Time on my hands...

Well, what’s a food blogger to do to while away the endless hours while quarantined?  

According to The Thane of Cawdor:

"There would have been a time for such a word.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time…"

(Did I ever mention that I played him in our Senior Play in High school? I loved that…)

Maybe the Feeder will resort to more frequent and shorter tales.

Like this: Julia

A loyal reader sent me a note a day or so ago alerting me that on Friday (the third) our PBS (Channel Three) was going to carry “The French Chef” her original cooking show wherein she throws around flounders, chickens, etc.  They were fantastic… So, we managed to stay awake until after ten last night (more on that in a moment) to watch.  Well, guess what? PBS had to polish the diamond.  Basically, it was turned into a talk show featuring Jose Andres and Éric Ripert, two Michelin starred chefs.  Well, they were in a little TV panel inset up in the right hand corner of the screen, showing them at a table; while Julia was relegated to a similar panel in the lower left.  She would bone a flounder, and both gents had to comment on that with gratuitous quips and clever remarks etc., Interesting, but certainly not what I expected.  I would have thought at least Jose would have more respect, and Julia frequented Eric's famous restaurant. the program was certainly not what I expected.  Probably won’t be watching any more episodes!

Technical note:  The Feeder thought “the hell with this, I’ll just watch the real thing!” and cycled over to NETFLIX (and ultimately Amazon Prime).  After a long and frustrating search I finally found “The French Chef” all right and could watch it for a mere $2.99.  I did notice yesterday that PBS also carries “In Julia’s Kitchen” sporadically, with no fee.

Unexpected Gem

But the real reward of the night was the second edition of the program we stumbled on while waiting for the First Julia circus. It is called “Somewhere South” and hosted by Vivian Howard an award winning author of “Deep Run Roots - Stories and Recipes from my Corner of the South” which won among other awards: Cookbook of the Year, Julia Child First Book Award, Outstanding Restaurant Cookbook, and Outstanding Cookbook in the General Category.  PBS (accurately) describes it as “Each episode of “Somewhere South” explores the connectivity of a single dish, and the ways people of different backgrounds interpret that dish while expressing the complex values, identities, and histories that make up the American South.” When we began with episode one (Hand Pies) last week we thought, “oh yeah another cutesy TV chef” WRONG!  Vivian makes it not all about her, but successfully brings out the real character of Southern Cooks (maybe as opposed to “chefs”) mostly African Americans who have inconspicuously cooked in small establishments for years.  Although taking place in eastern South Carolina, Charleston and its glitterati are generally brushed over.  Friday night’s episode (number two) was dubbed “Porridge for the Soul” mostly about grits and the varied way they are used and prepared.  She also explores the differences between Southern and soul food, and features the Geeche Gullah culture, centered locally in the Georgia Sea Islands.  Fascinating stuff.  The Feeder HIGHLY recommends watching this instead of the sleazy exploitation of Julia. 

To Market, to market

With the coming of Spring, ‘tis time for the local Farm Markets to open for people to obtain locally grown, organic, sustainable food products.  And since spring apparently is paying no attention to the Calendar, many things are already becoming available.  However, comma, COVID-19 is interfering with (and highly disrupting) our normal enjoyment and celebration of the annual renewal of life.  Ever resourceful, they have joined the “take away” scheme and have opened on that basis, apparently long awaited and well received.

Local Farms

offering lovely food stuff, both “fresh”

As well as preserved (for the long haul – hopefully not to the last syllable of recorded time)

Photos courtesy of SMC department of Economic Development

And for the time being, we’ll modify our normal closing to:

DFTV (The Virus) which means, dear people: WEAR YOUR DAMN MASK AND GLOVES WHEN YOU GO OUT AND HONOR SPACE BETWEEN PEOPLE!!

When so attired during her trip to Giant the other day, MFO reported NOBODY else did.  No wonder the death rate is rising exponentially.

Getting back aboard...

Well, hello there!.. this may break the longest streak of “no feeders” ever.  Life,  Oyster festivals, dog trials, that kind of stuff, somehow always get in the way, plus I try to adhere to Thumper’s admonishment of: “If you can’t say something {Interesting}. Don’t say nuthin’ at all”.  Some might say I have violated that for years.  

While I try to keep my health stuff out of these columns, it does impact my feeder duties, for instance, going to a restaurant is physically difficult, and when I get there, I have to eat what I should (sodium), rather than what I want..

As a result, I spend more time sitting and pondering life…. here’s a few things that might be of interest.  

Bean Counters

As you know, I have a jones for Jelly Beans.  So the last time I opened a bag, I thought:  How do they fill these things with all the varying colors? So I made an investigation.

