A New Holiday Tradition

I'm happy to share with Every Meal A Feast readers that, yes, our Thanksgiving turkey turned out perfectly -- once again -- thanks to our Ronco "Showtime" rotisserie. Is life good or what?

I also wanted to share one of those... magical moments. Wednesday afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving. I'd worked in the morning, then had the p.m. off to get ready for our Thanksgiving, which meant cooking. So I made Grandma Polk's sweet potato casserole. That got me thinking about Grandma Polk, who passed away 15 years ago, which got me thinking about my siblings, so I called them. Guess what they were doing? That's right: Tracy in Athens, Texas, was... making sweet potato casserole, as was my brother, Toby, in Knoxville, Tennessee. That felt so, well, cool. Here we were separated by thousands of miles... yet connected via cooking. In fact, I want to try to replicate this at Christmas or at least next Thanksgiving: my clan all cooking the same dish at the same time, and hooking up via phone (as well as email, etc.) while we're doing it. It's not the same as being together for the holiday, but hey, it was pretty @*&^%$ close.

Here's Grandma Polk's sweet potato casserole recipe:

2.5 pounds sweet potatoes (or yams), boiled and mashed

Add:

1/2 stick melted butter

2 cups milk

1/2 tablespoon nutmeg

1/4 tablespoon cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar (I use honey)

1 scant teaspoon salt

Mix well, then bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-60 minutes.

And let me be the first to wish you a Happy Holiday this holiday season.

It's SHOWTIME

Ah, yes, tomorrow is the BIG DAY: Thanksgiving. I have SO much to be thankful for here in Every Meal A Feast land. While the cooking begins this afternoon, tomorrow will be D-day for the tur-kay. And how, pray tell, do we cook our turkey. Why of course, in our Ron Popeil Ronco "Showtime" rotisserie. And it's awesome!

First, the story. Of course, when I saw the rotisserie commercial on TV, I was sold. And of course, G. DIDN'T want me to buy this baby. But cooler heads prevailed, as they say, and I'm happy to report that the rotisserie has been one of our best cooking-related purchases EVER. It's wonderful. Here are some the reasons we love the rotisserie:

* The food tastes wonderful -- very moist and tender

* It makes the whole house smell wonderful while its turning away...

* It's healthier, as the fat drips off

* It's fun to watch

Now, it can be a bit of a pain to clean up, and we are limited to no more than a 12-lb turkey. But hey, it's perfect for our fam, and is now a central part of our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. Consider a Ronco rotisserie: we love ours!

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Let's Go Cook...

ITALIAN. O.K., so Jimmy Z and MS, I have a proposal to make to you two: IF any of the three of us wins our poker points tournament and IF that person makes, say, more than $100,000 in the WSOP event, that person takes the three of us on a cooking/eating/drinking adventure to Italy. Hmmm... How could we set this up? Wait, how about we simply join a Let's Go Cook Italian already-set up adventure? Yes!

I've gotten to know Diane DeFilip (see pic), who owns and runs Let's Go Cook Italian. Man, this sounds SO fun. She leads three cooking excursions to Italy--one to Tuscany, the other to Rome. The 2009 dates are:

Sept 19 - 24: Tuscany

Sept 26 - Oct 1: Tuscany

Oct 3 - 8: Rome

The trips include all sorts of breakfasts, lunches, cooking classes, etc. And deluxe accommodations, including in Rome at the Villa Campestri and in Rome at the Duke Hotel.

Guys, what do you say: are we "on"? Italy, cooking, eating, drinking.... Why, those Europeans also are big smokers -- we can probably light up the cigars right there after dinner!

And the Winner Is...

Every Meal A Feast is still savoring the fun blind-tasting olive oil taste-off Saturday night held at The Wine Country Inn (for info, see my previous post). And the winner? None other than...

Harris Ranch Napa Valley. Their Rutherford Hill Estate Reserve olive oil (organic, extra virgin) was the hands-down winner. I tasted this olive oil, and it is great -- great aroma, looks appealing, and packs tons of flavor, including that "peppery" kick on the roof of your mouth after swallowing. Here's how the Harris Ranch folks describe this oil on their web site:

our signature offering, is a mature, full-flavored balance between a quick blast of grass and a lingering, creamy, herbaceous finish – with a memorable, but non-abrasive, grind of white pepper in-between. It gently warms the throat as it strikes tones of freshly-crushed olives, tomato leaf, and sweet apples.

