Clementine

I’ve been meaning to try Clementine for a while, but the problem, and it’s a very small one, is that it’s close to my office, and not downtown. And I didn’t think that they were open for lunch. With Connor-pup, I have to go home after work, and can’t stay uptown for dinner. Anyway… the Blonde and the Redhead took me to dinner there for my birthday last night and we had an amazing and fun dinner. I was thrilled to see that they had escargot on the menu, as you rarely see them. I ordered them as my starter. They were sauteed with shitake mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce over toast points, and were fabulous!The B&R split an order of macaroni and cheese, which is similar to the mac & cheese at Sobo Cafe, where the chef at Clementine used to cook. This is made with the traditional elbow macaroni, instead of Sobo’s penne pasta, but it was every bit as good. For my main, I had the smoked pork tenderloin with smoked gouda mashed potatoes and asparagus. The Blonde had the Baltimore Grill, a lovely piece of steak, with shredded horserashish and the same mash and mixed vegetables. The Redhead had a pork chop with mash and asparagus. Two friends of ours stopped by for drinks at Clementine and sent over a piece of coconut cake with seven-minute icing, which was perfect to end the meal!

Clementine specializes in charcuterie and makes their own sausages and smokes the meat on premise. They’ve just expanded from the original space into the space next door, more than doubling the size of the restaurant.

It was a great place for a celebration dinner in a casual setting and I am sure it will become a new favourite for all of us!

Thanks again, B&R for the lovely presents, the wonderful dinner and the exceptional friendship!!!

Sunday Market – October 25

I bailed on the Market last week, since it was so rainy and dark. I know that it’s a steady downhill slide towards winter from here on out, but the time will change soon and it will be a tad lighter in the mornings.

This week, Halloween is all in evidence, from the vast number of pumpkins to the vendors in costume.

Seriously, how cute is this guy? His grandmother gave him and his father hats. One’s before and the other’s after!

Lady Liberty made an appearance. As did the Buffalo Man… Dude!!! Pumpkins from very, very large to very, very small and every shape and size between. One of the funniest things we saw was two bees on sunflowers. It was so chilly up in the country, that the bees were basically in a suspended state and were not moving.

See you next week @ The Market (if it’s not raining).

Sunday Market – October 11

As soon as we started walking through the Market, I found my theme for the day. PURPLE!

A Ravens home game, combined with some of the late season fruits and vegetables prompted this choice. I was thinking that there wouldn’t be a lot of non-clothing selections, but I was wrong!

This cute little girl with her purple glasses also had on purple shoes. A fashion plate at age five!

Purple flowers with someone’s purple toes.  Turnips? Rutabagas? Swede? Lovely purple and white, whatever they are…Spanish onions? They’re considered purple, no?Purple cauliflower! I am so curious how this cooks up. Anyone try it?   Aubergines. Eggplants. Whatever you call them, a deep glossy purple is gorgeous.Plums! Plummy plums. Yummy plums.  A green bug on some purple sage.Purple basil  Pet in purple. I wish I could carry my dog like this. It would never work though. He doesn’t like purple. Romanesco broccoli, with just a hint of purple. Purple paintbrushes. See you next week @ the Market!

FTC: Bloggers Must Disclose Endorsements

A few months ago, I posted about a Blogger Code of Ethics in which bloggers who receive goods or services and then write about them, should disclose this fact to their readers. It’s not an unrealistic expectation because perceptions change when you know whether the writer is benefitting from what they are writing about. Objectivity may change if a blogger thinks the pipeline of goods and services might stop.

The US Federal Trade Commission has announced that bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. If they do not, the FTC may levy a fine of up to $11,000.

Here’s more:

“The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement.”

A link to the announcement is here.

Thanks to my friend Julie for telling me about the FTC alert.

Gourmet Magazine Closing

Another one bites the dust! In shocking news, it was announced today that Gourmet magazine is closing. Although I have a food blog, I don’t really cook at all (not that I can’t cook, I just don’t cook.)

I love reading recipes and looking at all of the gorgeous pictures and I have always found great insider tips on places to visit when I am travelling.

Such a shame for everyone involved in Gourmet.

Sunday Market – October 4

Today was the Farm-to-Table {sponsored by Toyota} at the market and there were four tents scattered around with different chefs pairing with local farms to produce a taste of something they’ve created.

It seemed to me to be a bit less crowded between eight and nine, when we were there. The stations at that time were manned (or womanned) by Jesse Sandlin of Abacrombie + Richfields Farms/South Mt. Creamery with a broccoli soup; Bill Crouse of Sotto Sopra + Richfields Farms with a butternut squash ravioli;  Rashad Edwards of Meli Patisserie & Bistro + Truck Patch Farms with a dressed salad; and Sandy Lawler of Feast @ 4 East + Jean-Michel Company/Gunpowder Bison/Martin Farms with bison burgers. (top image)

For me, it was a little early to eat like that, but my companions and fellow bloggers tried the soup and ravioli and proclaimed them delicious!

With the dramatic drop in temperatures in the last week, there are a lot more autumn fruits and vegetables on offer. Lots of pumpkins and squash. We’re careening down that slippery slope to winter.

See you next week @ the market.