Cheerios Is Not So Cheerful

Not after having the U.S. Food and Drug Administration take it to task for making what the FDA considers to be false claims about the benefits of eating the cereal.

In its letter to General Mills (which makes the cereal), the FDA cut right to the chase. "Your Cheerios product is misbranded," the letter said.

At issue was a claim that appears right on Cheerios' cereal box: "You can lower your cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks." The letter declared that Cheerios' claim violates federal law. General Mills has promised to work with the FDA to resolve the matter. It sounds like the FDA believes there is a simple way to resolve it -- stop making the claim.

A Great Big "Oops" for KFC

It must have seemed initially at KFC's headquarters like they'd scored a major coup -- getting a free plug from Oprah for a promotion around KFC's newly introduced grilled chicken. But this is one promotion that truly blew up in the company's face, as KFC was forced to cancel the promotion.

On his blog, Sean Aune explains:

. . . why this whole thing was done prior to Mother’s Day makes no sense. It is one of the biggest days of the year for the chain, and to put extra strain on their supply chain at such a critical time of the year for them just made no sense. And to top all of this off, there are rumors circulating that the franchise locations were not warned of the pending promotion, and they are also supposedly not being reimbursed for the redeemed coupons.

. . . How can two companies of this size and reach have gotten this whole thing so horribly wrong? Was no one aware that Oprah’s legions of fans will do anything this woman says?

. . . Did they not think it might be a good idea to coordinate with their franchise locations? Did they not think that perhaps they should launch it after Mother’s Day? No, apparently they just totally did this thing by the seat of their pants and now they have egg all over their face.

Don't Touch This Man's Napkin

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio (co-host of TV's "Top Chef") has a pet peeve about restaurant staff:

"Don’t touch my napkin. I do not want the server to pick up the napkin and put it on my lap. I know it belongs there; maybe I don’t choose to put it there."

He also can't stand okra. You can learn more about him from this recent N.Y. Times piece.

French No Longer See Red . . . Americans to Keep Seeing Blue.

The dairy farmers in southern France who produce the coveted Roquefort cheese are a lot happier this week.

A few days ago, U.S. government officials agreed to drop their threat to triple custom duties charged to those who import the salty, bleu cheese which hails from the area near the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. (The U.S. is the 3rd largest export market for Roquefort.)

From what I understand of the agreement, it seems to make sense. If I were a European, I sure wouldn't want hormone-treated beef flooding into my continent.

According to a British news report:

Under the provisional deal, the EU will keep the hormone-treated beef ban, which it claims poses a health threat, but will quadruple imports of non-hormone treated American beef in four years.

In a joint statement, the U.S. and EU trade representatives said: "An agreement is in our mutual interest."

José Bové, a Roquefort farmer, who trashed a McDonalds in 1999 to protest against unhealthy food, said the move meant that the U.S. had "accepted that health is more important than trade."

The Shrinking Water Glass

What is happening in upscale restaurants? Why have so many of them in recent years chosen to introduce new, smaller water glasses -- the kind that need to be refilled every 5 minutes?

This not only tests diners' patience, but it means larger restaurants constantly need to send a staffer around the dining space to refill water glasses. Not very efficient.

Restauranteurs, behold -- look at the photo above. That's the proper height of a real water glass. If it can't hold at least 10 to 12 ounces of liquid, then it shouldn't be used (or called) a water glass.

SC's Pinot Noir Gets Kudos

In the early 1990s, Sonoma-Cutrer's chardonnay helped establish it as a solid, reputable winery among the wine-drinking public. I find most California chards to be much too strangled in oak and much too "buttery" (as they say) for my tastes, but even I liked SC's chard.

Until last night, however, I had never drunk any SC wines other than their chardonnay. The Washington, D.C. restaurant Fahrenheit had a bottle of SC's Pinot Noir on its list.

I was skeptical. I am generally a big fan of pinot noirs, but too many of 'em from the U.S. (especially Oregon) seem so frail, have no backbone at all and lame color. Our server told us we'd be pleasantly surprised. And we were.

Resting in the wine glass, the color of SC's pinot noir was so deep and rich that it could have been mistaken for a cabernet. This wine has backbone without being brutally tannic. It worked both with lamb and chicken entrees.

Anyway, I was very pleased with SC's pinot noir. Judging from the wine-list price, I am hoping that it won't be too pricey at a wine shop.

The Ray's Hell Burger Blowback

On Tuesday, President Obama and Vice President Biden stepped into a limousine and were driven across the Potomac River to Arlington, Va. Their lunchtime destination? Ray's Hell Burger (shown above), a hamburger joint that has achieved a sort of cult following among locals.

So it's a cute little news blip and nothing more, right? Wrong. Even though both men waited their turn in line, and neither one of them said or did anything remotely offensive, a small handful of people with empty lives are whining about the Obama-Biden lunch.

According to Washington Post's The Sleuth:

Freedom-fry loving conservatives are venting over the president's choice of Dijon mustard, while foodies of all political stripes are mortified by the omnivore-in-chief's preference to have his burger cooked -- gasp! -- medium well.

Hey, if you've seen what passes as "medium" in many hamburger-serving eateries, you might order it medium-well too. The Sleuth continues:

Taking the lead for the right, Sean Hannity railed against the cheeseburger blasphemy on his Fox News show last night, rallying his many incensed followers to accuse MSNBC, and Andrea Mitchell in particular, of waging a "cover-up" of Obama's Dijon mustard eating ways during the cable network's coverage of the burger outing.

