Bacony goodness, part one.

Bacon, it's not just what's for breakfast anymore. On a recent foray to my favorite cheese boutique I found something I had dreamed of last year whilst making a bacon feta and chocolate omelet. Bacon Chocolate Bars. Yes you read that right. Sweet, salt, rich and smoke plus a little dark chocolate antioxidant benefit to balance out the so not -good -for -you-ness. It's a thing of beauty. And for those of you who don't do dark chocolate- there is also a milk chocolate bar. I haven't tried it. I just can't wrap my mind or my taste buds around the concept of milk chocolate and bacon- I just love that intense dark chocolate flavor. Dark , bold coffees, deep red wines, and deep dark chocolate bars. This bar may set you back as much as $8, but if you love bacon and chocolate, well what can I say, its a worthwhile purchase. Leaving the palace of cheese, I ran into friends having dinner. Excitedly I told them of my discovery. With great reverence one of them asked-"May I hold it, just for a moment?" Her lips quivered. With much regret she relinquished the bar, excused herself from the table and made a fast dash to purchase her own bar. Ah, the power of perfect flavor! You know you need to get your own now - share with friends, two squares is rich enough to satisfy most mortals, 4 squares if you are a choco-baco-holic. Here is the link for more info http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/bacon_exotic_candy_bar/exotic_candy_bars. Enjoy!

Night Moves

Saturday night found me at Kartabar on Thayer St. I was looking forward to a fun night celebrating a friend's birthday and catching up with friends I had not seen in a few weeks. I'd had some decent pizza there once before outdoors , on a sunny afternoon, but this was a completely different experience.

Kartabar is a scenster see and be seen place. Go for drinks, go to cruise, go to dance. Expect to see older men buying drinks for pretty young things and lots of drinks on fire. Dinner not so much. Dance music is blasting so much that you can forget having any meaningful conversation in a large group. If you are a beer fan your choices are pretty limited to Guinness and Blue Moon. The wine list did feature a Natura Organic Carmenere that was sublime- like drinking velvet. However this is more of a cocktail establishment, especially ones that can be set aflame.

The menu held a questionable interest- flavors that intrigued but on closer inspection were not going to meld. One order of calamari marseilles and a lobster ravioli later and it was like getting halfway through a first date and really wishing you were elsewhere.

The calamari marseilles would have been great if there had been more than a hint of olive and a bit more fresh basil. The idea was good, the basil flavor on the calamari was divine- had the olive decided to show up it would have been one mouth tantalizing rendezvous. The lobster ravioli was shaped like little fish- a great eye candy, but so empty inside. The lobster was missing that special something that keeps you wanting more. The sauce flavor was sharp with tomato on mine and almost entirely lacking tomato on another diner's order. I was rather underwhelmed.

I'm sorry Kartabar. Maybe drinks and dancing sometime down the road, but really, I'm just not that into you.

Snow Food

Yesterday we were supposed to be hit with 8-12 inches of snow. I cleared my afternoon schedule and planned to hunker down for a snow day. Snow days are a treat, a day to play and tackle some at home projects, a few things at the home office and cook. I put on my apron and headed for the kitchen to make carrot ginger soup. The buckets of snow did not fall in my part of the state. I have to say I am sorely disappointed. But now I have beautiful gingery carrot soup.


Gingery Carrot soup is really easy to make and the variations are endless but here are the basics.
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, yellow or sweet vidalia
6-8 large carrots
fresh ginger root
4 cups water or soup stock either vegetable or chicken
Optional seasonings (adjust to suit your tastes, if using soup stock you may not need much, if using water you may want lots)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp curry
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp paprika

Adding a little celery and an apple could also be great flavors to add , but again optional.

Chop the onions into small chunks or dice depending on your texture preference. I use organic carrots- wash them, trim the ends and then test a piece to see if the outer peel is sweet enough. If its sweet I don't peel them because there are good nutrients that you get rid of in the peel. If , however you taste a bitter flavor in the peel than by all means , peel away. Then chop the carrots into chunks.

In your favorite soup pot, put in 2-3 tbsp olive oil, add the black pepper, thyme, curry, paprika.
Put the heat on enough for sauteing and put in your onions and carrots. Saute til onions are soft 3-5 min usually. While the onions and carrot are sauteing - peel and chop a good 2-3 inch chunk of ginger root- feel free to use more if you crave an intense ginger kick! Please note the chunks of ginger can be a little fibery- I don't mind this but if you do you can remove them once the soup is done. If you have a juicer you could also juice the ginger root and just add the juice to the soup.


Put the ginger in with the carrots and onion, add your 4 cups of water or stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 to 25 min. Remove from heat and let the soup cool. Get your handy blender out and when the soup has cooled enough, ladle the carrot and onion chunks into the blender, cover and puree. Pour back into soup pot. You can puree all the veggies or leave some chunky depending on how you like your textures.
Reheat the soup to desired temperature. Serve with a garnish of parsley or chive and a grilled cheese sandwich.

