Recreating Food Traditions via the Internet

There is good and bad about the relationship between food and the internet.  I can talk to fellow food bloggers around the world, experience the spice markets of Morocco, or see a patisserie in Paris, or "attend a street festival in LA, all in the same day.  I can use resources like Food Blog Search, Epicurious, Food Network, to find that perfect dish to make with the fresh brussels sprouts I picked up at the Farmer's Market, or something different to do with my Thanksgiving leftovers. I can drool over food "porn" at Tastespotting and Foodgawker, and establish new relationships with the foodies who have posted there.

All of these things are great, but recently, I have seen a couple of examples that illustrate the value of the internet as a means to preserve and share food traditions.  Just a couple of days ago a co-worker of mine came to me and asked if I know where she could find a recipe for something her mom used to make called Texas Cake.  She described it to me as a rich and moist chocolate cake that was made with cocoa with chocolate frosting all made from scratch.  She went on to recount how if she came home from school and her mom had made Texas cake she knew that someone was coming over.  This friend has cookbooks and recipe cards from her mother, who had passed, but a search through them had not yielded the prized recipe. I told her that she should do an internet search since it is likely that someone else on the world wide web also had fond memories of that cake. About 15 minute later she IM'd me saying she had found a recipe online that sounded like her mom's cake that held such fond memories, but of course I knew this already because her food memories had prompted me to look up the recipe as well so I could add it to my list of recipes to try.

Only 20 years ago this recipe and the memories with it could have been passed on a recipe card to family, neighbors, church groups, but now people in Kansas City and Kabul can find it via a simple search. With extended families the exception rather than the rule in modern industrialized society, the internet provides a high tech way to continue and even recreate old food traditions.I guess we are a new generation since the computer and internet has become an instrument to preserve and restore food traditions and making the world our recipe box!

A Hidden Gem in Toano - Dudley's Farmhouse Grille

Generally our area is not a food Mecca.  We have a few shining stars, but Newport News and environs are not normally  an area one would think of for fine dining with a few exceptions (Circa 1918, Trellis, Fat Canary...) Even more so Toano, a town near Williamsburg which is best known as the home of the Williamsburg Pottery Factory, but my daughter, who certainly can qualify as a foodie was looking for a new place to have dinner for her birthday and stumbled upon some positive reviews for Dudley's Farmhouse Grille. Since we were  looking for a nice place for dinner, and I love trying new places to share with readers, we made a reservation for 5:30 on a Saturday, and prepared for a dining experience.

Our server took this photo-birthday girl Bridget, Molly, me and Gavin

Toano is a good 30 minutes from our house, but the drive was pleasant on a coolish October evening, We arrived  a tad early and found that Dudley's was indeed a farmhouse, converted to a restaurant.offering indoor seating for 40 and outdoor seating when the elements permit.  The outdoor seating area featured a lovely garden and outdoor heaters to keep outdoor diners warm.  When we arrived, we were the first diners in the restaurant, and we were warmly welcomed, and seated at a nice table near the staircase.  My husband immediately commented that he hoped that the lack of a crowd did not indicate the quality of the food., but his concerns were brushed aside as our server came to take our drink and appetizer orders.  In preparing to go to Dudley's we had accessed their menu online so that we could each choose something we wanted, and get a chance to taste a variety of the offerings there.

This foie gras app was heaven!

We decided to order two appetizers to share- the foie gras with caramelized apples, bourbon raisins and savory maple cream and the wild boar sausage with fire roasted peppers and onions.  All but my youngest tried the foie gras and declared it "amazing", every tiny morsel was consumed, the foie gras was perfectly prepared and the fruit and cream were a perfect complement to its richness.  The wild boar sausage was spicy and delicious, but we all wished there had been more of the peppers and onions since we all shared, and the flavor really highlighted the spice and texture of the sausage. My husband also ordered a glass of their house wine, a Coastal Vines Merlot, which he really enjoyed.  We ordered our entrees- the elk loin wrapped in Edwards bacon and served with Surry sausage and curried carrot puree for my husband, the Steak Rossini Dudley's style for the birthday girl, the Maryland crabcakes for my younger daughter, and I had the pan-seared squab. Dudley's offers a variety of game dishes and our server was very helpful (she tried to steer my husband toward ordering his elk medium-rare, but he insisted on medium-well, a decision he regretted later).

This Steak Rossini tasted even better than it looked!

