Supporting Local Restaurants

Do you remember when Norm used to walk into the bar on Cheers, and in unison a choir greeted him with 'Noooorrrrmmm !!!'? I've always appreciated that in businesses that I frequent--being recognized and remembered. By the same token I've always tried to give that same sort of appreciation back in my business relationships.

I think you know by now that I enjoy Italian food, and am lucky to have found a group of people who consistently deliver new, quality offerings all the while giving us diners that 'Norm' attention. This doesn't happen at chain restaurants-the innovations in cooking nor the attention. It's just not what they do, and that's OK.

Yet when I get the chance to show my support for the folks at my favorite businesses, I will do my part. Winning helps with publicity obviously, but more over it lets the unsung people who work so hard to deliver a personal experience a tip of the hat with recognition and thanks.

If you've visited me in Austin, no doubt I have taken you to eat at Cibo. Unless I am mistaken, everyone has always been very pleased with the experience--right down to the Brussel sprouts! Right now we're having yet another contest here in Austin to vote for our favorite Italian restaurants. I've been voting, and am frustrated to see the chain restaurants leading the pack. If you've eaten at Cibo and would like to cast a vote for them, I know my friends there would appreciate it. They didn't ask me to enlist your support, nor do they know I have-just call it my competitive spirit to promote excellence.

You can vote as often as once every hour and the contest has another day or so to run. So please, vote early and often.

Click on the Austin A-List link below and let your fingers do the talking!

Austin A-List

An Experiment in Site Maintenance

Perhaps you have noticed the changes I periodically make to the site's layout, and to ad placement. The content of ads is at arm's length for me. While I sign up for ad placement and choose broad categories such as "Food", "Travel" or "Health", I must say I am fascinated with the topic of some of the ads that appear.

The benevolent benefactor who supplies ads will remain un-named. However, if you will bear with me, I would like to try an experiment. Supposedly, ads are placed based on the categories I choose and the content (key words)on my site. So, OK, I have chosen categories as mentioned in the previous paragraph. The other variable is the 'crawling' done by the benevolent benefactor's system, ostensibly to look for key words and topics that match ad content they place. Bear with me as I try to better target my ads by a little free-wheeling ideation. This is an experiment. If the ads don't get more appropriate...well, at least I tried!

[Italian food, Pasta, Tapas, Jambon Serrano, White Lily Flour, Biscuits, Bread, Ham, Pork, Tenderloin, Kitchen Aid, Viking Stove, King Arthur Mills, Grits, Martha White, Cornbread, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Creme Brulee, The Food Network, Gourmet Magazine, Saveur Magazine, Bon Appetit, Cook's Magazine, Cook's Country, Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentis, Rachel Ray, Oprah, Julia Child, banana, Bread, Sourdough, Shrimp, Mussels, Rue Cler, Marks & Spencers, Farmers Market, Lydia Bastianich, Thomas Keller, Bobby Flay, Emeril, Wine Country, Champagne, Merlot, Shiraz, Syrah, Brunello, Joe Bastianich, Oprah, Amy Findley, Williams-Sonoma, Michael Chiarello, Martha Stewart, Dean and Deluca, Jacques Pepin, NPR, Jamie Deen, Diane Kochilas, Greek food, lamb, blue cheese, manchego, brie, cranberry, fig, goat cheese, butter, Alice Waters, Edna Lewis, James Beard, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Overstock.com, Smartbargains.com, Austin360.com, Port, Sherry, Madeira, Scotch, Jack Daniels, Bourbon, Whisky, Whiskey, Rye, Vodka, Plymouth, John Grisham, Henry VII, England, Gordon Ramsey, Tomato, Pepper, Salt, Sea Salt, Alton Brown, Buttermilk, First Lady, French cuisine, Trafalgar Square, Queen Elizabeth, Petit fours, flan, bain marie, chocolate, Whole Foods, Panera, Willie Dufresne, Chinese food, pho, garlic, milk, sugar, le creuset, Green pans, basil, tarragon, hydroponic tomatoes, parsely, Beatles, Delilah, gardener, crab, shrimp, Low Country, Dillard House, Chef and His Wife, Cibo, Austin, Highlands, Seattle, Hilton Head, Hereford, Great White, Berkshire, Glouchestire, Pancetta, Prosciutto, Global Knife, Cuisinart, Sears, Pottery Barn, Pier One, WellFoods, Cat food, Kitty, Natalie Dupree, Louis Osteen, Charleston, London, Boston, seafood, chowder, stone crab, Spanish, Lamb, Parmesan, peccorino, apple, cranberry, pie, chutney, juice, antioxidant, pyrex, teflon, no stick )

Come back soon, because I've received my copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day and after reading the early chapters I can already tell you it is a MUST to own and use. Honestly, who knew that making artisan breads begins with one of a few basic recipes and delivers old world results.

Finally, to the commenter who wrote in asking about how to reduce calories in the new year, I have three broad suggestions:
1) Try to avoid any prepared foods that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup. This includes many 'Light" frozen entrees. Reading labels is a must!
2) Keep portion size in mind. Unless its dark green or an animal protein, limit yourself to half a cup.
3) Promise yourself to avoid any fast food that offers 'Super-Sizing".

Speak with you soon,

Buttermilk

New Year, New Ideas, New Questions

Since it's been a while since I heard from you, I thought I'd open up the blog and encourage communication from you.

If you have a recipe you'd like to share, a review of a recipe I have shared and you tried, a food related topic you'd like to hear about or a question about something in the kitchen, let me hear from you. Simply click on the word comments at the end of this section and write away!

A Holiday of Memories

Christmas is now behind us, and if your holiday was like mine, you shared not only time with family and friends but wonderful food too.

I had the luxury of enjoying cooking in my brother and sister-in-law's beautiful new kitchen, and somehow a nice, big, up to date kitchen just makes the experience more fun and the food taste better. We tried many new recipes this year and I believe they were all worth the planning and effort.

The most spectacular offering was the beef tenderloin with port reduction sauce. When my sister-in-law first mentioned beef tenderloin to me I was skeptical. While it is considered the king of beef cuts by many, sometimes it delivers less than is expected for its price once prepared and on the table. It often winds up being rather tough and tasteless; there's just not much fat to keep the meat moist and flavorful. Yet, the recipe my sister-in-law found employed the process of salting and refrigerating the beef 24 hours prior to cooking to create a dry aging process. The salting works its magic on the beef proteins, while the open to air refrigeration dries the outer layer and aids in browning while locking in juices during cooking. If you have a special occasion coming and want a recipe sure to be a success, I can heartily recommend the Roast Beef Tenderloin with Port Sauce.

