Cooking With Ideas

Watkins Glen -- Finger Lakes Wine Festival

Yep, it was a while ago. And it was hotter than stink, however hot that is. Put another way, it was very very hot. But, even so, we got in the car and drove to Watkins Glen. In fact, we drove through what we think of as Watkins Glen in the direction of -- gasp -- the race track, where neither of us has been and where the Finger Lakes Wine Festival was held. (Thanks to this site for the image. . . ) It was much further than we thought, and much bigger. And the festival was filled with folks. Not to mention -- several tents of wine tastings and various oddball foodie items as well as thises and thats.  For the $30 (per person) admission we got a map of the area and a (maybe) 50 page spiral bound wine tasting notebook, as well as a wine glass. (No, the admission does not cover the beer -- aka brewer's -- garden, for which there was a separate glass, but see more below on that.)

We wandered some and eventually went into several of the tents set up for wine tasting. Our first purchase: some olive oil. The company, called Cosimano e Ferrari seems to sell at the Rochester Public Market too. We got a light and fruity and a more heavy olive oil. Both are very tasty and we'd buy form them again. Our other purchases? Some delicious peanut brittle (from Virginia -- a light, and airy sort of brittle. Very good). The company name? Betty Jane's Sweet Delights. And, we bought two bottles of wine, one from Thirsty Owl, right on Route 89. The pinto gris was delightful. It was so hot we shared a fruit based (non dairy) smoothie, which was quite wonderful, and made by a company which also tantalized us into some almonds with cocoa and cayenne on them. They came in a lovely paper cone (that looked kind of like a handkerchief or blue bandana).The company, from Manlius, is called New York Almond Company and findable on line at www.newyorkalmond.com. The nuts were splendid -- not too hot, just the right touch of savory and sweet. We took home, as well, some lovely cake from Poppleton Pastries as well (they are, we think, from near Corning). It held up well to a day of neglect and made a swell dessert.

In addition to what we actually purchased, we did a few other thises and thats of tasting. There was, for example, some dandy mustard from www.wildmountaingourmet.com and a whole array of startling drink possibilities at the booth for Pazdar Winery, a booth that featured wine concoctions into which were infused lemon (for a lemoncello-like wine), habanero and other chilis (for wines to go with pizzas) and etcetera. They sound weird, I know, or like wines for the youth (aka college kids) among us. Nope -- they were actually tempting. Alas, the signage and some of the conversation was shockingly sexist (caused perhaps by their well known wine, naughty virgin, which is a bloody-mary-like concoction of wine and tomato essence). . . . despite the sexism, the tastes were memorable enough to cause me to try to find them on line since I have lost their card. And, of course, I did.So now you too can consider buying the oddest of odd -- and I should say the sexism was mostly buyers not sellers!

An overall festival review: well, we do wish we'd found the beer (brewer's) garden sooner (and that it was included in the overall price. Seems weird not to include it.) By the time we got there, there were only 2 places that still had beer and so we skipped the tasting. (and thus were deprived of the cute little beer glasses.) The people were totally dissimilar from the crowds at the wine tents -- and likable in many ways. So, too, was the music.We could not tell much about the beer, though it was not as slanted to micro-brewery as one might wish.

All in all, a very hot but very fun summer event where I learned about loads of new foodie possibilities -- not to mention Finger Lakes wines, music and Watkins Glen.And, we actually had to drive across the race speedway to get out; maybe next time a pace car ride? Anyone?

Adding to Geneva Related Blogs. . .

Another blog by a William Smith Alum -- try here -- now from Boston! And yes, it will be on the blog list soon on the sidebar. Maybe even before you see this entry!

And yet another? Yep, right here. Also on the blog list.

Geneva Event

The Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty Harvest Dinner is an annual event -- and it is swell beyond belief. Never heard of it? Click here!

This is the Fifth Annual. For a review of the 4th (Fourth!) Annual, click here.

