A Guide to the Mid-Atlantic's Top 5 Wineries Written by Rebecca Bredholt

FOOD   LIFESTYLE:
In an effort to bring more Food, Lifestyle and Music posts to the Cooking Lounge community, CL is now posting articles and recipes from some of its favorite writers, cooks, musicians, artists and friends.


Rebecca Bredholt is the first guest writer on the Cooking Lounge Blog.  
I enjoyed her take on roundtrip. Rebecca touches on food, lodging, travel and of course wine. Doing it in style with roof down on the convertible. With the growing locavore movement, it makes sense that regional wineries would become part of a 'drink local' push. We already see the 'drink local' push with the mushrooming micro-brewery trend.
Enjoy!
Cooking Lounge

A Guide to the Mid-Atlantic's Top 5 Wineries
Just beneath Wine Spectator's radar sit some of the most under-valued Savignon Blancs and Cabernet blends. Here's a guide on enjoying five wineries before they get famous. Fill up the tank and leave D.C. for some tannin-filled crushings worth the trip.
Read More

Pickled Green Beans with Ginger and Lemongrass, New York City Int'l Pickle Day, and Winifred Atwell

SHOULD HAVE POSTED THIS AGES AGO.  ANYWAYS...HERE YA GO. 
FOOD:
Fall has settled in and the lingering bounty of Summer is being harvested and preserved.  A night in late summer that was unusually cool, I hung out with some friends to catch up on True Blood episodes.  My friends, L and M,  are awesome hosts and laid out the munchies for the vampire fest.  Along with the chips and hummus, there were spicy pickled green beans.  


The green beans were firey, crunchy, tangy and slightly salty.  No, did not get the name of the brand because I was caught-up in vampires, shape shifters, zealots and other creatures of the bayou.  But I savored the pickled veg and decided to try my hand at making a quick version for quick consumption.


I have never made a real (keep it on a dark shelf for months) pickle before so the recipe I came up with IS NOT for long-term canning/preserving.  It's a quick pickle, for quick consumption.  They should keep for several weeks in the fridge.  There are a load of websites if you want to get down and get serious with the process.  
Here's a link to one:  National Center for Food Preservation.
What would be very on point is to purchase a product from one of purveyors in this Cooking Lounge post.  And of course, use the recipe below as a guide to make your own.

Pickled Green Beans with Ginger and Lemongrass

3/4 lb Green Beans (trimmed, 5-6 inches long)

1/2 lb Long Beans (trimmed and cut into 6in pieces
1 stalk of Lemongrass (trimmed, peeled and cut into 2 in pieces)
1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger (peeled, sliced and cut into strips)
16oz of White vinegar
1 cup of water
4 Garlic cloves (chopped)
4 or so Cilantro sprigs
2 tablespoon Sea Salt
1 tablespoon Coarse Black Pepper
4 Dried Red Chile  Peppers (broken up)
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 qt Ball mason jar, wide-mouth




In a 5 qt pot ( I used an enameled pot), add vinegar all the ingredients except the long beans and green beans and cilantro.
Bring to simmer.   Add the long beans and green beans.  Cover for 3-5 minutes.  Want them blanched.  Remove from heat.  Drop in cilantro.   Be careful from here on.  Using tongs, pack the beans into the Ball mason jar lengthwise.  Leave some room for the liquid.  Pour all the spices and good stuff in the jar first then top with brine.  Screw on the lid; cool to room temperature.  Let them hang out for a day or two in the refrigerator to absorb the flavors.  Enjoy!  

Please note: Sterilize the Ball jar before using. photos: wbj

MUSIC:

Winifred Atwell was a classically trained pianist who rose to 
fame in Britain and Australia playing Boogie Woogie and 
Ragtime hits. Winifred never broke through in the United States 
because of the social barriers of the era.

Here's a homestyle video, shot with a Flip video camera, of 
NY International Pickle Day 2009.  
The song is "Dill Pickles" with Winifred banging out a jaunty, 
almost vaudevillian ditty.


