March 1, 2011 | Page 2 of 5 | The Rambling Epicure

Culinary Chemistry: Gluten Free – An Introductory Primer

Published by Jenn Oliver + Friday, March 25, 2011 Permalink 0

Gluten-free.

If you don’t happen to have a friend or family member who must avoid gluten, the term may sound like some weird fad – indeed it seems to be the hot new thing in pop culture. But while the term may be gaining popularity in today’s society, it is anything but a trendy diet.

When I first met my husband, we went to a local burger place for dinner as our first date. He ordered his burger without any bread, and I remember being intrigued by that choice – I hardly knew the guy at that point (it was our first date after all), but he didn’t seem the type to be into following a low-carb diet. So in my rather up-front and pointed way, I asked him why he did that, and he then went on to explain to me how he was unable to tolerate gluten. After we got married a few years ago, I took it upon myself as a personal challenge to make sure he could find tasty food to eat that fit within his dietary restrictions – and what a great and adventurous journey it has been!

Food Art: Nutella French Toast, by Meeta Khurana Wolff

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, March 25, 2011 Permalink 0

See more food photo compositions at Meeta K. Wolff.

Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 23, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, March 23, 2011 Permalink 0

by Simon de Swaan

Food is our common ground, a universal experience.–James Beard

Dubbed as the father of American gastronomy, James Beard was the author of numerous cookbooks, a teacher and mentor to many professional cooks, as well as an inspiration to many home cooks who learned how to cook and to appreciate the foods that are regionally specific to the United States.

David Downie and Alison Harris on Book Tour from April 20 to May 20 in NYC and SF Bay Area

Published by David Downie + Wednesday, March 23, 2011 Permalink 0

by David Downie

Food and travel writer David Downie and photographer Alison Harris are gearing up for their U.S. book tour, to beat the drum about their pair of newborn books: Quiet Corners of Rome (April 25, 2011) and Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light (April 5, 2011). The covers, if you please!

Details about the books, book tours and links to their favorite book sellers are listed on David’s site, as well as on Twitter and Twitter.

Also featured on their tour and already available for purchase: Food Wine Burgundy, Food Wine Rome, Food Wine Italian Riviera & Genoa, and Cooking the Roman Way (the new e-book version).

What’s on the playbill? They’ll be showing slides (actually, Alison will do a PowerPoint presentation), talking, chatting, interacting via riveting Q&As, giving live radio interviews (most are still to be scheduled), and generally performing all the other tricks and great things writers and photographers do on book tours. Singing, dancing, walking tight ropes, jumping through hoops…

Crucial dates: They will be in New York from April 20-30.

NYC

Thursday, April 28, 5:30 – 7 pm
Rizzoli Bookstore, 31 West 57th St (5th-6th Ave.s)
Meet & Greet + Reading, Talk

They will be in the SF Bay Area/wine country May 1-18, and back home in Paris on May 19 and in operation on the 20th.

SF BAY AREA & Wine Country

Monday, May 2, 7 PM
Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera
Reading, Talk and slide show.

Tuesday, May 3, 7:30 PM
Readers’ Books, 130 E Napa St, Sonoma
National treasure Paula Wolfert introduces us.
Reading, Talk.

RADIO INTERVIEW
Saturday, May 7, 11:00 AM (Time may change but it will be between 10 am and 12:30 pm). KGO AM 810, “Dining Around with Gene Burns,” Live interview.

Saturday, May 7. 4:00 PM
Mrs. Dalloways Literary & Garden Arts, 2904 College Ave, Berkeley
Info: 510-704-8222
Reading, Talk.

Tuesday, May 11, 6:00 PM
Mechanics’ Institute Library, 57 Post Street, San Francisco
Info: 415-393-0114
Reading, Talk and slide show.

Wednesday, May 12, 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Omnivore Books, 3885A Cesar Chavez St, San Francisco
Info: 415-282-4712
Reading, Talk about food and travel writing in France and Italy.

Stay tuned, the above will evolve… And please spread the word…

Remember, if you can make it to one of our book events, and you can’t be in Paris this spring, you’ll always have Paris, Paris — the book!

Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 22, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Tuesday, March 22, 2011 Permalink 0

by Simon de Swaan

Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you, and be silent.–Epictetus (55 AD – 135 AD)

Greek Stoic philosopher, Epictetus was born into slavery. He believed that all external events are determined by fate and beyond our control and that we should accept what life brings us calmly.

Recipe: Vegetable Confit Mille-Feuilles with Parmesan Tuiles

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, March 18, 2011 Permalink 0

Eggplant and Tomato Confit Mille-feuilles with Parmesan Tuiles

Translated from the French and adapted by Jonell Galloway

Any respectable pastry chef has to know how to make mille-feuilles. The name literally means “thousand sheets”, and consists of thin layers of flaky pastry, stacked one on top of the other, with layers of cream or some other filling in between.

This recipe is in fact a variation of the classic mille-feuilles, but it sure to impress your guests. If you’ve never made tuiles before, you might want to give it a test run before actually serving it at a dinner party.

The recipe comes from the excellent Larousse Cuisine website, and is taken from a book entitled Millefeuille, by Julia Schwob (in French).

This is a summer dish, so whether it is seasonal depends on what hemisphere you live in. The summer eggplant/tomato combination could be replaced with winter vegetable combinations, any vegetable that can be sliced thinly, for example steamed carrots and/or cauliflower and cumin seeds, or asparagus tips.

Click here for a Imperial-metric converter for recipes.

Continue Reading…

Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 18, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, March 18, 2011 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.–Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking

Prolific American food writer who died unexpectedly from a heart attack at age 48.

http://www.babelio.com/users/AVT2_Colwin_3926.jpeg

Simon Says: Daily Food Quotes, March 17, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, March 17, 2011 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

The ultimate aim of civility and good manners is to please: to please one’s guest or to please one’s host. To this end one uses the rules laid down by tradition: of welcome, generosity, affability, cheerfulness and consideration for others. People entertain warmly and joyously. To persuade a friend to stay for lunch is a triumph and a precious honour. To entertain many together is to honor them all mutually. It is equally an honour to be a guest.–Claudia Roden, A Book of Middle Eastern Food (1968)

Claudia Roden is an Egyptian-born food writer. She studied in Paris, then later moved to London, where she has lived for most of her life. She travels as a food writer and is the author of the James Beard award–winning The Book of Jewish Food and A Book of Middle Eastern Food amongst other works. Her most recent book Arabesque won the Andre Simon Memorial Fund Award for Best Food Book, the Glenfiddich Best Food Book Award, and the Gourmand World Media Special Award of the Jury.

Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 16, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, March 16, 2011 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

Everything ends this way in France – everything. Weddings, christenings, duels, funerals, swindlings, diplomatic affairs — everything is a pretext for a good dinner.–Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) , Cecile (1954) French playwright best known for his play Antigone.