Coming Up on This Very Blog

Here are a few things to keep an eye out for --

(1) Notes on the 2010 Watkins Glen Finger Lakes Wine Festival -- including a whole raft of new foodie encounters ranging from habanero flavored wines to peanut brittle and. . . much much more!

(2) Fox Run Vineyards' occasional evenings with tapas and tastings of their wines

(3) Much Much More, with thanks to this site for the image!

Congressional Club Cookbook

So: I went on a wonderful visit to the Capitol (thanks to this site for the picture) a while ago with colleagues, where we learned a lot about the current administration's perspectives on higher education. It was a cross between excruciatingly disappointing and exciting. As we walked along, up the hill to the Capitol, got our special VIP name tags, sat and listened, walked through the Capitol, part of me said "WOW. Look where I am." Among other things, the architecture was amazing (almost as amazing as the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg. . . ok, that was a little prejudiced). Another part of me, of course, was the cynic. As I walked along looking at all the amazing stuff, I thought "Wow. What a production." "Wow," I thought. "Why am I Impressed?" (And quietly, somewhere inside I asked: why am I saying wow to myself so much?) "What is this doing to my sense of politics? And the relation of politics qua power and politics qua ritual?" "Wow."

After all our seriousness (listening to beltway insiders on higher education), we went, perhaps obviously, to the gift shop. I had to give up my regular line "Could I have a receipt please? I just want to give the feds as little money at tax time as possible." As the cashier said to me, "All your money here goes directly to the feds!"  I bought a few obvious things -- like a copy of the Constitution -- but I also bought something very self-indulgent: the 14th edition of "The Congressional Club Cookbook." It cost a big $45 (which I willingly gave to the feds?) and is brown with gold-like (would that be gilded?) title and a similarly gilt visual of the Congressional Club on the front. (In fact, it looks a little like a bible, with its gilt edged pages.) Hefty. And only today (about a month later) did I remove the plastic wrap and start perusing it. I feel just like I did that day at the Capitol -- a sort of embarrassed cynical patriotism wowzerism, a sort of "who was that that bought this thing?" and bit of "this is fun and I wonder if Julie Hyzy has one?" 

So: did I know what the Congressional Club was when I bought this? No. Here's what I learned -- it was founded by an Act of Congress in 1908, and this 14th edition was published in 2005 and hence has a little paragraph at the outset by the spouse in chief at the time -- Laura Bush. Why the spouse in chief? Because the club is for spouses of the House and Senate, Cabinet and Supreme Court. (So, does that make Bill Clinton a member now?) Some web sites indicate it was once called the Congressional Wives Club and remains a female only organization. Hmmm. According to the book itself, the Club has been self-sustaining via the cookbook since 1927. Also, I note that the cookbook committee for this, the 14th edition, consists entirely of people introduced as MRS. (and their husband's name). Yes, their husbands' names may be known. But still. This was 2005? Am I living in an alternate reality?

So, what's actually in the book. Some lovely pictures, snippets of history (or gossip -- or both), and recipes -- appetizers, beverages, breads and sandwiches, eggs and cheese, salads, soups and stews, meats, poultry, seafood, casseroles, pasta and rice, vegetables, desserts, and dishes from around the world. The sections are divided by pictures and the forward from some earlier editions (hence the words of Grace Goodhue Coolidge; Lou Henry Hoover; Anna Eleanor Roosevelt; Elizabeth "Bess" Truman; Mary "Mamie" Eisenhower; Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy; Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson; Patricia Ryan Nixon; Elizabeth Bloomer Ford; Rosalynn Smith Carter; Nancy Davis Reagan; Barbara Pierce Bush; Hillary Rodham Clinton; Laura Welch Bush). 

On the recipes -- a real range of things. In fact, I think I might actually even cook from this. And I do not always say that. Lots of interesting Americana stuff -- baked corn, tuna casseroles, and mint juleps -- and some odd things like jello punch (yes, made with packets of jello). The use of frozen food seems odd to me -- but realistic, I guess? For example, there is a chicken divan that involves frozen broccoli, cream of chicken soup, and Miracle Whip. Hmmm. On the other end of the spectrum: a chocolate pecan torte that reads like a wonder not to mention an upside-down pear cardamon cake. And there are menus and recipes from donors, including some donor chefs. Not to mention the international segment -- with an eggplant cake from the wife of the Ambassador, Israel and a rhineland-style sauerbraten with raisin gravy from the Ambassador from Germany. 

