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TheAssociatedPress Hoby Wedler was born blind and curious 27 years ago. He's used those two traits — and a refined sense of smell and taste — to de- velop an expert palette that is garnering rave reviews in California's wine region. The Sacramento Bee reported Sunday that Wedler's monthly "Tasting in the Dark" series at the Francis Ford Coppola Win- ery is growing in popular- ity. Participants are blind- folded and asked to taste and judge wine like Wedler does. "He's bringing a new di- mension to our field and getting people to look at wine in a different way. It's breaking down barri- ers," said Corey Beck, pres- ident and director of wine- making at the Geyserville winery. "Here's somebody who's blind, and he's better at de- scribing the wine than 99.9 percent of the winemakers out there." He's been asked to put his palette to work tasting beer and food as well. The Sierra Nevada brewery in Chico sold out a "Tasting in the Dark" beer tasting event hosted by Wedler. His sense of smell is so heightened that he can know what various inter- sections in Davis smell like. The city itself, Wedler says, smells like alfalfa. "I pay a lot of attention to detail," Wedler said. "I've always loved relying on my sense of smell to tell me where I am. I don't think it's better than anyone else's, but I focus on smell and hearing to get around, so in that sense, they are enhanced because I rely on them more." Wedler works and stud- ies 110 hours a week earn- ing a chemistry doctorate from the University of Cali- fornia, Davis and operating a nonprofit that conducts three-day science camps for the blind. Wedler's been honored at the White House for his work inspiring dis- abled people. Wedler was born with a rare disorder that required the surgical removal of his eyes. "I was devastated," Wedler's mother Terry Wedler said when told her son was blind soon after his birth. Lying in bed after the birth, the veteran school teacher decided to dedicate her professional life to edu- cating the blind. She earned a master's degree in educating blind and visually impaired stu- dents. She said she was also blessed with an exceedingly curious son, who soon de- veloped and honed his other senses. "He was born a really inquisitive little person," Terry Wedler said. "He could speak really well and would converse with peo- ple when he was little. We smelled things all the time. He just explored the world that way and it kept ex- panding." UC DAVIS STUDENT Wi ne t as te r us es b li nd ne ss t o ad va nt ag e APPHOTO/THESACRAMENTOBEE,JOSELUISVILLEGAS Hoby Wedler, 27, conducts wine tastings at Coppola Winery in complete darkness in Geyserville. By Nancy Lindahl I'm surrounded by pink blossoms; quince, almond, and Japanese magnolia, or "tulip tree," as it's mistak- enly called, drifting down to the ground after an ex- plosive preview of spring that brought everything to bloom suddenly and early. Under the trees the ground is pink with petals not yet turned brown; above my head they flutter off the branches like fat snow- flakes. The sun is shining and it looks great out there, but when you open the door, it's chilly. I tuck back in and tend to my Pain Perdu — French for lost bread. Pain Perdu: lost bread, lost blos- soms; ah the sweet brevity of all things lovely. A fancy version of French toast, Pain Perdu, (pro- nounced pan pur-doo), lies somewhere between "French" toast and bread pudding with a caramel- ized, buttery exterior and a delicate, tender, custardy interior that makes for a sublime Sunday morning brunch. Pain Perdu may have originated in France or Louisiana, but you can take comfort in the fact that peo- ple have been soaking stale bread in milk and eggs, then frying it in fat since the time of Apicius in 4th century Rome. The Romans called it Pan Dulcis, but is called Pain Perdu in France, Bel- gium, New Orleans, Aca- diana, Newfoundland and the Congo. In France, Pain Perdu is considered a des- sert item, rather than breakfast. How to best achieve that sublime tender, custardy interior? First you need a substantial bread with a crisp crust to hold the inte- rior together. I used a day- old loaf of Tin Roof's Pari- sian Sweet French bread, and sliced it on the diagonal in about 2-inch thick slices. Thickness is one thing that distinguishes Pain Perdu from American French toast, ideally you want slices about 4-by-3 inches and 2 inches thick. In a large bowl, whisk to- gether: 6large eggs 1½ cups whole milk ½ cup heavy cream ¼ cup sugar 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 2Tablespoons Grand Mar- nier orange liqueur 1teaspoon grated orange zest 2teaspoons kosher salt Pour the mixture into a shallow baking pan and put the sliced bread in to soak. Recipes vary at this point. Some say to soak bread in a covered baking dish over- night, others say to soak for 3-4minutes on each side. I turned the bread slices over in the liquid a er 10 minutes, and then let it soak for another 10. It depends on your bread — if it's falling apart a er 5minutes, that's too long. Preheat the oven to 350°. Using a non-stick skillet, melt a pat of unsalted but- ter until it sizzles, then add a comfortable amount of soaked bread slices. If serv- ing 6, as this recipe does, you may want to use 2fry pans. Brown the bread over medium heat on all sides, including those fat edges. Place the browned slices in a 9-by-12-inch glass baking dish, or something similar and pop it in the oven while you cook sausages or bacon, warm the maple syrup, or slice fresh strawberries to toss with a bit of sugar and Grand Marnier to top your beautiful Pain Perdu. Fi een to 20minutes in the oven should be ample time to cook the custardy interior of the bread to 170°, but you can check with an instant-read thermometer, if you're unsure, or tap with your finger to see if it's too squishy. To serve, dust with pow- dered sugar and sliced strawberries, a sprinkling of orange zest curls. Warm maple syrup with a table- spoon of butter in a small saucepan for syrup-lov- ers to ladle over their Pain Perdu. You'd think something as tasty and stalwart as Maple syrup would be above tin- kering and improvement, but you'd be wrong. The latest Woodinville "small batch" maple syrups are barrel aged in the Wash- ington whiskey-maker's used bourbon and rye whis- key barrels where they ab- sorb vanilla, caramel, wood spice and charred oak fla- vors as well as a hint of whiskey. Two more thoughts on Pain Perdu: first a savory version by Melissa Roberts from Gourmet Magazine, 2009, which sounds like a delicious Spring dinner for two: SavoryParmesanPain Perdu with Poached Eggs and Greens Makes 2servings Ingredients: 6(1-inch-thick) slices ba- guette, cut on a diagonal 1cup whole milk 3large eggs, divided 1/2 cup grated parmesan (use good Parmigiano Reg- giano, and flavorful olive oil as they are what gives this dish its flavor). 1Tablespoon unsalted but- ter, so ened 2teaspoons red-wine vinegar plus a few drops for cooking eggs 3cups baby greens (2 ounces) 1Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Preparation: Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter a 1-quart shallow baking dish or a 9-inch pie plate. Arrange bread in 1 layer in dish. Whisk together milk, 1egg, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Pour over bread. Sprinkle with cheese and press lightly to help bread absorb custard. Let stand until absorbed, 15to 30minutes. Dot with butter and bake, uncovered, until puffed and golden, 20to 25minutes. Bring 2inches water to a boil with a few drops of vinegar in a small deep skil- let or saucepan. Break each remaining egg into a cup and slide into water, spacing eggs apart. Poach at a bare simmer to desired doneness (we prefer firm whites with runny yolks, 2to 3minutes). Meanwhile, toss greens with remaining 2teaspoons vinegar, oil, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Divide pain perdu between 2plates and top with salad. Li eggs out of poach- ing liquid 1at a time with a slotted spoon and place on top of salad. Lightly season eggs with salt and pepper. The following version is party-worthy, created by Rachel Sheldon for a bridal shower brunch, it would also be great for a family Easter brunch, or a sleep- over breakfast. The best part is you can put it together ahead of time, pop it in the oven to bake, and enjoy hunting eggs or sipping mimosas while it's cooking. Experi- ment with a layer of berries in the middle. French Toast Bake Makes one 9-by-13-inch pan, but doubles well Ingredients: ½ cup melted butter 1cup brown sugar 1loaf Texas toast 4eggs 11/2 cup milk 1teaspoon vanilla Powdered sugar for sprinkle Directions: 1. Melt butter in microwave and add brown sugar, stir till mixed. 2. Pour butter/sugar mix into bottom of 9-by-13-inch pan, spread around 3. Beat eggs, milk, and vanilla, and 1Tablespoon powdered sugar 4. Lay single layer of Texas Toast in pan 5. Spoon 1/2 of egg mixture on bread layer, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon 6. Add 2nd layer of Texas Toast 7. Spoon on remaining egg mixture, spread thin layer of butter, sprinkle lightly with sugar to give it a crispy top. 8. Cover and chill in fridge overnight 9. Bake at 350for 45min- utes (covered for the first 30minutes) 10. Sprinkle with powdered sugar 11. Serve with warm maple syrup, or fresh fruit Happy Spring! SWEET BASIL AND THE BEE Lost blossoms and lost bread PHOTO BY NANCY LINDAHL Japanese magnolia bloom. PHOTO BY NANCY LINDAHL A breakfast built around Pain Perdu. PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thank you! Saturday,February28th 10:00am – 8 : 0 0 p m Carlino'sRoomatRollingHil Casino Tickets $10 Includesacommemorativetastingglassand$5freeslotplay $1 Tasting Fee at Each Booth Tickets available at the Rolling Hil Casino Box Office by calling 530.528.3500, AmericanWest Bank, Rabobank, and at the door! $ 10 Adults • $ 3 Students Studentteams vs Adults teams... WhowillwintheUltimate Spelling Bee Crown? 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