zoramargolis

I disagree with zora on the marshmallow fluff idea--even as a child I detested the stuff. To each their own.

To tell you the truth, I've never even tasted Fluff. I've just heard about kids loving Fluffernutter sandwiches, and was just throwing ideas against the wall to see if anything would stick. That idea, apparently, was "off the wall" !

Could you please tell where you got it? Thanks

2004 Argiano Rosso di Montalcino-- got it at Rodman's in Friendship Heights. $26.99. For me, that's a special meal wine. I don't often pay that much for a bottle of wine, but Dean's ringing endorsement piqued my curiosity...

It seems a lot of us are eating vegetarian meals with all of our green market bounty lately...

Panzanella-- with stale baguettes, tomatoes, cukes, fennel, Vidalia onion, roasted garlic, roasted red pepper, avocado, olives, Pecorino Toscano, basil, EVOO, red wine and balsamic vinegars, OJ and peel.

2005 Chateau Lascaux Rose

If the Argiano we had on Thursday is any indication, you are not kidding. It was killer.

Goody! I bought one the other day. Sounds like it is already drinkable. Did you decant?

I'm in search of a vanilla frosting recipe that will be room temperature stable. I have to send cupcakes to school for my daughter's birthday and the ingredients on the pre-made frostings give me the the heebie jeebies. We normally do ganache or buttercreams at home but I don't think they would hold up too great at school.

A few suggestions for possible approaches:

1) Don't frost the cupcakes.

2) Use marshmallow Fluff and colored sprinkles

3) Make a buttercream frosting, frost the cupcakes and freeze them overnight. Take them in frozen and by the time they are eaten, they will have defrosted, but the frosting won't have totally melted.

4) Bring them in a cooler with blue ice in it.

Hope something in there might work for you.

We had an errand to do in Bethesda today, and stopped by to see if Black's was open for lunch--it was open and not busy, and we had a chance to check out the space, have a bite to eat and chat with John Linck, the CFO of the Black Restaurant Group.

The bar area, where we sat in a comfortable upholstered elevated booth, is sleek, cool and modern with an Asian feel, the walls panelled with pale spalted maple* boards; the neutral colored space is accented by lime green upholstered seats at the bar. I thought it was stylish and attractive.

I had an icy cold Blue Moon draft, served in an elegant chilled glass with a slice of orange. With some ice crystals forming on top of the brew, this really hit the spot on a hot muggy afternoon. Jonathan had a burger--thick, hand-formed flavorful beef, cooked on the wood grill, served with a large helping of fries that were freshly fried in clean oil and generously sprinkled with flakes of Diamond kosher salt. This was very well-priced at $11, I thought. I had a duck rillettes quesadilla, which also had spent some time on the wood grill, served with small pots of mole verde, guacamole and creme fraiche. The shredded duck was moist and flavorful, and the mole verde was thick and tasted of roasted chiles and tomatillos. That was $12.

According to Linck, the place is more crowded on Thursday nights than on the weekends--does everyone in Bethesda go out to Rehoboth on Friday after work? We definitely plan to return for dinner soon.

*spalted maple has a variegated grey figure in it, resulting from a fungus. Jonathan used to be a cabinet and furniture maker, so he knows all about these sorts of things.

A casual, QUALITY Mexican place on MacArthur, where the cheap, crummy Chinese place is (two doors up from Makoto, next to Figs. There's a little set-back patio that is barely used which could be wonderful on a warm evening. Come to think of it, they could get rid of Figs and double the space. I have yet to find anything appealing in that place, or its former incarnation, Creme de la Creme.

I'm not sure why Rocks has concluded that BlackSalt is not an appropriate option because of the atmosphere. For a pescatarian looking for a special meal in a neighborhood restaurant, that's exactly the place I would recommend. Ask for a booth, or one of the tables "upstairs"--a semi-private nook four steps above and overlooking the dining room. We had a great meal there a couple of weeks ago, to celebrate my husband's birthday. I mentioned it when I made the res, and they did a few special things that made it very nice for him. The quality of the fish and shellfish there is impeccable, and the kitchen is reliable. Subtle, delicate flavors are not Jeff Black's style. He goes for big, intense flavors, if that appeals to you. For some people, who like plain, simple dishes, it is too much.

