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The View From Missive Control

Dan P.Wednesday, June 1, 19940

Space Frontier News
Space Frontier Society
A Chapter of the National Space Society
June 1994
Vol. 5, No. 4
Page 2

The View From Missive Control
by Dan Perlman, Editor

We’ve entered upon interesting times this summer. The newspapers are full of news about the Clipper – not the Delta, but a silly little scrambling chip for telephonic communications. By the time most of you read this, you’ll already know that not only is it designed to allow government wiretapping, but it has a built-in design flaw that allows other folk to do the same. Yet, the funding is there for this Clipper – design flaws and all. Governmental priorities at work, I suppose.

ISDC 1994 has come and gone. The Space Frontier Society was well represented by Seth Potter, David Millman, Robert DeBiase, Allan Wasser and Ray Noonan. Our cover article this month is David’s report on the conference – and hopefully next month we’ll have a write-up from Seth on the Solar Power Satellite Working Group.

Greg Zsidisin reminds everyone that the deadline for registering for ISDC 1996 at the advance rate of $45 is coming up fast – June 15! If you’re planning to take advantage of this reduced price, get your check in to: Space Expos of America, Inc., P.O. Box 71, Maplewood, NJ 07040.

On other fronts, as reported by Greg in his monthly news coverage, our distant neighbor, Jupiter, is due to receive an uninvited party-crasher – the Shoemaker-Levy comet. The Clementine mission completed its moon mapping and now has gone off on what the Australians might call a walkabout. And the Hubble Space Telescope has gone and found itself a black hole and some rings around a supernova.

In June, NASA has a scheduled Pegasus launch into low earth orbit for further stratospheric ozone study, and in July, a planned launch of the shuttle Columbia will carry a payload that includes microgravity, acceleration, amateur radio, and crystal growth experiments.

Carolyn Josephs reports on the results of our first essay contest and the upcoming teachers’ conference. She has also graciously worked up a list of the participants in the contest, and is busy putting together a presernationa of some of the best work submitted for next month’s issue.

Finally, Linda DeLaurentis has written what she claims is her last President’s Message, as she steps down from her term in office. Linda is the one who signed me up, not only for SFS, but also to edit this newsletter – which was no easy task on her part. A big thank you for a job well done!

Organization Newsletters, Space Frontier News

Space

Bargain Hunting

Dan P.Thursday, April 5, 20010

Santé
The Magazine for Restaurant Professionals
April/May 2001
Page 30

FROM THE CELLAR
Bargain Hunting

I feel a little like the restaurant reviewer starting a column with “there’s this great little hole-in-the-wall that I probably shouldn’t say anything about, because it’ll become something that isn’t a great little hole-in-the-wall.” So how do you go about telling other wine buyers about wine bargains without writing yourself out of the bargain-hunting game?

The easy answer is that there are a whole lot more bargains out there than there are great little holes-in-the-wall, and bargain hunting takes more work than hopping in a cab to a back street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

DO-SI-DO

From my perspective, the key to good deals lies in my connection with suppliers and their suppliers. The process of building a good relationship is a lot like dating. There are boundaries to be worked out, phone calls to make, liaisons to keep and parents to please (i.e., restaurant owners and the owners of the distribution companies).

I learned long ago that the relationship cannot be one-sided if I want the really good deals. Wine buyers who think that they hold all the cards are sadly mistaken. Refusing to make appointments (“just drop bottles off”), blowing off appointments (“my time is more important than yours”) and similar moves just don’t work. Sooner or later, your suppliers will forget to mention a bargain that they know you would want. They will sell to someone more appreciative.

By the same token, you should understand that suppliers don’t hold all the cards either. Such supplier attitudes as “you can only have this if you buy that” and “if you don’t buy this, my boss is going to remember that when you ask for…” are equally counterproductive. There is no wine or spirit out there that you really have to have. You always can buy something else from another supplier.

Sometimes we dance the dance. A sales rep calls at the last minute and asks for a quick meeting with an importer rep who suddenly showed up at his/her door. We take ten minutes out of our lives and make him/her look good. Invest a little time with that importer rep or winery owner too – don’t forget who controls the flow of wine one link back on the chain. Sometimes the importer or the winery has something in stock that just might be made available to the right person.

