Ideabook Tuesday: Intriguing Corners

Habitually Chic recently wrote an interesting post about staging a house for a photo shoot and how to look at and arrange a room to take cool shots. Right after reading it, I clicked over to The Selby and looked at some of his very tight photos that show the tiny vignettes that give a room its color. Looking at both blogs got me thinking about designing a room as a whole vs. designing individual corners of it.

At my house I definitely design for the whole - I'm sure everyone does, really - but when I look around, I can see some Selby-esque corners of the space I live in, and that makes me happy. It also inspired this:

The Intriguing Corner

more home design ideas on houzz

Trendy Monday: Charleston

I've never been to Charleston, South Carolina, but I've always wanted to go. In pictures and movies and books it looks beautiful and gracious and appropriately slow. Plus, the movie Shag was more than a small force in my adolescence (yes, I know it was set in Myrtle Beach, but still...SC).

So I've always sort of wanted to visit, but the need has never been pressing.

A couple of months ago, though, Mike took a business trip to Charleston and spent the day sending me texts about all the amazing food he was eating. I was jealous.

Then, a few weeks ago, Becky from Hatch took a Charleston trip of her own and when she came back she posted some of her photos on Houzz (including that one on the right). They're everything I'd imagine from what I've read of the city.

But now I'm worried that I waited too long and missed the window. Charleston has obviously been invaded by the great washed...the urban masses flocking from NYC and San Francisco and LA. Can the city's character withstand the flood? I don't know - since I've never been there. I do still want to visit, but sentences like these, from a recent Elle Decor article on the city, send chills down my spine:

“Seven years ago my husband, Jonathan, and I told our friends that we were moving to Charleston, and the reply was ‘Why the hell are you doing that?’” says Lulan’s owner, San Francisco transplant and ex-Hanoi resident Eve Blossom. “Now when I tell people in San Francisco where we live, they say, ‘My gosh, I was just there’ or ‘My friends recently moved there from L.A.’ West Coasters have taken notice.”

They say that like it's a good thing.

Entertaining Friday: Restaurant Review Roundup

I've been writing a lot of restaurant reviews lately...just not here. My Examiner column is bursting with them, though. So, to spread the wealth around, here's a quick roundup:

• Grapevine Cafe - Greek-American in Cockeysville. Great apps, not-so-great entrees. Learned the hard way that we should stop trying to go to restaurants that cater to the over-65 crowd.
• Hamilton Tavern - Local and American in Lauraville. Cool interior, great wine list, solid bar food.
• Saigon Remembered - Vietnamese by Belvedere Square. Some kitchen glitches, but good flavor and great rolls.
• Samos - Greek in Greektown. Seriously awesome.

So there you have it. The most legitimately "entertaining" spots are Hamilton Tavern (for the hipper and younger, or at least those who don't mind a little noise, especially on the weekends) and Samos (for everybody. Literally, everybody.) Although, with the right company, I'm sure anyplace could be entertaining...

Old School Thursday: Saints and Icons

Today is a big day for the saints. It’s the Feast of St. Drogo (patron of coffee house owners and keepers) and also the official day for both St. Magnus of Orkney (patron of fishmongers) and St. Bernadette (patron of shepherds). That’s a lot of lesser-known saints. And on top of all that, it’s National Eggs Benedict Day. I don’t think that has anything to do with the Pope, but it does keep it on theme.

Beyond the Church, today’s a big day for mid-twentieth century pop culture. Today in 1941, the original Elsie the Cow died. Elsie, originally a cartoon, got famous as the brand icon for Borden Milk. The “real” Elsie, who was really originally named “You’ll do Lobelia” (wordy?) was chosen to represent the brand at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

Fifteen years later, on April 16, 1956, the wine-making, grape-stomping episode of I Love Lucy aired for the first time. Footage from that episode is really, really famous – and makes me wonder if old Lucy episodes are still running on TV. If not, will classic episodes like that one and the candymaking ep be lost to future generations? That seems sad.

So that’s it. To celebrate? Milk, wine and eggs Benedict, of course.

Artsy Wednesday: Cocktail Attire

In case you missed it...on Friday's "Entertaining" post, commenter TheSlapster left a link to an awesome set of Mad Men illustrations on Flickr. Created by an illustrator named Dyna Moe, they've been used everywhere from newspapers ("Mix It Up" to the left illustrated a Minneapolis Star-Tribune feature on show-era cocktails) to Rich Sommer's Christmas card to the cast.

The illustrator originally created the drawings as screen savers - one for each episode. She also - very nicely - encourages downloads for personal use. Though if you wanted to actually, you know, patronize, she's got several things for sale.

You know what I don't like, though? The reminder that Don Draper is nearly as old as my Uncle Jack.

Ideabook Tuesday: Inspired by Painters

I'm almost just surprised that it took me as long as it did to create an ideabook of rooms inspired by specific artists. But here it is:

Artsy: Inspired by Great Painters

more home design ideas on houzz

Do You Know Your State Capitals?

I do (thanks, Mrs. Puckett, from all the Benfield Elementary 5th graders). But if you don't and/or if you like M&M animation and watching people's hands move really, really fast, check this out:

Trendy Monday: Recession Dining

At the end of last week, the NYT ran an article on how people are scaling back and turning thriftiness into the newest trendy obsession. Like many NYT trend pieces, it seems possible that the entire article is built around a couple of the author's more obnoxious friends, but unlike some of those articles, the overall point of this one is valid. The economy's tight and people are trying to make the best of it with some new habits.

The article, and the new appeal of the thrify lifestyle, reminded me of a conversation I had last Christmas. We were out with a bunch of my high school friends, doing our semi-annual "get together, drink and talk about the old days" thing on a random Sunday night at a bar in Fells Point. One story lead to another, but the theme of most of them "remember that time when we did that thing and we were so young and so loud and so annoying but it was SO funny? And how did we drink that much anyway?"

After the 10th or so story, my friend Mike, an environmental scientist who's kind of a hippie (more than the rest of us, anyway) and lives in Seattle with his awesome wife Polly, looked at everyone and started laughing. "Back in Seattle," he said, "when we get together with friends it's all 'what are you doing with your CSA' and 'we're thinking of growing flax so we can make our own clothes'." It's never about this stuff."

Which cracked all of us up. Obviously.

I can guarantee that things won't get so bad around here that I'll start weaving my own clothes. But I do have plans to, at the very least, be a little more efficient with my CSA vegetables this year. Thrift isn't a bad thing.

Fortunately, being thrifty doesn't always mean scaling back. This week, for example. On Wednesday, Sotto Sopra (410-625-0534, 405 North Charles Street, Mt. Vernon) is "celebrating" tax day with a Dollar Pasta Night. For a donation to either the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or Our Daily Bread, plus just one dollar, diners can choose from a menu of nine pastas. Choices range from spaghetti alla puttanesca to penne with salmon and Pernod.

Not exactly the dollar menu at McDonald's, but it'll do, right? It's definitely the kind of thrifty living I can get behind.

(I'd recommend calling to reserve a table in advance. Sotto Sopra will be taking reservations from 5 to 10 p.m. And really, I would recommend going, especially if you've never tried the restaurant before. The food is delicious and really, what a great deal.)

Yellowtail, Maipe and the Evolution of a Region

Last week, I had a conversation with my mom about how delicious and cheap Maipe malbec is, and how funny it is that it, and other Argentinian wines, are suddenly everywhere. She mentioned that she'd read something about Argentinian wine makers turning to the US market because domestic wine drinkers got bored with the very common, very cheap grape. Sales in Argentina started falling flat, so the industry looked a little to the north and next thing you know, every wine store around is sporting endcaps full of malbec.