The winters around here are too cold for true citrus trees. My guess is that it is an Osage orange.

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/DENDROLOGY/sy...sheet.cfm?ID=57

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And by accident, nearly a pound of Schwartz's smoked meat. I'd meant to thaw and steam just a few strips to augment my veggies, but it was sooooo good that I just kept going, fork in one hand, mustard bottle in the other...

I know just how that happens. My mouth says, "Yummy! More! More!" and my stomach says, "OK, you're the boss..."

My 94 year-old father drinks Charles Shaw merlot. He claims that anything better is wasted on him, because he has lost most of his senses of taste and smell. He also hates to spend money on himself. He likes to get a little buzz on in the afternoon, and it takes him two or three days to finish a bottle. When I go out to L.A. to visit my folks, I buy some decent wine to drink with them. He does have enough sense of taste to notice that it tastes good, and my mother definitely notices the difference, but as soon as I leave, they're back at Trader Joe's buying two buck chuck.

I just finished reading Kermit Lynch's book, _Adventures on the Wine Route, a wine buyer's tour of France__ which was published in 1988. Evocatively written, it provides a vivid picture of the changing world of French wine in the late 1970's and early and mid-1980's, and helped me to have a much better understanding of the wine regions, since my only trip to France was a 10-day stay in Paris, fourteen years ago. In the book he rails against the coming of "modern scientific" winemaking techniques like filtration, blind-tasting, scoring, while accepting the logic of temperature-controlled fermentation and the inevitability of some chaptalization in Burgundy. He had to search long and hard to find, even among the traditional-method winemakers, to find wines that had all of the qualities that he sought--a unique expression of terroir, depth of aroma and flavor, complexity, balance, and without flaws that would indicate careless winemaking. He quotes Robert Parker a number of times in the text, when describing a particular wine's qualities, (and Parker is quoted on the back cover, lauding the book), while also condemning wine journalists and critics and their various scoring systems. It seems to me, that in the intervening years, other American importers have emerged on the scene who also have opened up a demand for unfiltered wines made by passionate winemakers, even if they aren't fermenting their wines in 100 year old chestnut foudres, in moldy cellars.

I found the chapter on Beaujolais fascinating. Traditional beaujolais can no longer be found, apparently. In the past, according to KL, it was a very low alcohol, tart, fizzy beverage, not easy to like, but meant to be guzzled with the fatty, pork-based cuisine of Lyon and surrounds. Now at its best, it is a full-bodied, fruity, smooth "poor man's Burgundy"-- KL finds this to be a deplorable turn of events. (?) He also has nothing good to say about Guigal's impact on the wines of the Northern Rhone. Fascinating!

Now that I have read this book, I long to taste some of the wines he talks about, both complimentarily and disparagingly. Unfortunately, most of the rarest-- Cotes Rotie, Hermitage, fine Burgundy from the Cotes d'Or belong to the world of the wealthy, not the world I live in.

I have not enjoyed the few Burgundies I have had the opportunity to taste. Perhaps they were too young to show well, or not the best examples. But I suspect that the way Lynch describes fine Burgundy--ethereal, subtle, poetic, and meant to accompany specific foods to be truly appreciated, would not align well with my penchant for intense flavors, in both food and wine.

I have had several inexpensive K. Lynch wines: his Cotes du Rhone Cuvee, Ch. du Trignon CDR, Clos La Coutale Cahors, Ch. St. Martin de la Garrigue Languedoc. Yesterday, we drank a 2001 Ch. de Lascaux Les Pierres Pic St. Loup, which I have had in previous vintages. All delicious wines, similar in style to others in the same price range I have enjoyed that were imported by Bobby Kacher, Fran Kysela and a few others. In the absence of an importer I trust, though, it is difficult to avoid depending on reviews and points. As Lynch himself observes, just about everything that is made, good, bad and worse, gets sold and offered for purchase and consumption.

