EATS

Ina Garten, the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa, signed copies of her cookbooks today at Central Market.

Watch a video interview with her

Read about her holiday favorites

The day before the Mansion's renovated bar and main dining room reopened, I interviewed executive chef John Tesar about the renovation and he gave me a tour of the redone dining rooms. Watch the video of the tour here. Chef Tesar had plenty more to say, so check out this Q&A, which includes his thoughts on the soon-to-open Chef's Room. Read Chef John Tesar discusses the Mansion's makeover.

Have you been to the new Mansion? Share your experience.

If you love to read about food (and really, if you don't, why are you here?), there are some new books out there that are excellent reads and would also make great holiday gifts for the literate foodie.

First on the list, because I kinda promised it would be, is Best Food Writing 2007 (Marlowe & Co., $15.95). This contains 52 entertaining pieces from a lineup of the best U.S. food writers, including the DMN's very own dining critic, Bill Addison. He was actually the San Francisco Chronicle's very own Bill Addison when he published "In Search of the Transcendent Taqueria," which told of his 10-week odyssey through 85 of the Bay Area's myriad taco and burrito joints. If you are not hungry for tacos after reading Bill's opus, you should have your salivary glands checked, because there must be something seriously wrong with them. Best Food Writing 2007 includes only a baker's dozen of recipes, but then it is not a cookbook, so any recipes were an integral part of the articles they accompany.

Next up: The Elements of Cooking by Michael Ruhlman (Scribner, $24). Anthony Bourdain, in his introduction, calls the book "an opinionated food glossary from a writer and cook who knows better than most what the hell he's talking about." That pretty well sums it up. Mr. Ruhlman, who co-wrote The French Laundry Cookbook with chef Thomas Keller, subtitles this book "Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen." He starts with essentials -- stocks, sauces, salt, eggs, heat, tools -- and then proceeds to enumerate and explain, in alphabetical order from Acid to Zesting, virtually every cooking term you are likely to run across. No pictures here; no recipes. Just solid information.

Last: The Taste of Conquest, by Michael Krondl (Ballantine, $25.95). Mr. Krondl, who is also a chef, weaves a rich historical tale of "The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice," which were Venice, Lisbon and Amsterdam. It's hard to imagine now, but at one time the trade in peppers, cloves, cinnamon and other spices was a major impetus for Western European nations' exploration (and colonization) of Asia, Africa and the Americas. In his epilogue, Mr. Krondl also visits the contemporary cities of Baltimore (where McCormick & Co. is headquartered) and Calicut (aka Kozhikode), the center of India's spice industry.

More new books to come soon -- and I'll talk cookbooks for those who love recipes.

Remember Chow? The foodie-forward magazine that's now a web site? Check out their holiday gift guide.

If those Green Bay Packers cheeseheads can just hang around till the weekend, they'll get a taste of home at Abacus. Chef-owner Kent Rathbun, as a newly minted Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board ambassador, is putting Uplands Cheese Company's Pleasant Ridge Reserve on the cheese-tasting plate for the month of December.

The other kind of cheeseheads - people who love good cheese - will recognize that this is the artisanal entry that beat out all the other cheeses in the 2005 American Cheese Society competition for Best of Show. It's made from nonpasteurized milk from a single herd of Wisconsin cows at their peak grazing season and has wonderful, deep, nutty flavor. You can sometimes find it at Central Market.

Eden's Organic Garden Center hosts its final market day of the season Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Then at 2 p.m., after the Balch Springs Christmas parade, the center breaks ground on its community garden. This is a community project, and and gardeners can work for food or lease a private plot to grow their own for their family or favorite charity.

Meanwhile, by now you know the drill for the market day: Call or e-mail Thursday to find out what's going to be available and pre-order certain items, such as organically or sustainably raised grass-fed beef, pastured poultry and eggs, some organic produce, and specialty breads. This time, there will also be organic, handmade chocolates.

To get the list or more information, call the center at 214-348-3336 or go to the Web site and leave your e-mail address so the staff can send the list to you. The garden center is at 4710 Pioneer Road in Balch Springs, near I-635 and I-20.

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison visits Nana in the Hilton Anatole. Did it keep its place in the Top 100? Click and see.

The other new reviews are first looks at The Fish in the West Village and Fillmore Pub in Downtown Plano.

Do you agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below.

