April 6, 2008 - April 12, 2008
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 12, 2008 at 12:00 PM
A couple days ago, Serious Eats contributor Lucy Baker put me on to Posh Nosh, a short-lived series of comedy shorts on BBC2 television. It's a send-up of upscale cooking shows, in which husband and wife hosts Minty and Simon Marchmont (Arabella Weir and Richard E. Grant) cook "extraordinary food for ordinary people." They pretentiously demonstrate recipes and wine advice all the while using nonsensical cooking terms ("Then thrill your mussels in hot, bubbling water," "Appliqué the currants," "First you'll want to alienate the chorizo," etc).
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Posted by Emily Koh, April 11, 2008 at 5:30 PM
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Posted by Robyn Lee, April 11, 2008 at 5:15 PM
When I first say Marilyn's photo of her cherry crumb pie, I thought, "Why is she eating it on top of a piece of notebook paper?" Of course, it's a plate that's just made to look like a piece of notebook paper, which she bought from Fishs Eddy. Now I want my own notebook paper plate!...and slice of pie.
Previously
Adam Roberts's Quirky, Idiosyncratic Plates
The Best Pies in America: The Serious Eats Pie Honor Roll
The Sweet Melissa Baking Book: Sour Cherry Pie with Pistachio Crumble
Photo of the Day: Pumpkin Pie Pumpkin
Photo of the Day: Pi Pie
Posted by Erin Zimmer, April 11, 2008 at 3:30 PM
The Serious Eats community has always loved the tart Greek yogurt Fage (pronounced FA-yay). What other creamy fluffiness can triple as a Kashi sidekick, an alternative to mayo or crème fraîche and catalyst for a 12-step yogurt addiction plan. Searching "fage" yields a whole seven pages of fodder on our site, and apparently the rest of the world digs it too. This weekend, the New York Times Magazine explores the Greek yogurt with some history and recipes, as well as a snapshot of the stuff in a bizarre iceberg-esque blob shape that seems to be made of wet molding clay, not yogurt. That would definitely give us the pucker face, just like the acidic yogurt usually does, but not make our tummies as happy.
Erin Zimmer is a new media analyst who frequently writes for Washingtonian, DCist, and other D.C. publications.
Posted by Emily Koh, April 11, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Items you may have missed from the Serious Eats universe ...
- I must confess... I had a naughty dream about Mario Batali
"YOU think you all have strange dreams? I have this recurring dream where Tony Bourdain is feeding me something unidentifiable!!!" – RichardCrystal (This thread is a real gem for some, uh, interesting insights into all of your food fantasies...)
- A change of heart concerning Sandra Lee
"After watching her Chefography episode, I've had a change of heart. [...] I had no idea that she had such a difficult upbringing and that she was forced to overcome so much. Sandy may not be a chef, but she's trying to make eating well easier for busy parents on a budget. I still think her food sucks, but there's something kind of noble about that." – PumpkinBear
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Posted by Robyn Lee, April 11, 2008 at 2:00 PM
As I tend to like fresh cheese in spherical form, I was instantly drawn to Marianna's homemade labneh, a creamy, fresh, Middle Eastern cheese made from strained yogurt and preserved in olive oil. Follow Marianna's directions to make it at home; it's part of a typical Middle Eastern breakfast!
Previously
Photo of the Day: Mshalalé Cheese
Hard Labor: A Look At Cheesemaking
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 11, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Millions of women and children in Africa have no access to clean drinking water, causing them to walk for miles every day to collect water that is dirty and unsafe to drink. charity: water, a non-profit organization that raises money to fund well-building projects, produced this PSA starring Jennifer Connelley to portray what life in New York City could be like if the taps went dry and there were no clean water. You may never have to carry 40-pound jerry cans of water home from Central Park, but millions of people around the world have to do something like this every day.
Watch the video, after the jump.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 11, 2008 at 11:30 AM
The blog Yumsugar has an interview with a chef at Google:
...we purchase everything top quality and everything we buy has a positive effect on the environment. We buy 100-percent sustainable, local ingredients. There is no pressure to make money on each plate, I don't have to cook what sells. Food is art and Google is my playground.
