Bill's Bottom Feeder

Farewell

2021-01-09T13:54:00.001-05:00

Dear Readers—this will be the final edition of the Bottom Feeder; all good things must end. Bill passed away January 3, 2021. Pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary vein obstructive disease was just too much for his heart to handle. He was able to make his own decisions about end of life, was an organ donor, and asked for an autopsy to provide information to others about these not fully understood conditions. His best wishes to all his subscribers! Raise a glass to his memory! His obituary follows.

William C. Moody, aka Bill, aka Flutter One, aka the Bottom Feeder passed away on January 3, 2021. He leaves MFO (Carol Moody), FOJTE (Christopher Moody and his wife Lea Wilke in St. Louis, MO), and FOJTY (Ian Moody and his wife Tara in Kansas City, KS) and grandson Tyler Moody. Bill was born October 25, 1941 in Lansing, Michigan to Morris and Genevieve Moody. He attended K-12 schools in East Lansing, Michigan and walked across the street to Michigan State University for his undergraduate and masters degrees in civil engineering, specializing in structural dynamics. That specialty led to a position at McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis in 1965. He was lucky enough to be assigned to the space program and worked on the docking system for the Gemini spacecraft. After that, it was airplanes: the F-4 UK, the F-15, which meant a stint at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the AV8-B, which brought him to Pax River in the middle 1970s, the F-18AB, and the Spanish F-18. For that aircraft, he was able to spend nearly four months in Spain, which was a highlight of his life. In the early 1990s, Bill worked on the company’s candidate for the Joint Strike Fighter, and then moved on to the Navy’s F-18 for the rest of his career. He came to Pax River to stay in 1996 on the F-18EF, leading the flutter testing on the aircraft—hence, Flutter One. During this period, Bill wrote a daily status report for the aircraft and took to commenting on local dining and culture at the bottom of the report, hence, The Bottom Feeder. This became very popular; literally hundreds of people subscribed to the status report to read the Bottom Feeder. Bill retired from Pax in 2009.

Outside of work, in St. Louis, Bill was an ice hockey coach for Peewees up to high school for about 20 years. He was in the first class of coaches trained by USA Hockey in Colorado Springs. At Pax River, he eventually became the Boeing Community Relations representative, which led to service on the board of the United Way of Patuxent River. He served on the Historic St. Mary’s City Foundation Board for several years and enjoyed his time as a docent at the restored Brick Chapel there. He was a member of Lexington Park Rotary from 2001 until his death, serving as president of the club in 2010-2011, and as King Oyster after that. He especially enjoyed the role of King Oyster—everyone wanted their picture taken with the king in his magnificent robes. Eventually, he managed the Oyster Cook-off during the Club’s Oyster Festival every October. He served as a board member of the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and came to be the person who picked the wines for the MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital Gala.

After retirement, Bill continued and expanded his interests. He continued to publish the Bottom Feeder as a blog: www.billsbottomfeeder.blogspot.com. He got serious about photography so he could include pictures in the blog. Sunrise on the Patuxent was a popular theme. He also enjoyed the bird life of our area. He helped with the Chronicles, St. Mary’s County Historical Society’s publication, as part of the editorial team. He and Carol traveled to France several times, enjoying memorable Michelin star meals, and joined Henry Miller and the Historic St. Mary’s City travelers to see relevant sites in the UK and Ireland. He patronized and encouraged any independent dining establishment in the area and enjoyed knowing the people who labored in that field. He learned a lot from gracious people such as Michael and Lisa Kelley, Loic Jaffres, and Rob Plant.

To the end of his life, Bill enjoyed knowing people and sharing life experiences with them. Many will remember him for his wry sense of humor.

Bill is very proud of his sons, who have been supportive during his illness. The elder is a high school math teacher, former hockey player, and a golf coach. The younger is a police officer, currently working for the University of Kansas Medical Center, also a former hockey player, and a dog trainer for wire-haired pointing griffons. His daughters-in-law have helped enormously, one as a social worker and one as a nurse practitioner. Grandson Tyler, other family members, countless friends, co-workers, neighbors, and the wonderful folks at Georgetown Medical Center and Johns Hopkins have provided help and support as well. There are many good people in the world!

Memorial gifts may be directed to Historic St. Mary’s City Foundation, Box 39, St. Mary’s City, MD, www.hsmcdigshistory.org

Historic Sotterley 44300 Sotterley Lane, Hollywood, MD, 20636, www.Sotterley.org

St. Mary’s County Historical Society, Box 212, Leonardtown, MD, 20650, www.stmaryshistory.org

Now, even though he will not be here to remind you: DFD!

Italy Comes to Leonardtown!

2020-10-20T13:38:00.001-04:00

The Bottom Feeder has long touted The Cow and the Fish Restaurant as the top source of quality dining food in Southern Maryland. Michael and Sylvia Chase turned one of the many “Cap’n so and so” places situated on Route 235 into a place that turned out the best chef made food in the County. They have decided to open an Italian Ristorante in closer by, in Leonardtown! in what was once Smokey Joe’s on the Town. Michael will turn his talents to producing “real” Italian food such as handmade ravioli, and believe it or not, Osso Buco! If his Bolognese Sauce served at the original place was any indication, he will accomplish this admirably. After all, his first culinary degree was from Girona, Spain where he was taught Mediterranean-style cooking using fresh herbs and spices to bring family and friends together around the dinner table, which will continue to be it’s model. So it’s not just another “Pizza Joint” link in a chain, peddling pre-made pies with manufactured ingredients. The Slice House has put others to shame and currently remains the only purveyor of credible Pizza in town. They expect to open around the first of the month. Authentic Italian cuisine has long been a missing component of our local options.

For those familiar with the layout of their new home, “Smokey Joe’s on the Town”, there was a big honkin’ Smoker in the middle of the place. It will continue to be of use for Sunday Lunches, producing Smoked Rosemary Chicken, herb lemon butter Chicken, and Prime Ribs. Once they have moved, be sure to go in and talk to Sylvia who has many stories and experiences to share.

The Feeder has received no compensation of fried oysters for this recommendation!

I am afraid “DFD” will remain dark for a while.

Told to Comeback!

2020-10-04T15:35:00.002-04:00

Want to run down a side road for a minute, while Mr. Keller’s chicken sits and waits a bit.

Funny how things work..you start intending to write about Fried Green Tomatoes, and end up in Louisville.

I keep thinking I’m leading the field and somebody “up there” reads my blogs. Look what appeared in the Washington Post

AResized Keller One wcm t6s 2001001 – 5996

I was intrigued by the subject of course, but on the second page was this sub-headline

With “comeback sauce”. Huh?

So, start of side road. Starting down the road, various signposts tell us:

The name comes from the tradition in Mississippi that any time you leave a place, people don't say "goodbye" or "see you later," they say "Y'all come back." So I'm betting this sauce was made to seal the deal. It worked!

Comeback sauce is a dipping sauce for fried foods or as a salad dressing in the cuisine of central Mississippi. Similar to Louisiana remoulade the base of the sauce consists of (presumably Duke’s) mayonnaise and chili sauce (or some approximation of that combination).^[2] The origin has been credited to The Rotisserie, a Greek restaurant that was located in Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson was one of the many Southern towns where Greek immigrants found cafe jobs beginning in the 1920s. They learned the trade and English, eventually opening their own businesses. By midcentury, most of this city’s mainstay restaurants were owned by Greek families

The version from the article:

Another fancier version:

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon prepared spicy brown mustard (or Creole mustard))
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons onions (minced)
2 cloves garlic (finely minced, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)

Gather the ingredients.

Add all of the ingredients (mayonnaise, chili sauce, ketchup, mustard, oil, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, onions, garlic) to a jar and mix well to combine. Seal the jar with a screwcap lid. Refrigerate the jar overnight before using.

Serve in individual portions for dipping or spread the sauce from the jar and enjoy!

Got me to wondering about various “regional” sauces; Of course in the realm of BBQ there are too many to recount, Carolina alone has variations with in the state, mostly vinegar based; Alabama boasts “white” mayonnaise based sauces; Texas has a bunch of ketchup based and so on….

A singular sauce is bound to Louisville Ky., and the Annual Derby: Henry Bain’s Sauce:

Henry Bain was a maitre d' at Louisville's all-male Pendennis Club in the early 20th century. This recipe was obtained through the current president of the club. This is a steak sauce. Some people add a small (yeah, you bet) amount of bourbon whiskey (Duhh, Kentucky, Bourbon?, Duhhh)

1 (17 oz jar) Major Grey Chutney

4 ½ Ounces pickled walnuts

1 (14 Oz) bottle ketchup

1 (10 Oz) bottle steak sauce (such as A1)

1 (10 Oz) bottle Worcestershire Sauce

1 (12 Oz) bottle tomato-based chili Sauce

1 Dash hot pepper Sauce or to taste

Let me just reach in the pantry and get those Pickled Walnuts!