If you're a Rachael Ray fan (and face it, somebody has to be buying all those cookbooks and magazines and watching all those TV shows... right?), here's your chance to meet the Delish Dish in person. But she's only here for 30 minutes.

(No, we're just kidding. A little 30-Minute Meals joke there, folks.)

Here's the 411: RR is making a pit stop by the Williams-Sonoma store in Southlake (172 State Street) on Saturday, Dec. 8, and she will be signing books from 2 to 4 p.m. Her latest cookbook is Just In Time (Clarkson Potter, $19.95).

And yes, it's full of EVOO, BLDs, MYOTOs, Double Duty Dinners, Date Night meals, Kids Will Eat It meals, Fancy Fake-Outs and all the other Rachael specialties you have come to know and love. Or hate. Whichever.

Not to mention the recipes for RR's new 15-minute meals. Coming next: RR's 5-minute meals! (Oh no, Rocco DiSpirito's already done that one. Never mind.)

UPDATE: We've just been informed by Williams-Sonoma that "Tickets for the Rachael Ray book signing event have sold out. People can still come and see Rachael Ray, but without a ticket will not be able to have their books signed."

His Dec. 8 "Holiday Entertaining" cooking class sold out so fast that chef Stephan Pyles decided to add another class to his calendar.

So if you missed out on the first one, you still have time to sign up for the second class.

The class will be held Sunday, Dec. 9, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and costs $90-$110 (subject to change). Stephan's demonstrations will include a four-course meal or holiday buffet paired with matching wines and beverages.

For reservations, call Lisa Moore at 214-999-1229, extension 102, or email lmoore@stephanpyles.com .

Here's a wine tasting Saturday that missed getting into the Taste section today:

Farpointe Cellar will feature wines from the Wine Spectator's Top 100 in its weekly wine tasting, Friday 4 to 11 p.m. and Saturday 1 to 11 p.m. Choose from two five-wine flights; $15 per flight. Southlake: 721 E. Southlake Blvd.; 817-416-7500. Frisco: Legacy at State Highway 121; 214-618-9886.

...and now he's gone. Dr. Robert Cade, whose research team created Gatorade at the University of Florida in 1965, died today of kidney failure at age 80.

Dr. Cade was born in San Antonio in 1927. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and from UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, and he was hired by UF in 1961.

Gatorade inventor Dr. Robert Cade, in a photo taken Nov. 16. (AP file photo)

Emeril Live, which has been on TV for a decade, will cease production in two weeks, according to Food Network publicist Carrie Welch.

However, New Orleans superchef Emeril Lagasse's other show, Essence of Emeril, will continue production. The network also will air reruns of Emeril Live.

(AP file photo)

This is, without a doubt, the most amusing food-related email we have gotten today.

Yes, it's the Grinch...rendered in guacamole! How to make him? Just cut a slice of bread into a pear/triangle shape, then layer on turkey, cheese and plain guacamole. The Grinch's features are made with strips of green pepper, with pimiento-stuffed olive halves for eyes and celery greens for hair.

This comes from the good folks at Wholly Guacamole (whollyguac.com), who also remind us that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the beloved Dr. Seuss story. (ABC is airing the animated version on Wednesday evening.)

Thanks, Wholly Guac, for a much-needed giggle!

...but our blog system suffered a major spam attack today. That's why no one was posting or reading DMN blogs until just a little while ago.

More blogstuff to come today, we promise! (Technology permitting...)

On Over the Top, Mr. Dallas discusses this week's opening events for BLT Steak, the new North Dallas steakhouse chain. Get more info on the restaurant here.

One of my favorite appetizer shortcuts, Boursin, has a limited-time holiday flavor: apple-cranberry-cinnamon with chunks of fruit embedded in the soft cheese. This is a no-brainer with crackers. And I suppose it would also be good on hot apple pie for dessert.

With the holidays, I'm often appetizer-challenged. Or maybe I should say paralyzed. I want to do too much and end up doing not much at all. Do you have a favorite no-brainer appetizer?