Harris Ranch Napa Valley is own and run by the brother-sister team of Jody Harris and Gingy Harris Gable. They founded the company in 1999 after finding, on their grandparents' property in the Napa Valley, a grove of Mission olive trees planted in approximately the 1920s. Anyway, congratulations to the Harris Ranch Napa Valley folks. And if you'd like to purchase a bottle of this award-winning olive oil, which retails for $38 for the 500ml size, simply visit their web site at: http://www.hrnv.net/.

Ciao!

Tasting Olive Oil

Wow, Every Meal A Feast had a wonderful time on Saturday at the Wine Country Inn during their Ode to the Olive olive oil tasting event. Three celebrity judges blind-tasted four Napa Valley olive oils, all the while educating spectators on what they were looking for, etc. (see the end for the winner).
Celebrity judge Diane DeFilipi of Let's Go Cook Italian (at left in picture) led the discussion. Here's what she mentioned as desirable flavor characteristics to look for:

* Fruity roundness--pleasant spicy fruit flavor

* Bitter/sharp -- a tartness pleasant on the tongue

* Robust/peppery/picante -- a slight "burning's sensation in the mouth/throat

Here are ways to identify defective and/or low-quality olive oils:

* almost tasteless

* "musty" flavor

* colorless

* odorless

* vinegar-like taste

* "fusty" flavor (rotting fruit was used...)

* "muddy" flavor (indicating contact with tank sediment)

* aroma of wax, varnish, or old salami (indicating oxidation)

All in all, very cool stuff. Oh, and the winner was... well, I'm not going to spoil the surprise NOW. The winner will be announced this Wednesday. Ciao.

Ode to the Olive Kicks Off

Long anticipated in Every Meal A Feast land, the Ode to the Olive celebration at the Wine Country Inn kicks off today with festivities at the Inn beginning at 4:30 p.m. This four-day long will feature all kinds of great olive dishes and olive oils to taste, along with fun events each day. Here's a quick summary of highlights:

~ Thursday: 'Ode to the Martini' event with Charbay Winery and Distillery (and makers of Charbay vodka)

~ Friday: Olive oil tasting with Long Meadow Ranch

~ Saturday: Olive Oil taste-off featuring celebrity judges Jim Smith, innkeeper at the Wine Country Inn, Diane De Filipi, owner of Let's Go Cook Italian, and Lars Kronmark, a chef at the Culinary Institute of America.

All events take place from 4:30-6:00 p.m., and are free to the public.

For more information, contact the Wine Country Inn:

Wine Country Inn

tel: 707-963-7077

romance@winecountryinn.com

Licking My Wounds...

Wow, had an absolutely BRUTAL night at poker last night... In Tourney 1, lost two straight hands in which I was a 93% favorite (other person had three outs out of 44 remaining cards). Then did my magical running-into-pocket-Aces-with-pocket-Jacks trick, always a fun -- and abrupt -- ride. So in serious licking-the-wounds mode this morning, and hence am daydreaming about a special upcoming dinner at the French Laundry in Yountville. Apparently French Laundry wonder chef Tom Keller is hooking up with a friend to each produce 10 alternating courses, or a 20-course meal in all. Wow, wouldn't that be something!

You want details? Sure? The dinner will take place December 9th at the French Laundry. For reservations, call 312-867-0110.

Oh, yeah: this little baby will only set you back $1,500 per person (though wine, tax, and tip are included).

A boy can dream, yes?

One Month and Counting...

No, not for Thanksgiving. And no, not for Christmas. Today marks the only-one-more-month-to-go mark for... the December 5 anniversary of the repeal of prohibition! That's right, on Dec 5 we will celebrate the 65th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition, the law which made it illegal to make, drink, or transport alcohol. Needless to say, this has all kinds of (to this Every Meal A Feast maker) cool history, which you can check out here.

And, apparently, there's even a Prohibition Party still in existence (?) today.... Wow. (What FUN they must be....)

Anyway, wheels-are-in-motion for a special Every Meal A Feast Prohibition Party. Stay tuned for more info.

Shopping!

O.K., O.K.--surprise, surprise, I was a chef for Halloween, complete with my gotten-at-the-CIA toque (no pics--sorry!). To buy my chef coat, I wandered over to Rohnert Park to visit Castino Restaurant Equipment and Supply. Wow, it's a fun place (for foodies) to kill a few minutes/hours. It's a warehouse setting with row after row of all things cooking/restaurant related. You want a heavy duty mixer? Bingo. A selection of knives? Gotten? Those little yellow and red squeeze bottles? Yeah!

Anyway, I spent some fun time there, grabbed my chef coat, and left...with a wish list of goodies for my Christmas list! Check em out sometime:

Castino Restaurant Equipment and Supply

50 Utility Court

Rohnert Park, CA 94928

CastinoSolutions.com

707-585-3566