Usually we look forward to our daily emails.  Today’s email has taken a while to write, however.  As most of you know, we’ve recently added to our staff – and Cate is now 8 weeks old.  This ministaffer takes a bit more management that the others, and therefore our time is being pulled in many different directions.

With Cate’s arrival, we’ve had to change our priorities a bit.  And a daily column has proved to be one of the things in our life that needs to go on hold – at least until we can get our youngest ministaffer a bit more stable.

So this will be the last email you receive from us for a while.  We hope to restart in the coming year, and we’ll be posting things from time to time on our websites and on our own personal blog: Annie Lives Local.

Thank you for your support and readership over these past three years.  It’s been wonderful and we have loved every minute of the time we’ve spent living local and sharing it with you.

So we hope you’ll keep us posted on your recommendations, and we’ll keep you posted on ours.

Until next time.

August 6, 2010

The storm and brief cool down was a blessing yesterday, and today promises to not be quite as hot.  There are lots of great things happening as we gear back up for another school year.  Be sure to check out our calendar so you don’t miss a thing – and if we’ve missed your event – post it!  We want to know all about what’s happening around here.

This summer seems to be hotter than others in recent memory.  Maybe it’s because we were pregnant – but we think everyone’s been feeling the drain of a heat index of 115.  Some days it is so hot that we just don’t even want to think about putting anything remotely warm in our mouth.

That’s where our love of cold soups has come into play more often than not this summer.  We’ve made some soups.  But usually we place our order with Sharea Wheeler, owner of Sharea Soups.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve watched Sharea launch a business based on one of her passions – soup.  She is a very accomplished chef in this arena, and offers different soups each week to her ever expanding list of faithful patrons.

We’ve had watermelon gazpacho, regular gazpacho, curried squash, cucumber, vichyssoise, summer borscht, and other cold soups that have kept us coming back for more.  Sharea operates out of a commercial kitchen at Historic Arkansas Museum.  Each week she sends an email to her list and tells about her offerings.  They usually include a cold soup, warm soup, and salad.  Each costs $12 per quart and that includes delivery!

It’s the easiest way we know to obtain fresh cold soup for these hot Arkansas days.  And each week we look forward to a new selection.  Just another way we’re working at staying cool these days.

Sharea Soup
Email Sharea at shareasoup@att.net
to be placed on her weekly list.

The THEA Foundation
Summer Art Program Exhibition
August 5 – 12, 2010
401 Main Street, Suite 100
North Little Rock
www.theafoundation.org

Wedding anniversary 42, and while we would have enjoyed dining at Forty-Two at the Clinton Library where we volunteer, we were about 600 miles away.  So instead we ventured to the old Studebaker mansion in South Bend, Indiana.  It is called “Tippecanoe Place” and serves delightful meals.  While our spouse ordered a classic Cob Salad, we selected chicken in a pistachio crust.  Of course we decided later to duplicate that dish and we think we have it ready to share with guests.

Chop one cup of shelled pistachios until they are like fine gravel (we don’t know how else to describe them.)  Lightly pound four skinless, boneless chicken breasts.  Dust each breast with flour, dip into two beaten eggs, and then into the chopped pistachios.  Sauté in butter until browned on each side.  Place into a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.  Remove from the oven and cover with foil so they can rest.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in the pan in which you sautéed the chicken.  Add two tablespoons of flour and cook for 30-45 seconds.  Add a cup of wine and a touch of salt.  When thickened, add any leftover pistachios.  When ready to serve (whipped potatoes and bright green broccoli as sides) spoon a bit of the gravy over the chicken.

We paired this with Dr. Konstantin Frank’s 2007 Semi Dry Riesling.  Just a touch of sweetness makes this a fine complement to the slight sweetness of the pistachios.  There was a bouquet of flowers on the nose, and summer fruit on the palate. There is just enough acidity to balance the slight sweetness.  This is a wine we like well chilled.  Though we couldn’t find the 2008 Dry Riesling which Salon.com’s Steven Kolpan called “one of the best,” this was a lovely substitute.

As a late summer dinner, we’ll be serving this again, even without an anniversary to celebrate.

July 22, 2010

It’s the last, hot, sticky weekend of July.  Summer sure is passing quickly.  Next week may be August, but summer’s not quite over (and we’re sure this heat will stay for a while).  So our recommendation?  Just enjoy.  Be sure to check out our calendar so you don’t miss a thing – and if we’ve missed your event – post it!  We want to know all about what’s happening around here.

When bedrest became necessary during the last part of our pregnancy – it most certainly did not fit in with our plans.  But life is like that sometimes, isn’t it?  Throwing us curve balls and seeing how we respond.  Well, with the help and support of wonderful family and friends, we responded quite nicely.

We didn’t have to worry about dinner once during that time.  (Which is a nice thing when you’re not supposed to get up except to go to the bathroom!)  And one of those evenings our dear friend and neighbor suggested she bring us Chinese.

Great idea, we thought!  When she arrived, she told us that dinner came from Chinese Kitchen on Rodney Parham.  We’d seen Chinese Kitchen many times, but amazingly had never stopped in to try their food.  So we were doubly pleased that she brought dinner.

We feasted on generous portions of shrimp and vegetables in a spicy sauce bursting with flavor, along with a more mild vegetable delight.  And as we sat filling our bellies with this delicious food, our spouse looked over and said, “This is the best Chinese food – ever.”  And you know what?  He was right.  We like a lot of Chinese places around here – but this was the best.

And to think – we have bedrest and a good friend to thank for the introduction.

Chinese Kitchen
11401 N. Rodney Parham
(501) 224-2100

the art show

July 30, 2010: 7:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
July 31, 2010: 6:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Tickets: $10 (for both nights)

The Riviera Condominiums
3700 Cantrell Road

So many memories are sparked by food and wine.  It was only last year, at this very time that we were in the south of France.  It was a memorable vacation.  First there was Montpellier, a beautiful and energetic university city with a vibrant night life that included a large wine and food festival, as well as both indoor and outdoor orchestra concerts. Then, we spent a week of our time on a luxurious canal barge being fed by a Cordon Bleu trained chef, feasting also on the glorious scenery and again drinking wonderful wines.  These memories surface each time we pour the wines for guests at our son-in-law’s gallery in the Argenta district of North Little Rock during the Third Friday Art Walk.

The wines, both red and white, are from the Cote du Rhone.  La Chasse Du Pape – literally “the chest of the Pope” – takes its name from the time when there were popes in 14th century Avignon.  The red, which is as popular on a hot summer evening as on a cold winter night, is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, and Mourvedre.  The color is a rich ruby red, and on the nose there is red fruit and herbs.  The palate reveals additional pepper and spice along with a hint of vanilla.

The white, which blends Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Clairette, and Roussanne grapes, is golden in color with a bit of green shining through.  It looks like late summer to us.  There is white fruit and citrus on the nose, and on the palate the flavors of apple and pear emerge and remain through the finish.

We chose the white the other night to pair with a gratin of summer vegetables.  We sliced eggplant, tomatoes, and onions, and layered them in the bottom of a greased gratin dish and added salt and pepper.  Grated Gruyere topped the vegetables and then we repeated the process.  Finally we whisked together 1 ½ cups of cream, a touch of nutmeg, and two eggs, plus salt and pepper to taste.  This we poured over the vegetables.  Freshly grated Parmesan topped the dish before baking at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.  With a green salad and crusty bread it was delicious.

Even without looking at our lovely pictures from that trip, memories of beautiful scenery, good conversation, lingering meals on deck, are evoked by the gratin accompanied by delicious French wine.  All it takes a little food and a little wine and we’re on vacation again.