Pennington's Foodstory

    Kelly and I were at Green Hills Mall the other weekend and made our regular stop into Williams-Sonoma to drool over expensive kitchen equipment, when lo and behold, a sales associate asked us if we would like to see Thomas Keller and have him sign a cookbook when he's in town in a couple of weeks.  As we were picking our jaws up off the floor, I managed to squeak out a 'yes'.      For those not in the know, Thomas Keller is thought to be one of the greatest chefs alive.  His restaurant, The French Laundry, is one of the most highly acclaimed eateries in the world.  If you have read my earlier stuff, this is the restaurant I was thinking of when I mentioned dropping a mortgage payment on a dinner for four.  Some would say one must envoke a higher power just to get a reservation.     The woman went on to explain that he would be in town signing copies of his new cookbook a d hoc at home.  I signed up right aw...

    On Saturday, my wife and I went to the Farmers Market to check out the goods.  We were having some friends over for dinner and wanted to prepare something from the pre-spring bounty.  It was also a celebration of the fact my wife now has weekends off due to her new job.  It was pretty busy when we got there, so we were pumped that there would be a lot of great stuff.  We did a quick run through to get the lay of the land in order to really begin our search.      On that first flyby, what struck me as really freakin' odd were a couple of booths offering pineapples and bananas. Huh? It's March!  Not only that, but we're in Tennessee!  Not a lot of local, tropical fruit 'round these parts.  As strange as it was, those bananas still looked better than the green variety at the grocery.  I didn't speak with these vendors, but figure they're buying their stuff from a purveyor much like the grocery store would. No h...

   Ok, I've gotten a ton of requests to do a wine column, but I haven't felt that motivated to do one, mainly because wine is my day to day gig and this blog is about food.  But I was thinking last night that maybe I should talk a little about it.  I mean, I might be able to demystify things a bit, make things easier to understand.  People get all worked up about a beverage.  Let me give my two cents...     Suggestion #1:  Drink what you like.  Ask yourself, does this taste good?  The answer should be yes, or you probably shouldn't be drinking it.  Taste is 'subjective', but folks always try to make it 'objective', especially when it comes to wine.  There is no right or wrong answer.  If you like Brussel sprouts, great.  If you don't, no worries.     Suggestion #2:  If you regularly buy wine or want to regularly buy wine, find a good retailer.  And by good retailer...

   I like lists.  I've got lists for everything; things to do, favorite movies, books, travel destinations, the always hopeful "Laminated List", grocery list, etc...the list goes on and on.  Today I reflect on one of my favorites, the Top 5 Sandwiches of all time! (at least in my eyes.)  With infinite combinations, no wonder this is Joey Trebbiani's favorite food.  I'll forgo the history of the sandwich, most know it, and just cut to the chase:      5. Jambon et beurre- Mobile carts all over France.  French for ham and butter, this treasure is served on a baguette that's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  My first encounter with this was in St. Malo back in the Summer of '84.  Super simple, but fantastic!     4. The Burger- "Father's Office", Santa Monica, California.  I saw this on a Travel Channel show and immediately called my brother in LA to ask if he has heard of it....

    If you are not familiar with Laird Hamilton, be sure to look him up on YouTube when you are finished reading this, and be prepared to be amazed.  Laird is considered the greatest big wave surfer of all time.  Now if your image of a surfer is merely Jeff Spicoli ripping bingers in the back of a Microbus while declaring that all he needs are "some tasty waves, and a cool buzz", well this guy will help you redefine your terms.  I have known a ton of surfers, and all of them are tremendous atheletes.  What is a 'big' wave surfer you may ask?  Let me break it down, this guy gets towed by a jetski onto what can become an 80 foot wave and actually RIDES it!  What does that translate into for the regular person?  Imagine willingly sliding down the side of an 8 story building at 50+ mph on a reinforced piece of Styrofoam while said building is trying to crash down on you, with mere inches of w...

    Since I started this project the other day, my head has been swimming with ideas for new topics.   So today as my mind was racing, I realize that I'm starving and must eat lunch pronto.  Here in Nashville, like many cities, we have a ton of absolutely killer taco trucks.  You know, little trailers sitting in parking lots with a halved oil barrel as a grill spewing smoke, filling the air with the wonderous smell of grilled meat.  Now I understand how some folks could be skeptical of this type of food service establishment, I mean how clean can this little trailer be?  I throw caution to the wind, and I have never been disappointed.  My mouth is watering as I pull in the parking lot.     My friend Mel turned me on to this particular one on Charlotte Pike that has rockin' piratas, which are kinda like a cross between a taco and a quesadilla.  I order the usual and dig a bottle of water out of the...

    I have a lot of cookbooks, well over 100 if I had to guess.  I read them all the time, cover to cover, much like a novel.  I also subscribe to all the big food magazines as well.  Needless to say, there's a great deal of paper in the house.  I love having all of these recipes at my disposal because they serve me as more of a suggestion on how to cook, rather than a strict guideline.  One thing I have noticed over the years is that many recipes don't work.  Either the portions are off, the publisher left something out, temperatures are wrong, or other failures that can turn a dish awry.  The only real way of figuring this out is to have made a lot of crappy dishes, and then learn from your mistakes.  When I come across an error, I'll sometimes jot a little note in the margin to remind me not to make the same mistake again.  If you like going to used bookstores, check out the cookbooks and see the notes left by...

    I heard something great the other day, "If your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, you probably shouldn't eat it."  Makes sense to me.  My wife, Kelly, DVR's Oprah every day.  She was watching an episode the other day featuring Michael Pollan who is the author of 'The Omnivore's Dilemma', 'In Defense of Food', and other books about food and diet.  He said this in reference to the various "edible, food-like substances" he now sees at the grocery store.  All of the prepackaged, processed foods that have become staples of our diet are the same things that are making us terribly unhealthy.  We have become a people who thrive on convenience with a 'got to have it now' mentality.  But when that mentality affects the fuel that powers our bodies, we have a major disconnect.  Now, I'm not getting on some pedestal, saying I'm all-knowing and you should eat the way I say, but just take a look at some of the...

  Alas, we begin.  I've been thinking about starting a food blog for some time now, but just haven't had a chance to put fingers to keys.  First off, here are the basics: 1.) I really dig food.  Not only do I like to eat it, but I like to make it too.  2.) I really dig wine.  Not only do I like to drink it, but I like to sell it too. 3.) I really dig eating in restaurants.  I used to dig working in them too. 4.) I really dig traveling the world, eating food and drinking wine.     Now that we have that straight, let's really begin.  I live with my wife in Nashville, Tennessee and work for a local wine distributor.  I've been in the wine biz for about 10 years.  I spent the previous 10 years in the restaurant biz but finally got tired of watching the sun come up.  I know, a sunrise is beautiful and all, but only when it's your choice to see it.    I started my interest in food sort of by accident....