will travel for food

another thanksgiving extravaganza at our place

2010-12-05T11:40:00.001-08:00

it was time for another trash talkin turkey bash at our place! the usual gang of suspects was present along with a few special guests! we had the pleasure of sharing the festivities with karen-jared's girlfriend, tanner-alix's boyfriend and linda & mike flew in from california to witness the debaucle first hand! a big round of applause to alix and linda for taking all of the photos-the thought honestly never crossed my mind...can you say pie overload?

also new to the festivities, two men in a boat. we added beer butt ducks to the menu. here they are with the appropriately placed beer cans in their aluminum boat waiting to go grilling.

the grill is heating up just for them

smoking the day away

the two men, all smoked and ready to rest before the carving

also new this year, wild mushrooms. our shiitakes made it into the stuffing but up the street, a neighbors tree was covered in oyster mushrooms. the gang hiked over and came back with these beauties.

a close up of the oysters

darry preparing them for the grill

mmm, yummy mushrooms

the turkey pit. we actually got the turkey going first and did all of the other stuff while it was roasting. the stake and the ground are foiled and ready to receive signals...

the bird is hung on the stake and a probe is inserted. the probe is insulated with foil and buried under the ground to prevent it from burning up

the trash can is placed over the bird

darry lights the fire

let the waiting begin...

luckily, the probe and the remote are working. we could keep track of the internal temp of the turkey without removing the trashcan. our 21 pound bird took about 3 hours to cook

so what to do whilst we wait? we toss a ball around

and around...

we talk a lot

we watch other people toss a ball around

we talk some more

we tend the fire

and before you know it, the alarm chimes out: your entree is ready! (in a creepy female robot voice)

and there it is, one trash can turkey!

the spread-the turkey was displayed in what else, the lid to the trash can, fitting! we had such a wonderful time. the weather wasn't great but at least it wasn't cold or raining(or snowing for that matter) and we had a chance to enjoy the company of some of our most favorite people for a truly delicious meal. hope you all make it down for next years bash, who knows what we will cook, but it will be fun!

heirloom pumpkins at the farmers' market

2010-10-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

a recent trip to the nashville farmers' market

frosty weather is persimmon picking time!

2010-10-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

wild persimmons in nashville

green baking

2010-10-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

a bakers dilemma; how to be green in the bakery.

sparkle cupcake company

2010-10-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

a review of a south nashville cupcake bakery

acme kitchenware

2010-10-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

a review of one of nashville's best kept culinary secrets.

time for sweet potato pie

2010-10-03T10:21:00.001-07:00

bake a sweet potato pie with freshly harvested sweet potatoes from the nashville farmers' market.

it's apple pickin time!

2010-09-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

the latest info on pick your own apples in nashville, my latest article for examiner.com

Be your own Cake Boss

2010-09-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

learn how to decorate cakes like a pro by reading my latest article for examiner.com

egg facts

2010-09-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

get the latest on double yolks, bloody yolks and how to handle eggs by reading the latest article published on my examiner.com page

Accurate oven temperatures are one of the keys to successful baking

2010-08-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

the latest article for examiner.com is up and it is all about the importance of accurate oven temperatures. read all about it by clicking on the button to the right or by clicking here.

examiner.com, it's where i'm at...

2010-08-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

So, i've been neglecting this site for a while but have no fear-i'm still here just a little busy is all.
recently, i began writing for examiner.com as a nashville bakery examiner. my articles are mainly reviews of bakeries in nashville but i also write about topics that bakers will find interesting. below is a series of links to all of my articles and i encourage everyone to log in to the site and become a subscriber.

Apna Bazaar-a review of a local ethnic market

Foxy Bakery-a review of a local baker

Nolensville Feed Mill-review of a local shop that features amish goods

prebaking pie shells

fresh picked berries

supermarket bakeries-a review of publix fresh baked breads

national peach pie day

perfect cheesecakes

La Espiga Bakery-a review of a latino bakery

long time since...

2010-07-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

it's been a long time since i have posted anything here. i could blame it on the holidays, a hectic schedule, or the book that i was working on; all would be true so take your pick. it's not like we haven't been out to eat-we have and we have found some real tasty places to go. so what could possibly have me sitting at the desk clacking away at the keyboard? a new farmers market, that's what!

we live in south nashville and this part of town is just not so trendy, it's suburbia man, deal with it. things are changing slowly for us, 12 south is paving the way and it is slowly spreading. we do have berry hill and if you look closely, nolensville road is chock full of great places to shop for ethnic foods as well as restaurants ranging from ethiopian to mexican to thai and indian. but we have always lacked the ability to find local produce in our own farmer's market until now. last week was the first run for the new woodbine farmer's market.

it was hot and blindingly sunny but we braved the elements and wandered our way over. parking can be tricky but be patient, people come and go quickly. it's small, about 15 or so vendors and to be honest, each one is not exactly loaded down with products. we were a little disappointed that first week and left empty handed after walking around for 15 minutes.

even so, we have decided to make this a regular occasion and yesterday, we headed over to the market in the search of what ever looked good.

darry loves chevre and couldn't resist talking to the folks at noble springs dairy. he tasted the chevre and the feta, both made with goat milk from the goats they raise on the farm. this time, we weren't leaving empty handed, darry bought a piece of the chevre.

fellow naba member, ed johnson, has a booth at the market to sell his honey.

again, it was hot so we stopped to have some lemonade. this booth sells it with flavors, we chose basil lemonade and it was refreshing.

we are suckers for a locally roasted coffee, especially dark roasts and the humphreys street coffee company was stocked and ready to go. darry talked to the roaster, luke and we walked away with a bag of freshly roasted indonesian bali blue moon, a dark roast. this small company is actually a non profit company that specializes in mentoring young men. by teaching them the ins and outs of a business, they offer inner city boys an alternative to crime.

this little booth was selling fresh baked cookies and cinnamon rolls as well as flowers by the bouquet.

what an interesting group of vendors! we will continue to go every tuesday and hopefully watch this grow into something big. Well done Woodbine Farmer's Market, see you next week!

annual turkey roast

2009-12-27T08:53:00.001-08:00

so i'm a little late in posting this but...twas the week before thanksgiving when all through the cafe, a nasty little virus was running rampant. needless to say, i got sick and it really made preparing for the annual trash can event difficult. the folks in kentucky were dealing with late arrivals due to auto malfunctions and then it was just cold and nasty out there. obviously, we didn't get many photos this year.

here is darry setting up the bird in the turkey pit.

it was cold and grey out there-darry waited by the bit, alone. he insisted on starting it early because of the call for rain. the cousins were arriving a little late and we went on with the preparations.

the finished bird. it was so good this year! very moist.

for more photos of the food, click here, here, here and here.

see you next time! hope you had a great holiday season.

pumpkin time again

2009-10-22T16:31:00.001-07:00

once again, it was date night. this time, we headed over to whole foods to try out their big salad buffet and hot bar. it was towards the end of the evening and we just didn't care for the selections-some looked like they had been out to long and others just didn't interest us. we knew about the little bar over by the produce section and we decided to try it out. they have a limited menu and you sit at a bar and watch them cook your meal. you can even purchase meats or fish and have them cook it fresh for you. we opted for the menu. darry had the fish and chips and i had a pulled chicken sandwich. the fish is freshly battered and fried and it was an extremely generous portion, well cooked and worth waiting for. the chips, potatoes, were a little disappointing-very dark and not at all crispy. my sandwich was made from freshly pulled chicken simmered in a light sauce and served on freshly baked bread with a tomato-cucumber salad. the meal was good; the portions were generous and prices were reasonable. we will go back, the service was friendly and the menu changes seasonally.

up at the farmers market, it was easy to find the apples. we chose some mutsu, macoun and arkansas blacks.

smileys of ridgetop always has beautiful eggplants.

