"Eric Asimov" news and stories

Yesterday in our Thanksgving extravaganza, we offered options on Thanksgiving themed cocktails, drinks that could pass as dessert and a flavored vodka that probably wasn't such a good idea. However, you may still be looking for some things to serve with your turkey dinner. In my family, we tend to go for an assortment of sparkling apple ciders, supplemented by any wine that a guest might bring with them.

For those of you out there with slightly more elevated palates who are looking for some beverage recommendations that are more sophisticated that Martinelli's, here are some spots to check out. Over on NPR's Kitchen Window, Cyrus Musiker writes about a Thanksgiving trial run that he and his wife did a few weeks back. He focuses on American wines and comes up with a substantial lists of wines that work with a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

I mentioned this on Wednesday in my New York Times Dining and Wine round up, but Eric Asimov did a fun article this week about a tasting he did with some of the NYT food folks. They also embrace the idea that since it is an American holiday the wines should be domestic and they come up with some delicious-sounding selections. If you are planning to eat out on Thanksgiving and would like to order a bottle to go with your meal, but feel intimated by wine service, then over at KQED's blog Bay Area Bites where Michael Procopio posted an article about behave during the wine service dance.

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Could you imagine waking up at dawn each morning to knead and shape dough, letting it rise for a few hours, then take it to a centrally located oven where it is baked alongside everyone else's? This is the norm for many families in places like Morocco, though with modernization the tradition is beginning to fade.

In Pixar's latest film Ratatouille, Remy the Rat learned his culinary skills from the best of the best - Thomas Keller, owner of French Laundry in Yountville, California.

Is your organic food really all organic? The Department of Agriculture is preparing to approve a list of non-organic ingredients that could make the cut in food stamped with their organic seal

Eric Asimov takes a look at the delights of Beaujolais in 'The Pour'

Frank Bruni asks some of the more prominent names in the food industry which meals or moments in their pasts were "pinnacles of carnivorous gluttony." Yes, pig snout made the list.

This week's recipes:

Lamb Schnitzels With Mint-Horseradish Pesto, Confit Byaldi, Lamb and Bulgur Kibbe With Garlic Yogurt Sauce, Chicken With Couscous, Moroccan Anise-Flavored Bread (Khubz), Tagine of Fish, Pea and Crab Salad

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A hearty welcome to the New York Times for joining in the mainstream wine blogging scene.

Highly regarded journalist Eric Asimov has launched the Pour http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/ As Vinography points out it is not the first wine journalist to launch a blog (that honour goes to  Mark Fisher of the Dayton Daily News) and there are sure to be more over the coming months.

Asimov maintains he is to avoid wine tasting notes like 'avian flu' but still kicks off his writings with a piece on a ten year old Rioja rosé described as "a sort of pale coppery orange, is bone dry and unusually complex, with a captivating texture that compels you to take another sip".  

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