World's most expensive desserts

$1.4 million strawberries, other sweets that will hurt your pocketbook

by Jessie Knadler

Oyster Poesy

"Song To Oysters"

I like to eat an uncooked oyster.
Nothing's slicker, nothing's moister.
Nothing's easier on your gorge
Or, when the time comes, to disgorge.
But not to let it too long rest
Within your mouth is always best.
For if your mind dwells on an oyster...
Nothing's slicker. Nothing's moister.

I prefer my oyster fried.
Then I'm sure my oyster's died.

Roy Blount, Jr.

Beauty Weather = Beauty Patio

Fri July 23 - Fish Fry Bingo

Sat July 24:
7pm: 3 Rivers Alice
Noon: Scott Copeland

Sun July 25:
COUNTRY SUNDAY
6pm: Mike Ryan
Noon: Kurt South

A Little Hint....

Don't mention people's PETS in your BBQ Ad........

The Future: E Books AMPLIFIED

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says, "The Kindle format has now overtaken the hardcover format."


From the L A Times:

Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. says it is now selling 80% more downloaded books than hardbacks. Amazon's download format is for its Kindle electronic reader as well as other devices.

"Astonishing when considering that we've been selling hardcover books for 15 years and Kindle books for 33 months."

Multimedia edition of Ken Follett epic unveiled

'Amplified' version of novel designed for Apple iPad

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/07/20/follett-pillars-amplified-novel.html#ixzz0uEPZK1uF

The latest in the new, electronic world of book publishing: The Amplified Edition.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/07/20/follett-pillars-amplified-novel.html#ixzz0uEPRFcef

Farmers Profit from Growing Local Food Movement

The local direct-to consumers food movement has grown steadily in the last decade, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Check this out from the Beaumont Enterprise:

Family's goat products are farmers market success

Pickin' a Pepper at Amazon.com

I am a die hard pepper head, but I've yet to hit my capsicum mainline via my broadband connection. Looks like some people have...

Dave's Gourmet Six Pure Chiles Gift Shaker
Dave's Insane Seasonings - This product really is a great selection of peppers to have many great dishes. Chipotle Pepper Flakes, Ancho Chili Pepper, New Mexico Chili Pepper, De Arbol Chili Pepper, Cayenne Chili Pepper, Habanero Pepper Flakes

20+ Bhut Jolokia / Naga Morich Seeds

20+ Seeds for the hottest chile pepper in the world. These are still somewhat rare and hard to find. This searingly hot chile comes from India and is known by several names: Bhut Jolokia, Dorset Naga, Naga Morich, The Ghost Pepper...... Bhut Jolokia seems to be the most common. It was registered as the new world record holder for heat in 2006. The former champ was a habanero called "Red Savina" @ 350,000 Scoville units it is incredibly hot in it's own right. Most people can't eat it. So imagine a chile that is 3 times hotter !!! We have a 95% germination rate on these seeds. We are licsensed by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. All seed purchases come with detailed instructions on germination, growing and bringing the plant to maturity.

Those Trampy Olives

Firmly ensconced in the summer doldrums as the TV rerun wasteland washes over the US, I've rediscovered an old BBC gem that is available on Hulu.com in its entirety. Peep Show concerns the roommates of a Croyden, South London flat. I've always thought my internal dialogue qualified me for institutionalization, but Mark and Jeremy's internal musings left me assured. What does this have to do with food?

Jeremy's come-on line: "Third pressing, fourth pressing - who wants slutty olive oil?"

Which segues to today's news:
Lab tests cast doubt on olive oil's virginity

UC Davis researchers report that most common brands sold in California are mislabeled, which can cost consumers money and worse.

Food and Beverage News

KPMG Survey: Food and Beverage Executives Expect Improved Revenue, Profitability This Year and Next; Majority See Small Increase In Hiring

PRNewswire:

Product, Merchandising Innovations Seen As Biggest Revenue Drivers: Most Now See Full U.S. Economic Recovery Two Years Out

NEW YORK, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Senior executives in the food and beverage industry see improved revenue and profitability this year and next, but caution that the jobs outlook in their sector will only gradually improve in 2011 according to a recent survey conducted by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm.

Soda taxes fizzle in wake of industry lobbying

Now, the beverage industry has momentum flowing in the opposite direction. Its lobbyists quashed every other state effort to pass a soda tax this year, including bills in Mississippi, New Mexico and New York state. In Washington state, an industry-funded initiative to repeal the new soda tax appears certified to go before voters on this November's ballot. Its sponsors turned in 395,000 signatures, much higher than the 240,000 required.

The American Beverage Association (ABA) is supporting the campaign for Initiative 1107 by funneling money to its Washington state branch, which relies on Pepsi and Coke's Northwest bottling warehouses for most of its revenue. ABA spent more than $1 million just gathering signatures to get the initiative on the ballot. Sandeep Kaushik, a spokesman for the coalition of children's health groups who advocated for the soda tax, expects the industry to pour as much as $10 million into the election.

CDC: Fresh salsa, guacamole linked to foodborne illnesses

Looking at surveillance data provided by state and local health departments on foodborne outbreaks, researchers found that salsa or guacamole-associated outbreaks accounted for 1.5% of restaurant and deli outbreaks between 1984 and 1997, a number that doubled to 3.9% during the 10-year period from 1998 to 2008, the researchers found.

Restaurants and delis were the settings for 84% of all salsa and guacamole-associated outbreaks between 1984 and 2008, the research found. While CDC began tracking outbreaks in 1973, there were none associated with these foods before 1984.

USA Today Article

Peach Heaven!

I know I missed the Parker County Peach Festival this past weekend, but with all the rain this summer any Central Texas peach is going to be enjoyable on a quantum level. Case in point, I hit the Cooper Farms Produce truck at Lake Air Drive & Sanger Avenue in Waco and reveled in peaches that bordered upon the religiously sublime.