we were after pumpkins and there were many to choose from.

i like the warty ones and apparently so does every one else-there were a lot of them. they are called galeux d' eysines.

beautiful mums, a sure sign of fall

more pumpkins

i love to look at all the different kinds lined up for sale.

these green ones reminded us of geese, too much time spent playing with food...

indian corn, not this year-those hooligans have planted squirrel corn all over my yard!!!

if you love fall, check out the music and molasses photos on the view from the demo garden, happy fall!

farewell to the state fair

2009-10-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

going to the fair has been a tennessee thing for me. we didn't do much of this when i was growing up. now we did have carnivals to go to from time to time and there was the boardwalk at the beach, but not many chances to attend a state fair.

we haven't gone to the fair the last few years. there wasn't any one reason, the kids weren't big on the rides and it was getting a bit pricey for the quality. then there was the crowd that it was attracting-not your wholesome heartwarming sort but one that was a bit on the scary side. this year we volunteered to work the master gardeners display for the final saturday night of the fair (we are members and lots of us took shifts in the booth) and we decided to make it a sort of date night; a dinner of fair fare and walk around the displays and carnival area.

just in case you thought we might escape the rain for one night, think again. we dodged rain drops as we walked around the concession area.

fair food is a breed of it's own but this is just wrong...

a big color picture didn't help to entice us. this was a popular photo site. we had to wait our turn to take the picture with the big sundaes.

going to carnivals in new jersey always guaranteed sausages for dinner. we knew right away that we would be having sausage sandwiches at the fair once we saw them for sale. i went for the italian (of course) and darry went with the polish.

here they are adding more to the grill

after the sandwiches, we worked our shift and then we headed out into the night for dessert-soft serve ice cream. while we indulged in ice cream, we walked around and looked at all of the displays.

lots of blue ribbons here

i think we'll skip this dessert; somebody must have forgotten that cheesecakes need refrigeration.

best of show for some lucky teenager

it's labeled pies but all we saw in here were cakes

we saw some beautiful cakes at the fair, nashville has lots of talent so watch out charm city cakes!

we always look at the live stock. darry wanted to watch the show but i was still eating ice cream and the smell worked against that!

chickens are fun to watch but they smell worse than the cattle!

i think this guy was watching us watch him

we saw some real whoppers, these things weighed over 200 pounds

there were so many entries for produce

this one stopped us, how DO you judge hay?

after walking around the exhibits, we headed over to the carnival area.

too bad the city has given the fair the boot, they say it is just too expensive and the fair grounds need too much work; providing a new facility just isn't an option. well if the fair was as good as this one every year, maybe things would be different. the crowd there was much better-not at all scary and the atmosphere was reminiscent of days gone by; good wholesome fun and greasy food, what every fair should be!

#24 and counting

2009-09-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

did you ever look up from what you were doing, glance at the clock and stop in your tracks because so much more time had passed than you could imagine? have you found yourself so engrossed in something that you didn't even realize that an hour or more had flown by? well then, you know exactly how i felt when i stopped to think that not only was it our anniversary again, but more importantly that it was our 24th anniversary. what happened? where did the time go? can we just pause this thing for a few minutes, i'm not ready to be this old...

with all things considered, we decided to do something we have never done before; ditch the kids and take off for a long weekend. you may argue that we have done that before, and we did once or twice but this was the first time that we left them on their own. at this stage in the game, they had to be able to fend for themselves for a weekend. after all, they are growing up and since alix is in her 3rd year of college, can drive and has a job, we figured she could take the reins and entertain her sister for a couple of days. with that in mind, we packed up the car and headed to miramar beach, just southeast of destin in florida.

as soon as we hit the southern part of tennessee, we hit rain and and it made for a gloomy drive. since neither of us had had much of a chance to eat before leaving, we stopped for lunch at johnny's bbq in cullman, alabama just off I65. from the outside, it looks like a little strip mall restaurant and we were a little skeptical. being hungry and facing at least 5-6 hours of more driving, we decided to give it a go. we headed to the rest rooms first-a side effect of driving. generally, i do not include rest room reviews but i must say that this place had the oddest configuration i have ever seen. what should have been a room for one was divided in such a way that you could have been sitting on the pot with someone right next to you doing the same. not so weird for a restaurant rest room you say until you realize that there were not separate booths, just a little wall between you. and if you were using the sink, you could very well step on the toes of your companion. we won't even talk about what might happen if you left the room while they were still taking care of business-no privacy doors meant that anyone who was walking by would be given quite the show! needless to say, i locked myself in and didn't offer to share the space. from what i gather, the men's room was a similar setup and darry wasn't any more comfortable with it than i was with the ladies.

the other thing, lunch wasn't much to talk about since the rest rooms provided so much of the entertainment. the food was on the bland side. we both had the bbq sandwich plate which consisted of a pulled pork sandwich and two sides. the sandwiches were decent but the sides were just dull and unexciting, almost institutional. when i go to places for bbq/pulled pork, i always try the baked beans. many places slow cook them in the pit with the meat-not this place. they weren't any better than canned beans and the slaw wasn't much better. we skipped dessert, locked ourselves in the restrooms once more and headed back out and on our way.

only in the south could you be heading north and south at the same time...we found ourselves on both 31 north and 97 south at the the same time-the sign confirms our confusion.

finally, after much time in the car, several pit stops for various reasons and lots of rain, we made it to our hotel. we asked the friendly young man at the desk for a pizza recommendation and made our way to fat clemenza's for dinner and a chance to relax.
we ordered a couple of house salads, darry chose and italian beer and i had a glass of pinot grigio while we snacked on fresh hearth baked bread as we waited for our vegetarian pizza to arrive. this place is not your average neighborhood pizza joint. they actually have a brick oven and have done a nice job of making it look like a much nicer place than could be found in yet another strip mall. the food and libations were the perfect way to end the long day of traveling while we contemplated our plans for the following day. the hand tossed pizza was very well executed. the thin crust was nicely baked with just the right amount of bubbles in the dough and it had the caramelized flavor that a hearth baked crust should have. we truly enjoyed the fresh mozzarella and the vegetables on the pizza; it was worth venturing out in the dark into an area we were unfamiliar with and if we are nearby again, we will go back.

we rose early on saturday so that we could catch the farmers market in pensacola. i have said in the past that if you want to know what a city's food scene is like, visit the farmers market.

with that said, pensacola is in trouble!!!

first stop in pensacola was for coffee. we headed into breaktime (by dawn) cafe on palafox place. we caffeined up and darry had an e.t. bagel with cream cheese while i had a cinnamon scone. as we munched on breakfast and watched the rain fall, we plotted our first trip to the palafox farmers market. we were so disappointed-only three vendors had edibles; one sold boiled peanuts, one sold yellow squash and the third had baked goods and fudge. we had traveled 50 miles to see this? we didn't linger long and began walking on palafox place towards the car.

on our way, we came across a nice shop called distinctive kitchens and even though it was only 9:30, the doors were open. after oogling the front windows, we had to walk around the store. we really liked the set up; kitchen ware on one side with a demo kitchen for classes and on the other side of the store, all of the appliances for your kitchen. leave it to us to end up in a kitchen while on vacation...the friendly young woman working in the shop recommended that we head over to joe patti's seafood since we were visiting pensacola. we headed back out to the street and made our way to joe patti's.

i love signs like this and i take pictures of them when i can!

this was by far the largest fish store i have ever been in. so many choices of fresh fish available and being cleaned/butchered right in the shop.

the fishing fleet is right outside the front door. we didn't have the ability to take fish with us this time, next time we will definitely pick up some fish and what ever else we need. they have a nice little gourmet shop with everything you could possibly need for a picnic on the beach. if only it weren't raining...
and speaking of the rain, we decided not to head out to pensacola beach this time but at least i got a decent shot of the sign!

