Summer Wines

Most people eschew wines in the summer. They feel that a good beer or mixed drink goes better with  barbecue or pool party fare. However this is not true. There are plenty of good vintages that are excellent with grilled meats or salads. It's just a matter of picking the right one.

Barbecues consist of grilling mostly red meats. Everything from thick juicy steaks to quarter pounders are served. A great mate to these , even for burgers is a red Zinfandel. It's a bold zesty wine that compliments the meat's flavor with it's acidity and pepperiness. Another that works well with ribs and chicken is a Merlot.Its' fruitiness complements both beef and poultry. If you're serving fish or burgers then open a bottle of Pinot Noir.. Other good reds are Shiraz which goes well with saucy barbecues. If you're serving shrimp or grilled veggies then think about the German white Reisling.

Even wines can go well with salads.If you're making the ultra chic salad Nicoise then think about pairing it with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc It'll hold up well with the brininess of the anchovies and the tuna and the acidity of the tomatoes.It can also be great with a delicate seafood salad too A chicken Caesar salad calls for sweet Beaujolais. This wine is an extremely food friendly kind so you could also try it with a Cobb or chef salad.Spinach salad , a summer fave, can go with another popular one, the Pouilly Fume .It's gooseberry and smoky taste works well with th espinach leaves muskiness.Also try it with a Muscadet too.

Don;t be afraid to serve wine with your summer meals.Any bottle is perfect with a delicious grilled meat or cool salad. Try one to liven up warm weather dining and to bring out the flavors of good cooking.

Provincial Picnics

Summer is the time for picnics.It's always fun to eat en pleine air as the French would say and what better than to add a Gallic twist to a fun outing.There's nothing like a baguette stuff ed with good meats and cheese, along with crudites. Add some cider or sparkling water , bring pillows and have une pique-nique worthy of Provence.

Sandwiches are a must for any picnic. Bring a crusty , light baguette instead of the usual boring white bread. it's delicious when cut into long slices and slaterhered with pate and cornichons. If you cant;get a good pate, sub in liverwurst mixed with a little brandy. You can also spoon tuna in olive oil on slices as well for a kind of Nicoise . Also layer on sliced roasted peppers and tomatoes and some olives too. Another treat is pissaladeire  Provencal pizza. This is usually premade but you can take an already made focaccio and top with chopped anchovies andblack olives along with  , caramelized onions that can be quicky made that morning.

Salad and fruit are vital parts of any good French picnic.  You can make a simple salad with a classic vinaigrette but instead of olive oil, try walnut oil or huille de noille. It's very popular in Southwestern France and usually drizzled over endive and Crumbled Roquefort cheese. Provence also yields up the famed salade Nicoise which is chock full of tuna and anchovies along with a host of veggies and greens. Fruit and cheese are musts and nicely finish off a piqué nique. Try cold plums or sliced strawberries. You can serve both with a creamy Brie or Camembert along with crackers. you even top the berries with the Brie. A French style picnic is a great way to celebrate the warm weather. Pack a few baguettes ,some anchovies or pate , fruit and a good creamy cheese.These are the perfect foods for a summer outing .Their flavors are reminiscent of a lovely meal in a beautiful country.

Plums Rediscovered

There's nothing that says summer quite like a plump juicy plum. It's flavor is sweeter than any candy and it;s just fun to bite into. Another version of it, the prune is another great treat(don't smirk, it really is!)

I love plums any time of year, but especially now during the hot weather. I think it;s because of my grandfather planted a plum tree in our backyard and every summer we had deep purple Italian plums. These are smaller than the ones we get today in the supermarket but just as sweet. To me they were better than any ice cream or cookie.They still are. There's nothing like a chilled one for dessert with iced tea or seltzer.Better yet plums don't need embellishment like cream as strawberries do or be dipped in caramel like apples and pears. Because their taste is just perfectly satisfying, they're just good on their own. One caveat though, once you eat one, you'll want another.They can be a bit strong on the stomach  but that's it.

Dried plums or prunes are another treat. Yes, they are used as a laxative and are the drink of choice by most old people. Yet the taste is like that of a ripe plum, sweet, mellow and earthy. Surprisingly one famed soft drink is made with prune juice  and that is Dr. Pepper. You can make your own with eighty percent juice to twenty percent (just a splash ) of seltzer. The taste is the same without all the extra added corn syrup. Another treat is Sunsweet, Plum Bits. Sunsweet has long been the distributor of prunes and has even campagined to change the name to dried plums. They;ve come up with an addictive snack - dried plum but dipped in dark chocolate. These are the greatest and one of the most healthiest treats for you.Instead of reaching for other candies have these.A bag will be gone in a day.

Instead of the usual summer berries and melons try plums and prunes instead. They are a wonderful treat whether in fruit or juice form for a summer day.Rediscover their earthy, sweetness as a true warm weather snack.


Happy Bastille Days to all my French and francophile fooie readers. Bon fete toute le personne!

Apple Update

Is there anything more perfect than an apple.It's not only sweet and delicious  but full of vitamins and antioxidants. Unfortunately there are some people who don't think that way . They want to alter and genetically change it? Why? Because after millennia of being accepted the way it is , scientists want it to improve it.

