Leftovers!
Posted by Sara Levine, February 5, 2010 at 5:30 PM
With all the channels on broadcast TV and cable—and the inevitable episode repeats—it's hard to sort out what's new or worthwhile. Let us sort it out for you so you don't miss anything worth watching. Times may vary with region (especially PBS shows); check your local listings for exact hour and channels.
Saturday (February 6)
Secrets of a Restaurant Chef: "The Secret to Chicken Cacciatore." Anne makes perfectly-braised chicken for this classic dish, plus asparagus salad and chocolate mousse. 10:30 a.m. ET, Food Network
Down Home with the Neelys: "Lunch Break." Pat and Gina jazz up lunch with grilled vegetable heroes, spicy sweet potato chips, orzo salad, and spiked sweet tea. 11 a.m. ET, Food Network
Mexico One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless: "Fiesta in the Fast Lane." Rick prepares some tasty party food: tuna in jalapeno escabeche, chipotle-roasted nuts, and garlicky black pepper tortilla chips. 11 a.m. ET, PBS
Paula's Best Dishes: "Eat Dessert First." In true Paula style, it's chocolate to the extreme: roasted beet salad with cocoa vinaigrette, chocolate-spiced pork chops, and fried truffle cupcakes. 11:30 a.m. ET, Food Network
Primal Grill with Steven Raichlen: "At the Game." A great episode to watch right before Super Bowl Sunday. Barbecue guru Steven Raichlen grills up a tailgate feast of quesadillas, hamburgers with herb butter, inside-out cheeseburgers, and pork chop calzones. 12 p.m. ET, PBS
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From Recipes
Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, February 5, 2010 at 4:45 PM
"The pork tenderloin sandwich, while no masterpiece, deserves the spotlight every once in a while."
I'm getting a little tired of all these comparisons between the Indianapolis and New Orleans food scenes. I'm from Indiana, so I feel it's perfectly acceptable for me to cut straight through all this Super Bowl hysteria and just get to it.
The New Orleans vs. Indianapolis food battle isn't even close. I mean, I know people are going to try and bring up pork tenderloin sandwiches and that one good deli in Indianapolis (Shapiro's Deli) but let's be honest and not let our football preferences cloud our gastronomic judgment. Even if you ignore the wonder and complexity of Creole cuisine and just focus on sandwiches, New Orleans still has Indy clobbered. The muffuletta, roast beef po' boy with debris, and the shrimp po' boy, simply overwhelm the humble offerings available in the Circle City.
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Posted by Chichi Wang, February 5, 2010 at 4:00 PM
[Photographs: Chichi Wang]
In preparation for an impending Chinese New Year's party, I decided it would be a good idea to make specialized Chinese fortune cookies by hand, each with messages suited to the particular goals of my friends.
Such as, "May the New Year bring with it the promise of finally finishing your dissertation—so that you can transition from underpaid graduate student to underpaid, uninsured associate professor." And so forth.
Why go through the trouble of making and eating fortune cookies? Because the common takeout Chinese restaurant version just isn't good: overly egg-y and chemical-laden, sickly sweet with a gluey glaze, it hardly deserves the sentimental position it holds in American households. But here, the ritual eclipses the sensory enjoyment.
There's the pleasure of cracking open that shell of retrieving the slip of paper inside and feeling some modicum of excitement in spite of the banal, hackneyed sentences printed on the paper. I certainly can't be alone in confessing this misplaced sense of yearning for fortune cookies.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, February 5, 2010 at 3:15 PM
There's so much to keep up with in Talk that we almost can't keep up. If you're in the same boat, here's a small selection of topics and responses that have piqued our interest this week.
"My bf requested a tripe hiatus...." —hmw0029
[Photograph: CC 2.0/gifrancis on Flickr]
"I've never used mine as it is intended. When I need coarsely crushed spices for marinades, pickles, etc. I use my stainless steel garlic press. When i need pressed garlic I use the side of my knife against the cutting board with a little salt. I use the M&P for storing my cheese knives and thermometers. I guess I have a problem following instructions!" —Cary
"I grew up in New England. I'm programmed to buy bread and milk in the event of any emergency." —WickedGoodDinner
"I used to make Steakums with a slice of Kraft cheese and a couple of dill chips on toasted white bread. Boy did I think I was all grown up lmao grilling my own steak sandwich." —chardonnay
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From Recipes
Posted by Kerry Saretsky, February 5, 2010 at 2:30 PM
[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]
I have always been impressed by how the French and British in my life (both my family and significant other) adopt two items straight from Americana with no questions, reservations, or hesitations: American football, and chicken wings, the last things on Earth, much less in my homeland, I thought either of them would ever subscribe to.
It all started at a Miami Dolphins game to which I reluctantly dragged Mr. English. I turned back to find him on his feet, shouting at the opposite team, telling the Dolphins to get a move on. Later that night, he discovered chicken wings and loaded baked potatoes (a la last year's nachos) and blue cheese dressing. As it turns out, girls, you can change a man. You just need to pick your battles.
For this recipe, I thought I would create an American tradition with my usual French flavors, something to serve to French, Americans, and Brits alike to please everyone at my Super Bowl party.