At any rate it is just another example of the wide variety of American Food!

Y’all come back now!

test

2020-09-09T17:56:00.002-04:00

tests

goin' down South

2020-09-09T16:43:00.001-04:00

Some people know I’m on the “Editorial Board” of the St. Mary’s County Historical Society’s quarterly newsletter we call: “The Chronicles”. I am mostly dead weight, being thrown in with a bunch of folks who have lived here for years and years and hence have lived a lot of history for this county, gaining several interesting stories and experiences along the way. Only arriving in ’96 I am considered far from a being a “County Boy”. So my knowledge is derived from a keen interest in our history and from rubbing off the County Archivist, i.e., MFO. So my role is mostly relegated to punctuation, sentence structure and helping with the flow of a given story.

Part of my responsibility should be to produce a “Story” for inclusion in the Chronicles. One of the editors suggested I do something on food, a subject with which I have some degree of knowledge and familiarity. SO years ago I thought I would do something like “The evolution of fine dining in St Mary’s county”. I’ve done a couple of interviews of local long time restaurateurs. Question is: how far back should I go? I think it should begin with plantations (like Sotterley) and the enslaved people who were living there. Many brought with them the foodways of their country of origin where they were forced into slavery, and adapted them to what was available in this country. With just a little bit of poetic liberty, you soon find yourself with recipes for things like “Fried Green Tomatoes” which I decided to try.

Step one, obtain some! Fortunately, I have a friend with an extensive garden which produces a lot of tomatoes and of course they go green before turning into red.

AResized Green tomatoes wcm t6s 200823

I selected one to begin

Sliced it up

(fairly thick as the recipe specified)

And did the Mise en Place for the batter, etc.

And even decided to “kick it up a notch”

Got out the fryer

got the oil to the specified temperature

and fried them and served along side local corn

They were pretty good. I think they’re done for the season.

Well what does one drink with/for a classic southern dish????\ To borrow a phrase from the Gorilla… Of Course!!!

An interesting aside, thrown in here. I purchased this rather expensive bottle of Absinthe (substitute). If you read many cocktail recipes that call for that ingredient of Herbsaint, most of them want you to either use miniscule amounts or: “spritz or rinse the inside of an iced cocktail glass with the Absinthe (or Herbsaint), Remove the ice from the glass and coat the glass with the Herbsaint, then discard”.. the darn bottle costs a lot, and so you are literally throwing your money away.

So…

1 cube sugar
3 dashes bitters
1 1/2 to 3 ounces of Rye whiskey (to taste)
1/4 ounce absinthe
Garnish: lemon twist

Rinse a chilled cocktail glass with the Absinthe and discard

Muddle the sugar cube with the bitters

Add whiskey and stir

Gently squeeze the lemon twist over the drink to release its essence.

Serve

Enjoy, ya’ll and with COVID who cares about

DFD

Did you know that IHOP is gone?? i didn't

2020-09-09T15:39:00.000-04:00

Time Marches On

2020-08-31T17:06:00.000-04:00

Are you reelin' in the years

Stowin' away the time

Are you gatherin' up the tears

Have you had enough of mine

Steely Dan

57 years ago TODAY these two began a 57-year journey along a road filled with bumps and potholes, yet here we are. MFO’s father and our friend and minister G. Robinson Lapp fired the starting gun.

These people

joined our caravan along the way, MFO’s sister on the right, and FOJ’s with their lovely wives nearby (reacting to a “look Goofy!” request on our 50^th anniversary celebration in the OBX).

The long and winding road that lead me to this door was

filled with friends, family, and people who care a lot about us. We were blessed by Chefs who made things I can only wish for. Some had achieved Three Star Michelin status, people with more talent and love of food that I can imagine. Thank God they’re in our sphere once in a while.

Would we follow the same path again? Who knows? as we near the Stop Sign at the end of the journey, I wouldn’t trade it.

Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me

Other times I can barely see

Lately it occurs to me

What a long strange trip it's been

Grateful Dead

Bon Appetit, my friends.
thank you for all the well wishes

Isiasis and Happier Times

2020-08-09T12:42:00.000-04:00

August 4, 2020:

FDR: “It is a date that will live in infamy”

Charles Dickens: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

However you phrase it, it was one of the strangest weather days I’ve ever experienced: worst of times: Torrential rains, high winds,

and then: (best of times) sunshine! All within 8 hours or so…. despite being well prepared (see previous posting) using emergency supplies at 0530 doesn’t seem very wise. So we toughed it out. We watched Channel Four coverage, who said in the wrap-up that: “St. Mary’s was hit the hardest of any county in Maryland”.. Tough to argue with that… we had a Tornado on the ground toppling trees near Leonardtown, roads being washed out, etc.,…uncomfortably close!!

The mighty weather station recorded a 52 MPH gust, 5.13 inches of rain in a short period of time, easily outstripping similar statistics for the State.

Although now somewhat overshadowed, what I originally wanted to yak about was… hmm let me see…wait, I know! Food!! and..

Recently, there has been a spate of (I think) relatively new publications. They are singular in subject, one called “Scotland”

Another for Britain”;

we have been a long time subscriber to “Ireland of the Welcomes”

Hey! I know that Beverage

One of the pleasures (living in the past) we enjoy is remarking “We’ve been there” to several of the articles. I’m SO glad we traveled when we did (self pity)

Anyway, one of them is devoted to a country who appreciates and produces some of the best (Okay, I used the “word”; it’s true!)) food and wine in the world.

Although most of them do have some pages devoted to Food, “France” has a whole section for food, wine, and cheese.

I was particularly taken with a photo in the most recent issue (of "France")which kind of highlighted the city of light, and civility. Upscale restaurants in our country are attracted (for the most part) to sleek, stainless steel, interiors for fine dining which is fine

But what could be more inviting than the (two star) dining room in Le Clarence hotel:

Opulence old world charm, gorgeous. It had a review attached:

And not your yellowtail, I think it will set you back four figures, on top of the ($US) 153 up to 380 depending on how many courses you pick.

More living in the past… most of our trips to France was to enjoy a week cruising the Canals of France on French Country Waterway’s barges, holding a max of 12 people. They concentrate on local culture, food, and wine, and have a chef aboard. The usual practice is to gather at some luxury hotel in Paris

Naturally one has to have sustenance for the journey to the barge. In my case a wonderful Hendrick’s Martini and Gimlet for MFO

For Lunch, the feeder indulged in Parma Ham and greens

And MFO enjoyed Blini with smoked salmon…

As FOJTE says: “living well is the best revenge”.. so right on many counts!

We then bused to where we boarded the Barge and began the cruise. Here’s a typical lunch aboard while cruising

I didn’t mean to get this deep, but this is where we had dinner at “Bernard Loiseau”

The tragic story:

Le Relais Bernard Loiseau formerly La Côte d'Or is a Michelin Guide two-star French Restaurant. The Michelin Guide bestowed a coveted 3-star in 1991, largely due to the fanatic attention to detail, frenetic work ethic and discerning palate of Loiseau. His fanatical attention to detail, propelled him to the top of his profession, and earned him a knowledgeable and loyal, but unforgiving and demanding clientele.

Eventually, there were rumors in Le Figaro that the Michelin Guide was planning to remove one of La Côte d'Or's three stars. Loiseau committed suicide in 2003.

No matter how many stars were attached, it was a lovely

meal.

And many more courses, followed by “dessert”

And, of course as it should be in France:

What a wonderful world out there. We had 4 or 5 more such voyages. memories, memories!

And OF course we were

habillé pour le dîner

Bon Jour and Bon Appetit!

be safe.

disaster preparedness

2020-08-03T16:16:00.001-04:00

Attention!!

A word about preparedness for tropical storms and the like. It is important that you make sure you have survival equipment, so you can “weather the storm”.

The main posting will be about Paris, and guess what? Food! I might just wait until Iasisaissias passes… Meanwhile here are the minimum essential supplies you should have at your fingertips

Please be sure you have ample amounts to last you a few days if necessary. Be safe.

Here and There, This and that

2020-07-30T11:19:00.001-04:00

Hello again! The problem with letting time lapse between posts is (for me) remembering what the heck I said then and wondering if this is a repeat. So, maybe shorter sooner is the best (isn’t that something OKU football related?)