The Cultured Cup hit on some perfect tea pairings during the store’s Sunday afternoon tasting session. Owners Kyle Stewart and Phil Krampetz teamed up with local cheese maker Paula Lambert of The Mozzarella Company, offering samples of eight fine teas, each paired with two artisan cheeses.
Some in attendance were skeptical at first; but the daring pairings turned out to be winners all.
All but one of the teas were from the acclaimed Mariage Frères line that the store imports from Paris.
With its subtle lemon balm notes, a Temple de L’Aube green tea brought out the best in the Crescenza, a tart, yeasty but mild fresh cheese. A delicate Oolong Fleurs d’Oranger tea held a hint of orange blossom that matched beautifully with an herbed goat log. And the Noel tea’s vanilla notes and complex spices proved an excellent match for a smoked Scamorza.
If you want to learn more about tea and cheese pairings, drop by The Cultured Cup. Mr. Stewart, a former college professor, can explain just why the pairing works and set you on the path to tea enlightenment. Be forewarned: You might get hooked.
Tina Danze

Inwood Estates Vineyards and City Cafe team to present the launch of a new wine society with a dinner and preview party. The dinner features the three Inwood Estates wines plus Gruet Blanc de Noirs sparkling wine from New Mexico.

Menu selections include a java-cured elk chop with root vegetable gratin, braised fennel bottoms, and cranberry compote. Dessert will be a Valrhona dark chocolate lava cake with chocolate-sambucca sauce and cinnamon gelato. For the complete menu, go the Inwood Estates Web site.

You needn't be a member of the Fine Wine & Dine Society to attend. It's at 7 p.m. Dec. 4 at City Cafe, 5757 W. Lovers Lane, just east of the tollway. Cost is $80 (gratuity not included) per person. Call 214-351-2233 for reservations.

The Flying Saucer hosts a tasting of seven Belgian beers with Brad Batson of Belukus Marketing to provide the commentary. Beers include Malheur Brut and Dark Brut; Lefebvre Blanche de Bruxelles, Liefmans Goudenband, Frambozen and Lucifer; and De Koninck Ale.

Festivities start at 7 p.m. Monday; it's $30 for U.F.O.Club members, $35 for non. The Flying Saucer is at 14999 Montfort Drive in Addison.

Last night was only Nonna's second, but already the new spot on Lomo Alto across from Whole Foods Market was packed. Things weren't perfectly smooth, but you could see the promise.

The commitment here is to local and/or sustainably harvested produce, meat and seafood, whenever possible, and the menu changes nightly. This made for luscious, thin-crusted and lightly topped margherita pizza, the first of many dishes displaying authentic Italian sensibility. Another topping option was housemade Berkshire pork sausage and roasted onions. Lobster raviolini was made with the thinnest, al dente pasta. And it was good to see Windy Meadows Farm chicken from Greenville braised in San Marzano tomatoes with creamy polenta.

Lots to like here: We also had frisee salad with wafer-thin pear slices and gorgonzola, baby romaine in lemon-anchovy vinaigrette with shaved parmesan and garlic crouton (sounds like an Italian Caesar), housemade lamb sausage with cannelli beans, also a salumi plate with vivid flavors, from silky prosciutto de Parma to spicy sopressatta salami. Good wines, too, with all coming from Italy except a couple of Champagnes.

A tiny space, holding only about 40 seats plus a nice bar area, Nonna is chic and modern with art provided by Barry Whistler gallery. I loved the light fixtures hanging down from the ceiling, which look like white gumdrops. And the banquette along one wall has very cool recessed lights illuminating the wall behind it.

One more thing to like: a tiny note at the bottom of the menu that says, "Please no cell phones."

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Festive Kitchen's zingers, bacon-wrapped dried apricots that have a jalapeño kick, are bound to add some zip to your holiday gatherings. Pop the frozen zingers in a 400 F oven for about 15 minutes, and you're ready to serve guests. They also can be served at room temperature.

Find out more about them in this story by Jaimie Knodel.

This year, with most of my husband's family out of town for Thanksgiving, my daughter and I decided to make the big holiday dinner ourselves and invited our son-in-law's family to share it with us. We planned to feed seven adults and a toddler, so I bought a frozen turkey (between 13 and 14 pounds) and let it thaw for several days in the fridge.

Then, the night before Thanksgiving, I took the turkey out, removed the neck and bag of giblets, washed it inside and out, and placed it in a very large, zipper-type brining bag containing cold water, in which I had dissolved a cup of kosher salt. I tied up the top of the brining bag with a plastic grocery sack, to keep the water at a level where it would cover the turkey. The bird brined overnight, about 9 or 10 hours.