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Posted by Erin Zimmer, February 5, 2010 at 2:00 PM
[Photographs: Robyn Lee]
When we found out our nut columnist Lee Zalben (aka The Peanut Butter Guy) was releasing some special Valentine's Day chocolates at his company Peanut Butter & Co. we immediately begged for a box. "You'll have them tomorrow," he said. Sure enough they came, and we haven't stopped nibbling on them since.
The chocolate-peanut butter combo is a hard one to mess up but as opposed to Reese's (no offense, Reese's) these are actually filled with good peanut butter (the Peanut Butter & Co. kind). It's smooth and silky (can peanut butter be described as silky?) and thanks to the fine work of pastry chef Jean-Francois Bonnet, the heart shapes are made with a thin, bittersweet 72% cacao shell. They're taking online orders for the 16-piece box ($22) until supplies run out, but five lucky winners here will win a box to arrive before Valentine's Day. To enter, just tell us your favorite chocolate candy.
Contest will end and comments will close at 3 p.m. ET, Monday, February 8, 2010. One entry per community member. Winners are limited to residents of the continental U.S. Standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.
From Recipes
Posted by Caroline Russock, February 5, 2010 at 1:30 PM
[Photograph: Caroline Russock]
A few weeks back I decided to try my hand at making dumplings—long story short they didn't turn out that well. The filling was great but the dough for the wrappers was a doughy sticky mess. With a heavy heart I tossed my dumplings into the trash and headed out for my favorite 5-for-$1 dumpling joints to satisfy my craving.
Not being one who is easily defeated in the kitchen I decided to try this recipe for Potsticker Dumplings from Mad Hungry by Lucinda Scala Quinn. This version is made with store-bought dumpling wrappers and after my disastrous dumpling dough attempt I decided there was no shame in that.
"The real challenge here is perfecting your dumpling fold and pinch skills."
The dipping sauce and filling recipes are made up of similarly Asian-inspired ingredients and simple to assemble. The real challenge here is perfecting your dumpling fold and pinch skills. I was well beyond my fifteenth dumpling before mine even vaguely resembled a pro version. But by the twentieth, I had really gotten into the fold-pinch groove and they looked pretty darn good if I do say so myself.
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From Recipes
Posted by Hawk Krall, February 5, 2010 at 12:45 PM
[Original artwork and photographs: Hawk Krall]
For Super Bowl week I thought I'd change things up at Hot Dog of the Week and test out my recipe for bacon-wrapped Mexican hot dogs, known as Tijuana Dogs, or Danger Dogs in Los Angeles and Sonorans in Arizona. There are some regional differences but both stick to the basic formula of bacon-wrapped dogs and a cornucopia of Mexican garnishes.
Street vendors put everything from pinto beans and pineapple to American condiments such as pickles, ketchup, cheese whiz on these but I stuck to the basics with fresh-made toppings and the results were delicious. It's a great balance of texture and flavor; hot and cold, both spice and temperature-wise.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, February 5, 2010 at 12:15 PM
If you want to eat clams the sea otter way, float on your back in water, put a rock on your belly, and smash the clam against the rock until it opens. It's way cuter when a sea otter does it. Watch the video after the jump.
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From Recipes
Posted by cakespy, February 5, 2010 at 11:30 AM
The Serious Eats' Movie Awards Season Recipe Series is brought to you by 
[Original artwork and photographs: Jessie Oleson]
Regardless of your thoughts about the actual film, one thing's certain about Avatar: it's a long movie, and there's no way you'll survive it without a snack (or four).
But why settle for butter-flavored popcorn or rubbery Velveeta-topped nachos when you could be munching on something far more delicious?
And so I present the Avatart: a sweet treat wherein pop culture and Pop Tart collide sweetly, in a pocket-sized morsel perfect for smuggling into the theater and decked out in full movie regalia.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, February 5, 2010 at 10:45 AM
[Photographs: Lucy Baker]
Let's face it: Valentine's Day is as much about gooey chocolate as it is about melting hearts. But a box of fancy truffles can be pricey, and doesn't exactly reflect a lot of thought or originality. Just as homemade cards are better than Hallmarks, homemade candy is always more special, and somehow more delicious, than store-bought candy.
What says "I love you" better than a pound and a half of fudge that you made yourself? Lured by the promise of rich, buttery chocolate, and the low price of $5.99, I tested Carnation's Famous Fudge Kit for this week's Mixed Review.
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From A Hamburger Today
Posted by Liz Bomze, February 5, 2010 at 10:30 AM
Liz Bomze lives in Brookline, Masachusetts, and works as the Associate Features Editor for Cook's Illustrated Magazine. She also freelances regularly for the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, The Improper Bostonian, and Martha's Vineyard Magazine. Though eating is an all-day, everyday part of working at Cook's, she had no problem trying 10 burgers in one night to bring us this report of Monday's Burger Bash in Boston.