Here I have to stop and say something about the dining environment at Dudley's.  The restaurant is intimate without feeling cramped, the walls are adorned with art and prints that are also for sale, allowing the owner to showcase local artists and to change the scenery for diners. Service was warm and attentive, without the pretentiousness that is often evident at fine dining establishments, one of the servers, not even our own, offered to take a picture of the four of us when she saw us snapping photos. Water glasses and iced teas were filled promptly, used silverware removed smoothly and without missing a beat. Warm rolls and butter tasted as good as they smelled.

As we consumed our appetizers, the restaurant slowly filled up, and it was evident that many of the diners were regulars since the staff addressed them by first name, asking about children and knowing their "regular" favorites. Twice during the evening Chef James Kennedy circulated the room, speaking with diners at every table, asking what had been ordered or making recommendations. Clearly Chef James enjoys the interaction with his customers almost as much as cooking.

Once our entrees arrived, we were wowed - Bridget's steak was a center cut filet mignon rubbed with porcini mushroom dust, served on a portobello cap stuffed with garlic spinach and topped with foie gras and a demi glace; Gavin's elk loin was served with a side that everyone loved but was a mystery until we found from our server that they were curried carrots, and they had such a unique and different flavor. My twin squab were served with  this carrot puree as well with a saute of barley and fresh corn that was simple but amazing. Molly's crabcakes were large and delicious with some roasted potatoes and served with a red pepper remoulade. The portions were generous and the side provided a subtle complement on the plate that highlighted the flavors of the entree. Everyone was delighted with their choices, and we all had a taste of each other's.  My husband was wowed by the birthday girl's Steak Rossini- he said the aged beef just melted in your mouth.

Loved this Key lime pie - made in house at Dudley's

Even though we were stuffed my husband and I decided to select two desserts so we could see for ourselves if  Chef James' magic touch with food extended to his desserts.  Many of the desserts were made in house including the key lime pie which I ordered. The crust was crisp and just sweet enough to counter the tart lime filling that was smooth and creamy.  My husband chose a chocolate mousse type cake (sorry, we both forgot the name!) that was rich and dark with just a hint of sweetness. As an aficionado of dark chocolate, it was the perfect choice.

Dudley's is a bit pricey but the food is out of the ordinary and very high quality, and portions are large.  The atmosphere is charming and homey and the service is warm and attentive and not pretentious. If you have the opportunity, I would recommend heading off the beaten path and giving Dudley's a try- you won't be sorry!

Hurricane Prep - An Old Hand's Advice

At least once a year in Tidewater Virginia we get to do this- prepare for a hurricane. Since many of you may be new to the area or this process, I thought I would share what I have learned from years of hurricane prep and from living through Isabel and the 14 following days without power.  This is not a substitute for sites such as the National Hurricane Center, or Homeland Security's preparation lists, but an adjunct to help improve your quality of life during and after the storm. Hope this is helpful as you begin your preparations (and here is hoping you won't need them!).

 Months - a week out
1. Have a plan, and prepare- We start this process at the beginning of Hurricane season each year. Make sure you have thought about under what conditions you would evacuate (this decision will be made for you if you are in certain areas).  Know where you would go, what route you would take.  If you have animals make plans for them.  Make sure that you have pictures of your house and belongings and have your insurance documents within easy reach in case they are needed.

2. Start a list of things you might need and replenish supplies like bottled water, batteries and flashlights. If you think you need a generator, this is the time to go looking- once the storm is forecast they will be expensive and hard to find.

A week-3 days out

To do-  1) Do things like clean out your fridge (once power is out, those green moldy things in the back will get foul fast!!), and catch up on laundry so that if your power is out you aren't left with piles of dirty laundry.
2) If you have a basement where you can wait out the worst, make sure you have comfort measures like folding chairs, water and canned goods there along with flashlights, and a battery powered radio.
3) Keep things like cell phones, laptops, camera batteries (you might need to record damage) and for me, my Kindle fully charged.
4) Make sure storm drains are clean and any backyard furniture and other outdoor items are either secured or moved inside.
5) Keep your cars fully gassed, as gas will become scarcer as evacuations begin
6) If your home is two stories, make plans to stay downstairs during the storm to keep you safe from falling trees.  If you are in an apartment above the first floor with large trees around, identify a place to go during the storm.  Make friends with first floor neighbors or move to family or friends where you are safer-  I am emphasizing this because some of the tragic fatalities during Hurricane Irene, including a young boy, was from trees falling on second floor apartments.