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 11, 2008 at 11:00 AM
I wish these manly jelly beans were real; I've always wanted to know what candy-coated fear tastes like. [via Candy Addict]
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 11, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Want to become a hot dog eating champion? Then read wikiHow's How to Win a Hot Dog Eating Contest tutorial. Just follow these four easy steps: stretch out your stomach, develop a hot dog-eating technique, learn to suppress your gag reflex, and time yourself. You'll be snarfing down those processed meat logs in no time!
Previously
'Major League Eating: The Game' Coming Soon for the Nintendo Wii
59 and a Half!
The Best Hot Dogs
Roadfood Roundup: Hot Dogs
Posted by Gordon Mark, April 11, 2008 at 10:00 AM
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; check your local listings for exact hour and channels.
Recommended show: It's to Gaeta, Italy we go this week on Lidia's Italy to learn about and make tiella. Sunday, 5:30 p.m. ET, PBS
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 11, 2008 at 9:45 AM
Katy Murtaugh, a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in Guinea, describes the process of mixing, kneading, and baking 90 baguettes in just seven hours—all without tools or measuring cups. The baker she follows works on an enormous scale, given that he's doing everything manually: He starts with about 55 pounds of flour before adding a "deluge of water" and continuing. [via Tim Murtaugh]
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 10, 2008 at 5:00 PM
I've had a few vending machine frustrations in my life, but three stuck bags in a row is just the machine's way of saying, "Screw you." Check out more of life's little failures at the FAIL blog.
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 10, 2008 at 4:45 PM
You want fresh s'mores without using a microwave or firing up a full-sized grill? Make a Mini S'mores Grill; this tiny table with bolts for table legs is just the perfect size to roast one marshmallow over a tiny fire of burning toothpicks. Use it to roast all kinds of tiny, marshmallow-size foods. The possibilities are endless. [via productdose.com]
Previously
Whole Wheat S'more Cookies
What do you do with marshmallows?
Question of the Day: What's your favorite food to grill?
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 10, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Twinkies never enticed me much, but cover them in gold metallic powder and I'm sold! Kind of. Each gold-covered, espresso or buttercream-filled organic chocolate cake made by baker Sara Magid is $6 a piece at Brooklyn-based boutique Jan and Aya, so it won't completely gouge your wallet to try at least one.
Does gold make the cake taste any better? I'm going to assume that my taste buds wouldn't care—but hey, it's shiny! [via Gothamist and Brooklyn Based]
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 10, 2008 at 12:45 PM
From Consumerist:
M&Ms and Mars candy: There's usually a 10-digit code of numbers and letters, but you only need to worry about the first three. The first number is the last number in the year ... and the next two numbers stand for the week of the year (... 804 would be the fourth week of 2008: February 2008).
Hershey's: There's a 2-character code for the month and year. The year is like the other code, with the number being the last number in the year, the second character is a letter that represents the month. A = January, B = February, and so on. So a code like 9A would mean ... January 2009.
And be sure to visit your dentist in 8J.
Posted by Raphael, April 10, 2008 at 12:00 PM
The universe did not implode as anticipated; the Food Network's "Chefography" came and went with nary a temporal or spatial glitch. No scintillating details were revealed, but it does offer a glimpse into the early years of the network and most of its stars, including Mario Batali, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray, Emeril Lagasse, and Giada De Laurentiis.
After the jump, the Food Network 'Chefography' on the Food Network in its entirety, in six parts.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, April 10, 2008 at 10:45 AM
For those who may not be receiving returns this year, a few tips for squeezing extra value out of ordinary kitchen items:
In addition to their overt purpose, standard issue rounded stainless steel measuring spoons are also excellent for neatly removing cores from halved apples and pears, balling melon and making small, perfectly round ice cream scoops (to make ice cream orbs come out easily, dip the spoon in warm water before scooping, and after scooping rub the back of the spoon back and forth across the palm of your hand a few times to warm the metal slightly).
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 10, 2008 at 9:45 AM
I'm hitting the road this Sunday for almost a week, and the signs of caloric danger are everywhere. First, I'm headed to Dallas to take in the Pillsbury Bake-Off. One hundred finalists vying for the $1,000,000 first prize are baking their best stuff in portable kitchens. I'm not judging, but I'm sure I will get to taste lots of elaborately constructed creative desserts using an array of everyday products.
