The regular patrons at the time, were neighborhood people too; all of whom seemed to have nicknames. (although, the nicknames were useful for identification purposes). There was Joe the Lawyer, who wasn’t a lawyer at all, but worked as an insurance investigator. Then there was John the Lawyer, who was a stockbroker, and John the Lawyer, who really was a lawyer with an office across the street. And I was always confused about Mary the Nurse, whose nickname seemed unnecessary; she was indeed a nurse, but she was the only regular named Mary.

Then there were the rest of the regulars: mostly young men ,who fancied themselves to be wise guys. Their conversations were peppered with phrases like ‘fuggeddaboudit,’ and ‘ba-da-bing!’ And they often talked about ‘needing to see this guy,’ or ‘having to take care of that thing.’ But despite the fact that they revered Robert DiNiro, and may have harbored dreams of being known by a nickname like “extreme unction,” the most serious crime any of them may ever have committed was betting on the Red Sox late in September.

When these local heros weren’t talking about ‘this guy,’ or ‘that thing,’ though, the conversation tended to stray toward food; often, toward Chicken Scarpariello. This was a hot dish—literally, and figuratively—during my years in Boston. And the folks often debated the qualities of one preparation over another. The talk often centered around the merits of Cantina d’Italia’s recipe, that included sausage, over Felicia’s, that didn’t. Sausage or not, though, Chicken Scarpariello is the kind of dish that would please any wise guy because it encourages eating with a fork in one hand an a torn-off piece of crusty bread in the other; the latter, used for sopping up the sauce, and for punctuating various exclamations of ‘fuggeddaboudit,’ or ‘ba-da-bing.’

The short version of the history of Chicken Scarpariello, ‘shoemaker’s-style’, is that it was named for the humble fellow who cobbled together the ingredients for the dish from his meager pantry. How it became a wise guy favorite is more obscure, and very likely lost to history. But I suggest that when you serve Chicken Scarpariello at home, the dinner table conversation will become animated and rise a decibel or two above normal. And will you and your fellow diners enjoy it? Fuggeddaboudit.

Skip’s Chicken Scarpariello
Chicken, Shoemaker’s-Style
Excerpted from my second cookbook, “Almost Italian.”

Ingredients:

2 ½ — 3 Lb. Frying chicken cut into 8 pieces
4 Tbs. Olive oil
4 Cloves garlic, peeled, and sliced thinly
1 Cup dry white wine (Pinot Grigio or Verdicchio are popular choices)
6 – 8 hot cherry peppers, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1 14 oz. Can chicken broth (preferably low sodium)
4 Tbs. Flat-leaf Italian parsley
2 Tbs. Unsalted butter
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Six Links sweet Italian sausage, cut into 1 in. chunks (optional)
4 Tbs. Flat-leaf Italian parsley

Preparation:

Season the chicken pieces on all sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, then add the olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, being careful not to let the garlic burn.

Add the chicken pieces to the sauté pan without crowding. Do this step in batches if necessary. Cook the chicken pieces, turning occasionally, until they’re golden brown all over; about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and reserve on a plate, covering them with aluminum foil.

Raise the heat to high, and add the wine. Boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen any bits of chicken that may have caramelized on the bottom of the pan, for about 2 minutes. Add the cherry peppers, chicken broth, parsley, and butter. Allow the mixture to return to the boil, then stir in the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.

Lower the heat to the simmer, return the chicken to the pan, and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. For a real wise guy presentation, add the sausage at this point too.

To Serve

Remove the chicken (and optional sausage) pieces to a platter, cover with the sauce and garnish with the parsley. Serve with plenty of Italian bread for sopping up the sauce.

Serves four

Skip Lombardi is the author of two cookbooks: “La Cucina dei Poveri: Recipes from my Sicilian Grandparents,” and “Almost Italian: Recipes from America’s Little Italys.” He has been a Broadway musician, high-school math teacher, software engineer, and a fledgeling blogger. But he has never let any of those pursuits get in the way of his passion for cooking and eating. Visit his Web site to learn more about his cookbooks: skiplombardi.com skiplombardi.com. For comments or questions, e-mail at mailto:info@skiplombardi.com info@skiplombardi.com

Can drinking green tea really enhance fertility?

