What's Cooking?

My Most Favorite Thing In The Kitchen ...

2011-03-28T21:06:00.006-04:00

... is my stoneware bundt pan. From Pampered Chef. Yes. Pampered Chef.

This bundt pan and I go way back. Before I lived in Charlotte. Before I went to cooking school.

I remember the day I bought it like it was yesterday ... except it was over 10 years ago. I was working as a consultant in Charlotte and still living in Miami. A new friend, who is now a dear old friend, was hosting her first Pampered Chef party and invited me since she knew that I didn't know anyone in town. So I went to her home, met her friends and family and bought this bundt pan. It was love at first sight. Okay ... glimpse in a catalog ... since it was about a week or so until I had it in my hands.During the week between when I ordered it and received it, I went to the Barnes and Noble at South Park and browsed through cookbooks. I found the perfect cookbook with the perfect recipe for a vanilla bean poundcake. That recipe alone was worth the price of the cookbook.

I schlepped the bundt pan and the cookbook back to Miami (since my rental apartment kitchen was not equipped for baking) and made that first glorious poundcake. It was about the same time I discovered vanilla bean paste ... an efficient and cost effective substitute for vanilla beans ... it's the same end result without all the work. I don't use anything else ... 10 years later.

This is my winning trifecta ... my stoneware bundt pan, my vanilla bean poundcake recipe and Nielsen's Massey's vanilla bean paste. Don't you agree?I schlepped them all back to Mooresville a year later where they live comfortably in their appointed spots in my kitchen. If there's ever a natural disaster or some other reason to leave home in a hurry, after I grab my passport I'm getting my bundt pan!

Tickled Pink!

2011-02-05T12:32:00.006-05:00

I'm hosting the Golden Girls later this week. We'll be making fiery, hot and sexy appetizers and desserts. What are we going to drink with it?

A Tickled Pink cocktail ... made with X Rated Fusion Liqueur, a blend of premium French vodka, blood oranges from Provence and mangoes and passion fruit from Brazil (available at our local ABC store).

The recipe is quite easy, one part X Rated Fusion liqueur mixed with 2 parts Champagne or Prosecco served in a flute! I'm positive we're going to have a great time and lots of laughs!

Here's a link to the X Rated Fusion site (it's safe): http://xratedfusion.com. There are recipes on for other cocktails on their site.

Better Late Than Never ... Buche de Noel

2011-01-05T22:09:00.013-05:00

This holiday season I set one simple goal for myself, to make a buche de noel or traditional yule log cake for the first time. I did not get a chance to work on it before Christmas so I decided to tackle it on New Year's Eve. I figured if I got it in before year end I would feel good about being able to accomplish something.

I searched high and low for the perfect recipe and even borrowed a couple from our new friend and customer, Lorraine. In the end I used a cake recipe that I liked, the filling I used in my almond tiramisu and milk chocolate ganache. At the end of the three hour effort, we had a delicious but very unattractive Christmas Cactus. I will try again next year. Here's a recap of the fun!

Gathering the key ingredients

The Cake Batter

Batter Before Baking

Cake Out of the Oven

Coating the Cake with Amaretto

Filling Made with Mascarpone, Whipped Cream, Powdered Sugar, Amaretto and Almond Extract

Spreading the Filling

Rolling the Cake. This was a Nail Biter!

The Log Before Being Frosted

Ganache or Grout for Cake according to Carolyn

Adding the Bark

The Final Log with Sliced Almonds ... not exactly a Yule Log ... more of a Christmas Cactus

Holiday Sparkling Cocktail

2010-12-20T21:02:00.003-05:00

Looking for an alternative to the mimosa for Christmas morning? How about a Pear, Pomegranate Prosecco cocktail?

I was flipping through the December issue of Family Circle magazine while getting my hair done (there were no People magazines available) and thought I would try this. The ingredients are easy to find and pomegranates are in season.

(photo and recipe courtesy of Family Circle Magazine)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups pear nectar

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

2 cups chilled seltzer or prosecco

Pomegranate seeds for garnishing (optional)

1. In a large pitcher, stir together pear nectar, pomegranate juice and seltzer or prosecco. Place pomegranate sees in bottom of 4 glasses (if using).

2. Divide cocktail among glasses; serve.

Serves 4. Takes 10 minutes to make.

Pear nectar and pomegranate juice can be found in the same place as apple juice and sparkling cider in our local Harris Teeter grocery stores.

Looking for some other cool holiday cocktails? Here's a few that look interesting ...

S'mores Martini from the Bar at the Peninsula Chicago

Candy Cane Martini from the Peabody Hotel in Memphis

Hot Apple Pie from the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco

Have a great holiday!

Holiday Party Tips

2010-12-09T19:56:00.007-05:00

Last weekend as I was catching up on past issues of the Charlotte Observer (yes, I still look through the "real" paper) I noticed an article on the front page of the Home section titled "20 Party Do's and Don'ts". Of course I had to read it to see if I had committed any (and how many) party faux pas along the way. As I read through the article, I realized that I agreed with many (if not all) of the advice given. Seeing that it's prime holiday party season, I thought this would be a great article to share.

I tried to find it online on the Observer's site but gave up after 10 minutes. Luckily, I still had the printed copy (see, it's good for something) which led me to the original source, an article from House Beautiful magazine which actually lists 101 Do's and Don'ts for hosting/attending a party. Even better! I've looked through the list and here's my top 10 Party Do's and Don'ts (in no particular order).

1. Loosen Up: "Have a stiff drink before anyone arrives. If you are having fun, everyone will have fun." -- Miles Redd, designer (Tip #5)

2. Charm the Host: "Don't come to a party empty-handed." -- Jayne Michaels, designer (Tip # 8)

3. Don't Recipe Search on Party Day: "Don't try a new recipe at a party." -- Tricia Foley, designer/author (Tip # 9)

4. Don't Delay Dinner for Tardy Guests: "Don't wait for late guests. People resent being hungry." -- Issac Mizrahi, fashion designer (Tip # 16)

5. Prep Ahead: "Get everything ready the day before." -- Suzanne Kasler, designer (Tip # 47)

6. Have Drinks Ready: "Have beverages visible from the moment guests step in the door." -- Matt and Ted Lees, chefs/cookbook authors (Tip # 51)

7. Play with the Centerpiece: "Flowers are overused as centerpieces. Use seasonal fruit, a tureen, or an interesting sculptural centerpiece instead." -- Christopher Spitzmiller, ceramic designer (Tip # 13)

8. Follow the One-Bite Rule: "Keep hors d'oeuvres to one bite. No one wants to talk or kiss with a mouthful." -- Larry Laslo, designer (Tip # 18)

9. Keep Champagne on Hand: "You should always have a cold bottle of bubbly stashed in your refrigerator in case friends drop by, and a bottle of something sparkly for non-drinkers." -- Christopher Hirsheimer, Co-founder, Canal House Cooking (Tip # 28)

10. Make Extra Food: "Don't be stingy with food and beverages. Like my old grandma used to say 'I'd rather have lots of leftovers than have someone leave my party hungry.'" -- Frank Fontana, designer, TV personality

Of course, I always follow #9 ... but not for company ... in case I have a bad (or good) day at work.

Check out the full article and browse House Beautiful's website for other great ideas. Have a great holiday!

Holiday Wine Elf

2010-12-05T15:48:00.003-05:00

We hosted our first Open House for the holidays yesterday. As promised we had wine and nibbles and a visit from our favorite wine elf, John from Tryon Distributing.

Althought John poured four awesome wines, he was the big hit of the afteroon in his elf outfit which consisted of Santa hat, turtleneck sweater, suspenders, festive boxers and tights. The only thing missing was pointy elf-shoes. Maybe Santa will bring him some this Christmas!

Thanks for being a great wine rep and an even better sport, John!

Best of Appetizers 2010 - Ham and Gruyere Thumbprints

2010-12-03T07:58:00.006-05:00

We originally planned five recipes for our Best of 2010 Appetizers class this past Wednesday but I decided to add one more, one of my all-time favorites, Ham and Gruyere Thumbprints, into the line up. I've been making this recipe for years and it's become a staple. Since it can be made in advance (and even frozen until ready to use), it comes in handy for wine tastings and if I have to take an appetizer to a party.

The original recipe came from Martha Stewart but I've modified it to suit my taste buds. I use my proven recipe for pate a choux, add Parmesan cheese to the dough and double the amount of ham.

The recipe starts out with making pate a choux (also called choux paste or cream puff pastry), a base that can be then used for sweet or savory pastries like cream puffs, eclairs, gougeres or thumbprints. The ingredients for pate a choux are simple but the technique requires a little skill. Sarah, one of our new friends, helped with this recipe. Here's what she did.

Water, butter and salt are heated in a saucepan until it just begins to boil (notice the small bubbles). Don't boil it too much or else the water begins to evaporate which throws off the liquid to flour ratio.

Once the water boils, add the flour in quickly (all at once) and start stirring. The flour will absorb the liquid mixture and will come together in a ball. Stir until the dough pulls away from the side and leaves a thin film at the bottom of the pan. Let it sit (off the heat) for about five minutes.

After the dough has cooled, eggs are added one at a time. This is the coolest part of making pate a choux. When you first add the egg and start mixing, the dough looks slimy and loose. As you keep stirring the egg absorbs into the dough and becomes smooth. By the time the last egg is incorporated, the dough is silky and manageable. From here, you can go sweet or savory. We added diced Black Forest ham, parmesan and a little pepper. Some of the thumbprints were piped using a pastry bag and some we formed using a cookie scoop. Then we wet our fingers with water and stuck a thumb in each one to make an indentation. The thumprints were baked for about 25 minutes at 400F. Little blocks of gruyere were added and then baked again until they melted.

This is what they looked like before we ate them. They were yummy. Of course.

Turkey Talk

2010-11-21T18:45:00.007-05:00

Thanksgiving is just 4 days away. If you're cooking, the clock is ticking. Tick, tock. Have you decided on your menu? Do you know how big of a turkey to buy? Fresh or frozen? Do you know how long to cook it? Who's going to carve it? And what about all those leftovers?

Don't panic! There are tons of resources available on the web. Let's start with a plan ... a schedule of what to do when. Martha Stewart has this covered. You don't need to follow it to the letter but you can get an idea of the major tasks you need to complete and when you should do them. Here's Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving Planner. Epicurious has a planning checklist and Williams Sonoma has a Thanksgiving Timeline with a handy grocery list.

Next, what are you going to cook? Again, Martha has lots of options for you, about 27 different ways to cook your turkey. As does Epicurious, but they only have 18 suggestions.

You're probaby wondering how big of turkey you need to get. The general guideline is about 1lb per person. If you want leftovers, plan for a 1.5 lbs per person.

Now the big question, fresh or frozen. I prefer fresh. I usually order it from the grocery store a week in advance and pick it up before the day before Thanksgiving. If you prefer a frozen turkey, make sure you allow enough time for it to defrost and follow the proper thawing techniques. Here's what the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) recommends:

The next decision is how to cook it. I like to brine it first and then roast using basic ingredients. Brining tenderizes the meat and adds flavor to the meat, especially to the breast. Once again, Martha Stewart provides detailed steps on how to brine a turkey. If you prefer action, check out Williams Sonoma's video. Click on the icon next to Brining. I like to keep the recipe (for brining and roasting) simple so the turkey can be the star. I usually put salt, sugar, peppercorns, crushed garlic and thyme in the brine and I stuff the cavity of the turkey with a head of garlic, thyme, onion and sometimes half of a lemon. These are called aromatics and add flavor to the turkey. Brush the bird with butter and you should be set.

Now it's time to cook the turkey. Most recipes suggest starting at a high temperature (400F or higher) for about 30 minutes and then backing it down to 325F for the remainder of the cooking time. This is what I normally do. And since no wants dried out turkey meat, make sure you cook it for the right amount of time and check the internal temperature to make sure it's cooked enough. This is where the USDA comes in again.

