Dancing Spoon

Chat for Foodies!

Trends Food

by J. Michael Wheeler
We're always looking for ways to help our Foodies Connect!
We're very excited to tell you that we've just launched Chat for Foodies on Dancing Spoon Community. With our new online chat you can have conversations with other members in real time. You can even have private chats.

The Live Chat Window

Wine Futures in Trouble?

Wine About

by J. Michael Wheeler
“Prices need to return to the level where people who like to drink good wines can afford them,” Francis Cruse, director of the Union des Maisons de Bordeaux, the négociants’ union is quoted in The New York Times (Wine Market Struggles to Adjust in New Era, 3.31.09).

Buying wine after it is made, but before it is bottled is called buy wine futures (En Primeur). Cask samples are tasted by wine critics, journalists, and wine brokers and merchants. The brokers and merchants sell the wine to their customers.

The wine futures is a wine investment, and like any investment can make, or lose money for the investor. Wine futures are available for the wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, California, the Rhone Valley, some parts of Italy, and even vintage port. And, where the wines are very low production, such as some properties of Burgundy, buying on futures is the only way to get the wine.

Farming the White House

Trends Food

by J. Michael Wheeler
Before the 2008 Presidential election, Michael Pollan wrote an open letter to the (then unknown) President-Elect in the New York Times (Farmer in Chief 10.9.08). That letter opens:

It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food. Food policy is not something American presidents have had to give much thought to, at least since the Nixon administration — the last time high food prices presented a serious political peril.

The letter closes with a get your hands dirty kind of idea:

Since enhancing the prestige of farming as an occupation is critical to developing the sun-based regional agriculture we need, the White House should appoint, in addition to a White House chef, a White House farmer. This new post would be charged with implementing what could turn out to be your most symbolically resonant step in building a new American food culture. And that is this: tear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden.

The Obamas didn't "tear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn" but they will be planting an organic vegetable garden on an 1,100-square-foot-plot. The raised beds will be fertilized with White House compost, crab meal from the Chesapeake Bay, lime and green sand. Ladybugs and praying mantises will help control harmful bugs. 

The Obama garden will grow 55 varieties of vegetable that from a White House kitchen staff list. The New York Times has a map of the garden: Local Food, From the South Lawn.

---

"Don't eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as food."

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These simple words go to the heart of Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, the well-considered answers he provides to the questions posed in the bestselling The Omnivore's Dilemma. Humans used to know how to eat well, Pollan argues. But the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused, complicated, and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientists, and journalists-all of whom have much to gain from our dietary confusion. As a result, we face today a complex culinary landscape dense with bad advice and foods that are not "real." These "edible foodlike substances" are often packaged with labels bearing health claims that are typically false or misleading. Indeed, real food is fast disappearing from the marketplace, to be replaced by "nutrients," and plain old eating by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention our meals. 

Hand selected books are at Foodie's Emporium! Click here.

---

Great American Meat

Trends Food

by J. Michael Wheeler
Great American Meat
One of those important things about our rediscovery of eating is food. While that might sound like a duh! kind of statement, think about how great that roasted chicken tasted in France, or that very simple pasta tasted in Italy. You returned home with the recipe, prepared it with care, and sat down in front of that dish with anticipation glory, only to be disappointed. What did you do wrong?
Probably nothing. You have the recipe, you have the skills, and you had the chicken. But you didn’t have that fresh French chicken. Or the olive oil from that small farmer. Or the butter from those Norman cows. Here in the States it’s been hard to find the same quality ingredients.

We’re rediscovering the importance of quality in food: the best ingredients make the best meals. And now we are entering, as Esquire’s Food Editor Francine Maroukian calls it (4.09), “The Golden Age of American Meat.”

Randall Lineback Cattle A breed of cattle, listed as “critically rare,” is being revived at Chapel Hill Farm in Berryville, Virginia, by Joe Henderson. His cattle are direct descendants from the breed originating in New England. His cattle range free and the herd is multiplying. A small supply of his veal (named rose veal for the color of the meat produced from the open-pasture diet) is offered as entire calfs to “nose-to-tail” chefs. Randall Lineback meat will be introduced to Manhattan in 2010. More info at Randall Linebacks.

Lava Lake Lamb Forage-finished, dry-aged lamb. The sheep are grazed on wild grasses, herbs, and pasture, producing an entirely range-fed meat with terrior. Lava Lake Lamb & Livestock is one of the largest conservation projects in the West.  More info at Lave Lake Lamb.

Artisan Salumi La Quirkier of Iowa are the makers of the first organic prosciutto in America. Esquire calls it “some of the finest cured meat in our charcuterie-crazed country.” Their pigs are free range fed on vegetarian, grain-based diets. La Quercia’s lardo, called Iowa White, is cured back fat seasoned with clove, coriander, nutmeg pepper and bay. More info at La Quercia.

---

James Beard Foundation
 Cookbook of the Year 2008

The River Cottage Meat Book
"This book aims to help you find good meat, understand it better, cook it with greater confidence, and eat it with much pleasure." "It first of all covers the basics -- everything you'll need to know about choosing the very best raw materials, understanding the different cuts and the cooking techniques associated with each of them. I've then given what I hope are foolproof recipes for 150 meat classics from both British and foreign food cultures -- shepherds pie, steak and kidney pie, roast pork with perfect crackling, glazed baked ham, Irish stew, roast grouse with all the trimmings, toad in the hole, oxtail stew; plus definitive, authentic versions of pot au feu, cassoulet, choucroute, steak tartare, coq au vin, bolito misto, pasticcio, jerked pork, feijoida, cozido, curried goat, satay and chilli con carne." "I would like this book to be your first stop on the shelf whether you seek either inspire

Hand selected books are at Foodie's Emporium! Click here.