The supplier tango usually doesn’t pay off overnight. Just like dating, we might only make it to first base for a while, then second, then third. Then one day we show up at work and find ourselves at home plate.

SUDDENLY ALL LESS EXPENSIVE (S.A.L.E)

What are the bargains to jump on, and what are the bargains to avoid?

Post-offs and closeouts. These are usually deals to help move stock that is not moving or to clear a line that is being dropped. They might look attractive, but look carefully; these wines aren’t moving for a reason. I always like to know the exact nature of the offer: Is the wine too old? Bad? Was it far overpriced and is now being offered at what it should have been?

Direct imports and direct offers. These deals are a method that suppliers use to sell something that they do not have yet so that they can judge how much to buy. Here is a nice way to pick up something at a slight discount. Saving that ten percent is attractive, but choose carefully; remember, if customers love the wine, there will be no more of it at the same rate. Will they still love it when the price goes up?

Vintage clearances. These deals are easy to like and to execute, but they do require a sizable up-front investment. Suppliers discount to clear space in a warehouse for a new vintage. They want the wine out of there – not just two cases, all of it. Make them an offer. Yes, it is an investment in cash and storage space, but you’d be surprised how much discounting room there is in the price.

Gems. These are my favorites and are what make the whole dance and dating ritual with your supplier worthwhile. These are the deals that are handed to us because of the relationships that we have built. Sometimes these gems come from your carefully nurtured sales reps, sometimes from their boss or from the winery or importer behind the scenes.

Gems are the “we’ll reserve all of this for you, at a reduced price, if you’ll feature it” deals. An exclusive with a discount – you can’t beat that.

Santé is a glossy format trade magazine for restaurant wine buyers and educators. I wrote as a freelancer for them on and off from the first issue in November 1996 until November 2002 when they decided to stop using freelance writers.

Magazine articles, Santé

Management, Restaurants, Wine

The View From Missive Control

Dan P.Saturday, April 2, 19940

Space Frontier News
Space Frontier Society
A Chapter of the National Space Society
April 1994
Vol. 5, No. 2
Page 2

The View From Missive Control
by Dan Perlman, Editor

Hopefully, as you read this, spring will have finally arrived. With this issue we bid farewell to the editing talents of John Sirabella, who has moved on to other venues – like keeping his business on track. From what I’ve seen, John did a great job of putting this newsletter together, and I’m glad to have a firm foundation to build upon. I’d like to take a moment and introduce myself as your new editor. Somehow, a résumé doesn’t seem appropriate at this juncture, and everyone seemed so relieved that someone would take on the task of putting Space Frontier News together, that nobody asked for one. Regardless, so that you will at least be under the illusion that its regular production is in good hands, I hasten to assure you that I have a modicum of experience and knowledge in the arena.

My involvement with the “space community” began many moons ago in the midwestern burg of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I conveniently grew up mere blocks from ERIM, Bendix (the kids in my neighborhood saw the lunar rover on test track long before anyone saw it on the moon…) and the University of Michigan’s Aerospace Engineering Building. I flew model rockets with my friends, wrote to astronauts, heck, I’ve still got a pennant on my wall from the day White & McDivitt dropped into town to visit their old campus. I helped found RP Industries, a little company that provided computers for use in those little teeny Shuttle payload spaces that universities leased for experiments (the company continues to flourish to date, though I’m no longer involved).

I headed off to do things in the world of writing and editing, with numerous sidetracks along the way. Over time I’ve managed to be everything from reporter to editor at a high school paper, an underground paper, and society newsletters; I’ve freelanced newspaper and magazine assignments (mostly in the food & wine category, a passion of mine – did I mention being a trained chef and sommelier?); and even tried my hand at technical writing. Somewhere along the line I managed to have one short, reasonably humorous ghost story published.

When Linda mentioned that she was looking for a new editor for SFN, I thought, why not? So, here I am, here you are, and I’m looking forward to working with all of you. It may sound cliché, but I know that there’s some hidden and/or budding talent out there just dying to see the light of day. Together I think we can make this one of the best regional newsletters in the National Space Society!

