FOOD NOTES

COMBINED DISPATCHES
Easy does it: Your microwave is a useful tool for melting chocolate, as long as you take some simple precautions to guard against scorching. Whether you're using chopped chocolate or chips, set your microwave to low and work slowly, in 15 to 20 second increments. Still, chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape during cooking and will not melt without assistance from you and your spatula; so stir after every increment. Right before it's fully melted, while it's still a bit lumpy, is the best time to pull the chocolate from the microwave. Residual heat and some more stirring will finish the job.
Chilling it softly: For us, the waning days of summer are best paired with a nice crisp white wine -- a Vouvray or Sancerre from France's Loire Valley, a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand or maybe a California viognier. As with white wine in general, these should be served chilled to about 50 degrees F, which is fine if you remembered to throw the wine in the fridge the night before. But if you just brought a bottle home from work and can't wait to uncork it, then the quickest route to gratification is to immerse the bottle up its neck in a bath of ice water (half ice, half water). This should do the trick in about 25 minutes. By contrast, it takes closer to 45 minutes to chill wine in the freezer and more like two hours to do the job in the fridge.
Turning critical: Here's your chance to let folks know what you think about dining in their restaurants.
A new Web site, SavvyDining.com, allows diners to rate restaurants around the nation and world. The ratings look at food, service, atmosphere, hospitality and value with grades of A through F.