Enjoy,

Cooking Lounge.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

FOOD:
A quick rundown of some favorite holiday dishes:
Cornbread stuffing with granny smith apples and smoked sausage.
Apple Crisp
Pear Tarte Tartin
Smoked ham with brown sugar, cloves and thyme
ENJOY!!!!!
Cooking Lounge

Lady Gaga "Bad Romance" Visual Storytelling Milestone

MUSIC:
Posting more as you can see but a lot has been music.  Prepping a food post; and now, tweeting about food, music, whatever, as well.  So stay tuned.
  
More music today.  However this post is really about the music video.  
I think Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" is a milestone in visual storytelling for the music video form. "Bad Romance" is dance pop at its best with catchy lines, sexy samples and easy to move to rhythms...all one would expect from a pop phenom; even gives a nod to Gaga's international supremacy with some lyrics in French.  I have not listened to many tracks by Lady Gaga but this music video got me typing.


"Bad Romance" is a moment when many people will take pause at the powerful visuals and the impact of the music video form. However "Bad Romance" is not just arresting visuals.  There is a clear storyline.  Lady Gaga has created an alt-universe to go along with her evolving, manufactured mythology.


Very few music videos have elevated the form and upped the ante for the craft.  Michael Jackson's "Scream" comes to mind as well as Madonna's "Like a Prayer" and more recently Bjork.  Although, I have to say it's Bjork all around artistry rather than a single music video that stands out.  And yes, Lady Gaga has all around artistry whether you like her schtick or not.
Enjoy!
Cooking Lounge

"Empire State of Mind" Jay-Z | Alicia Keys

MUSIC:
Hearing "Empire State of Mind" everywhere.  
People jumping around all over the place on Halloween to this beat.  Days after performed at the World Series' Opening Game at Yankee Stadium,  press is calling "Empire State of Mind", the new anthem of the city.  The song name-checks personal history and collective history of NYC.  Alicia Keys' voice is a beacon on the track along with her jangly pushing of the keys and Jay Z delivering his smooth staccato rap.  
Uplifting, liberating and hopeful in spirit...getting into an "Empire State of Mind."

Enjoy!
Cooking Lounge

THE MINIMALIST - 101 Simple Salads for the Season - New York Times

FOOD:

photo: Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times 

FRESH AND FRESHER Clockwise, from top left: tuna, egg, green beans (No. 56); carrots, blueberries, sunflower seeds (7); croutons, tomatoes, mozzarella (42); walnuts, blue cheese, raspberries (49); couscous, oranges, honey (95); strawberries, tomatoes, Parmesan (13).

Post by Mark Bittman in The Minimalist takes a simple approach to food. Bittman gets to the essence of eating well and guides you through making the dish without being too fussy.With additions of meat, seafood, grain or even another salad, a filling summer meal can be made in well under an hour.  Here's a bit of the post and a link below. It's 101 Simple Salads so the post is lengthy. 

By MARK BITTMAN Published: July 21, 2009.  SUMMER may not be the best time to cook, but it’s certainly among the best times to eat. Toss watermelon and peaches with some ingredients you have lying around already, and you can produce a salad that’s delicious, unusual, fast and perfectly seasonal.  That’s the idea behind the 101 ideas found in this section. In theory, each salad takes 20 minutes or less. Honestly, some may take you a little longer. But most minimize work at the stove and capitalize on the season, when tomatoes, eggplant, herbs, fruit, greens and more are plentiful and excellent. This last point is important. Not everything needs to be farmers’ market quality, but it’s not too much to expect ripe fruit, fragrant herbs and juicy greens.  Salt, to taste, is a given in all of these recipes. Pepper, too (if I want you to use a lot of pepper, I say so).  Herein, then, are enough salad ideas to tide you over until the weather cools down. 
Read More. Get the recipes.


Enjoy!
Cooking Lounge.

Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009

MUSIC:

The Michael Jackson Mix video mash-up by
Eclectic Method is a cutting edge homage to an 
undeniably great performer, the King of Pop.

Enjoy,

Cooking Lounge