Organization Newsletters, Space Frontier News

Space

Letters from New York

Dan P.Thursday, June 2, 19940

Le Repertoire
Miami Chapter of the American Culinary Federation
June 1994
Page 6

Letters from New York

Pea shoots are no longer in. That’s the word from the frontlines here in the Big Apple. I have to admit, I never quite understood why pea shoots were in in the first place, but they were. Baby vegetables are still in. I’ve seen some absolutely stunning presentations of baby beets (come to think of it, I think I designed one of the plates…) using red, yellow, and pink and white striped beets – so sweet they melt like candy in your mouth. Morel mushrooms are making a comeback. After several years of shiitakes, enokis and portobellos, morels are now the mushroom of choice in trendy restaurants across Manhattan Island. Somehow or other we skipped the $125 a pound matsutake insanity.

Speaking of trendy restaurants, I’m not sure that they’re quite the trend anymore. While last year there was a big hullabaloo about the return to “comfort foods,” somehow or other that didn’t end up meaning menus overflowing with pot-pies, fried chicken, and macaroni and cheese. Sure a few daring chefs dared to try such outré items, but that wasn’t quite what the populous wanted. They wanted things that “reminded” them of comfort food. You know, maybe put a little cheese on something, or a sauce that was just slightly heartier than a celery infusion?

See, the problem is, we chefs and the media have gotten everyone so into these bright oils and vinegars and teeny dices of vegetables, that they all went out and learned how to do those things at home. Now, when they go out, they want something different. They want, dare we say it, classic cuisine. Maybe not thick, heavy butter and flour sauces, but definitely headed that direction. As Australian humorist and food writer Terry Durack recently put it, who said we have to be thin anyway?

Le Repertoire, Organization Newsletters

Restaurants, Vegetables

Très Veggie

Dan P.Wednesday, November 2, 19940

GENRE
November 1994

Hungry Man
Très Veggie
Vegetarian Meals with a French Twist

When I think of France, I think of my grandmother, an adorable young man named Daniel, and food. Admittedly, being a chef, when I think of anything I think of food. But France, more than anywhere else on earth, seems to be inextricably entwined with visions of the pleasures of eating – often to excess.

The remnants of my grade-school French allow me to inquire how to get to the local métro stop, ask the whereabouts of the pen of my aunt, and understand the chorus to “Lady Marmalade.” Luckily, my kitchen French is a bit better, and I generally know what someone is talking about when they say omelette, bon bon, or café au lait. I even know the word for vegetables, légumes, though I admit I had to look up where to put the accent.

In considering French cooking, vegetables are not the first thing that comes to mind, let alone vegetarian cooking. Even the 1,193-page bible of French cuisine, the Larousse Gastronomique, grants a grand total of one paragraph to vegetarianism and two to veganism, the latter referring to the outdated belief that it’s difficult to have a balanced diet in such a strict regimen. On the other hand, vegetables and grains are the core of Niçois and Provençal cuisines in the south of France, and cooks there wouldn’t think of serving a meal without them. The Niçois even claim to know more than 70 ways to cook vegetables – a claim that puts Americans to shame, since most of us have trouble handling boil-in-the-bag peas.

The French also have a devotion to eggs and things dairy – cheese, milk, cream and butter. For those who are looking for the strictly vegetarian, it often looks like a challenge to cook in a French manner. Luckily, it is indeed possible to cook without dairy and not risk offending your nearest francophile.

Among the vegetables that are available, but not common in use in the U.S., is fennel. This beautiful light-green bulb has a crisp, slight licorice taste that is delicious raw in salads or braised to brighten those cool fall evening meals. Although simple, this recipe is guaranteed to delight your tastebuds.