When I hung up the phone, I started to worry, just a little, that Maipe has the potential to be Argentina's Yellowtail (minus the critter label). Just like the Australian wine, Maipe burst onto the scene and all of a sudden, all my wine-drinking friends are all over it. It's like 2001 all over again. (My first sip of Yellowtail was, BTW, at work. Our kickass PR guy, Tom, brought a bottle to the office one day and my department, good trendspotters that we were, shared it.)

I'm not feeling much better about Maipe's situation after reading this really good Mike Steinberger article on Yellowtail's role in the decline of the Australian wine market. The argument is, in a nutshell, that thanks to Yellowtail, Australia's brand as a wine-producing country is stuck firmly in the "cheap and fruity" space, so wine drinkers looking for more sophisticated products (either because they really like them better, or because they want to seem like they know what they're talking about) avoid Australia. The key sentence:

As a result, consumers came to equate Australia with wines that were flavorful but also cheap and frivolous, a perception that became a major liability when those same consumers got interested in more serious stuff; rather than looking to Oz, they turned to Spain, Italy, and France.

I am one of those consumers - somebody who, in 2001, was just starting to get into wine. And I drank a lot of Yellowtail. So much that at some point, I just couldn't take it anymore (Steinberger refers to this phenomenon, aptly, as "fruit-bomb fatigue"). When Cooper and I started getting serious about wine, we looked mainly to France, Spain, and Italy, with a touch of California thrown in. And recently, to Argentina.

What I wonder now is whether knowing why we've been avoiding Australia will make me give the country another chance? I'm not sure. And will I slow down on the Maipe, so I don't ruin it for myself. Unlikely, honestly.

But it doesn't seem fair, somehow, that wine makers should be subject to marketing-driven trends.

Then again, life's not fair. So I'm not sure why wine-making should be any different.

Entertaining Friday: Mad Men

Remember parties are fun, historically accurate themed parties are legendary.

It's a good thing I can laugh at myself, otherwise Stuff White People Like would make me cry. Believe me, I know I'm not the only person who likes the idea of Mad Men-themed party. God, I love the Drapers. Even if the food is hideous. The drinks, though. We'll always have the drinks.

Old School Thursday: Chickens and Other Proteins Edition

Happy Passover, happy Easter and happy National Chinese Almond Cookie Day. No, I don’t know what that means, either.

Today in food history: the deaths of the curious. Starting most recently, today in 1850, British chemist William Prout died. He was the first to classify foods into carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Dr. Atkins and the entire town of South Beach salute you, Dr. Prout.

Fortunately for Dr. Prout, his work didn’t actually kill him. Not so for our older member of the curious club. Today in 1626 Sir Francis Bacon died. Besides having a fabulously food-oriented name, Bacon was famous for all sorts of things, from philosophy and writing to diplomacy and even possibly writing some of Shakespeare’s plays (if you’re into that sort of conspiracy theory). It’s his cause of death, though, that gets him a mention here. Apparently he was doing an experiment with a chicken stuffed with snow, trying to see how long the animal would be preserved by the extreme cold (smart, really). Not so smart, though, that he didn’t catch a cold himself – one that he died from a month later.

Artsy Wednesday: Radical Cartography

Last week, Apartment Therapy linked to the kind of site where I can lose hours and hours of my day. Radical Cartography is the brainchild of Harvard grad student Bill Rankin. AT honed right in on some of the prettier, older maps, like these maps of the Mississippi River from 1944 - and they are definitely worth a look.

But from a research geek perspective, I was more interested in some of the maps that Rankin and his friends created themselves. I'm still batting around food mapping ideas, and I found a lot of inspiration here. For example...

The density of the Hispanic population throughout the US - this has surely impacted food choices and offerings, right?

Thinking historically, I wonder how the creation of the National Road influenced regional cuisine. The families that traveled the road, did they leave bits of their histories behind? Can we still see their influence today?

This little series of simple maps might have resonated the most with me. Rankin and two of his colleagues created their own "personal maps" of cities. This one, of Philadelphia, shows Rankin's movements around the city, how he gets around, and what he does. Overlay a bunch of additional people's maps on top of this one and you have a really interesting study of city use.

Artsy: Duchamp at the National Portrait Gallery

The Dada movement has always appealed to me. I'm into the humor, the nonsense, the vacillation between being intellectual/theoretical and not taking anything seriously at all. It's no surprise, then, that I'm a fan of the absurd work of Marcel Duchamp.

The double-exposed photo of the artist above, though, has always kind of creeped me out. I think it has something to do with whatever Nick Bantock book it's used to illustrate (I can't remember which). As much as I love Bantock books, they always leave me feeling a little unsettled. Which, I think, they're probably supposed to do.

All of this is a long way of saying that I enjoyed Blake Gopnik's article on the Duchamp show at the National Portrait Gallery. It's not long, but it's an interesting look at Duchamp's concept of identity, using the show's 100 portraits (and self-portraits) of the artist as a backdrop. The key quote, as I see it:

A portrait can't get at the essence of its sitter -- because such essences, Duchamp says, do not exist.

So, then, how is this about food? I'm not quite sure, but I've been trying to connect that last quote - about essences - to ingredients. Because I think that while Duchamp's point is partially valid - in today's parlance, every human can create his own brand - I also think it's impossible to completely erase the core self in favor of that brand. Duchamp may have created new identities for his portraits, but dada was such a part of his being that no matter how far he departed from his "usual self", the simple act of departure pulled him back.

Just like with food. You can dress up an ingredient, make it work a different or unusual way, but at its core, it is what it is. It'll do what it's made to do.

Too much of a stretch? Probably, right? But still, interesting article. And a show I wouldn't mind seeing.

Ideabook Tuesday: It's the Jetsons!

The real mid-century vision of the future...in all its animated glory:

The Modern Jetsons Pad

more home design ideas on houzz

Trendy Monday: Places to Watch

The May Food & Wine arrived the other day and, with it, a "go list" - the world's best food cities plus 20 "rising star" restaurants in the food world. For anybody paying close attention to global food trends, there aren't a ton of surprises, but it's interesting reading anyway.

The "best" food cities are mostly what you'd expect: Tokyo, Barcelona, New York, London and Copenhagen. The most interesting inclusion on that list is Copenhagen, which the magazine calls an "avant-garde stronghold." That's very F&W of them. I'm trying to imagine what #5 would be on, say, Bon Appetit's list. Something in Italy, maybe? Shanghai?

The rising star restaurant list provides a little more geographic diversity, with spots in Hong Kon, Lima, Dublin, Buenos Aires and Melbourne. Oddly enough, Momofuku Ko is included on that list. I guess I have a hard time thinking of a restaurant that's gotten that much ink as a "rising star."

But that also might just be because I read a lot about newish restaurants?

(As an aside, this is my 800th post on M&G. I've been writing for just over 3 1/2 years and writing every weekday (minus a couple of days last fall when I was in the Bahamas) for almost a year and a half. Wordy, huh?)

Entertaining Friday: DIFFA Tables

Becky from Hatch (who somehow only posts things that I like) shared some photos of David Stark's table at DIFFA Dining by Design in NYC last weekend. The photos, taken by Gustavo Campos, are awesome and the table is so cheeky and fun and deceptively simple looking. It makes me want to throw an indoor picnic:

An elaborate indoor picnic. Maybe with food that all looks like one thing, but really is something else - like eggplant tempura "soft crabs" with some kind of fresh corn salad that's molded into little "ears of corn." Something like that.

As a whole, the DIFFA tables are really inspiring (you can see some more here) and full of energy. A good reminder that dinner's not just about what's on the plate.

Old School Thursday: Wine and Letters (+ Cooper!)

Today is National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. That’s an iconic sandwich, I can get behind it having it’s own day (I wonder, though, how grilled cheese feels about the PB&J’s day being in April which is, as everybody knows, Grilled Cheese Month).

Even more importantly, today is all about the vino. It’s the Feast of Acan, the Mayan god of wine and it’s St. Urban of Langres’ Day. He is the patron saint of barrel makers, coopers (also Coopers?) and, logically, vintners. After all, where would the vintner be without the cooper?