Speaking of certain success, and a great accompaniment to roast beef is the corn pudding recipe we used. It's one of those simple recipes that completely bypasses the effort of a bain marie and the fear of a watery final product that happens sometimes with egg rich traditional versions. My only addition (yes, I always have at least one) is a teaspoon of thyme to the batter. Check out the Recipe Box for this version of corn pudding.

Another new recipe that I plan to keep is a Bread Pudding made with Pannetone Bread and Egg Nog as the dairy. This sort of recipe gives rise to all sorts of ideas for using savory or sweet varieties of breads and flavored dairy.

Since we had the luxury of spending this Christmas in the Florida Keys, we had one meal which was quintessentially 'Keys'-- Stone Crab Claws and Grilled Lobster tails. The lobster tails were lovingly bathed with sherry and butter during cooking. Could anything be better?

Aside from our dinners that were all perfect, and nice big breakfasts with stone ground grits and sausage from the Dillard House in Dillard, Georgia, our final night included dinner at the Spanish Garden Cafe in Islamorada. If you ever get down that way, be sure to seek out this amazing little jewel. We stuck to a tapas menu for the most part and enjoyed Jambon Serrano with Manchego cheese, Goat Cheese stuffed Piquillos (sweet peppers), White Asparagus wrapped with Smoked Salmon, a mix of Grilled Sausages and Gambos al Ajillo (Shrimp in Pimenton, Garlic and Sherry). We saved room for a special dessert of Figs dipped in Chocolate enjoyed at home with a glass of Tawny Port.

My only regret from this delicious culinary journey is that I have no pictures to whet your appetites and encourage you to try some new tastes. You will just have to use your imagination!

I hope that your holiday was peaceful and plentiful as mine.

Happy Christmas...Imagine...Give Peace a Chance

I've spent my day preparing to fly off tomorrow to join family for the Christmas holiday. Being a true foodie, my bag is packed with not only clothes, but panettone, vanilla bean and whole nutmeg. You never know what you might need!

On this night I am also thinking about how fortunate I am to have the means and freedom to fly across the country to meet my family and indulge myself in food, easy laughter and relatively obscene bounty. Yes, I work 'hard' by American standards, but not as hard as people in other countries who toil in hot sun digging meager crops, those who walk for miles and stand in day long lines for medicine to treat their children, our soldiers in far away places and their unsung families who face horrors I will never know or my friends in this country, New Orleans, who survived Katrina and continue to endure the achingly slow churn of bureaucratic aid. I have a great deal for which to be grateful.

I thought long and hard about a message to leave you with over this important, thoughtful season. My mind lept to John Lennon, his "Happy Christmas", "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance".

There are beautiful and commercially sanitized videos of Lennon's "Happy Christmas", but if you are willing to take this journey with me, I hope you will watch what I have chosen to post which is the original. I am sad to say the footage looks incredibly familiar, very sad and uncomfortable, nearly 30 years later. You will quickly get the sad irony of the images and message, but do not linger there, because I entreat you to imagine. And finally, we must give peace a chance. Who would have thought that recordings and images from the 1970's would be so poignantly in synch with today?

Perhaps we do not learn as quickly as we should, but let us all keep hope, faith and charity in our hearts. We can and must do better.

Remember those less fortunate than we. It is not too late to donate a Christmas tiding to the Red Cross at www.redcross.org, the Salvation Army at www.salvationarmyusa.org, our friends in New Orleans at www.makeitrightnola.org/ or our troops at www.uso.org/donate .

In the meantime, I celebrate the words and legacy of John Lennon who through uncanny wisdom left us "Happy Christmas", "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance". Please watch all three.

Blessings to you and your families, and I look forward to bringing you more food for the soul in the new year.

Buttermilk

Happy Christmas


Imagine


Give Peace a Chance

Bill Neal: A Fine Southern Chef

I collect fiction written by Southern writers, and have for years. There's something about being able to immerse myself back in the ideal of Southern life simply by opening a book that always brings a smile to my face. Once, while living in New Jersey, I spent an entire Sunday afternoon in Barnes and Noble sitting in their stacks paging through Southern fiction and cookbooks just to remember 'home'.

No self-respecting portrayal of Southern life would be complete if it did not also include cooking, food, family recipes all leaving the reader with an indescribable urge to head toward the kitchen. And in our kitchens many fine cooks and chefs have been borne. Some gain more national spotlight and even celebrity than others. Bill Neal, a native son of North Carolina, comes to mind today.

By all accounts Bill was a culinary artist devoted to expounding on the flavors of the South while keeping true to its heritage. His culinary roots expanded across the Chapel Hill area as a result of attending Duke, canvassing the local fare and envisioning something new. His Crook's Corner remains a staple in Chapel Hill today, where shrimp and grits are served up more often than any other entree. His closest friend and ex-wife, Moreton Neal penned a lasting tribute to his love of food and accomplishments as a restaurateur in Remembering Bill Neal: Favorite Recipes from a Life in Cooking.

Years ago, I came across a recipe for Roasted Pecans in Saveur magazine that caught my eye. The recipe is Bill Neal's and the eye-catching ingredient is sherry. I've made these pecans many times, and over the years found that adding a tad more sherry makes them even better-to my taste anyway. So, as you're planning little bites to have on hand this season, look to Bill Neal for a solution. The recipe is shared in the Recipe Box.

Bill left our collective kitchen far too early, at the age of 41. Yet, I bet he'd be glad to know that we're remembering him as a fine chef whose art and talent were expansive, while his heart stayed true to the Southern kitchen.

Remembering Lady Bird

When Lady Bird Johnson died this summer, we lost an amazing woman who was a pioneer regardless of which point in history we measure. During my early childhood she was First Lady and my memories of her always conjure up brightly colored hats and dresses and an ever congenial smile. I know now that this was an ever-knowing smile. One only need listen to archived recordings of her conversations with her husband Lyndon, the president, to know her wisdom and finesse in navigating people and politics.

During the days surrounding her death, memorial services and funeral, there were many broadcasts of interviews with people from every walk of life who had known her. I was struck by the length of time all of these relationships had survived and grown, and how she found a common bond with everyone. In Austin, we have her legacy of the Wildflower Center and now, Lady Bird Lake which courses along our downtown.