Braised Fennel

6 fennel bulbs
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and fresh black pepper
4 cups vegetable stock (yes, the omnivores among you may use chicken or beef stock)
¼ cup white wine

Trim the hard outer stalks of the fennel bulbs and wash and dry the bulbs. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Sprinkle the bulbs with salt and pepper and quickly sauté in the olive oil until they just begin to color. Add stock (though homemade would be preferred, bouillon cubes dissolved in water is acceptable) and the wine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for an hour until the bulbs are tender to the touch. Slice the bulbs lengthwise, season with salt and pepper, and serve hot. Makes enough for six as a side dish or two as a main course.

Carrots are among the favorite vegetables for many of us. I don’t know if it’s the bright orange color that reminds us of our school days in the safety patrol, or that buttery, sugary taste of candied carrots that mom used to make for special occasions. Updating that classic French dish gives us something that will bring a smile to any adult’s face, let alone a kid’s.

Carrot Fondue

(Fondue is not only the name for the classic Swiss dish with all those long color-coded forks and a bubbling pot of some unknown substance in the center of the table, but also a classic French cooking method of slowly cooking vegetables in butter or cream until very soft. Obviously, this one isn’t for the strict vegans.)

4 carrots
1 pint of heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
Angostura bitters
2 tablespoons Madeira wine
2 tablespoons honey

Peel and finely dice the carrots, or thinly slice them. Put them in a heavy saucepan and cover them with the cream. Add a dash of bitters and the wine. Bring to a simmer and cook over very low heat until the carrots are soft and the cream has mostly absorbed into them. Add the honey, stir and serve. Makes enough for one to four, depending on how far you get from the stove before you taste….

Genre is a gay “lifestyle” and travel magazine. It was launched in 1992 by three entrepreneurs, two of whom shortly thereafter left to found QSF magazine. I went with them…

Genre, Magazine articles

GLBT, Humor, Vegetables

Libretto Libations

Dan P.Monday, August 5, 19960

Q San Francisco
August/September 1996
Page 40

Libretto Libations

When asked to write a column about wine and opera I found myself at a bit of a loss. I mean, who am I to suggest that Tristan and Isolde drink a couple glasses of Napa Valley Cab instead of poison? If Tosca and Scarpia had sat down and had a lively little glass of Riesling would she still have stabbed him? The safe bet with opera is champagne. Not just sparkling wine from anywhere, even though there are good examples from around the world. Opera calls for true champagne.

There are six standard vocal ranges amongst opera singers, and I have endeavored to select a prestige champagne for each.

Down in the deeper registers are the basso profundo and bass baritone. At this level we look for a champagne with “body.” Power, strength and vigor are characteristic of these wines. Deep aromas of earthy truffles, toasted biscuits, butter and vanilla are found here. Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Diamant Bleu is the toast of choice.

Moving up a couple of notes we find the lyric and dramatic baritones. With similar character to the fullest bodied champagnes but a touch more gracefulness. Rich and robust with an earthiness and toasty character that overlay the freshness of ripe fruit, Krug Grand Cuvée shines in the baritone spotlight. On top of that, the impressively styled bottle is guaranteed to place you in your guests’ highest esteem.

At the tenor level ranging from helden to dramatico, we move into those champagnes that are medium-bodied, with spicy notes, floral aromas and a freshness of fruit that can be best described as lush and smooth. These are wines that lend to spontaneity, gaiety and frivolity. For tenors, Louis Roederer Cristal is my pick of the night. Harmonious and firm with a delightful freshness, this wine is considered by many to be the pinnacle of champagnes.

Still in the medium ranges, the contralto and mezzo-sopranos bring that first true hint of feminine grace. Creamy, refined and ultra-sensual, these wines are for the romantic in all of us. And what better wine than one named after our favorite little monk puttering around in his vineyard, Moët & Chandon Dom Pérignon. It even comes in a rare rosé version for those who simply must have pink at the table.

As we move up the scale of passion and grace, we find the soubrette, lyric, and dramatic sopranos. Refined, yet racy. Alluring and inspiring. Fresh fruit with citrus, a touch of spicy herbs and a slight nuttiness. Taittinger Comtes de Champagne soars here. One of the finest prestige cuvées on the market.

