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From Recipes

Healthy & Delicious: Tomatillo Guacamole

if you love avacados, definitely try rick bayless' recipe for avacado ice cream. amazingly simple and quite possibly the best tasting thing i've ever made.

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

I make chicken and duck feet every once and a while, but some friends and I are really struggling to give Balut Eggs a shot. There's nothing I won't try, but the likely issue of texture scares the hell out of me.

From Recipes

The Nasty Bits: Crisp Fried Pig's Ears

"perhaps we could champion something other than fatty animal products for a while?"

consequences, schmonsequences...

Great post, Chichi. I just made braised pig ears over egg noodles the other night. Fantastic.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Zingerman's Guide to Better Bacon'

Because just smelling a braised pork belly that's crisping over red hot coals to finish is freakin' heaven.

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Recent Comments | Response to Comments

From Recipes

Healthy & Delicious: Tomatillo Guacamole

if you love avacados, definitely try rick bayless' recipe for avacado ice cream. amazingly simple and quite possibly the best tasting thing i've ever made.

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

I make chicken and duck feet every once and a while, but some friends and I are really struggling to give Balut Eggs a shot. There's nothing I won't try, but the likely issue of texture scares the hell out of me.

From Recipes

The Nasty Bits: Crisp Fried Pig's Ears

"perhaps we could champion something other than fatty animal products for a while?"

consequences, schmonsequences...

Great post, Chichi. I just made braised pig ears over egg noodles the other night. Fantastic.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Zingerman's Guide to Better Bacon'

Because just smelling a braised pork belly that's crisping over red hot coals to finish is freakin' heaven.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book'

99% of the time, the best BBQ is whatever I make because it means we're spending the cook time with friends, good food, and great cocktails.

From Talk

Throwing a BBQ on the cheap

To echo others, pork butt if you have the time for a long smoke, marinated chicken thighs if you don't. The best thing about the thigh is that it's very difficult to screw up, which is a nice hedge when cooking for a lot of people.

Another fun one is a DIY pizza bar. Takes more grill management, but it's a blast. Buy premade dough to make it even easier. I still hear about the last time I threw one of these shindigs two years ago. On Friday nights, I host a $5 Friday Cookout. RSVP by Thursday morning and that's the budget I work in (avg 12 people a week). It's a great way to go and forces creativity.

From A Hamburger Today

Burger Thing: The Fifth Third Burger

Funny, TeriN... as a Dragons season ticket holder as well, I felt the impending heart attack I would be having this season as soon as I clicked the jump.

From Serious Eats

In Videos: VHS Toaster

I'll wait for the Betamax instructions.

From Talk

What are your favorite products from Trader Joe's?

hands down, the cilantro dressing available in the vegetable/deli cooler.

From Serious Eats

'Top Chef' Season 5, Episode 11: One Fish, Two Fish, Another Bloody Fish

i was ecstatic to see very early in the episode that a guest chef would actually show some interest in advancing the skills of the contestants. as the show continued on, it quickly became my favorite for this very reason. the more the guest teaches the group, the more we, as viewers, learn from their collective experience. and it was the only episode i've ever immediately watched again with the 11pm re-air.

and "on the line" is an absolute must have. the editors and authors should be commended for their creativity in how it was put together.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'The Great Wings Book'

Tortilla chips and a sour cream/sriracha dip i make. sour cream, chives, and sriracha

From Serious Eats

Does Your Grocery Store Have You Crying Tears of Joy?

I make at least one visit to the Wegman's in State College, PA when I go to Penn State games. Amazing place. In Dayton, Ohio, we have our local small chain of the Dorothy Lane Market that is a smaller version. Great butcher, seafood, and wine selection, along with the prepared foods for when I'm a bit lazy.

From Serious Eats

One Good Egg, One Good Idea

I've been on a kick lately of using the cheapo packs of ramen noodles, add a bit of extra water, frozen veggies, and finish it off by dropping an egg or two in to poach. Add Sriracha and it's a great, quick meal.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: Bobby Flay's Grill It!

I'd have to go with Batali, if only for the stories and education that go along with his cooking.

From Serious Eats

'Top Chef' Contestant Lisa Fernandes Hates Your Poor Blogger Ass

Her lack of intelligence is clearly illustrated by the childish retort re: the socioeconomics of bloggers/commenters. Had she any common sense, she would know that the readers of most foodie blogs could buy and sell her -expletive- on a daily basis. But hey, at least she didn't refer to us all as dwellers of our mother's basements, so we've got that going for us, which is nice.

From Serious Eats

Top 10 Awesome Nostalgic Foods We Want Back

I completely forgot about Gatorade gum, but the taste memory immediately came back.