Here's some details from Williams Sonoma on checking internal temperature of your turkey. Again, if you prefer action, check out the video from Epicurious on how to check if your turkey is done.

So you're turkey done's and you need to carve it. This takes some skill ... after all, you've spent hours cooking the turkey, you want to make sure it looks as great as it's going to taste. Here's how Martha does it. And for those who prefer video, here's how Epicurious does it.

By now, all the heavy lifting is over (and cleaning too). You need to figure out what to do with the leftovers. Well as you might've guessed, everyone has an opinion. So here's the links to the most popular sites:

Martha Stewart Leftovers
Epicurious Leftovers
Williams Sonoma Leftovers

I hope you found this helpful! Have a great Thanksgiving!

Bite Size Desserts

2010-11-14T08:31:00.007-05:00

I've been wanting to do a class on mini-desserts for a while now and finally got the opportunity with the Golden Girls earlier this week. The idea was to create several bite size desserts that are fairly easy, can be made in advance and would be perfect for holiday entertaining. Here's what we came up with:

Cheesecake Tartlets with Cherry Topping

Cheesecake Tartlets with Caramelized Pineapple Topping

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

Espresso Pot de Creme (served in espresso cups)

Espresso Pot de Creme (enough for a party)

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T15:26:00.006-04:00

It was frightful evening as we opted for ghoulish instead of gourmet at our Haunting Halloween class last night. Here are some of the highlights from our menu:

Witches Brew

Dirty Little Devil's Cupcakes

Jello for Brains

Meringue Bones

Check out our website for more photos of the event!

Women and Wine Dinner at Fleming's

2010-10-24T08:40:00.009-04:00

Every October, Fleming's hosts a Women and Wine dinner in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month featuring women wine makers. This Friday, they focused on three of the leading wine makers in Napa Valley: Cathy Corison of Corison, Kristin Belair or Honig and Janet Myers of Franciscan.

The wines were part of a delicious four course meal. The Corison Cabernet Sauvignon (2000) was served first with house cured salmon and citrus creme fraiche on a crispy wanton. It was a brave pairing (delicate salmon with a bold cab) but the end result was amazing. The richness of the creme fraiche was a great balance for the cab. I'm going to try this at home since they shared their recipe for creme fraiche with me.

The Honig Cabernet Sauvignon (2006/2007) was next and paired with butternut squash bisque served with what I will call a very large crouton (a toasted slice of their rosemary baguette topped with melted danish blue cheese and bacon). The soup was warm brown in color with a touch of sweetness ... Carolyn called it liquid pumkin pie. I think they drizzled some of the danish blue cheese fondue that was on the crouton in the soup which provided contrast in both color and taste. Overall, this was a nice combination of sweet, savory and salty! The amazing quality of the wine was that it cleansed the palatte from the last course and complemented this course.

The last wine was a Magnificat Napa Valley (2005/2006) and it was served with rosemary scented baby lambchops, Parmesan risotto, maple roasted parsnips and a red wine demi-glace. While everything on the plate was delicious, the lambchops (6 chops on my plate) and the parsnips were my favorites. The lambchops were cooked perfectly to medium on the inside and had a nice sear on the outside. The parnsips were cut uniformly into batonnets (1/2" x 1/2" x 2 1/2 - 3") and were crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and sweet all over. I need to try this at home too.

By the time dessert came, we were way too full for anything but a bite. This was probably the weakest part of the meal ... caramel pudding with what looked like pieces of Heath Bar and homemade shortbread (which was quite yummy).

My favorite wine of the evening was the Corison cab, rated 90 points by Wine Spectator. Check out the link for a description of the wine, as well as Wine Spectator's write up. I'm hoping the local distributor still has some of this left for sale ... I'm going to try to get a few bottles!

Baked Alaska!

2010-10-03T21:16:00.005-04:00

I didn't realize I haven't posted anything July ... SORRY! I have been cooking (and eating and drinking) all summer ... trying new things like Baked Alaska which we did for our 60's Dinner Party (individual servings) and for a birthday party last night (traditional serving).

Baked Alaska is simply cake topped with ice cream and covered with meringue which is then browned. The trick is to freeze it as you build it. Here's how I did it ...

First, I made a devils food cake in a 9" round pan. Then I took a carton of pistachio almond ice-cream and pressed it into a plastic-wrap lined bowl (which also happened to be 9" in diameter) making sure the top was smooth and flat so that it would sit on top of the cake properly. I put the ice-cream back in the freezer to re-harden. Then I removed the ice-cream mold from the bowl, placed it on top of the cake and put them both back into the freezer.

I made a traditional meringue and then covered the frozen cake/ice cream and then stuck that back into the freezer.

Just before serving, I removed it from the freezer and used my torch to caramelize the meringue. The end result was yummy!

Plain Old Vanilla

2010-07-25T09:23:00.012-04:00

When I was little, my favorite ice cream flavor was chocolate ... vanilla was too boring and strawberry was just too foreign. Of course this was a long time ago and in Trinidad when those were our only options, except for the local flavor which flavored with coconut and thickened with Birds Custard powder. While there was an abundance of sugar (and eggs) in Trinidad, heavy cream was non-existent and vanilla extract (most likey imitation not pure) was such a luxury that it was reserved for wedding cakes!

As I got older and learned there were more flavors to explore, "31" or so on a monthly basis, I still stuck with some variation of chocolate. Once I started cooking and experimenting with "fancy" desserts that called for pure vanilla extract or vanilla beans, I ate less chocolate ice-cream and more vanilla as I began to discover how complex something as simple as vanilla is.

Did you know ...

Vanilla was first cultivated in Mexico, in the state that is currently known as Veracruz?
Most of the world's vanilla comes from Madagascar, Indonesia, Mexico and Tahiti but is also grown in Costa Rica, India, Uganda and Jamaica?
Vanilla is the only fruit-bearing member of the orchid family and is harvested only once a year?
Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron due to the intensive manual labor needed to grow the vanilla pods?
Flowering normally occurs in the spring and must be pollinated within 12 hours of the blossom opening ... all pollination is now done by hand since the only insect capable of doing this is the Melipona bee which is native to Mexico?

Not so ordinary now, huh? And all vanillas don't necessarily taste the same ... each of the major types of vanilla has it's own characteristics and suggested uses, for example:

Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla is an overall versatile vanilla with a rich, creamy mellow flavor and velvety overtones. It is ideal for baking and cooking -- sweet or savory. It is perfect in cakes, cookies and pastries. It adds a touch of sweetness to succulent seafood sauces or marinades and cuts the acidity of tangy tomato sauces.

Tahitan Vanilla has fruity, anisic notes that enhance fruit dishes such as cranberry sauce or cherries jubilee. Its delicate flavor is best used in recipes that do not require high heat such as refrigerated and frozen desserts, pastry creams, fruit pies and sauces, smoothies, shakes, puddings and custards.

Mexican Vanilla offers a deep spicy flavor and spices up citrus fruits such as lemons, limes and oranges but can also mellow out the bitterness of dark chocolate. It cuts the acidity and smooths out the heat in spicy tomato-based dishes. Try it in cookies, cakes, frozen desserts, barbecue and spaghetti sauces, and salsas.

Check out Nielsen-Massey's site for more cool info on vanilla!

Eating in South Africa

2010-07-05T07:48:00.008-04:00

World Cup fever is still blazing at the office ... people are "working from home" so they can watch the important matches and the discussions about instant replays and bad ref calls get more and more heated every day. I don't mind ... the focus on World Cup reminds me of 9.5 glorious weeks I spent there ... working, meeting new friends, eating and drinking!

Here are some of the traditional food and drink of South Africa ... some of the pictures are mine, some are from the web.

The South African version of a barbecue is the "braai" (used to describe the meal, the process of cooking and the cooking area/tool). South Africans are fanatic about their braais ... within 24 hours I was invited to a braai, some of my co-workers were even showing off pictures of their braais. Most have dedicated areas of their homes set up for their braai ... so they can cook out in winter. One friend even had heated tiles in his braai. This is my friend Christopher (from NYC) getting ready to braai!

Another tradition South African meal is the potjiekos (pronounced poiki) which cooked in this three legged cast iron poiki pot which is either placed at the base of the braai or hung from a hook installed in the braai. The dish is layered, starting with meat, then potatoes and then vegetables. It was very yummy and takes about 2 hours to finish ... which goes by quickly when drinking South African wine!

This is a bunny chow ... no bunnies are ever harmed in the making of this dish. It is a quarter or half of a loaf of bread that is hollowed out and filled with curry (veggie, beef, chicken, mutton, etc). The idea is that you look like a bunny eating it. The one I had did not look this gourmet ... it was from a take out place and was absolutely delicious.

This is another thing South Africans are fanatical about ... biltong ... what we consider beef jerky. Everyone has their own special recipe ...their meat of choice, their spice blend and they method for curing and again. This was not my favorite ... but I tried it several times ... I had to!

I don't remember what this is called but it was good. This was on my last day and I guess they wanted to make sure I wouldn't starve on my long flight home!

There were so many other amazing things I ate in drank during my visit ... like rooibos tea which made me think of hibiscus, and Amarula, a cream liquer that is made from the marula tree ... this tastes a little like Baileys and I often had this for dessert. There were some other stuff that I didn't care for like boerewors, a dried sausage that was in the same category as biltong in my mind and mielies, the local starch that is made into a porridge (yuck)!

Todd's Farewell Tasting

2010-06-19T16:01:00.005-04:00

In addition to Mom and I, fourteen of our friends showed up last Thursday night to say good bye to Todd and taste some of Oregon's finest wines.

Before we even tasted the first wine, Todd had us laughing with story from earlier that day ... he was training his replacement, it was her first day and they were riding in her car. Unknown to him, there was a welcoming committee to greet her ... an ant's nest lodged in the crease of the passenger seat. After she freaked out a little and got in her car, she called him with a humane way to get rid of the ants. His car now smells of an organic orange smelling ant repellant and they're hanging out in his Shop-Vac at home. Let's home they stay there!

While we cruised through seven wines, Todd had us cracking up with his unique brand of humor "Todd-ims". Here are a few that I wrote down in context of the conversations:

He's moving to Willamette Valley, which when properly pronounced rhymes with "damn it". It's also the home of "no flash, no trash" wines.

When opening one of the wines he warned us "this one will smack you around a little bit" and he described another as tasting like "wet forest floor".

He had only good things to say of the wine makers ... one was described as "a complete and utter wine dork" and another was "a pinot noir bad a$$".
As usual, the wines were good and the food was yummy but the company was the best. Here's a link of some of the photos from the tasting: http://www.gourmetontherun.com/images/Todd_s_Farewell_Tasting.pdf

We have a new rep and when asked about him and what's he's like, Todd said "he'll say stupid things too!"

Vegging Out

2010-06-06T12:55:00.019-04:00

Our "Vegging Out" class started with a trip to the Davidson Farmer's market early yesterday morning. With a cup of coffee in hand and no menu in mind, Tracey, Emily and I did a brief walk through to get the lay of the land and survey our options.

Our first purchase was squash blossoms ... something none of us ever had but read much about. Then we picked up some fresh leeks and young garlic from the same farmer. We went over to the other end of the market and bought elongated beets, a couple pounds of patriotic potatoes (red, white and blue) and some mild onions. Our last stop was for hierloom tomatoes. Our menu was sketched out and we headed to the Fresh Market in Cornelius for the rest of our ingredients.

There we selected a loaf of rosemary focaccia bread, mushrooms, a vanilla poundcake, strawberries and chicken cutlets.

Now our menu was set ... bruschetta and roasted garlic with focaccia, frittata, chicken picatta, roasted potatoes, stuffed squash blossoms .... and for the grand finale ... chocolate bowls filled with poundcake, vanilla bean ice cream and flambed strawberries.

Our second course was an artichoke and leek frittata. I modified a recipe I found on-line at Williams Sonoma. It was yummy ... unlike other frittatas I've made, this one was cooked mostly on the stove top and then broiled at the end to add color to the top.