Next day I dumped out the brining water, set the bird up in a V-rack in a roasting pan, painted it with olive oil, salted and peppered it inside and out, and put it in to roast as usual. When we were ready to serve, my husband carved the turkey. It was incredibly tender, and the white breast meat ran with juices as he cut into it. Everyone swore it was the best turkey they'd ever had. And I'll never roast another holiday bird without brining it first!

(Note: Because of its weight, the brining bag needs to be placed inside a sturdy container. I put mine into two heavy-duty foil roasting pans which were then set upon an enameled steel roasting pan. You can also use a large, clean bucket that fits into the bottom of your fridge.)

For the trouble of finding the cheesecloth for Turkey Day (so yesterday, I know), the Significant Other was able to roast this gorgeous, bronzed Bourbon Red heritage breed, pastured turkey. This 17-pounder has a high breastbone (it's not a Broadbreast turkey), but it was a long turkey, so we got just as much white meat. The Martha Stewart method calls for soaking cheesecloth in melted butter and wine and draping it over the bird while it cooks.

Meanwhile, for the gravy, I I made it the usual way with drippings, with this secret addition: The liver from this turkey smelled so good that I boiled it with the rest of the giblets for additional turkey stock, then chopped it fine. After straining the stock, I put the liver pieces back in and made a slurry with a hand-held blender. While preparing the gravy, I added the slurry, which brought wonderful depth to the gravy's flavor without actual liver bits floating in it. No one was the wiser, and they loved it. I know it's all over till next year, but does anyone else have a secret ingredient for great gravy?

Photo by Ric Martin

A few posts ago, when Rosemary mentioned the pickles from Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana that are so good she gives them as presents, I had no idea she was talking about Picolo bread-and-butter pickles, which are my all-time faves. Crunchy, with vivid spices, there's just enough sweetness to offset the vinegar.

I used to buy them at the Northwest Highway and Preston Tom Thumb, but I'm not sure they're still there; at the very least, they've been bumped from their premium, end-cap display case. If they're not someplace else in the store, or at other Tom Thumbs, I'd gladly order a case.

But here's the mystery: Are they made by a subsidiary of Collin Street, or another company entirely? I can't figure this out from the label or the Collin Street Web site. Anyone know? As well as where to buy them locally?

Back in the summer, I had dinner with Giulio Galli, the charming wine director for Blavod imports, and got to taste a number of his wines that will be featured at Wednesday's wine dinner at Jimmy's. Galli is Italian by birth, San Antonian by marriage. So on the one hand, he understands the Old World sensibility about making wine, but lives, day in day out, in the real world of American wine-drinking.

I blogged about a couple of the wines, including the rose sparkler that's in the dinner's lineup. And I've got a tasting note in the hopper for Taste about the Baroncini Il Santo, a traditonal holiday wine. Others to taste Wednesday, all from Baroncini: Orvieto, Chianti, Morellino di Scansano, Vino Nobile and Brunello. Also Super-Tuscan Petra Quercegobbe.

The DiCarlo brothers are pairing these wines with a feast that includes an antipasti buffet, pasta with rapini sausage, lamb shank with vegetables, and some of their sister's fab desserts. Nothing like a hearty dinner to fortify you for the holidays.

It's happening Wednesday at 7 p.m. (check in 6:30 p.m.) at Jimmy's Food Store, 4910 Bryan at Fitzhugh. Make your reservation at paul@jimmysfoodstore.com.

Love to shop for food-related holiday gifts? This is a big sale day, indeed -- but there's something even more exciting on the horizon.

Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi is partnering with America's Second Harvest -- "the nation's food bank network" -- to present a charity auction, with all proceeds benefiting the fight against hunger in America.

Items up for bid include a trip for two and a personal tour of America's Test Kitchen in Brookline, Mass.; a three-day culinary getaway for two to Connecticut, with the editors of Fine Cooking magazine; and a trip for two to the Woodbridge winery and vineyards in Lodi, Calif. (And, oh yes -- a visit to meet Sandra Lee on the set of her Food Network show, Semi-Homemade -- if you're into that sort of thing.)

The Second Harvest auction will run Nov. 29 through Dec. 9. See www.ebay.com/woodbridge for details.

Leave it to Rachael Ray to have us thinking we need a special bowl for garbage. But apparently we do (especially today). It's also available online from Target.
News flash: You could probably use a bowl you already own for this. But at about $17, it's a good holiday gift for the Rach fans on your list.
I swear I saw her using a fetching blue one on TV once, but I couldn't find it online. Let me know if you've seen it for sale anywhere.