we drove back to destin and made several stops on the way. when we were driving to pensacola that morning, we spied many shops and made mental notes to stop in as many as possible. we visited a sea shell shop where darry found rubber cockroaches. he is now enjoying the shrieks and screams he gets from his coworkers when they find them in the kitchen. we visited a wonderful little garden center called the garden gate in the town of gulf breeze and we stopped in another sea shell souvenir shop that also sold cement statuary, the tacky little statues that you see in gardens everywhere. since these are not food related, they are up on my garden blog.

when planning this trip, i asked a coworker who regularly vacations in the area for some recommendations. his first suggestion was to go to goatfeather's in santa rosa beach. after stopping by the hotel for a few minutes to change and what not, we headed back out and made our way to santa rosa beach for lunch at goatfeathers.

the restaurant is located on the top floor of the building and since we arrived a little late in the day for lunch, there were very few people in the restaurant. arriving at the end of lunch can be a bad thing-the food is not always fresh and sometimes things aren't available. we took a chance on po'boys, i ordered shrimp and darry ordered soft shell crab. we waited longer than we expected to but when the food arrived, we understood why. everything is breaded and fried fresh to order, including the french fries. first let me say that most of the time, i am disappointed by the bread used for sandwiches. it's just cheap, squishy and little more than a sponge that disintegrates. that definitely was not the case here! they actually used fresh baked french bread and not the soft stuff that supermarkets and sub shops try to pass off as french bread. this was real crispy on the outside, soft on the inside freshly baked french bread. then there were the shrimp...i love to eat gulf shrimp when i am in the area, they are so much better than any others because they are fresh from the gulf of mexico, not frozen and shipped from asia. simply put, that was the best shrimp po'boy i have ever eaten and darry was just as pleased with the soft shell crab po'boy. his only regret, he didn't think to order the grouper po'boy because judging by the crab, the grouper would have been just as good and back here in tn, fresh grouper is hard to come by. even the french fries were really good, slightly batter dipped and crispy on the outside-so good and worth a repeat visit.
on our way out, we stopped in the seafood market that is also part of the business and is located on the first floor of the building. they had a wonderful selection of fresh caught fish, seafood and oysters. if we only had the ability to travel with fish, we would have picked up something to take home but not this trip.

we ventured further down the beach and found ourselves in grayton beach. a funky little neighborhood with a pretty and obviously deserted beach. this was our first chance to walk on the beach since we had nothing but rain so far.

all we encountered were some shore birds and a few people.

it was so quiet and peaceful. after walking off lunch, we headed over to another of brads recommendations; a great little shop called big mama's hula girl gallery. if you are in the area, it is another great little place to visit and perhaps pick up a souvenir.
we began the evening saturday with dinner in another beach front location, pompano joe's. it was saturday night and the place was packed. it was raining, big surprise, so sitting outside on the deck was not an option. we waited at the bar until our table was ready. one thing i will say, every where we went, the wine options were more than a selection of chardonnay or chardonnay. in every restaurant we visited, i had choices that included pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc by the glass something that many restaurants we visit in nashville do not always offer (i am not talking about the higher end/trendier places, i am talking about the small neighborhood places that we generally visit).

for dessert, we stopped in miramar beach for ice cream at a little place in a strip mall which is simply named the ice cream shoppe. they have wonderful ice cream from kitchens ice cream of panama city and we enjoyed it so much that we went there twice. chocolate hurricane, a single scoop in a cup, was all i needed for night! it was dark but not so dark that you have to stop for water after every spoonful and it had just the right amount of chunks. darry chose his favorite, butter pecan and he definitely enjoyed it. as i said, we went back on sunday, just before they closed and had the same flavors again. the shop was clean and the staff was friendly. the owner, gary, had on a football game and darry joined him in watching the end of the game. it was an enjoyable finish to a long and busy day.

while in grayton beach, we spied this restaurant near the beach. it is called the red bar and from the front door, it looked like a great place to stop and have a drink.

it was so packed that we decided not to stay and rather to return for breakfast on sunday morning.

there isn't any easy way to describe the place. the decor is everything you can imagine plus a million posters in between, and yes, the place is red all over too. we sat down with menus and our waitress brought us some hot coffee. while we read and sipped, we couldn't help but look at the memorabilia and what nots all over the walls and ceiling. darry settled on a bagel with lox and i chose the veggie omelette. there weren't too many people in the place so the food came out in fairly quick time. the bagel was on the large side, layered with slices of lox and accompanied by cream cheese, sliced red onions and lots of capers. darry thoroughly enjoyed the capers, most places do not include them and he was pleased with the combination of flavors as well as the quality of the bagel and the lox. my omelette was filled with freshly sauteed vegetables, mainly mushrooms, onions and peppers and that was fine with me. i hate getting canned mushrooms and my only suggestion would be to at least offer cheese with this omelette. most people expect at least some cheese either in it or on it and this one did not have any. now don't get me wrong here, it was still a very good omelette. the eggs were perfectly cooked and so were the veggies, it just could have used a little more in the flavor profile to suit my taste and perhaps i should have asked about the cheese. either way, this was a very good and very reasonably priced breakfast and it is definitely worth another trip to the beach. we will go back and perhaps sample lunch or dinner or maybe even just a drink at the bar.

after breakfast, we walked down the street to the beach to enjoy our first day in the sun!

same beach, different view in the bright sun with a beautiful blue sky.

i love to look at the patterns in the sand, the tide made this one.

this was caused by the heavy downpours and wind

the herons were stalking a group of people who were surf fishing. they were hoping for an easy meal.

another view of the beach in full sun.

after walking on the beach for an hour, we decided to explore the area and see what was around us. we visited some antique shops and stopped for lunch in a beachside restaurant called the crab trap in destin.

and what a trap it was! by far, the worst meal we ate in florida! darry ordered fried grouper fingers and i had the fried grouper sandwich. both meals were fried grouper but looked as similar as apples and oranges. darry lamented the fact that nothing on the plate had any flavor and it was not nearly as good as the grouper he ate at pompano joes the night before. this was the first time i had eaten grouper and talk about disappointing! the cheap squishy bun was hard and crispy on the bottom-the grease from the fish sat on top of the bread and didn't seem to be able to sink in (note to the kitchen staff-change the fryer oil! that stuff was way too dark) but the top of the bun disintegrated immediately. there wasn't any flavor in this sandwich, just grease and not even salt or pepper could be tasted in the breading. we were both so disgusted that we didn't eat everything and just paid our bill and left. on our way to the car we found that crazy cactus, nopales and cactus pears to be exact. after that lunch, they looked mighty tasty!

after returning to the room to clean up and ready ourselves for dinner, we headed back out on 30a to seaside this time. brad had recommended that we do sunset on the rooftop at the tarpon grill at bud and alleys.

seaside is a quaint little town, slightly stepford in appearance but inviting at the same time. there is a small square in the middle and on one side, airstream trailers that sell drinks, bbq and even cupcakes.

we sat at a table sipping wine/beer and watched the sunset. we also saw a large group of pelicans flying close to the water in search of dinner. when the sun finally sank, they rang the bell to signal the end of the day and boy was the place packed! we decided no to order any of the bar food, although it looked really good, and we ventured down stairs to the pizza bar for a casual dinner by the beach.

we sat on low comfortable chairs with what seemed like a coffee table in front of us and we enjoyed fried calimari, bruschetta and a hand tossed, hearth baked mushroom pizza. my only complaint, the bruschetta. it was one slice of bread topped with diced tomatoes and sliced garlic cloves that were dressed in vinaigrette that was a little too heavy on the vinegar. the calimari and pizza were both excellent and worth the trip but not the bruschetta. we ate pizza in two different places and both times, we enjoyed it, especially the crust.