For the entree, we stuffed the squash blossoms with a sauteed mushrooms, panko bread crumbs, Parmesan and herbs. Tracey roasted the patriotic potatoes with the elongated beets, onions and herbs from her garden. I made chicken picatta but left out the lemon juice and capers since I thought it would clash with the Malbec we were drinking.

For dessert, we made chocolate bowls and filled them with the pound cake and ice cream. Then I sauteed the strawberries with Grand Marnier, lit it on fire and ladled the warm mixture into the bowls ... the heat from the strawberries melted the chocolate making it one, big, oozing chocolaty bite of goodness!

Here's a link to more photos: http://www.gourmetontherun.com/images/Vegging_OUt.pdf

World Cup Fever!

2010-06-01T20:05:00.005-04:00

For months now the guys at work have been talking about World Cup ... I take that back ... it's been at least a couple of years that they've been scheming on how to get tickets and have been arguing if the stadiums and the country would be ready for the games.

As the official start gets closer, the conversations are longer and more frequent. Today at lunch, they were discussing which team is the favorite to win, and more importantly about the players that made the Brazilain squad.

Since I had nothing to contribute about the players and the game, I pulled the only piece of World Cup information I had readily available ... what Food and Wine Magazine suggests you drink to support your favorite team.

Here's a link to the article: http://foodandwine.com/articles/world-cup-wine-party

I have to say ... based on their suggestions, it's hard to support a favorite team.

Mother's Day Brunch

2010-05-09T17:04:00.004-04:00

Mother's Day along with Easter and Valentines Day make up the holy trinity of eating out holidays. Rather than brave the crowds, we did brunch at home.

First course: warm cranberry scones (Mom likes them with butter, Debbie likes them plain and I like a little strawberry jam).

Second course: stuffed French toast (with ham and cheddar) and sauteed apples.

Only coffee and tea this morning. Saving the champagne for later!

Happy Mother's Day!

Todd's Visit to France

2010-05-02T13:32:00.015-04:00

Our April wine tasting was all about Todd's first visit to France in late March. This tasting was like the others in that we had a lot of fun and drank some great wine (1 sparkling, 4 whites and 1 lonley red). However, it a first for us in two ways ... we had 24 attendees (plus Mom, Todd and I) ... a record for us and we had an audio-visual presentation ... Todd shared some of this photos with us.

As usual, Todd has several one-liners (we call these "Toddisms") and lots of great stories to tell. Since I was drinking too (and had very little to eat), I will do my best to recap some of the highlights of the evening and his trip.

Todd and his GF Margaret in Sancerre

Toddism: "It takes a lot of beer to make good wine"

Todd estimated he gained 5 lbs on this trip. I think this has something to do with it ... a restaurant that served over 100 savory crepes plus another 40 or so dessert crepes. Yep, he ate the whole thing!

Toddism: "Rolling up in our European Mini-Van"

Seems the guy second from the right is a real wine stud ... 28 years old and owns his own vineyard. Too bad he's married with a couple of kids.

So while the other guy is a wine-stud, this is the Man's Man of wine. He has his own vineyard and chateau with a courtyard and a big dog laying in the courtyard.

Le Cav

Members of the Natter family ... who were awesome hosts and shared some of their oldest wines with Todd and his group.

Nice hat!

Rocks that are native to the Loire Valley

Bad Habits!

P.S. None of the wines we tasted were date wines! ;-)

My Week in Food

2010-04-18T09:31:00.006-04:00

With all of the year end tasks behind me including taxes, my schedule is finally getting normal again. And by normal, I mean I can cook more and hit the Y a few times a week. Here's how I spent my week, foodwise.

For dinner on Sunday, I decided to make the Grilled Balsamic and Garlic Flank Steak recipe from the April issue of Food and Wine magazine. I did this recipe for the last wine tasting and liked it ... it was really easy. This time, after marinating it overnight, I cooked it on the stovetop (instead of grilling) in my non-stick saute pan. I liked the results better ... I got a better sear on both sides of the meat and the sugar in the balsamic caramelized a little.

If you're wondering what the difference is between skirt steak and flank steak it's basically what part of the cow it comes from ... skirt steak comes from the plate cut and flank is from the area in red (see diagram). Both cuts are flavorful, requires marinating and should be cooked quickly (like grilling).

My cooking was interrupted by a trip to St. Louis for work but I was back at it on Thursday night. I made the New York Style Crumb Cake from the April 2010 issue of Bon Appetit. When I initially saw the picture of the cake in the magazine I was worried that the cake would be too moist (meaning greasy) but the end product was dry ... and that was after I reduced the baking time by 10 minutes.

I know what you're thinking ... I deviated from the recipe. Well I did, but only for the crumb topping. I cut their recipe in half and added walnuts and loved the result. The cake itself was dense and a little dry. It tasted good ... I just had some with my coffee and the combination was yummy. I'm definitely going to try this recipe again ... maybe it needs to eggs and/or more sour cream to lighten the batter.

And I only made it to the Y once this week ... cycle class at 5:30am on Friday ... shouldn't that count for at least 2?

More Baking ... Raisin, Pecan and Walnut Bread

2010-04-11T12:29:00.006-04:00

I love raisin bread ... not the cinnamon swirl stuff ... but the chewy kind filled with plump raisins and nuts. My favorite so far is the raisin pumperknickel bread from Capital Grille but they only serve it with dinner (which I don't indulge in very often). A close second is the Russian pumpernickel bagel from NY Bagels (Armando's places in Mooresville) ... I eat it plain ... no need for cream cheese.

Flipping through the April 2010 issue of Bon Appetit, I saw a recipe for raisin, pecan and walnut bread. It seemed simple enough ... basic ingredients ... water, yeast, bread flour, sugar, salt, vegetable oil, raisins, pecans, walnuts and brown sugar. The instructions were simple too ... dissolve the yeast in warm water, add the sugar, salt, vegetable oil and mix until combined. Then add the flour and knead until smooth and add the raisins, nuts and brown sugar. The recipe called for kneading by hand but I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook.

Once mixed, the dough needed to rise in the fridge overnight and then this morning, I divided the dough into two balls, let rise for about 2 hours until it was doubled in size and baked at 375F for about 35 minutes. I let it cool on a wire rack, sliced one loaf and then Mom and I devoured a few of the warm slices with butter and coffee!

Like the other recipe I tried last week, it's way too much for just the three of us. So, I'm going to freeze one loaf, leave a few slices of the other one at home and take the rest to work for the guys. Hey, I can't eat all of this stuff ... I'd have to live at the Y. And, besides there's a sour cream coffee cake I want to make later in the week!

What I Did During My Easter Vacation

2010-04-08T21:57:00.006-04:00

So, I didn't really get an Easter vacation .. I just had one day off (real work) and I spent it baking.

Here's what I made:

Old Fashioned White Bread (recipe from the cookbook that came with my KitchenAid mixer). This is my go-to recipe when I want homemade bread. We have it every year at Christmas. It was quite yummy with the spiral ham Mom baked!

I've always wanted to make hot cross buns since they remind me of Easter when I was little. The current issue of Martha Stewart Living featured some of their favorite recipes from the past 10 years. When this recipe popped up and I figured it was my time to make it. It was fairly easy ... I cheated a little ... I did not brush the tops with egg white and I was very liberal with the application of the icing, and, I might have put in a few more currants than the recipe listed.

I liked the final product ... the texture was fluffy but not too airy and it was dense but not solid if that makes sense ... when you bit into it your teeth sank into the dough but was not mushy. I liked the amount of sweetness but my sister thought it could be sweeter. I think next time I'll add some flaked coconut ... that might make it taste more like the Trinidadian version. And, the recipe makes 24 buns ... way too much for my small family. I think the recipe could easily be split in half!

Your Wine Sign?

2010-03-22T19:42:00.007-04:00

This month's Food and Wine magazine has an interesting article linking a person's astrological sign to their tastes in food and wine. Here's a link to the article:http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/a-stellar-zodiac-party

Here's a link to the complete chart: http://www.foodandwine.com/images/sys/201004-a-astrology.pdf

Is your's true? I'm a Sagitarius ... I agree that when it comes to tasting I like to try new things and I do like exotic and fragrant foods but I'd prefer curry over a tagine any day. And my first choice for wine ... would not be a Cote-du-Rhone but a malbec!

Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian

2010-03-07T12:24:00.008-05:00

I took a short trip to Alexandria, VA this weekend and was lucky enough to spend a few hours in Washington, DC visting some of our nation's historic sites. Of course my first stop was the American History Museum, the new home of Julia Child's kitchen.

I was patient enough to take the advice of the museum volunteer and saw Star Spangled Banner and the First Ladies exhibit before I hurried down to the first floor to see where she created culinary history!

The exhibit was amazing! There were so many things to take in, all of which were well documented. It was cool to see a blend of old and new ... like some of the old molds and copper pans she used as well as the shiny new blue Kitchen Aid mixer on the countertop.

Every wall of the kitchen was utilized, with nooks and crannies everywhere that were filled with anything and everything she could possibly need for any cooking need. This kitchen was so unlike what we see on Food Network or in magazines today. Rather than being filled with props, it was filled pieces of her life, her experiences and her memories. It felt like home to me!

Link to Bon Appetit! Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian.

Link to more of my photos!

Perfect Winter Day

2010-01-30T13:47:00.004-05:00

What a great way to end January ... with snow! Lots of snow (and sleet and freezing rain). This is what the view from the kitchen window looked like at 8:14 this morning.

I feel like a kid with an unexpected day off from school. Since it's Saturday, there's no work (the real job) and it's just silly to open the store (the authorities are asking people to stay off the roads unless they HAVE to).

What should I do? Hmm ... there's always laundry and bookkeeping and getting ready for taxes ... but I think I will play "hookie" today and enjoy the unexpected time off.

So far, I've already made a batch of butternut squash soup (had most of the ingredients prepped from a class last week) and I have a crock pot going with my favorite chili recipe. Tonight I'll make pasta with a simple marinara sauce with smoky bacon. Luckily, I have all these staples in my pantry / fridge / freezer.

Speaking of staples, here's a short list of what I consider essential to have on hand for any "weather" situation:

Wine, beer or your favorite "beverage"
Coffee (or tea) with whatever you fix it with (I like milk only)
Milk, eggs and bacon (think scrambled eggs for breakfast or an omlette for lunch or dinner)
Cheese (at least some cheddar and maybe some parmesan) and crackers (get an assorted package -- you never know how long you'll be snowed in and might get tired of Ritz after a while)
Dried pasta, canned tomatoes (I'd go with diced and tomato sauce) and maybe some canned beans (cannelini, kidney beans or chick peas -- these could be added to your pasta, chili or be made into appetizers)
Chili fixins (2 Alarm chili kit, ground beef, tomatoes (covered above), chips or corn muffin mix and your toppings ( I like cheddar, onions and sour cream).
Frozen waffles and pure maple syrup (this will go nicely with the bacon and eggs above)
Peanut butter and jelly (or honey) and your favorite bread.
Bottled water
CHOCOLATE

Now that I've mentioned chocolate, I'm getting a craving for something sweet. I'm going to see if I can whip up a batch of brownies or something.

Keep warm and I hope your power stays on!

Local Food and Wine Events

2010-01-26T21:19:00.004-05:00

Looking for a reason to try some of the finer resturants in town but don't want to spend an arm and a leg? This is the week to do it! It's Charlotte Restaurant Week ... 10 days actually ... which started last Friday (1/22) and ends this Sunday (1/31). Close to 80 upscale restaurants from South Charlotte to Birkdale are offering 3 course meals for just $30. While some of the choices are not on the regular menus or offer smaller portions, most are offering a bargain to fill tables during this slow time of the year.

For example, Del Frisco's in Southpark is offering a choice of dinner salad or wedge with blue cheese, 8 oz filet, salmon, prime rib or chicken with a side of mashed potatoes and sauteed mushrooms and a choice of mango sorbet or cheesecake for dessert. Not bad for $30 considering you'd pay that alone for the steak. Take a look at the site: http://www.charlotterestaurantweek.com/index.html and make some reservations fast! The better resturants fill up quickly.