I visited Kermit Lynch's wine shop in Berkeley a couple of years ago. He sells only the wines he imports himself there. When I told the clerk what qualities I sought and my price range, he recommended a Mourvedre that Lynch had been able to get only a few cases of, by virtue of having hosted the winemaker's son in his CA home. This was only sold in the shop, there wasn't enough to distribute. Naturally, I can't remember the name of it-- I think it was a Bandol. I didn't get around to opening it, until I was in San Jose, on my way to L.A. OMG--this wine knocked me out of my socks, back out of my chair and across the room. And I was too far away to go back and get more. I was drinking it with some salted nuts, and I'm not sure what food it would compliment-- maybe some strong cheese, or a spicy meat dish. But the depth, richness and intensity of flavor was about the polar opposite of a pale, thin contemplative pinot. Herein lies the essence of the complexity of Kermit Lynch. So far, I have to say, everything that he has brought to my table--vinous and literary, I have thoroughly enjoyed.

OK, say you only had three or four days in Montreal, say Wednesday through Saturday, in the middle of August, on a whim. And say you really wanted to check out the fine dining and arts/antiques scene, and wanted to get around easily using public transportation. Which part of town would you stay in? And where would you stay, assuming you like B&Bs and boutique hotels (for fun, let's add: private bathrooms a must, price no object)? And, of course, what restaurants would be on the must-do list (any cuisine, price no object).

I have two days to plan this thing. The dates are fixed. Thanks for the help.

Zora, the place you stayed sounds lovely but is booked already.

`-desperately in need of a vacation that does not involve driving,

There are a number of B&B's in the Plateau from Parc Lafontaine to Mount Royal and over to McGill--my guess is that there is some Montreal website that lists them. There are also a number of large and small hotels adjacent to McGill Univ. Both areas have good Metro access and are walking distance from the best shopping, clubs, restaurants and festival sites. Whatever you do, be sure to have a meal at Au Pied du Cochon-- it's the height of the food scene for young, hip Montreal.

My daughter returned yesterday from a three-week backpacking trip, craving fresh food. She told me that she and a friend on the trip had spent hours talking about what great cooks their moms are, and naturally that affected my ego not one whit...

Since I came home from Dupont yesterday with a TON of tomatoes, and she is a vegetarian, we had:

Cherokee purple tomato slices with fresh mozzarella, basil, EVOO and 10 year balsamic

Rosemary bread

Orecchiete pasta with fresh tomatoes, roasted garlic, ricotta, Reggiano and basil

Romaine, cucumber and avocado salad with lime vinaigrette

Apricot upside-down cake

They've been asking for chocolate, but the hunks of Ghirardelli semisweet in the pantry just aren't calling out to me yet. What to do, what to do...

I've been making a flourless chocolate cake that is the easiest recipe I've ever found (one bowl, one whisk), and really satisfies the chocoholics with a minimum of fuss.

350 oven. Line a buttered springform pan with parchment and butter the parchment.

Melt 8 oz of good bittersweet chocolate in the microwave with

2 sticks of unsalted butter

Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of sugar

Whisk in 6 eggs, one at a time

1 t. vanilla extract

Add 1 cup unsweetened cocoa, and one of following:

1 T. instant espresso powder

1/4 t. orange oil

1 T. kirsch, rum or brandy

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes

This has never failed to please.

I was searching around on t.v. this morning for something to take my mind off my misery while on the elliptical trainer, and came across an old episode of Julia Child's Master Chefs series. There was our very own Roberto Donna looking very young and fit, with an almost full head of hair, teaching the slightly doddering Julia how to make pizza. I didn't catch the date at the end of the show, but it had to have been twenty years ago. Except for his recommending the use of mass-produced, domestic mozzarella, his demonstration of hand-working pizza dough and baking it in a home oven with a stone was well-done.