Across the country, we have wildflowers along highways to remind us of her determined cause for maintaining natural beauty. Lady Bird was also a savvy business woman and this is the fodder of the history surrounding her purchase of a radio station in the 1940's. Two legacy radio stations remain on the air today. Longtime friends from her radio relationships report that she was adamant that the programming and content be free from manipulation and never censored.

One of the funniest stories I heard after her death had to do with pansies she had planted beneath the window of her bedroom. In the Hill Country of Texas, we all struggle with balancing our love for wildlife and frustration when they devour our landscaping. Lady Bird and the deer that frequented her yard had this sort of relationship. As the story goes, the pansies were planted one day. She talked with her grounds keeper about her concern that hungry deer would make a meal of the new planting. Yet, both agreed that with a Secret Service detail posted at her house, surely the pansies would be safe. The next morning, Lady Bird awoke to find her pansies gone. You can imagination the 'old-fashioned-talking-to' the Secret Service agents got that morning. The grounds keeper who recalled this story laughed as he told it this summer. He says after Mrs. Johnson "finished" with the Secret Service agents, she told him to get the golf cart (which was used to move about the property) AND her gun. He dissuaded her, and somehow I bet the Secret Service agents never slept another night while on their watch.

It's the time of year when we're all considering holiday sweets and savories to bake for friends and family. I was pleased to come across a recipe for 'Lady Bird Johnson's Recipe for Cheese Biscuits'. Apparently these were a staple on the Johnson Ranch. I'm sure it will look familiar to many of us, yet it is a good one to have in the Recipe Box. My only addition is a pecan half on top of each biscuit, and the suggestion to use the 1 1/2 tablespoon sized scoop to portion the dough-if you've got one on hand. (Mine is in the mail from cooking.com )

So today we remember Lady Bird, in all of her color. (Click the 'Lady Bird' hyperlinked phrase to view a video. Courtesy of the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum.)

Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?

If you've scrolled down the page, below the blog, you may have noticed the section entitled "NPR Kitchen Window". By clicking on the links you can hear audio from wonderful interviews about food, wine and culinary culture. There are two links for November 28th, entitled Episode 14. Start with the link closest to the bottom, and listen in.

While I chose to add the Kitchen Window feed because of the interview with Julia, I was fascinated by the contents in the November 28th edition overall. Judith Jones, famous for a lifetime of publishing work with the hallmark names of cooking, speaks about her new book "The 10th Muse". I won't spoil her discussion and the information by explaining who or what the 10th muse is. Judith recalls her work with Julia on her book series and then Julia does 'appear' briefly in this episode. As always, I am reassured to hear her voice. It is hard to believe she died 3 years ago.

This particular broadcast takes a fascinating turn as it moves on to a discussion of the revival of Absinthe as a cocktail, the history of it being banned and the news that there are four brands now legally for sale in the U.S. Who knew?

Absinthe has long held the reputation of a hallucinogenic and blamed for van Gogh's auto-surgery. Though the essence of wormwood has traditionally been held up as the culprit for Absinthe's effects, some would argue it is the high alcohol content in the mysterious green liquid that does its mythologic work. Maybe someday I'll sample a taste with the special spoon and sugar cube ritual, and then I will be able to tell you if it indeed makes the heart grow fonder.

In the meantime, visit the NPR section further down on the page, and enjoy the information we're lucky to hear. The link dates will update as new episodes are broadcast.

The Magic of Television...and Now the Web

In the Heart of a Chef section of this site I mentioned a link to a PBS sponsored site that allows us to watch many episodes of Julia with friends, colleagues and new arrivals to the cooking scene.

To give you a 'look and learn', from that site I am posting a favorite episode with Julia introducing Lydia Bastianich to prepare a mushroom risotto.

I have read that 80% of us are visual learners. Clearly I skew that dynamic because seeing is learning for me. In my earlier life I worked as a nurse at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, where I first heard 'see one, do one, teach one'.

They tapped the right girl for that vocation.

So, please enjoy Julia and Lydia, courtesy of PBS broadcasting and evolved technology that enables the transformation of television into web casting. (Thanks to Matt and Kirstin for guiding me through the code). Don't be afraid of preparing risotto-the correct rice (as I have mentioned), wide pot, hot stock or broth, and the time to stir. Remember to add cheese, or any 'finishing fat' OFF the heat, as the final ingredient.

As broadcast, with all rights to PBS, and gratitude to Julia and Lydia, of course.

The Legacies of Pavarotti

In the summer of 2006 when news came that Luciano Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer I feared he would not be with us long. Still it is evidence of his spirit that he lived another year, dying on September 6th of this year in his beloved home of Modena, Italy-the city of his birth.

Pavarotti came from a family of simple means, his father a baker (and singer) and his his mother a cigar factory worker. His path to becoming arguably one of the best tenors of all time was circuitous by way of playing football or as we know it 'soccer', teaching elementary school and finally deciding to focus on singing as a career. In his 20's when making this decision, he moved back to his parent's home and struck a deal with his father to live there room and board free until age 30, when he was expected to have found a way to turning singing into a means of supporting himself. Though he had often taken instruction during his adolescence, the singular focus on training in his 20's would leverage his naturally recognized talent. With several public performances under his belt, as he approached the age of 30, and being noticed by Joan Sutherland, it was the opportunity to stand in for an ailing tenor on an evening's performance that sealed his fate. In the end, he kept his deal with his father, earning a living through his singing by the age of 30.

His passion for life was evident across every facet of his life on and off stage, including a love for food, especially pasta. In recent years he had established a restaurant on his estate grounds, was frequently interviewed about favorite recipes, and on occasion shared one of his own specialties. His simple tomato-based sauce contrasts with the anointed favorite butter and gorgonzola (blue cheese) sauce. He admitted the latter could be his downfall as he struggled with his weight in later life. Check the Recipe Box where I have posted Luciano's Spaghetti all Pavarotti, and a Gorgonzola Sauce (w/butter of course) from famed Italian chef Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - perfect for any pasta. For your own benefit, if you are going to make these dishes as intended, I encourage you to use fresh cheeses (avoid the green can!) and fresh, Italian flat leaf parsley. If there is one herb worth keeping on hand at all times, this is my choice. Clip the ends of the bouquet, place in a vessel of water and keep in the refrigerator.

Pavarotti leaves behind four children, the youngest a 4 year old daughter, his wife and a sister, Gabriella. At the time of his death, I sought a way to acknowledge him and extend his legacy. A week after his death, I adopted a brother and sister pair of kittens. There was never any question; they are Luciano and Gabriella. Luciano is somewhat larger, with longer hair, and Gabriella a petite caretaker of her brother. She sings too.











