Month: July 2014

Still life with fish, Gaetano Cusati, circa 1700.

Mozzarella with tomatoes. You’d have to be brain-dead to say no to that. But mozzarella with swordfish? One of the big shocks of my Italian culinary life was visiting Sicily and seeing how often they pair fish with cheese, something I was brought up to consider bad manners. I discovered in Palermo that a sprinkling of pecorino on baked tuna is a wonderful thing. Spaghetti with shrimp and tomatoes and a little aged caciocavallo, that tasted just fine, too. I also noticed that cheese, along with bread crumbs, herbs, and maybe pine nuts and raisins, makes a wonderful filling for stuffed sardines.

Somehow I was thinking recently that the meatiness of swordfish, a popular fish in Sicily, and the plushness of mozzarella would produce a pleasant match. And they did. I tell you, it was really good.

Swordfish with salmoriglio sauce…

Still Life with Olives, Gerald Roling.

Fried olives are an intricate and exotic treat. They’re worth the bit of effort they take to prepare. I first came across them in Rome decades ago, made by a chef named Maria Romani at her fish restaurant, Il Pellicano. She was originally from the Le Marche region, where fried stuffed olives are a tradition, usually filled with pork. Signora Romani’s olives contained some type of seafood, shrimp maybe (it was a long time ago), and were breaded, fried, and served as one of the earlier courses in a multi-course meal. Everything was wonderful, but the olives were a mind blower. Such flavor, such labor. A strange feature of the restaurant was that dishes were brought out one after another, ten, twelve of them, until you told the waiter you couldn’t eat another bite. After you’d given the word, out would come a lemon…

I only recently realized how great sea salt goes with sweet things — you’d think with how long the salted caramel craze has been around I would have tried it out sooner, but I’m stubborn and stuck in my ways, what can I say! Turns out it’s delicious and the salty sweet combination can’t be beat. I’ve seen a lot of salted caramel cookies that pull from a chocolate chip cookie base, but I thought I’d try mine out with a sugar cookie and see where I wound up. The experiment was a success and these were totally delicious 🙂

You will need:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup of Kraft caramel bits plus a splash of milk, microwaved & melted for drizzle

Coarse sea salt…

Founding Fathers quotes

George Washington

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.

John Adams

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

Argument in Defense of the British Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials (4 December 1770)

Benjamin Franklin

Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none

Thomas Jefferson

Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.

Thomas Paine

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service…

A resource guide to the 20 wineries and cidery of the Niagara Wine Trail USA.

The Niagara Wine Trail, USA, along with Flint Mine Press, is please to announce the release of the second issue of NIAGARA USA WINE MAGAZINE, a yearly regional publication promoting the wines, craft beverages, wineries, and winemakers of the Niagara Wine Trail USA.

The 2014 issue of NIAGARA USA WINE MAGAZINE profiles the Niagara USA Wine Trail’s twenty wineries and cider producers, and offers informative, entertaining columns by local, prominent food and wine experts.

The feature story in the 2014 issue, A Character Study: Niagara Wine Trail’s 20 Tasting Rooms, is an exploration of the trail’s varied tasting room personalities by well-known freelance journalist Devon Karn.

NIAGARA USA WINE MAGAZINE is available free of charge, with distribution throughout Buffalo, Niagara, Rochester, and other well-known tourist destinations in New York. The oversized, full color and eco-friendly…

If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.
Henry David Thoreau

Many years ago, people expected to be disappointed with their leaders, bodies, relationships, and circumstances. Life was brutish and short. In the second half of the 20th century, when Americans were riding a post-war high, this view radically shifted. Since then, we have been bathed in advertising that blatantly says, “Buy this and you will be perennially happy.” It used to be cigarettes, booze, and cars. Now, it’s more likely to be the latest technological breakthrough. Regardless, the essential message is the same: You can attain joy 24/7. Clearly, that sets everyone up for one disappointment after another. In addition, we humans are really good at disappointing each other in personal relationships. But that is not the problem. The problem lies in our unrealistic idea that disappointments are awful, we can’t stand…