No Really, I'm Here
The girl scout camping trip was cancelled due to the weather. Oh well. My kids are going stir crazy nuts as I type. We've already read a million books and played on the ps2. Bedtime is soon, which is good because the rainy weather always makes Ariana and Jared squabble more.
I was shocked to find that Joe actually commented on a blog! *gasp* I was laughing at one of his comments, and now I will explain it to the rest of you. See, Joe was dating a person who wasn't worth him (haven't we all done that one?). She apparently knew she was going to break up with him, but waited until after Christmas because she knew that Joe--good, kindhearted, generous Joe--would most assuredly get her something NICE for the holiday. He did: a set of All-Clad pots.
All-Clad pots are the porsches of the cooking world. I saved up money for years to buy my set, and believe me, they are worth every damned penny. But when this incident happened, I had no All-Clad. None. I thought about it, grinned at Joe and said, "Well, I'll have sex with you for a set of All-Clad, Joe! I mean really, if you're THAT generous with folks you sleep with...I'll do it!" We had a good laugh over it, but the kicker was the next time I saw Joe. He had taken an aluminum pie tin, taped a sign to it that said, "All-Clad," and when I opened up the door, there was Joe grinning at me with the tin. "Will this cut it?" he said, and I laughed my ass off. The joke has continued even with me now having a pretty nice collection of All-Clad (the work of saving for a while...a nice basic set is around $475 I believe...and of course I added on to the nice basic set).
Joe is my culinary god. He is my friend who, without a doubt, knows more about food and such than anybody else...even some folks who supposedly have culinary arts degrees. He makes his own cheese. Really, I think that says it all. When he comes to visit, it's fun because he'll bring a lot of cheese with him and cook with me. What's also cool is that Joe appears to take me out to eat just because he gets such a kick out of watching me enjoy good food. At least, that's my take on it. I remember several times during several meals that I'd look over to see this totally amused look on his face...usually at a moment when I was sort of bouncing on my seat and saying "Mmm mmm mmm" with every bite. Yes, I know how to live life. It scares off lesser mortals. But not Joe! He seems to appreciate that part of my character. I can totally be my enthusiastic self, complete with sarcasm and evil twinkling in my eye, and he likes me anyway. I think a true friend is one you can be yourself around. Joe's exactly that.
Now, since I saw that Angie mentioned cheese and the Publix issue, I have to agree...with those choices, Publix is your best bet for cheese. However, The Fresh Market is NOT the best place in Greenville for cheese! I have found a CHEESE NIRVANA in Greenville! If you need an obscure cheese or unusual cheese for a particular dish, the chain Earth Fare is IT. It has the size cheese selection of an average grocery store in France! I never thought I'd see such a fine selection in the upstate ever. Now, finally, I have a source for Cantal for La Truffade, a wonderful dish I just had in France and want to duplicate at home (easy, easy recipe too). Cantal comes in three levels if I recall correctly, and they sell the middle level. The creamiest one (Cantal entre-deux?) is best for the Truffade, but the middle one should do. The Earth Fare that I went to was near the intersection of I-85 and Pelham Road. It's only convenient from somebody who lives near Clemson/Anderson...if he or she is stopping there on the way back from the greenville/spartanburg airport. It's worth if if you need a specialty cheese though.
I would not walk into Earth Fare and ask for pate, however. They are a hippie-Earth loving-be kind to animals store, and they would be horrifed if you asked for something that involved basically squeezing the necks of ducks and force feeding them until their livers are engorged. Also, no veal for similar animal cruelty reasons. I love pate, even though the ducks are choked. I once read something (and I can't remember where...for all I know it was on another blog!) wherein the woman stated, well, usually that stuff would bother me, but I rationalize it by remembering that DUCKS ARE MEAN! Haha! Ok, that works for me *coughs*. Earth Fare is based in Asheville and has spread out to other places in SC and NC.
Oh god, this reminds me of something else...brown eggs. As all Americans know, our breeds of chicken typically produce white eggs. You pay extra for brown eggs because they are not so common. The first time I took Alex to a grocery store here in America, he stared at the eggs as I checked them. "They're WHITE!" he squeeked out in abject horror. I swear, his reaction was akin to, "Do you have radioactive chickens that produce this horror? Is THIS what your genetically modified foods did to your chickens???" HAHAHAHA! He is now used to the idea of white eggs, but for the record, when the two French girls from his school came over to the US last semester...they reacted in the exact same way! So now I make radioactive chicken jokes.