So just a couple of snippets to keep the ball rolling:

Irony

You MAY remember that I got a request to post more the other day, resulting in the little primer on Cheese of Blue. Ironically the individual who jabbed me does not even like Blue Cheese!

Endless Summer

Eleven out of the last thirteen days has had high temperatures above ninety degrees. Maybe that Tropical Storm whose name nobody can pronounce will shove some of the awful stuff away.

Mars!

Today a vehicle was launched with a payload meant to explore a certain ancient river delta on Mars for signs of early life (billions of years ago). I was interested to see that it incorporates a helicopter. It is expected to land in February of 2021 after a seven-month journey through space. Amazing. Just imagine.

Snark: the weather channel somehow gets involved in these operations, and they sent the ebullient “Steph” (Abrams) to cover the story. I, well, to be frank, cannot stand her. Every third word is “right?” or “okay”; “All right?”, trying to tell us philistines something about those little white lines on a weather map are something called “isobars! See? They denote lines of equal what we meteorologists call “atmospheric pressure”, okay?” “the air has weight, see?” Anyway during the whole launch sequence, she kept squealing “wow!” “ooooohhhh!” “you can actually feel the power of the engines!” Sorry.

Good Stuff

Obtaining and maintaining the menu and (bless her) she does an admirable job of being creative (there’s only so many boneless skinless (low sodium) chicken breasts in the world.. Since I am supposed to ingest as much liquid as possible (to fuel the Lasix) she found something really good in the liquids.

Both are really good, tart and bracing

Good Stuff II

On those days when MFO and/or I am involved in things Zoomy, we often have a “light” dinner mostly carcuterie like put together by MFO

During which we graze and enjoy more adult liquids

More Serious Department – FOJTY and "kids"

Hopefully you were paying enough attention that you know FOJTY is very involved with training and owning dogs. And not just any mutts mind you, he specializes exclusively in American Wirehaired Pointing Griffons:

Griffs are medium-sized, all-purpose gundogs standing no higher than 24 inches at the shoulder. They’re known for an extremely harsh and bristly coat that gives them a natural, unkempt appearance. The preferred color is steel gray with brown markings. A lavish mustache and eyebrows frame large, rounded eyes that gleam with a keen intelligence. Griffs are the very picture of an honest, hardworking sporting dog, whose handsome looks are the result of a noble and unaffected ruggedness rather than fussy grooming.

Like any group of devoted enthusiastic “pet” owners, there is an organization for announcements of field trials, shows, and the like. This year marked to 30^th anniversary of the AWHPG Association. Which was commemorated with a special 30^th Anniversary edition of publication:

The Griffonnier

As part of the content for the special edition, they wanted to present the history of the organization, So prior to publication, they sought donations from members, advertisers, owners, friends, etc., to help defray the cost of publication. As part of this effort they wanted any history associated with special pups, and so forth. So, I thought it appropriate to honor FOJTE’s first Griff, Stanley. Stan had a tragic life, cut short by an aggressive infection that eventually could not arrested. So I created a little tribute to him when he arrived at a much devoted FOJTY and family. There is no more special friend of the family than the first addition a new “member”

Since Stan’s passing, they now are ”parents” to Smoke and Duke who could not have a better set of owners. His talents and training efforts bear fruit at various trials and shows. Smoke in 2019

Okay enough rambling for this day. These days

DFD

Often means a stylish mask

Stay Safe, please!

Finally

2020-07-26T13:38:00.001-04:00

Jul 24 blue cheese and COVID

As you might remember I have a series of exercises for my pulmonary issues. One of those is “Marching in Place” which, while self-explanatory from a physical aspect, also describes The Feeder’s mood. Just don’t have much enthusiasm for doing much which translates to the dark periods of the Bottom Feeder. In response to dozens, well, a few, well, one inquiry I’ve had about the Bottom Feeder lately. Here’s a little catch up.

So…..bucking that….starting out with a little “foodie humor”!

Caption: "then, when I get a little money, I said I'm never eating off the ground again

William Wordsworth should have been here

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

well there was a little friend upstream a ways:

One of the things you can do while remaining in “quarantine” is eat.. to sort of modify one of FOJTE’s favorite sayings: “Living well is the best revenge” (at which he is quite accomplished); to which I would change to “Eating well ain’t bad either”. Lately I have been on a kick for the world’s best (okay, I used the word) food which IMHO is cheese. Further I am concentrating on the “Bleu” varieties. And “Variety “is a good word. If you google “Blue Cheese”, it throws a list at you of over 40 cheeses (from Wikipidia). Most of the cheese reference sources includes them in lists of “country of origin; Milk Type; Type (fresh, soft, semi-soft, semi-hard, and so forth). You name the category, there’s likely to be a blue cheese in there somewhere.

So far, (some are not cheap!) I have sampled:

Shropshire; Seles Sur Cher; bleu de Auvergne; Cambozola Black Label; Point Reyes Original, and Rogue Creamery “caveman”. Some are distinctive, some are not

Shropshire “Blue”

Seles Sur Cher

Cambozola Black Label

And “not”

When it comes to taste, the lines kind of blur. While all taste like what most people would call: “Bleu Cheese”; You would have to line them up and go from one to another. Subtle differences exist in texture, “sharpness” (for want of a better word). For me, I quite enjoy Point Reyes Original, it has nice balance, not too “Crumbly” (i.e., spreads easily). MFO currently likes the Rogue Creamery product.

Anyway, it’s a task of love and we’ve just scratched the surface. A worthwhile journey (as resources permit!)

And lastly, for the heck of it (and why I love food and restaurants) I include a photo of a lovely spot, part of the L’Auberge Chez Francois near Great Falls:

Jacques’ Brasserie and serves such classic dishes as Lobster Thermidor: Mr. Sietsema: “The kitchen does right by the classic, featured as a Friday special. Its recipient tastes sweet poached lobster, cognac and cream and more than the cheeses used to finish the dish, which is rich without beinggloppy”. Sigh…

Okay, one of these days, I may be able to DFD
Be safe

Time Travel and Musings

2020-06-17T15:22:00.000-04:00

Nothing like starting with a generality, which is nothing more than that (and most likely not original with the Feeder, who sometimes misses the nose on his face) I’ve always thought that St. Mary’s county is a funny place. Could be two counties: North St. Mary’s County, and South St. Mary’s County. North of Great Mills or maybe Hermanville Roads.

North seems to be hell bent on full scale “development” which has been euphemistically called “controlled”. Yeah you bet. Chain restaurants by the score (although there may be some pandemic casualties like Fridays and Pier One), motels, mass housing, all sorts of businesses, Waldorf-ization continues.

But, once you get south of Hermanville Road on Route 5, it’s like entering a different county say even country. Rather than neons, old fashioned stuff for outdoors things to do

No high rises, no chain restaurants; some reminders of “used to be’s”

such as Spinnaker's which has long been gone from the scene, but a few iconic legendary places have survived

An old companion of Courtney’s, nee Scheible's Crabpot Restaurant long shuttered is trying to rise again to become a “fine dining” destination

Effort continues with much activity

The once home of Trinity Manor of 1634, has been turned into an upscale B&B plus winery outlet

But generally it remains rural

There are peaceful little marinas on the creeks

harboring a few local residents

And the creeks provide the opportunity for “aquaculture” for crabs

And Oysters

Many double wides exist with typical SMD front yards

So if you want to get away from the “modern” Pax River and journey a bit back through time, a trip south is rewarding.

History

And (clever Feeder writer that I am) “back in time” provides a segue to something that has been running around my brain for a bit. A reminder also existed on the way “down south” with the reminder of colonial St. Mary’s City

The so called “Birthplace of Toleration” as the Calverts established a colony where you could worship as you please without intervention from the “The State” (a la England at the time).

Anyway alert readers will know that both MFO and I have been involved in “history” since coming here. We both have a love and respect for the past and the events that shaped our country. Today, that country is undergoing a major upheaval over police violence and brutality towards African Americans, something that I hope brings real change in our society. But it has also spawned a mentality that anything associated with any part of history of the "South" is racist and should be removed (statues, plaques, etc.). I do not believe you can expunge or should ignore a portion of our history just by eliminating anything to do with the events of Civil War times. Any amount of removal of statues and so forth will not change what actually happened. It did. Kind of like pretending the Holocaust did not exist if we don’t talk about it. I suppose there are those who would not agree, but I think confronting and discussing those events will do more to eliminate that behavior rather than closing our eyes and labeling anything to do with that period as racist, and that’s it. Locally Sotterley Plantation (historically slave owners) has taken the “let’s learn from this” approach.

