Tonight Rebecca Severs, seen here serving guests at a Bari wine dinner, will be our expert as we work our way through an Italian white, Amano Bianco from Puglia. Run by Bari and let Rebecca pick a selection of cheeses for you and be here at 7.

Also, here’s a bit of trivia, brought to us by blogger and wine expert Charles Warner, who will be coming up with little tidbits for us each week. In honor of tonight’s wine, what’s the capital city of Puglia?

Tonight Rebecca Severs of Bari is our wine expert. I’ll post the details later, but want to let you know this morning that if you want to pick up cheese, you can call the restaurant late this afternoon and she’ll get something together for you. You can pick it up and be home in plenty of time for the tasting. And they do have wireless at Bari, although Rebecca said it can be spotty. Still, she’ll serve the wine there tonight so if you want to go out and taste instead of staying in, grab your laptop and head over. Give her a call if you want cheese, 722-2244. If you’re out east and can’t make it to mid-town, call Mantia’s at 762-8560 and see which Italian cheeses Alyce has on hand. The wine is an Italian white, Amano Bianco.

I received my regular email from the Vermont Country Store last night and realized I hadn’t opened one in a while. I always take a look at the apothecary first, because I have hope that some day they’ll come across a source for the original Herbal Essence shampoo from the ’70s (no luck this time). But then I look at the old candy. I have to say, there are more that I don’t remember than I do, although I think that’s a regional thing more than an age issue.

Does anyone really miss Necco wafers? I hated those! But they have Bit o’ Honey, which was maybe my favorite candy when I was a kid (that and Tangy Taffy). Has anyone seen any locally?

I don’t buy candy except at Halloween, and then I make sure to avoid the Butterfingers because I’ll eat what’s left. There are kids in my family, though, so it’s not like I never see candy. I got a laugh yesterday when I looked at the upcoming chef profile for David Johnson, the chef at McEwen’s. He says Skittles are his favorite junk food, but he doesn’t eat the red or purple ones. Me, either! And I won’t touch a pink Starburst. I’m strictly a green, yellow and orange candy eater, except for Jolly Ranchers. If I take on one of those tooth-killers (dentists actually use them to remove stubborn caps), it’s cherry for me.

You?

 This comes from blogger Charles, and I think he brings up a valid point–although I have reservations. I certainly don’t think you need to put on your Sunday best to go to dinner, but I agree we have become very relaxed dressers. How casual is too casual? Here’s what Charles has to say:

“Every time I go out to eat I am appalled at the mode of dress of the general restaurant goer.  I expect shorts and sandals and T-shirts at El Porton or any fast food place.  However, I certainly feel they are out of place at Erling’s, Encore, and restaurants of that ilk.  I can even make a judgemental difference between lunch and dinner at some lesser restaurants.  In my opinion, we need to return to some sort of pressure to encourage people to take pride in the way they look.  Case in point: Chez Phillipe.  I’ve seen people in shorts, FLIP FLOPS, T-shirt, hair unkempt and unshaven, jogging suits, halter tops.  And this is more common than not.  Is it only our city?  I don’t think so.  Should we accept it?  No.  I understand restaurants are reluctant to turn away business but I find the seating of these slobs takes away from my enjoyment and the reputation of the restaurant, and I make sure I tactfully mention that to the maitre d’.  I’d be interested in your thoughts and the thoughts of your readers.”

Let’s hear it!

I got an email from Lori Green earlier this week and am going to share the bounty with you… When she makes her regular delivery for her CSA members this afternoon, she’ll have extra for the rest of us.  Stop by between 4-7 p.m.  at 699 Shotwell, near U of M. Here’s her message:“We’ll be handing out our CSA boxes to current members, and we’ll be hoping to meet our future CSA members and chefs too, should you decide to stop by and check out the organically grown veggies.

Here’s a sample of what we’ll have available:

Last we counted, about 35 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes, French Filet beans, McCasalan Pole beans, heirloom fingerling and Irish potatoes, Pattypan, yellow, and Crookneck squash, Costata Romanesca zucchini, Pickler cucumbers and lots of Genovese basil.

You can also find blackberry, strawberry and elderberry jams and jellies, pickled okra, pickled green tomatoes, chow chow, sauerkraut, stewed tomatoes, homemade ketchup, pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce….all made with homegrown varieties or wild harvested in our community. And we will have a limited quantity of homemade braided wheat bread. Yum!”

Tonight Fredric Koeppel will join us online at 7 for our wine tasting. He selected the Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti “Le Orme” 2005 and has several food suggestions. Red meat from the grill, a hearty meat sauce with pasta, or do as he’s doing and go with Mexican. His plan, as of yesterday, anyway, was to grill a flank steak and make tacos. I thought I’d stay in the same general category, so I’m going with a taco salad. I went to the doc today with a pulled tendon and I’m in a boot and can’t exercise for the next month. Believe me, it’s not like I do a lot, but I’m definitely going to have to eat lighter. So salad it is.

See you back here at 7.

 Chile is Memphis in May’s honored country for 2009, which was officially announced today. I’ve been noodling around the web to learn a little about Chilean food–lots of fish–and was surprised to find out that one of my favorite summer drinks, the pisco sour, is as popular in Chile as it is in Peru.

I’ve never been to Chile, but hey, I’ve drunk the wine. If you know anything about the food or have recipes, share here. I was disappointed to find that Frommers.com says that the food is getting better, but that “for now it’s safe to say that you will not return from your trip raving about the country’s cuisine.” That said, it went on to talk about food that sounds pretty good. Lots of seafood, like I said, plus abundant fruit and vegetables, and street or cafe food like empanadas, sandwiches and so on. Something I just can’t imagine, though, is the custom of eating dinner as late as they do in Chile (and many other countries, most notably Spain): 9:30 or 10 p.m., even at home? There’s no tapas down Chile way, either. We don’t generally eat until 7:30 or 8 at home which I know is late for some people, but 10? Too late for me. I’m afraid I’d have way too many pisco sours by that time! Here’s a simple recipe:

2 oz pisco brandy
1 oz lime juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
1/2 egg white
1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake vigorously or put in a blender with a few ice cubes. You don’t have to use the egg white. Makes 1.

Be sure to catch Andria Lisle’s story about how to cook and serve a Chinese meal in tomorrow’s Food section. We give you recipes but also make suggestions for easy-to-find items in local ethnic stores and, of course, suggestions for take-out so you can host a great TV dinner party during the Olympics.

And if you don’t want to cook at all, well, you’re in luck. Blogger/cartographer Randal has been at it again and this time he’s created a local Chinese restaurant map. Click here to get to his Google map. You’ll remember that he did the same thing for barbecue joints not too long ago. Take a look at his map, read the story, and tell us your favorite places around the area for Chinese food.

You can run by Ground Zero Blues Club today or tomorrow if you’d like to drop off a get-well card for Morgan Freeman or sign a group card. Folks there will see to it that he gets the cards. As I’m sure you know, Freeman was injured in an automobile accident near his Mississippi home Sunday night and is in The Med. He’ll be fine, but I’m sure he’ll also be happy to know that we’re all thinking of him.

On to the grocery… How are you economizing at the grocery store? Some people clip coupons and others don’t. Some shop for the week, others find it more convenient to shop daily. Where are the best grocery prices? And which grocery stores actually make their deli items and/or hot foods from scratch? (This is a combo savings/eat local angle.)

I keep a well-stocked larder but try not to buy too much ahead of time. I find that food will go bad if I buy too much, because I always end up cooking less during the week than I expect. In fact, when fall comes, I’m going back to the Eat Every Bite project. But let’s share money-saving tips for now.