Now that’s the one-hundred-thousand dollar question! There’s
a lot of conflicting opinions and research results
pertaining to that subject. We’ll try to be fair and present
both sides of the issue.

Any tea made from the Camellia sinensis bush contains
caffeine. On the bright side of the teapot, green tea has
only one-sixth to one-tenth of the amount of caffeine that a
similar amount of regular coffee contains.

For those of us who are trying to watch our caffeine intake,
that’s a good deal. If you need a caffeine fix though, green
tea isn’t going to give you what you’re looking for. Better
start looking for the nearest Starbucks.

How can drinking green tea increase fertility?

A study done by the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program
in Oakland, California revealed that the chances of
conceiving doubled for woman who daily drank more than one-
half cup of green tea containing caffeine (American Journal
of Public Health, 1998). Because this wasn’t the case for
the other tested caffeinated beverages, caffeine wasn’t
deemed the causing agent. Some credit was given to the
possibility that the polyphenols and hypoxanthine, compounds
found in tea, resulted in a greater number of viable
embryos, and increased maturation and fertilizability of
oocytes.

Another conclusion of this study was that the healthy
lifestyle of many green tea drinkers, such as regular
exercise and decreased smoking and fat intake, might also
play a role in the enhanced fertility levels of the test
subjects.

How can drinking green tea decrease fertility?

Tannic acids, an element found in green tea, have been shown
to cause fertility problems and greater chances at
miscarrying.

While not an “initial” fertility situation, rumor has it
that EGCG, the main disease-fighting antioxidant known as
catechins in green tea that have been found to impede the
growth of tumors, might also effect the blood vessel growth
of a developing embryo.

Another post-fertility issue related to an excessive intake
of green tea involves the increased rate of birth defects.

Past studies have concluded that coffee consumption
increases the risk of miscarriages and that caffeine intake
enhances the negative effects of alcohol intake on
fertility. While not directly related to green tea, caffeine
is the potential cause of such problems.

Should I or shouldn’t I drink green tea for fertility
issues?

The best advice that we can give you is something you’ve
heard before. Check with your doctor first. Do your
homework. Then and only then can you make a truly educated
and well-informed decision about a very delicate issue.
Whatever you decide, we wish you the best of luck in your
quest for that new addition to your family. Cheers…

REQUIREMENTS FOR REPRINT: You have permission to publish this article free of charge in your e-zine, newsletter, ebook, print publication or on your website ONLY if it remains unchanged and
you include the copyright and author information (Resource Box) at the end. You may not use this article in any unsolicited commercial email (spam)
Copyright: 2005 Vaughn Balchunas

*****************************************************************************
Vaughn Balchunas is a writer and publisher of health, and self-growth articles.
For more information about tea and health go to:

The actual idea for the stove-top espresso maker came from a simple washing machine. During the 1920s Alfonso Bialetti observed the local women of Crusinallo washing their clothes in a sealed boiler with a small central pipe. This pipe would draw up the soapy water from the bottom of the boiler and redistribute it over the laundry. Alfonso Bialetti hit upon the idea that he could adapt this washing machine and scale it down to make a simple coffee maker that would allow Italians to enjoy real ‘espresso type’ coffee in their private homes.

Alfonso Bialetti began tinkering away, building various prototypes. His prototype stove-top espresso makers were manufactured out of aluminium. This was due to there being an embargo imposed by Mussolini’s government on stainless steel. As Italy had a rich source of bauxite (aluminium ore), aluminium became the ‘National Metal’ of Italy.

It was not until 1933, after solving many technical problems, that Alfonso Bialetti invented the world’s first stove-top espresso maker; the Moka Express. The distinctive design and octagonal shape of the Moka Express was based on a silver coffee service, popular at the time in wealthy Italian homes. Alfonso Bialetti claimed of his Moka Express that “without requiring any ability whatsoever” one could enjoy “in casa un espresso come al bar” – an espresso in the home just like in a bar (coffeehouse).