It troubles me that young kids might grow up asking “Hey mom! who was this Robert E. Lee guy?” and being told “hush junior! we don’t talk about him, he never really existed”. Like anything else there is a whole spectrum of opinions on this subject, but that is the Feeder’s. Thank you for listening.

And soon with the Phase 4,836, 723 of emergence from the pandemic, soon it might be time to say:
DFD again!

Pass the _____ please!

2020-05-31T15:50:00.000-04:00

Apologies for the delay, the SpaceX stuff captured my attention and brought back shades of my former life. Did i ever mention wrote the program for docking of the Gemini/Agena? Flight test stuff…

Yup, the end of the elephant (we won’t say which) has arrived. The last lingering subject is one that is dear to my heart. Some say it’s the most perfect food (we won’t mention Foie Gras)… Fromage, сыр, Käse; Formaggio, queso, cáis, TUpi, ost, juusto, 奶酪, Just about any language you would like to pick has a word for…CHEESE!

A big reason for this is there is such a a whole universe of flavors, textures, consistencies, colors, changing all of these with age. It starts with one thing…milk. Cow, Sheep, Goats, Water Buffalo (huh?), or combinations of all. These are used either raw or pasteurized, each giving distinct qualities to the cheese. We won’t go into the process, but it is fairly simple andeach step can change the characteristic of the cheese. C’mon Feeder we didn’t just fall off the turnip truck, we know a lot of this.

Okay, okay, I love cheese. Not all cheese, but most probably my fascination was spawned and nurtured on our French Country Waterways barge cruises on the canals of France.

And in looking for that cover shot from FCW has gotten me all nostalgic..

..........You know what? Let’s let the general subject of cheese age a bit more, and look back some 7 years. FOJTE has a saying “Living well is the best revenge” and we had lots of “revenge”. The focus of the trip aside from seeing the lovely French countryside was excellent food and wine, and of course (to tie it back to the subject) Cheeses. It was highlighted in the meals

A typical menu (all in French, as it should be)

Note the 4^th course is Fromage and the wines are two whites (Vins Blanc) and one Red (Vin Rouge) and oenophiles might note there are two Grand Cru’s and a Premier Cru with hallowed names like Corton Charlemagne, and Charmes Chambertin which we couldn’t afford today. Every meal was prepared by the on-board chef, who explained each course. He turned out lovely food in a kitchen the size of a closet. Great talent.

At the end of the trip, they gave us a list of the Wines and cheeses served

along with a copy of all the bottle labels from the wines

At least two of the three cheeses was served with every lunch and dinner, that’s around maybe some 30 cheeses, with never a repeat. There was always a little “speech” about each one, country of origin, milk, characteristics and so forth.

I had a little book which I kept over several trips,

noting in the margin which cheeses we had when, like the Bleu de Auvergne from a Tuesday dinner

Anyway it was a wonderful (and educational experience). We “did” two more trips with them, and never suffered from the “You can’t go home again” syndrome. And I didn’t even mention the three star restaurants that were on the itinerary. One of those still ranks as number one on my life list of meals.

Speaking of books, I found a more up to date one that is worth having if you want a good cheese reference.

MFO recently found another that I have to read

(illustrations are by the same chap who did “Winnie the Pooh”, and “Wind in the Willows”).

It was originally published in 1937 and has changed nothing since that edition. At that time, English Cheeses were much maligned, and this was an attempt to point out the fine points. Of course the first cheese that comes to mind from England is Cheddar (named for the town in Southwestern England, near Bath).

I hate to delve into “what’s your favorite cheese” but I am increasingly intrigued in “blue” cheeses. Again there is a remarkable variety available. It’s one of those things where you either love it, or don’t. I have a friend who definitely DOES NOT enjoy it.

I think I have mentioned that I have begun to patronize Murray’s, a New York cheese monger. They have a pretty good selection of the blue veined stuff. I gave them an order a few weeks ago for some Point Reyes Original Blue. I did check the little box that said something about “may we substitute a similar cheese if we are out of your selection?” well, what I got was

Darn it I thought, but it turned out to be very good. Forced expanding horizons. Currently Murray’s offers 14 varieties (while supplies last) of blue cheese, some (e.g. Jasper Hill Farm Bridgeman Blue) costing as much as $40/Lb. Not sure I’ll try that yet…Anyway, if you order a half pound there are some savings available. Not sure where I’ll go next, Shropshire Blue interests me.. anyway enjoy the journey!

Speaking (briefly, I hope) of books David Allen Sibley, a noted author, illustrator, photographer, and birder has published a new volume “What it’s like to be a bird”.

His (2000) “Sibley guide to Birds” from the National Audubon Society is still considered (by many) to be the standard bird ID guidebook. So when this new book (What it’s like..) came along, I figured WTH I’ll try it.

Turned out to be not only a good source of bird information, but what was really a wonderful surprise was the beautiful drawings contained in it. Even if you’re not a “birder” it is a lovely book for your collection. Might even be eligible for “coffee table" status

Okay we’ll put a rind on the cheese, and thank you for your indulgence. I enjoyed my trip down memory lane (canals?) in France.

Take care, be safe and get ready to

DFD

Second Course

2020-05-24T12:18:00.001-04:00

Let’s take another bite of elephant (the mountain of subjects for the Feeder piling up). our first gulp was some pesky shrimp, the nice sparkling Calvet of Bordeaux, and Duck Donuts…

MFO finally thought I could break quarantine a bit yesterday morning: leave the house for the car, stay there, tour the Farmer’s Markets (A quest for spring strawberries, mostly) and come home again to jail….er, the digs.

With CORVID still a risk (except to a major political figure who is taking medicine that most credible scientific organizations consider dangerous) MFO and I are still taking all the same measures as when the virus was(?) in full swing.

Anyway, we started out at the “BAE” Farmer's market just up the street from us, but the traffic person said they had no strawberries in that location and suggested we go down to the “Home Grown” Market (red barn) at Hermanville and Rte. 235. They, like the other open air markets have “pivoted” (how many times have you heard that word lately? Ad nauseam) to a drive through model. It has been quite a hit here as evidenced by the line of autos waiting to get in…

It took us about 25 minutes from the back of that line creeping along following the signs

Till we got to the “traffic handlers”. There are two lines, one way, an inner and outer circle

And the first vendor booth - which had volunteers that would come to your car with a “menu” board saying what they had. You tell them, they go get it, bring it back to you and you creep on…

Finally, at almost the last vendor (Flower of the Forest Farm) DID have the sought after little bundle of spring time sweetness

They come at a fairly dear in price

Yes, that is five bucks (American) for a PINT of berries. But by golly, they are good.

We also got some WAG (Willie Goddard) meats, locally raised and butchered.

Elasped time to make the circuit – approximately one hour and 15 minutes…

Buy Local

Speaking of Meats

I splurged on some Double R Ranch pork chops. They are in cahoots with Snake River Farms (who happen to supply Thomas Keller), and decided to grill it on the Ninja. A lovely piece of pork

Hey Feeder! What’s that doo-dad next to it? Well, it’s another “gadget” I got called a “Meater”. Basically it is a probe you stick in the meat you’re cooking

And you tell it what target internal temperature you want, and it will tell you when to pull the item and let it rest while residual cooking raises it to the desired temperature. It also tells you (via Bluetooth to your clever phone) what the ambient temperature is inside the cooking chamber. It is pretty slick.

Here’s the finished chop (from the Ninja)

I don’t remember what temp I asked for. probably 160 or so.

I also used it on a Snake River Farms Filet

I think I set it for medium rare maybe 120 something.

The display looks like

Showing the internal temp was still 108, target was 125, and it was 500 inside the Ninja.

I pulled it when it told me to, but overshot the target

Still a learning process

I also used it on a SRF strip steak

BUT… nearing the end of the cooking time, all of a sudden my phone started screaming “REMOVE MEATER AT ONCE OR DAMAGE MAY OCCUR” with flashing red screen. Which I did.

It occurred to me that the Ninja has a fairly small interior, and the heating element is in the top. If the “ambient” end is too close, it may cause problems

Sill a learning process.

And lastly, the most perfect food…. CHEESE

Well, maybe that’s enough of the elephant for today. If I get going on the “Fromage” I would go on and on, making this too long..

What’s left of the elephant is making a pizza, and that perfect food

Which (cleverly) leaves a little room for a (personal) rant and comment.

