"suggestions" news and stories

Look no further than Beer Suggest, a new website that - well, isn't it obvious?

The site is a work in progress, with its simple design and rudimentary tools (it only went live about a week ago). So far, the site boasts over 4,000 beer listings and over 1000 breweries. There are also beer-centered events, and reviews of various brews.

Think you can walk the walk when it comes to beer? Register for an account, and feel free to review and rate beers. Check here for the current Top 10 lists of rated and reviewed beers, including the Shiner Bock and the Gonzo Imperial Porter.

The site is slow to load, so be patient. But with a few tweaks and a few more ratings, it could develop into a seriously helpful tool for beer lovers.

As Bob reminded us last week, January is National Soup Month, so I thought it was only fitting to feature a soup cookbook. The Daily Soup Cookbook is written by the chefs who created the recipes at the Daily Soup chain of restaurants. Filled with over 200 soup recipes, the book is divided up by primary ingredient: corn, potato, bean, chili, nut and fruit (to name a few). They also offer suggestions for movies you should rent to eat soup by and musical recommendations to cook and eat soup by.

When it comes to soup, I tend not to follow recipes, instead striking out on my own with whatever ingredients I happen to have. However, when I eat soups made by others, or those prepared by stores or restaurants, I'm always blown away by the flavors and unique combinations that other people put together. The recipes contained in this book make me think that following a recipe might not be such a bad idea if they could get me soup at home that tasted as wonderful as some of the stuff I come across out there in the world.

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Your son or daughter never eats bread crusts and refuses to tough either peas or pasta sauce. Picky eater, right? Maybe not. As children age they develop preferences about their food, based on flavor, texture and, eventually, political and nutritional preferences. Simply because a child refuses a food once, they are not necessarily a picky eater. Often, a food will have to be offered to a toddler or child from 5 to 10 times before they become accustomed to it. The kids who eat the foods are not really picky eaters. No child has been fooled into eating a carrot because it was crunchy like a potato chip – and any parent whose child was “tricked” into that had a child that wasn’t entirely averse to the carrot in the first place.

The really picky eaters are the ones who refuse to eat anything beyond boxed macaroni and cheese and peanut butter sandwiches well into their teens, possibly into adulthood. These eaters become more and more reluctant to try new foods.

But there is one thing that can convince them, even when parents cannot: the “cool factor.”

I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who already have your shopping lists made up for that romantic meal at home with that special someone. This post is not for you. This is for the novice cook, the one who knows deep down that making a special meal for their sweetheart is the most romantic thing they could possibly do. They also know that it'll be worlds cheaper than going out to eat. So, here are a few suggestions:

• First of all, keep it simple. Sure, I know that the tendency is to go for something extravagant, but really, it's the act and effort of cooking that's important. Without getting too sentimental, let me just say that making a meal for someone else is one of the most basic acts of affection. Ten courses or two, it doesn't matter.

[Photo: Nick Vagnoni]

The always-funny Waiter Rant recently posted an extensive list of tips entitled "How To Order Wine Without Looking Like An Asshole." Just what it sounds like, this is a collection of common sense advice with gems such as "don't ask 'what's cheap?'" and "don't smell the plastic cork." There are suggestions about tipping on wine and not trying your hardest to stump your waiter about the soil in which a particular grape is grown. Also, there's plenty of practical advice, such as knowing that some states, such as New York and Florida, allow patrons to take the rest of their bottle of wine home as long as it's in a special bag. The more than 100 comments that accompany Waiter's post are pretty informative as well.