---

iPhone Latte

Trends Coffee

The iPhone, it will do almost anything. And now it will make a latte for you, almost. The barista, currently a featured iPhone app, "can guide you through each step in the process of creating a caffè latte, cappuccino, americano, mocha, and other delightful expresso beverages. It also offers tips — on selecting and storing coffee beans and creating “latte art” — and a handy glossary."

There is a demo at the barista app website. Just add an espresso machine, and you're there.

---

Hand selected espresso makers are at Foodie's Emporium! Click here.

---

Mark Bittman: A New Recipe

by J. Michael Wheeler
Mark Bittman: Conscious Eating Tom Ashbrook of On Point (2.2.09) from NPR, interviewed food writer Mark Bittman, food columnist for The New York Times. He writes “The Minimalist” column and the “Bitten” blog and is the author of "How to Cook Everything." Mark Bittman has joined the ranks of foodies with a cause. His cause is nothing less than saving the health of Americans while at the same time saving the planet.

Bittman says that the way Americans eat are killing both themselves and the planet. "Too much meat. Too much junk food. Too big a footprint."

From the award-winning champion of culinary simplicity who gave us the bestselling How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian comes Food Matters, a plan for responsible eating that's as good for the planet as it is for your weight and your health.

We are finally starting to acknowledge the threat carbon emissions pose to our ozone layer, but few people have focused on the extent to which our consumption of meat contributes to global warming. Think about it this way: In terms of energy consumption, serving a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home.

Bittman offers a no-nonsense rundown on how government policy, big business marketing, and global economics influence what we choose to put on the table each evening. He demystifies buzzwords like "organic," "sustainable," and "local" and offers straightforward, budget-conscious advice that will help you make small changes that will shrink your carbon footprint -- and your waistline.

Listen to Tom Ashbrook interview Mark Bittman: Conscious Eating: Click Here.

---

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes Bittman, a food writer who loves to eat and eats out frequently, lost thirty-five pounds and saw marked improvement in his blood levels by simply cutting meat and processed foods out of two of his three daily meals. But the simple truth, as he points out, is that as long as you eat more vegetables and whole grains, the result will be better health for you and for the world in which we live.

Hand selected books for foodes are at Foodie's Emporium! Click here.

---

Gourmet Water

by J. Michael Wheeler

Premium bottled water takes a new twist: in-house premium water. Charles Fishman’s great FAST COMPANY article, Message in a Bottle (July/August 2007), examining our bottled-water-fixation and its ramifications, was a watershed moment. We’re pleased to let you know that the public has responded. The Dallas Morning News (1.1.08) reported that bottled water sales are expected to slow to a trickle this year, and producers are blaming everything from the parched economy to the kitchen sink.

But what if you still have a thirst for gourmet water? Or, the even harder task, resisting the snide waiter’s heavy-handed sales pitch of ”My I bring you bottled water or,” his lips curls as he pauses here, “tap?”

Farmer in Chief

Politics Food &

Dear Mr. President-Elect,

It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food. Food policy is not something American presidents have had to give much thought to, at least since the Nixon administration — the last time high food prices presented a serious political peril.

So begins an open letter to Barack Obama or John McCain written by Michael Pollan, published in The New Times Magazine, 10.9.08 (For full text Click here.)

Is food a national security issue? On NPR's Fresh Air, 10.20.08, Terry Gross interviews Pollan and discusses, among other fascinating issues,  "the waning health of America's food systems — and warns that 'the era of cheap and abundant food appears to be drawing to a close.' "

"The future president's food policies," says Pollan, "will have a large impact on a wide range of issues, including national security, climate change, energy independence and health care."

It is an engrossing interview. A "must-listen."  Click here.

---

Michael Pollan, is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, and a professor of science and environmental journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.

For more details or to buy In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan Click here.

For huge selection of Baking and Cookbooks, visit the Book Store at Dancing Spoon. Click here.

---

Shop the Foodies Store

Newsletter

---

Stopper Wars

Wine About

by J. Michael Wheeler

If a bottle of wine sealed with a cork spoils, you say the wine’s corked. If a bottle of wine sealed with a screw cap spoils, would you say the wine’s screwed?

Natural cork, the bark from the Portuguese cork tree has been keeping the air from bottled wine for over 300 years. But cork’s been in trouble for the past couple of decades. Cork taint, the musty “this wine’s gone bad” taste, is caused by the chemical compound TCA (trichloroanisole). TCA is introduced to a cork by a natural mold. It can occur at the harvesting, manufacturing, or storage stages. Imperfect corks can also allow too much oxygen into the bottle, termed random oxidation, and cause the wine to spoil.

Winemakers have recently been exploring alternative closures; the most popular of those have been plastic stoppers (12% of current world market) and the screw cap (7% of current world market). But many new closures are becoming available.

F&W’s Best Chefs '08

Chefs Best

by J. Michael Wheeler
Food & Wine Best Chefs 2008
Each year, for the last 20 years, Food and Wine magazine has picked up-and-coming chefs and dubbed them Best New Chefs. In 1998 that list contained Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller; a pretty auspicious start. The July ’08 issue presents this year’s crop of chefs who have "been in charge of kitchens for less than five years." The article also includes each chef's easiest recipe. It's interesting to note that five of the best ten chefs emphasize local ingredients.

Here are the results from Food and Wine (July ’08):