after dinner, we walked around the square and window shopped in an effort to walk off dinner. then it was on to the ice cream shoppe for a repeat of the last evenings dessert and finally back to the hotel for the night. we were leaving in the morning and we needed to get going...

another rainy day...we stopped at the donut hole for breakfast. judging by the cars in the lot, we figured it had to be good. and if the amount of people waiting for a table was any indication, breakfast was going to be spectacular. darry chose and egg sandwich with bacon and i opted for one of my favorites, corned beef and hash. the sandwich was huge and there was no shortage of bacon or eggs on it. the plate of hash was also a large portion of fresh cooked potatoes and chopped corned beef( the fresh stuff!). we ate, a little melancholy that our trip was over and it was time to go home and a little sad for all of the rain, and then we waddled up to the register to pick up some fresh made donuts for the girls and to pay for breakfast. by far that was the best breakfast choice and we look forward to returning to sample more of the menu and perhaps see some sun!

have i ever mentioned that there is never a truly dull moment with darry? here we were cruising down the road when he suddenly stopped-he spied a turtle in the road and he had to save it!

darry and his new friend, a soft shell turtle

the little bugger just before he was released into a pond at an rv park (much to the owners dismay, sorry!)

the pond was covered with water lillies

on the top, egrets nesting in the trees around the pond. on the bottom, the pond and the new home for darry's little friend.

glad to be home but can't wait to go back! i want some sun the next time...and brad, take notes on your next trip to the beach, we expect more recommendations because they were worth the time to find them!

where we've been this week

2009-06-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

if you drive through nolensville, then you probably recognize the photo. we went on a date night to martins bbq joint in nolensville. we were wanting to try something different from the usual mexican/asian options and after reading a recent article in the paper on this place, we drove out there to see if it was as good as the paper led us to believe.

this is a no frills place with the ambiance and decor that only a road house could provide. the walls are decorated with an extensive collection of license plates, memorabilia and framed reviews/articles about the restaurant. you walk up to the counter, you order your meal and pay for it, you pour your own drink, then you wait to retrieve your meal and seat yourself at a table. we ate indoors since the few tables on the front porch were full. the line of folks waiting to order was just about out the front door. luckily for us, when we arrived only a few people were on line and our food was ready with in minutes.

the reason for heading here was barbeque, southern style barbeque to be exact and if you know anything about it, that means pulled pork. so i chose to have a pulled pork sandwich with the sweet dixie mild sauce and slaw. darry chose a half slab of spare ribs with pit master red sauce, fries (freshly cut, not frozen) and slaw. as much as i enjoyed my dinner, i have come to the conclusion that southern style pulled pork just isn't all that exciting to me. it was prepared well, not at all greasy like some can be and the pork was not reduced to strings either-it was gently pulled apart leaving some chunks large and others small. darry cleaned his plate and from my side of the table, the ribs looked to be moist and juicy not at all dry or leathery.

dinner was reasonably priced, with a tip it came to $26. so if you find yourself craving southern style bbq, make the trip out to martins and enjoy the scenery, indoors and out!

the tastes of home

2009-04-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

there is always a memory from your childhood that triggers a craving; something nostalgic that leaves you wishing you could stop and eat that wonderful memory. we all have moments like this especially if you no longer live close to home. darry and i grew up in the new york city area; he's from brooklyn and i am from northern new jersey. no matter where you go in that area, there is such ethnic diversity that the food options are endless.

some of the things i long for simply cannot be found here in nashville. sundays were always a day for coffeecake. fresh from the neighborhood bakery, a square cake topped with mountains of struesal and drifts of powdered sugar. another favorite from the bakery was black and whites. large cakey disks, slightly scented with lemon and decorated with chocolate and vanilla fondant; a classic that is hard to find in new york now as well. every autumn, my grandfather would round up all of the kids for a trip to the long gone tice's farm. we would pick out pumpkins and if we behaved, the reward was a cup of fresh pressed apple cider and a cinnamon cake donut. we could watch them press the apples and fry the donuts. to this day, i still look for cinnamon cake donuts every fall. deli's were a world of their own, with one in every shopping center and they all had fresh crusty italian bread with it's thin flaky crust and soft chewy center and let's not forget the kaiser rolls. they also had a thin, flaky crust, a generous dusting of poppy seeds and a slightly sweet, soft center. pizza was easy to find, every town had at least one family owned place and the pizza was hand tossed, spread with a light coating of tomato sauce and a generous amount of cheese. the crust would bubble and brown and when

it was cut, you could fold your slice in half and walk home while eating it. bagels were chewy and there really weren't many flavors to choose from, plain, sesame, poppy, egg or onion being the most likely ones available. i get hungry just thinking about all of this, i also long for home and my family.

every now and then, darry and i take a chance on a place in the hopes that we will find the familiar tastes of home here in nashville. recently, we visited a few places in the hope of finding a new place to savor the tastes of home.

first up was a trip to noshville, there are a bunch of them in the area and we had never eaten there. we were skeptical that it could actually be as good as the delis we had visited in new york city and when we found ourselves in cool springs looking for a place to eat, we decided to take a chance. i ordered a reuban and darry went for the monte cristo. let's just say this, the deli's of new york will never have to worry about this place putting them under. my sandwich was a complete disappointment. the corned beef was sliced a little to thick, it was tough and chewy and to top it all off, the cooks fried it in grease before putting it on the sandwich. the sandwich came to me with the thousand island dressing on the side?? and dripping of grease. the first few attempts at taking a bite were more like a tug of war. the sandwich was so greasy that the barely browned bread fell apart. definitely not a good experience. darry didn't say much about his monte cristo, it was lack luster in flavor and if he wasn't hungry, i doubt he would have eaten it. i gave up after eating half of my sandwich and we left the restaurant feeling more than a little disappointed. most likely, we will not go back as it didn't satisfy any of our cravings for home.

for years we had heard about pizza perfect on granny white pike in nashville. we never ventured over there and i can't figure out why. everyone who had told us about the place had only good things to say. so off we went on a friday night date, just the two of us. we ordered salads and a vegetarian pizza. the salads were refreshing, lots of lettuce and olives with some pizza cheese and vinaigrette. the pizza required waiting, they hand toss them to order. when it finally arrived, we dove in. the crust was thin and crispy and chewy; just the way we like it. while it still wasn't exactly like the pizzas of nyc, it was some of the best pizza i have eaten here. it was loaded with peppers, onions, spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms and the cheese was nicely browned. we ordered a medium and nearly ate the whole thing between us. we will go back even if darry wasn't pleased with the $30+ bill that came for two drinks, two salads and one pizza. pizza is supposed to be a cheap meal. you should also note, this is a family oriented place complete with a game room and a noisy one at that. be prepared to find yourself among hyper kids running from table to table to the game room and back again.

when we had our bakery, we would buy our bagels from star bagels. we were in the area, and drove over to murphy road in sylvan park to buy a dozen to bring home. they are chewy and so much better than anything you can get at the supermarket and even in most of the other chains around.
before we moved here, we were in the san francisco bay area for 7 years. it was there that we acquired our taste for dark roasted coffees, something that was not readily available when we moved here. while that has changed with the influx of the big green coffee giant, there are a few good roasters in town and we make it a point to stop by portland brew whenever we are near 12th ave south. brandon roasts great dark beans and they always have a fresh pot of a full bodied dark roast coffee. this last trip we sampled the sumatra and it was worth the trip.

who knows where our longings will take us next, maybe back for more pizza or some ethnic adventure. stay tuned, we will have another date night soon and much to his dismay, i will take pictures and post it here!