Also, if you haven't tried OpenTable to make reservations yet, give it a whirl. It's fantastic for people whose professional and personal schedules don't always fit with the time someone is actually answering the phone to take researvations.

If you're already booked up for the rest of the week, don't worry ... there'll be a summer version of Restaurant week. And if you can't wait that long, check out the Charlotte Food and Wine Festival. This event is scheduled ever other year and will be held from April 22nd to April 24th this year. Even though on the surface it's all about fine wine and food, the underlying goal is to raise money for local charities.

The Festival officially kicks off on February 6th with the Charlotte Cru Competition (by invitation only) but gets into full swing on Thursday, April 22nd with a series of Vintner's Dinners. About 23 of the finest restaurants in town will host a wine maker and will do a food and wine paring. There is also one Brewrry Dinner for those that prefer hops over grapes. There are a series of educational sessions and tastings scheduled throughout Friday and Saturday. This will be my first year attending and I am looking forward to it. Hope to see you there!

Highlights from Hotlanta

2010-01-18T17:29:00.005-05:00

Mom and I made our semi-annual buying trip to Hotlanta last weekend ... and it was anything but HOT! Charlotte was already freezing and due for snow ... we thought as we headed south it would get warmer but it didn't. The closer we got to the city, the more snow we saw on cars and the icier the streets got. Lucky for us, we had to spend most of our time indoors ... SHOPPING!

We spent the good part of three days visting the showrooms of some of our existing suppliers like Boston Warehouse, Tag, Evergreen, Oxo, Kuhn Rikon and Zyliss stocking on up on staples and picking new items from their spring and summer lines. Check out the koozies below ... in addition Beach and Boat, we also got Pool and Lake (with coordinating napkins and other accessories, of course).

We also took some time to explore new showrooms and added some new lines like BBQ tools (perfect for Dad in June) and Gel Pro mats. I ordered the standard size (20 x 36) in the three most popular colors ... my favorite, Truffle, is shown below.

So it wasn't all work (and spending). After 4 years of doing this, Mom and I have a list of the showrooms that have the best appetizers, cocktails and wine during happy hour. Before wrapping up each day, we paid a short visit to these showrooms for a little pick me up and to visit with some of our favorite reps and other store owners. This got us in the mood for dinner.

On Friday night, we ate at F.A.B. (French American Brasserie) which is a short walk from the hotel. I've been there several times but the first time was the best! This time the food was ok ... the wine was ok ... the service was ok ... the best part of the meal was the fresh crusty rolls, the butter and the escargot. I ate the snails while Mom soaked up the buttery, garlicky sauce with her bread.

On Saturday night, while waiting for a friend for dinner in the lobby of our hotel, Tyler Forence walked past Mom. She smiled at him and he smiled back. Dang it ... I wasn't wearing my glasses so I saw him leaving! Luckily I got to see him again! He was having dinner at the same restaurant we were (with his wife and family) and we saw him as soon as we walked in. He is still SMOKING HOT!

We had dinner at BLT Steak in the W Hotel. The whole experience was fantastic! We were seated as soon as we arrived and presented with some chicken liver pate and crostini while we reviewed the menu. They have the option of an a-la-carte menu or a three course prix fixe menu that changes every night. We opted to share a couple of appetizers (shrimp cocktail and beefsteak tomato salad with stilton). Between the appetizer and dinner, the biggest and best tasting popovers I've ever had were brought to the table with butter and sea salt. They were amazing ... the texture, flavor and moistness were perfect and they were topped with gruyere which added another layer of flavor.

For dinner we had steaks, filets and New York strip that were cooked and seasoned perfectly -- served in individual Staub cast iron dishes which helps retain heat and makes a fantastic presentation. We made the mistake of ordering three sides (macaroni and cheese with shaved white truffles, grilled asparagus, and leek and potato hash browns) which were so yummy and rich that we barely put a dent in them. We chose a bottle of Chappellet Mountain Cuvee (2007) to pair with our meal, one of my favorite red blends. Everything was so good we had to try dessert ... apple and cranberry cobbler and sticky toffee pudding cake ... both were excellent! The service was amazing and we were not rushed at all ... I like this in a restaurant.

When we're at these shows, Mom and I are usually celebrity chef stalkers. We rearrange our schedule to attend the demos and book signings of the celebrity chefs ... this time we didn't. We were so tied up all three days that we missed Tyler's cooking demonstration and missed Alton Brown's demo and book signing (on two separate days). Thank goodness we saw Tyler in the hotel and the restaurant and we got a sneak peek at Alton during his book signing. I'll have to get my priorities straight for the July show!

Best of 2009!

2010-01-02T22:10:00.012-05:00

Since we only do wine tastings once a month, each is unique and special in its own way ... from the theme of the tasting, the rep hosting the tasting, the appetizers we munch on and the interaction between the tasters. While I enjoy each, I always look forward to the December tasting ... the one we call the "Best of" ... where we revisit our favorites wines from all tastings of the current year.

This year's Best of was FANTASTIC! Todd was back again to host and we selected 7 wines ... 2 of which were new to all of us but made it on our list because they made Wine Spectator's Top 100 List for 2009.

Here's the line up:

Dibon Cava
Dr. Loosen's L Riesling (#62)
The Stump Jump Shiraz (#82)
Boekenhoutskloof Wolf Trap Red
Emina 12 Months
Green and Red Zinfandel
Felino Cabernet Sauvignon

Many of these wines were rated between 88 and 92 points and fall into the $11-22 price range.

We had 16 people attend the tasting, plus Mom, Todd and I. In addition to the usual suspects (you know who you are), we had some fresh faces ... friends and spouses of the "regulars" as well as a couple new to the area. I hope we didn't scare them off!

Mom stole the spotlight from Todd a couple of times with some of her "unique phrases / sayings" for which she will be teased about in future tastings (too racy to repeat here).

Needless to say it was a noisy evening that ended close to 1:30 am and 18 bottles later. And even though, I got a new camera ... the pictures are still blurry. Hmmm.

As for the nibbles, I don't remember what we served but it had to be good since it was all gone by the time I was ready to sit down and have some.

Tim and Suzanne were real troopers and stayed with us 'tilt he end!

I'm already looking forward to the Best of 2010!

Happy New Year!

Top 10 List: Foods to Have on Hand for Impromptu Holiday Entertaining

2009-12-03T23:00:00.001-05:00

Mixed Nuts – Have a can or two of deluxe mixed nuts (without peanuts) on hand. These can be warmed in the oven at 350°F for about 5 minutes (toasting releases flavor and aroma).
Marinated Olives – Pick up some at the deli counter or marinate yourself with good quality olive oil, lemon zest, cracked peppercorns and fresh rosemary. I like large green olives stuffed with pimentos, garlic, almonds and jalapenos.
Soft Cream Cheeses – A wheel of brie or camembert can be easily paired with crackers, crusty bread or fresh fruit. To add flair, wrap in puff pastry and bake at 400°F for about 25 minutes or top with sautéed fruit or a prepared chutney.
Fancy Crackers – Flavored crackers, bagel chips, pita crisps and flat breads can be eaten alone or served with dips, cold cuts and spreads.
Cold Cuts – Keep slices of ham, turkey, salami and other meats on hand to create an antipasto plate with a moments notice. Garnish with olives, artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes from the pantry. Leftovers make a great snack or weekday lunch.
Dip Mixes – Whip up a batch of dip in mere minutes with a dried dip mix and some sour cream, mayonnaise or yogurt. Choose bold and exotic flavors like lemon dill or wasabi ginger!
Prepared Spreads – Serve flavored hummus from the refrigerated section of the deli with precut veggies and pita crisps or use ready made pestos and relishes with cream cheese to create a savory spread.
Cookies – A tin of good quality assorted cookies in the pantry will satisfy your guests’ sweet tooth, especially the little ones.
Coffee, tea and hot chocolate – Brew a pot of fresh ground coffee or offer your guests a choice of traditional and flavored teas. Have premium hot chocolate (and marshmallows) on hand for the kids.
Chocolates – A stash of individually wrapped Belgian or Swiss chocolates is a sweet way to end any visit.

The Vintage Caper

2009-11-29T13:20:00.005-05:00

Before I cooked, I read. And I read a lot. As I kid, when I finished all the Nancy Drew books in our little neighborhood library, I moved on the the Hardy Boy series (hey, it was a small library) just to have something to read.

Readers fall into two catergories ... they either focus on a specific genre like science fiction or murder mysteries or romance novels or they follow a specific writer. I am the latter ... except for the once in a while cheesy paperback romance to pass the time on a long flight. Through the years, I've read Ann Rice (vampire series), John Grisham (A Time to Kill was the best), Dan Brown (he uses the same formula for each book) and of course J.K. Rowling!

About 13 - 14 years ago, I discovered Peter Mayle who writes about life in Provence. His books are a magical combination of travel, cooking and wine ... three of my favorite things in life. I started with "A Year in Provence" in which he descibes his first year living in a little town in Provence ... each month its own chapter that describes in glorius detail the food they ate, the wine they drank, the season's festivities, the changing weather and the nuances of their neighbors. His next book, "Toujours Provence", was a collection of short stories about specific people or events in his day to day life including buying truffles from "Mr X" and learning to appreciate pastis.

A few years ago, he started writing fiction in the form of longer novels. Still set in the south of France, with the food and wine theme running throughout, these books centered around a simple mystery that usually involved a hint of romance. For me, each book was a mini-vacation in which he took me on a scenic tour of Provence, perusing the menus of the region's Michelin starred restaurants and local truck stops and getting a whiff of the finest wines in the world.

Needless to say, like a schoolgirl waiting for the next Twilight movie, I was tickled that he would be publishing a new book this year. With the date marked on my calendar, I waited paitently for "The Vintage Caper" to arrive. I tried to pace myself, but in the end, I blew threw it. Mostly set in Marseilles, it follows the theft of $3M of rare French wine from a collector in LA to a prominent businessman whose home overlooks the old port in Marseilles. There's a quick stop in Paris for clues (and lunch and dinner), followed by day trips to the finest wine chateaus in Bordeau and of course lots of fresh seafood in Marseilles served with local rose wines!

I hated for it to end. It'll be at least another two years until the next escape!

Practicing for "Casseroles for Your Company" Class

2009-11-08T11:08:00.005-05:00

I'm happy with 4 of the 5 recipes for the Casseroles for Your Company Class. The last post had pictures of the Sausage and Pasta casserole, here's what the others look like.

Chili Hash Brown Bake:

Ham, Egg and Cheese Strata:

and Bread Pudding:

One more to go ... Shepherd's Pie ... tonight's dinner.

Comfort Food

2009-11-01T18:42:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Halloween. Instead of it being a nice, cool, crisp day that led into a brisk evening for the trick or treaters it was gray and overcast all day. Just before the trick or treaters were set to come out, it started to drizzle and then a light constant rain. The temperature started to drop as the evening wore on.

With few kids ringing the door bell, I had enough time to put together this casserole: spicy sausage and pasta. It's one of the recipes I'll do for the Casseroled for Your Company class.

Testing Christmas Cookie Recipes

2009-10-25T19:07:00.009-04:00

Christmas may be two months away but it's time for me to finalize recipes for my Christmas Cookie class. I want to do two classes this year: one featuring classic Christmas cookie recipes like sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies and spritz cookies; the other featuring a cookie assortment suitable for giving which will include different flavors and techniques. Here's some photos of what I'm working on.

Madelines. This is a delicate French cookie that has the texture of a poundcake. I flavored this with vanilla bean paste. It uses a special pan that results in the finished cookie looking like a shell. I'm going to try a couple more version using lemon or orange zest and extract.

Ribbon Cookies. I like these because they look like bacon. You start off with one dough that is divided into three parts. Each part is then flavored and layered in a loaf pan. After chilling overnight, the dough is sliced very thin and baked. They are yummy!