Up amongst the clouds, with vocal wings outstretched, resides the coloratura. Delicacy, refinement, polish and balance wrapped up in a package that delivers finesse and fury at its best. Light herbal and citrus notes with just a touch of toast. Ruinart Pére & Fils Dom Ruinart is a blanc de blancs prestige cuvée that tops the charts.

Vive le champagne et l’Opéra! Who could ask for a more perfect duet?

Q San Francisco magazine premiered in late 1995 as a ultra-slick, ultra-hip gay lifestyle magazine targeted primarily for the San Francisco community. It was launched by my friends Don Tuthill and Robert Adams, respectively the publisher and editor-in-chief, who had owned and run Genre magazine for several years prior. They asked me to come along as the food and wine geek, umm, editor, for this venture as well. In order to devote their time to Passport magazine, their newest venture, they ceased publication of QSF in early 2003.

Magazine articles, Q San Francisco

Music, Opera, Wine

Desserts and Dessert Wines

Dan P.Tuesday, January 5, 19990

Q San Francisco
January 1999
Page 56

Desserts and Dessert Wines

“Oh,no, I couldn’t eat ANOTHER bite. Well… MAYBE I’ll just look at the DESSERT list.”

Dessert is one of nature’s most perfect inventions. Properly made, it contains elements of all four basic food groups–sugar, fat, caffeine and a touch of salt. These of course correspond to the cardinal essences of life: earth, air, fire and water. In point of fact, dessert is a true Zen experience.

For some inexplicable reason, heated debates often occur after dinner over dessert–arguments about dieting, health, and even people who claim not to like a good chocolate mousse. These poor, deluded individuals have merely strayed from the path of all that is good, decent and moral in life. You, as a righteous individual, have a decision to make. You can reach out to them and bring them back into the fold. Or you can reach out and take the extra helping yourself.

Dessert should be accompanied by a beverage. I’ve never understood why perfectly sensible people who enjoy liquids of various sorts with their appetizers, entrees and cheeses suddenly seem to feel that nothing but water should accompany their last course. It remains shocking, but the most often overlooked part of the winelist in a restaurant is the listing of dessert wines.

Understanding sweet wines is not as difficult as it may seem at first. There are a few basic types, the rest is all variation on a theme. Perhaps most common are late-harvest wines. Simply, these are wines that have been made from grapes that are, well, late-harvest.

A basic premise in winemaking is that you leave grapes on the vine until enough of the acids in them have converted to sugars which will enable you to get a sufficient level of alcohol when you ferment the grape juice. With late-harvested grapes, you leave them on the vine till there’s so much sugar that only a portion will be converted to alcohol (the fermentation yeasts die off when the alcohol level reaches around 15%). This leaves the wine very sweet.

If you read any food and wine magazines, you’ve probably read about “botrytis” or “noble rot”. This is a fungus that develops on grapes. What the fungus does is drill little holes in the grape skin and suck the water out. This concentrates all the flavor and sugar elements in the grape, almost to the point of turning the grapes into raisins. Needless to say, the wine made from what little juice can be pressed from these grapes is highly flavored and rather sweet. The most famous of this type is Sauternes.

A similar result happens with ice-wines. Here, the grapes are left on the vine till the first frost. They are picked early in the morning while still frozen and crushed. Because much of the water is crystallized as ice, the juice is once again very concentrated and flavorful. The risk, however, of just killing off the grapes or having them rot before the first frost is high. That’s why the prices are too. Ice-wines made from Riesling in Germany generally top the quality list.

The last category are the so-called “fortified wines”. Ports, sherries, and other similar wines are made in a variety of methods, but the underlying idea is the same. Neutral grape brandy is added to grape juice or sweet wine to a level that prevents or stops fermentation (remember that 15% yeast die-off thing), resulting in, you guessed it, sweet wine.

Okay, enough of the technical stuff. Let’s get some dessert whipped up and pick a few dessert wine favorites to try out. I happen to love banana bread (like any reasonably sane individual), and then there’s this chocolate thing…

The Ultimate Banana Cake

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup corn or canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

(Note: All four basic food groups are indeed represented.The bananas and whole wheat flour are purely spurious…)

Mix the flour and salt. Blend in the oil and syrup. Beat the egg yolks lightly and mix into the flour mixture. Add milk and bananas and stir thoroughly. Add chocolate chips and mix. Beat the egg whites till stiff and fold in carefully till it is just blended through. Don’t over-mix at this point or you will deflate the egg whites and the cake will be just a little too dense. Pour in a loaf or cake pan and bake in a 350ÉF oven for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with whipped cream.