Tart with leeks, speck and Comte

Spinach salad with lime vinaigrette

Sharlyn melon

2004 Weingut Strauss Gelber Muskateller

Donught peaches. I'm not a huge peach fan but give me a donught peach and I am a happy woman

I am not that crazy about white peaches--they can be too sweet, without enough acid for balance. But a ripe, drippingly juicy mid-summer yellow peach is the queen of the stone fruits. Actually, I love them all, but peaches are my favorite.

Apricots are almost always a disappointment--too often they are mushy, not sweet enough, and lacking in juice. I am completely spoiled however. Back in the late 1970's, we moved into a small cottage in Santa Monica that had a very old, neglected apricot tree in the backyard. The house had been built in the early 30's and the tree undoubtedly was planted soon after the house was built. No idea what variety it was. It had not been pruned or fertilized in many years, and part of the tree was rotted and hollowed out, but it still leafed out. We pruned it some, and provided some fertilizer spikes and watered it, and the next year we had a massive crop of fruit. The branches were so laden that we had to prop them up with two-by-fours. And the fruit, when it ripened had exquisite, ambrosial aroma, floral and spicy and comples, sweet flavor. When you bit into one of the apricots, the juice ran down your chin and arm. We indulged ourselves in what was for us the height of decadence--sprawled in lounge chairs under the tree, reaching up and plucking them off the low-hanging branches and cramming them into our greedy mouths. I made tarts and a ton of jam, too. We got another crop like that the next year, and then nothing. Those final seasons were the tree's last hurrah. But every apricot I've eaten since, has been a disappointment.

My question is whether 2 scallops for a $10 order is reasonable? I don't know. It seemed skimpy to me, though the scallops were not small.

 
At a local restaurant (x) last year, I was served a scallop main course with two medium-sized scallops (and not much else)--for $27. When I had a discussion via e-mail with the owner of the restaurant, he claimed that the scallops were u-10 (ten scallops per pound, ) and so the portion was more than 6 ounces, and the price was justified. The only problem was that at the time, I was working at a high-end fish market, weighing out and selling day-boat and diver scallops every day. I knew that the (dayboat) scallops on my plate had not been u-10's, which retail for around $18 or $19 per pound, and believe me, are huge. The portion I was served was about 3 oz., maybe a bit more. The kitchen at restaurant x had not weighed the portion, because a standard entree portion of boneless fish/seafood is 5 ounces (or more). If they thought they were purchasing u-10 scallops from their supplier, then they were negligent and got ripped off. If they had thought about it, or weighed their portions they would have put at least two more scallops on my $27 entree plate, and I might not have felt like a rip-off victim. The owner of the restaurant argued with me, but ended up offering me a "gift certificate" for the cost of the entree. I never went back to redeem the "gift".

Should I take time out from mentoring disadvantaged youth to take the bus crosstown to buy a peach?

People say they hate MacDonalds, but then pay for their organic, locally grown food with a Credit Card. Do you think Bank of America is doing God's work?

This is just the sort of all-or-nothing hyperbole that you are accusing others of. The magnitude of greed, environmental destruction and evil in the world, perpetrated primarily by international capitalism, is so vast that it is easy for an individual to become overwhelmed and hopeless. It doesn't help to accuse others of hypocrisy for taking what small steps they can as individuals to make a difference. You may believe that you are doing more good by mentoring an inner-city youth than someone else who is buying food from a local organic grower rather than sending the same dollars to ADM or Beatrice Foods, but why does there need to be a contest? Both are good, small things to do. Why not take the disadvantaged youth on a bus with you, and take him/her to the farmers' market and let them experience something about real food, how it tastes and where it comes from?

If you put the frites in the oven, spread them out on a tray in a single layer. If they are piled all together, they will steam and lose their crunch.