In other news, today is Big French Birthday day. On April 2, 742, Charlemagne was born and centuries later, in 1840, writer Emile Zola was born. Some sources say Charlemagne was a bit of a foodie, serving peacock and loving Roquefort and inventing sauerbraten and, possibly most importantly, introducing the knife as an alternative to eating with the hands.

Zola, who I mostly think of in conjunction with this Manet portrait, was something of a food-lover himself, throwing lavish dinner parties and including detailed descriptions of meals in his books.
So, then, wine and books to celebrate today?

Artsy Wednesday: Silhouette Masterpiece Theater

Wouldn't this look awesome in my living room? Or maybe this one. Or this one. One of these cheeky little monkeys is joining my collection, and soon.

Cornuts

Today's the 20th anniversary of the release of "Heathers" - aka the movie I was obsessed with when I was 13. And 14. And older.

This "where are they now" slideshow is interesting and enlightening. I'm surprised by how many of the actors are on shows I've watched recently (JAG, which I watched ALL of in the early mornings right after Dixon was born; The Suite Life on Deck, which proves how much Disney I accidentally watch; Charmed, which I don't feel like I have to explain because, hello, Aaron Spelling?). But most of them I didn't connect - at all - to their roles in the movie.

Twenty years. Wow. Does it make me sound crochety if I say "they just don't make them like that anymore"?

Ideabook Tuesday: Less vs. More

Minimalist vs. Maximalist - that is today's great design debate. I used to be planted firmly in the "minimal" column, but as time goes by I find myself more and more comfortable with "stuff." Not too much stuff, of course, but stuff, nonetheless.

Over at houzz, where I posted this ideabook last week, there's a little bit of a debate going on in the comments. Well, not exactly a debate, but everybody's weighing in with their own opinion. The question of the day is: if there's a line between less and more, where do you fall?

Less vs. More: The Great Design Debate

more home design ideas on houzz

Trendy Monday: Decent Hotel Restaurants

When I think "hotel restaurant," I usually don't think "good food." My impression of the average hotel eating space is a blandly decorated room with an overpriced, overcooked and uninspired menu. Fortunately for travelers, that might be changing.

Last week, commercial design mag, Conract, published an interesting article on the evolution of the hotel dining experience. The money quotes:

"If there is a trend in hotel design, it is toward a greater recognition of the importance of the restaurant and food and beverage experience in defining its competitive position. The restaurant needs to stand on its own as a real restaurant, and increasingly the hotel is highlighting the restaurant as a standard bearer for design, cuisine, and brand expression."

"It used to be conventional wisdom that hotels need a specialty restaurant for fine dining, a three-meal restaurant for basic all-day service and a lobby bar to activate the lobby," he says. "We're seeing a shift toward consolidation to create a more flexible food and beverage venue with greater draw."

Both quotes are from Patrick O'Hare, AIA, IIDA, a California-based interior architect.

While I'm sure this won't hit hotels at every part of the spectrum - it's doubtful that the low-to-mid-range hotels are about to say goodbye to their limp-bacon-and-gross-eggs buffets anytime son - but it's still encouraging. And certainly a reminder of just how much of a priority food has become.

Entertaining Friday: Birthdays

As much I love having parties, birthday parties have never been all that big of a deal for me. When I was little I'm sure they were, but I don't really remember. That's not to say that I don't celebrate my birthday - I do, always with a trip to McGarveys - but it's just not a big dramatic occasion. The same is true for the rest of the Waskoms - we recognize birthdays with phone calls and presents and Boston cream pie (except for me - I like angel food cake), but that's about it.

There are a few birthdays out there, though, that for one reason or another, we really did celebrate. The oyster roast at Ben Oaks beach for my dad's 50th. The surprise party at my parent's neighbor's house for my mom's 50th. Dinner and lots and lots of oyster shooters for my brother's 30th. Dinner and way too many drinks and possibly some sibling rivalry down in Lexington for my brother and sister and I for Erin's 21st.

Plus, one random birthday that sort of sums up how the Waskoms hang out. It was my dad's 45th - 18 years ago this Sunday. Instead of going out to dinner, we had the Waskom special - lots of hors d'oeuvres in the living room. We sat around eating cheese and more cheese and my dad opened a bottle of champagne that he'd gotten as a gift. My parents, I guess, were feeling Continental, so they poured me a glass (I was 15).

And that is how it came to be that the very first sip of champagne I ever tasted was Dom Perignon.

Unfortunately, at that time, my palate was, shall we say, unrefined. I didn't really like it much at all and I don't even think I finished the glass. That certainly wouldn't be the case today. What a waste.

This weekend, we'll actually be celebrating in similar style. Everybody's coming up to our house tomorrow afternoon for hors d'oeuvres and cake and drinks. No Dom, this time, though. And that really is a shame.

Per Se: Food vs. Experience

Cail just sent me this link with this question:

Would you even WANT Per Se a la carte, or is the whole Per Se cheapened or somehow not as great without the multiple course tasting menu?

Good question.

Old School Thursday: Stoves, Spinach and Snickers Edition

Happy National Nougat Day! Celebrate with a Snickers!

Today’s pretty random, and pretty sparse. It’s Benjamin Thompson’s birthday (1753). Who is Benjamin Thompson, you say? Also known as Count von Rumford? He was an American doctor who invented a bunch of stuff, including the percolator, pressure cooker and a kitchen stove. And Baked Alaska. From what I know of food history, it seems like he lived during a particularly interesting time of invention and growth – the first part of the American food renaissance, you could say (which happened to correspond to the American democratic explosion, too).

March 26th, more than 150 years later, something nearly as revolutionary happened when Crystal City, Texas – the self-proclaimed spinach capital of the world – erected a statue of Popeye.

And…that’s it. Inventions and spinach. Plus nougat. I hate it when everything doesn’t pull together into a nice theme. So I’ll leave you with this teaser for next Wednesday: it’s the Feast of Acan, the Mayan God of Wine. Possibilities there? You bet.

Artsy Wednesday: Spring Brings Green

Last week, while I was freaking out after finding out that a picture of our kitchen was used in a post on Apartment Therapy, Dara "Dining Dish" Bunjon sent me a photo she'd snapped at an Art Blooms event at The Walters.

As a part of Art Blooms this year, The Walters hired designers to create tables for an imaginary garden party. Knowing my love for all things green, Dara thought I'd appreciate the table in the photo at the left. She couldn't remember the name of the designer, but she definitely nailed my taste. I love the linens, the flowers, the dishes - everything. And I really love the little side table stacked with books. Great addition. I'd love to see this whole table stuck in the middle of a really bright, really colorful garden.

Of course, if I was setting this table, I'd also be thinking about the food going in the dishes. That's got to match, too. Fruit salad - with lots of oranges and pineapple and hot pink watermelon - would be pretty. Or maybe French toast covered in strawberries. Something to add a little contrast.

I'm sorry to say that Art Blooms is over - it was early this year - but fortunately, spring is really just starting.

Ideabook Tuesday: Fashion-Inspired

Despite the fact that I wear yoga pants and ratty t-shirts most of the time (yay work from home!), I have always really loved fashion. In fact, for a little while when I first started college, I thought I might want to get into buying as a career. One summer + one semester of working retail cured me of that, but I still love clothes.

That's why this ideabook - rooms that represent the styles of some of my favorite designers - was super fun to write. It's not all-inclusive, of course - there's no Michael Kors and I love Michael Kors - but it's pretty cool anyway. And also pretty inspiring, if I do say so myself.

Fashion Inspiration: Designing with Your Wardrobe in Mind

more home design ideas on houzz

Trendy Monday: POM + Prosecco

Today's trendy Monday isn't actually all that trendy. Or, rather, it was trendy, just in 2005. But I'm still pretty taken with the pomegranate juice cocktail.

