Table Talk.(Spotlight)

Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) January 24, 2007 | Meitus, Marty Byline: Marty Meitus, Rocky Mountain News I pledge to do my best INFOBOX Calendar whirl Today is National Peanut Butter Day, but just so you can plan, here’s how the rest of the week is shaping up: Irish Coffee Day, Thursday; Pistachio Day, Friday; Chocolate Cake Day, Saturday; Blueberry Pancake Day, Sunday; Corn Chip Day, Monday; Croissant Day, Tuesday; Brandy Alexander Day, Jan. 31. Who comes up with these things? in our site lemon drop martini

tfdutch.com/foodh.htm ASK FOOD NETWORK Q: I love thick-cut bacon. The problem is, I like it extra-crispy and I smoke up the kitchen when frying it. It seems that if I lower the heat, it just doesn’t cook like I want it. Is there any way I can have extra-crispy bacon without having to open a window? – Cameron C. Poe, Lexington, Ky.

A: The easiest way to cook bacon is to lay it all out on a baking sheet or in a few frying pans, and then bake in the oven. While it takes longer than pan-frying does, you have the added advantages of smoke containment and the ability to cook much more bacon at once.

BY THE BOOK The Seduction Cookbook Diane Brown, Innova Publishing, $15.95 Got romance? Brown’s cookbook is all about kindling the fires with food. The introductions to each of the recipes are a bit over the top. Before the Honey Roasted Belgian Endives recipe, she says, “It is said that in medieval Germany, women used endive as a love charm.” Whatever. The recipes are solid and give suggestions to the romantically impaired for menus including “A Late Night Fireside Supper” and “A Bewitching Bedroom Brunch.” JENNIFER ROSEN’S WINE PICK Bodega Susana Balbo Crios Torront s 2006, $12.99 This enterprising white grape manages to combine the voluptuous body of chardonnay, the rose petal and peach of muscat and the citric crispness of sauvignon blanc – all in one glass. Drink it young. If you wait till you’re older, you might be dead. site lemon drop martini

Drinks of prosperity Oprah Winfrey recently revealed her favorite drink to Rachael Ray: a pomegranate martini. Then again, she revealed to Ray that her favorite drink is – wait for it – a lemon drop martini. Then again . . . Until she changes her mind, here are Oprah’s recipes. Honest, she mixed them up personally.

* Oprah’s Pomegranate Martini: 11/2 cups pomegranate juice, 2 ounces Citron vodka, 1 ounce Cointreau. Shake ingredients in a shaker and put in chilled martini glasses. Put pomegranate fruit into glass as garnish. Serves 2.

* Oprah’s Lemon Drop Martini: Juice of 6 lemons, 4 tablespoons sugar, 6 mint leaves, 4 shots of vodka. Mix lemon juice, sugar and vodka in a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake well and pour into sugar-rimmed martini glass. Garnish with mint. Serves 2.

Meitus, Marty