Dessert Wine Picks

For something a little light, refreshing and just plain fun, I like Moscato d’Asti from Piedmont in Italy. This is the sweeter, less sparkly version of Asti Spumante. My current fave is Giorgio Carnevale’s “Sori”. Other great choices, Bologna’s “Vigna Senza Nome” and Bava’s “Bass Tuba” (don’t ask).

In the sweeter, more serious vein is anything made by Alois Kracher of Austria. Personal top pick (and only because I had it most recently), his Scheurebe Beerenauslese. It may be unpronounceable, but delicious definitely. Another top pick is from Chambers in Southern Australia, any or all, but the best is the Rare Muscat.

Now for something a bit heavier and red. Yes, red–dessert wines do come in all colors. I think I would have to go with Paolo Bea’s Sagrantino Passito from central Italy. But I could easily be talked into a Banyuls from Dr. Parce in southern France or Ridge’s Zinfandel Essence from California.

Q San Francisco magazine premiered in late 1995 as a ultra-slick, ultra-hip gay lifestyle magazine targeted primarily for the San Francisco community. It was launched by my friends Don Tuthill and Robert Adams, respectively the publisher and editor-in-chief, who had owned and run Genre magazine for several years prior. They asked me to come along as the food and wine geek, umm, editor, for this venture as well. In order to devote their time to Passport magazine, their newest venture, they ceased publication of QSF in early 2003.

Magazine articles, Q San Francisco

Baking, Desserts, Wine

Throwing the Perfect Oscar Night Party

Dan P.Monday, March 5, 20010

Q San Francisco
March 2001
Pages 56-57

Throwing the Perfect Oscar Night Party

I have never been nominated for an Academy Award. I’m informed by friends in the know that this relates to my not having acted since a production of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas in fourth grade. I narrated; Brilliantly, I might add. Regardless, I don’t find myself in possession of one of those golden statuettes, affectionately dubbed “Oscar”. Hollywood’s most enduring symbol of achievement was described by screenwriter Francis Marion as “the ideal symbol… an athletic body… with half its head, that part which held his brains, completely sliced off.” At 13-1/2 inches high it would be just perfect as a centerpiece on my dining table.

The true purpose of the Academy Awards, for those of us living in the forgotten fringe of theater stardom, is to see and be seen. It is far more important to be seen IN an Oscar de la Renta than WITH an Oscar de la Statue. The golden boy on your arm should be slightly more pliable than cast metal, and preferably earning his own paycheck.

In this regard, it is truly the Oscar Party that is more important than the awards ceremony. Who’s at the Governor’s Ball? Who’s at Spago? Who’s at Pagani? Who’s with whom? I might note, nobody’s asking, “what did they eat?” Lets face it, more than one salmon canapé and they’ll start popping out of their Cynthia Rowley gowns. Wolfgang Puck may have roasted his chicken breasts with risotto and black truffles, but it didn’t make the front page. As long as there’s champagne and cocktails, everyone’s happy. Not me. Personally, I can’t tell the difference between a Vera Wang and a Vera Charles; But I’ll whip up a Snapper Veracruz or a Pasta PrimaVera faster than you can fasten your seatbelts. There may be no statuette on my sideboard, but I can put a Veal Oscar in front of you that’ll make you forget about Cher’s new dress.

To throw a fab Oscar party begin by inviting those friends you can make catty comments about the movies with, get a big screen TV, and set up the dining table where you can watch the whole thing while you wine and dine. Also, bring out the good crystal, china and silver service – let’s do this right!