P.S. My baking is a lot better than my photography!

Bacon Chocolate Bar

2009-10-16T22:32:00.004-04:00

I am a firm believer in the "everything is better with bacon" and was excited to checkout Mo's Bacon Bar. It's a milk chocolate bar with applewood smoked bacon and alderwood smoked sea salt.

Since no one at home was brave enough to try it with me I decided to take it to the office ... the guys there will eat just about anything. Not the case.

We waited until mid afternoon to break into the bar ... no one thought chocolate, bacon and morning coffee was a good combination. The first bite was weird ... there was the chocolate taste, then the saltiness and finally dried bits of bacon. The second bite was better but overall it wasn't the fantastic experience we expected.

I'm not giving up ... I think one of these days the state fair will come up with the perfect combination.

Baked Mac and Pimento Cheese

2009-10-09T21:46:00.003-04:00

I'm a big fan of the blog of Cream Puffs in Venice. The writer, "Cream Puff", does an amazing job photographing the fruits of her labor and sometimes she also includes pictures of her progress with the recipe.

Here's a photo of my own ... I made it about a month ago ... I was practicing the baked mac and pimento cheese for the Childhood Favorites For Your Adult Palette cooking class later this month.

Whaddaya think? It was as yummy as it looked (even if I do say so myself).

Visiting Beantown

2009-09-30T21:39:00.005-04:00

I've been on the road a lot lately ... mostly for work (day job) ... mostly in cities that are not food friendly ... and mostly with no free time for exploring. That was not the case last week when I got to visit Boston, a city with many well known ethnic and eclectic neighborhoods, many of which are known for their shops and restaurants.

Since I've been to Boston several times before, I opted to skip the historical sights and focus on food this time. My first memorable meal was at Eastern Standard in the Kenmore Square area on Commonwealth Avenue. The coziness of the outdoor dining area and the vibe in the restaurant bar hinted at the pleasant dining experience ahead. The menu was a little bit French brasserie (with standard offerings of foie gras, steak frites and duck confit ravioli), a lot of raw bar, some comfort food (grilled cheese and roasted chicken) and touch of weird (BTLT which is beef tongue lettuce and tomato).

As much as I love classic french food, I opted for seafood choices starting with the Maine lobster in puff pastry. Served in a shallow soup bowl, large pieces of lobster meat in a puff pastry shell sat in a creamy pool of roasted corn and shitake mushrooms that was flavored with bacon. I used a spoon to eat this. Then the server surprised us with fresh oysters, so fresh it seemed you could taste the salt water. For dinner, I had the grilled swordfish which was served with heirloom tomatoes and seasonal vegetables (fennel and baby eggplant). The swordfish was cooked and seasoned perfectly! Wine for the meal included a glass of rose champagne and a glass of pinot noir. Service was fantastic.

The next memorable meal was the following night at Tapeo, a tapas restaurant on Newbury Street in the Back Bay area. The restaurant had three distinct dining areas, the outdoor patio, a traditional dining room and a cozy bar area that was decorated in colorful tiles. The menu had over 40 tapas which were divided by hot, cold and signature dishes. We started with a plato mixto which included serrano ham, Manchego cheese, roasted red peppers and olives that were flavored with garlic and cumin. I need to try that at home ... the cumin added a very earthy flavor. Baby lambchops in an apricot sauce was next, followed by prunes stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon (which tasted so much better once they cooled down). Dessert was rice pudding with a twist ... made into a custard with a caramelized sugar crust similar to creme brulee. The food was very good but the wine was fantastic ... a sparkling Pinot Noir from Spain called Aria.

My last memorable meal was in Cape Cod. I had the day to myself so I decided to do some exploring and headed south. After a quick stop in Plymouth, I went in search of my first lobster roll. I stopped at the Barnstable Restaurant and Tavern and tried their tomato crab bisque which was a bit spicy with corn and bits of potato. Yum! Their rendition of the lobster roll was lobster salad on crostini served with mesclun greens and cherry tomatoes. I really don't get why they would do that to lobster ... such an exotic food served so bland. Good thing I didn't have the traditional lobster roll on a hot dog bun.

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at the Tea Shoppe for a cup of Earl Grey and an almond macaroon to wrap up my day.

And by the way, Boston may have been called Beantown years ago because of their love for baked beans but today I think it's called Beantown because there's a Starbucks and a Dunkin Donuts on every corner!

What is the Bacon of Wine?

2009-09-19T21:14:00.004-04:00

My latest obsession (of many) is with Food and Wine magazine, both the print and online versions. I recently subscribed to the print version and have been putting that ahead of the other cooking magazines in the review cycle. And between issues, I surf the online version frequently!

The October issue arrived earlier this week and I showed remarkable restraint in leaving it in its plastic cover until last night (Friday night). This issue focused more on wine than previous issues and had a few interesting articles including food and wine pairings and the best classic wines under $15. I flipped through most of the articles paying attention mostly to the recipes.

There was one article, however, that caught my attention and got me thinking that the writer's thoughts were worth sharing. It was written by Salma Abdelnour who is more comfortable talking about food than she is about wine even though she drinks it everyday. Despite her desire and joy to learn about varietals, regions and producers she is intimidated by the lingo and the ever changing trends. So she tends to second guess her tastes and instincts and stays quiet during conversations about wine. I'm sure we've all been to one of those events when there was one blowbag in the crowd who was a know it all about wine (and if I was the blowbag I blame it on the wine!).

To overcome this, she did conducted an experiment ... she took the food and beverages she was most comfortable with and asked experts (wine directors of respectable restaurants and wine importers) what would be their eqivalent in wine.

She started with burgers and asked what would be considered the White Castle of the wine industry -- meaning what do the snooty mc snoods drink that they don't want anyone to know. The answer was Pinot Grigio. It seems most sommeliers would not admit to drinking Pinot Grigio but in a blind taste test would associate it with more exotic whites with a similar taste profile like Gruner Veltliner Federspiel, Chabblis or Albarino. The other wine that professionals do not like admitting to drinking is Zinfandel (the red kind!) mostly because it is a New World wine. And if you don't know what a New World wine is you need to come to our annual Old World, New World Wine tasting!

The second food she used for comparison was bacon. Her justification was that everyone is happy when eating bacon -- it is so basically delicious that you don't have to think much about it. The experts came back with two responses. The first was Pinot Noir and the second was Merlot which was described was "an easy wine to drink", "like a bear hug from your grandma" and "safe and warm".

The last wine correlation was for coffee ... she wanted to find a wine that was "versatile as it was reliable", something that she could drink every day as she would coffee. The experts came back with Sauvignon Blanc more than any other varietal. It was picked for how well it pairs with food and the low probability it would be tainted (due to being refrigerated during storage and its acidity). Wine director Alpana Singh of Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants stated " There's a big difference between good and bad coffee, but if you really need caffeine, you'll drink bad coffee. It's the same with Sauvignon Blanc". To test theory, the write drank Sauvignon Blanc for an entire week experimenting with wines from various growing regions and with different cuisnes and she found that it was a "fantastic utility player". There was one night the Sauv Blanc did not deliver and she figured what she really needed was espresso rather than coffee.

Here's a link to the article: http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/wines-for-drinking-not-overthinking

My Hot Date with Tyler

2009-08-18T22:02:00.002-04:00

I was going through some old photos and saw this one with me and Tyler Florence. He did a book signing at the Super Target in Mooresville just a few months after I moved here.

San Francisco – Part 1: The Food

2009-07-02T22:12:00.004-04:00

I love San Francisco -- it is my favorite city in the US. There’s so much to do in the city and within a couple of hours you can be in some of the most beautiful (and palette pleasing) places in the world … some of my favorites are Napa/Sonoma, Monterey/Carmel/Pebble Beach and Big Sur. Back in the day when I was a travelling consultant I would “have” to be there at least once a month for work, now I ‘m lucky if I can get out there every few years for “research”.

In my four days, I did a little bit of everything. I spent an afternoon in Walnut Creek walking around the quaint town and window shopping at my holy trinity of stores: Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and Crate and Barrel. I spent another afternoon in Sausalito, having lunch at a sidewalk café and browsing the local shops and art galleries. I laid out at the hotel pool drinking cold Coronas (yes I drink other beverages not just wine) for the good part of a day and spent an entire day in Napa!

In the 4 days I was there, I gained 3 pounds! Here are some of the food highlights from my trip.

My first meal was lunch at Artisan Bistro in Lafayette (a small town between the city and Napa that I like to use as home base). I started with an organic heirloom tomato salad with feta cheese on a bed of arugula that was dressed with pesto and balsamic vinegar. The main part of my meal was a croque monsieur (a grown up French grilled cheese sandwich) which was filled with gooey Gruyere cheese and salty ham in between perfectly crisp and golden pieces of bread. I decided to skip dessert since I nibbled on the shoestring fries on my plate.

Believe it or not, I was hungry a few hours later and ate at Il Fornaio in Walnut Creek. I am not sure how I got away with this but at most of the restaurants I went to I was able to get tasting portions of the dishes I ordered. Given that its summer I couldn’t resist the caprese salad with vine ripened tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and as a bonus, olives. My next course was ravioli (made at the restaurant) stuffed with butternut squash and walnuts and served in a tomato sauce with brown butter, parmesan cheese and crispy sage. This was so fantastic that my next course seemed just okay: thinly pounded veal sautéed with sliced artichokes and lemon which was served with potatoes and sautéed vegetables. I continued my feast with dessert: chilled zabaione with fresh berries and peach sorbet which was topped with fresh whipped cream and a cherry! I slept good that night.

Day two was spent mostly in Sausalito. I had a late lunch at Poggio Trattoria. I had plans for a big dinner in the city so I went with a light lunch, a Margherita pizza (tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil) with prosciutto di parma and arugula. The arugula was amazing … it was crisp with a nice peppery bite. It added a nice touch to the pizza which I had with a glass of petite syrah.

After some sightseeing in the city, I had worked up an appetite and was ready for dinner at Epic Roast House on the Embarcadero. The restaurant was right on the water overlooking the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. I got there a bit before the sun went down was took this picture. This is pretty much the view from my table. Again I had tasting portions … I started with a warm spinach salad with bacon and a poached duck egg. For dinner I had the wood oven roasted halibut which was delicious. The fish was light yet firm and was served with fennel on a gratin of potatoes and onions and topped with crispy mushrooms. The highlight of the meal was beignets and coffee. What an amazing presentation. First they brought a latte bowl which they poured in caramel. Then coffee from a French Press was added to the caramel and topped with fresh whipped cream. The beignets were delivered to the table in a paper bag, warm and dusted with powdered sugar. These beignets put Café du Monde to shame. A nice Merry Edwards Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley helped with digestion.

Day three was focused on wine more than food. However, I did start the day with a latte and glazed donut from the Oakville Grocery … I needed a solid base for all the wine I would be tasting. Four wineries later I had to get real food in me and stopped for lunch at Go Fish on Main Street in St. Helena. I went for quantity (and quality) starting with the shrimp cocktail, then a taste of the crispy calamari that was served with a lime aioli and finished with a half of the citrus chipotle chicken breast sandwich. No dessert and just water.

By the time I got to the last winery, I was so excited by their cheese plate I had to get it … it was three cheese (a sharp cheddar, brie and goat cheese), roasted almonds, dried apricots and dried pears and cashews served with melba toast. What a nice pairing with the champagnes I was drinking. By the end of the day, I dragged myself back to the hotel and had a Reuben and a beer and called it a night.

Most of my last day was spent at the pool with beer and salty snacks. For dinner I went back to Walnut Creek and ate at Lark Creek. I was intrigued with the blue cheese soufflé so I ordered that in the name of research. Note to self: must reverse engineer the recipe for that. It was fantastic. While it had the texture of a traditional soufflé, it was brought to the table in about 10 minutes and was delicious ... not overly blue cheesey … plus it was served with baby arugula dressed with a cherry-balsamic vinaigrette. I opted for the half portion of the bacon wrapped meatloaf which came with horseradish mashed potatoes and sautéed wax beans. Beans, schmeans. I left those on the plate to save room for dessert. Since they did minis … I tried both the butterscotch pudding and chocolate cream pie. While both of them were delicious, the butterscotch pudding won hands down. Another note to self: perfect butterscotch pudding. I was on a merlot kick from the day before so I drank the Twenty Rows Merlot with dinner. I slept good that night too.