And yet, looking around at the book, I guess I am still wandering the Capitol. Oh wow. Yes but. What about the politics of it all? I am just not sure, even in the Obama generation (and certainly not in the era of this edition, provided with a forward by then-first-lady Laura Bush). Hmmm. I am just not sure about this sublimation nation. And, I wonder what the cookbook will be like if another edition emerges linked to the Obama era; certainly, Michelle Obama has been appearing in all sorts of food network contexts (revealing the secret ingredient on Iron Chef, for example, and in the words of assistant White House Chef on Top Chef, among other places; check out this youtube) pushing her food agenda for the US. I wonder if it will include challenging the monoculture of corn and related corporate agendas. . . . We'll see, right?

For visuals of the club, both older and more recent, click here. Or, you could try driving (or walking) by. Where is the Congressional Club? It is at the northeast corner of New Hampshire Avenue and U Street, NW in Washington, DC.

For a bit on this edition, try here.

But what about recipes? For one from Jackie Kennedy and the 6th edition of the book, click here. For an utterly baffling phenomenon from the 8th edition, try this site. For a cookie recipe adapted from the 12th edition, click here. Or go more retro, for an eggless meatloaf right here. And, just in case you have a real need to know what Spiro Agnew's favorite soup was, it came from an edition of this cookbook and you can find out what it was (and much much more) right here. 

And don't forget, Obamafoodarama!

Roast Mortem

So, I opened my email and Cleo Coyle was asking: did I want an ARC. And ARC in this case is neither an acronym for a financial corporation, American River College nor an advocacy organization for folks with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Nor it it a portion of a circle or a anagram for car. In this case, ARC means author's review copy (I think) and it means a funny orange colored book labeled "uncorrected proofs for limited distribution" on the cover and, in this case, signed by the author. Yep, a signed ARC at that. From Cleo Coyle! Her ninth in her coffeehouse mystery series.

As you may recall, Coyle is the (pseudonymous) author of the coffee house mystery series, featuring a place called the Village Blend, its owner (aka Madame and no, the coffee house is not a cover for. . . . ), and its amateur sleuth barista/manager. Set in Greenwich Village, the coffee shop is one fo the series characters (as it were), and allows for some fun fun fun. This book, though, has its roots in something serious: the impact of September 11 on fire fighters. As we all know, many fire fighters lost their lives seeking to save those of others. While a particularly horrific date in history, fire fighters have lost their lives in related work before -- and since. And, this novel takes up their work, looking at the risks they take in the day to day accomplishment of their work. Though, as Coyle writely (rightly) notes, this is light fiction and she takes significant liberties with facts, one does get the sense of the passion such men and women bring to their jobs.

Along the way, there is a fun mystery. There are great characters, good use of an excuse to educate the reader on espresso making, several intriguing recipes (by the way, there is mention of Puerto Rican Pernil; click here and scroll down for more on that!), and a few goofy moments. There is a bit on the tension between fire fighters and cops, some good background on the sleuth's main squeeze Mike Quinn. In fact, I have only one quibble with Coyle: in her acknowledgments she gives a shout out to two coffee wonders. One is Joe the Art of Coffee of New York City (and thanks to Coyle for introducing me to this site!) and the second an upstate New York wonder; Gimme! Coffee! Yes, she does!  Hurrah. The quibble -- wish it had been this site that introduced her to Gimme! (Available in Geneva at, for example, normal bread! and listed on this site for a long long time!)

So: when it comes to your friendly neighborhood bookstore get a cuppa and sit right down. Have fun. And, maybe even send a few bits of money to your local volunteer firefighters. Or, as Coyle recommends, try the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund.