in search of herbs and spices

2009-03-13T15:07:00.001-07:00

if you read many food blogs, you are bound to see little logos from various forums such as the daring bakers, tuesdays with dorie, bittman mondays, cookie carnival, you want pies with that, bread baking day and souper sundays. recently, i joined two of the baking forums; the daring bakers and you want pies with that. each month you are given a challenge and then you enter the results on a blog page on a specific date. members vote on who they think did the best job and the winner picks a theme for an upcoming challenge. my first challenge for the daring bakers was a flourless chocolate cake with homemade ice cream, it was fun and we enjoyed eating the results. for my first pie challenge, the theme was herbs and spices. how vague can it get? but also, how many possibilities come to mind. sweet and/or savory, international and ethnic or just plain over the top and cutting edge cuisine.

i chose to go simple and just incorporate both herbs and spices into a pear pie. do i ever do anything that is simple? no, of course not. i chose to use a spice blend that is traditionally

used in moroccan cooking, raz al hanout. it is sort of like the moroccan version of curry and everyone has their own favorite blend which can include as many as 50 different herbs and spices. the other part of the recipe that i put my own twist to was the crust. i used a combination of butter and apple wood smoked bacon fat to make a nice and flaky crust with a hint of smoke.

before i could get started on anything though, i needed the spices for the blend. raz al hanout traditionally includes spices like cardamom, cinnamon, pepper, turmeric, chilis, cumin and coriander and herbs such as lavender and rose petals. my blend included all of those plus nutmeg, star anise, cloves, anise seed, mace, ginger and allspice. a total of 15 spices and 2 herbs. all except the lavender, which i already had, was obtained by visiting two stores near my house.

first stop was apna bazaar. this is such a great little shop. the owners are so friendly and helpful. when i walked in with my list in hand, i was greeted with an offer to help me find everything on it. when i was unsure of something because it was not labeled in english, my questions were answered quickly. whenever i need whole spices, this is always my first stop.

even though i found almost everything at apna bazaar, some of the bags were a little larger than i wanted so i made a trip to my other favorite international store, K&S World Market. due to the large latino clientele, i was able to find small packets of cinnamon sticks, cumin and coriander seeds as well as rose petals. purchasing smaller quantities is always better in terms of freshness.

here are most of the herbs and spices i used to make my raz al hanout: cinnamon sticks, green cardamom, lavender, mace, star anise, coriander, black pepper, turmeric, nutmeg, wild black cardamom, cumin, rose petals, cloves, allspice and chili. not n the picture is ginger and anise seed but they were added to the blend.

think globally, buy locally-in other words, explore what different ethnic foods are in your neighborhood and shop in international stores for some of the best culinary fun you can have. check out my personal blog, where i write about all of my baking challenges,

jane of many trades.

exploring the neighborhood

2009-02-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

we live in south nashville, near nolensville road. our neighborhood has one of the largest kurdish population in the country. as a result, we have many middle eastern markets. we also have a large latino population that has given us a plethora of markets and restaurants to choose from. but that is not all that you will find if you drive up and down nolensville road. you will also find indian markets and restaurants as well as restaurants and markets representing several different african nations. let's not forget all of the asian restaurants and markets ranging from thai to japanese to korean and chinese. this business corridor is very diverse and we are lucky to live in the middle of it. very rarely do i find myself having to do without a special ingredient because the market is not close or convenient. even the walmart and kroger stores in the area are likely to stock a wide variety of international ingredients.

so what's a chef to do? if you're like me, you wander around the stores looking at everything and try to find recipes to use the unusual ingredients. mostly, i buy things like herbs, spices, produce and nuts because they tend to turnover the stock quickly and most of the time, the prices are better than the big supermarkets. when we want basmati rice, we head out to the indian market and if we need curry or spices like cardamom or coriander, we pick them up while we are there. if tonight's menu features fish or seafood, we head out to the asian market and pick that up along with fresh produce and soy sauce or sesame oil if we need it.

recently, alix and i headed out to a new indian market near the house just to see what they had to offer and to perhaps, pick up a few items to try out. the patel brothers market calls themselves the largest chain of indian markets in the country. whether or not that is true, i cannot say. what i will say is that this is an extremely clean and organized store and when i need items that would be considered indian or pakistani, i will most likely visit this store to purchase them.

alix was intrigued by these bottles. after a year in college, she has latched onto the ranch on your pizza habit that all college students seem so fond of. the idea of ketchup on her pizza just did not seem appealing, then i was skeptical too since i only add a sprinkle of cheese to my pizza. maybe the teens in india like their pizza with ketchup?

one thing about small ethnic markets i do not care for is the condition of produce. in so many of the stores, it looks as if it should have been composted a few days ago. that is most likely an american reflex; we are conditioned to search for perfect and pretty produce. this store featured mostly pretty and perfect produce. everything seemed very fresh and not mishandled.

the prices were fair and the quality was high.

we found many varieties of produce that were new to us. someday, we will figure out how to use them and try something new.

as a pastry chef, flour always attracts me. the ideas of trying old favorites with exotic flours is always fun. using them in muffins, breads or biscuits is always interesting. another way to try them out is in breading recipes, in place of plain flour use the various bean and grain flours for a different flavor.

we had fun wandering the aisles. we picked up every bottle, can and bag and read the contents. the english translations were amusing. we went to several stores that day and had fun taking notes and pictures. look for more posts on the subject! more importantly, explore your neighborhood and try new things. it is always best to keep the business in the neighborhood and we all know the economy needs the boost!

post holiday blues

2009-01-31T15:32:00.000-08:00

the holidays have almost been forgotten, but not the bills. we have been staying home and not visiting restaurants lately. we will get back to it soon, i promise. there are so many interesting places to try and we want to go and eat in as many as possible but right now, the money tree is out of leaves! in the mean time, alix and i have been visiting international grocery stores and at some point, i will post something about them. stay well and keep in touch!

trash talkin turkey

2008-11-30T13:01:00.001-08:00

several years ago, i read an article in the newspaper about cooking a turkey in a trash can. i do not recall all of the details but i think it may be something that took place in an army camp by soldiers stationed abroad wanting to have that turkey day dinner without having the opportunity to use an oven to roast it. as i said, it was about 4 years ago and i do not really remember the article clearly any more but i can say that the technique works and we do this every year, weather permitting.

first step is to brine the turkey. darry does this in a cooler.

the turkey is still a little frozen when he puts it in the brine

and in place of some of the water, he uses ice. this helps

to keep the turkey cold and prevents bacterial growth.

the salt in the brine also helps keep it from turning.

be sure to soak it for about 12-18 hours, but not longer.

we have a turkey pit in the yard. it is just a small circle

of bricks that gets lined with foil just for the occasion.

there is a foil covered wooden mop handle in the ground

that holds the turkey. before hanging the turkey up,

an old angel food pan is placed on the ground and filled with

water and various herbs and things. the turkey gets slipped

onto the post and darry covers the breast with foil and ties

the wings down.

darry making sure the bird is secure.

darry tying down the wings

the metal can is placed over the bird

darry and justin building the fire around the can.

do not be tempted to use lighter fluid or strong scented wood,

they will flavor your bird!

the last step, we wait for the bird to cook! if you look

closely, you can see the little white temperature monitor.

before covering the bird with the trash can, darry inserted

a temperature probe into the breast and then buried

the cord in the dirt to protect it. he ran the cord out

of the pit and attached the monitor. we were able to

watch the temperature rise to the needed 170 without

ever removing the can.

yet another milestone

2008-11-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

it is always fun to have a birthday. those of you who know me should be picking up on the sarcasm in my voice... but really, it is nice to have your family bake you a cake and sing to you and then watch as you open presents. unless you happen to be a pastry chef and your family tradition is to pick up an ice cream cake for the occasion. this year, i made it clear that i do not particularly like ice cream cake and all i wanted was for my family to bake me a cake. they were not excited by this announcement, actually they were a little intimidated-baking a cake for someone who wrote an entire book on cakes...the horror of it all! however, i encouraged them to open that book to an easy cake and have at it, that was all i wanted. just try it, let me take pictures and we'll have fun with it. in my book is the recipe for the yellow buttermilk cake with instant fudge frosting.