Then I got on a plane the next day and came home 3 pounds heavier. I can see why now.

Stay tuned for the wines I tasted in Napa.

Cooking Catalog Humor

2009-05-28T21:23:00.003-04:00

While most women flip through clothing catalogs filled with the latest styles, I get my giggles from thumbing through cooking catalogs. As I was flipping through the Spring 2009 issue of The Good Cook catalog, I noticed something about the inside cover had changed. Was it the editor’s hairdo? No. She’s had that for a while. Glasses? Don’t think so … but I never really looked that close before. Then I took a closer look at her opening message. It was written in verse … she had rewritten the words to the song “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. Here’s what she(Beth Goehring, Editor-in-Chief) had to say (hum along ... it works):

Bubbly lasagna and hot, buttered bread,
Peppery T-bone and pimento spread,
Fresh guacamole and salsa and chips,
This is the comfort I put to my lips.

Spicy shrimp gumbo and clove-studded ham,
Buttermilk biscuits and blueberry jam,
Choc’late chip cookies and homemade ice-cream,
These are the calories of which I dream.

When it’s raining, when the kids fight, when the bills are due,
I put on my apron and open the wine and make up a big beef stew!

While that alone was worth reading, I continued to scan the pages of cookbooks. Most of them I had seen before, except for the gem on page 9 titled “The Cracker Kitchen”. I did a double take and then skimmed the description to see if it was an experiment with Ritz, Saltines and the like. No siree bob. It was “A Cookbook in Celebration of Cornbread-Fed, Down Home Family Stories and Cuisine” by Janis Owens. Alrighthy then. Moving on.

By page 19, I learned that according to the Washington Post, Corinne Trang, author of Noodles Every Day is “the Julia Child of Asian cuisine”. Good to know. I wonder what the Asian version of Julia’s vanilla pound cake tastes like? Probably not the same. A few pages later, I discovered there’s a cookbook titled “365: Dish a Day” and the authors were thorough enough to add an extra recipe for leap years.

My final bit of entertainment was towards the end of the catalog. The cookbook is titled “The Pleasure Is All Mine: Selfish Food for Modern Life”. Here’s the image of the cover. Check out the dress, stilettos and wine bottle.

This gal knows how to have a good time … by herself … as the title says.

Todd-isms

2009-05-24T16:01:00.002-04:00

If you haven't attended a wine tasting at our shop then you've missed out on some great wines and yummy nibbles (in my humble opinion). If you haven't attended a wine tasting hosted by Todd from The Country Vintner then you've missed some great unscripted one-liners we like to call Toddisms.

Todd hosted our very first wine tasting back in November of 2007. We were featuring the wines of Catena Zapata of Argentina who produces the Alamos labels. We were on our first wine, the Alamos Viognier, which Todd described as "a melange of fruit cocktail" and compared it to "Fruity Pebbles". Once we stopped laughing, we commented that it should be illegal to use a sophisticated word like melange in the same sentence as fruit cocktail. I think we bring that up every time we see him.

His next gem came during the Old World New World tasting we did last year in which he stated "the dollar is in the crapper" as we tried to justify the pricing on some of the French wines we were tasting compared to their counterparts from around the world.

I don't remember which tasting this next classic comes from but it maybe his best so far. As he's pondering the back label of the wine bottle, he calmly announces that the wine has 14.5% alcohol which he then follows up with "a good date wine". The room gets quiet ... all eyes are focused on him ... he looks up ... he realizes what we're thinking ... and the backpedaling begins. "That's not what I meant ..." Right. What did you mean? Now at every tasting he does, we ask what the alcohol percentage is and make sure we put a star next to all the date wines.

This last Toddism comes from the Spain and Portugal tasting we did a couple weeks ago. We were tasting a fantastic Spanish red which he declared " ... was so good it was wrong". I think that too was a date wine!

And if you're wondering if there are any Lindaisms, there is just one. When asked how come my grilled sausages were so moist, I answered (without thinking obviously) that "I never poke the sausage". Really.

Torn between two …. Waiters?

2009-05-06T20:30:00.003-04:00

To say that I have a lot of quirks is an understatement. I want certain things done a certain way … especially when it comes to food and wine. While I can control quality, timing, presentation and (to some degree) service in my own home, it is harder to do at a restaurant. I’m finding the consistency I look for in all these areas at Positano at Birkdale. I absolutely love the place. The food is delicious, the meal is never rushed, the presentation is flawless and the service is the best I’ve experienced in a while.

I’ve eaten there about 4 or 5 times in the past couple of months (rare for me who likes to try new places) and all of the times except Monday night Michael was our waiter. He served us the first time and we keep asking for him when we return. Michael is knowledgeable, patient and efficient. He knows the menu, knows what’s fresh and knows what goes with the wine we’ve selected. He’s good. He won’t rush us and will even take care of us at an inside table when his tables are outside. This plus he tolerates John’s corny jokes about Italian sea bass goes a long way.

Well Michael had the night off last night. The nerve of him – needing time off. We wanted to try the Chef’s Dinner (4 course for $20 Monday to Thursday) and had Andrea (think Bocelli) as our waiter. He’s a bit younger than Michael and a whole lot sassier … which we liked! He too had a good command of the menu and the wine list. But he scored brownie points by offering a wine that was not on the list … Poggio ai Ginepri … a awesome combination of cabernet, merlot and syrah … attractively priced at $46 a bottle (which was half off since it was Monday night … SWEET!). Also in his favor, he speaks Italian (he’s from Sicily but I would not have guessed). Of course we tried out the few Italian words and phrases we knew and he corrected our pronunciation. I think he even smirked when we started referring to John as Giovanni.

The food was delicious as usual … we opted not to go for the Chef’s Menu (mista salad, rigatoni in a cream sauce, salmon piccata and crème caramel) and tried new things on the menu. The food flowed with the conversation and Andreas anticipated every need. Another great meal. So here’s the dilemma … who should I ask for the next time I eat at Positano? Michael or Andrea? We mentioned to Andreas that we felt like cheated on Michael and was torn. His response was sassy and not entirely appropriate for a family blog like this!

If you’re interested in the Chef’s Dinner, the menu choices change every night. Call after 5:30 for what’s being served. The number is 704-896-2979 (I think I’m embarrassed that I have it memorized).

My First Time ... Gnocchi

2009-04-05T20:41:00.003-04:00

DISCLAIMER: Barf Story Ahead!

I've been wondering what to write about lately... having a bit of writer's block (if you can call this writing). So last night as I'm recounting each of the few times I've eaten gnocchi to my friend John, he suggests I share the story so here goes.

My first time eating gnocchi (pronunced NYOH-kee or NOH-kee) was at small Italian restaurant on Lincoln Road Mall in South Beach with my friend Susan who was visting from Houston. I had eaten there many times and was looking to try something new on the menu ... so I choose gnocchi ... Italian "dumplings," usually made from potatoes and flour. It was served in a light basil sauce that tasted okay enough at the restuarant. My stomach was a bit queasy that night but I didn't think too much of it. Susan and I were going diving in the Florida Keys the next day.

So off we went to Keys, got on the dive boat and went diving. Let me tell you, it is possible to throw up underwater and I did during the first dive ... the regulator came out of my mouth like a torpedo. Luckily, I'd been diving enough times not to panic and not to make the rookie mistake of putting the regulator right back into my mouth. Calmly, I caught the regulator with my right hand, waved it about the water a couple of times, put it back in my mouth, exhaled and then took my first breath. I finished that first dive, figured I'd feel better underwater than on the boat and did the second dive. I haven't been diving since.

The next time I ate gnocchi, I made it myself in cooking school. It was fairly easy to make -- we had some left over baked potatoes which we put through a potato ricer, added some egg, flour, parmesan cheese and other seasonings to make a dough. We rolled the dough into long thin strips and then used a fork to cut and roll them into what looked like one inch pillows. They cooked quickly and then we sauteed them with olive oil and garlic. It was ok but nothing to brag about.

My next experience with gnocchi was at Dolce in Dilworth. They only make it on Tuesday nights and I could never really understand the big fuss ... until last night. John and I were at Positano (again) and were looking to share a pasta. They just updated their menu and offered gnocchi flavored with spinach. It was fantastic ... each gnocco was light and tender ... almost cloudlike. It was served with cherry tomato sauce with soft sauteed onions. Delicious. I can't wait to go back and have it again ... and they offer it every night!

Dinner at Positano (Birkdale Village)

2009-03-02T18:54:00.002-05:00

When I decided to move to Miami I had three criteria for my new home. First, it had to be close to an international airport in case I wanted a quick getaway. Second, the beach had to be no more than three hours away for when I got homesick for the beach. And third, there had to be good restaurants.

I made in the move in 2002 and have not been disappointed so far. Back then, fine dining was limited to Charlotte and South Park. Chain restaurants were the only options between exits 18 and 25 and the choices in Mooresville were Big Daddy's (for fried seafood), Midway Marina for breakfast (still on plastic plates) and Applebees (for a Ricky Bobby family night experience).

The choices are getting better in Mooresville (Soiree and Carusos) but even better at Birkdale. Not able to get seated at Dresslers this past Saturday night, my friend John and I ended up at Positano across the street. The 40 minute at the bar flew by as we sipped on a glass of Italian Chardonnay (should've gone with the Pinot Grigio) and munched on the (complimentary) crispy potato chips that called out to us from it's big silver bowl. The menu was simple, broken down into three main sections: appetizers and salads, pastas and mare e terra (sea and land). John is a great dining companion who doesn't mind sharing. This is a good trait to have in a friend for a couple of reasons. First, if you don't like what you ordered you could always eat theirs and second, by sharing you can try more new things. And that's what we did (and always do).

Before we ordered, the waiter (a patient man named Michael) brought us crusty bread with a white bean tapenade that was quite yummy. The crust of the bread was perfect for scooping up the beans and the softer inside of the bread was handy for soaking up the remaining olive oil on our plates. With that out of the way, we moved on to beef carpaccio, thin slices of raw beef with a heap of arugula piled on top dressed in what they called truffle aioli and finished with shaved parmesan. The beef was good, but the pepperiness of arugula combined with the sweet yet lemony taste of the aioli was heavenly.

We then shared the bucatini with pancetta, caramelized onions and pecorino cheese. They were kind enough to bring out two separate bowls of pasta so we didn't have to fight on who got more. The pasta is a thick noodle with hole in the middle (like a skinny macaroni). It was cooked al dente and the sauce was the right consistency to cling to the pasta. The tomato sauce was a balance of salty (from the cheese and pancetta) and sweet from the tomatoes and onions. I almost licked my plate clean (but we were in a nice restaurant). Veal Saltimbocca was next ... which is thin slices of beef, covered with a thin slice of prosciutto which hides the single sage leaf that adds tons of flavor. This was good but we were more impressed by the side of potatoes and caramelized onions. After all this, we still had room for dessert. Two ... bread pudding (which was flavored with figs and other dried fruit but was too dense for my liking) and toasted almond gelato. It was not too sweet and not too soft and had a little bit of texture (most likely from the ground almonds).

In addition to the great food, we had excellent service. Michael as I mentioned was very patient (despite our jokes about the daily special of Italian flounder) and did not rush us through the meal. Since we were going to Dresslers we brought our own wine which we were able to enjoy at Positano (no fuss, no roll of the eyes, nothing). And throughout our meal, Micheal and someone named David (he must be important) came by a couple times to see how we liked things and chit chat for a couple of minutes.

This was a great way to wind down to week especially without breaking the bank.