THE NOMINEES ARE…

Start the night off by preparing “real” cocktails, not cosmos and apple-tinis and woo-woos. If you must drink those, please do it in secret. Martinis and Manhattans are perfect for this sort of party; simple, elegant drinks. A couple of notes about Martinis: First, they involve two ingredients, either gin and vermouth or vodka and vermouth. Looking at the vermouth bottle does not constitute making it an ingredient – that’s a glass of vodka or gin, up. I know we’ve all been raised to think a dry martini doesn’t contain the stuff – it does – just less of it. The original martini was 1/3 vermouth. A dry one should be about 1/8. Try it, you might find out that a martini is actually capable of having flavor. Also, let’s put one fallacy to rest her and now, gin doesn’t bruise. You can shake or stir to your heart’s content. The only thing that shaking does is dilute the gin (or vodka). The same will happen if you stir too long.

When it comes to preparing cocktails, always use good quality ingredients. My current faves for vodka: Mor, Van Hoo, and Rain. Save the more commercial brands, albeit good, for cocktails where the other ingredients are providing the flavor. For gins: Old Raj, Tanqueray #10, and Junipero. Noilly Prat makes a good, basic dry vermouth, but you might try one of the new, interesting brands like King Eider or Vya.

In my book, Manhattans contain bitters. Just a couple drops, but like the vermouth in a Martini, they add to the complexity. A Manhattan is also classically made with rye whiskey. Bourbon makes a good drink as well, but for a change of pace, why not try the original?

Again, good quality ingredients are key. For rye, Canadian Club Classic (12 year old) makes a great drink. My favorite, Van Winkle Family Reserve (13 year old). For sweet vermouth I prefer Martini & Rossi. Also give a look at Vya, which makes a unique style.

THE ACADEMY AWARD GOES TO…

Veal Oscar

The classic Veal Oscar is a cutlet of veal topped with white asparagus, crabmeat, and Bearnaise sauce. With a little inspiration from a chef friend, here’s my, slightly different, version. Serves six.

6 thin veal cutlets
1 package of “dashi” flakes (about 5 grams)
3 sheets of “nori”
salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 dozen asparagus spears
1 pound lump crabmeat
½ cup rice flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup cooking oil

Sauce:
juice of two lemons
3 tablespoons stone-ground mustard
2 egg yolks
1 cup olive oil
1 branch of fresh tarragon leaves

Dashi flakes are dried, shaved bonito (a tuna relative) that are used to make broth. Nori sheets are the large green seaweed squares used in making sushi. Both should be available at a good grocery or certainly at any Japanese market.

You will need two small plates and a bowl to prepare. On one plate put the rice flour, on the other, a finely processed (in your food processor) mix of the dashi and nori. In the bowl, lightly beat the two eggs with a couple spoonfuls of water. Season the cutlets with salt and pepper. Coat in the flour, dip in the egg wash, and then coat well with the dashi/nori mix.

Saute in the oil in a large skillet until golden brown on both sides. Place on a warm platter in the oven to hold until ready to serve. Meanwhile, cook your asparagus in just a little water and butter until tender. Season with salt and pepper and reserve on the side.

In your blender, on fairly high speed, whip together the mustard, lemon juice and egg yolks. Gradually add the olive oil – you are basically making a light mayonnaise. At the last moment, drop in the tarragon leaves (not the branch) and process till finely chopped.

In a small pan, warm the crabmeat and when it is hot, stir in enough of the sauce to thoroughly coat the crab. Remove from the heat.

To serve, place a cutlet on each plate, decoratively arrange a half dozen asparagus spears, and top with a good dollop of the crabmeat mixture. Pop a bottle of champagne, or pour another round of cocktails, and seal your bets on Best Picture with a toast.

Q San Francisco magazine premiered in late 1995 as a ultra-slick, ultra-hip gay lifestyle magazine targeted primarily for the San Francisco community. It was launched by my friends Don Tuthill and Robert Adams, respectively the publisher and editor-in-chief, who had owned and run Genre magazine for several years prior. They asked me to come along as the food and wine geek, umm, editor, for this venture as well. In order to devote their time to Passport magazine, their newest venture, they ceased publication of QSF in early 2003.

Magazine articles, Q San Francisco

GLBT, Red meat, Sparkling Wines, Spirits