Yellow: 11; White: 8; Red: 12; Black: 16; Purple: 4; Green: 16; Pink: 15; Orange: 16   

Obviously not random.  Can a machine do that?  Does some poor soul sit there “one, two, three”..  by my count there were a total of 98 beans… Black, Green, Orange, with the most (16); down to only four little Purple.  What’s it all mean?  Is there a hidden message?  Some secret code for the Illuminati? Oh, well, munch, munch.  Data collection will continue with the next bag..

Caffeine Fix anybody?

We all know about 5 Hour Energy as we get bludgeoned by those commercials about how you can “stay sharp” all day with just one hit.  Apparently chemical enthusiasm has spread.  We now have another option for that..

Didn’t know you could measure “energy” in milligrams.  I personally have never tried any of those products, afraid I would just sit and vibrate.

Cheesy Education

One of the things we enjoy occasionally during the cocktail hour is Boursin Cheese.  Keeps pretty well, spreads easily, and is available in various “flavors”. MFO brought some home the other day, of the Basil and Chive variety. 

Great.  Well in replenishing the serving portion the other day, I happened to look more closely at the box….. Wait a darned minute!!   What’s that????  Take a look at the label on the bottom

Is that “mistake” intentional?  Did we get a knock off?   What’s the deal?  Well, the feeder is never too old (or infirm – which may be debatable) to learn.  I went to the company’s website and every box is labelled that way (GourNay).  So I dug a little deeper…Here’s the story:

The story of the now famous Boursin Cheese started with one man, François Boursin. In 1957, this young Normandy cheesemaker opened a cheese factory in Croisy-sur-Eure, which is a small commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France.

François worked quietly for years trying to perfect his signature cheese. However, in 1961 a French newspaper mistakenly reported the launch of Boursin infused with garlic, and the public loved the idea. The problem was that François had no such recipe in the works, but he quickly got to work to meet the public’s demand. For two years, he worked on his own original recipe inspired by fromage frais, a traditional party dish blended that blends garlic, fresh cream, soft cheese, herbs, salt and pepper.

Finally, in 1963, François was satisfied with his authentic Gournay cheese and garlic creation, and he introduced it to the world. Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese was served at celebrations and gatherings throughout France, and it quickly became a household name.

Go figure… who knew?

Other aggravations:

Besides my ongoing dislike of the “love car” ads, I’ve added a couple more..

Insuring Stupidity

Progressive insurance company (a rival of Geico and the Gecko) has a series of ads featuring “Flo” a well-meaning but misguided soul in various stupid situations, earnestly idiotic.  Lately they have taken on a campaign of “Don’t become your parents/mother/father”, where some male or female doofus mimics the dotty parent while the spouse looks on disconsolately.  Making fun of the earlier generation seems a bit much.  I, for one, would be proud to “Become my Father”. Wouldn’t buy their product, I’ll vote with the little green guy (who has great commercials)

Hey Alexa!

Okay, I know technology marches on, but it’s getting ridiculous.  There used to be a phrase “the dumbing of America”, well, Amazon, Google, Apple,  seem hell bent on furthering that cause!   No need for education!  Somebody standing with a shriveled brown plant in a pot:   “Hey Alexa!  What does a healthy succulent look like?”   what’s next?  “Hey Google! How do I boil water?”  No need to learn anything, just ask the little device on your counter.

I had another subject of words that should be banned in culinary discussions (adding to the “Y” word and all it’s derivations), but we’ll wait till next time.

I hope you remember you should

DFD and request NMMJ for your table.

Technology

There may be a dark period for the feeder for a bit.   He is going to "upgrade" the laptop (home of the feeder) to Windows 10.  we have already migrated on (this) desktop, and I had a devil of a time getting to the "blogger" site for this heads up.. 

So, I will hold my breath as the laptop goes to the "IT" department. 

Another (laptop) concern is the compatibility with Lightroom which is the poor (not really) man's version of Photoshop.  So, who the hell knows what is going on.   Southern Maryland Blog Support may go on notice!

and just another little rant to start your (holi)day.  Does this happen to you?  You know on the various "bulk" boxes for K-Cups, Cheez Its, AA battery packages, and other products there are little serrations in the cardboard to ostensibly give you a nice little dispenser carton.. Right... Well, try as I might, as careful as I am, INVARIABLY the damn thing rips right down the middle, rendering it useless.  So you have a pile of (whatever) and another candidate for the recycle bin..

TTFN and,

DFD

Here and there...

As we grow older...

