July 6, 2008
From Required Eating
Posted by Alaina Browne, July 5, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Photograph from Clarity on Flickr
I don't need to remind anyone that it's strawberry season, do I? Don't be fooled by the oversized yet tasteless beauties you'll find at the big grocery stores. Buy them local and in season, and you're less likely to be disappointed. Want to pick your own? You can find a farm near you at pickyourown.org.
Found yourself with more berries than you can eat in one sitting? According to strawberries.com, the best way to store strawberries for 3 days or less is to place them in layers separated by paper towels inside a plastic container or sealed bag. If you need to store them longer than that, freeze them in a sealed plastic bag. Either way, don't wash the strawberries before you store them. Rinse them off right before you eat them. Here are a few recipes we think are worth trying this sugar snap pea season:
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From Slice
Posted by Daniel Zemans, July 5, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Daniel Zemans, our man in Chicago, checks in with another piece of intel on the Windy City pizza scene. Daniel also blogs about Chicagoland pizza with his friends on the Chicago Pizza Club blog. —The Mgmt.
Do you remember when the Chicago Bulls had a 1.7 percent chance of getting the first pick in the NBA Lottery and won? Sure you do—it was only a little over a month ago. And surely you remember when the Bulls drafted Derrick Rose last week while the Knicks took some dude from Italy. I don't know what Danilo Gallinari knows about pizza or whether he is the next Frederic Weis, but I do know that Derrick Rose is going to be a star and that he is a pizza connoisseur. The point guard of the future's favorite pizza is Home Run Inn, an institution on the southwest side of Chicago.
Home Run Inn opened as a bar in 1923. According to restaurant lore, the place got its name after a ball from a neighborhood baseball game flew through the front window (which was not open). For the next 24 years, the family-owned bar established itself as a neighborhood fixture, with Vincent Grittani serving the drinks and his wife Mary cooking up midday meals. In 1942, Nick Perrino married Loretta, the Grittani's daughter. In 1945, he returned from World War II and Vincent Grittani died. Two years later, Perrino and his mother-in-law decided to start giving away Mary's pizza for free in an effort to boost business. Needless to say, the idea worked. Today, the business, which is still family owned and run by Nick's son Joe, has eight locations and a booming frozen pizza business, all of which serve up pizzas made according to the family recipe introduced to the world in 1947.
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From A Hamburger Today
Posted by Nick Solares, July 5, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Editor's note: Happy 4th of July weekend! How 'bout a burger from the ever-widening seat of American government? If you're in the nation's capital for the holiday, use this as a guide for checking out Ben's Chili Bowl —The Mgmt.
It is 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning and the jukebox at Ben's Chili Bowl is cranking out "Super Freak" on 11. The long counter that flanks the entire side of the main room is jam-packed with diners tucking in to stacks of fluffy pancakes, heaping bowls of chili, Ben's famous half smoke sausages and of course chiliburgers. They are all in tune with the music, rocking or bobbing or swiveling on their stools in time to the beat as they feast on the generous portions before them. The open kitchen on the other side of the counter also seems to be in time with the beat as an enormous cadre of cooks and waitresses turn out a dizzying number of plates to a packed dining room to the funky verbal gyrations of Rick James.
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From Required Eating
Posted by Raphael, July 5, 2008 at 1:00 PM
"What we do is the same thing like those on Broadway. Everyday you open the curtain and it's a new show." —François Payard
Learn more about renown French pastry chef François Payard of New York City's Payard Patisserie and Bistro in his interview on Nightline's "Platelist" series. If you're not craving chocolate right now, you will after watching Payard make chocolate French toast and chocolate cake. After watching the video, grab the recipes and read more of the interview at Nightline's website.
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From Eating Out
Posted by Ed Levine, July 5, 2008 at 9:00 AM
Louis' Lunch and Pepe's Pizza, two of the stops on any serious eater's road trip from New York up I-95 to Cape Cod.
I am currently wrapping up a week of vacation on Cape Cod—Martha's Vineyard, to be exact. We drove up earlier this week. This post is about all the good food I have discovered en route from New York City to Cape Cod. From burgers to pizza, hot dogs to fried clams, there are plenty of serious eats to be had on the road from New York to Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Consider the following:
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From Required Eating
Posted by Sarah Wolf, July 4, 2008 at 6:00 PM
Photograph courtesy of Laylita's Recipes
Layla, who showcases the Ecuadorian cuisine of her childhood on her blog Laylita's Recipes, makes a flan with caramelized pineapple that looks almost too pretty to eat. Almost.