Tiny Bubbles

2009-02-04T21:01:00.005-05:00

Disclaimers: I use Champagne in reference to the real deal from Champagne, France and champagne as a generic term for sparkling wine. I use "I" a lot since this is purely my opinion and NOT a scientific essay on bubbly.

While most people drink champagne to celebrate special occasions, I tend to agree with Napoleon who said “In victory, you deserve Champagne, in defeat, you need it”. I find that a decent glass of Champagne will make a good time better and make a bad situation tolerable!

Bad

I didn’t start out liking Champagne. My first experience was probably a sip at a wedding in one of those silly old fashioned glasses with the wide shallow bowl (called a coupe). It was probably not even real Champagne (that is from the Champagne region of France) but some cheap knock off that will give you a headache faster than if the Road Runner dropped an anvil on your head. I remember my turning point – a bottle of Perrier-Jouët Rose some 16 or so years ago. It was a bit pricey for what I expected the experience to be but after the first sip I was hooked. I started broadening my champagne experience from there. In fact, during my first visit to Napa Valley I only visited champagne houses.

So what do I like in Champagne? Pretty much everything. I like Champagne (from Champagne, France) as well as the sparking wines from the other regions of France (cremant), Spain (Cava), Italy (Proscecco) and the US (sparkling wine). I like bubbly made from all white grapes (blanc de blanc), all black grapes (blanc de noir e.g. Pinot Noir) and Rose (where the skin is left on for a short time during fermentation to add color and depth). I like brut (some sugar), extra dry (more sugar) and can appreciate a demi-sec (most sugar) for dessert. I let the situation, food and/or mood dictate the champagne selection.

Good

I think every civilized meal should start with a glass of champagne and I enjoy that first glass with a savory appetizer usually something with a salty cheese like blue, feta, goat or Parmesan. Olives, prosciutto, salami and pate are good choices too. I’ve been known to have a glass of champagne by myself while waiting for someone and see no shame in that. I am picky about the stemware that champagne is served in and am biased towards the Fine flutes from Schott Zwiesel. I love to see the tiny bubbles originate from the center of the glass and float to the top. I have been brazen enough to tell a couple fine dining restaurants in Charlotte that their flutes sucked (they did!). Every chance I get, I practice opening the bottle so that it sounds like a sigh when the cork comes out and think that the shaking and subsequent spouting of perfectly good champagne at sporting events should be considered a crime.

Here are some of my memorable champagne moments. I celebrated the turn of the century with my family and a bottle of Dom Perignon that I picked up at Moët et Chandon in Epernay when I visited in the summer of 1999. I celebrated my 40th birthday with a bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte Palme d'Or at Mickey and Mooch (that I paid for). And I celebrated getting through last Saturday with a bottle of Gruet Blanc de Noir. See -- every day is an opportunity to drink champagne.

Back from Atlanta!

2009-01-15T19:28:00.003-05:00

Two blog entries so far for January. Not too bad ... let's hope I can keep it up!

Mom and I are back from Atlanta where we had a great time. Here are some of the highlights.

The show itself was awesome. There was a lot more energy than the July show ... part of the reason for this was the addition of a new wing which houses a gourmet kitchen for demonstrations. Celebrity chefs Rocco DiSpirito and Tyler Florence were there to kick off the new kitchen and did cooking demos and book signings. Of course Mom and I stood in line to see them. Rocco did his thing on Friday, which was mostly flirting. We got there late and did not get a signed cookbook but I did get some neat pictures of him. He walked around the audience (to flirt) so I have some close ups. Tyler appeared twice: on Saturday and Sunday. We saw him both times and got cookbooks signed. Mom even got her picture taken with Tyler. He is so HANDSOME.

While at the show we picked up some staples as well as some new pieces from lines/patterns we already carry. We also picked up several new lines that we are so excited about including the Calypso colanders from Reston Lloyd, the Cold Bowl from Prodyne and several of the pads from Knock Knock including Rate that Wine and All Out Of. We took advantage of the special pricing on some of the retired items from Fortessa including steak knives and serving dishes ... which will be even more affordable for you. Our new stuff has started to come in already (and is in the garage) so give us a couple days to get it out.

Of course no trip out of town would be complete without going out to dinner and that we did. On Friday night, we went to Django's Gypsy Kitchen and Saloon. We were expecting fine dining but got neighborhood eclectic. The food was ok and the service was average. It was not a wine place so Mom and I had Red Stripe beers. I'm sure it was the cheapest meal I've had in downtown Atlanta (other than Chick-Fil-A).

Our meal on Saturday night by far made up for Friday night. At the suggestion of a friend, we went to Il Mulino. It was connected to the hotel so the commute was short (and cheap). Everything about the entire experience was AMAZING. The first thing that blew me away was little extras that they provided with the meal ... like the Parmigiano-Reggiano that they served in chunks right from a wedge of the wheel of cheese. Then there was bruschetta and another dish of thinly shaved zucchini slices that were fried and dressed with something that I did not get to figure out. I was too busy eating. At the end of the meal they served the daily grappa. That night it was lemon and the night before it was fig. I wish I could have tasted that.

The service was outstanding. We had one gentleman, Abe, who made sure the tableside service was impeccable. He made sure the appetizers were plated, the water glasses were filled, the wine was topped off, crumbs were swept away before we even noticed they were there, etc. When we ordered dessert, another gentleman stepped in (name unknown as the wine had kicked in) and he did what Abe did but for dessert. Then Abe showed up again and we wrapped up dinner. By far, this is one of my favorite restaurants. I can't wait to go back.

I'm sure I'm leaving out details from the show but I'm hungry now and am going to get something to eat. I'll add updates if I remember anything and post more pictures of Rocco and Tyler on my website.

Ciao!

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-04T20:14:00.002-05:00

I'm not much for making resolutions since I am never able to keep them. It's not that I don't try hard enough ... it's more like I get busy or distracted and their importance seem to lessen over time until it's too late to do anything that will make a difference (at least from my perspective).

Take this blog for instance. I haven't updated it since last July ... that was six months ago. A lot has happend since then ... I've made new friends, cooked and eaten great food with family and friends, drank some pretty darn good juice (wine), tried new restaurants and laughed a whole lot!

There's a lot I didn't do too ... like I didn't get to try as many new recipes as I wanted to and some of my cooking magazines are still in the plastic mailing wrapper and I still don't have my recipes organized (electronically or printed). The list goes on ....

Anyway, this year I am going to try to be better keeping the blog current. I'm not sure I have all that much to say that might be interesting to others but maybe it'll keep me more organized. For example, I couldn't remember what I cooked last New Year's Eve so I'm going to recap this year's experience below.

I prefer to spend New Year's Eve close to home with family and friends. This way, I can eat and drink as much as I want and be close to my bed when the time comes. In the past, I've done a series of appetizers on the hour starting at 7pm and ending with dessert close to midnight, pairing wine with each appetizer. I find that this approach keeps me awake until midnight and prepping the various courses makes the time go by fast. Here's what we had, course by course:

1. Bruschetta with crostini and jalapeno pimento cheese with crostini
2. Stone crab claws with mustard sauce
3. Prosciutto wrapped melon
4. Clams casino and stuffed mushroom caps (with the same "goober" we used for the clams)
5. Roasted red peppers with fresh mozarella and basil leaves drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
6. Baby lamb chops
7. Cheesecake tartlets with pineapple topping

We started with champagne, went on to sparking wine from Sonoma, then had reds from California and Argentina and wrapped up with more sparkling wine from Napa. It was a great way to end the year!

Tyler Florence is Smokin' Hot!

2008-07-16T22:13:00.009-04:00

Mom and I went to Atlanta this past weekend to do the buying for fall and the holidays. Yep, it's kinda weird buying peppermint and snowball stuff in the middle July when it's hot and humid but that's what the retail industry does.

Anyhow, I digress. Tyler Florence was one of the main attractions at the show (as they call it). He did an hour long cooking demonstration with lots of questions and answers, followed by a book signing. I took lots of pictures, none of which do him justice. Not only is he handsome, he is very funny and extremely friendly and personable! What a neat guy!

He has new cook book out called "Tyler's Ultimate" from which he made these recipes:

- Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Salsa Verde

- Roasted Potato Salad

Mom and I were lucky enough to get a copy signed by him and chat for a quick minute. He's been very busy lately ... in addition to the TV and cookbook thing, he's gotten married, had a baby and has another one on the way and, he's opened a retail cooking store in Mill Valley, CA.

Check out his site: http://www.tylerflorence.com/main.html

Here's some of the photos I took:

Check us out in Lake Norman Magazine!

2008-07-16T22:05:00.003-04:00

So, after being selected as the best "Gourmet cooking supply shop" by Charlotte Magazine, we had to tell someone. So we told Lake Norman Magazine ... and they printed a little blurb on us!

Here's what they had to say about us:

"Kitchen shop named area’s best

Gourmet on the Run in Mooresville’s Morrison Plantation has been named Best Gourmet Cooking Supply Shop by Charlotte Magazine. The store was recognized for its eclectic collection of gourmet food, wine, kitchen gadgets and other must have accessories for cooking and entertaining.

The shop is owned by mother-and-daughter team Silvia Rodriguez and Linda Butt. Rodriguez manages the day-to-day operations, and Butt handles the food and wine side of the business, which includes cooking classes and wine tastings.

For more information, visit www.gourmetontherun.com or call 704-696-0030. "

They used my photo with Mom's name. Here's a link to the write-up:http://www.surfthelake.com/2008/200807-84.html

Charlotte Magazine Best of the Best Award!

2008-07-16T21:57:00.002-04:00

I know it. I'm a terrible blogger. I'm not consistent ... I promise to be better!

I hope everyone is having a terrific summer! Our summer got off to a very nice start. Much to our surprise, Charlotte Magazine selected us as the best "Gourmet cooking supply shop" in this year's Best of the Best (BoB) awards which was printed in the May 2008 issue.

Here's what they had to say about us:
"There's more to Mooresville than NASCAR. Family owned and full of products any kitchen would welcome, Gourmet on the Run has an eclectic variety of accessories (love the heavy-duty measuring cups and adorable polka dot martini glasses), appliances, party ware (grab the Village Dip Chiller), and ingredients for every type of chef. The recently remodeled in-store demo kitchen is home to cooking classes and wine tastings ($15-$40), on most Saturdays."

Here's a link to the article: http://www.charlottemagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3071&Itemid=406

The Ankle Biters

2008-06-15T19:21:00.003-04:00

For months now you've heard Mom and I talk about the puppies, especially how cute and mischievous they are. Here's how we spent this afternoon!
http://www.gourmetontherun.com/images/Dog_Days_of_Summer.pdf

What Goes With Easter Ham? Cooking Class

2008-04-01T20:39:00.002-04:00

Where can I find culinary lavender?
You can order culinary lavender from my friend Trina's website: http://www.havenhilllavender.com/

She has lots of great lavender products including lavender honey! YUM!

If you need it in a hurry try the Home Economist in Davidson.

Cab Ride Around the World Wine Tasting

2008-04-01T20:34:00.002-04:00

Date: March 27th, 2008

Wines Tasted:

France: Chateau le Grand Verdus 2003
Argentina: Felipe Rutini 2004
Australia: Elderton Barossa 2003 (rated 90 points by Wine Spectator)
Chile: Conosur Vision 2006
South Africa: Stark Conde 2005 (rated 90 points by Wine Spectator)
Napa: Chappellet Mountain Cuvee 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Superbowl Man Food

2008-02-12T20:42:00.001-05:00

We started off the year with a charitable event - a cooking class to raise money for the Dove House, a safe house for abused children located in Statesville.

Over dinner with our familes one night between Christmas and New Year's, John Browning, a neighbor and long time customer and I were discussing our favorite dip recipes. Since there were beers involved, it didn't take too long before a challenge was issued. While we still can't agree on just who challenged who, that night we did agree to fashion the class after Iron Chef. We would have one hour to prepare our favorite dip and chili recipes. Even though we did not have a "secret ingredient" as the real Iron Chef's do, totally by coincidence we both used Hormel Chil (no beans) in our dip recipes.