Has this ever happened to you?  You decide you need your phone for something important, and reach for it only to find empty space/pocket/clip, whatever you use to attach it to yourself,  and….. it’s empty.. WHERE IS my phone!!??   A room to room search finally turns it up in the bathroom next to the toilet or something.   Yes, you could call it and listen for the ringtone, but that’s something (at least for me) like asking others for directions.  Real men don’t do it.    At any rate, you finally have the cherished phone in hand, and…..you forgot what you wanted it for…  sigh…

Food Section Snippets

We do not subscribe to the WashPo daily edition, but I may have mentioned that a thoughtful neighbor pulls the Wednesday food section and saves it for me.  Usually contains some interesting things in it.  I won’t regurgitate the whole thing, you can do that, but some of the more notable items from the last edition:

Margrit Mondavi passed, at age 91, second wife of Robert. 

Jancis Robinson has published a 112 page “The 24-Hour Wine Expert”, (at a hefty $43 bucks!!) with an aim to provide the basics of wine without all the hype and detail she usually includes in her other works (Oxford Companion to Wine, her World Atlas of Wine (with Hugh Johnson)), etc.   I have not seen it, but the Wine writer for the post likes it.

Beer of the Week:  Blue Mountain Spooky Pumpkin Ale -  God help us.

But what fascinated me most was a piece on, of all things, New London High school cafeteria lunches in New London, Connecticut.  School/institutional lunches have lots of challenges to meet governmental limits on sodium, fats, calories, budgetary restraints, and so on. And we all may have remembrances of glop on a plate.  Not happy.   And so a new chef arrived to take on the job.  One Daniel Giusti.  Not a name familiar to most people (including me).  It listed his previous experience was listed as Chef de Cuisine at….. NOMA, which some readers might recall was considered the greatest restaurant in the world.  He left there to participate in  what has come to be known as “chef activism” and is a member of the “Chef Action Network” a movement which is “engaged at the local level around school lunches and at the national level when it comes to legislation regarding food and nutrition”.  In January, he launched Brigaid, a startup that aims to put professional chefs in public school cafeterias in order to improve their lunches.  He did away with styrofoam, trays, and instead serves up lunch on plates.  

In these days of “celebrity chefs” falling all over themselves to be on Food Network as “stars” and cult heroes, it is gratifying to see somebody trying to make a real difference with food, not bucks.  Good on them.

Distasteful Department (Finally)

I’ve been kind of turning over in my mind whether or not: to include this in the Feeder, and: how to include what I consider a distasteful subject; but in a tasteful manner.  In the end (pun intended, read on) I thought it was so repugnant and in poor taste that I guess I would like to share it.  And, it involves a national publication and a serious subject, so somebody thinks it’s okay, but it sort of grossed me out and incongruous with food… so here goes:

I suppose as a result of subscribing to almost every (important) food publication, I am on some sort of sucker list, and hence I get invitations to subscribe to many food related magazines and newsletters.  Mostly I don’t sign up.   So the other day I get a “complimentary” copy of a slick magazine called “Taste of Home – Best Loved Recipes from Home Cooks Like You”, (me? really?)  and on the cover was some sort of photo of a Four Cheese Rigatoni Bake in a home style casserole dish.  And a sub tile was “Your Best Family Dinners”.   On the bottom of the cover was a highlighted proclamation on a red banner that this was “The #1 Food & Entertaining Magazine in the Entire World”.  Really!  Wonder by whom…  So between that claim, the “B” word appearing twice on the cover, and what seemed to me an attitude of denigration of “home cooks” (dullards, they need simple, easy to make casseroles for dad and the kids), I was ready to head for the recycle bin.

But, out of morbid curiosity I opened the first page.   And there, there, on the left inside cover was a full color, three quarter page close-up of a lady’s derriere, clad in jeans.  Please forgive and understand me when I say that it wasn’t “cute” but rather a full cut posterior, with the words: “Made you look.  And yes, I’m wearing them” superimposed between the left hip pocket to the right one, across the bum. The remainder of the page was an ad for “Always”, a “discreet” garment for (quote): "bladder leaks", and descriptive words of the functionality of the garment not to be repeated here.

Now I suppose these magazines rely on advertising to exist, and with a check, I presume their products could be given accommodation as to placement in the magazine.  But, any respectful editor of a FOOD magazine might have some considerations of what his market might (or might not) would like to see on the inside of the front cover, not to mention a sense of decency.  Maybe it might be okay across from the Page 83 recipes for Antipasto Bake, Ground Beef Taco Dip, and Slow Cooker Artichoke – Spinach Dip, but inside front cover?  Culinary journalism at its best..Completed my trip to the recycle bin.    Thanks..

With that closing, it kind of sheds a (last and unsavory) thought on

DFD

This and That, These and Those

Well, as July goes out like…. The devil? A furnace?  Temperatures and humidity are staying in the upper eighties and nineties, I am wondering where one could move so that wearing a sweater every day would be appropriate.   I know different people deal with the withering heat in different ways, some soldier through, some wear layered clothing, hydrate and all the other way of coping.  I am not built that way I guess, I tend to withdraw, and hunker.   Hey, it’s only a couple more months of this.

