"ericdiesel" news and stories

We all saw Sideways -- heck, to some of us, it's not just a movie, it's a manifesto. So we know that we're supposed to admire Pinot Noir and barely tolerate Merlot (it's not the demon grape it's made out to be).

The folks at Castle Rock winery are contributing to the dialog on Pinot Noir, and they put their answer in bottles.

Castle Rock currently bottles juice from seven species of grape, each chosen by informed vintner magic from its own West Coast microclimate with the appellation noted on the bottle.

Thus Castle Rock Chardonnay drinkers are choosing bottles from either the Russian River Valley or the Central Coast, Syrah drinkers choosing between Columbia Valley and Sonoma, and so forth.

In the wine as in the geography, the star grape is Pinot Noir, which for the 2007 vintage offers bottles from eight appellations. Some are easy to come by and some are selling out, and I can't pretend to have tried all eight (though I'm working my way through the list).

But I can pass along a few notes on those I have tried, which perhaps will inspire you to consider these sturdy, poetic Pinots the next time you're looking for a bottle to open with dinner.

My suggestions after the jump.

A Foodie's Notes on the Vernal Equinox:

We very rarely had snow where I grew up, but as I stood at my grandmother's apron strings, I was taught to respect the turning of the seasons.

Winter was cold enough for the warming comfort food most of us still associate with it -- steaming bowls of soup, pot roast in rich gravy, hot coffee and cake to go with it.

Summer meant barbecue, soft drinks ("pop" to grandma, and we never got it except at cookouts) and pies bubbling with the best of the summer fruit while less perfect specimens were packed into canning jars by an assembly line of women working in the basement of the church.

Autumn was pumpkin, apples and turkey as we got ready for Halloween and Thanksgiving. And spring ... well, spring was getting ready for Easter.

On the weekend of the Equinox, my grandmother changed all of the household linens -- sheets to tea towels -- from winter's cream and evergreen to her favorite shades of sky blue and butter yellow.

That Monday, she set up the glass pots with thermometers that clipped onto the sides, steel baking sheets that unrolled like April thunder and vials of curiously intense flavor extracts that heralded Easter candy-making. Always planning, (Depression-era housekeepers needed no time management coaching), she made candy in the mornings before turning her attention to lunch and the afternoon errands.

Keep reading about why a chiffon cake is an important statement of spring awakening after the jump.

In a previous life as a non-blogging private citizen, I enjoyed many spirited e-mail exchanges concerning sightings of that wondrous denizen of the deep, the behemoth squid. How fervid our imaginations were in picturing this colossal beast contentedly lurking in the deepest waters or rousing surfaceward to feast upon plankton and (in our imaginations if not in reality) the occasional shipwreck survivor.

Just imagine my pleasure when, during a post-dinner walk this weekend, I encountered the Nemo Whisk. Yes, it is just what it sounds like: a kitchen whisk whose handle design is a squid. And that's appropriate: in lesser dimensions than behemoth, squid graces many a table -- dipped in cornmeal and deep fried, carved into sushi or sashimi, even wiggling as fondant across the top of a cake.

Like the best design, the idea informs the execution -- in this instance, an animal whose cylindrical body lends itself to the handle shape and function and whose eyes are routinely described as "the size of a dinner plate" can whip up your eggs before they land on that selfsame plate -- a task it handles just fine if without threat to your favorite balloon whisk.

The Nemo Whisk and numerous other delights are offered courtesy of Pylones, a French company whose schtick is creating whimsical daily-use items. Mais oui, they work in themes beyond "squid." If we're still talking about eggs, use a chicken timer to boil yours after using a hen bag to carry your shopping list and your money to the grocer's. Pepper your eggs using a pepper mill in themes from Pirate to Native American and then nestle them in coordinating egg cups. Perhaps you'd like an elephant funnel, a dachshund cake server, an Eiffel Tower grater or demitasse spoons crowned with fancy chocolates? Or, simply, Melamine dinnerware printed with a jumble of tempting candy, plump red strawberries, an anchovy pizza or (if you must) a nice healthy salad?

If you like Pylones, they have an easy to use Web site and free-standing stores in New York City. Their merchandise is available at numerous online merchants -- start here.

Pie-making is a true expression of a cook's love: of ingredients, of process, of feeding hungry people something good to eat. For cooks, the pie is the hug, but how about a pie you can hug? We're way ahead of state fair blue-ribbon season, but in one shopfront at the venerable etsy they believe in being prepared for contests beyond pie-baking and pie-eating. Buggabug's shop features not just a menu but a feast of patterns for creating your own huggable food easily and inexpensively from felt.

The Blue Ribbon Pie collection features lemon meringue, cherry, pumpkin, even grasshopper. If that's not enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, try tea cakes, doughnuts, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls -- even a box of Valentine's day chocolates. A lumberjack's pancake breakfast will get your day going, and after the whistle blows, why not unwind with some Chinese take-out and a movie?

If you take a cup of tea with your pie, Martha Stewart shows you how to make adorable teacup pincussions. If your pie of choice is cherry, Martha has her take on that as well. So does Better Homes and Gardens, where embroiderers can try your hand at this cherry redwork pillow (free log-in required). Finally, yarn expressionists can try this cherry pie slice at craftbits.

All of these projects are simple to intermediate to accomplish. And if your favorite way of pie crafting is the old-fashioned one -- rolling out dough and lining a tin with it, tossing fruit with sugar and spices, artfully layering a top crust over the filling, and putting the whole thing into a hot oven -- then slashfood can help you with that. Though we're not averse to the crafts of cooking, our heart is still with the craft of cooking.

With spring on the ascendant in the northern hemisphere, is it any wonder that every year at this time bugs emerge from their chrysalises as a primary design theme for tableware? Insects are the harbingers of springtime – dragonflies buzzing above lily pads in response to the raincalls of frogs; bees humming among the first blossoms; beetles scrambling among soft pads of new moss. Here are some ways in which insects fly, flap, drone, burrow, inch, crawl, sidle, skitter and hum onto spring tables -- hopefully not in person (at least until the ants remember that picnic season is about to begin).

Dragonflies. There are bugs on the Bush legacy White House china; and Kate Spade china has bugs for your table. The June Lane china pattern features a beautifully detailed dragonfly rendered in either gold or silver leaf which perfectly captures this bug's gossamer magic. With china registries down, this pattern might become endangered, so get buzzing if you want to register this place setting.

Butterflies. If as a naturalist you're a colorist, butterflies are aflutter at Target. With their butterfly porcelain collection, you can tickle your palate from vessels showing off a palette of brightly colored butterflies. Vividly colored salad plates are inexpensive, so treat yourself to the matching platter. If your palate's palette is woodsy, take a look at the botanical print-inspired John Derian offerings.