Alfonso Bialetti began selling his Moka Express at local, and later regional markets, managing to make and sell around 10,000 units per year. It was not until after WWII, when Alfonso’s son Renato Bialetti joined the family business that sales of the Moka Express really took off. Renato Bialetti realised the potential of the Moka Express and launched a major national advertising campaign. This risk was greatly rewarded, with increased sales, production levels had to be raised to a rate of around 1,000 units per day. The Bialetti Moka Express soon became the market leader in Italy, suppassing sales of the traditional ‘Neopolitan’ percolator style coffeemaker, in which brewing occurs without pressure. Not only did the Moka Express produce ‘espresso type’ coffee, which Italians adored, it was also brewed coffee much quicker then its rivals.

Many companies saw the success the Moka Express was enjoying and copied the design to manufacture their own version of the stove-top espresso maker. This is why, in 1953 Renato Bialetti came up with the idea of adding a company mascot to every Moka Express to help promote the brand identity that is Bialetti. He used a caricature of his father Alfonso Bialetti to invent the ‘Omino Con I Baffi’ – little man with a moustache. This mascot proved popular as it created an image of an Italian father or fond elder relative who had lived their life in the coffeehouse.

The design of the Moka Express has hardly changed in over 70 years of manufacturing. Aluminium is still used to this day, as it is claimed that the residue of coffee from the previous brews, that taints the sides of a Moka pot, adds flavour and depth to future brews. This is why it is recommended that you do not clean your Moka Express too thoroughly.

Bialetti, now the world leader in the manufacture of domestic coffee makers, still strives to offer “in casa un espresso come al bar”. With the improvement in espresso machines in coffeehouses, Bialetti has sought to develop new technologies, creating new stove-top espresso maker models. They now produce: stainless steel models, such as the Venus; an electric model, the Moka Easy; a new pressure system, the Brikka – which produces a ‘crema’ top on your coffee; and now a stove-top cappuccino maker, the Mukka Express.

James Grierson is the owner of Galla Coffee: gallacoffee.co.uk gallacoffee.co.uk – Uk online retailer of designer coffee accessories.
Through the Coffee Knowledge section of his website he aims to help people understand more about coffee and give them tips on how to make great tasting coffee in their home.

Check out gallacoffee.co.uk/acatalog/Coffee_Knowledge.html gallacoffee.co.uk/acatalog/Coffee_Knowledge.html for more articles or if you have a question send it to: mailto:coffeeknowledge@gallacoffee.co.uk coffeeknowledge@gallacoffee.co.uk

Sot Suppe

6 cups water

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (depending upon how well you like the taste of cinnamon; you can also use a cinnamon stick)

2 cups dried fruit (use any kind you like: apples, apricots, peaches or a mixture of dried fruit)

1 cup raisins (dark or golden)

1 cup dried prunes

1 tablespoon lemon juice (you can also use 1 teaspoon of dried lemon rind or several slices of fresh lemon)

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, tapioca, cinnamon and water. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Stir in fruit (including the lemon if you’re using sliced lemon) and heat to boiling again. Cover. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the fruit is tender.

After the fruit is tender, if you’re using lemon juice, stir in the lemon juice (or teaspoon of dried lemon rind). Serve either cold or warm, depending upon your preference. If you use a sliced lemon, remove the lemon rind before serving.

For a light afternoon ‘Norwegian’ lunch (after hiking, sledding, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing), serve sweet soup with Julekake or Christmas bread, Christmas cookies, open-faced sandwiches, and a variety of sliced cheeses.

Sweet Soup also is good served cold on a hot summer day.