With the result that I don’t go out much and hence don’t have a whole lot of stuff to report, forcing me to resort to the old reliable “This and That” approach, mostly relating things I find interesting in publications and so forth..  So, in kind of random order.

Philly Phood:  Interesting how things come up, you mention them kind of off hand, and then you keep finding things out (Steak in a Sack is a good example).  As you know, lately we’ve had a little flirtation with cheese steaks, including a recco by a reader.  I don’t subscribe to the daily Washington Post, but a kind neighbor gives me the Food Section which normally appears in the Wednesday edition.  Always an interesting read, with Sietsema articles, sometimes interesting recipes and articles.  Well, before the recent spectacles we call “Political Conventions”, they devoted an issue to food in both venues (Cleveland and Philly).  Naturally, in the democratic side they advertised the City of Brotherly Love culinary scene as:

So, I thought well, here’s another source of cheesesteak reviews,  but,strangely enough, the article DOES NOT have one reference to Geno’s, Pat’s, or Joe’s.  Rather, they highlight other places like: The Dutch; Double Knot; Hungry Pigeon (yes, they DO have that on the menu, which might make me nervous in a big city like Philly, fearing a real “Local Sourcing”).  Anyway I’ll save it in my “city file”  (Hey Feeder any idea of where to eat in….?)

Tools and Gadgets:  well, as any wannabe home chef knows, you’re only as good as your gadgets, and we all tend to accumulate stuff that will help you cook, substituting gear for (in my case) real talent.  While others cook by instinct the engineer in me won’t let me “wing it”.  If a recipe calls for one thirty second of a teaspoon, I’ll move heaven and earth to do exactly that.  One issue that faces all cooks is “when is it done?” mostly when grilling, roasting, sautéing meats.  Some use the press to test method with the gage being your thumb, closer to the palm for rare, and progressing outward.  Well, mostly I have used that technique, but have gotten burned (ha ha) lately as I start to use more local beef and pork.  They tend to be firmer to begin with, and I have been routinely undercooking them.    Anyway, on advice from the FOJ’s I procured this device from Thermapen

Which replaced my old reliable “button” Taylor dial thermometer which I used for years.   The Thermapen works remarkably well, is almost instantaneous and is easy to use.   They routinely have “sales” on the web and are relatively cheap (<100 bucks="" font="" it..="" nbsp="" worth="">

Leaving Town:  I have recently heard “rumors” that a local (non-chain, unfortunately) restaurant(s) will be or have closed.  I will not name them here.  A couple/three years ago I did report in the blog that “I heard that so and so restaurant was closing”.  I was immediately taken to task by one of my restaurateur friends that I absolutely, under no circumstances should ever state that.    Because, I was advised, that it could become a self fulfilling prophecy.    “Gee honey, if so and so is closing, let’s not go there tonight” or, “if so and so is closing, they must have lousy food” and the death spiral begins.  Interesting theory.  So I’ll wait and watch.

Words:  lastly, as most readers are (painfully) aware, I have a rather extensive list of food and service related words and phrases that drive me nuts, and which will not use, and I wish could be expunged from food talk.  Things like the “Y” word, the server use of “guys” at the table, or the “Hi I’m..” recording,  the three letter acronym that contains two “L”s, and so on.   Well, reluctantly I am thinking seriously of adding the word “Amazing” to the dictionary.   How many times have you heard some dish or restaurant described as “Amazing”, usually pronounced “aMAAAaaaaaaaZING”;  a quick look at one definition:

Amazing:

Causing great surprise or wonder; 

Synonyms: astonishing, astounding, surprising stunning,

staggering, shocking, startling, stupefying, breathtaking.

Not everything you put in your mouth should be described stunning, shocking, or stupefying.  Stodgy old me would prefer “delicious” , exceptional, different, or something like that.   I know some of my friends will think me silly, and they are welcome to be staggered by a dish, it's just me. 

Okay, enough for today

DFD

Anybody have tips on how to get frogs out of your pool?  Seem to be plagued by the little amphibians lately  

Looking Back

The FOJTE’s arrive today, so this will be brief before the fun begins.  And not really much more than revisiting subjects covered earlier (year).

