The apple tasting included Granny Smith, Northern Spy, Stayman Winesap and Macoun. I wish I could comment on their qualities, but I lost track of them after they were sliced.

I appreciate all the help with setup and cleanup. The house looked quite habitable this morning. And since Roy's toys survived the event, he'll probably forgive me for breaking into his Maui Wowie stash [kettle-cooked thick-cut potato chips, for the uninitiated].

[Suvir Saran]

And since Roy's toys survived the event,  he'll probably forgive me for breaking into his Maui Wowie stash [kettle-cooked thick-cut potato chips, for the uninitiated].

They transported me back to coming out of the swimming pool and finding the bearer holding a tray that had my favorite Cheese sandwiches and thick hand cut potato chips. This was a staple all through summer. Mom would drop us kids at the pool, and we would swim and play for a couple of hours... and our treat after was the above. The glorious days of our youth.. And the golden age of Gymkhana Club in New Delhi...

Thanks Cathy for taking me back in memory lane.... I wanted to ask for kethcup to go with those potato chips.. Since that is how I ate them as a young boy.

[Shermar]

And her husband's bigger than you, so watch it.  

:

Beau, not yet husband

At 6'6" he's bigger than most people period

How could I have forgotten the American Goat Cheeses? They were the first things I tasted, that's how.

[Wilfrid]

Beau, not yet husband

OOps.

[Shermar]

Beau, not yet husband

OOps.

A state of expectation is not a bad thing...

[=Mark]

Photos! Photos!

[CathyL]

Photos!  Photos!

Patience! Patience!

[Suvir Saran]

Photos!  Photos!

Patience! Patience!

Certainly! Certainly!

[Toby]

I wasn't allowed to critique my own cooking at the party, but no one can stop me now. I made four different fillings and four different crusts. The quince tarte tatin was not too interesting to me -- the quinces were slightly overdone, and the crust was too thick and underdone -- it was a pate brisee with an egg yolk added to it (which would make it a pate what???). I didn't roll the pastry out thin enough, and didn't like it at all. One pear tarte was made with pear halves cut 10 times almost up to the top, but still in one piece, with the half pressed down to fan out, and cooked very gently in butter, brown sugar and lime juice on top of the stove for 3 hours, before being topped with the crust and baked off. I thought this was the prettiest and best tasting of the fillings, but the crust which was made up of 2 cups flour, almost 2 sticks of butter and 1/2 cup sour cream was sort of soggy. The other pear tarte tatin was the recipe from Patricia Wells' Bistro cookbook that I;ve made a lot in the past; the filling was good although I had to skimp on the pears because I used ones that should have gone in this tarte in the other pear tarte and was too lazy to go out and get more. The apple tarte tatin inexplicably turned into applesauce tarte tatin, even though I used appropriate baking apples, but the crust on this was the best crust -- it was made with flour, butter, sugar and a whole egg.

The results, then, of this sort of vertical tasting, to make the "best" tarte tatin would be the fan-shaped pears filling combined with the crust on the apple tarte tatin.

I had a wonderful time and enjoyed all the food; I was especially happy to taste all the Italian jarred tunas in olive oil. Many thanks to Cathy for opening her home and kitchen to all of us.

Where are the pictures?

[CathyL]

I demand that a moderator delete Toby's critique immediately. I mean, anyone capable of savaging such sublimely delicious tarte tatins is a tourist. Or a fascist. Or both.

I've imagestationed Cabby's pictures and will post them this morning. My people shots will take a bit longer, especially since most of you forgot to sign the release form.