Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Serious Reads: Neurogastronomy, by Gordon M. Shepard

As a molecular biologist, I get this weird anti-social excitement reading reviews like this that mention that a book is a difficult, technical read. Usually I just get upset over the lack of depth or worse, misleading phrasing from food authors that don't seem to really understand what they're writing about. Even though I know that most people don't want a textbook...I do!

This one sounds really promising though.

katrina at 3:12PM on 01/29/12

Dinner Tonight: Braised Coconut Spinach with Chickpeas and Lemon

I am literally eating this right now! I jumped on the post from the Kitchn right away, definitely a winner. My sweet potatoes rotted on me...but it's still delicious over basmati rice :)

katrina at 8:58PM on 01/26/12

From Serious Eats: New York

The Vegan Experience Day 12: This Is What Happens When I'm Too Busy To Cook

My workplace makes a really delicious vegan pizza, speaking as an omni.

The same perfect, puffy/chewy/crispy thin crust as the other pizzas, then a fresh tomato sauce, and tons upon tons of kale, arugula, spinach, roasted peppers/sweet potatoes/onions and garlic olive oil that I infuse myself.

.......you couldn't freeze it. I would not want to eat a frozen vegan pizza. However! I just wanted to point out that they CAN be great, and that I've been reading these posts with great interest so far. I used to cook all-vegan for others (while sneaking pepperoni for myself on the sly) so it's interesting to read about trying to find a new sense of balance.

katrina at 8:55PM on 01/26/12

From Drinks

Spot of Tea: Yogi Ginger Tea

I can't stand when herbal tea brands just chuck peppermint into so many blends. Everything else, I love....especially hibiscus and rosehip...but somehow, always, there has to be that mint which just curls my tastebuds right up.

The Stash lemon ginger flavour is a little lemon, a LOT ginger. It gets super spicy and delicious if you give it an extended steep. Try it out!

katrina at 11:02AM on 01/22/12

From Chicago

Five Poutines We Love in Chicago

OH man.....a Belle Province poutine as a side to two steamies all dressed (mustard, onions, green relish and coleslaw).....I go on day trips to Montreal 3-4 times a year and I have to get that every time.

katrina at 4:59PM on 01/16/12

From Drinks

Is Public Drinking Good For the Neighborhood?

This is horrible. My city is the squeakiest, cleanest (literally scrubbed down nightly, in tourist areas), most-straightlaced place arguably anywhere....but I'm a young student-type and I'd have wine nearly every summer night on my old stoop. My old stoop was 2 blocks from the central police station. I say definitely make a point of it, there isn't much nicer than a quiet drink outside.

katrina at 5:40PM on 01/12/12

Fast Food International: Japadog

Japadog rules! ...but I am definitely biased by the option to add japanese mayo to anything.

katrina at 5:45PM on 01/10/12

Cook the Book: 'The Occasional Vegetarian'

An old Dinner Tonight link that seems to have disappeared. I cook it from memory thankfully...it's got greens (spinach or kale), sundried tomatoes, white beans and pine nuts cooked with onion and paprika. It's easy and super tasty! The vegetarian bf likes it over potatoes.

katrina at 6:28PM on 01/09/12

American Classics: Kringle

I HAD NO IDEA THIS HAD A NAME. I've only ever seen it at one bakery in my hometown (just over the border from Minnesota/Wisconsin, in Canada) and I get my mom to ship it to me whenever I can. Whooooa this is opening worlds of new possibility....

katrina at 4:25PM on 01/06/12

Are you a serial salt and pepper shaker?

I'm pretty accustomed to wicked high levels of salt, so I'll often find myself adding it...but NEVER before tasting something first.

katrina at 9:39AM on 12/29/11

Cakespy: Hanukkah Marshmallow Dreidels

Just a note....if you're making these with kosher marshmallows, if you use milk chocolate they're kosher dairy, and can't be eaten as a treat after a meal with meat.

Super cute though!

katrina at 8:54AM on 12/27/11

Sweet Technique: How to Make Torrone Nougat Candy

My brother started dating a girl a couple of years ago who comes from a big Italian family. So, for the past two Christmases, torrone has entered my life and I CAN'T EAT ENOUGH OF IT.