While I have certainly had cats who enjoyed watching television and movies, I can't say that I have ever had one that responds to hearing music. My Luciano is apparently special. Without fail, when Pavarotti sings Nessum Dorma, my Luciano comes from anywhere in the house and sits down in front of the stereo. Gabriella too often appears, and nestles in behind the stereo receiver. The sister behind the brother.












I like to believe that the Pavarotti is watching and is pleased, quite pleased.

Luciano Pavarotti, the 2006 Olympics in Turino, Italy. His final performance of Nessum Dorma. No one sleeps tonight.

Pork, Love & Rock and Roll

I've been promising an ode to our porcine friends for a while now, and so now they get their moment in the spotlight.

Like buttermilk, the product, commercially raised pork has gone through a transformation lending today's product much leaner, with less moisture and arguably less flavorful when prepared in recipes intended for pork from days gone by. According to the US Dept of Agriculture a 3 ounce serving of pork tenderloin may actually contain slightly less fat than a similar-sized portion of boneless chicken breast. Having checked the fat content in several commercial brands, the fat grams per 3 ounce serving is as low as 2.5 grams, at least in the Hormel brand. There are variations with some brands going as high as 5.5 grams per 3 ounce serving, so read labels. In recent years, heirloom pork has become increasingly popular and gives the American consumer a choice.

By definition, pork that comes from a relatively rare breed of pig that has been raised in humane and environmentally friendly conditions for a number of generations is known as an 'heirloom' breed and product. Diet is more varied, often vegetarian-based and includes foods such as apples, chestnuts, whey, and the hogs are allowed to live in open, unrestricted surroundings decreasing the stress they are so susceptible to and which lends changes to the taste and quality of their meat. Certain standards must be met to qualify pork as Humanely Raised or Organic, and growers who achieve these certifications wear them proudly, always working to sustain the breed.

Boutique growers are succeeding on small farms across the country and make their products available at Farmer's Markets and through web ordering and shipping. Chefs are ever-increasingly using heirloom breeds such as Duroc, Tamworth, Berkshire, Large Blacks, Gloucestershire, and Old Spots. These are just some of the breeds being grown today. Each has different characteristics that lend variations in flavor, preference for certain cuts or preparations, and volume yield from each animal. Some breeds are produced in enough volume to be available in grocery stores.

I am lucky enough to be able to purchase Berkshire breed heirloom pork from the kind people at Peach Creek Farms. Lobels offers Berkshire pork products as well as other meats of heirloom breeds. Niman Ranch has put together something of a coalition of independent breeders and assists in bringing heirloom products to market through their well-developed channels. A final favorite I will mention is the wonderful heirloom pork from Flying Pigs Farm. Their selection highlights another advantage of heirloom farms which is the availability of pork products not commonly found in grocery stores-fresh lard, uncured bacon, pork shanks, and pork steaks.

One need only look at the meat to see the difference in marbling and color. The taste is much more complex, succulent and far richer than commercially grown pork. If you have the chance, try heirloom pork when dining out, or look for it at local Farmer's Markets or in grocery stores with butcher shops. Supporting these growers is essential.

So where does 'Love' fit into this story? I suppose that everyone remembers where they were on September 11, 2001. I was taking time off between jobs and just 3 days away from a long awaited trip to Tuscany for a Cooking School vacation. I'd slept late that morning so didn't turn on the TV news until about 9:15am. I couldn't figure out why The Today Show was still on. It all unfolded over the next hours. Like everybody else I wanted to do something to help. My first thought was to donate blood, so off I went to the Red Cross. The line to donate blood was around the perimeter of the building. Soon we were told that there was no means for them to store all of the blood we would donate and flying it to NY or Washington was impossible because all air travel was suspended. I returned home feeling useless.

American Airlines and United Airlines suffered a very personal assault on September 11, 2001. I have flown on American Airlines for years. There was something especially sad for me, knowing that an AA pilot, flight attendant or fellow business traveler who perhaps had crossed this country with me on any other day, was gone. I thought about the friends I'd made of the great and patient people who work in the Austin Admiral's Club who had always been there to make my travel easier, and how they too must be feeling like they had lost family. I have said before that when you cook for someone you give of your heart. So I called the Admiral's Club, said how much I had been thinking about them, and asked if I could visit the next day and bring 'a little something' for them to eat. We were all set.

I spent a while thinking about comfort food, recipes and for some reason opened the latest issue of Oprah's O Magazine. I came across an interview between Quincy Jones and Oprah, which included his recipe for barbecued pork ribs. I knew this was the answer to the main dish. I have always liked Quincy, his music, his philosophy and his clear interest in the human condition. In 1985 he produced the memorable collaboration , We Are the World, and so somehow bringing his special ribs to hurting friends seemed the perfect way to reach out. (Watch the You Tube archive of the recording session at the end of this blog.)

I've included his recipe in the Recipe Box and can assure you it is another hit for him.

I'll never forget the faces of my friends in the Admiral's Club when I wheeled in a cart of food for them-- Quincy's Thriller Ribs, sour cream and dill potato salad, baked beans and of course, Buttermilk Pies. Their gratitude in being remembered is the memory I cherish most from what was such a tragic time for us all.

Quincy, if you are reading, we could use a little more of your magic right about now.

Pork, Love & Rock and Roll.

We Are the World, 1985

Nights of Wine and Glasses

Since the time of my own arrival at legal drinking age, it seems that shifts have taken place in the adult beverage of choice. Naturally, during college that choice was beer. I always did and still prefer dark beers over light. My liquor of choice was Scotch whisky, but has moved to some of the botanical gins we have available today (e.g., Plymouth, Hendricks, Junipero). A peaty, fire on the throat single malt is a nice companion on occasion. Other spirits are shaded by memories of unsuccessful experiments. I remain convinced that Tequila is a hallucinogenic, and that’s OK. Playing an all night round of Blackjack where the player who owns the lowest hand must drink a shot of bourbon whiskey makes everybody a loser. Vodka is out and by association,to this day I still don’t like orange juice. My apologies to the state of Florida, Anita Bryant and the entire citrus industry. Some memories just don’t die.

Thankfully, time passed, wine has gained prominence and become more diverse in its quality, origin and availability to us today. For me, a party, dinner or visit with an old friend is incomplete without wine. My family will attest to this fact.

