Butter

The Taneytown History Museum is featuring two small, but vivid, exhibits that focus on very different aspects of north Carroll County history: Its brush with the Civil War, and its 200-year heritage of dairy farming. The exhibit "Got Milk: A Brief History of Carroll County Dairy Farming, 1800-1930" takes up only one room in the museum on East Baltimore Street, yet offers a glimpse into dairy farming's economic and cultural importance in Carroll during earlier times. The displays are comprised of an eclectic assortment of photographs, paintings and articles describing several diary industry tools that were invented in Carroll County and marketed nationally.

News Roundup •••• It was a busy week down in Bethesda, with the “Skyrim” developers trademarking the game's signature “Fus Ro Dah” shout. Crap, now I owe them $17. More pertient to gamers is the announcement that over 200 voice commands will be added via a free Kinect support download for Xbox 360 users later this month. [ PC Ga mer , PC Mag ] •••• ... but the National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviews says “Minecraft” is better.

Van Gogh Vodka is introducing what it's calling one of their most innovative and unexpected flavors to date: PB&J. The press release from Van Gogh was spread thick with all kinds of tasty trivia about the beloved sandwich. It says that peanut butter was invented by a doctor in St. Louis for his toothless patients. Van Gogh's PB&J has a primarily peanut fragrance complemented by the aroma of fresh raspberries. But, the profiles reverse on the tongue. Raspberry dominates the flavor, not peanut butter.

Nicole Pace told the school nurse that her daughter was deathly allergic to peanuts and had her 5-year-old's allergist provide Hillcrest Elementary School in Frederick with a pre-measured dose of medicine, just in case. But a cafeteria worker - unaware of the danger peanuts posed to the girl, Liana - gave her a peanut butter sandwich. "The child immediately began experiencing an anaphylactic reaction; her airway and eyelids began to swell, and she became lethargic and confused," according to court records.

Executive Chef Daniel Wecker reflects: This is one of my personal favorites because of the combination of the elegant, flaky flounder with the tartness of the sauce with the capers. I recommend a rice blend or creamy polenta as the starch and a garnish of chopped parsley. This dish pairs very nicely with Pouilly-Fuisse, White Burgundy, a rich, dry white wine. Sauteed Flounder Grenobloise Sauce Ingredients: - 3 cups of brown chicken stock - 1/3 cup roux (equal parts butter and flour cooked)

Celebrity chefs have become a big business in recent years. Rare are the kitchen products, from pots and pans to garlic presses, that do not carry an endorsement from some chef with a cable television show and a chain of restaurants. Paula Deen is just such a person and received considerable attention last week when it was revealed that she has had type 2 diabetes for the past three years. This would not be particularly notable - diabetes is on the rise in this country, with more than 25 million adults and children affected by it - except for one thing.

Paula Deen has long bragged about her unhealthy cooking, but now the southern chef has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes . While she said she is not changing her diet, her diagnosis could be a wake up call to people still clinging to fatty, sugar-filled diets. Deen said she has always eaten in moderation, but while Type 2 diabetes can be hereditary it is also diet related. Deen made her announcement while at the same time saying she was promoting a diabetes drug.

Despite the best efforts of the Calorie and Cholesterol Cops (CCC) to shame us, there are still those of us who really love to give gifts of goodies made by our own hands in our own kitchens. In order to be dietarily correct, however, I suppose we now have to carry on this annual culinary tradition (well, semi-annual, if you count our summertime zucchini bread orgy) with an eye to those on our gift list. Over-indulgers are definitely out. We probably should only give our homemade love to those who have managed to retain a grip on the old saw, "Moderation in all things.

The other night we were watching a movie on TV. During one of the commercial breaks - which are generally long enough to drive to Dairy Queen for a sundae and get back before the show starts again - Doug went to make some popcorn. I approve of popcorn as "food" on principle. It's delicious right out of the kernel - if you like Styrofoam packing peanuts - and it has fiber which, as the fiber-supplement industry is constantly reminding us, is good for us. Personally, I think they're just trying to get rid of all those extra Styrofoam packing peanuts.

Thomas Klein from Pasadena was looking for a recipe he had a while back but has misplaced for peanut butter potato salad. As he recalls, it was made much like regular potato salad but with the addition of peanut butter. Sally Lippincott from New Market sent in a recipe she had for peanut butter potato salad that her aunt gave her some years ago. She says she makes it frequently, particularly in the summertime for cookouts, and she always gets requests for the recipe. Her recipe says to peel the potatoes, but I when I tested it, I used new red potatoes and left the skin on. This saved a little time and added some nice color and texture.