7) Once power and AC are out, the smallest household smells will become stronger, especially if you have pets.  Before the storm, clean or refresh your carpets, get some of the battery powered spray air fresheners or even some of the solid air fresheners.  If you have pets, take a minute to bathe them if possible. Sprays like Febreze or antibacterials like Lysol sprays will help keep odors at bay until the AC comes back on.
8) Freeze bottles of water- great to use in the cooler to keep things cold, and it is nice to have cold waters when you are working on clean-up






To get - Canned foods that you can eat without heating up, shelf stable milk, water, peanut butter, crackers and bread. Make sure you have a manual can opener, or else you will end up both hungry and frustrated. If you have a gas cooktop on your stove, make sure you have matches, since your electronic ignition will not work, but the burners will.Garden or leather gloves will help with the subsequent cleanup, and keep you from being exposed to poison ivy or splinters.

For Children-  Make sure you have things like paper, coloring books, board and card games nearby, since life without electronics is tough for young people today.  Maybe even some inexpensive handheld battery powered games will help pass the time.  Books, puzzles, crafts anything that will keep kids from getting bored are worth pulling together so they are easily accessible once the power is out.

Once the storm has passed:

• If you have a charcoal or gas grill and would use that as a cooking tool during a power outage, make sure you have charcoal and/or gas.  If you are a camper, your campstove with propane is great for power-free cooking, but it must be used outdoors.
• If you have a generator, make sure that you use it correctly and in a well-ventilated area. Also use outdoor-rated extension cords and use a surge protector between the generator power and any electronics that you plug in to minimize chances for power surge damage.
•  Post-storm is a great time to coordinate with neighbors- After Isabel- we had a gas cooktop that our neighbors could use to perk coffee, and one of our neighbors had a gas water heater that we could use to take a shower.  Since we had a freezer and a generator, we held meat for friends and neighbors to minimize losses.  We took turns making ice runs so we didn't add to the lines, to spread out the work, and conserve precious gasoline.  We also did some of the most amazing communal meals. Our house was a magnet since we had a generator and a gas cooktop.We ran our generator only from about 4PM to 10PM, so people brought food that needed to be cooked, we fired up grills and the stove, and caught up on the news.

Hurricanes or other natural disasters can be a prart of life depending on where you live, and so making sure you are prepared not only to survive the storm safely, but prepared to manage in the aftermath can really make a difference in post-storm quality of life.

A Day for Prayer and Remembrance

Remember those who died,support those who grieve, honor those who responded, pray for those who serve, and return to the spirit of caring and concern for our brother Americans that emerged on September 12. Never, ever forget.

Clearly Fresh - A Clear way to stretch your food dollar!

I have seen this logo on my Costco broccoli florets for awhile

With food prices soaring and the bounty of summer produce, it is so important to be able to store food so that we can lengthen its shelf life and minimize waste.  There is nothing worse than having to throw out half a container of fuzzy strawberries, or slimy celery. You may have noticed that some of your packaged produce at the supermarket has a sticker with wavy intersecting blue and green lines on it, the sign of packaging that provides for optimal moisture and air exchange to lengthen the shelf life of produce.  This technology that has been used for years for commercial packaging and shipping of produce is now available for home cooks. You can buy this same kind of packaging to use in your home to keep your favorite fruits and vegetables fresh longer.  I was intrigued when I was approached to try these new Clearly Fresh bags.  I have tried other specialty products meant to help me beat mold and decay to delicate fruits and vegetables, but have not really been much impressed by the actual results in my kitchen.

However skeptical, when I received a sample of these new bags, I agreed to try them. I held on to them to see firsthand how they would work in helping me to extend the useable life of the produce I purchased on our way home from the Outer Banks.  I used these to test their effectiveness with strawberries and raspberries, two fruits that are quick to deteriorate, as well as grapes that we got at Morris Market.  I kept some of the fruit the way I normally would in the fridge and half I put in the Clearly Fresh Bags and stored. After about 4 days, the strawberries that were not stored in the Clearly Fresh bag were fuzzy and had to be discarded.  However,  my daughter ate the Clearly Fresh strawberries for a full week, which stayed fresh.

How do they work? These bags use BreatheWay technology that slows the respiration rate of produce and allows ethylene, a ripening agent to leave the bag freely.  The result is packaging that allows the optimum balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide, slowing the rate of deterioration and keeping your precious produce fresh longer. I don't know about you, but with food prices the way they are, anything that helps me make the most of seasonal produce or bulk produce purchases is great by me.

So try these bags yourself, and take advantage of summer produce  and bumper crops and your produce will be Clearly Fresh!