While the holiday season is upon us, we all think of parties and planning their success. Yet, on any given night, you might be planning to entertain family, meet with colleagues or have a wonderfully satisfying evening catching up with your imaginary friend. So wine is added to your serving list, and you wonder about quantities to have on hand to ensure the evening has a steady flow of good cheer.

In the December issue of Food and Wine, on page 166, they provide a succinct and useful guide for calculating the amount of wine you need on hand when entertaining. The cocktail party and dinner party scenarios are each presented, where we learn that the longer people stay, the more wine they will drink.

For a cocktail party, anticipating guests will stay for 2 hours, plan on 3 glasses per person.

For a dinner party, anticipating guests will stay for 4 hours, plan on 5 glasses per person.

So how many glasses are there in a bottle? Food and Wine states that a 5-ounce pour is the proper amount for each serving. The usual bottle of wine lends five, 5-ounce glasses of wine.

Food and Wine also gives advice on which type and shape of glasses enhance the flavors of each individual wine (red, white, sparkling), and please do change glasses when changing from white to red, or individual wine to individual wine. Do what you will when it is just you and your imaginary friend.

While I know that various shapes and sizes of wine glasses enable the wine’s true spirit to come alive, I am not overly concerned about it. As my Italian chef friend once told me, ‘in Italy, when drinking wine at home, the glass is usually small, casual and looks a lot like a juice glass’. Simple, pure taste. So while companies such as Riedel have produced a beautiful, line of wine-enhancing glasses, you’ll know you are regarded as family and friend when visiting me if I serve you wine in my vast collection of juice glasses. We will have an ample supply of each, and try to avoid mixing and matching our vintages and varietals, unless you insist on keeping that single glass.

Cheers and Cin Cin.

The Wonders of Technology

Folks, if tonight (Sunday) you have noticed that some sections have disappeared, heralded by blank spots where ads might be, have no fear. I gather that Google technology is righting itself and this is a temporary SNAFU. Google runs our Blog sphere.

This afternoon I started some lamb shanks in a braise, and am now enjoying them over a simple risotto, with a glass of wine. Shanks are such a treat, when you have the time. I started mine last night, putting the shanks to bed in a bath of dry Marsala. It is worth the wait.

Speaking of wine, I have some helpful information lined up that will make planning a party where wine is the key spirit, a cinch.

Talk soon!

An Ode to Shirley: Sunday and Every Day Touch of Grace Biscuits

Today I baked a batch of Shirley Corriher’s biscuits and thought you’d like to see the step by step process.

A note before we start. In her DVD, “Kitchen Secrets Revealed!" as Shirley demonstrates making her Touch of Grace Biscuits, she makes a comment about the use of buttermilk and heavy cream in her recipe. Today’s buttermilk is usually found in the low fat variety only. This is the result of a change in the production process, and today’s buttermilk is quite different from its ancestor. This is great fodder for another blog on another day. Back to Shirley’s recipe. I gathered from Shirley’s discussion in her DVD about adding heavy cream, doing so creates a dairy with characteristics and fat similar to the traditional buttermilk her mother would have used to make biscuits. She also recalls watching her mother mixing biscuit dough in a traditional wooden biscuit bowl. This same scene was depicted in the screen version of Alice Walker's novel "The Color Purple", in which Oprah and Whoopie star, as the character Celie (Whoopie) makes biscuits. (At least this is how I remember the storyline.)

In earlier times, this was a daily ritual in the kitchen of the home cook. The bowl was held in a downward slant, resting on one arm. The other hand was used to do the work of mixing and portioning the dough. There was a decided rhythm to the motion of gently incorporating the wet and dry ingredients from disparate ends of the bowl, resulting in the dough which was pinched off, placed in a pan and baked. The bowl was wiped clean, and the ritual repeated at the next meal or the next day.

Years ago I purchased such a bowl from SC native John Martin's (Hoppin John) e-store. I like Shirley's recipe, understand that gentle mixing is the best method and don't trust my own sense of gauging, so generally keep my wooden biscuit bowl on display as a piece of culinary history to admire. One source for these bowls is Lehman's where they point out these bowls are also very useful in holding bread dough during the rising cycle. Like their's, my bowl is oblong and made from the Tupelo Gum tree wood as well.

One other note, I certainly agree with Shirley about using White Lily flour. Oddly, even in my local and well-equipped grocery stores, often the self-rising variety of White Lily is not available. So I do use store or other brands of self-rising flour. I have never tried Shirley's suggestion of how to make your own self-rising flour, but knowing her, it works very well.

As it turns out, I happen to have both Bulgarian buttermilk, and lowfat buttermilk on hand today. The former has 8 grams of fat per serving and the latter 2.5 grams. I have made Shirley’s biscuits using the mix of dairy she suggests, but today decided to use only Bulgarian buttermilk.

As pointed out in her recipe, once the dry and wet ingredients are combined, the result is a shaggy, cottage-cheese like dough.

Using the ice cream scoop, each biscuit portion is gently dropped into a bed of all-purpose flour. After careful shaping, each portion is nestled closely into the baking pan.

After baking, the biscuits have risen up and not just out, yielding a conjoined group ready to be turned out onto a rack and broken apart from one another.

Here you can see the final product, moist and tender.

I’m not sure if using only Bulgarian buttermilk produced a biscuit any lighter or fluffier than Shirley’s mixed dairy version. However, having tasted both, as predicted with Bulgarian buttermilk there is a slight bit of earthy tartness that is new and different.

If you can find Bulgarian buttermilk, you might give it a try. In the meantime, Shirley’s recipe guarantees a perfect, luscious success. Enjoy!

Bread: The Staff of Modern Day Life Too

If you have been following along in the story about Jeff and Zoe’s new book “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” and my discussion of their “Simple Crusty Bread” recipe, you will know that Jeff has contacted me to provide more information about the recipe. Having now promoted this recipe to friends and colleagues, two questions arose about how to expand the utilization of the recipe.

One question is whether the dough could be used to make pizza. Jeff has written back and confirms:

“You can definitely use the basic recipe as a pizza dough. Just roll it to 1/8-inch thick, using lots of dusting flour on a board.

Follow your favorite pizza recipe, but don't let the assembled pizza sit for a long time on your pizza peel or it may stick (cover the peel with flour or cornmeal). Our recipe is on page 135 of the book.”

