I am a sucker for anything made from corn meal – corn bread, corn muffins, corn fritters, polenta, you name it – so this was an easy decision. And it was as good as I’d hoped. Coarse corn meal baked with fresh blueberries and only a small amount of sugar. Not too sweet, with tons of tart blueberries. I was so excited I forgot to take a picture. Sorry.

As is usually the case, the food is great and the service tends towards the slow side. But, they’re students, so you cut them some slack and enjoy the experience. And take an hour of personal time.

What I found to be the most exciting part of the experience was the conversation we had with instructor Jay Larkin as we were enjoying our desserts and cappuccinos.  Jay told us that the Casola Dining Room is now hooked up with Open Table – the electronic reservation service that you can access either online (at Open Table’s website or through the college’s website) or through their mobile app.  So now, if you don’t feel like playing the 10:00am Reservation Game of dial-busy signal-repeat (and I never feel like playing that game), you can simply search for a table using the handy-dandy Open Table service.  They’re still working out the details (including listing the particular cuisine available for that week), so for now you need to do a wee bit of homework to find out what you’ll be eating (schedule here and menus here).

Reservations will still be available two weeks prior to the date you wish to dine, and the phone reservation line is still active. But at the very least, Open Table will be able to help you secure a last-minute reservation (due to cancellation), or a reservation for an unpopular day/time.

This is a fantastic development for SCCC, since it will place them firmly in the digital age, and help them get more recognition for their stellar culinary program. Kudos to the person(s) who decided to join Open Table!

(Oh, the other exciting thing that happened at lunch was that a table of ladies sitting next to us recognized my voice from my days producing the Don Weeks Show on WGY. It was my own little Wendy Fan Club. So now I’m up to five members, including my mom)

This thing gave me scars, both inside and out.

I just received a shocking piece of news: the Easy-Bake Oven, storied toy from my childhood, will be no more.  Or, at least, no more the way it was.  And we have energy-saving tree-huggers and politicians to thank for it.

As you may know, incandescent light bulbs are going the way of the dodo, with the United States adopting more stringent energy-efficiency standards for light bulbs (the standards will be phased in from 2012-2014) .  Though incandescents aren’t being outlawed per se, it is unlikely that they will be able to meet those new efficiency requirements (roughly 25% increase in efficiency), effectively banning the general purpose incandescent lighting that most of us use.

But, sadly, it’s that very energy-inefficiency (i.e., wanton and blatant heat production) of a standard 100-watt incandescent bulb that allowed the Easy-Bake oven to work its magic and cook those tasty little cakes. 

Fact of the day: Approximately 90% of the power consumed by an incandescent light bulb is emitted as heat, rather than as visible light.

According to a recent press release from Hasbro, Inc., maker of the Easy-Bake Oven,

“We are aware that the 100-watt incandescent light bulb will no longer be available beginning in 2012. In Fall 2011, Hasbro will launch the Easy Bake Ultimate Oven, introducing a new way to bake for the next generation of chefs. This new oven features a heating element that does not use a light bulb and offers an extensive assortment of mixes reflective of the hottest baking trends for today.”

“Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven”.  Whatever.  It’s no fun if there’s not a chance of getting second-degree light bulb burns.

Fan of Ruth Reichl, former editor of Gourmet magazine and NYTimes food critic, more recently noted for her liltingly sweet and poetic tweets?  Check.

Fan of the Twitter mashup @RuthBourdain?  You’re NOT?  Get.over.there.now.  You’ll laugh your ass off, trust me.

What happens is this: Ruth Reichl posts one of her usual haiku-inspired tweets, describing a recent meal or experience.  Then Ruth Bourdain answers in short order, filtering the Ruth Reichl moment through the f-ed up mind of Anthony Bourdain.  Here’s an exhange from April:

“Fever dreams. So hungry. Caviar. Blini. Habanero salsa, shock waves of fire, electrical sparks. Soothing softness of polenta/mascarpone” – @RuthReichl

“Fever dreams. So hungry. Swaddled in a giant Blini. Caviar all over. Habanero salsa, lava, shock waves of fire, sparks. Need more morphine.” – @RuthBourdain

Another classic:

“Fried clams. Lemon. Fat asparagus, ancient balsamic. Hot crusty bread with cold, sweet butter. Sea urchins. Charred, rare porterhouse steak” – @RuthReichl

“Fried clams! Fat asparagus! OMFG: Sea urchins! Here comes porterhouse steak. Smack it up, flip it, rub it down. Oh no, Ruth needs a napkin!” – @RuthBourdain

And one more, from a couple days ago, because I can’t resist:

“Sour cherries. Raw. A taste as cold as splashed water on a hot morning. Tart shock reverberates. Wonderful way to start the day.” – @RuthReichl

“Sour cherries. Raw. A taste as cold as liquid nitrogen on my nipples on a hot morning.Tart shock reverberates. Horrible way to start the day” – @RuthBourdain

Bourdain goes on record to say he “loves Ruth Bourdain” (catch an interview with him on one of my favorite podcasts, Good Food), and is both flattered and disturbed by it.  Reichl has mixed emotions about the parody, but has said in public that she “finds him hilarious”.

Me too.  Or, as Bourdain might say, F*** yeah!

Sorry, no.  At least not here.  Yet.

Drivers in central North Carolina, however, have been experiencing the intoxicating scent of pepper and charcoal while out cruising on the open road – emanating from a billboard advertising steaks sold at the Bloom grocery chain (part of the Food Lion chain of stores owned by the Delhaize Group, which owns our own local favorite, Hannaford).  The billboard is located on a busy stretch of NC Route 150 in Mooresville, and features a giant fork spearing a piece of medium-rare beef.

I think my grandmother has that same fork hanging in her kitchen.

According to a Bloom spokesman,

[T]he billboard will emit scents from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. every day until June 18.  A high-powered fan at the bottom of the billboard spreads the aroma by blowing air over cartridges loaded with fragrance oil.

The aromas wafting from the ad are created by synthetic chemicals created by company called ScentAir Technologies, the self-proclaimed “market leader of in-store scent solutions for brands and retailers”.   (Hmm… I smell another interesting post coming on…)

I guess, since smell is such a powerful sense, this has the potential to be very successful.  However, I question the real estate judgement here: in front of a stinky gas station, and right next to a pool of stagnant water?  Blech.

Let’s just hope they don’t try using this technology to sell diapers.

Heinz Vinegar Ad

The ad claims that some vinegars could possibly be derived from petroleum products, and that theirs are made from all-natural corn or apples (depending upon the type of vinegar).  The ad featured an interesting call to action: searching the internet for “vinegar and petroleum”.

The curious chemist in me was a bit intrigued, and I decided to do a bit of research.   Turns out, the internet has surprisingly little relevant information about this search term.  More than a few results, in fact, were blogs such as mine claiming that they couldn’t find anything, either.  After much exhaustive Googling, I uncovered a few notable tidbits, some of which seemed to relegate Heinz’s ad campaign to a load of fear-mongering nonsense:

• The Washington Post ran a piece about the ad in its “Is That Right?” column.  Their research led them to the FDA rule that *allows* vinegar to use “petroleum starts” in making vinegar.  Basically, ethyl alcohol is the basic component for vinegar production, and it can be derived from either petroleum sources, or natural sources.  Chemically, it’s the same, once it’s distilled and stripped down to its elemental form.  Ethyl alcohol is ethyl alcohol, no matter where it came from.
• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an article that boiled the Heinz ad down to pure corporate protectionism: apparently private-label (store brand) products are gaining significant market share amongst savvy consumers, due to the sagging economy.  Private labels are less expensive versions of the name brands.  Heinz (and other food manufacturers) are trying to convince consumers that name brands are the only way to ensure quality, by using cheap and manipulative advertising.  Personally, I try to buy private label products whenever possible – they definitely are a better value and, with a few exceptions, the quality is equal to (if not better than) name brands.
• The Vinegar Institute was quoted in the Washington Post article, saying that they are not aware of any vinegar manufacturer deriving ethyl alcohol from petroleum (even though the FDA says they can).

The Vinegar Institute?  Really?  There’s a special interest group for everything I suppose.  Some other weird interest groups I discovered: The American Egg Board, American Mushroom Institute, National Chicken Council, American Cheese Society, American Malting Barley Association, The Association for Dressings and Sauces, Fats and Protein Research Foundation, Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils, The Juice and Smoothie Association (very flashy website), National Country Ham Association, National turkey Federation,  Pickle Packers International (I’m not kidding), and my favorite – the American Pie Council (“Committed to preserving America’s pie heritage”).