here is alix measuring the ingredients for the cake

darry and alix are mixing the batter

darry putting the batter into the pans

the lovely miss devon, frosting the cake

the finished cake with just the right number of

candles

sometimes, the best culinary adventures are in your own kitchen. even better are the memories of making something together with your children. happy birthday to me!

skip this one

2008-10-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

in nearby brentwood, there is a new strip of stores and restaurants. darry and i were out on a date-night excursion and we decided to give kalamatas a try. this is the second location for restaurant and we wanted to go somewhere that we haven't been recently. both of us enjoy greek food and thought, why not?

having been there and done that, i can give you several reasons not to bother with this restaurant. while i have often stated that many people choose restaurants based on quantity and not quality, this one failed on both points. what we were served and what we paid were definitely not on the same page. the fact that the place is very clean and neat didn't add any points either.

when you walk in, there is a counter/cafeteria line that you must approach to order your food. on the counter are copies of the menu for you to read and decide your choices. the menu is very clear and in all honesty, a bit short; there wasn't a whole lot to choose from besides salads, sandwiches and a few entree plates. the day's specials were located on small placards and in an odd spot that we missed because it was well after we ordered that i spotted them. since it was not busy, we watched as our food was prepared.

darry is a fan of gyros and decided on the gyro plate with a side salad. i was in the mood for a typical americanized greek salad and that is what i chose. we watched the plates being assembled and were surprised that everything came off the cold table or a portable steam table. nothing came from the kitchen or the cook who looked on as the cashier/hostess assembled our selections. the lady in question was very nice and friendly, she gave us the iced teas we chose on the house, but even so, we still spent $19.56 for two sparsely filled plates of mediocre food.

the salad i chose was especially disappointing. while i will admit that i could have had my salad topped with kabobs of beef, chicken, lamb or veggie, i chose to have it plain since i just wanted a salad and the description on the menu fit the bill for me. what i got and what i expected were two different salads. on my standard sized disposable plate was a thin layer of chopped romaine leaves with a few cucumber slices, two kalamata olives, 1 pepperoncini and a rather bland vinaigrette with feta cheese. not at all filling or even that exciting, no bell peppers or onions, no dolmas and very little cucumber or feta. the romaine was fresh and well washed but it was only the dark tops of the leaves, very little rib and not very crunchy. perhaps i was expecting more of what you are served in every other gyro place in town, lots of crunchy lettuce hearts with lots of of garnish, dressing and chunks of cheese. if i am going to pay over $7 for a salad, i expect it to be more filling and the cold, spongy wheat pita that came with it did not improve the experience.

when we go to gyro places, darry always orders one in a sandwich. this time he chose a lamb gyro plate with a side salad. using the same disposable plate that my salad was on, we watched the lady spread a layer of yellow basmati rice and then top it off with a large spoon full of meat strips from the warmer and add more of the cold, spongy pita bread. if you have ever eaten a gyro, then you know that you are always offered some tabbouleh and tzatziki sauce, his plate had neither and he wasn't offered any. his salad was served on a tiny plate and it was a mini version of mine. we took our plates to the table and ate. the gyro plate wasn't any less of a disappointment than my salad. although it really was basmati rice just as the menu promised, it was a funky yellow color that suggested some sort of flavoring mix. the lamb was nothing more than the same processed meat that you see turning on the spit, just cut into strips. it looked rather dry and unappetizing so needless to say, i did not ask to try it and he didn't say much about it. we ate our meals, both remarking that it wasn't much for the money and that we would by hungry again by the time we got to the movie. the amazing part is that his dinner must have cost about $10, since our total was over $19.

we were in search of something different since we generally go mexican or asian when we eat out. it's always nice to try something new but next time we want to go greek or for gyros, we will skip this place and try one of the others in town. we expected better of a restaurant with more than two locations; the other is in green hills. it will be interesting to see if brentwood embraces this restaurant or if it just feeds on the overflow of (the always packed with a crowd waiting) peter's sushi next door.

nashville farmers market

2008-10-17T15:41:00.001-07:00

the food scene in nashville has experienced a dramatic transformation in the last decade. we have so many great independent restaurants, cafes, coffeehouses and markets to choose from. there is still an abundance of chain restaurants that the locals can flock to in droves and indulge in gluttonous portions of mediocre food. for those of us in search of something better, we also have many choices these days. in all great "food" cities, there are farmers markets that reflect the diversity of their food scene. when we moved here from san francisco 13 years ago, we visited the nashville farmers market and loved the fact that you could pick produce from the back of a pickup truck; produce that was fresh picked the day before and sold to you by the farmer. unfortunately, local politics and gross mismanagement led to the near demise of the farmers market. after a few years, management overhauls and an ongoing renovation of the facility, it is vastly improved. most of what you see is locally grown, not necessarily by the vendor, but it is from the region and it is fresh and in season. gone are the businesses that only resold what is generally available in any supermarket. if you have visited local farmers markets lately, you know that you will find many things besides fresh produce. many markets feature fresh seafood, meats and poultry, cheeses, breads and baked goods and so much more. the nashville farmers market generally concentrates on produce but you will also find locally produced preserves and relishes, meats, baked goods,plants as well as fruit trees and shrubs and a small nursery. darry and i had the chance to take a trip to the farmers market today and this is what we saw.

a lovely display of fall gourds and squashes

since it is october, there were pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors

in the back side stalls there were giant pumpkins for sale

we aren't the only ones with tomatoes still on the vines. there were tons of bradleys as well as these heirlooms. pictured from the top left are green zebras, pineapples, cherokee purple and more pineapples. we bought some green zebras and pineapples

it's not fall without fresh apples. these are arkansas blacks. we have an arkansas black tree out back but it is too small to produce yet. these are the hardest and crunchiest apples with a sweet and tart flavor. the south is not known for it's apples but the arkansas black is a native of the area. most of the apples available today were from michigan and a few from south carolina

smileys of ridgetop, tn had bushels of fresh turnips and we picked up a few as well as a few cucumbers

they also had fresh eggplants, we admired these beauties. they were firm and very fresh

this fresh picked cauliflower also on display in smiley's was almost as large as a basketball

new hope and lambertville

2008-10-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

the toughest part of living in nashville is that no one else in my family lives here. sure, the four of us have each other but we don't have anyone else close by except "the cousins" in paducah and that is 150 miles from here. so any chance to travel to areas that have family members is taken and as much as possible is crammed into the days since we know it could be months and sometimes a year or more in between visits. when i traveled to hyde park for my reunion at the culinary institute, i chose to land in scranton, pa so i could see my family.

mom and brother steve met me at the airport, if you can really call it that. scranton-wilkes barre (say that bury and not bar) airport has only one terminal and about a dozen gates; finding someone there is not difficult. we were met by uncle peter and aunt katherine so that we could all visit and have dinner-not at the airport. we left the building and headed out to a local restaurant for a late lunch-early dinner. since none of us really spends much time in scranton, a choice was made to head to a local ruby tuesdays, and that is all i will say about it. fast food is fast food, even in a place like this it is still fast food since very little of it was made from scratch.

whenever mom and i get the chance to spend time together, we almost always head out to an antique store or a district that has antique stores. this trip was no exception. we packed up early and headed out to lambertville, new jersey and new hope, pennsylvania. the two towns sit opposite each other on the bank of the delaware river and have shops and restaurants lining the streets. there is a bridge that connects the two and if you park on one side, you can walk across the bridge to the other.

this horse greeted us when we parked the car in a lot on the new hope side. the new hope railroad also has a station here and the old trains run daily.