Rant: For some reason (maybe obvious) with the COVID restrictions in place, people are looking inward and cooking more, and a lot of emphasis being placed on Baking. Cooking magazines feature articles on "Perfect biscuits every time", and a lot of bread recipes. Now, as most readers should be painfully aware, I am a devotee of "classic" foods. I know I may be in the minority here, but i don't get the fascination with "Sour Dough". I have never liked it, and it's first name says it all to me. On and on about "Starter" recipes, chef so and so's perfect recipe for starter, or even for sale on the web. Why take a perfectly prepared (not easily come by) baguette and turn it "sour". I don't get it. Sorry, not for me.

Comment on Take out: my idol, Tom Sietsema is soldering on with his off and on columns in the (Wednesday) Post Food section, and in the weekly Magazine generally about "take out" . I think I've mentioned (gripe) that he doesn't mess around with outlets that are generally unavailable to us (especially SOMD). This week's column (May 24) is entitled "Takeout, as offered by the city's top toques" meaning Starred Chefs, such as Frank Ruta (the decorated former White House chef who won a James Beard award at Palena and opened Mirabelle to rave reviews in 2017, is returning to work in D.C)

"we play to our strengths and do what we can". To be fair, Dinner and salads adn entrees $14 to $30. Delivery can be by Caviar.

It would be nice to be in a market where most of the carryouts are from chains, with nice exceptions like the Ruddy Group, and Cow & Fish.

Next time

Be safe, don’t be sucked in by the “lets open everything up” kiss your neighbor! Throw out the masks! Go to a belly to belly packed bar! Take a dose of the Hydrochloric acid or whatever it is..All is well!

And don’t worry yet about

DFD

Chomp, Chomp, Chomp

2020-05-07T14:38:00.002-04:00

When one starts to eat an elephant one bite at a time, which end does one start at?? Neither are very appealing…

Anyway Chapter One of Catch up, volume who knows begins now (one alert reader likened my table of contents like Jeopardy categories)

Crangon: Or in more common parlance: Shrimp.

The feeder has had a love/hate relationship with this crustacean for a long time. We quite enjoy having “Shrimp Cocktail” with our end of day libations. Well, it gets somewhat monotonous having boiled shrimp (I freeze them raw, then boil them). So, looking something other than restaurant boiled shrimp, I have tried in vain to alter the standard boiled shrimp. Trying recipe after recipe with varying complexity of flavorings for the liquid the little darlings are cooked in. Sprigs of Thyme, Bay Leaves, black pepper, Zatarain’s Shrimp Boil, beer, onions, the list seems endless. And after chopping, dicing, reducing, you end up with well, boiled shrimp that might have as well been boiled in water. No change.

Well, says I, let’s take a look at another technique: steaming them. So, I start out on another road (less taken?). I perused several recipes for the steaming liquid and then decided to “wing it”

Substituting cidre for wine

Then assembled stuff to apply to the outside of the shrimp, even stooping to using the time honored (and overrated, IMHO) Old Bay.

Put the “dry stuff” in a baggie with the raw shrimp

Shook it up real good, and put them in the steamer basket

Steamed them for "a while" until they looked (and felt) like they were done

And got them ready to serve

Results? Well the feeder did his usual thing of using the “if a little is good, more is better” theory. Apparently the Emeril “Bayou Blast” had a fair amount of Cayenne in it which took over. The more you chewed the hotter it got (Blasted!) Old Bay got lost. In the end, we had to rinse off the “coating” and they weren’t so bad then.

So the steaming process seems to hold some promise (at least it altered things), and will be further pursued, with a more restrained hand. We’ll get away from the tired shrimp draped over the side of the Martini glass, which should be put to better use.

Bordeaux

While Bordeaux brings to mind noble wines from legendary properties like Pauillac, Chateau Margaux, Ch. Lafite Rothschild, producing some of the finest (and most expensive!) wines in the world like Chateau Petrus, Sauternes, and so on, there are lesser but no less interesting bottles. One such is a sparkling wine (don’t you DARE use the Champ…word) of some repute is Calvet Cremant de Bordeaux Brut Rose

Which we had with the steamed shrimp (after they were bathed). The tamed down shrimp went well with the slightly acidic sparkling.

Transition to… Alexandria (USA)

We are fortunate enough to have considerate friends who travel “up the road” a fair amount, to Alexandria and one of their normal stops is:
Duck Donuts

It all began on the sandy beaches of the Outer Banks in Duck, North Carolina. There, Russ DiGilio and his family would enjoy relaxing and fun vacations… but something was missing, there were no fresh donuts! So, they decided to create their own… and Duck Donuts was born.

There is a universe of flavors and we got a “key lime pie” and blueberry, and with a cup of locally roasted St. Inie’s Coffee

A nice way to start a day

Well, there go three bites of the elephant (tastes like Chicken? not a chance!)

I dunno, but I think when eating said Pachyderm, one DOES NOT have to

DFD

stay safe

Sigh.....

2020-05-04T17:04:00.000-04:00

A day in the life.. what day IS it anyway? Tuesday? Friday?

Quarantine is Painful

It Brings on Many Changes

And I Can’t Leave it if I Please

Hi! Remember me? Or have I faded from memory like a bad meal?

Every morning, after I go through the ordeal of getting dressed (including struggling with the compression socks), I make a little checklist of things I should do

For the last several weeks, my “Blog” box has remained unchecked, as it always seems to fall into the “right after” situation: “well, I’ll do that right after I do such and so”, and then I manage to futz around with the such and so's such that the right after’s are too late in the day. One the things I have been doing is messing around in the kitchen some, learning how to use my Ninja Foodi Smokeless Grill, trying this and that with many “lessons learned”. Turns out besides skinning a cat, there are many ways to use the Ninji to cook say, chicken breasts. There are five “settings”; Grill, Bake, Air Crisp, Roast, and Dehydrate, each with suggested (but adjustable) temperatures and times. Of course everybody has their favorite technique: Grill on high for 6 minutes, then flip and season it; low and slow on Bake; use Roast turning every five minutes, etc..

But I digress. With all this experimentation, I have built up quite a backlog of topics and a few photos, each one probably not worthy of a singular purpose posting, but as they say, you eat an elephant one bite at a time. So currently the table of contents would read:

Boiled Shrimp – ptooie

Calvet sparkling wine

Duck Donuts (yes, you read that correctly)

Let’s make a pizza!

Heavy Cocktails instead (or in lieu of..)

Pork Chop/Meater disaster

Murray’s Cheese Adventures

Double R Ranch steak and Meater recovery

So I guess I’ll launch in to Chapter One, etc., and take two or three nibbles from the list. Knowing my penchant for literary diarrhea, I’ll try to keep them digestible.

Stay tuned and be safe out there…

I remain under house arrest..

Special "Sammy" Update

2020-04-25T12:15:00.000-04:00

Okay, I’ll buy this. An alert and faithful reader sent me the following link from "Spruce Eats" (a nice site by the way), with a recipe for both a Reuben and if turkey, a “Rachel” sandwich. She claimed that Rachel, if done well, is “divine” (no “y” word for her, bless her heart). I can believe that it's probably a good sandwich. In this case, I don’t object to a name that is specific to the item, not a “Turkey Reuben" but "Rachel" instead. Still there are other things that don’t have a special name. Like “Turkey” Bacon, Sausage, Chili (that’s kind of borderline), Burgers, and so on. While descriptive for the customer, it's not accurate. Bacon is smoked ham. It’s NOT turkey. I’m not sure what you would call it, “Smoked Turkey strips”?

On another note, I have purchased a “Meater” meat thermometer. It’s basically a probe that is inserted into and remains in the item while being cooked. It "bluetooths" the internal temperature of the dish as well as the ambient (oven, grill, Ninja) temp. You set a target temperature like for medium rare steak at 135, and it will tell you when to pull it and monitors carryover internal temp while “resting” till it meats (ha ha) your target temp. Have not used it yet.. will report.

DF(ah, the hell with it for now)

Be safe..

Food Musings...

2020-04-23T15:47:00.001-04:00

Geriatric Calendar for those of us where days just seem to run together..

You can tell what day it is just by looking for the one with meds in it (in this case – Thursday)

Musings

You know me, I’m kind of a classic guy when it comes to food. I prefer classic dishes prepared in a classic manner when I can get them. There is nothing like sitting at a white tablecloth table with silver, crystal and a trained wait staff. But there is another world of.., “eating healthy and fast”. More and more in our fast paced world we're leaning in that direction. There are multiple publications like “Cooking Light”, “Clean Eating”, and the like as well as a plethora of web sites, all touting the preparation of (for want of a better term) “healthy eating”.

A quick caveat here, you are perfectly able to decide what you want to put in your body and the reasons for your choices. I would not presume to chide you for any food that you wish to consume for whatever reasons.

