Whoa - Look what I dug up whilst cleaning out the woodshed! I know you wanna know...

How cool is this? While cleaning out "my" corner of the woodshed today I found a beautiful old manual food grinder I'd forgotten about.

I bought it for $2.00 at my local Senior Center yard sale about 3 years ago, tucked it away and that was the end of it until now. I distinctly remember it catching my eye on a table full of knick-knacks, candle sticks and crocheted pot holders.
 
As soon as I picked it up, I immediately loved the weight of the solid heavy metal (the thing must weigh 7 pounds) - "Sargent" and "Made in USA" embossed on the steel. And, as an unexpected bonus, there were 4 disk attachments taped to the worn wooden handle of the grinder.

Lastly, it's a beautiful "simple machine" - wooden handle, gears, and a blade. It takes a little more work than my Cuisinart, but you get a much better texture from the hand crank and disks than the very fine mince you get from pulsing the blade of food processor. I'm going to use this for the first time to mince conch for Honduran Conch Soup I'm planning for later on this week. YAY!

Potluck Posts 10/17

If things have seemed a little quiet around here, it's because I've been busy traveling, writing and developing recipes. Since many of you have asked, each week I will be sharing links to recipes and posts I have written. Thanks for your interest and enjoy the Potluck Posts!

Last month I was in Switzerland and this month I had a quick trip to Wisconsin to visit cheesemakers and dairies and to eat cheese; my thanks to the trip sponsor, Wisconsin Cheese. You'll be hearing more about the trip and my discoveries soon. For now, let me just say, it was wonderful. Those kohlrabi are from the Dane County Farmers Market in Madison, Wisconsin, and the picture is in honor of one of my new friends, Greg of Sippity Sup, who I met on the trip.

In between my trips, I had the pleasure of hearing the very inspiring chef Rene Redzepi of restaurant Noma speak. My post on Rene Redzepi and Noma, is on EpiLog. Also on EpiLog are my posts on Savoring Sichuan Peppercorns, Hot Fresh Cookie Cookbooks, Preserving Heirloom Tomatoes and Wine Tasting Snacks.

Meanwhile on Between Bites at Frommers.com, you'll find my post on Half Moon Bay for the Day.

Recent recipes I developed for MyWinesDirect are a super easy and delicious Pork Tenderloin Crostini with Camembert and Cranberry Sauce that pairs with an elegant Crianza Spanish Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon and a Three Cheese Manicotti.

UPCOMING
Look for my post on Harold McGee's latest book, The Keys to Good Cooking here, on Tuesday, October 19th.