Belated Birthday Dinner

Hugh Acheson's Five & Ten in Athens scores again.  Tonight's belated birthday dinner for Donna was a winner.

We started with the stellar housemade pickles (always a STEAL @ $4.00!); tonight's selection included both dilled and bread & butter cucumbers, okra and garlicky carrots.  Followed that up with mussels steamed in Terrapin Ale.  For the main course Edward had striped bass and Donna chose crisp catfish w/ tomato chutney, Red Mule grits, fennel slaw and arugula.  Wines by the glass matched well; Edward had a Burgundy and Donna a Pinot Grigio.

We opted for two cow's milk cheeses instead of dessert: a Sweet Grass Dairy soft ripened camembert and a hard cheese from Virginia.  Donna splurged with a glass of 2005 Chateau Roumieu-Lacoste "Cuvee Leon" Sauterne.

Overall, a yummy meal.  Edward took photos with his iPhone, perhaps he'll figure out how to post them at some point?

Oh, I almost forgot the lead-off Tanqueray Ten martinis!

Donna Posting for Edward

Edward says he can't get this to work. It is confusing that apparently, as a contributor to this blog, his access is not the same as mine. Let's see what happens when I try. Here is the nice shrimp salad Edward made for lunch when we got back from the farmers' market today. Very flavorful tomato, but we forgot what kind. We'll try harder from now on.

Oh, the Humanity!

I can't quite figure out my fascination, but I do enjoy a good disaster book.  I used to think I must have died in a fire in some past life, or maybe in a shipwreck.  I think my interest is based in the combination of the surprise, the freakishness, the impact, the courage and strength and the learning process these stories of natural and man-made disasters relate.  “Oh, the humanity!”

Here is a list of some of the disaster books I’ve read over the years, in no real order, but I have tried to list at the top the ones I think are the best written and/or the most interesting.  I’ve listed two novels at the end; they’re both good.  I’d love to hear what anyone else thinks.

Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History, by Erik Larson -- Unnamed hurricane, Galveston, TX, 1900

Circus Fire, by Stewart Onan -- 1944 circus tent fire, Hartfort, Connecticutt

Dark Tide: The Great Molasses Flood of 1919, by Stephen Puleo -- Molasses storage tank collapse in Boston

Last Man Out, by Melissa Fay Greene -- Mining disaster killed 75 men in Nova Scotia in 1958; Governor of GA invited 19 rescued and their families to Jekyll Island, not knowing some were African Americans

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, by John M. Barry -- 1918 flu epidemic

The Winecoff Fire: The Untold Story of America’s Deadliest Hotel Fire, by Sam Heys and Allen B. Goodwin -- Deadly 1946 hotel fire on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, GA

Firestorm at Peshtigo, by Denise Gess & William Lutz -- 1871 fires around Lake Michigan, simultaneous to Chicago’s great fire

Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean, by Les Standiford -- 1935 hurricane, FL Keys

Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy, by John C. Esposito -- Nightclub fire in Boston in 1942 killed nearly 500

Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum, by Edward T. O’Donnell -- 1904 fire onboard pleasure boat in the East River, New York City

The Sinking of the Eastland, by Jay Bononsinga -- Pleasure boat capsized in 1915 in Chicago River, killing 844

Curse of the Narrows, by Laura M. MacDonald -- 1917 explosion of the Monte Blanc, loaded with 2,925 tons of explosives, in Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Sultana Tragedy, by Jerry O. Potter -- 1865 steamboat fire that killed over 1,800 on the Mississippi River

Wreck of the Medusa:The Tragic Story of the Death Raft, by Alexander McKee -- 1816 wreck of a French frigate

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, by Nathaniel Philbrick -- Shipwreck that was somewhat the basis for Moby Dick

Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938, by R. A. Scotti -- Hurricane hit New England between the two World Wars

Triangle: The Fire That Changed America, by David Von Drehle -- The 1911 New York City factory fire, the resulting trial and labor movement

To Sleep With the Angels: The Story of a Fire, by David Cowan & John Kuenster -- 1958 fire at Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago killed 92 students and three nuns

City on Fire: The Explosion That Devastated a Texas Town and Ignited a Historic Legal Battle, by Bill Minutaglio -- French freighter carrying ammonium nitrate exploded in Texas City, Texas harbor in 1947; killed nearly 600 people

Saved!: The Story of the Andrea Doria, the Greatest Sea Rescue in History, by William Hoffer -- 1956 collision of the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm

Fire at Sea: The Mysterious Tragedy of the Morro Castle, by Thomas Gallagher -- 1934 cruise ship fire

When the Dancing Stopped: The Real Story of the Morro Castle Disaster and Its Deadly Wake, by Brian Hicks -- 1934 cruise ship fire

Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire, by John N. Maclean -- 1994 wildfire ultimately cost $4.5 million and the lives of 14 firefighters

The 100 Greatest Disasters of All Time, by Stephen J. Spignesi

Gales of November, by Robert J. Hemming -- 1975 sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior

Triangle, by Katherine Weber (fiction) -- Triangle factory fire

Uprising, by Margaret Peterson (fiction) -- Triangle factory fire

Farmers' Market July 31, 2010

What will Edward find @ the Athens Farmers' Market this morning?

Well I went too and we came back with:

• zephyr squash
• shelled pink-eyed peas
• hot banana pepper
• okra
• Indian eggplant
• suyo long cucumber
• heirloom tomatoes
• sweet peppers
• bintje potatoes
• 1,000 Faces Toaroo Toraja (Indonesian) coffee beans

But for all that, we're eating out tonight (another belated birthday celebration)!  Where shall we go?  Five & Ten?  The National?  Farm 255?  I'll let you know what we decide.