Winter Comforts- Chowder

Everyone has their favorite comfort foods. I have many. Wine, chocolate and pasta are in the top 5. Shrimp and grits vs. lobster mac-n-cheese are tied. Good soup or stew on a dreary, arctic day is a definite. As I write this it feels about 10 degrees out although the barometer says it is somewhere in the 20's. It's dour, grey, and there are flurries. I decided that really bright flowers and hot soup were needed to replace the sunshine I won't see until sometime tomorrow. Did I mention it's really dreary out?

I made chowder for the first time ever this week. I've eaten it so many times -corn, clam , scallop, monkfish., red, white, clear, New York, Newport , New England and Bahamian. How hard could it be?

It all started because I had made shrimp. Not just any shrimp - Whole Foods has fresh, wild-caught Maine shrimp in right now. They are so fresh and good I suggest you drop everything and go get some, really , they're that good! Steam them briefly - ask the guy at the counter and he will tell you the timing. It's barely 2-3 minutes. These are pink shrimp and they are beautiful. Season them with salt and pepper before steaming and save the water after . I used it to make the chowder.


This was one of those un -shopped-for ,hmm... what should I do with the shrimp broth? thoughts, that became lets make chowder. A quick consult to Joy of Cooking showed I was missing a few key things like cream and booze. Well, shoot, it's not Mardi Gras yet and half and half would just have to do.

Ever since having Bahamian monkfish chowder I like the idea of a little heat so I sauteed the onion, garlic,parsley and sweet potato chunks in olive oil with a generous dashes of Tabasco sauce. I used the regular Tabasco, but I'd be curious to taste the Chipotle Tabasco in the chowder-that would add a whole dimension on to the flavors, would it overwhelm the sweet corn and potato ? Perhaps I'll try that next time along with adding a bayleaf and bit of bourbon or sherry, but I digress...

After sauteing I added the shrimp broth leftover from steaming the shrimp and some leek broth, a little curry , thyme, paprika, more black pepper, micro-pinch of oregano, frozen corn niblets and simmered until the sweet potato is tender. I stirred in some half and half and the shelled cooked shrimp and simmered a bit more. The result: a yummy pot of spiced sunshine and a really warm belly. I'm going back for grateful seconds.

Taylor Brooke Winery

Today's adventures sent me down Route 6 again and then off to Woodstock, CT on Rte 171 to the Taylor Brooke Winery. I'm on the board for a food coop, Urban Greens, and we were having a strategic planning session at the vineyard as Corey, one of our other board members, is the son of the owners. After a daylong retreat we planned to tour the vineyard and have a tasting. Well our session went long and it was dusk by the time we finished so we didn't get to stroll the beautiful vineyard but we did get to enjoy a tasting.

The Taylor Brooke Winery is part of the Connecticut Wine Trail. It is a 40 minute drive from Providence and 35 minutes from Worcester. Dick and Linda Auger, the owners, have created a beautiful vineyard and winery with a lovely selection of wine related gifts and some unique and delicious wines!

There are 12 wines currently available for tasting with a 13th coming out on Dec 4th. I tried the Traminette first and this is a full fruit and floral white that tastes like you are drinking sweet summer roses. Delightful on the palette , I will definitely be back for this one in the summer. It reminded me a little of Indian rose jam and while the wine menu says to pair it with Thai food I think it might be interesting to try with Indian food as well.

Next up were the Rieslings: the winery makes a plain Riesling with peach and apricot notes and a high acidity. It was a bit too much for me, but the Cranberry Riesling was fabulous. Yes that's right, Cranberry Riesling. The winery takes cranberries and ferments them into wine and blends it with the Riesling. It is a divine combination and just perfect for the holidays! There are both delicate rose and cranberry notes to this Riesling and it is yummy. If you want to get some call ahead it sells out fast!

Taylor Brooke makes three reds: a Cabernet Franc, Roseland Red, and Woodstock Valley Red. The Cabernet Franc is a milder red similar to a Pinot Noir. The Woodstock Valley Red is a strong red with plum notes from St. Croix grapes grown completely on the vineyard. I opted for the Roseland and fell in love! This wine is a blend of the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and the Cabernet Franc. The Roseland has fruit, smoke and leather notes and Hungarian oak. The oak gives a smooth mellow tone to the smoky notes so all the flavors float on your tongue in harmony. This is a beautiful wine!

Dessert Wines are a specialty at Taylor Brooke and currently include a Late Harvest Riesling, Chocolate Essence, and Rasberry Rendevous. The Riesling is like drinking apricot- honey nectar and is extremely sweet, almost like having syrup. The Chocolate Essence combined two of my favorite things , wine and chocolate. This dessert wine is a chocolate -infused merlot port. The perfect liquid dessert! A little goes a long way, but it is truly decadence in a glass. The Rasberry Rendevous had a sweet musk flavor and is a port-style dessert wine but it paled in comparison to the Chocolate Essence.