A couple of years ago, during a visit to Richmond to see Tom and Cail, I was introduced to the "Pom Fizz" - a cocktail of champagne, pomegranate liqueur and cranberry juice that's a specialty at Can Can (one of their favorite restaurant/bars). It was sparkly and a little tart and very delicious. At Can Can, the drink has since been renamed The Marcail, in honor of Cail (they spend a lot of time there) and in Baltimore, a simpler version has become a staple among my friends.

My version is even lighter and easier. Fill a champagne glass one-third full with pomegranate juice (preferably POM Wonderful - who also just sent me some free juice!) and fill the rest of the glass with prosecco. Voila! A light and tasty cocktail that is also enormously heart-healthy (as I am fond of reminding everyone when I'm on my 5th. But really, they are very light and easy to drink.)

Plus, what an excellent anytime drink. Light enough for brunch, perfect with a salad for lunch and fancy enough for dinner. The ideal cocktail? Yes, I think it just might be.

Hard Work in the Kitchen

I'm not really feeling the posting today. I don't have any sort of "entertaining" inspiration - for which I blame Dixon's pink eye - and I am tired. So, in lieu of an actual post, here's a picture of Dixon and his favorite new hobby: working on his knife skills with day-old Play-Doh and a complete set of Williams-Sonoma cheese knives:
He's really pretty good, too.

Old School Thursday: The Lobbyists Win (Plus, Beer!)

Only one major event of historical significance today, but that one is pretty important. If you’re British, anyway. Today in 1936, the British public was able to buy canned beer for the very first time. It was from Felinfoel Brewery in Wales (that, as it turns out, is still around. It’s got a pretty interesting history, too.)

Other than that, today belongs to the lobbyists. It’s Poultry Day and National Agriculture Day (pretty broad, right?) as well as National Chocolate Caramel Day (not so broad). The last actually is the most logical, as today is also the Feast of St. Joseph and he is the patron saint of confectioners.

Today’s celebration, then, really ought to include some chocolate caramels. And some canned beer (preferably from Felinfoel, but I’m not sure that you can buy any of the brewery’s beers in the US). Beyond that, you’ve got some wiggle room. Any sort of poultry and…anything else that involves agriculture. Take advantage. Celebrating food history is rarely so easy.

Artsy Wednesday (also Book Review): The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace

For my birthday (yes, last December) my brother gave me a book I'd been dying to read: The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine. The book, by super-smart Benjamin Wallace, begins with the 1985 Christie's auction that set a record for the highest price ever paid for a single bottle of wine. The auction winner was Kip Forbes and the bottle was touted as a newly discovered part of Thomas Jefferson's cellar (well, actually, a bottle that never quite made it to the cellar, but that belonged to TJ nonetheless).

The rest of the book zigzags between years, explaining the evolution of the wine market, the nearly-untouchable world of high-end, rare wine tastings, and the investigations and doubt surrounding the Jefferson bottles and the man who "discovered" them, German music producer-turned-collector, Hardy Rodenstock.

It's pretty amazing.

While it's clearly a history book, and the Tarantino-like chronology is a little confusing at times, TBV is a good read. Wallace is a compelling writer and, obviously, a pretty fantastic interviewer. He got cooperation from pretty much every major player in the rare and old wine world, and got them to say some stuff that's revealing. What's interesting, too, and that I didn't realize until I was nearing the end of the book, is that the whole Jefferson bottle affair wasn't 100% settled when he decided to write the book. His research ran in parallel to several other investigations and appears that the book itself contributes to the overall case. Cool.

So the book would be worth reading even if it was fiction. But it's not, and I'm also fascinated by what I learned about the wine industry - especially in the US. My parents have always drank wine with dinner. My grandparents drank cocktails, but my parents always drank wine, so I've always thought of wine as a normal part of a meal.

What I didn't realize was that my house was ahead of the curve. If Wallace's story is to be believed - and I think it is - wine wasn't mainstream in America until fairly recently. Really great wine glasses weren't even available in the US until the late 1980's - which is crazy when you consider that Reidel glasses are now available at Target. The article jibes with Robert Parker's look at the last 30 years in US wine history that ran in Food & Wine last September. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but it still shocks me to read about wine and realize that I've been an active part of the awakening of the wine industry in the US (the later part of the awakening, of course, but part of it nonetheless).

But I digress. The Billionaire's Vinegar: if you're into wine, or drama, or history or forgery (according to Amazon, 13% of people who viewed the TBV page ended up buying The Man Who Made Vermeers, another book I really liked, even though it had nothing to do with food)...read it.

Ideabook Tuesday: Happy St. Patrick's Day

You can never have too much green at home. Not at my house, anyway...

It IS Easy Being Green

more home design ideas on houzz

Trendy Monday: India & Wine

This is officially my first "trendy Monday" post inspired by a dream. Sometime very early this morning, I woke up thinking about the wine industry in India. I'd been dreaming about a grape called Sirjay (that does not actually exist). I can't decide if it was a totally interesting dream or completely dorky and boring. Probably the latter.

Either way, it got me thinking about the potential for Indian wine and I started doing some googling this morning, only to find out that today is the first day of the India International Wine Fair. Wine consumption (and production) is on the upswing in India, and recent classification shifts have removed some of the restrictions from selling wine in the still-partially teetotal country.

Not surprisingly, winemakers in the US and France are pretty interested in the Indian market. Like China, India represents a whole lot of people and a domestic industry that's not super sophisticated. Importing and investing aren't without hurdles, but the size of the potential market makes it worth it to navigate the country's system.

It's less certain that we'll hear a lot about Indian wine exports - at least not anytime soon. But I still wouldn't mind trying some.

Entertaining Friday: Match That Wine!

As longtime readers know, I'm a big fan of Canadian wine writer Natalie MacLean. For one thing, I like her recommendations (and that she makes a lot of them). For another, I like her. That's a bonus.

She's had a food and wine matcher on her site for some time now and she's just created a widget that allows you to transport the widget pretty much anywhere online. I've got it on my facebook page now, for example, and on the sidebar of this blog. Downloading it takes about 2 seconds, too. In fact, here it is now:

And in case you're wondering, Nat has more than a few recommendations for wine to drink with your corned beef and cabbage. If you're into reds, she suggests a nice Bordeaux, a New World Cab or a Cab-blend Meritage. If you prefer white, try a Sauvignon Blanc or a Gruner Veltliner. Either way, slainte!

Old School Thursday: Coke and Cookies Edition

I know I say this nearly every week, but I am continually surprised (and sort of delighted) by the industries that have enough of a lobby to end up with their own national day of recognition. Today, for instance, is National Baked Scallops Day. And, as usual, all I can say is this: of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be National Baked Scallops Day?

In other, more red, white and Atlanta news, today’s a big day for Coke. Today marks the 115th anniversary of the initial bottling of Coca-Cola – by Joseph Biedenham of Vicksburg, Mississippi. It’s also a sad day for Coke fans, though, as today is the 80th anniversary of the death of Asa Griggs Candler. While Candler didn’t create the formula for Coke – he bought it for $2300 from a pharmacist named John Pemberton in 1887 – he did build the brand as we know it. By the time Candler sold the company in 1919, it was worth $25 million. His name is still pretty revered in Atlanta.

And something to eat with your Coke? How about some cookies? Today in 1912, the Girl Scouts of America was founded by Juliette (Daisy) Gordon Low. Lucky it was, too, because can you imagine life without Girl Scout cookies?

On one more sad note, today is the 16th anniversary of the death of Christian Kent Nelson, inventor of the Eskimo Pie.

If nothing else, today’s an easy one to celebrate. Break out the Coke, an Eskimo Pie and any Thin Mints you’ve still got in your freezer (1/2 a box at our house). After your baked scallop dinner, of course. Only after.