we left the parking lot and began walking down the hill towards the bridge, stopping to browse along the way. it was a beautiful, warm day and we took a leisurely pace.

many of the old buildings, including the large church have restaurants in them. this area is a popular weekend getaway and there are also little hotels and inns.

the view down the delaware river from the bridge was beautiful that day.

we decided to stop for lunch in the lambertville station which is situated on the small canal that runs parallel to the river on the new jersey side.

there was a large patio along the canal and old railroad tracks that was being used for a dining area and mom and i sat outside since it was warm and sunny.

we ordered sandwiches, and like all of my previous dining experiences in the region, they weren't very exciting. i ordered a turkey rueben that according to the menu, featured house roasted turkey. it was bland and unremarkable and no amount of brown mustard seemed capable of adding any flavor. mom's choice of the greek pita sandwich seemed intriguing. she didn't care for the large amount of dried herbs in the mix, either rosemary or oregano, i am not sure. the homemade chips were dark and crunchy, just they way i like them but i think they needed to be a little thinner; they were a work out for the jaw. the meal was not particularly expensive, so we were not overly upset, just disappointed. we decided that the ambiance made up for some of it and since we rarely get the chance to dine together like this, we enjoyed ourselves despite the meal.

after lunch and further browsing, we walked back across the bridge and headed back towards mom's house in bushkill.

on our trip back, we stopped a few times to browse in antique/junk shops as well as at hot dog johnny for a drink. we couldn't resist stopping since the place looked like a trip back in time and apparently it is. then it was time to head home.

flashbacks and future glimpses

2008-09-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

nothing else tells you that you're getting older like a twenty five year reunion. when the invitation to attend my 25 year reunion for the Culinary Institute of America arrived, i really didn't plan on attending. it would be an expense that i just couldn't justify and in all honesty, i hadn't kept up with anyone. when i received a letter from one of my classmates telling me who was planning on attending, i changed my mind and i am glad i did. it was awkward at first, i was traveling alone and when i arrived at the school, none of my classmates was there yet. slowly but surely, they began to gather and a few of us went on a tour of the school. the changes that have taken place since we graduated are astounding. it made me envious to see the school that these students attend in comparison to the one that we attended.

present for the festivities were in the back from the left; erich, louie, jeff, beth and ken. in the front row from the left; mark, laird, myself and cynthia.

after the reception, we went on to the St. Andrews Cafe for dinner.

the food served was excellent, we had fresh saffron pasta with seafood, a wonderful salad and veal chops. it has been a long time since i ate veal and it was a pleasant change. every thing served was expertly prepared and the wines accompanying the dishes were well chosen. after dinner, we went out to the plaza in front of the school for fireworks and then on to the library for a game of culinary jeopardy, students vs. alumni. the alumni lost, much to our dismay, but there were rumors of cheating (ha ha ha).

saturday's festivities included a continental breakfast buffet in the danny kaye auditorium which is located in the library building. we had many fresh baked goodies to choose from as well as fresh coffee. all of the muffins and scones looked wonderful, there were too many to try but the two that i did taste were perfectly baked and i enjoyed them. there is nothing worse than a dry crumbly scone or muffin. after breakfast, we were addressed by president tim ryan. he gave us a thorough account of the schools history and the plans for the future. the vision for the future is impressive, if i wasn't already an alumnus, i might just enroll. then it was on to a chocolate tasting. it was an opportunity to taste different chocolates and compare how the various geographic regions can add to the flavor complexity. some were fruity and others were almost smoky, any way you look at it, they were all very good which is what i would expect of valrhona chocolate.

after the chocolate tasting, we went on to the Caterina di Medici restaurant for an Italian buffet lunch. while that may not sound enticing, this was not a trip to the pasta bar. as a matter of fact, there was very little pasta present. inside the restaurant, there were three separate buffets, one each for the north, south and central regions of Italy and the food was very different on each buffet. my favorite was the central region, the duck filled pasta and the roasted stuffed pigeon being my favorites although, the grilled shrimp came pretty close.

when lunch concluded, several of my classmates went on to another demonstration but i chose to leave campus and do a little sight seeing. my travels took me down to Beacon where i walked the main street district and did a little shopping before returning to my motel room to get ready for dinner.

The final event of the weekend was the big dinner dance on Saturday night. It was held in what was once called Great Hall, the former chapel when the school was a jesuit seminary. We gathered in the courtyard first for a reception. The students served us sparkling wine and seafood to die for. The shrimp and lobster, presented on skewers for easy consumption, were perfectly prepared. However, for me, the best selection was the freshly fried calamari. Living in Nashville, calamari is hard to find fresh and this was some of the best I have ever eaten. Lightly breaded and fried, it melted in the mouth and it was tempting to eat large quantities. Knowing that dinner would be equally impressive, I restrained myself!

the menu was enticing, well planned and we were eager to try it all.

shrimp and corn chowder is always one of my favorites and this one was exceptional

the argentinian wine served with it was very good as well

the ginger soy dressing on this salad was so tasty. I could have easily settled for a small trough of greens with that dressing and called it dinner. it has been a while since i had a glass of gewurztraminer and i forgot how nice it can be.

when dinner arrived, we all laughed at the differences in the size of the meat portions; there were large differences from plate to plate. my plate had the perfect portion for me. the baby bok choy and the mixed grain pilaf were excellent and the short ribs were tender enough to fall apart easily. not being much of a red wine drinker, i did not even taste it, after all the champagne and wine i already had, i decided to abstain. since i was dining with friends, i found myself distracted and did not take a picture of dessert. the chocolate bread pudding should have been labeled as jack daniels with a little chocolate bread pudding. a delicious combination and i enjoyed every bit of it. the cheesecake with raspberries was very good as well, it had an extremely light and smooth texture that was complimented perfectly by the fresh raspberries. unfortunately, i was not impressed by the peach tart. the peaches were flavorless and the custard was almost liquid, it ran out of the shell when i attempted to take a fork full. regardless, the meal was outstanding, the service impeccable and the dancing was fun.

after spending two days catching up with my classmates and stuffing myself with great food, it was time to head out and venture on to nj to spend time with family. arriving empty handed always seems odd to me so i searched for a farmers market to find a gift for my dad. on the way, i stopped in the eveready diner in hyde park, ny. it is a genuine old diner, it was moved to the site in pieces and it replaced the old lighthouse diner that was once a favorite of cia students. the food was very good, and the prices very reasonable. my choice for breakfast was the corned beef hash with eggs and toast. the potatoes and corned beef were all cooked from fresh and it was some of the best hash i have ever had, and my over easy eggs were perfectly cooked, truly impressive. i am only sorry that i was dining alone and couldn't taste anything else!

if you want a good indication of an areas food scene, check out the local farmers markets. this one takes place in rhinebeck, ny on wednesdays and sundays. by many standards, it is a small market, maybe a dozen or so vendors. but we all know it is quality, not quantity that matters and this is a quality market. from fresh flowers to fresh oysters to breads and mushrooms, this

market has a wonderful selection. i bought breads-san francisco sourdough, tomatoes-striped germans and chocolate cherries and a small watermelon.

the wiltbank farm in catskill, ny only sells mushrooms. there were beautiful oyster mushrooms in several shades of pink, orange and yellow and shiitake as well.

migliorelli farm from tivoli, ny and taliaferro farms of new paltz, ny had beautiful produce to choose from.

patience, please

2008-09-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

just got back from a short trip north. landed in scranton, pa and ventured on through the hudson valley as well as the delaware valley. lots of pictures and food to share and it is all coming soon!

Final notes on our trip...