Miller Clear > Pepsi Clear

From Serious Eats

Gordon Ramsay Is Not a Jerk; He Just Plays One on American TV

Fox is amazing gracious in their dumbing down of television for we ignorant Americans. Thank heaven for them looking out for us. Love Ramsey's BBC shows, but something clearly gets lost in the (ironic) translation from English to English.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'My Last Supper'

1994 Scream Eagle Cabernet (it's my last meal, so let AmEx come after me...) a platter of amazing sushi, duck confit, a "real" caesar salad, pom frites, slow-smoked beef ribs, gellato, and a cheese plate. A great port to finish it off.

From Serious Eats

Celebrity Chef Has Pants on Fire

The Food Network has removed his bio from their site and issued this statement:

"It's unfortunate if Robert embellished the extent of his culinary experiences. We are investigating the matter and taking the necessary steps to ensure the accuracy of all representations of Robert on Food Network and foodnetwork.com."

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Secret Ingredients, the New Yorker Book of Food and Drink'

Bourdain. Entertaining, insightful, learned in the art, snarky as hell, and he's irritated by the same celebri'chefs that I am.

From Serious Eats

Valentine's Day Chocolate Giveaway

Milk chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate...

From Talk

How many different kinds of regional variations of pizza exist?

"Dayton-Style" pizza, but it's now all over Ohio: Thin crust, a bit crispy and salted on the bottom, and cut into squares. Cassano's Pizza and Marion's are the two originals that I can think of off the top of my head. Donato's took the style and expanded all over.

From Slice

Japanese Stovetop Pizza Oven

Color me intrigued. I'd be curious to know what the recommended burner BTUs are and time required to get the oven to optimum temp.

From Slice

Pizza Beer Set for Production Run

I really enjoy the occassional Bloody Beer (bloody mary mix and light beer is darn tasty), but I draw the line just before getting to the other ingredients.

Something about envisioning "Now with REAL chunks o' cheese!" doesn't sound too appealing.

From Recipes

Healthy & Delicious: Tomatillo Guacamole

AdamB, this stayed green a surprisingly long time (three, four days) in a plain old plastic container. I guess the tomatillo protected the avocado from oxidization?

From Recipes

Healthy & Delicious: Tomatillo Guacamole

Naive question: don't you have to somehow cover up the guac to prevent it from turning brown overnight? I thought you had to wrap it really tight, with plastic wrap right on the surface of the guac, to prevent the air from turning it icky colors...

From Recipes

Healthy & Delicious: Tomatillo Guacamole

I was a late comer to avocados, and now can not get enough of them. In the 80's a colleague from Chile used to eat one for lunch every day, and we kept trying to tell her they were all fat (this was in the Snackwells fat-free cookies days), and she blithely told us she didn't care, she'd done it all her life. and she had a nice svelte body. It just goes to show.

I wonder if you'd thought about cooking the tomatillo a little - does that reduce the tartness? I always have lots of tomatillos in the fall (they're a self-sowing weed in my garden as I grow them as a trap crop for cucumber beetles) and I still haven't found something to do with them that really thrills me. I'll try this.

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

Thanks for participating and congrats to our winners!

LadyFlambe
tina_eats
terplinz
Mike13241
delzey

Please check your email for information on how to claim your book.

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

Dinuguan, because all my relatives told me it was chocolate stew.

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

I grew up eating tripe and vastedda (stomach lining and spleen), I have also tried testicles (a bit chewy), aligator, kangaroo, etc...pretty much anything, except for any kind of insects!

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

Snake, abalone, sea cucumber, durian, alligator, moose, kangaroo.

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

I went to an insect foods event in Montreal once, and sampled everything on offer.

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

On a business trip to the Philippines my local coworkers insisted on me trying the local delicacy of Balut(fetal duck egg). While this may sound like the most exotic i'd have to say that really it was later in the night when i ate some chicharon bulaklak which is deep fried and is apparently a fatty sack that covers the small intestine of a pig. It was actually quite good and definitely better than the balut.

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

snake 4 ways (soup, stir-fry, deep-fry, blood mixed with vodka as a shot, - taiwan
crickets stuffed with french fries and deep friend - taiwan
live fish with only head half deep-fried, tail half served raw - taiwan
bull penis / turkey testicle - ny (izakaya place)

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

Live grubs in the Amazon. You turn them inside out with a stick, and eat the fatty insides, spitting out the hard head. Yum-o (not).

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

Dog cooked in a spicy stew. Raw sea urchin eggs (scooped up from freshly cracked live urchin) - very intense saline taste. Japanese squid shiokara (salted, fermented seafood - very, very slimy). On a similar note: bakasang from the North Sulawesi region of Indonesia (a grey sludge of a very pungent condiment made of salted, fermented fish, similar to bagoong from the Phillipines).