The other question is whether whole wheat flour could be substituted for the white flour in the main recipe to create whole wheat bread. This question is addressed on Jeff and Zoe’s site, and the response in part is:

“This summer I was in Vermont and went to the King Arthur Flour store, otherwise known as the baking mecca. I picked up some of the white whole wheat flour. It is 100% whole wheat milled from a hard white wheat and they say to use it as you would unbleached all-purpose. It has the germ and bran still intact but it is lighter, both in color and in taste. I tried it as a substitute in our master recipe and thought that it was quite good, but the dough was a tad drier than our normal recipe and I didn’t care for the crust. I love the flavor of the white whole wheat and I like that it has more nutritional value, but I want that really crisp, crackling crust that we get with the unbleached all-purpose flour. Whole wheat alone just doesn’t achieve it. My recommendation is to mix them, 4 cups all-purpose and 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat. Thanks for the great question and enjoy the book!”

The same sort of substitution equivalent is possible (one third of the overall flour) with Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread. I have tried this substitution and it works well, providing a nice chewy texture and added robustness to the bread.

In her book, CookWise, Shirley Corriher has an incredibly informative section of the various types of flour, and a convenient table that outlines which type of flour is best for which purpose. Aside from points Jeff makes about the differences in ‘whole wheat’ flours, the amount of protein in the flour greatly affects how it ‘behaves’ in a recipe. Shirley has been so kind as to publish her award-winning buttermilk-based biscuit recipe on the web, and I will share that in another blog entry. Refer back to my discussion about using an ice cream scoop to portion biscuits in Reviews of Kitchen Tools and Appliances. So get your scoops ready, lay in some buttermilk and heavy cream, and we’ll be baking biscuits soon.

I’ve read that Shirley has been working on another book and look forward to its publication. In the meantime her original book and available DVD, Kitchen Secrets Revealed!, are great learning tools. She’s got a personality that is as unique and colorful as Julia’s, and is completely devoted to unraveling the mysteries of cooking science. I was happy yet not surprised to find they had been friends.

In the meantime, thanks to Jeff for keeping the dialogue going and for doing the leg work up front to anticipate the questions and solutions we home cooks would have in maximizing the efforts of time spent in the kitchen, and ensuring pleasing outcomes. I’m still curious as to how he came to locate my blog, so look forward to hearing from him again.

Family Reunions

The other day I had the idea for what I thought would be a neat new series on The Food Network (TFN). In this new show, the host would spend each episode visiting a family reunion, tasting the food and sharing the special stories and recipes that make each family unique. Think of it-taking a glimpse into the tapestry of culinary cultures that is our collective country.

I asked myself 'who should host this show?', and while I considered many of our well-known Food Network personalities, I settled on myself. Yes, this is the career for me.

October is the month of our family reunion-the Southern side of my family. This year was special because both of my brothers were there. I think there's nothing so lasting as the friendship, humor and uncanny synchronicity between siblings. You've got to appreciate genetics. I know my ancestors were pleased to see their progeny across several generations gathered once again.

Every year, there are fantastic, authentic "Low Country" dishes, and plates are piled high. I mean cousin Dot's tender collard greens, that melt in your mouth. Claude's pork which is barbecued to succulent perfection, Calvin's crispy, juicy fried chicken and Ray's fluffy, light and perfectly sweet coconut cake. Yet, there is one offering that has people plotting in advance over how to steal away a take-home aliquot. It is a dish my cousin Janet graces us with every year. We literally keep look-out on the porch waiting for her to arrive. My most close cousin Kaye, my secret sister and partner in humor-based crime, leads the pack as chief architect in devising the best new method for transporting a supply of this once-a-year delight back to her home. It is a true sport with her, and makes me laugh every year. The joy she achieves from her secret stash is palpable.

What is this dish that evokes such a response? 'Crab au Gratin' is the name my cousin Janet has given to it. After watching the popularity of this dish year in and year out for two decades, I finally decided to ask for the recipe this year. Once again, as with the Blue Cheese Biscuits recipe, there is one ingredient that is a short cut, decidely American and comes as a great surprise, which I put under the category of 'who knew?' Yet, like the biscuits, it all works.

The only addition I have to my cousin's recipe is a nip of Sherry. Crab just seems to be happier with Sherry. (I know I always am.) You can serve this dish over rice or pasta, or as my other cousins do-simply from a bowl, cup or Thermos on its own. This dish is a perfect Fall or Winter comfort food,and would be memory-making on Christmas Eve. So check out the Recipes section to read the details. Thanks to cousin Janet for blessing us each year and to cousin Kaye for the humor in elevating the take-some-home caper to new heights each year. Is this not family? Food and family make the world go 'round.

If there are special favorites from your family, you know I want to hear about them. Don't be shy; click on the 'Comments' link at the bottom of this section and write in.

As to The Food Network and submitting an idea for a new show with me as the host-it is not so easy. I scoured their web site for a "Contact Us' link. At the bottom of the home page, I did find information after clicking "About Us" then pressing on to the "Frequently Asked Questions" link. Turns out they generally want to hear from professional production companies with new ideas, and the communication must be in snail mail. Do you think five cats and one Southern-Northern hybrid gal constitute a production company? Hang on, have you met my cats? Maybe I will give it a whirl all the same; I am not shy.

I haven't forgotten about the treatise on pork, and I have a guest blogger lined up to speak about beef. I have an addition for Chefs I Admire as well. We're waiting to hear back from Dr. Jeff on using his dough for pizza. Stick with me; we will get there.

Until then,

Buttermilk

Who Would Have Thunk It?

For those of you out there who are reading along because I have cajoled you into it, or found this site on your own, I will tell you that bringing this blog to the world has been a joy. Yet, the site is weak on attracting comments. In all honesty, I do want to know your thoughts.

Today, much to my joy, honor and surprise I received a comment from none other than (Dr.) Jeff Hertzberg, whose collaborative bread recipe with Zoe Francoise, I discussed in the last blog. (His new book is on the top of my Christmas Wish List.) He wrote out of interest in how the addition of buttermilk affected his bread recipe. Click on comments at the end of the Tale of Two No-Knead Breads blog to read his query. Jeff has his own site www.artisanbreadin5.com

Offline I have asked him to comment on the utilization of his dough in making pizza, and will publish his response. Why? Today I spoke with a colleague who though interested in expanding her culinary horizons has numerous responsibilities at home that make time in the kitchen tight. The idea of using the dough to make pizza really seemed to resonate with her. So we will wait for Jeff to give us guidance.

Julia would have been pleased by this blog. I think more than anything she wanted to explain techniques and provide information so that the busy home cook could keep cooking something to enjoy. No one has the time or the heart to fail with a recipe.