Those same sites and magazines are filled with recipes that specify ingredients like: use low fat cheese; substitute yogurt for sour crème, add low sodium chicken broth; season with fresh herbs (or salt substitute) instead of salt; egg white omelets; use half and half instead of heavy cream; on and on. When there were such things as restaurants, more and more of the dishes on the menu had a string of parenthetical codes behind them specifying various features, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and so on. And somewhere on the menu will be a statement about only using sustainable, non-GMO, maybe free range, grass fed, etc.

Okay, okay, feeder what’s your point? For want of better terms, in my (probably biased) mind we are developing categories of food: “real” and “almost”. The former DOES use heavy cream, homemade stocks, whole eggs, they leave fat on meats. Thomas Keller takes 3 days to produce a roasted chicken for his restaurants. The “almost” category would include such things as a “Turkey Reuben” sandwich which I assume is a pretty good sandwich, but a Reuben sandwich is corned beef (or sometimes pastrami); Russian dressing; Sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, on Rye (please not marbled). Well, you say, the turkey version is “almost” as good as the “real’ thing. Call it something else – Turkey melt?

Another example is the making of say, Sauce Bernaise. The as far as I’m concerned Bible of sauces is the (James Beard awarded book)

Their recipe (and directions) runs for two pages.

It’s a bear to make.

Gather:

The recipe: all 15 steps.

And this is the paragraph where I always fail. "Break" is the watchword I always stumble.

Far easier and quicker would be the “almost” version made in your local blender.

SAUCE BEARNAISE

¼ cup white wine vinegar

¼ cup dry white wine or vermouth

1 Tbsp minced shallots or scallions (white part only)

1/2 Tsp Dried tarragon

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3 egg yolks

1 Stick of butter (thoroughly melted and still boiling

Boil the vinegar, wine, herbs, and seasonings in a small saucepan until liquid has reduced to about 2 Tbsp. Let cool. Place egg yolks and cooled vinegar mixture in jar of blender. Cover and blend at high speed for 30 seconds. Uncover, (my blender has a little center cover that I take off) and still blending at high speed, start pouring in the hot butter by DROPLETS. When about 2/3 of the butter has gone in, you can pour a little more quickly.

There are really two classes with all sorts of references for each:

“real” from the classic:

Both of these should have a place in your cooking library. Invaluable references.

And the "other" type:

The “real” stuff is what you would get and expect in a fine dining restaurant with kitchen brigade whose job it is to turn out classic dishes as they were intended.

Confession: over the years I have softened on the “almost” items. People have lives, families, soccer practice, meetings, and so on. A lot of that leads to “eating from bags”, but there are caring home cooks who would like to feed their family tasty, and yes, healthy meals, in a timely manner and these books supply a way to do that.

Sure, there would be difference between the rigorous Sauce Bearnaise and the blender version, but it is better than NO sauce. Find an “easy and fast” recipe, but once in a while make the time and effort to move over to the “real” side. It’s fun and a treat.

Speaking of recipes, here’s one I WON’T be trying

one of my favorite meaningless phrases: "next level" which level are YOU on?

And for the time being, the heck with

DFD

Life is too short to stuff a mushroom

Shirley Conran

postscript.. in rereading this before hitting "publish" it seems I kind of changed my tune from beginning to end. There is a place for quick cooking

Dum de Dum... tick tock

2020-04-13T16:11:00.001-04:00

So far today (1600) – highest gust recorded by the trusty weather station; think we got lucky so far…

(56 mph at 9:36 am)

Back to Life (as we know it)

You know the feeling you (I) have when going to the doctor you sit in the reception area for maybe 20 minutes past your appointment time? Just kind of marking time sitting and waiting for someone to call you? Then finally sesame opens and a nurse bellows out “WILLIAM MOODY” and you’re ushered to the exam room and after the stock questions are answered, she leaves with a cheery “He’ll be right in”. then ensues another 15 minutes (on a good day) before doc appears. Meanwhile you sit in a state of suspended animation, alone with your thoughts and apprehensions (you are, after all, in a medical facility).

Well, I see parallels between that and the “virus” lifestyle. You sit, sort of waiting for “something” to happen (or not). But it’s hard to get on with life or interest in any endeavor, like reading for instance. So you sit waiting for time to pass for….. anyway, that’s me. Hopefully you are not similarly afflicted.

Side dishes

The closing of restaurants appears to be causing devastating consequences for those whose only/largest source of income came from serving, washing, on up through cooking. So called “relief checks” while helpful, will not make

them whole. And if this condition drags on much longer, there may not be place to return to. Take out proceeds will not replace a sit down dinner.

Restaurateur (note: no “n”) Gerard Craft* puts it thus on the cover of “Sauce" a magazine that follows the food trail in St. Louis

*Gerard Craft last year became the first St. Louis-based chef to win the James Beard award for Best Chef: Midwest. His cadre of St Louis venues is large: niche, brasserie, taste, pastaria, porano pasta; all of which receive many accolades for their food.

Another more local instance is the pretty well confirmed rumors that “Smokey Joe’s on the Town” in Leonardtown will go permanently dark, pushed over the brink by the recent COVID-19 shut downs. The owner (Denise Canter) has been a leader in serving up BBQ around here forever. Used to be in that little place on 235 across from the Immaculate Heart church. Now a car staging area. Tough way to make a living, thank goodness there are those that choose to..

We got the meats!

Since housebound, have been messing around with cooking beef (in the Ninja Foodii) Turns out there is a learning process involved which I have not yet mastered. I figure if you’re stuck in the house, eating well is the best revenge (as FOJTE is fond of saying – and he does).

Experiments so far have included a strip steak, from a local source of local beef (along with all the essentials of a good cook)

And pre-grilled a bit for me by the source. Turned out pretty well. Am having trouble getting a nice sear on the outside and still rare/medium rare on the inside. As usual, got involved with consumption and forgot to document results.

Another attempt was with a filet obtained from Double R ranch, a partner of Snake River Farms. Decided to try a technique from Thomas Keller’s Master Class. He used a rib eye, but figured the filet would be worth a try.. SO, the day before we figured to eat it, I unpackaged it, salted both sides, ties a string around to hold shape, and stuck it in the refrigerator for overnight “dry aging”

When I took it out the next day, it had darkened considerably (it started out rosy pink)

I made some compound butter for it

and got it ready for the "device"

Results much better, I think the aging tightened it up a bit, and only took it out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking, so maybe that helped keeping it rare. Once again it was plated and consumed without pictures..

So latest (aren’t you glad?) was last night with a locally raised and butchered cow resulting in a nice “(boneless) prime rib”

Well while browsing around the web I found a recipe called “Chef John’s Perfect Prime Rib” (“This is a specific formula for achieving a perfectly pink prime rib cooked somewhere a shade under medium rare”)

What I found intriguing was that it called for being coated with another compound butter recipe (Herbes de Provence – which I had to substitute for) and then put into the oven at 500 ͦ for a specified time, turn off oven, keep the door closed and leave it for 2(!) hours. That meant that cocktail hour was unsullied!

So, I cobbled together the butter mixture

Slathered it on the meat

And stuck in into the 500-degree oven for 11 minutes (weight times five) and at the end of the 11 minutes, it looked like this

Turned the oven off, closed the door and proceeded to cocktails

After two hours, I sliced into it and by golly! Much to my surprise (and relief) was a nice rosy pink

It was plated and served with MFO’s twice baked potatoes, and a glass of Hanna Cab. Happy Easter!

And, it appears that we are (hopefully) out of the woods on the weather..

Be safe, be isolated, protected, observe social distancing, and I guess

DFTV

Time on my hands...

2020-04-05T17:04:00.000-04:00

Well, what’s a food blogger to do to while away the endless hours while quarantined?

According to The Thane of Cawdor:

"There would have been a time for such a word.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time…"

(Did I ever mention that I played him in our Senior Play in High school? I loved that…)

Maybe the Feeder will resort to more frequent and shorter tales.

Like this: Julia

A loyal reader sent me a note a day or so ago alerting me that on Friday (the third) our PBS (Channel Three) was going to carry “The French Chef” her original cooking show wherein she throws around flounders, chickens, etc. They were fantastic… So, we managed to stay awake until after ten last night (more on that in a moment) to watch. Well, guess what? PBS had to polish the diamond. Basically, it was turned into a talk show featuring Jose Andres and Éric Ripert, two Michelin starred chefs. Well, they were in a little TV panel inset up in the right hand corner of the screen, showing them at a table; while Julia was relegated to a similar panel in the lower left. She would bone a flounder, and both gents had to comment on that with gratuitous quips and clever remarks etc., Interesting, but certainly not what I expected. I would have thought at least Jose would have more respect, and Julia frequented Eric's famous restaurant. the program was certainly not what I expected. Probably won’t be watching any more episodes!