But the bake-off is not what I'm most worried about. I'm much more worried about all the food I want to taste in Dallas, a city I have never been to before. To make matters worse (or better, depending on your vantage point), I am very likely to meet up with my friend Robb Walsh, restaurant critic for the Houston Press, who has spent the last 20 years eating his way through Texas one perfect bite at a time. Robb is a splendid fellow and a fine writer, but as far as I'm concerned, he's trouble with a capital T.
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Posted by Harold Check, April 9, 2008 at 11:30 PM
Last week, Top Chef bid goodbye to Manuel and left Spike in the mix to stir up some controversy. Would that strategy pay dividends this week? Not in the QuickFire, which was a pretty sedate affair. No cook-off this time. It's a blindfolded palate test! Guest judge Ming Tsai, chef-owner of Blue Ginger in Boston, announces that each contestant will try to determine the higher quality item in 15 pairs of ingredients.
Most of the contestants seemed to do alright, especially since the fast-forward editing of this challenge didn't really amp up the drama in any meaningful way. After the blindfolds were removed and the scores tallied, a very confident Antonia had correctly chosen 12 out of 15 ingredients and was rewarded with immunity. Close seconds Jen and Ryan each got 11 answers correct, while Stephanie, who already has two Elimination challenges under her belt, brought up the rear with 6 out of 15. Oops.
[Spoilers after the jump.]
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Posted by Emily Koh, April 9, 2008 at 6:45 PM
A) Engraving of a twin-tailed siren (15th century); B) First Starbucks logo (1971 - 1987); C) Il Giornale logo; D) Merging of Starbucks and Il Giornale (1987 - 1992); E) Redesigned Starbucks logo (1992 - today); F) Current Starbucks logo, a revival of the original
If you stopped by Starbucks the other day to try their new Pike Place Roast brewed coffee, you may have noticed the cup looked a little different, with the siren's tails displayed more prominently. Actually, this "new" design is a throwback to the original Starbucks logo, which is in line with CEO Howard Schulz's call for the coffee empire to return to its roots.
Brand Autopsy and Brand New both examine elements of the evolution of the logo. Here we present the entirety of the logo's history, from 15th century engraving, to its initial rendering, to the logo following the merger of Starbucks and Il Giornale, and finally, to its present-day return back to the original.
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 9, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Photograph taken by J. Pollack
Just because you can't eat leavened foods during Passover doesn't mean you can't break out the cupcakes; flourless chocolate cupcakes, that is. Try Stef's Kosher-friendly recipe for flourless chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting for a Moses-approved dessert.
Previously
Photo of the Day: Robot Cupcakes
Photo of the Day: Vampire Cupcakes
Photo of the Day: Meatloaf Cupcake
Photo of the Day: Sweet Cupcakes
Once seen a novelty, wine bars are now "proliferating like latter-day Starbucks" in New York, becoming less of a fancy ordeal where patrons got an earful of wine knowledge and more of a relaxing atmosphere to wind down with a glass of red or white. The New York Times takes a look at the changing faces of wine bars as they try to differentiate themselves from among the crowd, with many offering inspired nibbles going beyond the usual cheese platter, and others merging "genres" of tapas and wine bar together.
Posted by Emily Koh, April 9, 2008 at 5:15 PM
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 9, 2008 at 3:45 PM
"Is her name really Crescent Dragonwagon? Has anyone at SE addressed this?"
That's Serious Eater LiveToEat, asking about the author of The Cornbread Gospels. Thanks for asking, LTT, Because, no, I hadn't addressed this at all, even though it's one of the first things that endeared the book to me. I was as curious as you, Googled her, and found this. Long story short: It was the '60s and she and her husband at the time made up entirely new names for themselves. The long story, after the jump.
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Posted by Paul Clarke, April 9, 2008 at 3:15 PM
It’s tax time, and once you’re done sweating over the paperwork and writing out your check, you could probably use a drink. Ah, but there’s the rub—the IRS just walked away with your wallet, there’s a recession staring us in the face, and, to top it all, the real estate market is peeking into the abyss. At times like these, it’s hard to saunter out of the liquor store with a $50 bottle of scotch in your hand when within a few months it could turn out to be worth more than your house.