Artsy Wednesday: Pantone Kitchen Canisters

On Monday, Libby sent me a link to these cute Pantone kitchen containers (via Apartment Therapy). Aren't they great? There's a bright blue one for tea that I really love - and that I think would look great in my kitchen.

These are a perfect gift, really, for anybody in graphic design or advertising. Back in my agency days, I would've wanted a whole set.

Ideabook Tuesday: Sitting on the Porch

Kind of an amazing weekend, right?

On Saturday afternoon, Cooper and I were sitting on our front porch, watching Dixon make a mess of himself in the yard (and use a file to try to cut through the side fence, which he's going to be able to actually do one day, way too soon). Cooper looked at me and said, "you know what would be good right now? Jen's summer drink."

Jen's summer drink is Firefly sweet tea vodka and lemonade, aka the "John Daly." She had the vodka on a trip to see her parents in Florida a couple of months ago and came home evangelizing. Cooper had tasted it, but I hadn't.

Even taste unknown, I was pretty sure Cooper was right, so Dixon and I sent him off to procure some of the vodka in question.

Twenty minutes later, we were sipping our drinks and, well, still watching Dixon file through the fence. It was a pretty perfect way to spend a warm, lazy late Saturday afternoon. And also the inspiration for this:

Sit a Spell: The Art of the Front Porch

more home design ideas on houzz

Trendy Monday: Ireland (Again)

As is usually the case around this time of year, my thoughts have turned to the cuisine of the great Emerald Isle, such as it is. Our annual St. Patrick's Day celebration kicked off yesterday with an afternoon (and evening) at Ryan's Daughter (more on that tomorrow on Examiner.com) and all week I'll be working on the menu and details for another get together on Saturday.

So of course I've got Irish food on the brain.

But the trend here, actually, is what I'm not seeing. Last year at this time, I couldn't open a magazine, or my email, without being hit over the head by some kind of "new Irish food rocks" article. Not so much this year. I'm guessing that's not because the new Irish food no longer rocks, but simply because it's not so new anymore.

Entertaining Friday: St. Patty's Kickoff

St. Patrick's Day is kind of a big deal around my house. Cooper and I are both mostly of Irish descent (we are also both English and Dutch, thus providing Dixon with some very pale skin). We both like celebratory holidays. We both love parades.

For years, we spent the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day at the Baltimore parade, standing right on Charles Street, in front of David and Dad's. Two years ago, though, when we first took Dixon to the parade, we realized that it wasn't quite as much fun as it used to be. It was crowded and loud and kind of annoying. Cooper blamed it on the parade changing. I blamed it on us growing up.

Last year, we decided to skip the parade - but not to skip the celebration altogether. Instead, on the parade day, our friends decided to get together at Ryan's Daughter. It's right around the corner from us, big enough for a group, full of friendly bartenders and after the parade it fills up just enough (but not too much) with elementary school-aged girls in Irish dancing costumes and their proud parents.

So that's why we found ourselves, on a Sunday in early March, filling up Ryan's Daughter's bar. We waited and waited for the parade overflow...but it never came. Because I had organized everything for the wrong day. As it turned out, the parade was the following week. But the thing is, it was a really fun Sunday. We had space, quick service and waitresses who weren't a little crazed by the crowds.

We decided, right off, to start celebrating "Fake St. Patrick's Day" every year. Because, well, why not? This year, the St. Patty's season starts for us on Sunday, again at Ryan's Daughter, with Guinness and Harp, fish and chips and a lot of green clothing.

It doesn't end there, of course. We've got a lot more lined up - which is why tonight and tomorrow night we'll be resting. It's a big week.

Slainte!

Foodie Kids

I apologize in advance for this weird half-ass cross posting, but if you don't already, please go read my Examiner article today. (Don't worry, I trust that you already do. Who can get enough of me?)

It's about the foodie kid trend and how completely insufferable it is. It was inspired by this fantastic article in Slate. Fantastic because a) I agree with it, and b) it starts with a dig at Rachael Ray.

And who doesn't like a little RR-mocking on a wintry morning?

Old School Thursday: Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman Edition

It’s National Cheese Doodle Day. Also, Britney is back on tour (tonight, Atlanta is like a circus). Coincidence? Not a chance.

More coincidental anniversaries:

Today in 1558 (maybe), a guy named Francisco Fernandes introduced smoking tobacco to Europe, or so the story goes. Britney…she also likes cigarettes.

Plus, today would be the 99th birthday of Momofuku Ando – the inventor of Instant Ramen noodles, that deceptively unhealthy college kid staple. And doesn’t it seem like Britney would love ramen, too?

So here’s the question: does this mean that the stars are somehow aligning for Miss Brit today? Or is it all a bad omen?

Artsy Wednesday: Maps are So Cool

Yesterday, Design*Sponge's Grace Bonney posted something so cool I felt compelled to immediately email my brother and sister. A woman named Jodie Silby, a recent grad of University of Portsmouth, created this map of Portsmouth that illustrates not only the city layout, but also the language of the place. The lines on the map are made of the words and phrases that create the local dialect, and its organized to show how that dialect shifts in terms of neighborhood.

This hits so many of my "this is cool" markers that I'm not sure where to start. Maps? Check. Art? Check. Language? Check. Cultural history and evolution? Check. Innovative and creative display of data? Check. I'm in love with it.

And as soon as I saw it, I started thinking about ways to steal this data presentation idea and make it my own. A food or recipe-related map of Maryland, maybe? A map of food language? Something that shows evolution over time?

The possibilities seem endless.

(Image from Design*Sponge)

Introducing Alltop

If you're really, really observant, you might have noticed that my sidebar changed. I've added a new banner and widget for Alltop, an aggregator site that's now listing M&G posts (that link just goes to the food section, but Alltop covers tons of subjects). It's a useful site and nicely organized...and fills a void that foodporn.com left a while ago.

Ideabook Tuesday: Decorating with a Sense of Humor

We have more than a few kind of ridiculous things in our house. I like art and accessories that are slightly absurd, and that make me laugh (like the toilet paper-storing tampon machine in the basement bathroom). In general, interiors that take themselves too seriously make me a little nervous. I have a tendency to spill things, and red wine stains don't look quite so jarring when they're in a room that's already got a sense of humor.

So that's the inspiration for this collection of photos:

Make Me Laugh: Decorating with a Sense of Humor

more home design ideas on houzz

Trendy Monday: At-Home Molecular Gastronomy

Molecular gastronomy is not, on it's own, brand new. It's been around for over a decade now, most notably in Spain, thanks to MG champion Ferran Adria and his restaurant home, El Bulli.

Over the past year or two, though, it's been making it's way into the home. Blame it on Top Chef, maybe - as at-home viewers watched Marcel and Richard win challenges with creativity + science, ingredients like xanthan gum all of a sudden didn't sound so unfamiliar and, well, weird.

Just a week or so ago, via Facebook, Blais announced that he'll be launching a line of at-home molecular gastronomy products. A few months earlier, writer Sara Dickerman experimented in her own kitchen, wondering if the cool factor of molecular gastronomy would convince her picky four year old to eat his veggies. (Answer: no.) When French Laundry at Home blogger Carol Blymire finished with the FL book and moved on to Alinea, she added a spreadsheet to her blog, showing her readers exactly where she found all the crazy ingredients necessary to cook her way through that (gorgeous) book.

It was with all this in mind that I ventured on a little gastronomic experiment of my own last Saturday. Not even a big experiment. My plan was to make this Michael Bras recipe for slow-roasted onions with "licorice" powder. The powder in question is actually a combination of oil-cured olives that have been dehydrated in the microwave and blanched almonds that have been pulverized and roasted in the oven with demerara sugar. Not complicated, but kind of cool anyway.

Or maybe it would've been...if this hadn't happened:

That's right. Kitchen fire and a melted microwave.

