Posted by Wan Yan Ling, April 21, 2008 at 1:00 PM
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 what you’re thinking. “Acorns? Why on earth is she talking about acorns? The weather’s just getting nice and balmy, and she’s featuring autumnal nuts? Bah humbug… it’s spring!”
And so it is. But I promise you, this is a very springy kind of dish. It’s refreshing on a warm, sunny day, light on the palate, easy on the eye (and wallet), and will leave you feeling decidedly sprightly.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, April 14, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Here is a food memory: I am ten years old. My best friend and I are standing at the take-out window of our local ice cream parlor. We are wearing matching jean skirts and Minnie Mouse T-shirts. We have both ordered cones of cookies 'n' cream. The waitress disappears and reemerges a few minutes later with a cone in each hand. The scoop on the right is encrusted with huge chunks of Oreos, like chocolate meteors. The scoop on the left has clearly come from the bottom of another barrel—it is mostly vanilla, dotted only here and there with crumbs.
My best friend and I begin to wiggle and squirm, bumping into each other as we vie for the better cone. At first I think I've got it. But she is taller than me—her arms are longer—and at the last second her fingers inch past mine and she snatches it from the befuddled waitress.
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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 Amanda Clarke, April 3, 2008 at 10:15 AM
The erudite French molecular gastronomist Hervé This thinks that the kitchen whisk is medieval technology, particularly when it comes to its ability to aerate, and he has been experimenting with various instruments—bicycle pumps among them—to find something better suited to the task.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known written use of the term whisk—to refer to a utensil used to break up, blend, or aerate food stuff—came in 1666, and was used in describing a method for transforming egg from its naturally viscous, cohesive form to a more manageable, liquid one.
But similar uses of the word whisk, with reference to quick, sweeping motions, can be traced back even further. Being that this was a tool entrenched in the work of the kitchen—the purview of largely illiterate servants and slaves—it seems likely that whisks of a sort were in use in the kitchen well before their existence was ever recorded on paper. Such whisks appear to have been little more than bundles of gathered reeds or twigs. And though modern whisks are generally made of metal, plastic, or silicone, the essential form and function of these instruments remains largely unchanged from original prototypes.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, March 27, 2008 at 2:30 PM
Katsu, katsu, and more katsu
Sushi and udon are popular Japanese dishes, but have you ever eaten Napolitan spaghetti (spaghetti rinsed in cold water and stir-fried with vegetables in ketchup) or menchi katsu (deep-fried breaded hamburger) at a Japanese restaurant? The New York Times profiles yoshoku cuisine, the Japanese take on Western food that originated in the mid-1850s and has since become an integral part of Japanese cuisine. Besides ketchup-ed spaghetti and deep-fried hamburger, yoshoku cuisine includes curry (thick and stew-like), omu rice (an omelet stuffed with ketchup-flavored rice), and tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet).
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Why are eggs closely tied with Easter? Why do we paint them different colors? And what's with all the bunny-related imagery? Get some basic answers from Food Timeline's page about the history and symbolism of Easter foods.
Before they took the form of tiny, oval-shaped blobs, jelly beans started off as cylindrical candy-coated bits of Turkish Delights. Learn more about "the secret life of jelly beans" from the Los Angeles Times.
Posted by Amanda Clarke, March 13, 2008 at 11:00 AM
A nonic pint (left) and a tulip pint (right) flank fish and chips at Mc Donagh's, Galway, Ireland
Not all pint glasses are created equal.
In Ireland and Great Britain the internal volume of so-called "pint glasses" is regulated by state authorities in accordance with the imperial system of measure. As such, a state sanctioned pint glass (indicated by an official mark etched on each glass: a crown in the U.K., a circle bisected by a wavy line in the Republic of Ireland, or, in accordance with recent standards set to unify the mark throughout the European Union, the letters “CE” *) must hold a minimum of 20 imperial fluid ounces (the equivalent of about 19 US fluid ounces, or about 1.2 US pints), but the glasses are generally designed with slightly larger capacities than the minimum, ensuring plenty of room for a full imperial pint of beer topped off with an ample head of foam.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, March 5, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Omu-rice and pork cutlet curry.
You may not think of fried mashed potato patties or beef stew served with rice when craving Japanese food, but these dishes of Western origins are popular in Japanese cuisine. Mari Kanazawa of Watashi to Tokyo explains the origins of some of these Japanese-Western dishes and where you're most likely to find them in Tokyo.
Posted by Amanda Clarke, February 18, 2008 at 2:00 PM
After reading through the comments on A Red Velvet Affair, it seems that there is a lot of curiosity and/or confusion about red velvet cake and its origins. Though, as far I know, nobody has managed to verify the cake’s exact genesis, here is what I have pieced together from my own observations and research.
Apparently dating from around the first third or so of the 20th century, sort of the heyday of the homemade layer cake—when chemical leaveners and hydrogenated fats were widely available; finely-ground, moisture-loving cake flour had been introduced; and the electric mixer was making its way into more homes—right before the advent of inexpensive packaged mixes, there are a number of recipes for American-style cakes * known simply as "velvet cake." These cakes (like most red velvet cakes) were neutrally flavored, meant primarily as moist, rich vehicles for sweet icings.