But that’s okay (well, it’s really not, but let’s pretend it is for now)—you can still have friends over for a perfectly satisfying and relaxing drink without cracking into the kids’ college fund. Here are a few ways to accomplish this (beyond the patently obvious "drink less"); be sure to join us in the comments section with any ideas you have.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, April 9, 2008 at 3:00 PM
This week, The Kitchn shares its secrets for making awesome mashed potatoes, including boiling the potatoes in stock instead of water and adding mayonnaise for richness and creaminess. The Kitchn readers weigh in with their mashed potato-making advice.
Also on The Kitchn, tips for what to eat on busy weeknights, explanation on meat resting, review of the Benriner Mandoline, and ten tips for cheese storage.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 9, 2008 at 2:30 PM
College kids at Virginia Tech have a wood-burning pizza oven in the West End Market dining hall there. It's part of an overall trend among some schools to lure picky eaters to the admissions office.
“I didn’t apply to Bates, because, well, I ate there, the meal was not very good,” said Lucas Braun, a 17-year-old senior at Westtown School, outside of Philadelphia, who has been accepted at several colleges in the Northeast. “There’s something subliminal from the food you see in the dining hall and the meal they give you that influences your decision.”
Virginia Tech and Bowdoin College are the two schools that have routinely topped the dining list in a guide called The Best 366 Colleges.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, April 9, 2008 at 2:15 PM
Are you still thinking about making that bacon-infused bourbon and maple syrup cocktail but don't know where to begin? Watch this video of Don Lee making the Bacon-Infused Old-Fashioned in which he explains each step, including how to make the bacon-infused bourbon.
Does the name Rosscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in Chicago sound a little too similar to that of the long established Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles in Los Angeles? Just a tad, perhaps. Besides the extra "s," other similarities include their logo designs and names of their menu items. The Chicago Tribune says that the original Roscoe's is sueing the Chicago imitator and gives some of the history behind the chicken and waffle restaurant.
Posted by Raphael, April 9, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Last week, Stephen Colbert credited Doritos for his success on winning the Peabody award for "distinguished achievement and meritorious public service" of television news: "Doritos gave me the money to produce those ground breaking shows. Doritos, I believe, also, gave me nacho-cheese lung... So Doritos have now won a Peabody." To commemorate this "landmark achievement in snacking," Colbert has created stickers that say "Peabody Award Winning!" for people to download, print, and take to their local supermarket to stick onto bags of Doritos.
Watch the video, after the jump.
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 9, 2008 at 11:30 AM
With all the chatter about sustainable agriculture even making it to the front page of the New York Times, it's easy to forget that the whole notion of sustainability is all about farmers making short and long-term economic decisions. Given the fragility of the income stream of most non agribusiness farms, it's no wonder that some farmers are willing to trade in the price supports they receive to conserve land for the greater upside potential of planting viable crops on that same acreage during a time of rising food prices.
How do Gourmet editor in chief Ruth Reichl and Top Chef judge Padma Lakshmi feel about their mothers? At the recent Women in Communications' Matrix Awards in New York, Reichl said, "I wake up every morning grateful not to be my mother. Grateful, in fact, not to be any of the women of her generation." Lakshmi, on the other hand, wasn't as concerned with former gender barriers. She walked up to the podium with her mouth full (would her mom be proud of that?) declaring, "I'm living my mother's dream. I sit on my ass, I eat, and I talk."
Posted by Emily Koh, April 8, 2008 at 5:30 PM
The New York Times raises the question of authenticity of Italian cuisine as it examines the growing number of foreign chefs cooking in kitchens of Italian restaurants. Does, say, an Indian chef preparing Italian food make it any less Italian? One restaurant owner claims that "it's not racism, it's culture"; another says that the ethnicity of a chef changes nothing. This isn't anything new in restaurants in the U.S., but it might be a different story if you're eating abroad: Do you go to the Italian restaurant manned by the Chinese family or stick to the one run by Italians?