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is a freelance writer for two newspapers in west central Wisconsin, is the editor of the Wisconsin Regional Writer (the quarterly publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Assoc.) and is the author of the book, Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm) (Aug. 2003); trade paperback. For more information about Christmas In Dairyland, visit ruralroute2.com” target=”_new ruralroute2.com

mailto:bigpines@ruralroute2.com bigpines@ruralroute2.com

This can be heavy hors d’ oeuvres, sit-down meals, beautiful buffets and stations, beverages, cappuccino bars and other event planning. This can involve on-site cooking of some of the food using your kitchen space and oven, to setting up a temporary kitchen on site to prepare your meals. You have a full wait staff to set up the entire event and to tend to you and your guests needs during this special occasion. The staff will take down and clean up, and they should even take away the trash. They will work closely with your hired professional vendors to ensure that your event is perfect.

Private Catering Events at a Restaurant:

Many restaurants can offer you private use of their facility – often called a “buy-out”. They will close their restaurant during their regular hour for a price. Remember that they will turn away all business that would come their way, and there for patrons will go elsewhere for the evening. The price is usually expensive, but if it is your favorite place, what a better way to celebrate. You can bring in your own entertainment, floral and décor or let them take care of it all. You can do as much or as little as you would like. Show up, have a wonderful time, and go home with no extra work on your part.

Pick-up and Drop Offs:

Food that is mostly self-service. Many places will offer their popular items, hors d’ oeuvres or entrees, that can be picked up by you or delivered to the party site. You may consider hiring an outside service staff to assist you, or ask family and friends to help serve and clean up. The food can come ready to serve on platters or may require chafing dishes to keep them hot. Some caterers offer appetizers that are best when cooked right before serving and they can even supply you with the simple cooking instructions. This is a very cost effective way to cater, and the size of your event can dictate if this is really a practical way to go.

Meet with A Caterer!

Plan at least six months to one year before your wedding to begin planning. Look for caterers who are members of catering associations. By being a member they surround themselves with professionals and industry leaders. You need a professional who is constantly educating themselves to provide you the client, with the most up to date menu, trends and ideas to create the best event possible.

View their portfolio and see the style of their work. Many will create a proposal for you, based on your menu selection and style of catering service. There should be no charge for this service, and you should be able to change, add or delete items up until at least one month before your event. Of course this can affect the price. If this is an off-premise event, meet with the caterer at the site and discuss your vision for the location. Call a rental company to come out as well, to make sure your proposal is as accurate as possible. If you are comparing catering companies, please make sure you are comparing the style of service and menu selection. One caterer is not offering you drop off food in foil pans and the other is offering you a full service catering event with a 5-course meal and full staffing!

Once you receive the proposal make sure everything you asked for is included and you understand what is presented. Upon agreeing to the terms and conditions of the catering service a deposit is due to confirm their services with you for that day. The number of events a caterer does in one day varies with each event, guest count, style of service and the menu. You want to find someone who is not looking to be the busiest – only the best!

Valerie Vollmer has been an off premise caterer for over 20 years. Is one of only 175 CPCE (Certified Professional Catering Executives) in the US. National Association of Catering Executives – 2nd National Vice President

Instead of cooking lunch, one good solution is to cook more food the night before when you are cooking dinner. If you are having ribs or chicken for dinner, make a little extra so you can have it for lunch the next day. It doesn’t take any extra time and with convenience of a microwave your lunch will be ready in no time. In fact, ribs and chicken can also be just as tasty cold.

Another good idea is to do most of the cooking on days when you have more time. You can take one day and prepare some foods that will provide good lunches for you all week.

Chicken

Buy a whole chicken, clean it and boil. You can use it to make chicken salad to stuff into a bell pepper or tomato. You can also slice the chicken to make deli style lunch meat. Wrap it up in a piece of romaine lettuce with some mayonnaise. Yummy.

If you want to get a little more fancy you can wrap some ham around some Swiss cheese, then wrap the chicken slices around the ham and heat it in a microwave. It’s a great low carb cordon bleu. You’ll feel like you’re dining with royalty.

You can also buy packages of chicken legs and wings and fry them up with no breading. The skin gets crunchy and tasty. These make great grab and go snacks and lunches.