Before I forget, CONGRATULATIONS AMANDA! Amanda has secured a good job and her whole life is looking up! I'm so happy for you, Amanda. And the job just sounds PERFECT for her talents and skills!
Trivia piece for the day, for Jezzy and Hof who love their Aussie Shiraz...if you get a Shiraz anywhere but from Australia, it'll be called a Syrah. Same grape. Different name. I like Shiraz a fair bit. Joe turned me on to Penfolds (Amanda, Angie, that's the wine I requested at The Olive Garden that night); I also like Lindemans a fair bit. Yellow Tail is nice and cheap and drinkable too, although last on my list of that three.
Ok, time to go get out the water hose to break up the kids from fighting. Sigh.
I was shocked to find that Joe actually commented on a blog! *gasp* I was laughing at one of his comments, and now I will explain it to the rest of you. See, Joe was dating a person who wasn't worth him (haven't we all done that one?). She apparently knew she was going to break up with him, but waited until after Christmas because she knew that Joe--good, kindhearted, generous Joe--would most assuredly get her something NICE for the holiday. He did: a set of All-Clad pots.
All-Clad pots are the porsches of the cooking world. I saved up money for years to buy my set, and believe me, they are worth every damned penny. But when this incident happened, I had no All-Clad. None. I thought about it, grinned at Joe and said, "Well, I'll have sex with you for a set of All-Clad, Joe! I mean really, if you're THAT generous with folks you sleep with...I'll do it!" We had a good laugh over it, but the kicker was the next time I saw Joe. He had taken an aluminum pie tin, taped a sign to it that said, "All-Clad," and when I opened up the door, there was Joe grinning at me with the tin. "Will this cut it?" he said, and I laughed my ass off. The joke has continued even with me now having a pretty nice collection of All-Clad (the work of saving for a while...a nice basic set is around $475 I believe...and of course I added on to the nice basic set).
Joe is my culinary god. He is my friend who, without a doubt, knows more about food and such than anybody else...even some folks who supposedly have culinary arts degrees. He makes his own cheese. Really, I think that says it all. When he comes to visit, it's fun because he'll bring a lot of cheese with him and cook with me. What's also cool is that Joe appears to take me out to eat just because he gets such a kick out of watching me enjoy good food. At least, that's my take on it. I remember several times during several meals that I'd look over to see this totally amused look on his face...usually at a moment when I was sort of bouncing on my seat and saying "Mmm mmm mmm" with every bite. Yes, I know how to live life. It scares off lesser mortals. But not Joe! He seems to appreciate that part of my character. I can totally be my enthusiastic self, complete with sarcasm and evil twinkling in my eye, and he likes me anyway. I think a true friend is one you can be yourself around. Joe's exactly that.
Now, since I saw that Angie mentioned cheese and the Publix issue, I have to agree...with those choices, Publix is your best bet for cheese. However, The Fresh Market is NOT the best place in Greenville for cheese! I have found a CHEESE NIRVANA in Greenville! If you need an obscure cheese or unusual cheese for a particular dish, the chain Earth Fare is IT. It has the size cheese selection of an average grocery store in France! I never thought I'd see such a fine selection in the upstate ever. Now, finally, I have a source for Cantal for La Truffade, a wonderful dish I just had in France and want to duplicate at home (easy, easy recipe too). Cantal comes in three levels if I recall correctly, and they sell the middle level. The creamiest one (Cantal entre-deux?) is best for the Truffade, but the middle one should do. The Earth Fare that I went to was near the intersection of I-85 and Pelham Road. It's only convenient from somebody who lives near Clemson/Anderson...if he or she is stopping there on the way back from the greenville/spartanburg airport. It's worth if if you need a specialty cheese though.
I would not walk into Earth Fare and ask for pate, however. They are a hippie-Earth loving-be kind to animals store, and they would be horrifed if you asked for something that involved basically squeezing the necks of ducks and force feeding them until their livers are engorged. Also, no veal for similar animal cruelty reasons. I love pate, even though the ducks are choked. I once read something (and I can't remember where...for all I know it was on another blog!) wherein the woman stated, well, usually that stuff would bother me, but I rationalize it by remembering that DUCKS ARE MEAN! Haha! Ok, that works for me *coughs*. Earth Fare is based in Asheville and has spread out to other places in SC and NC.