2008-07-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

In Nashville, your options for coffee are limited. There are a few good places to go, Portland Brew and Bongo Java come to mind. For me, either one means a trip in the car and these days, I just do without. While wandering around San Francisco, we were quickly spoiled by the close proximity of good coffee wherever you are. While some may think we mean the ever-present Starbucks on every corner, they would be mistaken. In some parts of San Francisco, you would have to search for one and in others; they just won't let them in. The North Beach Merchants Association has done a great job of keeping them out. We were more than happy to get our coffee at Peet's while we were in the city. They roast all of their beans and we loved the bold, dark roasts. In plain English, that is a strong dark cup of coffee that only a splash of half and half can compliment. We brought home a pound of the Guatamala San Sebastian and savored every cup we brewed.

Another coffee hghlight was in Sausalito; we visited Caffe Trieste, which is located near a marina. After purchasing two more wonderfully dark and rich cups of coffee, we walked over to the boardwalk that runs along the waterfront and sat on a bench looking out at the boats moored in the marina and the view of the bay. The weather was on the warm side for June, no jacket was required. Unfortunately, the view was shrouded in smoke from all of the fires that were burning in the area. Nevertheless, we thoroughly relished the opportunity to sip great coffee alongside so many beautiful boats.

In order to visit all of the places we wanted to see, we turned our trip into a series of day trips, each with a specific destination in mind. One of those trips was to Berkeley, 4th Street specifically. The area has been refurbished and is quite trendy now. Linda accompanied us this day and we started off with a cup of coffee at Peet's and the proceeded to wander through the shops. We tasted olive oils and vinegar in one shop and Linda purchased a lime olive oil that was very nice. In another, I found seeds for next springs vegetable garden.

When it came time to eat lunch, Linda surprised us with reservations at Chez Panisse Cafe. If you haven't been there, the cafe is upstairs from the famed restaurant. We were seated directly in front of the open kitchen so that we could watch the coming and going of pizzas in the brick oven. While some may not have enjoyed this location, we did. It was refreshing to watch a confident and relaxed crew work. They clearly enjoyed what the were doing and the food on our plates reflected that. The three of us shared a pizzetta; a small pizza covered in porcini mushrooms and melted cheese. The crust was thin and blistered the way it should be, I could have easily eaten the whole thing myself. In between courses, we snacked on an array of olives and wonderful bread from Acme Bakery. For our entrees, Darry chose the leg of lamb, I chose a grilled vegetable dish and Linda opted for the rocket (arugula) salad. At first glance, the plates seemed a bit sparse, as if lunch was little more than a snack. However, after we began to eat, it occurred to me that this is what reasonably sized portions look like; your plate should not be heaped with food as is the custom in the South. We were all able to clean our plates and consider dessert afterwards. Whenever I am willing to indulge in dessert, it is usually chocolate and this menu offered a bittersweet pave with cherries and cream; it was a small, dense and rich cake that is brick shaped, hence the name pave. Once again, I cleaned my plate. Darry satisfied his sweet tooth and his caffeine fix in one with the espresso served over vanilla ice cream while Linda chose the strawberry sherbet with strawberries and rose petals. This was a dining experience to remember. The ever present wait staff was attentive but did not hover, our water glasses were bottomless and we were well taken care of. It was food from local sources that was well prepared and every bite was savored and will be remembered. It is no mystery how the place remains a top destination for the seriously food minded. Alice Waters was a pioneer when she opened Chez Panisse and today her involvement with locally grown products makes her an example to follow. While so many big names come and go, she has proven that it is possible to stay at the top of your field, helping to form new trends and not become a commercialized cartoon of your former self.

Note: the menu at Chez Panisse Cafe, pictured above, respectfully asks that you not use cell phones or computers at the tables; obviously, I did not break out my camera to photograph our meal.

Napa Valley

2008-07-28T14:16:00.001-07:00

While we were out in California, we went to Napa for a day. We didn't have a plan in mind, just thought we would go and visit a winery or two, maybe have lunch. It was a beautiful day and we were excited to be there. This picture shows the main street running through Saint Helena. We spent several hours here wandering through shops and tasting olive oil, only we could end up in the heart of the wine country and not taste any wine! Believe it or not, it is common to find shops that sell olive oil and little else. We tasted many, from flavored ones to different presses. Citrus flavors are popular as are herbs. Most often, they feature different blends and presses. Many were too strong for me, I preferred the light blends. My favorite item to taste was the vinegars. Even though I am not fond of sour flavors, I preferred tasting vinegar to olive oil. The balsamic vinegars were wonderful and so were the ones made from sherry. In one store, they had vinegars made from cherries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. Surprisingly enough, they were very palatable. We also had the chance to sample wonderful flavored salts. If it was left up to Darry, he would have bought every jar of truffle salt available, he couldn't get enough of it.

When we were on our honeymoon, many years ago, we went to Napa and one of the wineries we visited was Franciscan. Whenever we are in the area, we always stop in for a quick visit and to see the grounds. The garden in front of the winery is lined with rows of grapes.

This is a view of the gardens, the grapes line the path on both sides and at the end is a monstrous bench that we have taken many pictures of over the years.

We admit that we do watch some of the shows on the Food Network, not many though. One of our favorites is Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. We saw Taylor's Refresher on an episode and decided to stop in for lunch. They had some of the best burgers we have ever had and the sweet potato fries are great too. You may think that a burger isn't much to brag about but, these were very good and the price was very reasonable. We were allowed to request a temperature for the burgers, something a lot of places will not do anymore. They came to us simply dressed, lettuce, onions, pickles and the secret sauce but no tomatoes due to the salmonella scare. The sauce is a mayonnaise based dressing that was very good and nothing else was needed. The fried sweet potatoes are made from fresh raw sweet potatoes and they were nicely seasoned, I could have eaten two orders! The grounds were nice, lots of picnic tables with umbrellas and a lot of space in between. We would definitely go back, the burgers are worth the trip. The full menu is on the website, click on the link above to see it.

Our last stop of the day was a quick visit to the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. It is an old winery that was converted to the school. We were not able to take a tour but we did go to the gift shop where I signed some of my books, it was a trip to see them for sale at the CIA!

maiden voyage

2008-07-27T18:50:00.001-07:00

This past June, we took a much needed vacation. with all of the options available, we decided to travel to California. Linda, Darry's mom, asked us to come out and visit. Knowing that visiting her and Mike also meant the opportunity to visit friends and old haunts, we couldn't wait to get there. On our first day, we took the ferry from Larkspur to San Francisco and we walked over to Chinatown. This has always been one of our favorite places to wander in and out of shops and take in the local culture. Most tourists never make it off Grant Street (pictured above) and it is geared towards them, lots of souvenirs. We didn't pick up much, just a moon cake mold and lunch.

If you really want to experience Chinese culture and cuisine, go uphill one block to Stockton Street. That is where all of the local residents shop and do business. You will swear that you are in another country. In the top photo, durians (the world's stinkiest fruit), daikon and cabbage are a common sight. In the bottom photo, many varieties of choy and citrus fruits are another common sight. The day we were visiting, cherries were for sale everywhere and they were as cheap as 69 cents per pound-yes less than a dollar.

There are many butcher shops like this one displaying various cooked meats and poultry in the window.

Fresh seafood is available in abundant quantities and varieties that are not common in Nashville. We even wandered into the one in the bottom photo and watched the women working to clean the fish.

This shop was our favorite find of the day. It seemed to go on forever, the farther you went back, the more you found! The fish on display in the front of the store were so colorful and pretty it almost seemed a shame that they were going to be eaten. Every fish store had shrimp like these.

As we wandered back, we encountered this woman butchering a whole hog. Due to a camera that does not have a flash, the picture is not very clear.

As we went even farther back, we found a room full of poultry cages. There was a woman with them and it is my guess that if you wanted a bird, she would have broken it's neck for you so you could take it home.

On our way out, we spied a tub of frogs and a tub of turtles, painted turtles to be exact. Darry wanted to buy them all so he could release them. Hard to believe that anyone would want to eat them with everything else that was available.