Ham

Boil a ham and slice it. This will be good for making ham and cheese roll-ups. You can also dice up some of the ham for omelette’s in the morning or ham salad that you can heap on pork rinds.

Beef

By a large roast beef and cook it in the oven. Slice it up deli style. Wrap this meat around cheese for a quick and easy lunch.

For a real treat top these roast beef slices with some previously sautéed peppers, onions and mushrooms then top it with Swiss cheese. Heat that in a microwave until the cheese melts. Your tummy will be so happy when you dine on these tasty low carb Philly cheese steaks.

You can get a corned beef and boil it. You can have corned beef and cabbage one night for dinner and slice up the rest deli style for great lunches the rest of the week. Top the slices with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and some low carb Thousand Island dressing and you have a great low carb Reuben sandwich. (Diet ketchup mixed into some mayonnaise with some low carb dill relish makes a good low carb Thousand Island dressing).

Fish and Seafood

Get cans or convenient pouches of tuna. Add a little mayonnaise to the tuna with some low carb dill relish and stuff that in a half of a bell pepper or a half of a tomato. Split the top of the tomato into quarters so it falls open and easily holds the tuna. Try it with salmon, too.

Add some mayonnaise and a little chopped celery to canned shrimp or crab (check the carb counts – for some reason the leading brands seem to think we want sugar in our seafood). Take the seed out of a half of an avocado and stuff the shrimp or crab salad into the remaining whole. Delicious!

Even Faster Alternatives

Use processed foods minimally. They have chemicals that you don’t need. Don’t let the deli counter fool you. Most of those are processed, too and many contain sugars that add to the carb count. It’s best to boil or roast your own meats and fowl.

But if you are in a real big hurry, an occasional visit to the deli won’t hurt. You can purchase deli meats and wrap them around cheese slices for a very satisfying lunch without having to cook.

Even less desirable are the cans of meats and packages of lunch meats and cold cuts. These are handy when you know you are not going to be where you can get to any other low carb food. You can keep a couple cans of Vienna sausages in your car or at your desk for those situations.

Summary

The ideas presented here can be done in a few hours total and provide great lunches and even quick dinners all week long. On the day when you do the main cooking, you will also want to chop any veggies you might need for the week and clean some lettuce so it’s ready to go. Take your lunch to work in one of those lunch bags that keep things cold. It’s even easier if you are at home. Just reach in the fridge and start munching – low carb style.

That reminds me, it’s almost lunch time!

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to cooking-guides.com/ Cooking

Here are some top tips for planning your catering.

Choose your caterer well in advance and shop for items you need to purchase, to ensure availability.

The best caterers are usually recommended or are located within the venue you are using and word of mouth is a good indication of quality.

Discuss all of your event plans with your caterer, so that they really get involved. Study their suggested menus, wine lists and bar prices. Good advice here is to always use the same company for catering and the bar.

When visiting a restaurant at a venue, consider the menu, the food, the service, table decor, ambience and lighting, sound systems, disabled facilities and access, fire exits and general security, location of cloakrooms and toilets. Find out about bar times, staff to guest ratios, staff experience, breakfast, hygine procedures, recycling policy, consumption controls and corkage charges.

An unannounced visit to the venue (or the caterer if mobile) should give you a good indication of their standards. Are people who are eating the food enjoying it? A request to visit the kitchen area is again, a good pointer towards the capabilities of the caterers.

The quality of food on the day should always reflect the quality of a tasting session. If it does not, then you can take this issue up with the caterer, although we hope you will not need to do this!

Stock taking (particularly on bottles of wine) is a very good idea. Do this before and after the event and have the caterer join in with you and sign. The last thing you want is your budget blown!

If you take all of this valuable advice into consideration when planning your catering, you should have a memorable event on your hands! Good luck!