Technical note: The Feeder thought “the hell with this, I’ll just watch the real thing!” and cycled over to NETFLIX (and ultimately Amazon Prime). After a long and frustrating search I finally found “The French Chef” all right and could watch it for a mere $2.99. I did notice yesterday that PBS also carries “In Julia’s Kitchen” sporadically, with no fee.

Unexpected Gem

But the real reward of the night was the second edition of the program we stumbled on while waiting for the First Julia circus. It is called “Somewhere South” and hosted by Vivian Howard an award winning author of “Deep Run Roots - Stories and Recipes from my Corner of the South” which won among other awards: Cookbook of the Year, Julia Child First Book Award, Outstanding Restaurant Cookbook, and Outstanding Cookbook in the General Category. PBS (accurately) describes it as “Each episode of “Somewhere South” explores the connectivity of a single dish, and the ways people of different backgrounds interpret that dish while expressing the complex values, identities, and histories that make up the American South.” When we began with episode one (Hand Pies) last week we thought, “oh yeah another cutesy TV chef” WRONG! Vivian makes it not all about her, but successfully brings out the real character of Southern Cooks (maybe as opposed to “chefs”) mostly African Americans who have inconspicuously cooked in small establishments for years. Although taking place in eastern South Carolina, Charleston and its glitterati are generally brushed over. Friday night’s episode (number two) was dubbed “Porridge for the Soul” mostly about grits and the varied way they are used and prepared. She also explores the differences between Southern and soul food, and features the Geeche Gullah culture, centered locally in the Georgia Sea Islands. Fascinating stuff. The Feeder HIGHLY recommends watching this instead of the sleazy exploitation of Julia.

To Market, to market

With the coming of Spring, ‘tis time for the local Farm Markets to open for people to obtain locally grown, organic, sustainable food products. And since spring apparently is paying no attention to the Calendar, many things are already becoming available. However, comma, COVID-19 is interfering with (and highly disrupting) our normal enjoyment and celebration of the annual renewal of life. Ever resourceful, they have joined the “take away” scheme and have opened on that basis, apparently long awaited and well received.

Local Farms

offering lovely food stuff, both “fresh”

As well as preserved (for the long haul – hopefully not to the last syllable of recorded time)

Photos courtesy of SMC department of Economic Development

And for the time being, we’ll modify our normal closing to:

DFTV (The Virus) which means, dear people: WEAR YOUR DAMN MASK AND GLOVES WHEN YOU GO OUT AND HONOR SPACE BETWEEN PEOPLE!!

When so attired during her trip to Giant the other day, MFO reported NOBODY else did. No wonder the death rate is rising exponentially.

Special Edition: Foodie PSA regarding COVID-19

2020-04-02T12:15:00.003-04:00

Just thought I would pass this along for the local population. Due to the Virus the county farmer markets are trying to remain responsible to COVID socially conscious guidelines:

St. Mary’s County Farmer's Market Updates

In light of social distancing, limits on numbers of persons who can gather at one time, and other restrictions imposed to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the St. Mary's County Department of Economic Development has begun working with vendors from the three County sponsored Farmers markets to develop an operations plan that will allow the County Farmers Markets to open as planned this spring. We will provide information on the market schedules and safety procedures as they become available.

St. Mary's County Farmers Markets Transition to Drive-thru Service Only

At this time, agriculture businesses such as Farmers Markets ARE considered essential. To reduce exposure while keeping the markets open, the Department of Economic Development, in consultation with the local Health Department and County Administration, have transitioned all County farmers markets to drive thru only markets.

We understand the importance of the markets to both the vendors and the residents. When you visit any of the farmers markets in the County, we ask that you are patient with the additional measures to keep vendors and customers safe. Please remain in your vehicle and follow attendant guidance for new traffic flow.

No reusable market bags or egg cartons will be permitted.
Pop your trunk for purchases to be placed directly into your vehicle.

California Farmers Market
Reopens April 25th!
Saturdays, 9:00AM to 1:00PM
(BAE Parking Lot)

North County/Charlotte Hall Farmers Market
Reopens April 4th!
April 2020: Wednesday and Saturday, daylight hours
May: Everyday, 8:00AM to 5:00PM
(Charlotte Hall Library Parking Lot)

Home Grown Farm Market
Reopens April 4th!
Saturdays, 9:00AM to 1:00PM
(Red Barn)

Help support local businesses and farmers, plus you get local healthy food!

and in these trying times, no need to worry about

DFD (did i say that???)

Kitchen Confidential and a la Cart

2020-03-31T12:15:00.000-04:00

Ha! Gotcha Mr. Foodie know it all! Anybody with even a rudimentary knowledge of the food service circus knows that it is “à la cartE” Well, read on, oh high and mighty expert! In this instance it IS spelled correctly!

One of the things that I can more or less manage is cook. However, since our counter tops are fairly high, it is sometimes (always) hard for me to dice, slice, and prep ingredients from my transfer chair. Well, as usual MFO to the rescue. She consulted Carl Taylor at Beautiful Kitchens and Baths, and we communally came up with at design for a carT (no “E”!) HA! It is not only functional, but also a very nice piece of furniture.

The container in the upper right is a removable bowl into which the detritus of “stuff” that is generated can be scraped. The shelves are “roll out” easily opened with one hand.

The top is top of the line Boos Block (which is tops!), which is kept smooth and nice looking with application of their “Mystery Oil”

After a bit of use (and experience) we are in the process of implementing “Mod One”, which will bring electric to the cart for food processing, blending, using the knife sharpener, etc. I was envisioning a clunky power strip, but no, the technology is ahead. There’s this nifty little “pop up” power thingy designed especially for counter tops

And looky that! USB ports. Amazing.

Also getting drawer pulls to mount on the ends. The down side is that it is quite heavy to horse around, so something to hang on to would help, plus they will double as a towel rack.

Sooo, no excuse not to use it. Our first foray was to try to cook a full size pizza. So got some dough mix from the web, and assembled stuff

We got some pork sausage from WAG (Willie A Guy) farm in Leonardtown as the only “local” ingredient. MFO rolled out the dough and sauced it

And sprinkled the (cooked) sausage over it.

All was going well at this point, the (world’s most expensive) Pizza stone was in the oven and things looked good. The pizza was on the (world’s cheapest) peel, and then things started to go down hill. In rolling out the dough, it kind of stuck to the (well corn mealed) cart top so a couple of holes appeared. Easily fixed. But, when it came time to put the pie on the stone in the oven, it more or less refused to budge from the peel. So with some tools, braving the 500 degree oven, we managed to coax it onto the stone. Didn’t do anything for the shape, kind of went amoeba-like. After ten or so minutes, it looked very nice and bubbly melty, crust appeared quite brown. Time to extract it from the oven.

You know those shots you see of some chef sliding a peel effortlessly under a perfectly cooked pizza? Oh no, not here. Again with the heat searing the eyebrows, we found the pie pretty much welded to the stone despite what I thought was correct preparation measures. It laughed at the peel so I basically had to use a spatula like a chisel to pry it from the stone back onto the peel. By this time, it resembled an amorphous blob covered in sausage; bearing little resemblance to what one would consider a classic pizza shape.. The GOOD NEWS if any, was that it tasted very good.

Take Two, A bit better..

Having some sausage (which was very good, by the way) left over from the Pizza wars, undaunted I thought: Hey! I could make my own sausage McMuffin for breakfast! So trotted out the ingredients

Formed the sausage into patties and began to cook them in the (alleged) non-stick pan

I have finally trained myself to not poke and peek at something in a fry pan, so left them alone to caramelize..well, it isn’t my week for “non-stick”; finally, with the aid of a spatula, I flipped them to find they were a tad overdone.

I put them in another (covered) pan with some Boar's Head cheese like material (probably faithful to Mickey Dee’s) and to melt, which it did pretty well

Meanwhile, I toasted the Muffin, and fried the egg in the same pan used for the sausage

And, although kind of out of scale I assembled my “Muffin”.

It was kind of messy and quite thick, but I managed, and it wasn’t bad. I think a thinner sausage patty next time

So, that’s what a self-quarantined blogger does. Riveting reading, eh? But the cart is very nice.

Does this seem familiar??

And there’s not much reason these days to

DFD

One remembers flavor more than dates and times in the memory portion of the brain

Jeff Smith

Pass the Cheese please!

2020-03-24T14:20:00.000-04:00

Good day, CORVID-19. The world has gone nuts.. On the feeder side, we’re trying to do take away food as much as possible, this will be very hard for small independent restaurants.