I probably used the same words before, but they bear repeating.  As you may know, Tom Sietsema (one of my Gurus) the quite famous food critic for the Washington Post publishes a weekly restaurant review in the Sunday Magazine.   Recently he gave the Silver Diner no stars, and Founding Farmers (a previous two or three) barely one.  Anyway, every once in a while he composes a column based on readers input and his on-line chat.  This week, he penned a column entitled: “When the Greeting is eating at the diner”.  And guess what?  He says:  “judging from reader feedback, the leading culprit is the use of “you guys” in mixed company”.  Now alert readers will remember that the Feeder regularly complains about this..  Tom quotes a reader:  “My mother-in-law used to cringe when addressed as “you guys”.  She politely, with some humor asks servers if they thought she was a male”.  He does admit that “Merriam Webster says that “guys” embraces members of a group regardless of sex.  But plenty of my readers let me know they don’t care for the phrase, or its ilk”.  

He gives another couple of samples (somebody got called: “sport”!). He concludes with the observation that people shouldn’t get too worked up about what specific words a waiter uses to address them, as long as the waiter is (not overly) friendly and attentive.  He recommends the most PC greeting of all may be, depending on the time of day, “Good Morning,  “Good afternoon” or “Good evening" ….full stop.  In my case I would append “may I get you a drink”. So it does my heart good to see the pros get bugged by the same crap I do.  I am not so dumb.  He didn’t mention the recorded “Hi, I’m  …. Taking care of you” speech however.

Another thing that does my heart good is when readers take the time to share their experience or thoughts on some place.  I really enjoy that, because one: it lets me know somebody actually reads this, and two: sometimes it is really neat.  My innocent little picture of the Steak in a Sack sign led to finding out it is almost an institution. One reader recalled her (now) husband’s formative years in DC, when he was a duckpin devotee in the mid-sixties, and would bowl almost every night, “and Friday and Saturday nights and his buddies would bowl at various bowling alleys throughout the region:  White Oak, Twin Brook, Glenmont, Suitland, Silver Hill, Marlow Heights.  Even Curly's in Waldorf that had 8 lanes upstairs.  That one was hard to get into, because it was small and popular.  They would start at 8 or 9 p.m. and would bowl till the bowling alley kicked them out at 2 a.m.,  and they would head out to Steak in a Sack.  They would have steak and cheese, stuffed into a bread pocket, with beer or sodas.  There were no tables, just one long counter.  They would stay till Steak in a Sack closed and wouldn't get home 'till 5 a.m. on bowling weekends.”  How cool is that?  Hey you county folk, ever heard of Curly’s?

And as you recall, that remark about steak and cheese in a bread pocket led to the UTube thing on Philly Cheese Steaks (Pats/Geno’s).  More feedback from readers:

A former colleague who moved back to STL recalls a conversation with somebody who currently lives in Philly:

”….one of the discussions centered around how he found the best cheese steak in the Philly area.  His conclusion based on input from everyone he knew in Philly came down to, or at least it appeared to him to be, everyone considered the best to be from whatever cheese steak stand was closest to their house.  They didn’t view it that way, but after running all over the area the correlation was clear to him.  Not very useful info, but he later backed it up by noting the propensity of Philly residents to remain for life in specific neighborhoods and not consider moving for ANY reason” Folks from STL are familiar with that life style!

Another from a lady (who covers more territory in a single day than many women I know) who lived in Philly for about 10 years, replied that her favorite was neither of the “famous” ones who live on tourists, but she likes   Jim’s Steaks on 4^th and South Street, and Tony Luke’s at 2^nd and Oregon.  She also echoed the fact that Pat’s chops the steak and Geno’s leaves it flat, “like a steak-um (yuck)”

Not exactly cheese steak weather, more like a salad, but what a neat discussion.  Thanks to the contributors!

Not sure what form cheese steak

DFD is…

Technology

This is like the old "raise your hand if you're not here" thing, but the people who host this blog site have changed DNS servers with the result that i do not receive any emails sent to the "Bill@billsbottomfeeder" dot com address.  It happened while i was in Ireland so timing was sort of nebulous. 

Those of you who signed up for delivery of this by email may or may not be affected.  i have reports that some have while some have not.  the last one published was the fishy fishy one.

i am working with the people to resolve it but it is painful.

meantime, I would recommend clicking on the link once in a while. this of course has thrown me for a loop so i may not have a new Ireland journey post for a couple of days..

if you want to contact me, send any communications to the "wcmatpax" at the md dot metrocast dot net email..   This drives me nuts.

IF you subscribe via your email and do see this i would appreciate a note confirming receipt..

thanks and it's always something.

DFD

This and That..

Technology

Well, it got me again.  MFO was asked to make a presentation to the local Genealogical Society on how to preserve their “stuff”, old photos, newspaper articles, letters, etc., things that relatives tend to hang on to and pass to surviving relatives.   Hand me downs tend to pile up in basements and attics and then somebody takes an interest in keeping them but they are not sure how to preserve them.  Enter the archivist!