Dehydrating the olives required removing the pits, chopping them up a bit and microwaving them - on high - for 12 minutes. I stuck them in the microwave (on a perfectly microwave-safe plate) and went about my business. With five minutes to go, I ran downstairs to get a diet coke (my 10th that day, but that's another story). By the time I got back into the kitchen - maybe a minute later - I could smell the burning plastic and looked over to see flames darting around the inside of the microwave. By the time I got to the microwave to push the "cancel" button, it shut itself off (never to revive).

I called Cooper upstairs and he got the plate out of the microwave, threw it in the sink, then smashed out the fire with a pot-holder-covered hand. It took a little longer than either one of us was comfortable with - it was a tense moment - but fortunately, since the fire was contained in the microwave, there wasn't any smoke damage on the walls or the ceiling.

But wow - the smell. After opening the doors and windows for about 45 minutes, the very cold kitchen smelled better. Then, I walked upstairs and realized that the rest of the house smelled, too. Fortunately, it dissipated after a couple of hours.

So, no licorice powder. And, of course, we don't have a microwave that you can just buy at Home Depot. I'm working on that today.

Oh, and how did the rest of the dish turn out? Actually, very well. The onions, which roasted at 325 for six hours, were soft and fantastically sweet. The vinaigrette, which I made with beef demiglace instead of veal or poultry (only because I had beef demiglace already) was intense, but a nice complement to the onion. It all looked kind of cool, too. Pretty and simple:

But was it worth it? Well, probably not. I'm just today realizing how much I use my microwave. I guess, though, at least I now have my really solid kitchen nightmare story.

Entertaining Friday: Break's Over

We took last weekend off from our busy social schedule and, as a result, I have a fully painted basement bathroom and laundry room, and a nearly complete (and already stocked) wine cellar. As much as Cooper pretends he likes to sit around watching TV, the reality is that when we're home, he's busy. It works out well for all of us, actually. Dixon likes to hang out and "help" (I am nearly positive he's the only two-year old I know who's used a nail gun) and I like the results.

So that was last weekend. On to this week. Tonight we're going to a bull roast for a friend of Cooper's who's planning to run for office at some point. And tomorrow is a big day. We're having a dinner party.

It's been years since we had an actual sit-down-at-the-table, everything's fancy dinner party. In fact, we've never had one at this house - and we've lived here for almost four years. We're due.

My menu is ambitious - it's a seven course tasting menu, plus snacks to start - and I'm really excited to spend today and tomorrow cooking. I'll be making:

• Truffle popcorn
• Parmesan crisps with goat cheese filling
• Spinach soup with horseradish granita
• Slow-roasted onions with "licorice" powder
• Crab cakes
• Grilled lamb chops with a trio of sauces (rosemary salt, mint chimichurri and a creamy wine mustard) and scalloped potatoes
• Green salad granita
• Cheese course (courtesy of Atwaters)
• Creamy caramel pudding

It's a lot, but each individual item isn't that complicated. I'm counting on that to be my saving grace. That, and getting a lot done today.

Old School Thursday: People Like Me Edition

Today is National Pistachio Day! Which actually is something to celebrate. I love pistachios. In fact, they were one of my “trendy Mondays” last year.

In other February 26th news, today is John Harvey Kellogg’s birthday (1852). While it was actually his brother, William, who founded the now-eponymous cereal company, John actually developed the first breakfast cereal for his patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium (he was superintendent). Two cereals, actually. One called Granose, that was flaked wheat, and another that was toasted corn flakes (called, I’m guessing, Corn Flakes).

That’s it for food-related news, but I can’t resist including this: Today in 1957, Emile Coue was born. He was a French pharmacist, which sounds boring, but he was also an “advocate of autosuggestion.” He was the original Stuart Smalley. Literally – every morning and every evening, he repeated “Every day, and in every way, I am becoming better and better” between 15 and 20 times.

I sincerely hope he had a happy life. With lots of self-esteem.

Artsy Wednesday: Food and Glamour

As I've written here before, I'm kind of fascinated with the blog Deep Glamour, written (mostly) by Virginia Postrel and Kate Coe.

Last week, after some chatting about the long-gone department store Garfinkels (a mainstay of my childhood - really, I remember more about hanging out in the Garfinkels kids' department than I do about most of my relatives), Kate asked if I'd like to contribute a guest post to the blog. While not especially glamorous myself, most days at least, I do have a deep affection for glamour as a concept. Plus, I love the writers there. So I was psyched.

So that's how it is that I've got a guest post up on food and glamour. Here's a teaser:

When Don Draper takes his wife and clients to dinner, it’s cocktail attire at Lutece, shorthand for glamour in 1960’s New York. Dinner at Lutece was all mousseline of pike in lobster cream sauce and beef Wellington – heavy, fancy, heady, certainly French – and nothing you would try at home.

So what’s today’s equivalent?

But go read the whole thing. (Please.)

Ideabook Tuesday: Using Yellow

It's sunny out today. Still cold, but at least it's sunny. And that's making me feel bright.

So, in honor of the sun (and of the recent coronation of yellow as Color of 2009), here are some ideas for decorating with yellow:

Bright as the Sun: Using Yellow

more home design ideas on houzz

You know what else works? A big bowl of lemons. Pretty, cheap, food-related!

Trendy Monday: Greek Meets Mex

A couple of weeks ago, I spent one day playing Kit Pollard, Girl Reporter - basically, trekking all over Baltimore, checking out museums. My journey took me all the way down Eastern Avenue, from Fells to Dundalk. It been a while since I'd made that drive, and every time I do I notice that more and more of the storefronts are en espangnol.

I think it's great - the more Hispanic-influenced food, the better - but as I drove through Greektown I had to wonder if everybody feels the same way I do. The old Greek restaurants are still there, of course, and the blue and white banners hanging from the street lamps assure visitors that the neighborhood hasn't changed too much. But it'd be hard not to notice the little grocery stores and cafes popping up.

What does this mean for Greektown? For Baltimore's Greek community? For Baltimore's Greek food? Is it in danger of extinction?

And at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder about the potential here. Greek-Mex fusion? I think I can imagine it. Does it exist?

Entertaining Friday: Staying In

I know it sounds mental, but sometimes I have more fun vegging out than when I go partying. Maybe because my party clothes are so binding. - Cher, from Clueless

And this is exactly how I'm feeling this weekend. Though I don't actually think it has much to do with the tighness of my clothes so much as the busy-ness of my work week. So this weekend, we're taking a break from parties. And doesn't that make the parties themselves that much more fun?

Also, as an aside, isn't it hard to believe that it's been 14 years since Clueless first came out? I am old.

Old School Thursday: Beer & Pop Culture Edition

Today, also known, famously, as National Chocolate Mint Day, is a big one in terms of food and beverage innovation. Lots of foundings and little decisions that actually have big pop culture impact.

First, way back in 1764, a man named Gottlieb Sigismund Kirchhof was born. Kirchhof was something of a foodie renaissance man. Not only did he discover glucose and develop a method to refine vegetable oil, he also experimented with brewing.

Which probably came in handy, nearly 150 years later, when German settlers in China founded the country’s first brewery, Tsingtao (1903). Those Germans really do know how to make a beer, don’t they? When I think of Chinese beer, Tsingtao is what comes to mind.Just three years later, in 1906, American culture was heading away from the drink, and into nutrition, as William Keith Kellogg founded the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company in Michigan. These days, it’s known as Kellogg’s, and it’s all about cereal. In those days, though, Kellogg was a nutrition pioneer. And I’m pretty sure his philosophy didn’t include a lot of German beer.

Fortunately, in America, the nutrition revolution coincided with a whole lot of junk food – our rebellious nature at work, I’m guessing. In 1913, Cracker Jack began to put prizes in every box, creating a tradition that’s still in place today – and firming up American kids’ sense of entitlement.