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 8, 2008 at 3:45 PM
's Baggers, a restaurant in Nuremberg, Germany, claims to have "reinvented the restaurant" with their rollercoaster-like food delivery system in which "freshly prepared, delicious meals and drinks ordered per touch screen are transported on metallic tracks directly to your table." No really, the "futuristic restaurant system" is called RollercoasterTable®. Watch a video of the restaurant in action over at the BBC. To think that I've never wanted my food to be brought to me on metallic tracks...until now. [via Boing Boing Gadgets]
Posted by Emily Koh, April 8, 2008 at 3:30 PM
Holy canoe! Not wanting to see so many wooden chopsticks go to waste at the city hall cafeteria where he worked, Shuhei Ogawara collected over 7,000 chopsticks for two years, then glued them together over three months, resulting in this 13-foot long canoe. At 66 pounds, it's a bit heavier than your average canoe, but a launching ceremony in May at Lake Inawashiro in Fukushima, Japan, will determine whether it'll be smooth sailing or not. [via Gizmodo]
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 8, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Adam Roberts (aka The Amateur Gourmet) just bought six quirky, idiosyncratic plates. What's so special about the plates? Not much, until you read his analysis of each one, from "The Dad Plate" (a plate covered in golfers, perfect for his dad) to "The Ugly Plate" (it's ugly, which makes it suitable for ugly people). I'm quite fond of "The I Don't Really Get It Plate," which is supposed to resemble some kind of deformed face. Now I want to get a new set of random plates for my kitchen.
Previously:
Paper Plates You Can Display On Your Wall
Cutest Plates Ever
Topography Soup Plate
Posted by Erin Zimmer, April 8, 2008 at 2:45 PM
So is the new 'Bucks jolt juice as smooth as they say? We asked some coffee drinkers at the Starbucks branch in Rosslyn, Virginia, and heard a lot of mixed sentiments. Too strong. Smoother. Watery. Worse than Dunkin'. Worse than McDonald's. Free. Old-school. People, make up your minds!
- "No good. Pretty strong. I had to put a lot of cream in it to make it OK. I'd call myself a Starbucks drinker, but not this." —Sam
- "I like it. It's smoother. Normally Starbucks coffee seems to cater to the non-black-coffee drinkers. Too burnt-tasting normally. But this I could take black." —Malcolm
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Posted by Raphael, April 8, 2008 at 12:15 PM
"A Sicilian empanada with marshmallow Peep foam."
Last weekend's Saturday Night Live, with guest host Christopher Walken, skewered 'Top Chef.' The skit features "Wylie DelMario," a "weird judge-guy who we tell you owns a restaurant somewhere," faux-hawk jokes, and the contestants reinventing a deep-dish pizza using beets, couscous, frozen yogurt, medicine, a paper bag, stale Peeps, and Padma's gum.
Video after the jump.
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You know you don't actually have to drink eight glasses of water a day, right? (Not from physical cups, at least.) Slate looks into the history of the "drink eight glasses of water a day" myth.
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 8, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Do you love reading about food but find mainstream food magazines like Saveur and Gourmet just don't cut it for you? Check out Blake Royer's magazine recommendations, which include Gastronomica, Edible Brooklyn, Diner's Journal, and The Art of Eating. If you have other favorites, let Blake know!
Posted by Jamie Forrest, April 8, 2008 at 10:45 AM
With the housing market tanking, financial companies imploding, and the dollar weaker than a gin and tonic on the rocks, some are finding it hard to cough up the small fortune required these days to buy even the most basic artisanal cheese plate. Add to that the stress of Uncle Sam breathing down your neck this time of year, and you'll end up deciding to avoid cheese altogether.
After all, cheese can be quite expensive, and is one of those foods whose quality generally increases with the price. Small dairies cannot take advantage of the economies of scale afforded by a large herd, but, all else being equal, a small dairy will usually make a better cheese, since the farmers and cheesemakers are better able to control quality across the entire operation. So what's a turophile to do during these tough times? Get your hands on Vermont's own Grafton Village Cheddar.
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Posted by Raphael, April 8, 2008 at 10:15 AM
The trailer for the upcoming release of 'Major League Eating: The Game' looks like it might have potential, especially considering online play and leaderboards. The newly released website for the game does indeed confirm our suspicions that you can play as your favorite competitive eater, including Joey Chestnut or Takeru Kobayashi. The virtual gluttony is set as an online purchase through Nintendo's upcoming WiiWare service on May 12th. Check out the video after the jump.
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Posted by Raphael, April 8, 2008 at 9:25 AM
The media ploy and slow-crawl retooling continues. After years of over-roasting coffee for its dark, bitter brew, Starbucks has listened to the people and will switch to what it's calling a "smooth and welcoming everyday blend." Instead of merely opening vacuum-sealed bags of preground coffee, your friendly barista will now "hand-scoop" and grind the coffee in house. Smaller batches! A maximum hold-time of 30 minutes! Ethically sourced! The press release would like you to know that this is an "historic" and "monumental" day. Most people would say it's about time.