I like it so much that I'll probably spend the rest of today finding a candy thermometer (it's somewhere in my parent's house...) and making this. Thanks!

katrina at 9:15AM on 12/26/11

11 Food and Drink Trends of 2011

I'm with the commenters saying pie....cupcakes are really on the way out (I hope), and donuts are pretty big now so a 'new thing' dessert-wise is probably on the way. Modernist concepts like spherification are also going to be a lot more mainstream, I think. I've also been seeing quinoa a LOT more often outside of the earthy, vegetarian places where it's had a stronghold forever....often as an upscale breakfast cereal.

...and at least up north where I'm at, artisanal smokehouse/BBQ places (especially with a nose-to-tail ethos) are emerging as a major new thing that we haven't seen a lot of before. The biggest one just opened about 2 weeks ago, and that should be a big deal into 2012.

katrina at 7:33PM on 12/23/11

Holiday Entertaining- Is this Appropriate?

How old are you and your GF? Most my friends are just finishing undergrads and entering grad school, with a handful of folk started into professional careers. This sounds like a potluck and I would not be offended, and going beyond, I'd be pleased to attend....but the stage of life I'm at would indicate that, right?

When I host, it'll occasionally be a very small gathering where I provide everything (science grad school = more $$ than arts grad school) but more likely a potluck for which I'll provide one big communal drink (sangria, mulled wine, something like that). It seems like people enjoy coming either way!

I guess it all comes down to expectations.

katrina at 7:56PM on 12/20/11

Wake and Bake: Pumpkin Amaretti Bread

ohhhhh MAN I love amaretti...and I have leftover pumpkin from another recipe. Done and done.

katrina at 5:36PM on 11/29/11

From Recipes

Glazed Orange Pound Cake

...does this still work if you halve it? sheeeeesh that's a big cake!

katrina at 6:51PM on 11/22/11

Dumb butt risotto question....

It sounds like you've decided what to make (delicious) and the question at hand has been answered thoroughly....I just wanted to say that it's really sweet of you to go to that effort. I can't imagine chemo, but the week I couldn't get out of bed from mono didn't kill me probably due to the timely gift of takeout wonton soup from a dear friend. Takeout has never made me so happy...I almost cried. I'm sure a nutritious home cooked meal will be even more appreciated!!

katrina at 8:38AM on 11/13/11

Toronto

Go to the Drake! Definitely a good place to treat a family with varied tastes....classic comfort food items done spectacularly well, which is also kid friendly. It's not the cheapest but it's really good, and not some ridiculous fine-dining pricey either..

It's on Queen West, so a few blocks south of Little Portugal, but depending on where you are it's probably >20$ for a cab.

katrina at 8:43AM on 11/06/11

SE Staff Picks: What's Your Favorite Food Smell?

The header made me smile because I've worked at a few bakeries now and the idea of 'a fresh loaf', singular, is really cute. I'm so tired though, and maybe the juxtaposition is only funny if you watched a burly dude near-magically produce a solid hundred loaves over the course of an hour.

My favourite food smells are cardamom, Chinatown grocery store, and parsnip (even though I don't really like eating them).

katrina at 8:01PM on 10/12/11

Served: Is Cheese Good for You?

Last night I went to a very decent restaurant and shared 5 tiny portions of 5 wonderful cheeses with 4 friends. Totally satisfying.

...but so was the grilled kimcheese sandwich I just made with a nearly equivalent mass of grocery store 'old cheddar'.

Nutritionally speaking I know the latter was less than ideal but as an occasional indulgence for one whose protein largely comes from lentils, tofu, sardines and eggs....

katrina at 5:46PM on 10/10/11

Sodium and Food

Sodium content in food becomes an issue, in my opinion, when processed packaged foods jack up their salt content to move more units. The amount of salt in products like canned soup, for example, make those items something to be avoided. Adding a touch of seasoning to the lentil soup I'm making? I don't even think about it.

The body actually needs salt to a certain extent; you need to intake those ions you refer to from somewhere! I'm a biologist above and beyond being a food obsessive and when people use pseudo-science and terms that they don't wholly understand to argue for or against something nutritionally....it gets me really frustrated.

katrina at 3:30PM on 10/03/11

Pie of the Week: Applesauce Pie

...I don't even like apple pies where the apples stay structurally intact! My family makes all manner of great pies, including ones that look like this, and so when I first had a store-bought pie with chunks rather than apple mush, it was a disappointment.

If we must call it applesauce pie, then sure. I want applesauce pie!

katrina at 7:21PM on 09/29/11