Merry Mary

Always get it up for the touch of the younger kind..... Doug Fieger, leader of the power pop band The Knack who sang on the 1979 hit "My Sharona," died Sunday. He was 57. And, it's snowing again. Waaahhhh

A slightly disappointing visit yesterday. Went right around 4 because that is when it opens, specifically for the charcuterie. Checked the website right before we went to see the menu, meats available. They now open at noon for lunch and have a different menu. I mentioned that they hadn't updated their website and the bartender said, yeah that is why they didn't get any customers until the usual time. She also wasn't sure if the new menu would be in effect only for lunch. Said they were still working out the details. The beer is still good though.

I was counting on this but I have to pass. Been a long week.

Every time I see this I laugh. I mean really laugh. Anybody else?

Thanks for all the suggestions. One day blueberry extract will be readily available, I'm sure. McCormick better get on it.

True dat. A shooter for a birthday party for about 100 people. I would have bought blueberry vodka and made a lemon simple syrup, but someone already bought plain vodka so I am trying to work with that. I have a thing for lemons, so I always planned on making the lemon element fresh, it never occurred to me to do that with blueberries. Goals: not too much alcohol, therefore using vodka + non alcoholic ingredients, tasty, and festive. If it were a smaller group, I would use homemade limoncello and (now) some homemade blueberry thing.

I am interested, 2/5 busy, 2/12 free so far.

Does anyone know where I can buy blueberry flavoring for a drink? DeKuyper makes a blueberry flavor, so I will hit a couple of VA liquor stores tonight, but I was wondering if anyone has a go-to for flavorings/extracts of the fruity variety. Monin makes a syrup, are those sold at stores? I have a jug of Wegmans blueberry juice, but I don't know if it will taste good and I thought I should explore my options. I need to buy local, need the drink for this Friday night.

I should have done this sooner to really get the details - next time. These dishes had a lot of elements and I tried to taste all combinations possible with each course. It was a visual feast as well as, um, a feast feast. Thank you Eventide for a well thought out and creative meal. Feast. Pork Belly '"Reuben" - this amuse did its job - I wanted more. More and more. A bite that warmed you up for an evening of eating, tender pork belly with that tangy cabbage on top to cut the richness just so. I could eat a plate of these. Sunchoke Soup - most at the table agreed this should be on the menu, a fresh tasting vegetable soup that you really don't find on menus, smooth but not overly creamy, the accents brightening it up when you tasted them, the perfect fried calm, the chervil oil, the bite with ham just enough of a salty bite, as for the shandy served with it, it tasted different as you progressed through the soup. It was a bit sweet for my taste at first, but paired well with the salty and acid notes of the soup, and by the end, the shandy tasted more balanced to me. Headcheese Salad - house made and oh so delicious - texture was nice, neither too chunky nor too smooth, and the bitter greens cut through some of the richness as did the cherry mustard, but the meat flavor held its own. A rich and dark stout, yeah with a taste of port, also had a hint of cherry. Spanish Mackerel Ceviche - true mackerel flavor, enough that I thought it was much better with the salsa to cut the oiliness, and the avocado sorbet was interesting - good interesting - taste and texture of avocado yet also texture of sorbet, so chilled avocado but even smoother than a fresh avocado. The drink that accompanied this course, something to take the place of a bloody mary, the Roasted Redrum had a base of roasted red peppers with strong citrus and cayenne. Like no beverage I have ever had before. Lobster Tortelloni - I was getting full at this point! Al dente (spinach?) pasta, more lobster tail in the bowl, the broth smelled smoky but didn't taste overly smoked, the tomato broth pulled the elements of the dish together, bok choy provided a succulent crunch and the pale green brought together the visual elements of this dish - the green pasta and bok choy, the orange red lobster and broth. Beautiful and delicious. The pinot paired with this was light yet structured enough to stand up to this dish. Pan Roasted Squab - though beautifully cooked - sous vide and then finished in a pan - this was my least favorite. Maybe the sous vide? Why wasted a chance for crisp skin? I would say maybe my taste buds were wearing out at this point, but the farro with butternut squash was so good and the jus tasted like Thanksgiving day. This dish was paired with a much more substantial pinot. Bison Ribeye - mmmm, red meat, rare. Rich beef (bison?) flavor, richer jus it was practically black on the plate, the sweet potatoes were grilled and tasted simply of sweet potato, the wine was big, big enough to cut through some of the fattiness of the meat, a mix of varietals that combined into a spicy fruity mouthful. Apple Terrine - the star here is the goat cheese lemon ice cream, ice cream with a clear taste of tangy goat cheese and the sharpness of lemon - oh yeah - and when you added some of the apple butter caramel, the sweetness turns it into a special thing. A great non-chocolate dessert. The Clear Creek Apple Fizz - can't remember the ingredients but it was sort of milky - was very sweet and very apple-y, nice to taste but I couldn't drink a whole glass. Too sweet for me.

