American rapper Coolio recently expanded his résumé to include "cooking show host" with his web show Cookin with Coolio. As the "ghetto gourmet," he aims to "use foods that poor people can afford" in his recipes, which he demonstrates with his inimitable Coolio-style. Although he only has three recipes up so far, each one is for a different audience: Coolio Caprese Salad is to please the ladies, Fork Steak & Heavenly Ghettalian Garlic Bread is for broke college students, and Spinach Even Your Kids Will Eat is for kids who won't eat their vegetables. Check out his latest video each Wednesday to see what he comes up with next. Serious Eats asked Coolio a few food-related questions to get a... More

In November, Serious Eats ran my optimistic interview with Seneca Klassen of Bittersweet, who described the cacao-growing industry as "fundamentally organic." It wasn't long before Sam Madell—a spirited bean-to-bar chocolate producer at Tava in Australia—sent us an intricate, itemized response, dismissing Seneca's take on the situation as "blatant misinformation." "For your information," Sam wrote, "a wide range of pesticides—many of which are banned in Europe because they are unsafe—are used on cocoa trees and beans in many countries, including Ecuador, Venezuela, and Ghana, as well as the USA, where highly toxic methyl bromide is used on cocoa beans in storage." I thought it would be a good idea to ring in the new year with a new take on organics... More

Salon interviews Alice Waters, hitting subjects including her new cookbook, The Art of Simple Food, the pleasure of shopping at the farmer's market and cooking at home, how the rest of the country can eat seasonally, and her disappointment with the presidential candidates' lack of attention to food policy.... More

Although you may have gotten the impression that my brain is bursting with macaron knowledge, the information I know is just an insignificant crumb compared to the macaron database stored in Dorie Greenspan's head. Her culinary prowess encompasses seemingly all things sugary and delicious, as seen in her library of publications, which focuses on three of the most mouthwatering topics in the world: baking, chocolate, and Paris. Knowing that she had worked extensively with the macaron king Pierre Hermé and written two of his recipe books, there was no question that she was the perfect macaron specialist for me to talk to. How did the macaron craze begin? What in God's name caused me to having a giggly conversation... More

Through her blog Dessert Comes First, Lori Baltazar not only smothers you with her passionate photo-laden odes to all things sugary and decadent, but in my opinion provides some of the best content for the Filipino Tourist Board...unbeknownst to them. If you've never thought about visiting Manila before, you may change your mind after discovering the city's best chocolate cakes, mango torte, gelato, oatmeal cookies, and—trust me—roughly a million other things that you'd want to eat. Unfortunately, you have to be in Manila to take advantage of Lori's recommendations. Get to know Lori in this week's Meet & Eat and maybe you'll be inspired to get a plane ticket to Manila. One-way.... More