We held the battle at the store on January 26th, a week before Super Bowl and had about 20 old and new friends participate. John wowed the crowd with his Dog Food Dip which he served in mini tortilla shells and went all gourmet by making his own chili powder and using a pressure cooker to soften his stew beef. I underestimated my challenger and made my favorite queso dip which I served with Fritos Scoops and did a spicy chili with ground beef.

Once the results were in, our chilis tied but the crowd preferred John's dip over mine. So with Battle Super Bowl Man Food, John has the advantage ... at least until the next battle!

Here are some of the pictures from the event which we raised $360!
http://www.gourmetontherun.com/images/Super_Bowl_Man_Food.pdf

Thanks to all for supporting the Dove House and for helping us have a great time!

We're Legal!

2008-02-12T20:35:00.000-05:00

And have been for the past 3 weeks. We finally passed final inspection on January 22nd. After waiting for so long for that last little step, I have to say the moment wasn't all that I expected ... the inspector didn't even come out to the store and update the little orange card ... he passed it online! Ha!

99% Complete!

2007-11-25T20:33:00.000-05:00

There's a good reason I haven't posted an update in almost three weeks ... I've been busy with the kitchen and the newsletter.

The counter tops went in as scheduled and it didn't look like I thought it would. The color was great but it was the size and shape that threw me off. It looked like a big, brown t-shirt. It's grown on me since though and I think it looks good against the floors and cabinets. That same day, the cooktop was put in, as well as the sink and faucet.

The appliances were picked up the day after which freed up space in the garage but cluttered up the store. They pretty much stayed where they were in the store until last Monday (11/19) when the hood was installed. Then we came to a standstill and I almost lost it ... the ovens were too big for the cabinets and cabinets were too small for the ovens. I was about ready to start crying like a girl when my trustee designer from Lowes, Nelson King, told us that we had to cut out holes in the cabinets to make the ovens fit. And they did ... by 6:30 that night, both ovens were in place, so was the refrigerator and new lights shining down on my big, brown t-shirt.

The next day, Tuesday, Debbie, Bernice and I cleaned and dusted for at least 8 hours. Keith came by and installed the microwave and taped up some stuff for painting. On Wednesday, the electricians, Brian and Joey came by and finished hooking up the appliances to the new electrical panel. Keith came by and finished trimming the microwave and Debbie, Bernice and I cleaned and dusted some more.

By mid-day on Wednesday, we started bringing in the holiday merchandise and spent most of Wednesday night, some of Thursday and all day Friday and Saturday resetting the store for Christmas. It looks pretty good but needs tweaking. The counter tops are covered with merchandise that we don't have room for but I'm hoping to rearrange the displays before end of week. Our stools were delivered on Friday and blends in with the floors and counters.

Barring no issues, we should have final inspections wrapped up by mid week and be ready for our first cooking class, Open House and wine tasting starting this weekend!

I don't have any recent photos ... the camera has dust on it! I'll take some in the next day or so.

Counter tops in one week!

2007-11-06T22:26:00.000-05:00

The counter tops will be installed next Tuesday, November 13th, first thing in the morning. Once they are in place, Mike and Keith will install the appliances and get the final inspections wrapped up.

There hasn't been a lot of significant change in the past week. Most of the holes in the walls have been closed up. Tomorrow Keith will close up the ceiling. The hood still needs to be installed as well as the water heater. These should be taken care of before the counter tops are put in.

After a few days of stressing (what else is new), I finally found the bar stools that I wanted. I looked every where -- locally and on the internet and then looked again some more. I finally narrowed down my search to: a counter height stool (24 inches without a cushion and 26 inches with a cushion) made of wood with a dark stain and a simple back. Once I knew what I was looking for I couldn't find it at a decent price in the time frame that I needed. And then ... it hit me ... Bernice's son-in-law, Blaine, is in the business. He and his family own Brawley Furniture in downtown Mooresville. I spent less than 30 minutes with him last Friday and got everything squared away.

Here's what the counter stool looks like. I think it's much better looking in person! As soon as the hood and counters are in, I'll post more pictures.

AND GUESS WHAT?
I'm working on the schedule for cooking classes and wine tasting through the end of the year! WHOO HOO!

Cabinets are in!

2007-10-25T20:04:00.000-04:00

I am so excited! It's finally beginning to take shape.

Mike and Keith picked up the cabinets from our garage this morning and spent most of the afternoon installing them. I was worried that the rain would impact the schedule but it did not. Here are the pictures I promised.

This is what you'll see when you first walk in. The counter is basically a large T shape. At the top of the T, we'll install a cooktop and 30" oven. We'll use the cabinets to store all of our supplies for cooking classes and wine tastings. Check out the box hanging from the ceiling. The hood will be attached to it. You can also see the new and old electrical panels on the far wall (as well as some of the mess).

This is the back wall. The cabinet next to the door will hold a 27" oven and a microwave. The sink will be next to that cabinet, followed by the dishwasher and the fridge.

This is the front view. Most of the cooking will happen behind the top of the T and most of the eating and wathcing will happen along the sides and bottom of the T.

Countertop guy is scheduled to come in to measure between 9 am and 1 pm tomorrow. I should get a better feel for the timeline once I hear back from them.

Stay tuned for more details ... there's more dry walling in our future and the installation of a water heater and a garbage disposal ahead of us!

Things are happening!

2007-10-24T22:18:00.000-04:00

It's been exactly one week since construction started and we've made a lot of progress. There are more holes in the wall and wires and pipes coming out of the ceiling and walls. It's a sight for sore eyes!

The larger electrical panel was installed today and power was out for at least 7 hours (sorry Hilary and Rainey). I'm not sure what's going to happen with the older, smaller electrical panel. Does is stay in the wall? Do we sell it on eBay? What?

The first few pieces of the hood is in place too. It has been retrofitted to meet fire department specs so I'm not sure how pretty it's going to look but at this point I don't care about pretty. As soon as it's up, I'll post pictures.

Tomorrow the cabinets will be installed. This will help me finalize the layout of the store and consolidate some of the displays so that we make the most of the space left. I think this will be the turning point ... where we finally start seeing the outline of the kitchen.

On Friday, the counter top people will measure to make sure what we spec'd out at Lowes was accurate and they'll make templates which they take back to the shop and cut the materials. I'm putting in Zodiaq quartz which is made by DuPont who also makes Corian. Zodiaq offers the beauty and longevity of granite but does not require the ongoing maintenance. It should take 2-3 weeks before the counter tops are brought back for installation. Once they're in, Mike and his crew will pop in the appliances and we will be ready to cook!

It's looking like we should be done on 11/16 and I may do the first class during Thanksgiving week. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes as planned!

Caution! Hard Hat Required

2007-10-18T20:01:00.000-04:00

Construction is finally underway! The fun started yesterday, October 17th and should continue for the next week or so. It took so long to get the permit, I had to take a picture of it to make sure it was real.

So here's an overview of what's is being done.

The plumber cut into the back wall where the main water and sewer connection is. He has to do his magic (this is not technical plumber jargon) on the pipes so that we can install a water heater and the connections for the sink, refrigerator and garbage disposal. His work has to be inspected before we close the hole up.

While the plumber is working on the back wall, the electrican is working on the side wall and the ceiling. He needs to install a bigger panel so that we have enough circuits for the appliances that we are putting in. This panel will replace the smaller one on the side wall. The hole in the ceiling is for power to the hood and cooktop and for connecting the hood to the sprinkler system.

Almost everything in the store is covered with plastic to protect it from the dust and debris and all of our displays and shelves are crammed together towards the front of the store. We'll stay open during the construction to let people know what's going on but don't expect a whole lotta browsing.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates as construction continues ...

We have a PERMIT!

2007-10-10T23:29:00.000-04:00

Yeah! I got a call from Mike (the contractor) today that he picked up the building permit. This means we can start construction. First step is to get the plumber in ... hopefully this will happen in the next few days.

Stay tuned for photos and updates!

The Appliances are Here!

2007-10-09T21:19:00.000-04:00

Oops! I did it again. It's been three weeks since my last blog.

We are finally making progress! Whoo hoo!! After the last post, we faced another hurdle. Since April of this year new state rules are in effect for cooking schools which requires the health department to review building permits/plans for cooking schools. After speaking with the local health inspector to understand the new guidelines and tweaking my approach to the classes, we got approval to move forward from the health department. We've also found a way to modify the hood we've selected to meet the fire department's requirements. We're waiting for final approval and the actual building permit.

In the meantime, I had to take delivery of the appliances. They arrived yesterday and are stored in my garage right next to the cabinets and all the merchandise we bought for fall and the holidays. If I don't get the permit soon, I may have to hold a garage sale. We decided on stainless steel Kitchen Aid appliances which I'm very excited about. We'll have two ovens, a cook top, a full size dishwasher, an overhead hood, a microwave and a refrigerator. I feel like I compromised on the refrigerator ... I really wanted side by side with water and ice maker but had to settle for one that has the top and bottom doors because of space issues.

Let's hope my next post is soon and it's good news = permit!

Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

2007-08-20T20:30:00.000-04:00

I was gently reminded last week that the purpose of a blog is to provide timely and frequent updates on the selected topic and that I was failing miserably at being a blogger. So here goes ... if I start boring you please let me know.

I was so excited a couple weeks ago ... we were finally moving forward with the kitchen and then I got the one, two punch. First the cabinet company called to say that the cabinets were here and asked when they could deliver. Here already? How could that be? It was supposed to take at least one week to get to Charlotte and then the delivery company could hold them at their location for two weeks. They are still sitting in storage somewhere and I've been avoiding the delivery company calls like they were the IRS. I'm going to have to take delivery by this Friday and probably store them in my garage.

The second hit was from the building permit department. The fire department wants me to install a self extinguishing hood in case of fire. If I was putting in a commerical kitchen or a restaurant this would make sense but not for a demonstration kitchen. The options are very expensive and nothing so far is feasible with the space we have. At this point, I'm not sure how we're going to solve this. My contractor is diligently looking into alternatives ... I may have to scale back on my initial plans if we can't find a way to make this work.

On a positive note, the appliances have been ordered. There was a scare with that too (all of this happened on the same day!) but it worked out in the end. I need to take delivery of the appliances before end of September or else cancel the order with Kitchen Aid.

Needless to say, I am stressed out. I've been dreaming about this for so long it's gotta happen. Keep your fingers crossed and send good thoughts my way.

Will keep you posted,

Linda

We have a plan!

2007-08-07T20:48:00.000-04:00

Finally. The architect's office wrapped up the plan last Friday (August 3rd). It is now being reviewed by the county so that we can get a permit for the renovations. The estimated time for the permit is about 3 weeks ... which takes us to the end of August.

The cabinets are in transit and should arrive in about 1 week. Yes, that poses a slight problem but the delivery company should be able to hold them for about 2 weeks. My next task is to order the appliances which takes about 3 weeks for delivery. If all goes well, the electrician, plumber, drywaller and carpenter should be wrapping up their handiwork before the applicances arrive. If not, it'll be like fittin' 10 lbs of sugar in a 5 lb sack!

My best guess for the kitchen to be ready is mid September ... perfect time to take advantage of the cooler weather, the fall harvest and red wine!

Many thanks to Mike, my contractor, for his patience as I try to apply my technology project management skills to this effort.

In the begininng ...

2007-06-14T23:45:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Gourmet on the Run blog. Check here periodically for updates on the construction of our kitchen which is being built for cooking classes.

I'm very excited about this HUGE step. So here's where we are as of today. The contract has been signed with the contractor and we are waiting for the architect for drawings. I've also placed the order for kitchen cabinets and countertops.

Here's a sample of what the countertops and cabinets will look like:

We have selected KitchenAid appliances and have been working with an awesome team from WhirlPool Corporation, the parent of KitchenAid.

This kitchen has been over two and a half years in the making. Here are some photos that shows our progress:

Check back often for updates and more photos!

Linda