So MFO put together a very nice program covering the various options for making sure these things will survive human, insects, humidity, light, and all the enemies of things historical.  It was of course was in the form of a powerpoint presentation, which i was to manage while she spoke.

Which then led me to face,  once again, my enemy: “technology”.  Remembering my recent losing battle with the demon wires and cables, I decided that this time (By Golly) I would be ready.  I got a “loaner” projector, cables and such, set it up in my office, brought in my IT support staff who walked me through the process of “this little thing plugs in here; Fn F8 will toggle between laptop display and projector; don’t be afraid when the laptop changes aspect ratio; start Powerpoint, then Slide Show” etc.  In the end I had the presentation on the laptop, and as a backup also on a “stick”.

Further, I even talked to people who had been to the Higher Ed center recently and was assured that “everything works fine”.  I even asked a friend to bring his projector so I would have my loaner and his; nothing can go wrong!

So after practicing a couple of times with the home lashup, we went to the Higher Ed Center a full forty five minutes early to set things up.  In the meeting room were two ceiling mounted projectors aimed at two screens on either side of the podium which also contained the dangling wires.  Perfect!  I set up my laptop, called up the presentation, knew exactly what to do with the VGA cable, plugged it into the port on the computer, turned on the projectors, and…. By this time I’m sure you know where this is going… nothing.  “NO INPUT DETECTED” was clearly and boldly projected on the screens.  Unplug, plug, restart, open, Fn F8, “NO INPUT..” resolutely remained for all to see.  The chair of the meeting said she would go and get the IT guy who would make it all play.  Young, eager kid.  Good deal.  Fuss, trace wires, scratch head, go get another little terminal box, re-hook up….”NO IN….”.

After more head scratching, and “I don’t understand this”,  I mentioned that I had the presentation on a stick, he allowed as how maybe we should try that.  Inserted into “their” desktop, everything perked up and worked fine.   She proceeded to dazzle them with the array of “things” you can get for preservation, tips on storage practices, how to handle documents, everything..   They were all very appreciative of her talk.  There is equipment for preserving everything.  

So, once again careful preparation may mean nothing.. (be hopeful, but always carry a stick).

Check, please!

After we returned home, we enjoyed a victory (content wise, not hardware) cocktail.  Speaking of which (the clever writer segues into a favorite subject), there was an interesting article in the Washington Post Food section last week.  It featured a picture of what turned out to be a Manhattan, a story was about “How’d We Get to The $22 Cocktail?”.   Seems that the Rye Bar in the Capella Hotel in Georgetown is serving a Manhattan for that price.   There is discussion on how and why one should pay that sum for that drink.  Many things go into the bottom line.  Ingredients, handling, and so forth.  A classic Manhattan is Rye (more often now Bourbon), bitters, and sweet vermouth.  (the bottom feeder substitutes Dry Vermouth, and omits the bitters).  First, for this beauty, the drink is mixed six weeks before it sees a glass and spends its time in a 55 gallon charred bourbon barrel to age.  It is made with Dad’s Hat rye ($42 for 750ml), Dolin Vermouth (~$15) , a dash of Byrrh ($25), homemade bitters (?), and served with an orange peel.   Tasting notes include terms like “coffee, almonds, and vanilla.  Why there is no cherry component, I am not sure.  Is it worth it?  They say yes, as do many people since they have been serving it for a couple of years.  The article goes on to talk about “expensive” cocktails, with “The Cocktail Bill” served at Fiola (D.C.) for $45.  It is remarkably like a Sazerac.   They do mention that the “typical” cocktail goes for about $12 - $14 (at big city bars).  Interesting piece..

Steinbeck was right..

It IS the Winter of our Discontent…  seems like it refuses to release us from its grip.  We have however, enjoyed watching the ebb and flow of the ice, more than we’ve ever seen.  This morning there was only a small patch of “clear” water (the dark blue strip below), although I imagine the ice wasn’t very thick.  Not many working boats out this morning..

And same thing toward the bridge:

And no, we have NOT opened the pool, it’s just the accumulated (frozen) water and ice from the recent storms on the pool cover.  

Beer Dinner

We went down to the Ruddy Duck Ale and Seafood House last Sunday for their first “beer dinner”.  I have pretty much sworn off “wine dinners” because mostly they tend to be an opportunity for the distributor rather than for the diners.  How many times have you heard: “here’s a fun little wine”, which, oh by the way is available for purchase.  So, I was kind of interested in seeing how a beer based dinner would be handled.  The passionate (I don’t use that word often, but it fits here) head brewer at Ruddy Duck, Matt (Glass), spoke about each of the five beers offered, what its flavor profile was and such.  A nice touch was that each beer was served with a “contrasting” as well as a “complimentary” food item.  Michael Kelley talked a little about the food with each course (Chef Nelson was in the kitchen for this event).   The beers kind of ran the gamut from lighter to heavier and darker.   Of course, like wine, you like what you like, and you don’t like what I like kind of thing, a proper situation.  But, my favorite beer was a Schwarzbier; a dark German Lager.  It was served appropriately with a house made smoked bacon and duck sausage, with an imaginative little accent of a “chocolate dipped bacon straw”.  

