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A Good Appetite

  • A Good Appetite

    Excerpted from JUST ENOUGH LIEBLING by A. J. LIEBLING

    The primary requisite for writing well about food is a good appetite. Without this, it is impossible to accumulate, within the allotted span, enough experience of eating to have anything worth setting down. Each day brings only two opportunities for field work, and they are not to be wasted minimizing the intake of cholesterol. They are indispensable, like a prizefighter's hours on the road. (I have read that the late French professional gourmand Maurice Curnonsky ate but one meal a day-dinner. But that was late in his life, and I have always suspected his attainments anyway; so many mediocre witticisms are attributed to him that he could not have had much time for eating.) A good appetite gives an eater room to turn around in. For example, a nonprofessional eater I know went to the Restaurant Pierre, in the Place Gaillon, a couple of years ago, his mind set on a sensibly light meal: a dozen, or possibly eighteen, oysters, and a thick chunk of steak topped with beef marrow, which M. Pierre calls a Délice de la Villette-the equivalent of a "Stockyards" Delight." But as he arrived, he heard M. Pierre say to his headwaiter, "Here comes Monsieur L. Those two portions of cassoulet that are left-put them aside for him." A cassoulet is a substantial dish, of a complexity precluding its discussion here. (Mr. Root devotes three pages to the great controversy over what it should contain.) M. Pierre is the most amiable of restaurateurs, who prides himself on knowing in advance what his friends will like. A client of limited appetite would be obliged either to forgo his steak or to hurt M. Pierre's feelings. Monsieur L., however, was in no difficulty. He ate the two cassoulets, as was his normal practice; if he had consumed only one, his host would have feared that it wasn't up to standard. He then enjoyed his steak. The oysters offered no problem, since they present no bulk.

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September 29, 2007

Quick Hits - Sept. 29

The Wedge  - Portland's first home grown cheese festival will be at the PSU/Parks Block Farmer's Market - October 6, 8:30 - 2:00.  Find cheeses that you cannot find at retail cheese outlets. More than 25 artisan cheese makers from Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Idaho and Utah will display their wares. 

Brindisi Fontina - Willamette Valley Cheese Company's Italian-style Brindisi Fontina is a fairly hard, golden colored cheese. The shelf aged hard rind and almost brittle texture is highlighted by occasional crystalline morsels sprinkled throughout.  The cheese I bought from Pastaworks  was aged for almost a year and had a rich, sharp flavor, unlike a softer, more traditional Fontina. Willamette Valley Cheese Brindisi Fontina is made from 100% Jersey milk and is a great table cheese and like its traditional cousin, and great to cook with. 

Gorwydd Caerphilly from Neal's Yard  is a raw cow's milk semi soft cheese made by Todd, Maugan & Kim Trethowan at  Gorwydd Farm in Wales and available at Steve's Cheese (2321 NW Thurman St. Portland, OR 97210  503.222.6014 ) and  Whole Foods.  The cheese is simple and very direct revealing a pure, clean flavor of the cow's milk.

Apple and Pear Season in Hood River

Honeycrisp Apples from Hood River are in markets.  Honeycrisps are harvested between
mid-September and mid-October.  They store well when refrigerated but like all apples
start losing their tartness immediately when picked. Kiyokawa Family Orchards  ( 819 Clear Creek Road, Parkdale, 541.352.7115 ) hold a Honeycrisp Harvest, Oct. 6,7.

Our favorite Hood River apple, Swiss Gourmet, can be hard to find but is worth the effort. They will be available soon - end of September, early October. New Season's informs us that they may carry them.  They are available directly from Mt. Hood Organic Farms -  (541) 352-7492 or (541) 352-7123 • 7130 Smullin Road, Mt. Hood, OR. The orchard sits almost on the shoulder of Mt. Hood and features amazing views as well as amazing apples.  The trip out the gorge and up the Hood River Valley in the fall is wonderful.

"Real" Apple Cider, anymore, can be almost impossible find.   Law and litigiousness result in cider that is pasteurized after being pressed. If you make the trip out to Parkdale, stop at Draper's Farm stand - 6200 Hwy. 35, Parkdale.  Their homemade, non-pasteurized apple cider made with heirloom apples is the only "real" apple cider we are aware of.  The label includes the warning "This product has not been pasteurized and therefore may contain harmful bacteria ... "  Draper Farm holds a Cider Day Celebration on Oct. 27, 28.

2001 Panther Creek - Single Vineyard Noir is still available -  at Portland Wine Merchants, Great Wine Buys and Whole Foods.  $19.99/ bottle.  Still in markets.


Comments

marcia

This is a great service. Thanks for putting it together. I am currently reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegtabale, Miracle. new ways of thinking about food opening up. MS

Posted by: marcia | October 01, 2007 at 09:12 AM

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