And the innovations don’t stop! As recently as 1985, today marks the introduction of Cherry Coke. It’s actually hard for me to believe that Cherry Coke wasn’t available (in can form, at least) until I was 9 – it seems like as much a classic as, well, Classic Coke (which, I realize, was a whole other issue in 1985).

So there it is. A bigger day than most. Have a beer and a Cherry Coke to celebrate.

Artsy Wednesday: Pastry Architecture

Yesterday, Cooper's cousin Sarah sent me an article featuring French chef Sebastien Gaudard, of recent Selby fame (and also Sarah's new future boyfriend, if she can only track him down). The article touches on pretty much everything that gets me excited: food as art, historical anecdotes about food and art, the importance of research. Plus, France.

I mean, check out these quotes:

By the early nineteenth century, chef Marie-Antonin Carême, the great codifier
of pastry technique, could claim, “The fine arts are five in number: painting,
sculpture, poetry, music, and architecture – whose main branch is confection.”

“Pastry is the closest thing to architecture in the food world,” says
Paris-based sculptor and food artist Marc Brétillot. “It’s all about
construction.”...Brétillot’s projects have included performance-art pieces
involving live music and chain-reaction machines, inspired by Rube Goldberg,
that open and serve individual bottles of champagne and squirt dollops of icing
onto cookies.

When the pastry chef Sébastien Gaudard created a cake called the “Auguste” for
the high-end Paris food emporium Fauchon, he based his approach on field
research. “The first thing I noticed was people tend to buy little cakes rather
than big ones,” he said.

In other words, the “Auguste” is not just a cool object: the design is
intimately married to the taste...Gone are the gratuitous maraschino cherries
and sugar flowers of old; there is coherence between interior and exterior.

It's almost more than I can handle.

Ideabook Tueday: Formal Dining Rooms

While I don't have a formal dining room myself - and I love my open space - occasionally I wish I had a space to serve meals that's hidden from the kitchen. Not so much because of the food prep stage as to get away from the dirty dishes when dinner is over, but everybody's still hanging out. I never do the dishes right away...and I love sitting around and drinking wine and talking at the table.

With that in mind, I've been checking out formal dining room options (for other people. We are not redoing our house ever again):

Dinner Party Heaven: Formal Dining Rooms

more home design ideas on houzz

Random While-I'm-Cooking Observation

While cooking, Hormel maple bacon smells like a McGriddle.

I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Trendy Monday: Maipe Wines

Last Friday morning, I walked into Wells in search of a couple of bottles of wine for the weekend, and there it was, dominating the whole front of the store: A gigantic display of wines from Argentina. And not just any wines, but Maipe wines, from Mendoza.

Cooper and I first drank the Maipe Malbec when we were in Chicago over New Years. Like many malbecs, it was super cheap and we loved it. Upon returning home, I found one random big bottle collecting dust at Grand Cru, but that was it. None at Wells, much to our dismay. Until this week.

According to Dave at Wells, the Maipe sales rep was in about two weeks ago. Less than 24 hours after tasting the wines and placing their order, the Wells crew already had one small Maipe display up. A week later, the brand was all over the front of the store - and on sale, too (though a sale that was only announced by email, it wasn't advertised on in-store signage).

Since the display was oddly Malbec-free, Cooper and I tried the Bonarda. It's an Italian grape and a little fruitier than what we normally drink - there was a lot of blueberry - but also some nice pepper. I liked it from the first sip. It took Cooper half a glass for it to grow on him, but it did. And at under $10, it's certainly a decent deal.

As the weekend progressed, we realized we weren't the only ones who'd noticed the Maipe. Jen and Bill, who'd shared the Grand Cru bottle with us, were equally as excited. Jen bought the Malbec rose to try later (I'm sure I'll be drinking some of that once rose season rolls around again). And when we arrived at Alicia and Mike's wine tasting Friday night (more on that later), Kyle had brought a bottle of Maipe as his white wine (I can't remember the grape).

It seems unlikely that Maipe has reached this tipping point just in the five mile radius around my house, and with my friends. It must be hitting the big time everywhere. So for that, it earns a "trendy" tag.

(As an aside, while at Wells, I was talking to Dave about how affordable all the Argentinian wines are and he mentioned that they're all tied to the American dollar, so they're not affected by shifts in exchange rate, like European wines are. Of COURSE. I learn something new every time I walk in that store.)

The Chef's Home

The Selby just posted photos of Parisian chef, Sebastien Gaudard's apartment. Chefs! Paris! Interiors!

P.S. Check out how narrow his bathroom is. It's a good thing that French people aren't fat, huh?

Entertaining Friday: Valentine's Day Preview

I am not a fan of Valentine's Day. At least not in the traditional sense, anyway. It's not a great night to go out to dinner - everything's overpriced and crowded. The kitchen is bored but harried and the same goes for the wait staff. And overall, the whole holiday feels silly and stilted and made-up to me.

Which is not to say I won't celebrate it. That is because this year, we've been invited to a party.

Mike and Alicia are hosting a wine tasting tomorrow night. Even better, it's a contest. Everybody (well, every couple) brings their favorite white and their favorite red (under $20). When we get to the party, the bottles will be opened and put in bags for blind tasting. Then we'll all taste all the wines and rate them according based on several characteristics.

And the winners get a prize! I love prizes.

Plus, we're having fondue and (not surprisingly) cupcakes. In fact, Dixon and Maddy will be helping Alicia bake the cupcakes this afternoon.

So this morning, I'm off to the liquor-lollipop store to pick out the perfect bottles. Which will, for now, remain secret...

Old School Thursday: Scientific Life Cycle Edition

Doesn’t it seem like National Fondue Day should be this week? Maybe I just think that because I know I’ll be having some at Mike and Alicia’s wine tasting this weekend.

Anyway, that was last week, not today. Today, instead, is National Plum Pudding Day, which seems more appropriate for, say, December. It’s also St. Julian the Hospitaler Day. “Hospitaler” as in hospitality, not hospitals. He’s the patron saint of travelers and innkeepers.

In other news, today was sort of a crazy day in terms of births and deaths. In 1791, Peter Cooper was born. He’s probably most famous as the founder of Cooper Union, but he also was the first American to get a patent for manufacturing gelatin.

Eighteen years later, in 1809, Charles Darwin was born. I’m pretty sure I don’t have to spell out his achievements.

Moving into the 20th century, today is the anniversary of the death of famous chef Auguste Escoffier (1935). Escoffier was a bit of an Emeril in his day (can you hear him turning over in his grave at the description? Me too) – really. Not content to just cook and write, he was also an active consultant and lent his name to spices and sauces.

Today also marks the anniversary of the death of Charles M. Schulz (2000), creator of the Peanuts comic strip, which happens to be one of my favorites – especially the earlier strips, with their crazy dry humor.

And in other news, today in 1976, Red Dye No. 2 was banned by the FDA. As a result, red M&Ms were pulled from the market for 11 years. Which just made me realize that I never had a red M&M until I was at least 11 years old. Kind of crazy.

As Seen on TV

Has anyone else seen the new Fine Living show Wingman? Is it just me, or is the host kind of a Michael Midgely twin? Maybe not as funny, but I like the Midgely brand of humor. I know not everybody does, but he brings out the sorority girl in me.

(As an aside, I am kind of fascinated by the show. And simultaneously relieved that I am already married.)

Artsy Wednesday: Mr. Bacon and Monsieur Tofu

I'm pretty sure I'm not making up the artistic nature of these guys, am I?

In related news, Cail just sent me this note: "Kind of amazing...and artistic in its own very special way," attached to this link.

I had the same reaction yesterday, when Xani posted the link on Facebook.

Ideabook Tuesday: Flower Power

You know what's nice? Trader Joe's just got its first annual shipment of Irish daffodils. They're $1.49 a bunch and believe me, they brighten a room right up. It's as though it's actually spring.

