Happy Easter

We like obnoxious food, apparently

A lot of these are about food:
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/

Good local oysters

While on a recent visit to the Ocean State, I ate at this cute restaurant, Scales & Shells, on Thames Street in Newport and treated myself on a cold, cold March evening to some oysters. I was told they were Matunuck oysters, and as such, I assume they came from the Matunuck Oyster Farm in Peace Dale, R.I.

Anyway, these oysters were super tasty and fresh and I just wanted to give them a little shout-out because I think it's awesome that someone semi-locally is farming shellfish that I will presumably be able to eat lots more of.

Oysters aren't just awesome to eat, though. They do a pretty damn good job of cleaning water. For instance, they can help take care of excess nitrogen in wastewater, something that many municipalities spend millions to remove. Not that you'd want to eat the oysters that have done that, but still ... Read more (login required): In City Waters, Beds (and a Job) for Oysters, from the New York Times, Feb. 24.

I'm Lovin It

When a girl who's 1/16 Irish is deciding what to eat for dinner on St. Patrick's Day, what does she choose?

Why, a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's, of course!

I have loved these things since I was a little kid. One year, when I was probably 10, I poured Shamrock Shake into Dixie cups and froze them to savor out of season. It worked. So awesome.



Back in June, I had a minty-chocolate shake at McDonald's. An entry in Wikipedia tells me this was called the "Minty Mudbath" shake and was a promotion in conjunction with the movie "Shrek the Third." (uh, because it's green, I guess. No word on whether Shrek actually tastes minty or chocolatey.) It was merely OK.

A couple of years ago, though, while licking Vanilla Mint ChapStick off of my lips, I figured out that Shamrock Shakes were really just vanilla milkshakes with green dye and mint flavor added. It was kind of disappointing, but also really liberating. It almost makes me not want to freeze some.

The Wikipedia entry also says that Shamrock Shakes are available year-round in Ireland, but I am not sure if this is bad reporting based on a 1997 report: "Sinn Fein Leaders Demand Year-Round Shamrock Shake Availability."

Another Irish food with a beverage in the title

Best Irish soda bread recipe? Ina Garten's.

'tis the season ...

... for the annual Making of the Bailey's Cake.

Those who have known me for a while probably have eaten my Bailey's Irish Cream Cake. By "my," I mean, a cake that was made by me, not a cake that was invented by me. I can lay no such claim to this recipe, but I can attest to the fact that it is universally acclaimed by all who taste it.

Except, presumably, by vegans.

That there are eggs in the cake seem to be no big problem to overcome; The Vegans have figured out many such ways to imitate their binding qualities. But the Irish cream presents another quandary altogether. So when I brought a cake to a gathering this weekend a vegan friend, who partook in the cake in her pre-vegan days and was an enthusiastic distributor of this recipe throughout the Midwest, said the next recipe she was going to Veganize was this one. (Expect a full report here when the mission is accomplished.)

Here is the recipe in its loves-me-some-animal-products form. While I might like to keep it a secret, alas, since it came to me through the good grace of others, I too shall pass it along.

Irish Cream Cake
for the cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/4 cup vodka
3/4 cup veg oil
4 eggs
1/8 cup water
1 box chocolate instant pudding
3/8 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream

for the glaze:
more Bailey’s
confectioner’s sugar

Mix all the ingredients together. Grease or spray the bundt pan thoroughly with Pam for Baking. Dump the cake in. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. To make the glaze, mix about a cup of confectioner’s sugar with some Bailey’s until it makes a smooth, very thick glaze. Drizzle it all over the top of the cooled cake. Enjoy!

Screw-top wines: Not just for breakfast anymore

Funny story. At a birthday dinner with three of my dearest friends, we ordered a bottle of New Zealand sauvignon blanc. The waiter brings it out and asks who wants to taste it. I say "Me, but it's not like it's going to be corked or anything, ha ha."

Get it? Because New Zealand wines are generally screw-topped? Ha ha ha!

Of course, he didn't know that I know about the Screwcap Initiative. He thought I was just making a comment like "ha, screw tops are only for the cheap, crappy stuff."

So, for those of you who think screw tops are only for Boone's Farm, think again. As I like to say (and I really have said this, to the embarrassment of my companion): Why do we rely on 13th-century technology when it comes to sealing our wine?

Drink!

Update on beverages enjoyed lately and frequently, and where I found them:

-- Craggy Range wine. From a winery I visited in New Zealand. I have had not much luck finding it in the U.S. Every time I am in NYC, where there is at least one wine shop to find it at, I forget to get some. Attempts, through my local wine superstore, to get some to hitch a ride to the 'burbs have proven futile. So imagine my excitement when I found some Craggy--the 2006 Te Muna Road Sauvignon Blanc--right out in the open at a local wine shop whilst visiting a friend! Found at The Spirited Gourmet in Belmont, Mass. It's no 2006 from the Avery Vineyard ("the herbaceous one," and, as I just read on the CR Web site, not sold in the U.S.; I should have looked it up first before asking at said wine superstore). Nevertheless: Score.

-- Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc Reserva, 2006. The 2007 recently received rave reviews from Wine Spectator, but judging from the company's web site there doesn't appear to be a huge difference between the vintages. A good sign, because the 2006 is awesomely affordable: I've been getting it for $8.99 a bottle at the Stew Leonard's wine store in Danbury, and it's only slightly more expensive at the cute, friendly little wine shop with all the cool old French wines in Farmington. (Uh ... name ... escapes me ...)

--Trapiche, from Argentina. I like the Malbec, of which I was drinking the 2005 until they ran out at my local liquor superstore (note: different from my local wine superstore). Then I started on the 2006. Both are excellent for a one-drink-while-I watch-TV-and-stave-off-heart-disease kind of weeknight drinker.

Bon appetit!

In the spirit of embracing another of my interests as yet another of my hobbies, I bring to you my new blog, celebrating food and drink and my adventures in cooking and eating.

My previous attempts at regular blogging were dumb in that I blogged about nothing in particular. These efforts were hard to keep up and, I felt, not very entertaining. I am a person who prefers to stay on topic. Bitching and moaning about politics and low-carb eating were not very exciting topics for me to blog about, although anyone who knows me "in the flesh" knows that these are topics I very much enjoy bitching and moaning about in real life.

To that end, I bring you ("you" probably being "myself" for the time being) "Eat More Nutmeg." I am not a particular fan of the spice; I mean, it's great and all, but as any die-hard Connecticut resident will tell you, the term in reference to our forebears here is not particularly complimentary. But I thought it was fun, and less likely to draw people searching for restaurant recommendations and/or actual local food knowledge than my original title, "Nutmeg Eats."

Bon appetit!