Flash in the Pan

There's a thin line between being single-minded and obsessive, and I think Rickmond Wong, publisher of Rameniac, has long slipped, or slurped, past that border. His site is all about ramen noodles, as explains this article in the LA Times. (Thanks to the reader who forwarded that link.)

There are reviews of ramen shops in the US, in Japan, and even reviews of the packaged stuff. Apparently Wong is planning to spend his next vacation bicycling across Japan, eating ramen. You may not be that into the dish - whether you call it ramen or pho, as the Vietnamese do - noodle soup is fabulous (and there's a very pleasant restaurant called Pho in Amherst, Mass serving it). Looking at the words of an aficionado is a good way to pick up tips on making something yourself.

Labels: review, web site

I received a press release mentioning BreadWorld.com, which is owned by the company that makes Fleischmann's brand yeast. I found the phrase "operates the biggest and best website offered by an American yeast company" pretty funny - what, they're outclassed by some European yeast company?

PR mocking aside, I took a look and this is a really interesting site with hundreds of bread recipes, many that you won't find in most bread books. For exmaple, there was a George Washington Birthday bread shaped like a tree and made with cherry preserves. I saw pizza and calzone recipes (I prefer my own dough recipes for these, but what they have will certainly work), some for "healthy and hearty" breads, including one made with all whole wheat flour, sweet dough recipes - enough to keep you busy.

I'd probably make changes here and there. For example, although I often use Fleischmann yeast, I try to avoid the RapidRise, because they put "stuff" into the yeast to get the greater action, and it's not necessary. Instead of milk, I tend to use the powdered skim milk mixed in with the dry ingredients and then additional water, so that, if put together, they'd create the specified amount of milk.

But that's what I'd likely do with many recipes, including varying amounts by feel. In addition to recipes, there are also baking tips and troubleshooting tips when things go wrong. It's worth a visit.

Labels: opinion, review, web site

I got a press release from the Haas (a variety) Avocado Board (a grouping of several trade organizations) about avocado recipes for the holidays. The organization has a web site, which I checked out, although I'm not the biggest fan of the vegetable (or would it be a fruit?) to be found. The recipe in the release was for Holiday Hass Avocado and Au Gratin Potatoes but called for au gratin potato mix, which didn't seem too promising. However, there are some reasonable recipes on the organization's site. Some are better than others, and the range of recipes from the Mexican Hass Avocado people were disappointing in range - salsa or tacos or salad or guacamole. But one like the Avocado Pear-Honey Pastry Rounds appetizer sounded interesting, so take a look and see if there is something that might help you mix things up a bit for a holiday party.

Labels: recipes, web site

I came across Foodreference.com today when a publicist forwarded a note about a listing for my Complete Idiot's Guide to Pizza and Panini. I had never heard of it before, so took a look around. It's an interesting compendium, including food contest listings, book reviews (which seem more like blurbs taken from marketing literature and covers), and even culinary crossword puzzles. There are articles, cooking tips, trivia, and a food history calendar. It's certainly worth a trip to see what might interest you.

Labels: reference, web site

I received an email from a wine writer and sommelier, Natalie MacLean, about her web site. (She did begin this email with, "I enjoy following your stories," a nice bit of flattery, though I suspect goes out to any journalist receiving the email.)

I know of her but don't know her personally, so I went over to her site to see what was going on. Among the other aspects of her site is a wine and food matcher (listed as Food & Wine in the site's menu). You pick either the wine or food, and you get matches. It's a multi-step process, and you're not restricted to the obvious. For example, I first choose snacks, and then picked Oreos. Wine with Oreos? Who's have thought it? Though I remember doing theater in college and the technical crews would often have the cookies with orange juice, so a combination of acid and sweet did work. Ms. MacLean's recommendations? Either Banyuls (a fortified aperitif or dessert wine from the Pyrenees - thanks Wikipedia) or a vintage port. You can then enter the wine into a search engine and get her recent reviews. I did so for Banyuls and found her "Good Value Wines February 2007."

Next, I started over with sparkling wine, picked asti spumante, and got the following recommendations:

• Chocolate Mousse (Light)



• Christmas Pudding



• Fruit Salad



• Lemon Souffle



• Mille Feuilles



• Pavlova

For turkey pot pie? Chianti or Sauvignon Blanc. This isn't going to cover every conceivable food you could think of, but it has a lot of useful pairings for every day eating, and any time you can get a wine pairing for a favorite cookie, it's at least worth a smile. Want to know what goes with Fig Newtons? She says she'll respond to emails from the site.

Labels: food, Natalie MacLean, pairings, web site, wine