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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Vote! Vote! Vote Now!
 Alert!! Word has come to us from Foodie acquaintance Licia S, that the Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM)
wants your vote!
You have until midnight on Feb. 27th to submit your vote for top restaurants, bars and chefs in
Maryland. Here's who made the short list!
Chef of the Year:
Michael Gettier: Antrim 1844
Rich Regan: Monocacy Crossing
Michael Rork Town
Dock Restaurant
Bruce Wetterau: The Granary Restaurant & Sassafras Grill
Cindy Wolf: The Charleston
Group
Wine & Beverage Program of the Year:
In Baltimore: Charleston
In Baltimore: Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
In Bethesda:
Grapeseed American Bistro & Wine Bar
In Ocean City: Liquid Assets Wine & Martini Bar
In Salisbury:
SoBo’s Wine Bistro
Maryland Favorite New Restaurant:
In Catonsville: Catonsville Gourmet Market& Fine Foods,
In Trappe: Mitchum’s Steakhouse,Trappe
At National Harbor: Old Hickory Steakhouse
In Frederick: VOLT
In Baltimore: Woodberry Kitchen
Plus voting for Top Pastry Chef, Favorite Caterer and Favorite Bar and Tavern.
As a member of the Dining Public,
you're encouraged to VOTE. Go to www.MarylandRestaurants.com and click on VOTE TODAY under the flying stars that somehow always make me think of french fries. The gala for the winners
is March 23rd. Can't wait to see who wins! And nothing intended, but Michael Rork's recipe for bouillabaise (see above)
is on ChesapeakeFoodie.com. As are mentions of LOTS of up-and-coming places on the Eastern Shore.
Jus' sayin'.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Laissez les Brown Temps Roulez
 Our esteemed Foodie Photographer has laid down the law. "I'm not shooting any more brown food."
(So instead, we bring you a shot of green and red, courtesy of Todd's Dirt — an herb blend, not the brown stuff. Story coming soon.)
Yes, well, brown is a problem. It's February. The whole world is brown — except for the parts that
are gray. Even the good parts -- deep braised meats, chocolate, fresh roasted coffee beans are brown, too. Which brings us
to Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras is just the shot of color the world needs. Green. Purple. Gold! The last hurrah before
Ash Wednesday and Lent. In celebration of Fat Tuesday,we're whipping up a gumbo tonight. Pink shrimp, red andouille sausage,
green okra, bell peppers, herbs and lots of hot spices. Maybe we'll throw in green chard, who knows? (By the way, even
a gumbo can be brown, if you make it a point to darken the roux. )
The source of the word "gumbo" is
much argued. (I'm beginning to believe everything about food is much argued.) Some say it comes from African and Caribbean
Spanish words for okra. Others say it comes from the Indian word for sassafras, which is used to make filé, a thickener for gumbo.
Just about anything goes in
a gumbo: seafood and sausage; duck and oyster; chicken and sausage; crawfish and greens. And then there's "Gumbo Ya-Ya." Want to waste another hour on the Internet? Try to find out what ya-ya means.
 Well, regardless. People are showing up in a few hours, and every recipe agrees
that whatever gumbo you make, you're talking a couple of hours of cooking at least. Time to start
cutting up the greens. And getting my ya-ya's out.Hey, what's that? A bluebird in
the backyard? A "V" of a dozen swans migrating overhead in the blue sky? Hmm. Things don't look so brown after
all.
PS. Speaking of wildlife, you might want to check out the National Outdoor Show in Dorchester County next weekend. The Muskrat Cooking contest is being judged at 4:15 on Saturday.
Right: Little Miss Outdoor from 2008, Karlie Hughes
Monday, February 9, 2009
Cherchez le Chocolat!
 Lordy, Lordy, what a couple of hours of bliss! We spent a good part (hmm, make that the best part) of Saturday
afternoon tasting and talking chocolate with Stacey Zier at Tastings Gourmet Market in Annapolis. Tastings is one of the few
retail sources in the U.S. for famous Michel Cluizel Chocolates, recognized as one of the finest chocolatiers in the world.
And if chocolate's on your list, love is in your heart, and luxury is on your mind, this is where you want to
pick up your box of bon-bons for Valentine's Day. Frankly, I would get some just for myself.
These beautiful
confections are entirely hand made from incredibly fine chocolate, amazing ingredients and high percentages of cacao, with
no artificial preservatives. The cherries in the chocolate covered cherries, for instance, have been aged for two year in
kirsch. Put together a box of Romantines, Mirabellas, Palet Passion or Palets d'Or (enrobed chocolate ganache with gold
leaf decoration).
I honestly believe the 99% Cacaoforte is the best chocolate I've ever had.
If you're into single source chocolate, you can pick up a "tasting" box of Cluizel's five Premier Cru
chocolates for around $15. Chocolate nibs for baking or just eating. And the confections? Not cheap. $72 a pound. But they
leave Godiva in the dust at the Pepperidge Farm outlet where they belong. And you'll be ruined forever. I'm still
remembering....
 Tastings Gourmet Market
Adjacent to Wine Cellars of Annapolis
in Clock Tower Plaza, 1410 Forest Drive
M - F
10am - 7pm, Sat 10am - 6pm
Sun. 11am - 5pm
(410) 263-1324
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