A little story accompanied the beer called “Badian Brown”, and I won’t get the details correctly, but an apprentice brewer named “Ian” made a faux pas when trying to brew something else and came up with a brown beer that was not originally intended.  Hence the “bad” part…  But, however, comma, regardless of the intent he came up with a pretty nice brew, on the order of a Newcastle Brown Ale.  Quite tasty.  It was served with a complimentary dish of Lobster Risotto and contrasting Rockfish Skewers/Malt vinegar (think fish and chips). 

Anyway, keep your eyes open for another.  And Matt NEVER used the phrase “fun little beer”..

And yes, we were

DFD

Bistros and (Foot)balls

I don’t want this to be deflating, but boy, this has gotten out of hand.  Nothing like giving the rabid NFL crowd the hint of a coverup/scandal/cheating and they can’t get enough.  Talk shows light up with “Bob from Dallas” who is sure that aliens came down and substituted the footballs, or that criminal Belichick and his partner in crime Brady are lying.  No facts mind you, but they are damned sure of it..  Sheesh..  Drop the puck, so to speak.  Too bad there’s another whole week to endure.. Or, tonight you can watch the Pro Bowl…. Not.

Anyway, back to more important matters like food.  Having done a “just right” entry, I have to follow up with, I don’t know, really right?  A different category entirely, but had a dinner at (sorry) Bistro Belle Maison at the Blue Heron Inn (whew) while MFO was cavorting in Wisconsin.  We don’t frequent the place a lot, but not sure why.  The food on that visit was superlative.  As  you may recall on the weekends (call first) the sitting room of the Blue Heron B&B is transformed into a restaurant.  I do have to admit that it looks more like a sitting room with tables than a restaurant, but that’s okay.  They are spaced far enough apart that you can have your own conversation without informing the table next.  Plus they are nicely set with small touches like a salt box instead of a shaker

The menu, which is printed for each weekend’s seatings, is composed of about five “small plates” and about same or less “main plates”.  The service is very informal, more conversational than stilted, with thank God, no speeches, and usually begins with informing you what they are out of for the evening, or maybe that trout is now substituted for the Corvina.  The wine list is somewhat limited but always contains some unconventional selections.  They also have a full bar, with some unusual bottles, like Green Hat Gin. The food choices are equally imaginative, and may have you (excuses please) grabbing for your cell phone to look up what “pinxto” means such as we encountered as: “lobster pinxto, light tempura batter, green tomato relish, aioli”.  Turns out they are kind of similar to satays, i.e.,  small hunks of "something" (in this case lobster) on a stick.   The term "pinxto" is of Spanish (particularly Basque), origin and is sometimes spelled “Pincho”.  However or whatever they are, they were very good, and as described, quite light on the palate

Another small plate of a radiccio and pear, chevre, and candied nut flat bread with mushroom – shallot white sauce is barely visible in the above image. Both were quite enjoyable.  A shared main plate of New Zealand Lamb chops, served with (nice touch) local yogurt tzatziki and eggplant napoleon rounded out the dinner.   As you may know, the Bistro is situated on the Solomons behind what was once Kim’s Key Lime Pies, (now Lotus Kitchen and...) so of course we had to have a two fork piece of that to finish.

As usual around here, you can’t go anywhere without seeing somebody you know, and there was a couple (of feeder readers) at an adjoining table who allowed me to take a shot of the Trout dish they enjoyed.

And, someplace along the way, the chef/owner Amanda, came out and chatted with everybody.  She is another local gem that we can count ourselves lucky to be able to enjoy her craft.  It is a place well worth your attention.  And of course to honor the food you must be

DFD

Bookends:

MFO arrived safely home from Wisconsin after two grueling days behind the MOMSTER

I am always gratified when somebody else shares similar feelings about things that drive me (further) nuts, like using the “Y” word for food and the unfortunately widespread use of “Guys”.  So it warmed the Feeder's heart to see this from a daily column (Rant&Rave) in the Seattle Times which reposts various social media entries, usually one rave and one:

RANT:  To the wait staff in supposedly sophisticated restaurants who habitually address my wife and I as “guys” as we sit down to dine. I assume they’re not blind and this insulting address is part of Seattle’s legendary and puerile informality. How gauche! Next time this happens we’ll call out the fool and leave.

HAH!!!!