Plus other foods considered extreme by others (based on the comments here), but completely normal for me:
- cow tongue, brain, tripe, heart
- pork ear, blood, feet/hock
- chicken feet, intestines (deep fried, they're great snacks!), gizzard, liver, heart
- goat's feet
- bats (body and wings)
- 'thousand year' eggs
- durian! (luv' em since I was a kid)
- sea cucumber, jellyfish, etc.

But I do have my limits: no bugs, larvae, worms and other creepy crawlies...

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'

the Phaal at Brick Lane Curry House in NYC. I've finished it three times. The vegetable version hurt the most.

From Recipes

The Nasty Bits: Crisp Fried Pig's Ears

Scape a bit of dirt from a pig's knuckle and throw that in too will ya. Jeez!

From Recipes

The Nasty Bits: Crisp Fried Pig's Ears

For sustainably raised Large Black pigs ears check out Moon In The Pond Farm. (for pick up at the farm only)

From Recipes

The Nasty Bits: Crisp Fried Pig's Ears

with you all the way, chichi.

the only editorializing going on here is naming the column "The Nasty Bits" so as to ward off close-minded people and make it sound "good" to be "bad"; otherwise, there is no trend going on here, just a newfound (and hopefully long-lasting) respect for the food and animals that we consume.

some of the earliest comments on this thread are laughable and Lorenzo's comments about offal being a trend as opposed to eating primal cuts just means that he's fallen for the very long, mainstream and profitable trend of trimmed chicken breasts, pork tenderloins, and steaks being the only acceptable protein, easily purchased in vacuum-sealed packs at costco.

From Recipes

The Nasty Bits: Crisp Fried Pig's Ears

I, for one, hope that offal is indeed becoming a trend. Apparently, identifying and condemning any new trend is also becoming a trend; it used to be that such positive trends were called "progress."

Having tasted offal prepared the right way according to recipes from many cultures, I must say that the textures and concentrated flavor of the nasty bits adds a whole new dimension to the enjoyment of meat.
In this land of gastronomic plenty, limiting oneself to a few muscle groups is just plain shortsighted (and, as noted above, wasteful). I'm not saying chicken breasts and pork chops are bad, but they're not offal either.

From Recipes

The Nasty Bits: Crisp Fried Pig's Ears

this banter is cracking me up. i kind of agree w/ both sides - this offal craze is annoying (only b/c i hate 'crazes' and anything resembling 'foodie trendy' - gag me) and also necessary. every single one of our ancestors used offal often in their dishes and, for some reason, we all kind of stopped. Americans just don't eat much offal unless it was passed down from their heritage. I grew up hearing the word "pigs feet" often - but I'm Italian and that was a main ingredient in my grandma's sunday gravy. Had I ever eaten duck tounge before last year, no. Had I ever realized how amazing veal liver is for dinner until 5 years ago? Nope. How about how to clean a kidney? Not since eating it in France for the first time 6 years ago. Once I was exposed to and convinced of how great these lesser cuts could be (usually b/c i trust restaurants when traveling), I started using them in my dishes more and more. I no longer fear things I didn't grow up with - I embrace them. I think that's the point of all this (kinda - but, let's be honest, the name of this blog is SERIOUS Eats - they want a bit of shock factor) - to trust them on how delicious something could be.

oh, and w/ these crispy pig ears, they are really good. i made these from fergus' book. first ate pigs ears a la plancha style in Madrid. but you really do have to go easy on eating them b/c they are very rich. paired w/ the salad is a great thing to do.

From Recipes

The Nasty Bits: Crisp Fried Pig's Ears

Long ago, my mom bought some for our dad during on weekly shopping trips to buy Chinese roasted pork. On the drive home, I was trying to sneak a piece of the crispy skin and accidentally grabbed a sliver of barbequed pig ear instead. My mouth was never happier than that moment I discovered the awesome-ness that is pig ear!

From Recipes

The Nasty Bits: Crisp Fried Pig's Ears

I don't get the negative comments. But, then I don't get the people who get upset when I make negative comments about Sandra Lee (no one here, btw. Just an internet observation).

I really like this column because even if the recipe is something I wouldn't make (mostly just because it's more difficult to procure items and BF will only eat offal that he can easily identify as "muscle" - tongue, heart, etc.), it still lets me think about food preparation and technique. I purchased a whole oxtail the other day to braise and I thought about this column. I keep hoping the store in question gets in some duck feet and/or tongues. I'm pretty sure I can get BF to try the tongues. The feet might have to wait until my mom visits.

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About cooksultant

Website:

Location: Dayton, Ohio

About: 35 yr old guy who cooks when he's not consulting

Favorite foods:

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