Food news antipasto

Our first bit of news belongs in the “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” category. Pizza Hut recently announced that it is offering a wine made from tomatoes and basil that is supposed to taste like a pizza. “The holidays are a time for many gatherings, but often, the gift of a bottle of wine can feel expected. Why not be the one to bring the pizza party with the gift of pizza wine and a Triple Treat Box designed to ignite fun and conversation,” said Elyse Slaton, Pizza Hut’s director of advertising. If anyone is brave/foolish enough to try it, please report back.

Are you traveling during this holiday season? Don’t forget to take a snack – maybe one from a recent Gastro Obscura article on the travel food ideas. As with all these great Gastro Obscura stories, writer Anne Ewbank takes on a entertaining journey that describes travel foods throughout history, ending with a recipe for gâteau de voyage – travel cake. Or try the Cranberry, vanilla and quince travel cake from Great British Chefs – Chef Recipes by Simon Jenkins pictured above.

Do you remember the piece of artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan that was a banana duct-taped to a wall? A crypto entrepreneur purchased the piece of art for a cool $6.2 million dollars. Then he ate the banana. Make it make sense.

NPR recently talked with Ina Garten about her memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens, which has made The New York Times bestseller list. Garten explains why over a dozen bestselling cookbooks, a food store in the Hamptons, and television shows were never in her plan. It all began with an advertisement that piqued Garten’s interest.

This piece of kitchen advice comes a bit too late for Thanksgiving but can be useful for other upcoming holidays. Epicurious provides three different ways to toast pecans without burning them. Pecans are probably the most delicate nuts when it comes to toasting as they go from beautifully brown to blackened and ruined in a heartbeat. The article explains how to do without burning them using three different appliances.

If you are invited to a White Elephant/Yankee Swap/Dirty Santa exchange – the kind where you can “steal” someone else’s present or keep the one you opened – Eater has the skinny on useful kitchen items that would be among the most coveted in the exchange. (I am not sure that White Elephant means the same thing to most people that Eater says it means, but like Donald says to Otter in Animal House after Bluto exclaims “was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!” – “Forget it, he’s rolling.”)