Previously
Starbucks Buys Clover, Starts Social Networking Site
Starbucks Barista Reprogramming Successful
Starbucks Discontinues Breakfast Sandwiches
Starbucks Breakfast: Doomed from the Get Go
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 7, 2008 at 5:45 PM
It's your favorite leader of the Autobots, ready to kick ass with organic chili and canned tuna: Optimus Prime! Matt Boulton took this photo of Optimus Prime made out of cans at Canstruction Vancouver, a can sculpture competition after which the cans are donated to food banks. For more information, visit canstruction.org. [via neatorama]
Posted by Gordon Mark, April 7, 2008 at 5:15 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; check your local listings for exact hour and channels.
Recommended shows: This week has the premiere of four new Chefographies. One them is about Food Network itself—weird. Monday to Thursday, 9 p.m. ET, Food Network
Also, Sara Moulton of Food Network's Sara's Secrets has a new show on public television premiering tonight called Sara's Weeknight Meals. Based off of here cookbook, "Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals," the show is about making quick and tasty meals for the work week. Mondays, check your local listings
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It's three of your favorite ingredients in one: bacon, maple syrup, and hard liquor! Just in time for maple syrup season, New York Magazine shares Don Lee's recipe for his bacon-infused bourbon and maple syrup cocktail served at East Village bar PDT.
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 7, 2008 at 3:45 PM
I love cornbread. When I'm out for lunch or dinner somewhere and it on the menu or—better yet—on the plate as an unexpected side, my meal's pretty much made. My only problem then is, do I greedily eat it right away or wait till I'm done with everything else so as to hold on to the anticipation of the thick, crumbly, savory golden square?
I've tried to make it at home, but it never comes out as good as the versions made professionally. And, I've got a small confession to make, too: All the super from-scratch versions I've made at home have never lived up to that damn light-blue-and-white Jiffy box mix. Why is that? What am I doing wrong?
I'm hoping this week's Cook the Book can answer that. The Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon has more than 200 cornbread recipes in it, so I've got faith that I'll find cornbread religion in this good book. So, in a little bit, we'll bring you the first of this week's daily featured recipes. But first, as is always the case with Cook the Book, we've got a number of Cornbread Gospels to give away to Serious Eats readers.
Win The Cornbread Gospels
All you have to do is tell us in the comments section of this post where you get your favorite cornbread, whether its homemade, from a relative's kitchen, or from some hole-in-the-wall down-home-cookin' joint.
Five (5) people will be chosen at random from among eligble comments below. Comments will close Monday, April 14 at noon ET. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.
Posted by Ed Levine, April 7, 2008 at 3:30 PM
It's one thing when I and a few others in the food media write about the precipitous rise of food prices and the resulting devastating effects. It's quite another when Princeton economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman does. Krugman articulates the problem clearly and cogently.
- People in developing countries are eating more meat. Krugman: "Since it takes about 700 calories' worth of animal feed to produce a 100-calorie piece of beef, this change in diet increases the overall demand for grains."
- The price of oil. As Krugman points out, "modern farming is highly energy-intensive." Also rising economic powers like China are now competing with old, big economies like ours for scarce resources, including oil and farmland. Also, the war in Iraq has reduced oil supplies in a time of great demand for petroleum.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, April 7, 2008 at 3:00 PM
We've got something sweet for six lucky Serious Eaters this week. The folks at Häagen-Dazs headquarters have given us a flavor preview package of their new Reserve flavors. But it doesn't end there. We in turn have six flavor preview packages to pass along to you. And because the Häagen-Dazs folks are willing to share the wealth, each of those six Serious Eaters will be able designate three friends to receive their own shipments of the Reserve flavors. Think of it as a the Häagen-Dazs Reserve Chain Letter, only it's a box of ice cream instead.
The preview includes flavors from the Häagen-Dazs Reserve Series, with ingredients like French sea salt and Mediterranean pomegranates. There are also ice cream products that support the Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees campaign, a program focused on helping fund research to protect these disappearing pollinators.