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NPR has an interesting piece on civil engineering professor and author Henry Petroski and his new book The Toothpick, which chronicles the history of the device. Fun facts: Neanderthals used them; in ancient Rome, Nero showed up at a banquet sucking on a silver one; at least one Japanese manufacturer is so guarded with its trade secrets that it does not allow visitors to its factory. [via Boing Boing]
Posted by Erin Zimmer, October 12, 2007 at 5:00 PM
Can you picture then-congressman Richard M. Nixon stuffing his face with meatloaf? Well, he did, and historic Martin's Tavern in Georgetown— where the stuffing used to happen— isn't keeping it a secret. With Meatloaf Appreciation Day just five days away, Martin's is serving the pâté wannabe at this week's Taste of Georgetown, a street fair-cum–gorge fest where nearby restaurants show off mini entrée portions.
During the 1940s and '50s, Nixon used to sit at booth No. 2 at Martin's Tavern, a quintessentially Washington power-hitters spot. His usual order? The M-loaf. And this weekend, Martin's will be serving $5 sample portions from—get this—an authentic Watergate Hotel chafing dish!
Last month, the Watergate complex was hosting a blow-out liquidation sale inspired by its upcoming "dramatic renovation." Fitness equipment, marble sinks, and even bedding went from anywhere between $1 to $7,000. A bunch of china, including the ornate silver chafing dish, was snatched by fourth-generation owner Billy Martin, Jr. A little Nixon resignation joke? Oh, Washington. Even when you're talking meatloaf, it involves a president/presidential scandal.
Martin's Tavern
Address: 1264 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington DC 20007
Phone: 202-333-7370
URL: martins-tavern.com
About the author: Erin Zimmer, Serious Eats's Washington, D.C., correspondent, is a just-graduated Georgetown gal following her nose about town as Washingtonian magazine's Dining intern and Best Bites blogger. She got her start as the Hoya campus paper's food columnist, and since entering "real person-hood" has ached for her dining hall's omelet station.
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 10, 2007 at 3:30 PM
October is Filipino American History Month, and on that note, Filipino food blogger Marvin over at Burnt Lumpia (tagline: "Finding identity through food") posits a theory that his peeps may have had a hand in helping create gumbo:
So what’s all this have to do with Gumbo you ask? Well, given these facts, one can conclude that like the French Acadians (roux), Africans (okra), and Choctaw Indians (File powder), perhaps Filipinos (shrimp) can be included in the melting pot that is Gumbo. I won’t go so far as to say that Filipinos are responsible for shrimp being an ingredient in some Gumbos, but I will venture to say that Filipinos at least contributed to this fact. We were, after all, alongside the Cajuns from the very start in Louisiana.
The full blog post makes a convincing argument. Have a gander.
Photograph from Burnt Lumpia
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 21, 2007 at 3:15 PM
Via blogger Jason Kottke, a snip from the first restaurant review in the New York Times:
Very well," replied the editor-in-chief. "Dine somewhere else to-day and somewhere else to-morrow. I wish you to dine everywhere, -- from the Astor House Restaurant to the smallest description of dining saloon in the City, in order that you may furnish an account of all these places. The cashier will pay your expenses."
It dates to New Year's Day 1859, and was unearthed by the blogger shortly after the Times opened up access to the site for free. Here's the full PDF.
Posted by Lia Bulaong, April 9, 2007 at 4:15 PM
This weekend on NPR's All Things Considered, host Debbie Elliott and their food guy John T. Edge talked to wine expert Mannie Berk about Madeira, A Wine for the Ages.
A fortified wine made in the Portuguese islands of the same name, Madeira when sealed properly is one of the longest lasting of wines. According to Wikipedia, "Madeiras have been known to survive over 150 years in excellent condition. It is not uncommon to see Madeiras pushing the century mark for sale at stores that specialize in rare wine. As of January 19, 2007, rarewineco.com was offering an 1834 Malvasia."
Madeira's stability and longevity are what made it the wine of choice in the New World, where quality wine grapes could not be grown, and it was imported by the "pipe"—a casket containing between 110-120 gallons. A favorite of Thomas Jefferson, Madeira was used to toast the Declaration of Independence in 1776. I've never had any myself, but I've always been curious about it because it pops up so much in books like Robinson Crusoe!
Posted by Adam Kuban, December 29, 2006 at 8:48 AM
The end of the year—always a time for reflection. So we thought we'd dig in to the archives of Serious Eats site A Hamburger Today and bring you some images worth highlighting again. They're from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog and offer a look at the early days of the hamburger.
Most of the photos here were taken by Russell Lee (right; 1903–1986), who was invited to join the federally funded Farm Security Administration as part of a team of photographers charged with documenting the plight of the rural poor during the Depression. (Esther Bubley, Jack Delano, and Arthur Rothstein, whose photos are also represented below, were members of the project as well.)
These photos are truly a fascinating scrapbook of hamburger—and American—history, and they're available for reproduction online at the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Reading Room (search the catalog for "hamburger"). Dig in!
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