Oh god, this reminds me of something else...brown eggs. As all Americans know, our breeds of chicken typically produce white eggs. You pay extra for brown eggs because they are not so common. The first time I took Alex to a grocery store here in America, he stared at the eggs as I checked them. "They're WHITE!" he squeeked out in abject horror. I swear, his reaction was akin to, "Do you have radioactive chickens that produce this horror? Is THIS what your genetically modified foods did to your chickens???" HAHAHAHA! He is now used to the idea of white eggs, but for the record, when the two French girls from his school came over to the US last semester...they reacted in the exact same way! So now I make radioactive chicken jokes.
Before I forget, CONGRATULATIONS AMANDA! Amanda has secured a good job and her whole life is looking up! I'm so happy for you, Amanda. And the job just sounds PERFECT for her talents and skills!
Trivia piece for the day, for Jezzy and Hof who love their Aussie Shiraz...if you get a Shiraz anywhere but from Australia, it'll be called a Syrah. Same grape. Different name. I like Shiraz a fair bit. Joe turned me on to Penfolds (Amanda, Angie, that's the wine I requested at The Olive Garden that night); I also like Lindemans a fair bit. Yellow Tail is nice and cheap and drinkable too, although last on my list of that three.
Ok, time to go get out the water hose to break up the kids from fighting. Sigh.
posted by Kira | 4:10 PM
5 Comments:
You can have fancy cheeses all you like, but I still say a good chunk of sharp cheddar is all anyone really needs. I mean, come on... It's cheddar! That's just cool in and of itself.
On the plus side, hippy stores provide fun opportunities... For example, you can always pose as a supplier of cage-grown cattle livers and pursue their managers trying to convince them that they should sign a contract to buy from you. Mmm... hippies.
Thanks for the tip! Our stuff shells turned out pretty good tonight, but with all the options I could have used to stuff them, I bet I could come up with something even better.
I can't wait til our celebration in August! Let's have a really good couple of wine choices!
And Dante's - we still need to plan that too. I think I might have B talked into going. =o)
I've tried to comment repeatedly, but Blogger was forcing me to set up a blog with them before I could comment, which was inane. I have anough net.entities floating around out there already, thank you. Did you change something, or did Blogger change any policies?
I didn't remember that the All-Clad/sex thing had started after Beth dumped me. To be fair to Beth, I don't think the All-Clad and the gown from Victoria's Secret had anything to do with it, but I could sure use that money now. :) Funny thing is, at the time, I didn't even have any All-Clad myself, but I finally got myself way more All-Clad than I gave her.
And while it's true that I enjoy taking you out to eat, I question whether my own motivation is *solely* that I enjoy watching you eat: I don't trust myself that much. :)
By the way, the wine that really got me started drinking syrah was a Jaffurs '96 or '97 syrah (search for it, web-o-philes). I had always liked Cotes du Rhone (Kira, please ask Alex to forgive the lack of "carrots" in my French), and syrah is one of the grapes used therein. Jaffurs is a wine company specializing in making traditional Rhone-style wines with the right grapes but in the wrong place (California). A number of such companies that have sprung up; the collective term for them is "Rhone Rangers." :) Unfortunately, Jaffurs's later syrahs don't have the herbaceousness I associated with their first efforts. And I'm down to one bottle of the '97. :(
Ency, you are evil :) However, I love pate and veal too much to say anything other than...go for it!
Amanda, I would gladly go with you to Earth Fare for a fromage platter! I'm impressed that you have only had brown eggs in your life. I don't think I ever had them except...well, when I ate at my cousin's house in rural KY (no small coincidence, but they're farmers too).
Angie, I'm SO up for Dante's, but I keep hoping it'll end up scheduled for when Alex arrives. There's been a hangup with his visa...if I think about it I get very depressed, so let's just say he likely won't be here until mid to late July now. Do I get to help with wine choices for the food fest too? :D
Joe, but Beth kept telling you she had a present for you for Christmas too but never gave you one! THAT is why I think she's more evil than you believe she is. Remember, I'm more than familiar with the conniving workings of the female mind! Also, I love cotes du rhone...mmm...lived on them both trips to France. You can get a GREAT one for like 4 euros a bottle (like $5 american) there, and the same bottle here would be closer to $10 or more...good stuff though! I did NOT change my settings, so I have no idea why you couldn't post this time without a blog, but you COULD last time. Wierd.
I never knew Shiraz had a different name. Why, you learn something new everyday!
And white eggs?! That is totally weird.
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