Question:  What was the last spoiled item of produce you pulled from your fridge??

Welcome to the Mom Bloggers!!!"

My post on food-based natural spa treatments was featured in today's Top 9! Thanks @dailybuzzmoms! http://bit.ly/qgtUIE  Hope you new visitors find some things to interest you and bring you back!!

You Can Go Home Again! - A Trip to Winchester VA

John Handley High School- My alma mater!

The GW's Lobby makes you feel like a VIP!

That saying "You can't go home again." communicates to me that you can't expect things to be the same when you go home because you have changes, your home has changed, those you love have changed.  It is that reason that often people visiting the home of their childhood feel disillusioned or disappointed. So I tried to manage my expectations when we traveled to my hometown Winchester VA, to surprise my mom for her birthday at a barbecue hosted at my brother's house.  Since we needed to keep our arrival a surprise (she had no idea we were coming), we needed to find a hotel, and while there were many hotels in Winchester (it is now home to a regional medical center and a DC bedroom community for commuters), I remembered the grand and glorious George Washington Hotel, an historic structure with grand ballrooms that was home to the Apple Blossom Festival's Queen's Ball and the weddings and events of Winchester's "haves".  Since I had left home more than 30 years ago the GW had undergone quite an evolution.  Overtime it became a bit rundown, as sometimes happens with historic structures and at one time was even a home for adults.  However I had heard that it had been completely renovated, and after checking out the site, I knew that I had to take my family there.

Our room had a king bed and a sleeper sofa

This indoor pool is a jaw-dropper.

Since we had our two daughters (16 and 22) with us we got a room that had a King bed and sleeper sofa (there were no double double rooms available, and suites were out of my price range).  From the moment we walked into the hotel, we were impressed.  The renovation maintained the historic feel of the hotel and made you feel like one of the "haves" from the moment you walked in.  Staff was courteous and helpful, the bed was super plush and the linens luxurious. And now let me say something about the pool-it takes a lot to impress my children but they were blown away!  The indoor pool was like a movie set with Greek columns and statuary! Not Olympic size but a great place to unwind.

Another highlight of the hotel is its location on the fringe of the Winchester Old Town area, a place that as a child I remembered as home to McCrory's and Leggett.  It is now a bustling area full or restaurants, shops and clubs on a pedestrian mall that provides a night life I wished had been around when I was a young adult!

We headed to Brewbaker's, a place where my brother's bands The Merge and T-51 often play, but we had a drink there. Brewbaker's had an extensive menu and I hope to return there (hopefully when my brother plays there!). We then headed to Picadilly Public House for something to eat.This old building dates from 1900 when it was an old grocery warehouse. Since it was late we got several appetizers off their pub fare menu and were very happy with the food and service. The ambiance of the old building was very welcoming, it felt like a neighborhood place. While not what I would consider a fine dining establishment, Picadilly's was an unpretentious gathering place with good food and many menu choices.

My brothers and I back in the day-nice hairdo, right?

Of course the highlight was surprising my mom for her birthday, and hanging out with my brothers and their families which we don't get to do that often. I am the oldest in my family and the only girl and what a pleasure it was to interact with my brothers and their wives and children- my stomach hurt the next day from laughing so hard. And seeing the cousins together and how they got along right away, exchanging Facebook and telephone information to keep in touch was just priceless. My sister-in-law who hosted us has celiac disease and so the menu was gluten free and her daughter is a diabetic and so there was an amazing gluten free mac and cheese and sugar-  and gluten-free desserts that even the non-diabetics had seconds of!

My brothers and I at Mom's birthday celebration- handsome, huh?

It was such a success that we are thinking of doing this annually, and besides Brewbaker's,  I am scouting some other dining destinations including Cork Street Tavern, where Anthony Bourdain was recently spotted, One Block West, located on Indian Alley, and Peru's Chicken, which is a hard-to-find place that garners 5-star reviews for their crispy-skinned Peruvian-style chicken, and favorites that I remember as a child - the Snow White Grill, which holds strong memories of my dad (my mom hated the smell of the sauteed onions on their mini burgers!), and the Wayside Inn, an historic inn where my husband and I went for our senior prom dinner.

For people in the mid to Northern Virginia area, Winchester is a great place for a weekend getaway even if you don't have family there - in the center of a lot of Revolutionary War historic sites, Civil War battlefields, historic homes and wineries, as well as quick access to the Skyline Drive, and some of the prettiest driving you will ever do. If you go, check out some of my favorite places and let me know yours. Because you can go home.... again, and again, and again.