Margaritas and Guacamole

January 30, 2013 by
 |  Leave Comment
We've recently celebrated Australia Day and Burns Night so it is only fitting that we acknowledge that great U.S. holiday - Super Bowl. And who better to do it with than Rick Bayless? And what better to do it with than margaritas and guacamole?   Bayless has a new book out called "Frontera - Margaritas, Guacamole, and Snacks" (already indexed… read more

Why you should massage your kale

January 21, 2013 by
 |  Leave Comment
There is no question that this is the year (decade?) of kale. Lauded by one and all, kale is considered a super-healthy food. Per WebMD, "Kale is an amazing vegetable being recognized for its exceptional nutrient richness, health benefits, and delicious flavor.  Eating a variety of natural, unprocessed vegetables can do wonders for your health, but choosing super-nutritious kale on… read more

You’re not feeling great, so what do you eat?

January 17, 2013 by
 |  Leave Comment
It's a particularly vehement flu season here in the United States and Canada; we understand that Europe is having a particularly cold time of it; Australia is having a particularly hot time of it; and New Zealand must be run over by new-found hobbit fans, so we thought that some advice on what to eat when you're out of sorts… read more

Green smoothies are the newest fad

January 8, 2013 by
 |  2 Comments  |  Leave Comment
This post is written for two very diverse audiences. First, and most importantly, we wanted to extend our best wishes to our Australian members who are suffering under an extreme and dangerous heat wave. We're sending cold thoughts your way. And second, we thought this was a timely issue for everyone who is dealing with the excesses of the holiday.… read more

Good luck meals for the new year

December 28, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
One of our favorite blogs, Sandy's Chatter, has a fun entry today. She takes a global survey of good luck meals that people cook to start the new year. We were aware of the classic Southern good luck dish with black-eyed peas (Hoppin' John), but we didn't know that one reason for this choice - and a common theme shared… read more

Well-meaning but disastrous kitchen experiments

December 19, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
The Guardian has an amusing story this week, When kitchen experiments go wrong. It's an equal-opportunity article, since it includes a number of stories about well-known chefs, male and female, as well as home cooks. As they write, "It's when we tend to make the most effort in feeding our loved ones, and beyond the perils of the still-frozen turkey… read more

Determining if baking soda and baking powder are dead

December 13, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
During this heavy baking season, here are ways to tell if the baking powder and baking soda you're using are still healthy and active: For baking powder, stir 1/4 teaspoon into 1/2 cup of very hot water. The powder will immediately bubble if it's still usable. For baking soda, do the same thing as for baking powder,  but add 1/4 teaspoon of… read more

Ten rules for the best-ever hot chocolate

December 9, 2012 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
If our friends down in the southern hemisphere will excuse us, we're going to concentrate today on how to make  the ultimate winter comfort beverage - awesome hot chocolate. We've reviewed the possibilities, and this list from Buzz Feed Food, 10 Commandments of Awesome Hot Chocolate, strikes us as taking absolutely the right approach. The article explains the full reasoning… read more

Mint confusion: spearmint vs. peppermint

December 6, 2012 by
 |  3 Comments  |  Leave Comment
Peppermint is a popular holiday flavor - where would we be without candy canes? And spearmint can also be a popular candy flavor  - think gum. Most of us would  regard these two flavors as quite different, yet most recipes just call for "mint." So which type should you use? And which flavor do you get when you buy undifferentiated… read more

When should a chef give credit for a recipe idea?

December 5, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
  Eater has an intriguing article, "Inspiration and Attribution in Cooking: How and When Should Chefs Credit Their Sources." Traditionally, the guideline was that any recipe had to be credited unless the chef had made three significant alterations in the recipe. But in these internet days, when recipes fly fast and furious, are there any guidelines left? And what are… read more

Will recipes become living things?

December 4, 2012 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
  In a short video over at Serious Eats, Kenji Alt interviews Alton Brown on the future of recipe writing. In just over a minute, Brown mentions several interesting items. Here are two that especially intrigued us: First is the question: What if a recipe could take any of three paths to completion:? "And you got to choose your path… read more

Discovering potted shrimp

November 25, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
As the weather turns chilly, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere, it's time to start curling up with murder mysteries. And part of the fun - at least in old-fashioned English mysteries - is reading about the food. Has anyone else ever had a fantasy about having tea with Miss Marple? So we thought it was fun that one… read more

Marcus Samuelsson’s 10 ways to use up Thanksgiving leftovers

November 21, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
We're sure all our non-U.S. members are getting a little tired of our Thanksgiving blogs, but we promise this is the last one - it's hard to overlook the one holiday truly devoted to eating. And for our final blog, what is more appropriate than one dealing with how to use up Thanksgiving leftovers? There's a lot on the web… read more