And, if you're still looking for places to click, remember this site, listed also on the sidebar, where you can find Cleo (aka Alice) for between mystery cooking ideas and find new foodie mystery authors as well!

Possibly the Best Food Book Ever

I looked at this book over and over again at Midtown Scholar. Eventually, I bought it. I let it sit and age, bake, as it were. I knew it would be a good book. It looked good -- a nice sized hard back. with attractive cover art, its title "COOKING: The Quintessential Art." The authors? Herve This and Pierre Gagnaire. I was convinced I had heard of the former -- the famous author of "Molecular Gastronomy" who is a Research Chemist. Pierre Gagnaire, though, I was clueless. (He looked vaguely familiar when I went on line, but who knows. . . ) Anyway, the book is translated from the French (how perfect to say food good food?) by M.B. De Bevoise. And it is published by the University of California in its famous (well, I personally love it) series, California Studies in Food and Culture (number 23). All this and I expected it to be good. Not, though, this great a read. And yes, I do feel guilty for not trying all the little efforts they suggest to turn myself from a cook -- an artisan perhaps who follows directions and repeats -- into an artist of food. The reading though -- oh wow. I liked this book. (Can you tell?)

So what, you ask, is the book about? It is a woven together book, kind of a book sans genre, with dialogues set at dinners and in restaurants and museums, circling around a mystery, an old book, and the history of Western (with an occasional dab of Asian influence -- usually Chinese but occasionally Japanese) reflection on beauty and art and related matters. Think aesthetics plus food plus intellectual talk and museums and . . . recipes. Sort of. The book is organized as interludes of discussion, all pushed forward by a mysterious book that is handed to one of the characters and from which they read aloud. The book includes quotations from various authors, with notes on who they are, as well as sections which begin with theoretical commentary by Herve This and then recipes (again, sort of) by Gagnaire and finally a paragraph called "your turn." Wowozers!!!! From the ancient Greeks to current (it is a 2008 publication) thinking, tensions between science and art, between the notion of imitating nature to transcending nature, from discussion of painting (mainly) and other fine arts and the ways these might be "transposed" to discuss the aims of culinary creativity.  All in all a great, educational read. In fact, one of the characters is a restaurant chef, another a science-y type who eats out a lot and one might think of as a gourmand, an art historian, and. . . well, you get the point. It sounds contrived, and of course it is, but it was also a truly enjoyable work. Better than Jostein Gaarder's "Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy," which I admit I actually have read twice, this is a romp through lots of interesting quotations from lots of thinkers held together in wonderfully surprising ways (kind of like the cuisine of molecular gastronomy).

Perhaps the best part: they pose more questions than they answer. They think about how tradition and the future relate, they just think about food in smart, challenging, and fascinating ways. And by they, I mean the authors (and the characters)! If you are wondering what these people (as a sampling) have to do with food (via what they have to do with art), this is the book for you: Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Cezanne, Horace, Leon Battista Alberti, Kandinsky, Virgil. . . and many more. (Yes, I have heard of many of the authors quoted; not all. One of them was, I think, the inspiration for a sofa I once owned. I left out loads so even if you are smarter than I am, you may find something for you as well.) The medieval period, the enlightenment, Christianity, modernity -- everything is there. The only flaw: too few women (though the fictional chef is a woman, which certainly challenges the traditional in France -- and elsewhere).

A (longish) quotation from the book's beginning (form Herve This): "How can we reasonably judge a meal? How can we go beyond merely liking or disliking what is served to us? . . . The question is not a simple one. We must first decide whether a cook has mastered basic techniques. . . The cook who envisions a dish that melts in teh mouth, yet arrives at this unintended result [which is that it tastes like cardboard], deserves no praise. He must therefore succeed in achieving what he sets out to do. . . . And, then, of course, there are the hundreds of small touches that determine whether a dish is more or less pretty to look at: the way in which a vegetable is julienned, how a brunoise is arranged on a plate, and so on. In a word, care. Attention to detail. But these things are not enough if we are to properly appreciate culinary art. It is as though one pretended to judge a Rembrandt drawing by looking to see if the ink had run." (pp. 1-2) And we're off and running. 