Back to the vinegar ad – you know, if you’re going to urge people to do a web search for “vinegar and petroleum”, the least you could do is make sure the information you want peope to see is ready available.  Or at least CREATE a site to promote your propaganda.  Whoever designed that ad campaign should be fired.   My point is – Heinz is trying to get us to buy their product, even if they have to scare us by doing it, because they want to control the market.  C’mon.  We’re not stupid.

Wow, it’s been quite a while since I posted something of substance (I am not counting the Bacon thing).  So, what’s been going on???  A lot, and not very much.

• I bought a new laptop.  I was jumping for joy when it arrived (on my birthday), but now I’m a little frustrated.  It’s working fine, but I can’t seem to get the TV tuner that it came with to work the way I want it to.  I wanted to be able to record TV shows, since Bob and I don’t own a DVR or a VCR.  I know, I know…cry me a river, you geek.   But, see, this was a major selling point for me in buying this particular laptop.  I’m kind of annoyed.  Does anyone know anything about HP MediaSmart????
• I have a nasty, lingering cold that hit me like a ton of bricks on Monday night.  It sucks.  So, I’ve been home from work with a lot of time on my hands.  I can only spend SO MUCH TIME asleep in my bed (I am as surprised as you are).  I thought, hey, why don’t I contact HP tech support to see if they can help me fix my little TV problem.  Big mistake.  “Paulina” (not her real name) was very nice, but has only a tenuous grasp of the English language.  Her native tongue is most likely Hindi or Urdu.  We didn’t get very far, even after an hour of online chat.  I’m just as frustrated as ever.  But now I think I’m getting closer to buying a DVR.  And when I say “I am getting closer” I mean that I have almost convinced Bob that HE should buy me one.
• Which brings me to my next frustration: why on God’s green earth am I not able to purchase a stand-alone DVR??  Why must I purchase one through DirecTV??  What a racket.  You cannot tell me that you NEED to be connected to a satellite service (or cable service) to be able to record the damn TV shows you want to record.  It’s killing me!!!  If I can upload my internal body temperature to my Facebook application on my Blackberry, then I should damn well be able to buy a DVR and record whatever I damn well please.  Damn!
• In what will seem like a complete non sequitur, my baby sister was recently hired by the police department in out hometown.  She’s happy, so I’m happy for her, but I am also worried about her safety.  Call me an overprotective big sister, but there you have it.
• I am in desperate need of a vacation.  Someplace that does not involve cold weather, family members, young children, or getting up before noon.  Someplace outside the US would be preferable, but anyplace that requires a plane trip will suffice.  I may stow away in Sarah’s luggage on her trip to Jordan (I’m GREEN with envy). 
• Bob’s “busy season” has been going on since October, and I’m about to lose my mind.  His business line is ringing constantly, all day long, and frequently after 8:00pm.  I know his staff is helping us live a very comfortable life, but I swear I’m going to commit hara-kiri if the goddamn phone rings one more time. 
• We bought a new refrigerator.  It rocks.  French Door refrigerator, freezer on the bottom, ice and water in the door.  I am totally in love with a monstrous piece of shiny black metal.  Every time I look at it I smile.
• I just realized that I sound like a spoiled brat.  It’s not intended.  I have a good life – it just happens to be filled with minor annoyances right now.

So, that’s it.  We’re all caught up.  How’s by you?

I just upgraded my phone today..to a BlackBerry smartphone.  So far, I am loving it!  I haven’t even put it through its paces yet…can’t wait to sync it to my Outlook calendar at work tomorrow…yippee!!  I love technology.

I have much less iPhone envy now, Sarah.  Still some, but much less!  If I didn’t already have Verizon, I probably would have gotten an iPhone.  Oh, well.  I feel like I’m always trying to keep up with you – first the knitting, now the phoning.  I think I might be your stalker.

Good Food on KCRW

It’s a fabulous show!  You can subscribe to it on iTunes (it airs live on Saturdays on KCRW in Los Angeles).  Enjoy!