Belated Birthday Presents

Here it is Friday and my birthday was this past Monday, but Edward finally coughed up some birthday presents today.  They were worth the wait.

I'll report on the 46 later.  I already know the Hendrick's will be wonderful and have a fresh cucumber ready for garnish.

Thanks, baby.  I hope the remainder of my 56th year will be this nice.

Pimento Cheese I

The best you can buy in a grocery store: Palmetto Cheese

Cellar Cats

I sincerely think that if I had to pick only one wine to have for the rest of my life (that I could afford to purchase for myself), it might be my adored Sausal Cellar Cats Red Zinfandel.

UPDATE 1-3 -13: It was with a heavy, heavy heart that we learned a few months ago that our beloved Sausal has been sold by the Demostene family to Silver Oak.  We honestly pray that Silver Oak understands what they've purchased.  Sausal's century Zinfandel vines are precious and beautiful.  They were on the property when Leo and Rose Demostene purchased the land in 1956.  Many of the original vines were included on an 1877 atlas of the area.  Our final shipment of closeout Sausal wines arrived here in Bogart yesterday: two cases.  My little "DonDon always loves Cellar Cats" song and dance is now performed sadly and with a tear in my eye.  Each of these last bottles will be dearly appreciated.  Sincere thanks and best wishes to the Demostene family.

Birthday Wines

Monday was my birthday, so we've pulled a couple of nice bottles lately.  First was a 2005 Domain Raymond Usseglio & Fils Chateauneuf-Du-Pape we enjoyed with lamb chops.  This wine had just the right age for me, very smooth and drinkable.

The next night brought filets done on the little Weber, which is the perfect filet-grilling device.  What wine? 2006 Pride Mountain Vineyard Merlot.  SO good!  Can you tell that we still like some size to our reds?  We visited Pride Mountain last spring and it's a gorgeous place.

View from Pride's patio

The vineyards and winery straddle the Sonoma and Napa County lines.  The drive up and back down is a bit hairy, but the views and the cave tour are worth it.  The merlot we drank Monday was labeled 58% Sonoma and 42% Napa.

Pride Mountain Vineyards

Selecting & Enjoying Wine: A facebook Reprint w/ Edits

Some of my facebook friends asked for my input on selecting and enjoying wine for novices, so here is an updated note I posted there awhile back:

I like wine better with a meal.


To begin learning about wine you like, find a “wine guy” (my own non-gender specific term) you can trust. Tell the guy what you think you like about wine (be honest!) and what food you’re serving. Ask for suggestions and give his recommendations a try.  Make notes about what you did or did not like about the wine the guy picked. You’ll find some wine guys who have similar taste preferences to your own; take advantage of their ability to taste lots and lots of wines and make good suggestions for you.  I mean, they get to taste WAY more wine than you ever will; it's their job.

Some of the best less expensive wines come from other countries. Try Australia, South Africa or Chile.

Read about how to begin enjoying wine: books (check your local public library of course!) or on the net. For instance, about.com’s Wine Basics gives good advice about the importance of “price, preference, pairing.”

Attend some tastings and/or visit some wineries.  And if you can, sign on for some extended vineyard/winery tours.  Walking through the vineyards, seeing the grapes on the vine, seeing where the wine is grown and made really is informative.  If you care at all about farming or gardening, you'll love vineyard tours.

Most people start off enjoying wines on the sweet side, but the more you drink wine, the less you’ll like “sweet” as your norm. That’s not a snob thing; your taste really is changed by the wine itself. If you’re wanting to move on from jug or mass-produced wines try a German Riesling, or a Rosé, or a Merlot (Columbia Crest Grand Estates for example). Yes, I said “merlot!”

Back to pairing, read up on it some, but basically, I tend to like a wine that matches the locale of the food, Italian wine (or grape variety) with Italian food, etc. That’s oversimplified, but you get the idea.

Do take a little time to notice and consider whatever wine you’re drinking. Smell it first. If it’s spoiled or “corked” it may smell like paper maché (wet cardboard). Swirl it in the glass to really get a good whiff. Look at the color. Look through the wine to see how deep or thick the color is. Use plain, clear glasses btw. As a sideline, I don’t care what anyone else says, those glasses with a scientifically designed shape for the various grapes DO WORK! Once you get used to enjoying good wines, the shape of the glass really can make a difference in the taste of a specific wine.

Sadly, do expect to pay more per bottle as you learn more about wine, but again, your wine guy can help you find good value.


Tasting, tasting, tasting leads to learning, learning, learning.

Cook up something good, or unwrap some nice cheese, uncork/unscrew a bottle, and pour me a glass!

Seasmoke in the glass!

Not That Easy

I'm sure I'm not the first blogger to say that this isn't as easy as it sounds.  I started this blog because I was finding that most of my status updates, wall posts or links on facebook were about food and drink.  Rather than bug friends there all the time with food info, why not record it on Blogger?

Trouble is, I've been a little under the weather since I put this thing up so I haven't been eating much that's very interesting!

I promised to start thinking about this more though; I see this blog as a space for me to store future memories about the wonderful food Edward and I share.

Let's talk about what gives support, strength, endurance. Let's talk about living, nourishment, provisions. Let's talk about the good life. Good food, good wine, good books, good memories and the best people.