The somewhat adversarial nature of the dialogue above, I think, has to do with the conviction of some that the "eat local sustainably grown food" position is somehow elitist and indulgent, and that only the rich can afford to eat that way, since the food sold directly from farmer to consumer is often more expensive than that at the typical supermarket. Michael Pollan and others have explicated the reasons for that, and the consequences of the pernicious government subsidizing of cheap corn. It's hard to separate out the concept of the difference in price between cheap, mass-produced food coming out of our collective pockets as taxpayers, from the actual dollars from our paychecks and wallets which are exchanged for food, either at the supermarket or the farmers' market.

Like many trends, however, as the popularity and interest grows, and demand for "green" food increases, more farmers will embrace the philosophy and methodology. There is also the possibility that agricultural land near cities may develop more value for sustainable market food production and thereby slightly less pressure will exist on the same land for suburban housing. More demand and more supply will inevitably lead to lower prices, and more availability of this high quality food to those with less income.

I would point out, however, that several of the farmers at the Dupont Circle market accept "food stamps, " so the very poorest among us can purchase some of this high quality food, if they are so inclined.

That leaves those of us who barely cling to the middle class. I have to say that I cannot afford for my family to eat every meal exclusively of locally grown and artisanally produced food. But I try to buy one chicken or pork chop or package of sausages every week from Bev Eggleston. And a dozen eggs from another farmer and vegetables and fruits from others. I try to spread the food dollars I have, to as many of the farmers I respect as possible. Because I believe that what they are doing benefits us all in ways that are global and personal, and because their food tastes better. I am lucky, in that I know how to cook. This is really turning out to be a priceless skill, because I am able to take advantage of the raw materials available in ways that prople who don't know how to cook cannot. The result is that because I can cook, I do. And although I buy $3 eggs instead of 79 cent eggs, I don't buy much in the way of value-added food or processed food. And we don't often eat in restaurants. So it balances out, somehow. If cheapness were the only issue, as far as the food choices I make, I would spend less on food than I do. But it isn't and never has been. I suspect that's the way it is for many people. It depends a lot on choices. Investing some time and labor in preparing a meal from raw ingredients, whether corporate or sustainably grown vs. paying someone else to do part/all. At all points of the financial curve, whether one is poor, middle-income or wealthy there are choices to be made.

This evening, as an appetizer, we had some La Quercia prosciutto with Sharlyn melon. (Really delicious!) Cranshaw used to be my favorite melon, but for a number of years now, I have been of the conviction that nothing can surpass a ripe Sharlyn. The one we had this evening was perfect. The Sharlyn is oval, with a yellow-green, netted shell and white, fine textured flesh. At it's best, it has the smooth, melt-in-the-mouth qualities of a Cranshaw, juicy and very sweet with an intensely complex flavor having floral and lychee notes. As with all melons, the way to choose them is find one that yields to gentle pressure and has an intense aroma. Don't be fooled and buy a casaba or canary melon-- they look somewhat similar, but taste nothing like a Sharlyn. I found mine at the Giant in downtown Bethesda.

I have other favorite varietals, especially when it comes to tomatoes, but other than Sungold yellow cherry tomatoes, I haven't had any good ones yet this year.

I noticed that Wheatland Farm has started bringing cucumbers to Dupont--but didn't have any of the Persian/Middle Eastern variety, which is my favorite.

Care to contribute your favorite varieties and why you prefer them?

Cornucopia, 8102 Norfolk Ave. in Bethesda has great cannoli that get filled when you order them. Also, lots of really good cookies and biscotti. A good place to get prosciutto, Italian cheeses, olives and misc. imported packaged goods as well. Not as big as The Italian Store in Arlington, but the products are carefully selected and of very high quality, across the board. The owner was a long-time Dean & Deluca employee.

Margaritas made with Herradura silver, Cointreau and Agavero

Spinach salad with grilled wild Copper River salmon (from Costco, of all places, $8.99 a pound, fresh and good!-- I also bought some for gravlax)

Roasted beets with orange vinaigrette

Marinated white beans

cherry-blueberry-apricot compote

2005 Ch. Guiot Rose´