I’m home sick and planned to make this tonight. I just discovered I don’t have any red wine, but do have a Pinot Gris which isn’t sweet. I’m hoping this works out! I’m not telling my husband it is an appetizer...it’ll be a main dish.
I just tasted white balsamic vinegar. There's a local shop named "Olive Groove". They offer free tastings of an expansive variety of oils and vinegars. Some are quite lovely. The white balsamic was nothing like the brown varieties. I even liked it.
Re balsamic vinegar, I much prefer vino cotto to balsamic as I find it “softer”. It is sweeter but pleasingly so. That said, a few years ago, I was in Modena and very much enjoyed tasting & learning about balsamic vinegar/s.
I adore to print out your newsletter - I can't seem to do it on substack. I am sure it is me and I am just not seeing or doing something correctly.....any tips???
I’ve made baked Brie as an appetizer for a holiday appetizer, usually en croute ( puff pastry--wrapped in it , brushed with beaten egg, then baked). I‘ve used assorted mushrooms most times, & fruit jams the last time. Allergies to mushrooms stopped using them. The grapes with balsamic do sound very interesting and will bookmark this recipe version.
I made dulce leche with direct-from-the-cow milk a couple of times. When I received the milk in a re-used plastic soda bottle I shuddered, but decided it probably cooked long enough to be safe. In Chile, fresh cheese was (is?) sold along the road to the beach. The government made selling unpasteurized cheese illegal a few years ago. In the countryside many people continue sell fresh cheese from their homes, but without a sign out front.
The thing I like most about your newsletter (besides the delightful recipes), is your willingness to express strong opinions on a variety of subjects--it's why I subscribe!
David, it is nice to read that you are not a fan of Balsamic!! At risk of sounding a bit militant in my views I would like to say that I hate the stuff. I don't care whether or not it costs a kings ransom or a few pennies....it is not something i want on my food. I have become enamored of a zinfandel wine vinegar from a vineyard on the west coast....taking risk here at naming them but Katz has wonderful vinegars. Just wanted you to know it was nice to see that someone whom I respect very much( you) has something to say about the ubiquitous Balsamic!!
Your notes on staples bring several things to mind:
1. I once published a recipe for Staple Soup. It was a vegetable soup. No metal staples.
2. At a country club fundraising luncheon for a day care center whose board I sat on--the first and only time I went to a country club--we were served seafood crepes. A woman found a staple in hers. This has to be nearly half a century ago, and I can still see her holding it up. Wise rule to keep staples away from food.
3. In a wonderful memoir called "Little Heathens," the author writes that her young son had swallowed a bobby pin. The medical world couldn't suggest a solution beyond abdominal surgery. She remembered a home cure: feeding the child mashed potatoes mixed with sauerkraut. The potatoes made the concoction tastier and easier for a little child to swallow; the sauerkraut wrapped itself around the bobby pin in his gastrointestinal system and out it came in the natural scheme of things. Might work for a swallowed staple! Worth a try.
This looks delish! Here, aux états unis, we have beautiful shops that sell all varieties of vinegars & olive oils. You can get literally get lost in these shops (I’ve seen them in Paris as well) & tastings are common. There are many white balsamics out there which can be used to enhance dressings, etc. without leaving the brown coloring on your greens, etc. I have a kitchen cabinet dedicated to a variety of oils & vinegars 🤪. Maybe there’s a 12-step program for people like me???
I’m home sick and planned to make this tonight. I just discovered I don’t have any red wine, but do have a Pinot Gris which isn’t sweet. I’m hoping this works out! I’m not telling my husband it is an appetizer...it’ll be a main dish.
I just tasted white balsamic vinegar. There's a local shop named "Olive Groove". They offer free tastings of an expansive variety of oils and vinegars. Some are quite lovely. The white balsamic was nothing like the brown varieties. I even liked it.
Yum, my kind of appetizer or dessert!. Any of those photos would look great in your new book!
Re balsamic vinegar, I much prefer vino cotto to balsamic as I find it “softer”. It is sweeter but pleasingly so. That said, a few years ago, I was in Modena and very much enjoyed tasting & learning about balsamic vinegar/s.
I adore to print out your newsletter - I can't seem to do it on substack. I am sure it is me and I am just not seeing or doing something correctly.....any tips???
Balsamic brown sweet lettuce, ugh. I agree.
I’ve made baked Brie as an appetizer for a holiday appetizer, usually en croute ( puff pastry--wrapped in it , brushed with beaten egg, then baked). I‘ve used assorted mushrooms most times, & fruit jams the last time. Allergies to mushrooms stopped using them. The grapes with balsamic do sound very interesting and will bookmark this recipe version.
I made dulce leche with direct-from-the-cow milk a couple of times. When I received the milk in a re-used plastic soda bottle I shuddered, but decided it probably cooked long enough to be safe. In Chile, fresh cheese was (is?) sold along the road to the beach. The government made selling unpasteurized cheese illegal a few years ago. In the countryside many people continue sell fresh cheese from their homes, but without a sign out front.
The thing I like most about your newsletter (besides the delightful recipes), is your willingness to express strong opinions on a variety of subjects--it's why I subscribe!
Just in time for the weekend !
(butter boards are the grossest thing ever invented. ) LOL.
Je suis d’accord du couleur de balsamic vinaigre donc je utilise balsamic vinaigre blanc.
David, it is nice to read that you are not a fan of Balsamic!! At risk of sounding a bit militant in my views I would like to say that I hate the stuff. I don't care whether or not it costs a kings ransom or a few pennies....it is not something i want on my food. I have become enamored of a zinfandel wine vinegar from a vineyard on the west coast....taking risk here at naming them but Katz has wonderful vinegars. Just wanted you to know it was nice to see that someone whom I respect very much( you) has something to say about the ubiquitous Balsamic!!
Just bought the Isigny-Ste-Mer cheese from Costco so I am definitely going to make this recipe. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
100% with you on adding a couple of drops of balsamic to round out the vinaigrette. Or not at all.
Your notes on staples bring several things to mind:
1. I once published a recipe for Staple Soup. It was a vegetable soup. No metal staples.
2. At a country club fundraising luncheon for a day care center whose board I sat on--the first and only time I went to a country club--we were served seafood crepes. A woman found a staple in hers. This has to be nearly half a century ago, and I can still see her holding it up. Wise rule to keep staples away from food.
3. In a wonderful memoir called "Little Heathens," the author writes that her young son had swallowed a bobby pin. The medical world couldn't suggest a solution beyond abdominal surgery. She remembered a home cure: feeding the child mashed potatoes mixed with sauerkraut. The potatoes made the concoction tastier and easier for a little child to swallow; the sauerkraut wrapped itself around the bobby pin in his gastrointestinal system and out it came in the natural scheme of things. Might work for a swallowed staple! Worth a try.
This looks delish! Here, aux états unis, we have beautiful shops that sell all varieties of vinegars & olive oils. You can get literally get lost in these shops (I’ve seen them in Paris as well) & tastings are common. There are many white balsamics out there which can be used to enhance dressings, etc. without leaving the brown coloring on your greens, etc. I have a kitchen cabinet dedicated to a variety of oils & vinegars 🤪. Maybe there’s a 12-step program for people like me???