]]> http://blog.foodrevo.com/planning-the-catering/feed/ 0 http://blog.foodrevo.com/planning-the-catering/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FoodrevoBlog/~3/1CHo2qS39xw/ http://blog.foodrevo.com/chicken-and-dumplings/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:55:00 +0000 admin http://localhost/wpready/?p=12095 This recipe is considered a comfort food in our family. It is a great warming food in the winter, but we really like it year round. You could always use Bisquick for the dumplings if you don’t want to make the dumplings from scratch.

For the chicken:

1 whole chicken

2 stalks celery

1 carrot

1 medium onion

several sprigs parsley and thyme

salt and pepper

For the Dumplings:

2 cups self-rising flour (or 2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 tea. salt 2 tea. baking powder 1/2 tea. baking soda)

5 T. Crisco

3/4 c. fat free buttermilk

For the chicken: Pressure cook the chicken with celery, carrots, onions, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper over medium heat for 25 minutes (or simmer partly covered for 2 hours). Cool and debone, reserving all of the broth and chicken and discarding everything else. If you have time, you can refrigerate it and let the fat come to the top and discard.

For the dumplings. Put flour in a bowl. Add Crisco and cut in with a pastry cutter or fork, combining well until the mixture resembles course meal. Add enough buttermilk so the mixture comes together and knead well.

Bring 1/2 the chicken and broth to a simmer. Add small balls of the dough, maybe 1″ around. Cover and simmer 15 minutes without opening lid. Serve, sprinkled with parsley for garnish. Use remaining chicken for another dish.

Chemically, caffeine is an alkaloid belonging to the class of organic compounds called methylxanthines chiefly derived from plants. Coffee and caffeine act as potent stimulants. Caffeine contained in coffee particularly stimulates the central nervous system (brain), skeletal muscles of the heart and the respiratory systems as well as delays fatigue. So that is why you feel so refreshed and revitalized after sipping into your cup of Joe!

Coffee and caffeine variations boosts up your senses imparting a soothing effect to your frayed nerves at any point of time! The amount of caffeine actually varies according to the coffee beans and coffee blends. An Espresso is a concentrated form of coffee so you can expect a higher caffeine content in an espresso that’s all the more punching and refreshing!

Caffeine has a characteristicly strong and bitter taste. This bitterness adds the punch to coffee that gives you a high and helps you feel so relaxed! However, as too much of everything is bad for health so also loads of coffee and caffeine can have serious negative impacts on your overall health. So you need to restrict your caffeine intake to healthy limits.

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

Randy has more articles on coffee and coffee beans at ultimate-coffees-info.com Ultimate Coffee Information such as ultimate-coffees-info.com/coffee-colonics.html Are Coffee Colonics the Real Thing?.

The Mittelrhein is castle country. It starts just south of the former West German capital of Bonn and follows the Rhein River for about 60 miles (100 kilometers). The area was named a World Cultural Heritage site in 2002. It contains some of Germany’s steepest vineyards, in effect some of the steepest vineyards in the world. This is a problem; the shortage of farm workers who are willing to break their backs on these slopes is probably the major reason that Mittelrhein vineyard acreage has shrunk almost by half in the last forty years. This region now ranks 11th out of the 13 German wine regions for vineyard area and 12th for total wine production. About three quarters of its wine is Riesling, quite a good sign. In fact, after the Rheingau region, the Mittelrhein has the highest percentage of Riesling in Germany. Less than 2% of Mittelrhein wine is low-quality table wine, almost 60% medium-quality QbA wine, and almost 40% higher-quality QmP wine. The yield per acre is also one of the lowest in Germany, which is also a good sign.

Koblenz, population slightly over one hundred thousand, is a real river town. It is situated on both banks of the Rhine River and on the Moselle River. The rivers’ meeting point is known as the Deutsches Eck (German Corner). In addition to these two magnificent rivers there are three mountain ranges and a third river, the Lahn not far away. The name Koblenz means confluence or merging rivers.