How to Win
The six packages will go to the six separate folks who make our favorite comments this week. We'll be watching comments on all posts on Serious Eats and in the Talk section for insightful, funny, and useful comments. Our six favorite comments and/or Talk topics this week will get the packages. (And, sorry, it's only open to U.S. residents.)
So for many of you, all you have to do is keep on doing what you normally do. Good luck.
Don't know anything about the world of tea? Condé Nast Porfolio has a simple gourmet tea guide to give you the basics of tea types, how to drink it, and how to brew it.
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 7, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Do you really like udon? I mean, really, really like udon to the point that you'd want to eat a bucket of it? Then Japanese competitive eater Nobuyuki Shirota has the restaurant for you: Shirotaya, a limited-time noodle shop in Osaka whose standard bowls of udon come with 16 portions of noodles for about $40. Don't be intimidated; those with normal appetites can order a sixteenth of a bowl of udon.
Previously
'Major League Eating: The Game' Coming Soon for the Nintendo Wii
One (or Fifty) Hot Dogs Too Many
59 and a Half!
Trompe l'Oeil Udon Dessert
Posted by Raphael, April 7, 2008 at 12:15 PM
In memory of the late actor Charlton Heston, watch one of his most memorable roles in the dystopic science fiction movie, Soylent Green, a depiction of a future where fresh food is scarce, causing most people to rely on the substances Soylent Red, Soylent Yellow, and Soylent Green for food. But what is Soylent Green made of? Why does Soylent Green mean life? Why does Soylent Green mean death? Charlton Heston finds out.
If you don't know what Soylent Green is made of, you may have possibly been living under a rock for most of your life. Now's the time to find out, after the jump.
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Posted by Matthew Amster-Burton, April 7, 2008 at 11:30 AM
When I heard the Georgian Room, Seattle's fanciest hotel restaurant, would be holding an etiquette class for 8- to 13-year-olds, I had one question for instructor (and Georgian Room maitre d') Tony D'Agostino: are any kids going to come to the class on their own accord?
Not likely, he admitted. "How many kids go, 'Mom, I want to go learn etiquette?'" D'Agostino said. "It's right up with the adult classes, though. You go around the table and ask, 'Why are you here?' The husbands go, 'My wife is bringing me.'"
So how do you keep a captive and potentially unruly audience entertained? In a word, snacks. And not those cucumber sandwiches, either. The tiered tea trays will hold scones and clotted cream, peanut butter sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches (crustless, of course), and chocolate chip cookies. To drink, kids will get a choice of hot chocolate with whipped cream and mini-marshmallows, or herb tea. This doesn't sound like much of a choice to me.
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Posted by Wan Yan Ling, April 7, 2008 at 10:30 AM
The Grocery Ninja leaves no aisle unexplored, no jar unopened, no produce untasted. Creep along with her below, and read her past market missions here.
I know it’s only April, but this may be my food find of the year. Tiny, freshwater crabs—each barely two inches across—are soused with water, sprinkled with Kosher salt, and stuck live in the fridge. Hours later, they’re skillfully pressed and prodded to extract a grainy, coral paste that Pinoys like to mix with freshly steamed white rice, its richness cut through with a generous squirt of calamansi juice—a poor (or busy) man’s paella, if you will.
The thing is, I’m not positive what the gorgeously creamy, salty, slightly tangy stuff is. My bottle says it's "crab fat," and the Tagalog label of "taba ng talangka" concurs—"taba" is "fat" and "talangka" is what those little crabs are called. Yet, I’ve found roughly the same number of sources that claim it as either "crab roe" or "crab fat," and some fence-straddlers that call it "fatty crab roe." Seizing on that, the researcher beau helpfully suggested that since crab roe can be fatty, but crab fat isn’t necessarily roe, the yummy (calorific, cholesterol-laden, highway-to-a-heart-attack) stuff we’ve been sneaking spoonfuls of all weekend must be the eggs.
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Posted by Raphael, April 6, 2008 at 4:00 PM
From Make Magazine's "Make a Cylon" contest comes the Cylon Coffee Maker Model 0001:
Posted by Emily Koh, April 6, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Items you may have missed from the Serious Eats universe ...
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Posted by Raphael, April 6, 2008 at 1:00 PM
After the jump, a video of Chef Anatoly Komm in the kitchen of his restaurant Varvary.
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Posted by Raphael, April 6, 2008 at 10:00 AM