This time of year, I really can't get enough of the flowers. I'm sure it has something to do with the weather outside (though this week's been pretty nice). So, without further ado, this week's ideabook...all about flowers:

Flower Power

more home design ideas on houzz

Trendy Monday: Burger Joints

I know I'm a little late to the game with this, but I've just all of a sudden noticed that fancy burgers are everywhere. Maybe it's partly an economy thing - it's less financially risky to open a burger place than a super fancy restaurant - or maybe it's a comfort food thing or maybe it's just an Americana thing ("fresh, clean, American flavors" on a bun?). Whatever it is, it's trendy.

First there was Spike's DC spot. Blais' Flip. And here in Baltimore, our very own Chef Paternotte's Abbey Burger Bistro.

Now, mind you, I'm not complaining. I love burgers - fancy or not. But they sure are everywhere these days.

Bacolicio.us

Yum, bacon.

Entertaining Friday: Chinese New Year Recap

Last Friday was Jen and Bill's first annual Chinese New Year costume party - and the first in what promises to be a long year of theme parties requiring funny costumes. If I could dress up once a month, I'd be happy.

Organizing a party like this is pretty straightforward. You've got a theme, so it's easy enough to decide on the food. For a Chinese New Year party, in particular, food's easy - if you don't want to cook, all you need to do is organize some carry-out (the Wneks went to Wegmans, where you can actually order party platters of Chinese food). For snacks, Bill raided Trader Joe's, which is pretty much ethnic finger food heaven.

The focus of the party, anyway, was on the costume contest. There were two prizes up for grabs (both bottles of sake) - one for best costume and one for most original/funniest.

Guess what we won (what? Of course we won!) - most original/funniest, for our rendition of Chinese takeout boxes. In case you're wondering, I traced the little Chinese temple onto the shirts and colored them in with red sharpies. And yes, that is a coat hanger on my head - it's the box handle. Also yes, it did hurt to wear. But sometimes we have to suffer for our art.

February's theme party: wine tasting Valentine's Day at Mike and Alicia's. And yes, we're planning to win that contest, too.

Top Chef 5 Thoughts

I haven't done a whole lot of Top Chef blogging this season, mostly because I'm not all that into the players. I think that we were all spoiled last season, when Richard and Stephanie were so amazing and also so gracious, plus we had Lisa as, like, the perfect reality TV villian.

This season's warming up for me a little, but just now - and we're already down to five. It seems clear to me (and the rest of the country) that Stefan will win. He's just better than everybody else. Hosea is outclassed on so many levels. Fabio is adorably Italian, but just not as good. Carla is actually surprising me with her skill, and I like her - I think she's funny - but she's a little too cuckoo, I think, to actually win.

And Leah, well, don't get me started. Actually, I think Leah's problem is that she's so young. She's immature. Unfortunately, that translates into her acting like a dumb little girl on national TV, which further translates into me hissing things like, "She's doing a disservice to women everywhere!" to Cooper.

Which brings me to Wednesday night. I know it was the edit, but I was sure Leah was going home over Jamie. It seems like a bigger sin to me to not get the dish, than to admit that you knew exactly where you went wrong, and say that you just didn't have time to fix it. Also, while we're on the subject of Jamie, I'm sorry now that I was so complainy about her a few weeks ago. She obviously knows what she's doing in the kitchen and, as she demonstrated during Restaurant Wars, she's got decent leadership potential, as well.

And while I still don't see any ScarJo resemblance, I did get a touch of Natalie Portman. Maybe better?

Anyway, I was sorry to see her go. And really sorry to see Leah stay.

I Forgot Yesterday's Links

I'm sorry.

I'm thinking of ditching that extra weekly post, though. It's hard for me to remember to write and I'm not sure that I'm really into it.

Old School Thursday: Fondue and Eggbeaters Edition

Fondue! Today is National Chocolate Fondue Day. Which makes sense to me, given its proximity to Valentine’s Day. I wonder if The Melting Pot has some sort of special dessert to celebrate.

In other news, we’ve got a birthday and a patent. In 1872, Lafayette Benedict Mendel was born. He was a biochemist working on nutrition, specifically related to vitamins and protein. He was not, however, related to the more famous Mendel (Gregor). At least not so far as Wikipedia knows.

A few years later, in 1884, a man from Cincinnati, named Willis Johnson, got a patent for an egg beater.
And…that’s it. I guess that’s a pretty slow news day overall, huh? Vitamins and egg-beating? At least we have the fondue…

Artsy Wednesday: Storytelling

I've been thinking a lot about storytelling lately. Considering how much I write, it's kind of surprising that I don't think more about it, actually. But just recently, as I was telling Dixon some stories, I realized something strange: not that many of my family stories, the ones that get told over and over again, involve food.

Oh, there's the one about my grandmother dropping the chocolate mousse just before a dinner party. And the one about my other grandmother marinating venison in vinegar. Also, there's my grandfather letting my brother a) eat a raw oyster and b) stick his hand in a bushel of live crabs, both before he turned three. Also, if you want to count it, the vague memories of the really terrible lemon chicken my dad made when we were little (that got him out of any sort of kitchen duty for...well, forever).

But that's about it. They're really just horror stories, too. We've had a lot of good meals, but somehow, those don't translate into memorable stories.

I wonder why that is. Why do all of the good meals - at home, in the backyard, at the beach, in restaurants - blend together? Can't good food be a good story?

And if it can't, what does that mean for me as a food blogger? Maybe it explains why I rarely write about actual food...

UPDATE: My brother just emailed me to point out that my dad's chicken disaster was Hawaiian chicken, not lemon chicken. Either way, I'm pretty sure neither of us ate any of it (I'm also pretty sure it was before Erin was born, so she didn't eat any, either.)

Ideabook Tuesday: Party Places

I've been to a lot of pretty great parties in my life - from high school keggers (shoutout to the Foreman house, the Oz basement and the Brockett loft above the garage!) to over-the-top black tie events. Not to mention, a ton of weddings.

As a result, I think a lot about what makes a space perfect for a party. When we started planning our addition, the main thing we talked to Virginia (our architect) about was the need to accommodate people. All I really wanted was an open space where our friends could hang out.

An open space was what we got - and as a result, our friends are over here all the time. Jen and Bill recently went through a similar process, knocking down a wall between their kitchen and dining room and adding an island for hanging out. It's perfect.

So with all of that on my mind a few weeks ago, I created this ideabook, aptly named "Party Places":

Party Places

more home design ideas on houzz

Trendy Monday: DIY Wine

About 10 years ago (and yes, I feel old just writing that), I went to a party where a bunch of the guests brought their own home-brewed beer. I was tagging along with my friend Matt, who had some beer of his own, and it was very fun - even if most of the beer wasn't really my style (and by that, I mean, nobody had brewed their own Miller Lite). Back then, it seemed like everybody you talked to was into home brewing, saving their old bottles and making cute little labels in Quark.

These days, I hear a lot more about people making their own wine. It was only five years ago that Cooper and I were dreaming about buying some acreage in New Zealand to plant our own vines (until we remembered that NZ is across the world and we're not that adventurous). Last year, my brother and his friends were considering buying a barrel of Bordeaux, and we were all for buying in. Just two weeks ago, we found out that Mary's parents have vines on their property outside Pittsburgh, and they make more wine than they can handle. It's all over.

Then, this morning, I got an email about this wine barrel ownership program in Mendoza, Argentina. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I love Argentinian wines and I would really love to go to Argentina. If this was just a little less expensive, I'd be all over it. As it stands, it ends up averaging less than $30 a bottle, which really isn't bad - it's just that it requires at least a $7000 investment up front.

But if anybody out there would like to do it, Cooper and I will gladly cellar some of your wine, as long as we can share at least a bottle or two with you. Any of my other friends busy stomping their own grapes?