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I roast fresh figs in balsamic vinegar until the balsamic gets syrupy and the figs are warm. Put this over peppery greens tossed with olive oil. Top with goat cheese and walnuts. Amazing salad.

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I do it with pears too...divine on its own, or spooned over vanilla ice-cream ;)

I love to make wine jelly with either cheap or leftover wine. Although my recipe calls for an entire bottle of wine, I have also used half a bottle mixed with fruit juice (preferably an unsweetened brand) successfully.

The resulting jelly is great on sandwiches, as a glaze for meats, or spread with cream cheese on Ritz crackers :-)

Dominic
the zen kitchen

I see it as the barriers to entry have changed or morphed. Instead of toiling in low-level editorial jobs or knowing someone who knew someone, these people instead used their own gumption to build readership and a voice, which was then noticed.

Arguing whether or not their respective voices deserve to be heard is a another discussion altogether, but one that could — and should IMO (with much more regularity) — be applied to "traditional" media voices as well.

I'm with you, Ed. As a professional writer (albeit, a technical writer and feature writer for technical professional mags), it's a joy to write about food, recipes, gardening, travel and whatever else I'd like in my true voice.

The reason I started blogging two years ago was to provide a Web space for family and friends to keep track of my adventures without clogging their email boxes with newsletters and huge photos. Since then, my efforts have expanded a bit, but the purpose primarily remains the same.

Which is not to say that I don't like visitors, because I do. It's great when people have things to say about the posts or good advice based on their experience. Plus, their visits give me the opportunity to play hostess, which is great fun. Unknown (and known) visitors also inspire me to improve my writing, cooking/baking, film making, etc.

As far as bloggers going professional goes, I'm very proud of bloggers like Heidi and Clotilde who have published lovely books, and who continue to do their magic on their blogs.

Regarding the Restaurant Girl discussion, it seems that everyone is capable of being a critic. When I want restaurant reviews, I go to online sites that have large communities of users rather than a single blogger (except in the case of your Robyn -- I've eaten with her and trust her judgment). If 8 or 9 unrelated people have positive things to say about a place, that speaks pretty loudly to me.

Getting off my soapbox.

Deb
Here and There
Altered Plates

The Top Chef thing sounds daft - if she was good enough to beon the show, is she not good enough to open her mouth. I presume she knew what the score was before she went on the show. I doubt if I'd have agreed to such an idiotic idea, but that's me...

As for restaurant girl, dunno... I emailed her and cced you. So, let's see.

I certainly don't prretend to know whether RG can pull this off, but it should be fun to watch. She's a decent enough writer, and she has, IMHO, enough knowledge about food to do the job. Whether she understands that her role has changed now that she works for the DN is another question, as is whether she is already fatally compromised as a critic because of her visibility and her professional relationships with many chefs and dining establishments. I think its an interesting experiment and I hope she can bring a meaningful new approach to food writing. Certainly the ruse of the surprise visit from the unknown or disguised critic has become a tired cliche (c.f., the woman with the big droopy hat and the oversized sunglasses. Hi, Gael.).

But look.... 2 years ago

http://www.noodlepie.com/2005/03/the_swarm.html

it was the same story....

Consuming Passions: A Food-Obsessed Life by Michael Lee West - she's a great fiction writer and wrote this food memoir that focuses on Southern cooking. Really funny too.

My top books are Reichel's Garlic and Sapphires, Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, and Ruhlman's The Making of a Chef.

Ohh-- there are so many. The Steingarten, Trillin, and Reichl books are all amazing, but I wouldn't say my favorite ( although I never want their books to end). I'm also glad someone else mentioned the Thornes. Their book "Pot on the Fire" was my first food related book that I read and I am looking forward to reading it again. I really enjoyed the Julia Child and Paul Prud'Homme "My Life in France". As someone else mentioned, not so much about food, but a beautifully written story about/ by such a beloved woman. I am currently enjoying both "the United States of Arugula" by David Kamp, and "How I Learned to Cook" edited by Kimberly Witherspoon and Peter Meehan. Both are really interesting in their own ways. I started both "Heat" and "the Perfectionist" in the past year, and really need to get back to them soon.

I am a huge Jim Harrison fan, and I love his collection of food-related essays called The Raw and the Cooked. Harrison is the literary gourmand for hunters, scroungers, philosophers, down and dirty cooks, intrepid travelers, unabashed partyers and anyone who is prone to excessive eating and drinking. If you want a better idea of the charming insanity of Mr. Harrison, the Times did a great feature on him a few months ago that also has a video - it shows him cooking grouse or something, while sucking on a cigarette and talking about his gout. He's the character of characters, with the appetite of a thousand kings.