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Make and eat more aspic.
Those who appreciate aspic may have let the gelatin set before pairing Julie with the likes of Julia Child. It's motion picture odd jello.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/07/nora-ephron-talks-about-the-joy-of-butter.html
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/julie-and-julia-film-review-1003997007.story
Patriot and Bluecrop blueberries are bountiful at Rush River Produce, Maiden Rock, Wisconsin. Open for self picking tomorrow (Thursday) through Sunday from 8 am to 2 pm; call ahead: (715) 594-3648.
It's not a short drive but the scenic route may be as fun to take as blueberries are to pick.
More on area berries from Holly Ebel: http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=36&a=409662
Try a fried walleye sandwich at Rainbow Cafe & Catering, Pine Island. Best fried walleye we've ever tasted.....So good that we took the sandwich apart and savored the fish by itself. (We still ate the fragrant homemade bun and downed the tomato slices and lettuce.) 212 South Main Street, Pine Island, (507) 356-2929.
Can't get enough of salads at Pescara, Rochester. Best in town and competitive with uber salads most anywhere. Ideal meal: Fuji apple and Amablu cheese salad, BLT salad with lemon-basil vinaigrette, or roasted beet carpaccio with Laura Chenel goat cheese; lobster ravioli; and house-made chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream. 150 South Broadway (507) 280-6900/http://www.pescarafresh.com/
While we're on chocolate: Sontes, Rochester, works magic with edgy dessert chocolate combinations. Have a cappuccino too. (Question for Sontes: Would you open in the morning just for espresso drinks and coffee? Por favor?) 4 3rd Street SW (507) 292-1628/http://www.sontes.com/
Great Taste is ga-ga (okay, ba-ba) for Shepard's Way cheeses, made in Nerstrand. Shepard's Hope queso fresco, Hidden Falls, Big Woods Blue and Friesago are all distinctive and insanely flavorful. We like to think Shepard's Way will one day boost Southeast Minnesota's cheese status the way Cowgirl Creamery put klieg lights on cheesemaking in northern California. Available periodically at Culinary Market, Rochester (soon to be Zzest Culinary Market and Wine Cafe); also at Just Food Co-op, Northfield, The Cheese Cave, Faribault, and a number of locations in the Twin Cities. (Best to call ahead and ask if it's in stock.) http://www.shepherdswayfarms.com/
Dominican hot chocolate, anyone?
http://allrecipes.com/Cook/18349468/BlogEntry.aspx?postid=114551
The Rochester Downtown Farmers Market Association sells bottled artesian drinking water from Leroy, Minnesota. If you've tried it, let us know what you think of it.
Great Taste's favorite bottled water for more than 20 years is Volvic. But Great Taste also strongly supports the notion of drinking city or local (tested) well water from the tap.
In New York City Great Taste likes the snob appeal of ordering Manhattan's finest. (NY Times piece on local tap water quality: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/nyregion/thecity/18feat.html) In Chicago GT requests freshwater of Lake Michigan. The mighty Mississippi sparkles in our glasses in St. Paul.
One reason to turn to bottled water is when you are traveling and you discover that the water is hooked up to a softener. It has always astonished GT that people tolerate drinking this type of water.
But here's a question for readers: Do you think Rochester city tap water tastes good?
Silkey Gardens, Northfield, offers numerous raspberry varieties, for sale (by advance order) or to pick.
GT's fave summer raspberry to date is the K 8 -16, which is large (close to strawberry size), full flavored, sweet and juicy.
Check out Silkey's selection: http://www.silkeygardens.com/index.php?raspberries
Cool summer rain brings thoughts of Sushi Itto's chicken teriyaki. It's warm, sweet and satisfying, but not rich or heavy.
A modern Japanese backdrop with earth tones and clean lines is also reassuring on a sloppy day.
Sushi Itto is steps from the skyway/subway system. We may have to add a California roll to go.
Menu, delivery option and more info: http://www.sushiittorst.com/
Lanesboro has a new spot (in an old spot) for imbibing: The Dirty Martini Lounge.
But we have a question: What is a dirty martini? Wikipedia .answers.
Now the confession. Not because it's Monday and we drank martinis all weekend. It's beyond that: GT doesn't "get" the never-ending martini craze that took hold in the 90s.
And--go ahead and roll your eyes--GT does not recognize the martini as part of the post-1960s social culture. (Marketing culture yes, social no.)
A martini was once a stiff drink that after a second helping could put a female (aka lady) under the table--or asleep over it. Three martinis would render large men into stumbling, grinning schmoes who reeked of alcohol and smoke.
The difference between a martini and drinking a pint of whiskey from the bottle was that the martini required a cocktail dress and heels or jacket and tie. Ideally it was paired with a men's charcoal gray business suit.
Martinis were for adults who could smile and drink it in without wincing--as exquisitely as taking a puff of a Parliament resting close by in a glass or black resin ashtray. It was to be drunk daytime or evening, indoors. On the patio you drank sours or highballs.
Martini is now practically a euphemism to dress down and party. It's just short of a kegger but you can wear that gold halter without fearing that someone will chase you and try to pour beer down your front. (I'm probably dating myself to the era of drinking and frolicking at age 19 or 20.) Almost any diluted concoction can become a martini if served in a conical glass.
As tainted with alcoholism and melancholia as the (genuine) martini can be, GT has no heart for its superficial descendant. The martini died some time in the 70s--along with a more forgiving way of life that winked at drinking businessmen (not journalists, however, who sustained themselves with a flask in the desk drawer)--and should rest in peace.
See: Top ten food trends from The Food Channel
Hmmmm. Some of these trends make us wonder....
Trend number eight, "food insecurity," presages a return to home canning.
Non-commercial canning usually takes place in a non-sterile, uncontrolled environment, generating safety (aka security) concerns--such as scalding and botulism--more than avoiding them.
Assuming ideal conditions, one must question how many people have time--this is 2009, not 1949--to can food at home on a regular basis.
GT's alternate prediction: a surge in sales of healthier fast foods like that of Chipotle Mexican Grill, or even Wendy's--which uses fresh meat instead of frozen in its burgers, and goes heavy on lettuce, tomato and onion.
We admire pie-in-the-sky Food Channel trends--and wish for most of them to happen.. But we think the editor who created this list needs to spend time away from the desktop LCD. GT recommends putting up 50 jars of tomatoes. (Spiced tomato preserves are our favorite.)
Americans consume too many sweetened products, and this blogger strongly recommends cutting back in general.
But, having stated that, we worship cane sugar. For most baked goods and drinks, it just tastes better. (Castor sugar is best of all.)
Sugar, are you ready for your close-up?
Seattle Times headline: Sugar pushes high-fructose corn syrup off of some product labels
Now we are tempted to digress and break out into a discussion of the pros and cons of high-fructose corn syrup versus sugar production. For more insight you may wish to view King Corn.
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