Maybe there are other best books ever. Here's a review (with a great title: Strict Interdisciplinarian) of another book by This entitled "Building a Meal." For a review of COOKING: The Quintessential Art -- in a format that is itself unusual, try here. Or, for a Gastronomica review of the book, here.

Better Late than Never -- Book Blog Hopping!!!

I sometimes forget this book blogging hop stuff, but it's also fun. One problem I have is I cannot figure out how to leave comments on blogspot sites. One more thing for the to do list! Meanwhile, this week's hop asks folks to talk about their favorite authors and why they are favorites. 

I guess for me, the real answer is favorite at what time for what purpose. I love quick, not so challenging formulaic mysteries some times, I love more challenging intellectual mysteries other times, I like nonfiction both about food and for my profession, and . . . . well, I love to read. So, I am avoiding the question and will just say right now, I am anticipating a new Laurie King, and am reading a book by David Chidester and just finished a book entitled "Scandals and Scoundrels: Seven Cases that Shook the Academy" and can see in the pile of books by my side a cookbook and . . .

So, among the blogs I have learned about from this book blog hopping event are:

Mysteryrat's Closet How can I not, given my passion for mysteries?

Booksploring (because one of the first books on the blog is entitled "Rhubarb")

Novel Confessions (because she says Canadian fiction)

Discovered in a totally different way: try this on female sleuths.

And all because I just love the notion of a "hop."

Free Book

So, I get free books. If you are a regular reader, you know that. And, maybe, you ask yourself -- how can I get free books? I do not mean, of course, books that are not enslaved. Nor do I even mean books that have escaped the realities of commodity fetishism -- certainly contemporary foodie culture is just that: commodity fetishism. What I mean is: I paid nothing for them. In many cases, they just appear in my mail box screaming "Review me. Please review me."  And usually I do. In fact this particular book comes from one of my favorite publishers that sends me cookbooks: Andrews McMeel. And, in fact I am going to the city on which it focuses some time in 2010. But: I thought to myself when I saw it -- why not share the "wealth" -- the freedom -- the free book.

So: I am going to do so. I am going to give it away. I am not going to read it. I am going to just describe it briefly and then say how you can get the book -- FREE.

The book is "Mary Mac's Tea Room," subtitled "65 Years of recipes from Atlanta's Faborite Dining Room" by John Ferrell. Mary Mac's is the only one of Atlanta's "tea rooms," to remain from an original double digit set of places that did not serve tea, but a meat and 3. So, if you want to read about a restaurant that jas lasted 65 years, serving 1000 meals a day often, and get to know (or recognize what you already know) Southern food (or, more particularly Georgian food).

How can you get it? Better yet, how can you get it FREE? How can you get free recipes like Chicken and Southern Dumplings or Hopping John or, perhaps even better, Holiday Eggnog?

Write a reason in the comment section of this entry on Cooking with Ideas that explains why you and only you deserve the book. Bibliochef will choose the best tale -- and then send it along to you. Please -- just let me know your reason. . . and you never know. It's not hard -- look how many comments there are -- and calculate your chances!

Geneva Coffee House -- Help Save It

As many of you know, Cooking with Ideas, some time ago, included an interview with the folks who run Geneva's Coffee House on Exchange Street. Or, more accurately, ran it. For personal reasons, they have closed the Coffee House -- and there is an effort afoot to save it, making it a community owned business. Yes, this recognizes that this Coffee House was actually a key part of Geneva's down town. In fact, it had become a community builder. Let's keep it that way. Besides, what is a college town with no good coffee?

For information, click here. And keep clicking here. Spread the word: Save Geneva, Save the Coffee House!If you care about Geneva, please post this site on your site -- or email it to 5 of your friends. The site -- oh, you want the site -- here is the url -- http://savegenevacoffee.wordpress.com.

For old time's sake, click here for an interview . . . . And sigh.