Pundits, get over yourselves. The Obama-Biden lunch is proof that there is no subject or event on the planet that can't be seized for partisan political purposes. Not even a frickin' hamburger lunch.

For one blogger's review of Ray's Hell Burger, click right here.

Happy B-Day to James Beard

I want to wish James Beard a happy birthday, albeit one day late. Beard was born in Portland, Oregon, on May 5, 1903. He died in 1985, only getting a hint of the impact his life would have on cooking (both at home and in restaurants).

Like Julia Childs, he gained public exposure primarily through the medium of television. Beard's show "I Love to Eat" focused on the importance of using fresh ingredients in cooking.

The James Beard Foundation helps advance his views and values. Time magazine has called the awards bestowed by JBF “the Oscars of the food world." Just this week, the JBF announced its 2009 winners -- a list can be accessed right here.

The world is definitely a lot more wholesome and delicious because of James Beard.

Butterscotch Ideas

I've had a butterscotch pudding recipe on the desk of my den for a few weeks, telling myself that at some point I'd try to make it. It doesn't look that tough to prepare.

But my ears perked up when I was flipping through TV channels yesterday, stopped at cable's TV Land and heard Aunt Bea talking on an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show" about making a pecan butterscotch pie.

I'd never heard of such a pie so I started surfing the web to see if I could find some recipes for pecan butterscotch pie.

I found several versions. This recipe from VeryBestBaking.com looks pretty simple; it uses those butterscotch morsels that are often used for cookies. This one from RecipeZaar gets there without using butterscotch morsels. I also found this recipe from CDKitchen.com, which uses an extra egg than most of the recipes I found. The extra egg probably would give this more of a custard-like texture. I'm going to make something butterscotch very soon.

Save Room for Clafoutis

Clafoutis (pronounced klah-foo-tee) is a traditional French dessert from the country's Limousin region. The classic version of clafoutis is made with dark, sweet cherries, although it is possible to make clafoutis with various fruits. I have seen other recipes for clafoutis that is made with apples, blackberries and pears.

Clafoutis has a unique texture — it's essentially half custard, half cake. Beware of clafoutis recipes (like this one) that propose to replace the milk/heavy cream mixture entirely with low-fat milk. Last year, I tasted one such low-fat recipe, and the clafoutis it produced was somewhat bland.

I decided this weekend to make a clafoutis with cherries. Here is the recipe I use whenever I make it:

CHERRY CLAFOUTIS (Serves 6-8)

1 cup of sifted flour

1/4 teaspoon of salt

5 tablespoons of sugar

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon of almond extract

1 cup of milk

3 tablespoons of heavy cream

6 tablespoons of melted butter

1-1/2 pounds of sweet cherries, pitted and drained of juice*

* -- this equals roughly 2 15-oz. cans of pitted sweet cherries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch springform pan or 10-inch tart pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. In a smaller bowl, use an electric- or hand-mixer to beat the eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract for 20 to 30 seconds.

2. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients in the larger bowl. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until the dry ingredients and the egg mixture are incorporated.

3. Add the milk in a slow and steady stream, mixing until well combined. The mixture should form a smooth, soupy batter.

4. Continue to beat as you add the cream and melted butter, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. With a large spoon or spatula, carefully fold in the cherries and ensure a fairly even distribution as you pour the batter into the greased springform pan.

5. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes — until cake is set, but interior is still slightly soft. Then remove cake pan from oven and allow to cool.

6. Serve slices of the clafoutis with freshly whipped cream.

Plot? Yes . . . Menu? No

In Sunday's N.Y. Times, Geoff Nicholson writes this article entitled "Go Ahead. Spoil My Appetite." Here are excerpts from the article:

Like many people, I’ve been spending time lately with Roberto Bolaño’s enormous posthumous novel “2666.” The book is strange and wonderful in all sorts of ways, not least because I can’t think of any other novel in which so many meals are consumed while being so little described.

In the 150-page opening section, four lovelorn literary scholars zip around the world, trying to find a fugitive author . . . . They’re always away from home and going out for meals in bars, restaurants, trattorias, taverns and in one case a “Lilliputian” cafeteria. But what do they eat? I have very little idea.

Most of these meals aren’t described at all, and even when certain items are mentioned — a taco here, sausage and potatoes there — there’s no attempt to evoke any sense of how the meal looked, tasted or smelled. I find this curious. I also find it a tremendous relief.

Haven’t we all read too many novels in which authors go to town describing meals in sumptuous, elaborate detail, in some cases even giving us the recipes?

. . . since I’m likely to be reading this while sitting alone on the couch sustained only by instant coffee, I tend to develop a bad case of food envy. It’s a lot like sex, I think. I don’t want characters in novels to eat better than I do, any more than I want them to have better sex lives than I do.

A Website Worth a Look

I've discovered a nice website for foodies that is worth sharing. Rustic Kitchen was launched by Janine MacLachlan, a woman who splits her time between Chicago and a Michigan farmhouse.

MacLachlan's site includes a link to recipes, a blog and a way to register for the cooking classes she leads in the Michigan countryside.

This recipe for blueberry-basil preserves (pictured above) looks yummy.

A Dearth of Brunch Places

That's one of the shortcomings of living in Washington D.C. The brunch scene (although better than it was 10 years ago) is still not that exciting.

That's unfortunate because I love eating brunch. It's such a civilized meal.

In ten minutes or so, we're heading to La Fourchette on 18th Street for Saturday brunch. We haven't been there in probably 10 months or so, but we've always had a good brunch there.

The blog Brunch DC has declared that La Fourchette serves "the best brunch on 18th Street." Hopefully, we'll find it as tasty as we have before.