This journey to create a blog has been done by utilizing resources that are free, and I am grateful for them. However, there are limitations to free templates, configurations, etc.. going forward. I do want to hear from you, understand what information is of most value to you, and create a site that is useful. To date, I have not been heavy on recipes because those sorts of sites abound. My objective is to bring you information that improves your outcomes in the kitchen. A happy cook is a happy cook. So please, do vote in the poll on the left hand side of the site.

As to formatting, I plan a migration to a full-fledged site where I can be more flexible with how the content is organized and displayed. So stick with me and we will see an evolution.

One final shout out tonight. I know one friend planned to try the Buttermilk Pie recipe over Thanksgiving. I'm anxious to hear how you and your family found the final product to be.

I think it is time to talk about pork, then beef...and I have a special guest lined up to provide useful information about the latter. She raises boutique beef. Stay tuned.

Thank you for reading along, please 'comment', and I will be back soon.

A Tale of Two No-Knead Breads

Please do go to NY Times online, search for 'no knead breads' and read the two articles that accompany these recipes. The stories about the two artisans who created them are fascinating. One is a physician.

I have made both recipes, and must say that the "Simple Crusty Bread" has advantages. First, this recipe makes enough dough for 4 loaves out of 6 1/2C of flour, and the dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Simply, pull off a grapefruit sized amount of dough, let it rise and bake when you want a fresh loaf. I plan to add some minced fresh rosemary and black olives to the second loaf I bake.

Also, this dough is easier to handle and does not require a special container for cooking. Finally, I found it rather restrictive to feed the dough at the required time intervals. Read on and you will understand.

Please scroll down to Review of Kitchen Tools and Appliances below where I will post a source of a Baker's Blade. Scoring bread dough prior to baking is essential for achieving a proper rise and cooked crumb.

Finally, a note about storing bread. In his book, The Science of Cooking, Peter Barham discusses the why of bread going stale. Flour is made up of many starch granules, in which the molecules are highly ordered in small crystals. Once baked in bread, the crystals are melted and destroyed. After cooling new crystals form as the molecules in the starch attempts to re-organize themselves. The attempt to re-organize requires the attraction of a great deal of moisture to create crystals again. The crystals take on excess water, the bread actually drys out and staling begins. The rate of new, but unhelpful crystal formation is maximized at 4 degrees C, which means storing in the refrigerator causes rapid staling of bread. Who knew? I have read that the French keep their bread in the oven, in the off position of course, to slow staling.

The only change I made when baking each recipe was in the "Simple Crusty Bread" recipe. I substituted 3C of water with 2C water and 1C buttermilk, of course!

I. No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

Time: About 1 1/2 hours plus 14 to 20 hours' rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1 1/2-pound loaf.

II. Simple Crusty Bread
Adapted from “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)

Time: About 45 minutes plus about 3 hours’ resting and rising

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough
Cornmeal, for dusting

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Yield: 4 loaves.

Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.

Hot Soup and Warm Bread

As promised, and despite my horrid photography "skills', here are pictures of the new no-knead bread and the sweet potato soup.

I tinkered with both recipes so when I add them to the Recipe section, I will report on only what I have prepared in the home kitchen.

All in all, it was a perfect day--rainy, cold, a fire in the fireplace...with the unmistakable aroma of a yeasty bread baking in the oven and the sweet and salty soup gently simmering on the stove. The taste of both final products is tres bien.

Until tomorrow, over and out.

Butter, Butter Everywhere

Welcome back! I feel certain that your pots are simmering away today as you make turkey stock. I have a comment on the recipes I have given to you for making broth or stock. While I still think the chefs are on to something by delaying the addition of the aromatics until later in the process, I have a quandary. Lately, I have read and seen chefs comment on cooking aromatics for a short time before continuing on with them in the remainder of a recipe. They report that this allows the flavors bloom so to speak as the sugars begin to 'come out' of the vegetables when exposed to the heat. I know that adding aromatics to a bubbling stock pot does expose them to heat, but wonder if we are losing some of the complexity of caramelization if not shortly sauteing them first. I'm not sure my palate is sensitive enough to discern the difference, but I might just pose this to my chef friend and ask his opinion. I'll let you know what he says.

My kitchen is open today and I am trying a new, shorter version of a no-knead bread read about in the NY Times last week, and a Sweet Potato soup recipe discovered in the November issue of Bon Appetit. As to the no knead bread, I have tried the version circulated some months ago which takes more than a day, but is indeed a saving grace for a cook like I who has never mastered kneading. The result was a rustic, chewy round loaf enjoyed by all. I'll let you know how this new version compares and file them both in the Recipes section.

So, if I am baking bread, certainly it follows I am thinking about butter. Scroll down to Lessons Learned for the new post on butter, and a discussion on salted vs. un-salted types.

As always, I welcome comments, so let me hear from you. Refer to the upper left hand portion of the page to review posting instructions. I know at least one reader who said they were going to try the Buttermilk Pie recipe for Thanksgiving, so let me know how you liked it.

Thanksgiving: Family & Friends

I hope that now that the holiday is over that you had as warm and wonderful a holiday as I did.

The majority of my family still lives in the city of my birth, in the deep South and half a continent away. This necessitates advance planning to execute a holiday meal that rivals those we all remember with fondness. So, in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I searched through the now well-worn metal recipe box my mother gave when I left home all those years ago, to aid in establishing my own kitchen. I found myself smiling as I read my maternal grandmother's recipes for pumpkin chiffon pie and cranberry mold, the latter including the direction 'serve at Thanksgiving or Christmas'. If I close my eyes, I can hear my maternal grandmother giving that direction with authority- 'it should be done this way'. I can remember the imaginary drum roll as she eased her cranberry mold into warm water, inverted it, and watched it triumphantly ease onto its serving plate.

Aside from the cranberry mold and pumpkin chiffon pie, my maternal grandmother always insisted on having onions in a cream sauce at holidays. I have taken ownership of this side dish, adding dry mustard and a good dose of sherry. I know my grandmother is smiling.

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, through email, my parents and I had crafted a menu. We would of course have turkey, which my father has mastered, and my mother would prepare the pumpkin pie. The dressing is always left to me, which means someone has to go in search of the local, onion sausage as the secret ingredient that I have never found outside of the deep South. Being a true foodie, I brought home dried apples, figs and cranberries in my suitcase as new additions to the dressing. Making dressing always conjures up memories of my paternal grandmother. She sustained an injury in the middle of her life that left one arm severely weakened if not paralyzed. Yet, when it came to making dressing, she would not be deterred. I can still see her using the hand of her 'good arm' to mix the cornbread and leftover rolls, then stirring in eggs, butter and spices all to make her dressing.

