National Chocolate Ice Cream Day

Today is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. This needs no explanation. A lady I once knew said, when I asked her if she wanted to go out for ice cream, "Sure! My three favorite things are chocolate, ice cream, and chocolate ice cream." For some reason, that line burned itself into my memory. My daughter has the same taste. The best chocolate ice cream I ever tasted was the chocolate mousse ice cream developed during the reign of Gerhard Brill as chef at Commander's Palace, in the early 1980s.

It's the birthday of Dean Martin, in 1917. A little-heard hit of his is That Little Old Wine Drinker, Me. Not only is it uncool to brag about drinking these days, but the commercial for Italian Swiss Colony Wines that inspired the song is almost completely forgotten. It depicted a little old Swiss guy answering the question of who makes Italian Swiss Colony wines, in the voice of Jim Backus: "That little old wine maker, me."

Manchego, Spanish, n.--An excellent sheep's milk cheese from La Mancha in Spain. Yes, this is the cheese of Don Quixote, whose name is used as a brand name on one windely-marketed Manchego. Sometimes called the Romano cheese of Spain, Manchego tends to have a milder flavor and is deliciously edible all by itself. Indeed, you'll see it on almost any tapas menu the world over. However, when Manchego is aged for six months or so, it becomes more intense and quite tangy.

While ersatz food substitutes sometimes lead to major new flavors (chicory coffee comes to mind), almost all the time it drop in quality is greater than the drop in price.

Marshmallow Mountain towers 6972 feet in the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve in northern Alaska. That's about three thousand feet above the bed of Alapah Creek, just two miles west. It's about eight miles north of the Continental Divide; the Alapah drains into the Arctic Ocean. Marshmallow Mountain is topped with glaciers that account for its name. Total wilderness.

Everybody loves a good apple pie. So why do relatively few restaurants serve it? Are they afraid of not seeming hip? That would explain a lot about the Camellia Grill in modern times. The place does indeed have great apple pie.

"When the sun's coming up I got cakes on the griddle," sang John Denver, whose song Thank God I'm A Country Boy hit Number One today in 1975.

Today in 1914 the first boat passed through the Panama Canal. This was occasion for much rejoicing in this country, and particularly in New Orleans, whose port expected (and got) a great deal more traffic as a result. A transit through the Panama Canal is one of the highlights of cruising. The experience is nothing like what you'd imagine, and unforgettable.

The Dinner of the Three Emperors was served today in 1867. The place was Paris (of course), at Cafe Anglais. The chef was Adolphe Duglere, one of the most famous French chefs of all time (a classic sauce is named for him). And the emperors were Tsar Alexander II of Russia, his son Alexander III (who would succeed him), and King William I of Prussia. At Tour d'Argent in Paris, the china and silverware used for that dinner are kept in the ancient restaurant's mini-museum.

Teresa Brewer, who had a few hits in the 1950s and sounded like she was thirteen, was born today in 1931. . . Chuck Berry was charged with tax evasion on this date in 1979. . . Football pro Goose Gonsoulin made his first kick today in 1938. . . Child actor Jordan Fry was a Fry baby today in 1993.

"When he's late for dinner, I know he's either having an affair or lying dead in the street. I always hope it's the street."--Actress Jessica Tandy, born today in 1909, about her husband Hume Cronyn.

"I once shook hands with Pat Boone and my whole right side sobered up."--Dean Martin, born today in 1917.