I went home with a bottle of the Roseland Red and the Chocolate Essence. The Chocolate Essence is going to be the perfect treat to savor after the first real snow fall hits this winter! Taylor Brooke's newest wine, the Winter Pomegranate is available Dec 4. and I can't wait to try it. If you plan to visit the winery check out their website for details as they close after December and are open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. www.taylorbrookewinery.com

Adventures on Route 6

The other day my friend Kevin and I set out to brave the maelstroms and visit our friends at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. Things were pretty wet at the Shire and the winds picked up enough to close the Faire early- but happily not before we saw our friends The Brigands play some great pirate tunes ( check them out at www.thebrigands.com) and also sample the mini doughnuts made fresh to order and rolled in cinnamon sugar- so worth the indulgence!

Well with the Faire closed we found ourselves in need of some sustenance and adventure- afterall it was a precious day off. GPS to the rescue- the little magic box found us a microbrew pub just down the road from Hebron in Willamantic.

The Willamantic Brewing Co. is located in a beautiful old post office and has both bar and restaurant seating and an extremely cordial wait staff. We sat in the restaurant and oohed and ahhed about all the Harvest Beers and finally decided to get a beer sampler of 5 and a tomato mozzeralla salad with house bread. The house bread is amazing! The spent brewing grains are used to make the bread and the flavor is rich and nutty and oh so good with a little butter.

And now for the beers: we tried a sampler of Gold, 3 cent Pale Ale, Husky IPA, Dead Letter Stout, and Harvest Ale. The Gold is very mellow like a sunny Fall day. This is a light beer good for, well, when you want a really light beer. The 3cent Pale Ale had a wonderful jasmine tea note to it which I loved. The Husky IPA was like blending the Gold with the 3 cent - but richer. Very good and one of Kevin's favorites. The Harvest Brew was disappointing at first but it grew on us later- we expected a richer harvesty flavor but instead this was a bit thin with an interesting caramel finish. I love Guiness so I had to try the Dead Letter Stout! Rich deep -roasted malt and chicory flavors, strong but not heavy or creamy the way Guinness is, and good to the last drop!

The Willamantic Brewing Co. brews everything seasonally so their beer menu varies often. There was an enticing Red in the works for the end of October and we may have to go back just to check that one out! www.willibrew.com

Route 6 is host to several antique shops from the mom and pop country store style to the high end this is definitely a great route to go adventuring on- who knows what you will find?!!

Harvest Moon

Hello again from your wayward diner! Life got busy for a few weeks there and then the computer had an attack of the vapors. Happily, everything seems to be back to normal. I have lots yummy eating adventures to catch you up on. Stay tuned for Nara and Siena, but today lets talk pasta and sauce!

Sunday was the Harvest Moon and since we were not beset with ravaging thunderstorms as promised, I spent four hours in the gardening weeding, staking tomatoes, and the best part, harvesting. A colleague gave me a variety of canteloupe to plant this year. I was excited to try a new plant in the garden and man was this an opportunist!- The vines went everywhere and it yielded two melons. ( there was a 3rd but it became insect lunch) I just cut into the melon for lunch- it is sweet, juicy, succulent- a smaller variety than what you find at the store, but the flavor is richer and I will definitely be planting these again next year!

I planted a second crop of tomatoes later in the season and they did not get destroyed by the rains. Happily, these tomatoes think its still summer and while their flavors are not as rich as if they had seen lots of summer sun, they are still good and I am grateful to have them.
Rachel Ray 's October issue has a whole section dedicated to pasta, its forms and what sauce to make for the shape of your pasta. It's a great article courtesy of Giuliano Hazan (His mom is Marcella Hazan of Italian cookbook fame) and he just came out with a new book : Giuliano's Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes. I haven't had a chance to check out his book yet but you know it's going on the list!

So I was dreaming up a sauce that needed a kick, because these tomatoes did not get the full benefit of the sun ,but wouldn't break the bank either. I ended up at Venda's in Federal Hill getting minced garlic, salted capers, and a can of black olives and a package of fresh roasted red pepper rigatoni. Normally I try to cook with fresh ingredients, but when you are short on time and work with your hands, minced garlic and canned pitted olives can be a cook's best friends.

I should mention that I don't like to follow rules- give me too many and I dig in my heels- this has been both the boon and the bane of my existence but it does keep life interesting. Rigatoni, according to Giuliani, should go with meat sauce not tomato sauce but I thought I would try them anyway. The recipe for tomato sauce only recommends parsley for herbs and this seemed, well, a little un- pasta -sauce- like. I mean you think red sauce you think at least a bit of basil and oregano right? Well I thought I'd search my cookbook collection for a bit of inspiration and I came across the mention of nutmeg in - ohh intriguing!

I ran my tomatoes through the juicer, this separates the seeds but juices the skin so that you get more nutrients, the remaining pulp and seeds then get run through a strainer to get any extra juices. I followed the basic sauce recipe but did not add salt since I was trying salted capers- Holy Saltmines Batman! Great flavor and bigger caperberry but salted capers are extremely salty and less is definitely more in this case. My sauce ws bubbling along with its garlic, parsley, olives and capers but needed a bit of something so I added some fresh basil, a dash of oregano, and a dash of nutmeg and then let it all reduce a bit.

Giuliano was right about the rigatoni - they work better with a meat sauce , but Venda's didn't have roasted red pepper farfalle (bowties) when I was there . To thicken the sauce a bit I added some parmesan to my steaming bowl of pasta and mmm...sooo good!