Full Gastronomic Tilt

Good Monday morning!

I am still knee deep in papers and tests (two weeks to go!), but after missing last week it is a slippery slope. Food in brief must go on!

~ Funny: xkcd skewers Twitter and the mass hysteria building around swine flu.

~ After a successful trek to the Asheville City Market on Saturday, I had a bunch of super-fresh asparagus straight from Flat Rock and a dozen glorious local eggs to use. What better way to showcase two flavors of spring than with a simple dish? I chose to make Asparagus with Fried Egg and Parmesan, a dish I first saw at Cucina 24 last year. The egg cooked so beautifully, it was inspirational. Avoiding going back to mass-produced eggs if at all possible.

Pretty, yes?

~ As a bit of distraction from my paper, I made granola bars yesterday. While in Atlanta, I watched an episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats where he demo-ed them and (of course) made it look easy. As I have been battling the breakfast question lately - sick of cold cereal and store-bought bars, why not try it?

I checked the Food Network site for the recipe, and scanned the comments, seeing many dissatisfied cooks, for one reason or another. Browsing around, I finally hit on this recipe from Joyful Abode. It worked relatively well, with me substituting the wheat germ with half wheat bran and half ground flax seed, and doing half almonds and half peanuts while reducing the amount of brown sugar by 1/4 cup. Although something toasted up funny which did not appeal to me, overall the bars are tasty.

Next time I might try this recipe from The Kitchen Sink Recipes.

~ This weekend’s wine finds from Appalachian Vintner, both from their Saturday tasting.

Santa Julia Organica Torrontes - An Argentinian white that was fruity and sweet, almost but not quite fizzy. Lots of peach flavor. I drank it by itself, as well as with some (yes, more) risotto. Lovely.

Mas Igneus Barranc Dels Closos - A blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Carignan from Priorat, it has been aged for 3 months in French oak. Full, full, full. And 100% organic. Looking forward to drinking this one.

Oh, and that Folie a Deux 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon I mentioned? AMAZING. It knocked my socks off. My tasting notes are a bit fuzzy, but take my word for it. It’s around $20, which edges into sort-of-pricey land, but if you’re looking for a red to wow some folks, this is it. Look no further.