Lloyd’s Links: COPIA

I had the good fortune to live in California for almost 20 years.

Like Chicago, California has a north side and south side, only Southern California is anchored by Los Angeles and Northern California by San Franciso.  Climate, terrain and even the personality of the inhabitants are different.

I clearly prefer Northern Californina and within this region, Napa stands out as a magical place, not only for its physical beauty and world class wineries but more importantlty for the spirit of the people living and working in the Napa Valley.

One of the great founders of the California wine industry, Robert Mondavi, envisioned and built COPIA, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts. COPIA’s mission is to explore, celebrate and share the many pleasures and benefits of wine, its relationship to food, and its significance to our culture.

I trust you’ll enjoy this website and put both Napa and COPIA on your list of places to visit.

 http://www.copia.org/

Homebrewing & more fresh books

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I am a fan of the eGullet Society and the many interesting things I find when browsing their site. The latest? An online homebrewing course, Homebrewing for the Absolute Beginner.

Check out our Fresh Books page for more new books, including Alain Ducasse’s Desserts and Pastries (Grand Livre de Cuisine). Et voilà!

Lloyd’s Links: Pizza

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SLICE…………America’s Favorite Pizza Weblog

Please believe me when I say that I truly love Chicago; its sports teams, museums, architecture, restaurants, lakefront and people. However, as a native New Yorker and a Brooklynite, I still don’t get deep dish pizza. The weblog SLICE provides some interesting history of pizza in the United States and highlights the top New York pizza parlors.  

While growing up in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, I fondly remember sharing many “pies” with my parents and brother at Totonno Pizzeria Napoletana, 1524 Neptune Avenue.

New Books!

Check out the newest page on the CHIC LRC blog: Fresh Books!

On this page we will feature the newest additions to our collection with hyperlinks to Amazon for descriptions and call numbers so you can come in to the LRC and find your book.

Our second new feature is the Recommend a Book page. If you see a book, DVD, or periodical that you think we should have in the collection, leave a comment on this page. Give us as much information as you can and reviews are always welcome, too.

Jeg elsker Marcus Samuelsson.

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In grade school, each of us had to write a report on a country. My country was, and has been since, Norway. I am a scandinaviaphile, if there is such a term. I drink aquavit (or akevitt as we say på norsk), eat geitost, and blog in Norwegian.

Marcus Samuelsson hails from our neighbor, Sweden. He was born in Ethiopia and adopted by Swedish parents.  Best known for his highly successful restaurant, Aquavit, Samuelsson has turned to Africa for the subject of his latest book.  Read about Marcus and his new book, The Soul of a New Cuisine, in Tadias Magazine online.

Jeg elsker = I love

Lloyd’s Links: Local Food & Sustainability

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From Lloyd: This week’s focus is on local food, sustainability, and farmer to consumer connections with Illinois and Wisconsin organizations. For the big picture, visit Slow Food USA.

(I am not taking it personally  surprised that Michigan, with its rich agricultural heritage and vibrant local food scene, was left out. Perhaps Lloyd is saving Michigan for its own week?)

Illinois:

Illinois Fresh! Guide to U-Pick Farms, Roadside Markets, and Farmers’ Markets http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/fresh/

Farm Direct: The Illinois Farmer to Consumer Directory of Locally Produced and Locally Sold Foods http://www.illinoisfarmdirect.org/

Illinois Market Maker, an interactive mapping system that locates businesses and markets of agricultural products in Illinois, providing an important link between producers and consumers http://www.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/

Wisconsin:

Savor Wisconsin, an online directory and resource for consumers around the world to find food and agricultural products and services from the state of Wisconsin http://www.savorwisconsin.com/

Wisconsin Fresh Market Vegetable Growers Association interactive map: http://www.wisconsinfreshproduce.org/wimap.htm