By the time one gets to the middle of their life, there have been many wonderful holidays that have past, and so many of the faces we counted on seeing are gone from us. Yet, I can always remember them through the dishes served and remember the pride they felt in their contributions to the meal. I remain thankful for a family that keeps the tradition going and enjoy the progression when preparation for family standards and new additions is passed on to my generation and the next.

Stock and Broth; Holidays and Everyday

Much to my surprise and delight, I have learned that there is a difference between stock and broth.

The difference between a stock and broth is that a stock is made of bones only and a broth is made from bones with meat. Who knew?

With the holiday season approaching, those of us who honor our friend the turkey will undoubtedly, and ultimately wind up with a carcass bare of any meat. Friends, that's the perfect time to consider making a stock.

Check out the recipe section of the site for recipes for each. Perhaps you are as surprised as I to find out that the aromatics (onions, celery, carrots +/- herbs) are best accentuated if added after some period of initial cooking.

Credit for the broth recipe comes from the Culinary Boot Camp companion book to a week long course at the Culinary Institute of America, and the stock from our old friend The Joy of Cooking, the edition my mother gave to me on my 18th birthday...so it's not the 'new' edition.

If you go to the effort to make stock or broth, do create portions and freeze for later use. I use 1 Qt zipper lock bags, date them, and keep in the freezer. If you still have ice cube trays, you can also pour the liquid into a tray, freeze and pop out a cube or two when a recipe calls for a bouillon cube.

One final note. Shirley Corriher suggests that the taller the pot, the less evaporation and more volume of liquid when the stock or broth is done. Both recipes state that the pot should be uncovered throughout cooking, so I think Shirley may be on to something here.

Chefs I Admire

Amy Finley

If you too are a foodie, you watched this past season's Best New Food Network Chef week after week as we lived with the contestants and watched them pass through a series of challenges. From the beginning, I felt Amy Finley stood out. Maybe it was because I felt like she was channeling Julia, regardless, her skill, charm and desire to make French classics approachable to us appealed to me from the start. As you may know, she did win, and now has a show, The Gourmet Next Door which is broadcast on Sundays at 1pmET/12pmCT. I have watched each of her episodes and impressed with everything she is doing.

While dining out one night in Paris last year, our meal started with Gougeres-a savory, puff of cheesy bliss that will literally melt on the tongue. I was incredibly pleased to see that recipe in Amy's first show, and again, made it completely approachable.

Amy, wherever Julia is eating tonight, I know she is smiling!

The Cheese Course

While long customary in other countries as the finale to a meal, the introduction of the cheese course to the American dining experience has been a long time in coming. Perhaps by now you have taken the leap and had a cheese course when dining out, and want to recreate this at home.

First, the experts suggest that the mix of cheeses be limited to 3 or 4 varieties. They should be diverse, lighter in flavor to strong, and softer in texture to hard. Another good reminder is to choose your cheese palette from different origins--geography and animal. In regard to the latter, I mean cheeses made from the milk of cows, sheep and goats. Support your local growers and artisans and look for unique cheeses at Farmer's Markets in your area. My family has long enjoyed the blue cheese made at Clemson University, and I know that many universities make cheese as well.

Next, when preparing the cheese, plan to leave it at room temperature for about an hour before serving. This gives it time to return to its full flavor. When arranging the cheese on a platter, order them in a circle, starting with the mildest continuing to the most strong. Encourage your guests to sample them in that order. If they start with a strong blue, they will never be able to appreciate a mild goat's milk cheese later.

Fruit is a wonderful pairing with cheese for this course. Pears, grapes, nuts, apples and figs are natural accompaniments. If it is not the season for fresh frigs, do no shy away from the dried variety. Chutney or fruit compotes work well too. Serving bread or crackers along with the cheese is up to you, but keep in mind that you do not want the bread to compete with the cheese flavors. Keep these starch accompaniments simple.

Finally, wine is another happy addition to the cheese course. Some advocate choosing contrasting wines, while others suggest choosing wines that compliment the cheese. Experiment. The choice is yours, but for my palette nothing is more pleasing than the combination of a blue cheese and aged, tawny Port. This combination in itself is the perfect finish to any meal.

You Are What You Eat- Even if You Shouldn't

For quite some time I have been interested to see the increase in consumer goods recalls. I imagine we are all familiar with the pet food, toothpaste and toy recalls. Wondering about the mechanism by which we are kept informed, I went to the Food and Drug Administration's site to review recalls, was pleased to find a list-serv option to be kept aware of new recalls, and signed up. To my surprise, I receive recall notices nearly every day. Focusing on the significant number of food recalls that arrive each day in my mail box and contrast that to those few highlighted in the media I have encouraged family and friends to opt-in to this valuable tool to remain aware. Though I have yet to receive a response after writing to various legislators and media, I indeed have contacted them to encourage a better system for making us aware of all of the recalls, not simply the ones that affect the mass population.

In the meantime, I encourage you to take advantage of this notification system from FDA by entering your email address at the top of the page at this url: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html

Someone's in the Kitchen-Not Dinah!

Welcome to Buttermilk's Kitchen Cabinet, and thank you for taking a look inside!

The goal of this resource is to provide the visitor with culinary facts, recipes, reviews of new kitchen tools and appliances, and perhaps a little humorous fiction along the way. My hope is that what you read will provide value and you will return again, and again.

So who is 'Buttermilk'?
Buttermilk is my nom de plume, and an alter ego of sorts, gifted to me by a longtime friend many years ago. Buttermilk was reared in the South by parents individually representing Southern and Northern culinary culture. This unique upbringing enabled me to experience varieties of food and culinary life from either side of the Mason-Dixon line. My career enabled me to build even greater culinary experiences through travel abroad. Friends, family and colleagues alike will confirm that where there is food, there I will be.

My culinary education has been completely self-directed. Whether tinkering with an old family recipe, practicing making risotto until I get it right, or reading culinary science to understand the 'whys' of interactions and outcomes between ingredients, it is my absorbing passion. Cooking for and feeding others is a true gift, always.

I hope you will communicate with me when you have suggestions, comments or questions. If I don't know the answer, I will work to find it.

Again, thank you for taking your time to stop by, opening the proverbial cabinet in my kitchen, and I look forward to a journey that leaves us all feeling satisfied.