This was the subject of an article in today's New York Times Business section. The piece written by Andrew Pollack tells of scientists want to create an apple that doesn't spoil. Doing this requires genetic modification. On one level it would be perfect. People usually buy only one or two apples nowadays for fear of buying several will result in rotten fruit. An apple that keeps its'' freshness means more shoppers will buy more of the fruit, Since apple sales have fallen in the past few years this is a boon to the industry.

Yet it raises the question of genetic alteration. Despite this(and let's face it every kind of food stuff either gets stale or turns brown) the apple is fine left alone. Alter the fruit does change its' taste. it loses that sweet mellowness that makes it tasty. The same is becoming true with corn. There are now varieties of corn that have had their gene sequence rearranged. It results in a super maize however it also makes for a relatively tasteless ear. This is also happening with some strains of squash and tomatoes. These supposedly have a stronger flavor plus more antioxidants in them. I'd like to taste test them to believe these claims.

Should we allow our food to be tampered with? Personally no. I think our fruits and veggies are fine the way they are. I prefer my apples. at 2.0 not 9.0

Zucchini Flowers A Tasty Summer Treat

This is the time of year when zucchini plants are in full blossom.Gardens and even farmers' markets are showing these delicate bright orange blooms.They're an interesting and delicious addition to any summer table. Melissa Clark highlighted them in her A Good Appetite Column in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. Gourmets and Northern Italians have been cooking them for years.They were and are big part of my summer eating .Our family usually makes them two ways ,breaded and fried in butter or dipped in a delicate crepe batter and then fried, again in butter until they are crispy.Ms .Clark serves them raw in a salad or stuffed with mozzarella cheese. Either way is good .Raw squash flowers have a fragile taste ,sweet and slight Y herbal.Their stems are like arugula,spicier with a slight bite.The dressing should be Light.I'm thinking of a simple vinaigrette with just olive oil and red wine vinegar.The other way is fried and stuffed with a kind of mozzarella called bur rata.This is made from buffalo milk and has a creamy inside.Ms. Clark adds anchovies for a briny contrast along with garlic.The blooms are then deep fried in olive oil and Sprinkled with coarse sea salt. Squash flowers are a lovely and colorful addition to a summer table.Experience their delicacy in salads or stuffed and fried.Either way you'll fall for these bright,summery blossoms bursting with flavor.

Camp Haute Cuisine

Camp food ranged from overburned wienies and gooey s'mores to mystery meat and over boiled veggies. Good food always came in care packages from home , However that's all changing .Camp food is now full of good things with healthy and tasty recipes.It's no longer fare to be tossed to the bears.It's actually good stuff.

Camp cuisine was the subject of an article in today's New York Times Dining section. The piece written by Jan Hoffman, explores the cuisine of a few camps. This is a new breed of kiddie camp with nutritionists and chefs who create good, nutritious food for tweens and teens. They are sensitive and cook accordingly to children who have all sorts of allergies and intolerance. This makes the whole experience even more fun for those who previously could not attend sleepover camps because of their limitations. Kids get to cook and bake too, often helping out with kitchen duties.

The food itself is tasty and nutritious. There is fresh baked zucchini bread along with homemade hummus. Salad bars are big with veggies grown on the camp premises and also attended to by the campers. Dressings are low calorie yet tasty and a departure from the usual tween fare of fast food..Breakfast is not  gummy oatmeal or rubber eggs and burnt bacon but buffets laden with wild Columbia River steelhead smoked salon and whitefish salad. Dinner is lemon chicken coated with fresh ground Japanese pangko breadcrumbs.There are still treats such as homemade chocolate chip cookies but they're made with whole wheat flour and othe natural ingredients

Camp fare is changing for the better. Kids are not only learning how to build fires but also to garden and cook as well as bake nutritious and tasty foods.That's better than learning how to rub two sticks together to create fire!

Summer Food Gifts

What do you bring to summer parties? A bottle of wine or cake seems too wintry as does candy. You can take advantage of the warm weather harvests as well as lighter versions of cold weather hostess gifts.These are great for any barbecue or pool party.

Fruit trays are wonderful for any indoor or outdoor soiree. They're not only pretty but liked by almost everyone. A tray full of cut strawberries and melon is not only refreshing but elegant looking on any table. They're also soothing after a dinner of spicy ribs or fiery chicken wings.A fun gift is any kind of berry with either a can of whipped cream or a tub of Cool Whip.Layers these to create tasty and low calorie parfaits for the hosts and guests. Even more fun is bringing a whole watermelon.Everyone loves a sweet ,cool slice to finish after a feast. Ice cream is also a fun gift to bring to a summer party.You can treat everyone to sundaes by bringing not only a tub but also whipped cream ,syrups , nuts and candies.An ice cream cake such as the ones that Friendly's and Baskin Robbins sell.Baskin Robbins also sells mini cones that come twelve to a box.Bring these as a festive end to a get together.Friendly's also has ice cream cupcakes that are another neat hostess treat.If you can make homemade ice cream that's another sweet present that's always appreciated. Bringing sweet cool treats to a summer party are always fun.They're also thoughtful ways of saying thank you when you're invited to a warm weather get together.