This was a special evening - the food, the service, the ambiance, the company. How much fun this must have been for Eventide to do this for us - they created the dishes and the drinks for this meal. They have high standards, and in my experience, meet them every time I dine there. Here is the menu, I will add comments later. Anyone who was there - feel free to comment. EVENTIDE RESTAURANT Wednesday. January 27, 2010 Pork Belly '"Reuben" Rye crostini, achiote aioli, Alsatian cabbage New Holland Brewing Full Circle Kolsch Sunchoke Soup Fried littleneck clams, ham chip, chervil oil, crispy sunchoke Scrimshaw Pils Shandy Headcheese Salad Bitter greens, cherry mustard, brioche crostini Port-fortified Lancaster Milk Stout Spanish Mackerel Ceviche Winter citrus salsa, avocado sorbet Roasted Redrum Lobster Tortelloni Baby bok choy. smoked lobster broth, grilled lobster tail 2008 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir Pan Roasted Squab Farro, butternut squash, currants, liver jus 2007 Peay Scallop Shelf Pinot Noir Bison Ribeye Sweet potato pave. hedgehog mushrooms, roasted marrow jus 2004 Fidelitas Optu Apple Terrine Goat cheese lemon ice cream, apple butter caramel Clear Creek Apple Fizz

Sorry - I am interested but too much going on this week into next - and 6:30 is just too early.

Wow, thank you for this.

Gossip Girl!

If wine is your thing, there is good, inexpensive wine to be had. Sorry I can't offer more than that, I went 10 years ago.

booze

confirmed and can't wait

No Boniva, but I am very sensitive to that smoked smell and sometimes taste. The first time I walked into the new American Flatbread in Clarendon, I had to turn around and walk out the smell was so overpowering; it made my stomach turn. Didn't get past the bar area. I can no longer drink Pinotage/South African wines because the smell and taste of smoke is so strong. Ten years ago it was no problem, but any recent wines I have tried I can't drink.

Makers, rocks

Next up - Preserved Lemon-Edamame Tapenade. Saw it on a Ming show today.

I am not one to stock up before a big snow, so I went through my cupboards to see what was there. First up - macaroni and cheese! with asiago, sharp provolone, a bit of fontina and Parmesan and bread crumb topping. With caramelized shallots. I do regret not getting some dried cherries because I was going to make granola. I doubt the 7-11 across the street has those. We will see how long I last before I make a gingerbread martini! What are you cooking/roasting/sauteing/baking/stuffing/braising/bruleeing today?

I have been making a ginger cranberry drink for a few years now, forgot where I found the recipe. Called Cranberry Gingerly, it is a single serving recipe but I made pitchers of it for Thanksgiving. Sort of figured out the proportions but really just eyeballed the big batch, you can figure it out to your taste. * 1/4 cup vodka * 2 tablespoons ginger beer * 1 1/2 tablespoons thawed cranberry juice cocktail concentrate * 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice * 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger I made a pitcher without the booze and let people spike their own.

Another superb dinner at Eventide - food and service amazing. I tend to go for occasion dining, last time I had dinner there was for a friend's birthday in September. Need to go more often! We had the scallop appetizer - thank you Dave for the thorough explanation of the cooking process - don't miss it, the caramelization is thick and crunchy and I want more now. My pork was cooked to perfection, and I could have eaten twice the onion marmalade. I would buy jars of that marmalade. I also got to have the leftovers tonight, a generous portion indeed. I didn't try the lamb, not my thing, although that plate was cleaned. The chocolate mousse was right on, not too sweet. French press coffee! I have not had better service reliably anywhere local in recent memory. Eventide does it all right - food, service, ambiance, decor, management. We are lucky to have to them.

And the parking situation is...

straight?

Anguilla is known for its gourmet dining.