Koblenz recently celebrated its two-thousandth anniversary. During the Middle Ages Koblenz took advantage of its strategic location to control both Rhine and Mosel trade. Most of the city is situated on the west bank of the Rhine. On the east bank, facing the city, is Festung Ehrenbreitstein, Europe’s largest fortress after Gibraltar. This fortress sits on a mountain four hundred feet above the river. No wonder that the site has been fortified for over three thousand years. We are happy that Festung Ehrenbreitstein was not destroyed as it passed from one country to another during many wars. It now hosts a youth hostel and a museum.

Among the old town sights to see are the Pfaffendorfer Bridge, the Weindorf, a wine village constructed in the 1920s for a giant German wine exhibition, the Rheinanlagen (Rhein Gardens), a 6 mile (10 kilometer) river promenade, and the mid-Ninth Century St. Kastor Kirche (St. Castor Church) which, shortly after its foundation, was the site of the Treaty of Verdun that divided Charlemagne’s empire into what would become Germany and France. The Schaengel is a famous statue of a boy who spits water.

Before reviewing the Mittelrhein wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region.
Start with Hinkelsdreck (Chicken Liver Paté).
For your second course enjoy Wildschwein Sauerbraten (Wild Boar Sauerbraten-Marinated Meat).
As a dessert indulge yourself with Feigenmus (Fig Purée).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Toni Jost Riesling Kabinett 2004 9.5% alcohol about $20

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. From the little-known-in-our-market Mittelrhein region comes this superb Riesling. There is pronounced varietal character here with special emphasis on peach, apricot and floral notes (particularly lilac). It is off-dry with very good fruit notes surrounded by crisp acid tones. Light- to medium-bodied, this long-finishing wine would be an excellent match for Thai spicy noodle dishes, crab legs or scallops in a saffron cream sauce.

My first pairing was with a commercial chicken pot pie perked up by a spicy Jalapeno-based salsa. The wine was quite acidic and lemony with some taste of apple as well. The wine was very flavorful; a little bit went a long way. Frankly this Riesling was too good for such a pedestrian meal. Dessert was a slice of top of the line chocolate mousse cake that suffered somewhat by being too sweet. The cake was too sweet for the wine. I had the feeling that the wine and the cake were fighting. In the end the wine emerged as the winner; it was only a little injured.

My next trial involved a home made barbecued chicken marinated in a sweet and sour Thai sauce. The side dish was a specialty of the local supermarket, roasted potatoes cooked in chicken fat, reheated in foil on the barbecue. Yummy. To complete the meal I barbecued Portabello mushrooms and slices of red pepper. The entire meal was a great match for the Reisling. The wine was light (but far from weak), refreshing, and pleasantly acidic. I loved the meat’s grease – I removed most but not all of the skin. And I loved the way the wine cut the meat’s grease. The Riesling’s fruit intensified when matched with the sweet barbecued red pepper. I tasted a lot of apple and lemon.

The final meal consisted of an omelet with tasty local Asiago cheese, green and black Greek olives, and grape tomatoes. The wine had a gossamer quality and an excellent balance of acidity, sugar, and fruit, mostly lemon. That was the wine. It overwhelmed the omelet, which essentially added nothing to the mix in spite of the relatively strong cheese. Not surprisingly the wine did better with the acidic grape tomatoes than with the salty olives. As is my policy, I never blame the wine for an unorthodox food pairing that just doesn’t make it. I finished the meal with a high-quality but oversweet chocolate ice-cream bar. The sugar weakened the wine and made it taste sour. But I waited a few minutes and finished the final sips without any food. And this wine was as good as it had ever been.

I paired this wine with two imported cheeses, a German Edam and a French Camembert. The Edam was soft and buttery. In its presence the Riesling was pleasantly acidic with a lot of fruit. The French Camembert was probably past its prime. At the first sip, the Riesling seemed a bit weaker than in previous tastings, but later on the wine managed to hold its own.

Final verdict. I am really a fan of this wine and plan to buy it again. However, I won’t want to waste its power and delicacy on pairing it with the wrong foods.

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine German or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His major wine website is theworldwidewine.com theworldwidewine.com theworldwidewine.com and his major article website is travelitalytravel.com travelitalytravel.com travelitalytravel.com .