Please be sure to visit your local Farmer's Market to partake in this year's crop. Do yourself a favor and get acquainted with the beautiful bounty that comes from just down the road.

From the Waco Tribune:

McAdams has a line of customers waiting for her every morning when she lays out a full table of peaches, pecans, tomatoes, cucumbers and more, most of it grown in Fairfield.

She tries to sweat out the day until 4 p.m. but sometimes has to close early when all of her inventory is sold.

She said she’s usually there through Labor Day.

“We’ll stay here as long as we have peaches,” she said.

There’s also a good selection of summer’s bounty at the Heart of Texas Farmer’s Market three days a week.

Fairy Nell Lightsey of Lightsey Farms in Mexia said it wasn’t just peaches that performed this year. She said her plums, apricots and other produce did pretty well, too.

The Farmer’s Market, at the Heart O’ Texas fairgrounds on Bosque Boulevard, is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays .

Sunday Brunch on the Patio

Kitchen Gear

State of the art kitchen tech for you culinary gearheads:
Click here for a full photo gallery on the technology and cutting-edge equipment being used at Thomas Keller's Per Se and French Laundry.

The tools of Thomas Keller's three-star restaurants

Local Author Does Good

Historic Road Trips from Dallas/Fort Worth

Wendi Pierce (Author), Rick Steed (Author)

That friend of ours Rick Steed has reached into his FortTours.com compendium of historical jewels and published this great collection of Historical Road Trips around DFW. From an afternoon's drive to a complete weekend with the family follwing these historical trails, this guidebook has you covered.


From AMAZON:

Editorial Reviews

Rick Steed and his driving companion, Wendi Pierce, set off with one goal in mind: to travel Texas's old fort trails and scout today's remnants of the bloody skirmishes and battles of long ago. Historic Road Trips from Dallas/Fort Worth provides not only a road map of day trips throughout Texas but also a narrative history of the tiny towns, historic markers and frontier excitement along the way. After collecting these stories for years, Steed teamed up with Pierce to bring to life this fascinating guidebook for anyone who yearns to venture off the main road and discover old Texas. Each drive begins in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and travels a different route through the state. Travel along and discover the site of Buffalo Hump's revenge raid or Cynthia Ann Parker's harrowing pioneer experiences, as well as other local lore, including the haunting of Jefferson, Texas's Jefferson Hotel, the notorious New London school accident and much, much more.

About the Author

Having spent most of her childhood in Florida, Wendi Pierce came to Fort Worth to attend Texas Christian University, where she earned a degree in English, with a minor in philosophy. She then moved to Dallas to earn her Master of Arts in English from Southern Methodist University, thus beginning her career as a professor of writing. After graduate school, she returned to Fort Worth, and in 2003, she began working with Rick Steed on their first book project, Historic Day Trips from Dallas/Fort Worth. While her first love is writing, she is also an avid film watcher, and when the weather is just right, she takes a canoe trip on the Brazos with her husband, Reese. Currently, Wendi is a member of the English faculty at Tarrant County College.

Rick Steed graduated from the University of North Texas in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in studio art. Painting north Texas landscapes sparked his interest in its frontier history. Rick has been a member and contributor to the Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico Historical Societies for many years. Originally, financial responsibilities required in raising a family relegated his artwork in history studies to hobby status. Today, as he approaches retirement age, art and history are Rick's main pursuits, and he considers his investments more like a hobby.

www.FortTours.com

Huff Post BBQ Concepts

I've been digging the new FOOD section at the Huff Post - here's a little primer about setting up a 2 zone temperature control when grilling at home.

Watch for PATIO WEATHER!!

Watch the Weather - When It Rains, It's HAPPY HOUR at FRED'S!

Wed July 7 - Gourmet Pizza Night w/ Will Hobbs

Thurs July 8 - Christa Russell

Fri July 9 - TERRY RASOR BAND

Sat July 10:
7pm: Kyle Redd Band
Noon: Scott Copeland

Sun July 11:
COUNTRY SUNDAY
6pm: Devin Leigh
Noon: Kurt South

FWPL - Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition



A brilliant, authoritative, and fascinating history of America's most puzzling era, the years 1920 to 1933, when the U.S. Constitution was amended to restrict one of America's favorite pastimes: drinking alcoholic beverages. From its start, America has been awash in drink. The sailing vessel that brought John Winthrop to the shores of the New World in 1630 carried more beer than water. By the 1820s, liquor flowed so plentifully it was cheaper than tea. That Americans would ever agree to relinquish their booze was as improbable as it was astonishing.

Country Sunday for the 4th at FRED'S

Sun JULY 4TH: COUNTRY SUNDAY!
6pm: Mike Ryan & Devin Leigh
3pm: Scott Copeland
Noon: Kurt South

The Outlaw Chef, Terry Chandler, butchers a 40 pound lamb hot off the grill:

Lamb a la Chariscaria Dinner

Dawg and Terry will be pullin the Ought Zero Wagon down to the Paint Creek Ranch, south of Junction where the world of hunting episode was filmed last April. They'll be cookin for the Russell families 4th o July weekend party. The hight light of the cookout will be the Lamb a la Chariscaria Dinner as well as a brunch of Migas and Quail. Here's how The Outlaw Chef cooks the lamb:

July 4th at FRED'S

Fri July 2:
8pm: Fatty Lumpkin
5pm: 500 Miles to Memphis

Sat July 3:
7pm: Jack County Band
Noon: Gary Kyle

Sun JULY 4TH: COUNTRY SUNDAY!
6pm: Mike Ryan & Devin Leigh
3pm: Scott Copeland
Noon: Kurt South