This, That, and DIna MO

Odds and ends today to bring you up to date.

This was the last I’ll see of MFO and the MOMSTER for a while, 

as she is setting off to Wisconsin to be with her sister to help with some medical stuff.  SIL is alone in the great white north, so off goes MFO.. leaving me with bachelordom!  Which is good and bad.  WHAT? Do my OWN laundry?  Clean my OWN Kitchen? But also… I think I’ll take a nap now, or,  Gee, I think I’ll just stay in bed for an hour longer.  And lest this sponsors any cute comments, I’m just being dramatic… kind of.. Anyway the MOMSTER performed admirably and MFO is currently helping SIL where the temperature is… zero.

 A couple more from Missouri

One of the things we did in Missouri after visiting the Covered Bridge and Stanley run and before the Gordonville Grill was to visit the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History, located in Marble Hill, Missouri.  It is in an old building that once housed Will Mayfield College (1878 – 1930).  If you click on the link, the currrent museum is housed in the building on the right. The accompanying story is pretty interesting also.  Its history kind of is a parallel to St. Mary’s College, a story for another time.  The current occupant (the Museum) touts itself as the home of the “Missouri Dinosaur” or Hypsibema Missouriense

The discovery of the remains of the previously unknown creature is pretty interesting, involving a kid, a geologist, a clay pit, a cow, and so forth.  The museum also includes lots of fossils and other prehistoric creatures

(life sized, by the way)

It was a fascinating visit into a small privately funded museum.  Being the day after Christmas, we were the only people in the place and talked a lot with the lady who was volunteering that day.  She was very eager to show us stuff, and of course was passionate about the museum and its mission.

Another facet of the many faceted Feeder is that he is a connoisseur of not only food and wine, but also of bathrooms. Mostly because he invariably visits one in almost any building he finds himself.  Enough of that, but I have to say that this old historical building housed one of the finest I have been in for a while.  Sparkling clean, spacious, a good door lock, all the necessities (besides the main one).  Inside the room were a couple of nice antiques and a lovely painting

And if your nasty little imagination is running, the answer is no, the photo was NOT taken that way..

A lovely stop in rural Missouri with our "kids"

Buy Local

After our lunch in Gordonville, we stopped at a local butcher shop in Cape Girardeau to get some meat for dinner, our last one in Missouri.  FOJTY knows all the haunts for local product and so we stopped at The Butcher Block

Perused the cases of lovely meat

Lovely steaks, but, after enjoying the FOJTY smoked brisket and its leftovers, our beef meter was pretty well pegged, so we thought some pork chops might be nice.  Seeing none on display we asked if there were any, and the butcher said he would gladly cut us some: how many, how thick?  We soon had some gorgeous rib chops for grilling

So nice when you can deal with “the man behind the counter” and don’t have to “ring bell for service”.   They produced a great meal..

See?

And while we are on food (and about to close this chapter) I do want to prove that your intrepid food reporter does not (always) “hide behind my keyboard” as he is sometimes accused but occasionally rolls up his sleeves and gets into the food

Shown here participating in the Stuffed Ham party mentioned in an earlier posting.  Do you know how much stuffing those little pockets take???  But I really enjoyed the opportunity to actually get involved. 

Sports (and not really a rant for a change)

And finally, tonight at long last is (mercifully) the end of the college football season, with the so-called National Championship Game between the beefy Ohio State Buckeyes and the flashy, speedy Oregon Ducks (who had the team member who made that astonishingly stupid decision).  It will be an interesting game to watch.  It has altered my whole day, making me coming up with schemes as to how I MIGHT be able to stay awake at least until halftime (how about a nap?).   I guess I know the answer (West Coast Markets), but Geez Louise, why START the game at 8:30 EST??   Can’t those flower children on the other coast come home with their tofu just a little bit earlier?  Even a five o’clock start there would be a big improvement here.  Coffee anyone?

(bordering on rant, sorry)

And after tonight college game is settled “we're number one! - everybody else is crap” full attention will divert to the Holy NFL and the quest for the Super Bowl will take center stage.  I suspect that Gimpy Rodgers and team won’t be able to beat the other darlings of the west coast, the Seattle Seahawks and their classy players like Marshawn (I’m Thankful) Lynch and (new term coined) “The Twelves".  Deliver us.  And I’ll bet after Andrew and the Colts pretty much sealed Peyton’s career in Denver, we’ll see a Pats and Hawks Super Dooper Hoopla Bowl.  And for those of you who didn’t get punished on Facebook with my extremely rare selfie (another story for another time) I’ll (really close) with a bad picture of myself revealing who I rooted for yesterday

After which, I was NOT

DFD

On tap, the Feeder visits Charles Street Brasserie and is surprised