[Photographs: Liz Bomze]
As a warm-up to this month's annual gut-busting Burger Bash in South Beach, Florida, this past Monday chef Ken Oringer converted his Nine Zero Hotel steakhouse KO Prime into a competition hall and challenged nine of his fellow burger-slinging contemporaries to a flame-broiled battle of bovine proportions. The stakes (or patties, we should say): a beefy donation to Autism Speaks, a nine-dollar trophy, and a year's worth of juicy, cheesy glory as the incumbent meat to beat.
Prime Pick
Bristol Lounge | chef Brooke Vosika
In a perfect world, that crispy potato ring would have been a deep-fried onion. Otherwise, chef Vosika's in-house dry-aged prime burger—festooned with high-class fixin's like buttery béarnaise and foie torchon (this is the Four Seasons, after all), plus your average lettuce, tomato, and side of crinkle-cut pickle chips—earned the extra two votes it needed to take gold. 200 Boylston Street, Boston MA 02116 (map); 617-351-2037; fourseasons.com
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Posted by Ed Levine, February 5, 2010 at 10:00 AM
"Nobody gets to see me up close and personal with my scale."
[Photograph: Ed Levine]
A few days ago my wife asked if I was about to take a shower in our bathroom. I said I was, but first I had to weigh myself. I walked over to Will's bathroom, where Thinner lives. My wife followed right behind me.
Just as I was about to open the door to Thinner's one room abode, my wife asked the question no serious dieter wants to hear: "I want to see what you weigh. Can I watch you get on the scale?"
"Are you kidding," I said, knowing she wasn't kidding at all. "Absolutely not. Nobody gets to see me up close and personal with my scale. Nobody comes between me and my Thinner."
"What's the difference if I see what you weigh now or Friday when you post your weight on Serious Eats?" she said.
Vicky didn't understand. It's not a matter of when she sees what I weigh. Rather, it's a matter of principle. The Serious Diet Weigh-In Privacy Principle.
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Posted by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, February 5, 2010 at 8:00 AM
Note: It's time for another round of The Food Lab. Got a suggestion for an upcoming topic? Email Kenji here, and he'll do his best to answer your queries in a future post. Become a fan of The Food Lab on Facebook for play-by-plays on future kitchen tests and recipe experiments. —The Mgmt.
Clockwise from left: wings ready to be baked, a comparison of different wing treatments, really good oven-fried buffalo wings [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]
Anybody who thinks that eating a baked buffalo wing is any healthier than the deep-fried real deal is about as delusional as Luigi thinking he's got a shot with the Princess while Mario is still around.
A buffalo wing is a piece of skin-coated, bone-in chicken fat that's deep-fried and doused in butter before being dipped in mayo, blue cheese, and sour cream. It's fat on fat on fat on fat on fat on fat on fat. Is taking one of those fats out of the equation really going to make a difference? Unlikely. Want to allay your unfounded guilt? Load up on negative calories by eating an extra celery stick or two and call it a day.
That said, there is a large percentage of the home cook population hesitant to heat up a few quarts of oil in their kitchen (I'd be willing to wager my negligible income that the Venn Diagram of people scared of frying and people who own well-seasoned cast iron woks looks like two non-overlapping circles). It's a group of people who have had to be content with one of two categories of "oven-fried" chicken wings:
- The flour-coated kind that stays crisp and absorbs sauce, but is more akin to KFC in texture than the thin-skinned original.
- The naked kind that is juicy and tender but lacks the blistered, crispy crust that crackles under your teeth and retains sauce so nicely.
Neither method is bad per se. Indeed, if Blake taught us anything with his recent Baked vs. Fried Wing Taste Test, it's that depending on how you like your wings, these methods can actually be better than their deep-fried counterparts.
But is it possible to make Buffalo wings in the oven that are not "different but just as good," but actually indistinguishable from the deep-fried version?**
**Hint: if it wasn't, I wouldn't be writing this right now.
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From Recipes
Posted by Kerry Saretsky, February 4, 2010 at 7:30 PM
[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]
As I wrote last year around this time, I regard the Super Bowl as a holiday from rational caloric consumption—and hence, I look forward to it with immense anticipation every year, though the only kind of tackle I really understand is the sort that fishes dinner out of a stream. Furthermore, orange bowls hold my morning fruit, fiesta bowls are my standard order from Chipotle, I blitz with a food processor, backs are a variety of barbecue ribs, and a tight end is the result of arduously avoiding all the aforementioned.
As far as tight ends, let's just say that at least once a year I liken myself to an Olympic diver perched just above a sea of guacamole, ready to dive neatly in, and not come out again until I have entirely drained the pool. When our food oracle editor Erin told me that Super Bowl Sunday is the number one avocado consumption day each year, I knew I would have to once again go the avocado route. But a desire for something new and potentially more sophisticated that last year's Loaded Baked Potato Chip Nachos, along with the complete dietetic license afforded on this most blessed of days, led me to a novel idea: avocado fries.
I dip matchsticks of buttery, jade avocado, along with verdant and virtuous zucchini into a seltzer batter, fry them until puffed and golden-salty crisp, and serve with tarragon-tinted Green Goddess. As far as I'm concerned, potatoes have been defeated, and Avocado and Zucchini Fries are going home with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
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