Mandatory News

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

A St. Patrick's Day lunch menu from Sonoma's Meadowcroft Wines

The Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland, is one of the only cooking schools in the world with its own 100-acre, certified organic farm.

Ballymaloe graduate Darby Tarantino uses that sprawling, verdant garden as inspiration each March when she creates an authentic St. Patricks Day luncheon at the tasting room of Meadowcroft Wines in Sonoma, where she serves as the resident chef and wine educator.

Unlike the faux-Irish feast of corned beef and cabbage, which is more Manhattan Island than Emerald Isle, her farm-to-table feast conjures up all of the sweet root vegetables and crisp spring bounty of Ballymaloe, a Gaelic word that means the townland of sweet honey.

When they think of Irish food, people always think of meat and potatoes, said Tarantino, whose ancestors fled County Cork during the potato famine. But at Ballymaloe Cookery School, theyve realized that Ireland is more than that. Its surrounded by ocean, and its founder, Darina Allen, is responsible for all kinds of farmers markets all over the country.

Tarantino, who grew up in Santa Rosa and now lives in Penngrove, made her first trip to Ireland in 2000, then returned every year until 2007, when she decided to leave her job in escrow to enroll at Ballymaloe and reinvent herself as a food and wine maven.

I fell in love with the country, so I started going back every year, she said. Ireland was calling me home. Whenever I land at the airport there, I have a feeling of being home.

In 2007, the Celtic Tiger economic engine was still roaring when she started classes at Ballymaloe, which opened its doors in 1983 and has been teaching students the secrets of authentic Irish cooking ever since.

Everything we cooked came from the organic farm, she said. We made our own cheese, and even milked the cows.

During the first week, Allen taught the students how to make a proper Irish soda bread, a simple, unleavened loaf made with flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt.

She taught us how to get the right texture, and how to tell if it is done, Tarantino recalled. You have to have just the right amount of buttermilk and when you tap the bottom, you should hear a hollow sound.

Source: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/3584983-181/a-st-patricks-day-lunch

Norwalk man goes on rant about Biggie Smalls after buying crack

NORWALK -- Police say a Norwalk man allegedly went on a rant about Biggie Smalls while writhing around in a pile of snow Sunday before he banged on a woman's car, causing it to dent.

Carlos Gudino, 35, of 1 Disesa Court, was charged with criminal mischief, possession with intent to sell, sale/possession within distance of a school, first-degree threatening, criminal trespass and possession of narcotics.

Gudino was issued a $20,000 bond and a court date of March 9 at Norwalk Superior.

According to a police report, officers responded to a report of a suspicious person on Loundsbury Avenue around 6 p.m.

Upon arrival, officers spoke with a witness who said she saw a man laying in the snow in the street outside of her apartment building while yelling about Biggy Smalls and other rappers.

The suspect, Gudino, who was said to have been rambling on and not making sense, was described as a white male wearing black clothing.

Officers searched the area for Gudino with the help of a resident who was driving around the neighborhood in an attempt to help before they went back to speak with the witness.

While there, the witness told police she saw Gudino laying in her yard before he allegedly jumped up and began banging on her car while screaming. Gudino's antics allegedly left a dent in the hood of the car.

Police later caught up with the Gudino on Fair Street, where officers say he refused to acknowledge their presence.

When he finally decided to talk, Gudino claimed to have been visiting a friend in the building and said, "All I did was bang on her car."

Officers placed Gudino in handcuffs and patted him down, which they say revealed suspected crack in his pocket.

As he was being taken into custody, police say Gudino began yelling at the officers and said he had gotten into an argument earlier in the day in regards to a narcotics purchase.

Source: http://www.thehour.com/news/nw-police/norwalk-man-goes-on-rant-about-biggie-smalls-after-buying/article_af56d716-66c7-5362-a6aa-c54d53f24bc8.html

Monday, March 9, 2015

Terps Cruise To Big Ten Tournament On Seven-Game Win Streak

Posted on March 09, 2015 by Chris Garman

The University of Maryland men's basketball team closed the regular season with a 64-61 win against the University of Nebraska March 8. The No. 10 Terps are now 26-5 and 14-4 in the Big Ten conference. The 26 regular-season wins are the most in program history.

The Terps finished second in the Big Ten standings and will receive a double-round bye during the Big Ten tournament before playing the winner of the Indiana-Northwestern matchup during the quarterfinal round March 13.

Photo Credit: Mitch Stringer/PressBox

The Terps split their two regular-season meetings with the Hoosiers. Maryland dropped the first game, 89-70, in Bloomington, Ind., Jan. 22. At the time, the Terps were ranked No. 13, while the Hoosiers were ranked No. 23. Indiana junior guard Yogi Farrell scored a game-high 24 points on 7-for-8 shooting from behind the 3-point line.

Maryland avenged that loss in College Park, Md., Feb. 11, grinding out a 68-66 victory behind 18 points each from senior guard/forward Dez Wells and freshman guard Melo Trimble. The victory marked the start of the Terps' current seven-game win streak, making them the first Big Ten team to win their final seven regular-season contests since Wisconsin accomplished the feat during the 2007-08 season.

Maryland needed some late-game heroics from Wells to defeat Northwestern, 68-67, during the two teams' lone meeting this season at Xfinity Center Jan. 25. Wells scored on a tip-in off a missed 3-pointer by Trimble with 1.4 seconds left to propel the Terps to the win.