So instead of thinking about “six feet” or “wash hands every 20 seconds” or is that FOR 20 seconds”, ones thoughts naturally turns to……..cheese!

I used to say (whether asked or not) that cheese is my favorite food. It exhibits more variations of flavors and characteristics than any other food I can thinks of. One could not possibly get their arms (or tongues) wrapped around all of them, although it would be a noble challenge. Tomes have been written about them, such as the Oxford Companion to Cheese for as much as $60. However, I have long relied on

Which lists over 100 cheeses, with descriptions each one, which milk it is made from, (i.e., sheep, cows, goats, etc.), pungency level (how smelly is it), maturity, and even suggests a wine to pair with. It pretty well sticks to “gourmet” cheeses, well known varieties from around the world. In the margins I have kept track of which ones I have sampled from our journeys (French Country Waterways barge trips, where you're served 6 cheeses a day!) and I only scratched the surface. As I said, there is quite a spectrum of cheeses available to the consumer today, and each does fill a niche and the Feeder has examples of most of them .

It starts with “cheese” in blister packs, pre-cut, neatly packaged pasteurized process from Deli companies like Dietz and Watson, and of course Boar’s Head. While it does have some flavor, it’s chief characteristic is that it is ready for use immediately, with no cutting or grating. There is also an incredible amount bags of shredded stuff for pizza, tacos, casseroles, and the like, again offering convenience above quality.

The next step “up” would be to the bulk packaged stuff from companies like Kraft, Land O’Lakes, and Cabot plus somewhat specialty places like Tillamook from Oregon who produce an astounding number of variations of product.

Their Sharp Cheddar isn’t bad, but we tend to rely on Cabot more, maybe easier to find.

Ireland produces a spectrum of cheeses (and butter) under the “Kerry Gold” label, lately they are bally-hooing (is that Irish?) the fact that they all come from grass fed cows, and have entered the bagged and sliced market. Their bulk cheeses all carry Irish names like Dubliner, Skellig, Blarney Castle ,Kildery, etc. in the “fine print” on the label it usually divulges what “style” it is, Swiss, Gouda, etc.

The price point is 7 ounces for 7 bucks, which equates to $18 per pound, kind of “middle of the road” for a "higher scale" cheese, but it is quite dense and can hardly be consumed in one sitting, so not bad per serving...

Before moving on, it might be useful to slog through the information compiled below (did I mention I am ORDERED to not leave the house – i.e., time is a cheap commodity).

Why Does Cheese Cost so Much?

The Cost of Milk: All cheese begins with milk, and milk is a commodity—its price is part market-determined and part publicly administered through a wide variety of pricing regulations.

The Cost of “Transformation”, i.e., turning milk into cheese: Smaller batches mean more time and higher labor costs to process the same amount of cheese—a less efficient operation. Larger cheese making operations also benefit from precise but costly production machines that smaller makers can't afford.

The Cost of “Time” If you're aging cheese, your cash is tied up every day that wheel or block sits on the shelf. But the type of aging determines how costly that time will be. "Cave-aged," "cellar-ripened," or "natural-rinded" cheeses must age in open air conditions. They are handled with considerable care and expertise. They are turned, flipped, brushed, and possibly washed. For example: It costs three times as much to age a cheese like Uplands' award-winning Pleasant Ridge Reserve. A ten-pound wheel requires $3 a month in carrying costs. As Andy says, "We don't ripen it that way because it's nostalgic or good for marketing. It's the best way we know to develop that kind of flavor complexity."

The Cost of “Tradition” many American cheesemakers choose traditional methods in their quest for finer cheese. Many of these traditions hail from Europe, and in EU countries today cheesemakers receive financial support from the government to produce cheese the old fashioned way. In the US, there's no such support.

The Cost of Supply Chain Finally, there's the cost of getting a cheese to market. After it leaves a maker, a cheese typically goes to a distributor who in turn sells it to a retailer. Together, these links in the chain add a gross markup of 45 to 70% on top of the cost paid to the cheesemaker. It's not unusual to pay $30 a pound for a cheese whose maker received $12 a pound.

Which is a good primer for our last category: “real” cheese as sold by cheese mongers such as the venerable Murray’s Cheese Shop in New York City.

Founded in 1940 by Murray Greenberg, a Jewish veteran of the Spanish Civil War. Murray's Cheese is proud to be a Greenwich Village tradition and part of the neighborhood’s rich food history, along with neighboring destinations like Faicco's, Ottomanelli's and Rocco's. Murray Greenberg built a great reputation for the business.

I recently ordered two cheeses from them:

Selles-sur-Cher

a soft Goat’s Milk cheese from the Loire Valley and the village of the same name. It is always coated in black ash. The flavor is mild and nutty (like the Bottom Feeder!). It costs $17 for a 6 oz. piece (which would equate to $51 per pound, but 6 ounces is adequate for a couple of nights for two.

And Bleu d’Auvergne

Bleu d’Auvergne is made in the Cantal and Puy-de-Dome in the Massif Central. Started out as an imitation tof Roquefort, using cow’s milk instead of ewe’s milk. It is on the lightly flavored end of the Bleu Cheese spectrum; Murray’s sells a half pound for $12.

So, most readers know we usually begin our evening with cocktails. Cheese usually finds its way as a selection, and Hey! "Living Well IS the Best Revenge" (as FOJTE likes to say), so we don’t mind serving (ourselves) the more expensive stuff.

The Selles is on the left of the cheese slate with the Auvergne on the right.

Both were excellent.

One note before closing, not to be preachy or pedantic, but allow at least an hour for the cheese to come to room temperature before you eat it. Analogous to letting wine “breathe” the cheese will develop its true flavor profile.

Okay, enough botheration for today. Hopefully you found some knowledge and appreciation for the greatest food on earth

And if you’re self-quarantined, no worries about

DFD

You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese.”
– Anthony Bourdain

The Madness of March

2020-03-16T13:09:00.000-04:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only

Charles Dickens, A tale of Two Cities – 1859

Wow. How true today.

Normally on this date, we’d be yakking about who got left out of the NCAA tourney, why Liberty in, so and so team not. Not this year. “March Madness” extends not only to sports but the culture in general… normally in the Sunday Post there is a half-page dedicated to “Television and Radio”, a listing what sport is on when. Here is yesterday’s entry:

This had the effect of leaving some athletes dumb founded, dazed, and confused

Anyway, the month of March is kind of unique in other ways, I am a bit late, but there is the tried, trite, and trivial bit about the 4^th of the month as a command to go forward: “March forth”

And the 3/14 is the kind of lame “Pi Day”

Or for the Feeder

And the next day of course, is the admonishment from William Shakespeare’s soothsayer to Julius Caesar to “Beware the Ides of March”

So March has a few things going for it..

Before I got the message/edict from Johns Hopkins Pulmonary Team (basically: STAY HOME), we did go out to support a fund raiser for “Feed St. Mary’s” an initiative to set up a Food Bank locally for non-profits that have food pantries as a source of food without going up to Baltimore, etc. It was held in the renovated “tap room” of Bollywood

They had, as best they could legally could, my favorite (pasteurized, non-cocktail) beverage

Food was available from the normal Bollywood Buffet, and despite a request by our event chairman to list low sodium and “mild” items. It turned out to be “Indian Food Roulette”. MFO brought me a plate, and I would sample and determine what had heat, searing heat, or was on “my side” of the tolerance line. Needless to say, I didn’t go away sated..

Entertainment was supplied by “One Trick Pony” a band of people of our generation. The table where we were seated was at the far end of the band, and we were basically “trapped” by their equipment on the floor of the "escape route" when it came time (for us) to leave, but fortunately they were “on break” and more than happy to move the stuff. One of the members held the doors for us, and even came outside to help MFO back the MOMSTER from its parking place. Nice gesture.

Yesterday morning, aware of the Ides, I tackled the mounting pile of bills awaiting payment. By the time I finished, the pile was large, and the bank account smaller.

To repair my mood, I fixed myself a veggie, cheese and salsa Omelet.

Okay about a wrap, but I did try to get a photo of the March “Worm Moon”, which was either enhanced or detracted by the clouds

And always entertained by the passing boats on the river: “Red Sails in the Sunset”, except the sail wasn’t red, and it was noonish.

Okay, time to “march” on..

Hunkering in place doesn’t require me to

DFD

Small cheer, and great welcome makes a merry feast

William Shakespeare

Chicago on eastern standard time

2020-03-08T14:55:00.001-04:00

Does anybody really know what time it is? (I don't)

Does anybody really care? (care about time)

If so I can't imagine why (no, no)

Ugh.