How to insure a crunchy brownie top

November 18, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
With the demise of the Twinkie, we thought we'd refocus on a comfort sweetie that will never go out of style or production - the homemade brownie. And the perfect brownie has to have a crunchy top - it makes the fudgy goodness underneath that much more delectable.  So while it may not be an earth-shattering issue, it's important to… read more

R.I.P. Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Devil Dogs

November 16, 2012 by
 |  4 Comments  |  Leave Comment
We'll admit that we haven't eaten a Twinkie or Ding Dong in far more years than is possible, but the fact that these iconic U.S. lunch box treats will no longer be available is worthy of notice. Due to a variety of factors Hostess, the company that makes these (and other baked goods like Wonder Bread) is liquidating. And for… read more

Happy national bundt cake day!

November 15, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
It seems that every day is a "national" day (or week or month) for some sort of food item. It's easy to ignore most of them,  but every now and then a "national day" comes along that should be celebrated. We feel that way about "national bundt cake day." Bundt cakes are awesome - they seem to feed a million… read more

Two alternatives to brining a turkey – steaming or dry salting

November 13, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
Fifteen or so years ago, brining - soaking a turkey in a salty water solution for 24 hours - was introduced as the best way to insure a moist, flavorful turkey. But brining has now come under assault. It always was a problem in that it required a large container and refrigeration - difficult for anyone who didn't have an… read more

The silliest food network recipes

November 8, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
Looking for a quick laugh? Over at BuzzFeed Food, they've collected The Most Hilarious Food Network Recipes of All Time. And we have to say, these are pretty priceless. Here are a few classic  examples: Robin Miller's Orange-Ginger Salad: The total ingredients are 2 cups preshredded carrots and 3 tablespoons store-bought ginger dressing; instructions are mix well to combine.  And… read more

Peanut butter & pickles anyone?

November 4, 2012 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
Over at The New York Times Dwight Garnier has a fun blog item, Peanut Butter Takes On an Unlikely Best Friend. In it, he confesses to a love of peanut butter and pickle sandwiches (and he's obviously not pregnant). As he writes, "I've been happily eating these distinctive little sandwiches for years. The vinegary snap of chilled pickle cuts, like a… read more

Pizza! The best breakfast pizza plus how to stretch pizza dough

November 1, 2012 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
Where would we be without pizza? Without question, life would be emptier. But just because we eat so much of it (according to Yahoo, the annual per capita pizza consumption in the USA is 23 pounds) that doesn't mean we know everything we need to know. So we're devoting today's blog to two vital pizza questions: How to stretch pizza dough… read more

Cooking Light’s Best 25 Recipes

October 31, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
Cooking Light is celebrating its 25th anniversary by publishing, both in print and online,  its best 25 recipes. As they say, "25 years, 25 dishes. We're going back in time to count down our best of the best, from 2011 to 1987." The collection, gathered by its recipe archivists, has some interesting features. We noticed that five include chicken (including… read more

Potato ghosts on the march

October 29, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
Over at Gourmet Live they're getting in the Halloween spirit and we were happy to see these little potato ghosts come front and center. They first appeared in the 90's and due to both how  easy they were to make and incredible cuteness factor, they were an instant hit. In The Story behind the Potato Ghosts Kemp Minifie describes their origin… read more

Perfect 2-ingredient sandwiches

October 26, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
Sandwiches are certainly the ultimate in convenience food. Indeed, the very story of their invention - the Earl of Sandwich wanting to have a convenient way to eat his bread and meat so he wouldn't have to leave the gaming table - testifies to their ease of preparation. Given this background, these 2-ingredient sandwich ideas from Saveur struck us as… read more

Quick tip: Turn white sugar into brown sugar

October 25, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
Recipes calling for brown sugar are surprisingly ubiquitous. Cookie season is fast approaching in the Northern hemisphere (of course, for many of us, it's always here),  and so many great cookie recipes seem to call for brown sugar. Or, for our readers Down Under who are now beginning to feast on fresh fruits, what's a better topping than brown sugar?… read more

Revel in lemons

October 24, 2012 by
 |  Leave Comment
Slate recently published a wonderful article called "When Life Gives You Lemons, Put Them in Everything." And what's not to love about a lemon? It's a beautiful fruit which adds zest to both sweet and savory dishes, brings out flavor (without any fat!), and makes hair shine. Plus many grocery stores sell them in sacks, making them affordable and plentiful.… read more
« Older posts
Newer posts »
Seen anything interesting? Let us know & we'll share it!

Categories

Archives