The Hoosiers and Wildcats met once this season, with the Wildcats notching a 72-65 victory Feb. 25. For the Hoosiers, the loss was the start of the team's current three-game losing skid. As for the Wildcats, they have won five of their last seven games after losing a season-high 10 games from Jan. 4-Feb. 10.

Meanwhile, Maryland, which finished two games behind Wisconsin for the Big Ten's top spot, ranked in the middle of the conference in several key statistical categories. The Terps are seventh in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 63.1 points per game. The Terps are ninth in scoring offense, averaging 69.7 points per outing. They are also seventh in the conference in scoring margin (plus-6.6 points per game), team field goal percentage (44 percent) and rebounding margin (plus-1.7 per contest).

An area where the Terps have excelled, though, is team defense. The team finished second in the conference in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 39.6 percent shooting. Maryland has also taken advantage of its trips to the free-throw line, ranking second in the Big Ten with a 75.7 percent conversion rate.

All season, the Terps have shown the ability to win close games. With the three-point win against the Cornhuskers, the Terps are 10-0 in games decided by six points or fewer. Another factor was their ability to take care of business on their home floor, going 18-1 (9-0 Big Ten) at the Xfinity Center.

"It is pretty amazing," head coach Mark Turgeon said. "There were some games I was confused about how we did it, and I would be confused when looking at the stat sheet after the games. We had a good balance, and it is just pretty amazing. We did not talk about it, but we all knew it was great to finish 9-0 at home. We gained confidence."

Following the team's three-game road losing streak from Jan. 22-Feb. 8, the Terps managed to win their final three road games. Maryland fought through its road struggles, and now will play neutral court games during the postseason. The Terps are 2-0 in such games this season, having earned both wins coming during the CBE Hall of Fame Classic championship against Arizona State Nov. 24 and Iowa State Nov. 25.

The Big Ten tournament concludes March 15, and the Terps will learn their NCAA tournament seed the same day. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has Maryland projected to be a No. 3 seed in the East region, but the team could make a strong case for a No. 2 seed if it wins the Big Ten tournament.

Follow Chris on Twitter @Garmelo10

Source: http://www.pressboxonline.com/2015/03/09/terps-cruise-to-big-ten-tournament-on-seven-game-win-streak

Patrick Willis/Justin Smith retirement, Colin Kaepernick trade rumors, Frank ...

The 49ers roster is seeing all kinds of turnover, amidst all sorts of random news, rumors and speculation. So much for ever going to Las Vegas again.

In case I did not realize this before, I can confirm now that I should never return to Las Vegas again. I said on Friday that crazy stuff can happen when I go to Las Vegas, and this weekend has only further served to confirm it. In the time I have been gone, we have seen the following news, rumors, speculation, or whatever you want to call it:

My apologies to Michael Wilhoite, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Garrett Celek, Kyle Nelson and Derek Carrier. All four were either tendered or signed new contracts. While that is certainly news-worthy, it kinda sort falls by the wayside amidst the rest of this news.

Just when we thought the 49ers offseason could not get any crazier, it manages to top itself. And as I was enjoying the past few days in Las Vegas, the 49ers entered Thunderdome, and then shot well beyond it.

This team is going to look significantly different when they return to the offseason workout program next month. Their defensive depth chart alone is seeing significant change. The 49ers 11-man defensive depth chart a year ago included Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, Ray McDonald, Chris Culliver, Perrish c*x and Ahmad Brooks. Those guys are either gone or could be gone before the end of this week.

And of course, Frank Gore is likely gone, Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati could both depart this week, and we don't know the future of Stevie Johnson. Oh, and of course the Kap rumors are out there. I don't expect Colin Kaepernick to be traded, but the longer I stay in Las Vegas, it seems like the more likely it is that something could happen just to mess with me! Thankfully, I'm headed back to DC later this afternoon. I get on a plane at 5:15 p.m. PT, so let's hope for the best.

Until then, start hoarding supplies because Thunderdome is upon us!

Source: http://www.ninersnation.com/2015/3/9/8176089/patrick-willis-justin-smith-retirement-colin-kaepernick-trade-rumors

Ndamukong Suh expected to sign $114 million deal with Miami Dolphins

Last Thursday, an Irish Setter named Thendara Satisfaction took second prize in his class at the prestigious Crufts dog show in Birmingham, England. A day later, back home in Belgium, the dog, called Jagger, became ill and died. The vet was suspicious and performed an autopsy on the 3-year-old show dog. "They found cubes of beef in his stomach that had at least two types of poison inside," co-owner and breeder Dee Millington-Bott tells CNN. "He had enough in his system to kill a horse, according to the vet."

Belgian police have launched an investigation, and everyone is expecting a full toxicology report next week. Nothing has ever happened like this in the 124-year history of Crufts, according to the Kennel Club, which runs the dog show. The motive for the poisoning is unclear. "We're quite successful and that can of course make people jealous," Willem Lauwers, husband of Belgian co-owner Aleksandra Lauwers, tells BBC News.

But Millington-Bott, a Briton, says she doesn't believe it was a competitor. "I've been doing this for 30-odd years and I think I would have to give up on everything if I believed that someone who shows and breeds dogs would kill a dog," she tells CNN. "We all do this because we love dogs. If you hate me for being successful, then stick a brick through my window or something. But why would you involve a dog?"

Source: http://theweek.com/speedreads/543098/ndamukong-suh-expected-sign-114-million-deal-miami-dolphins