From Recipes
Posted by Paul Clarke, July 4, 2008 at 4:30 PM
What are you doing inside on the 4th of July?! Oh, looking up info on the perfect Independence Day cocktail? Look no further: Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles) has poured you one. Cheers!
Fourth of July celebrations were made for beer. It’s cold and refreshing, and low enough in alcohol that you can sip at it over the course of an afternoon or evening. But for a longer celebration – especially one that involves flaming grills and possibly random blasts of fireworks – it’s a good idea to slow down the alcohol consumption even further, while keeping hydrated as you go. But it’s beer, and beer is delicious—and besides, Fourth of July celebrations were made for beer! If there were only a way to strike a balance…
Enter the Cincinnati Cocktail (and no, I don’t know why it’s called that) – heretical to some beer-lovers, but before you start tapping condemnations in the comments box, do me a favor and try it first; it’s really not bad at all. Dating back more than 120 years, to a time when drinking beer as you worked all day was considered somewhat normal, the Cincinnati Cocktail is immensely easy to prepare, but it isn’t, in any true sense of the word, a cocktail: first, there’s no spirits or even wine in there; and second, what alcohol there is in the glass is diluted by a lot of fizzy water.
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From Required Eating
Posted by Raphael, July 4, 2008 at 2:40 PM
Today in Coney Island, after ten minutes of regulation time, America's defending champion Joey Chestnut and rival Takeru Kobayashi were tied at 59 hotdogs. A five dog eat-off ensued, and Chestnut won! The Mustard Belt remains in America's hands, and Chestnut set a new 10-minute record. Go USA!
When asked why he put his body through this year after year, Chestnut replied, "I love to eat, I love the competition. It's the Fourth of July, and you can get away with it on this day, push your body this hard, for something silly like this."
As ESPN commentators said, "The passions were raw, but the hot dogs were cooked."
Video after the jump.
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From A Hamburger Today
Posted by Adam Kuban, July 4, 2008 at 1:00 PM
The site Yumsugar ran seven great burger tips that one of its bloggers picked up from Bobby Flay at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, a while ago. It's good advice here on the Fourth if you haven't yet started your fire. My favorite:
When forming the patty, make an indent with your thumb in the middle. This will ensure that the meat plumps nicely. Flatten the patty before placing on the grill. Never press down on the patty or flatten it while cooking. This will release the precious juices that are essential to a burger's flavor.
What's going on with the indentation suggestion is that the center of a burger usually swells when it cooks, leading to football-shaped patties. Indenting it ensures that even when it does puff up, even thickness is maintained.
Related
Meet & Eat: Bobby Flay
From Recipes
Posted by Lucy Baker, July 4, 2008 at 12:30 PM
The brilliant red color of this Raspberry Margarita brings to mind cherry-hued Cosmopolitans, though the drinks couldn't be more different. Whereas Cosmos rely on vodka and bottled cranberry juice, Margaritas, Mojitos, & More author Jessica Strand uses fresh raspberry purée and a combination of tequila and Chambord to create a sweet, refreshing cocktail that is the perfect expression of summer.
Win 'Margaritas, Mojitos, and More'
In addition to excerpting a recipe each day, we’re giving away five copies of Margaritas, Mojitos, & More. Enter to win here.
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From Recipes
Posted by Joshua Bousel, July 4, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Going through the list of All-American grilling items for Fourth of July, I was coming up short with ground not already covered. Ribs, chicken, sausage, and, to a lesser extent, hamburgers have all had their day in the sun. So if it wasn't going to be something different, it was going to be something bigger, because that's the American way. I went to the butcher and let the patriot in me pick out the largest slab of beef, a 1 1/2" thick porterhouse, brought it home and grilled it up, then topped it off with a blue cheese butter (that's a red, white, and blue steak for those of you keeping track).
The thick porterhouse presented a grilling challenge to get it perfectly medium rare without charring the outside. To get this cut right I had to build a two zone fire, with a all the coals stacked up on one side of the charcoal grate, keeping the other side empty. This allowed me to sear the steak to perfection on each side, then move it over to cooler area of the grill to finish up without the worry of burning. A steak this beautiful did not need anything to make it better, but the blue cheese butter added a tang that complemented the beef without overpowering it, creating a pleasing layer of depth to the meal. At the end of this gluttonous feast I felt like a perfectly grilled, over sized piece beef is something we can all stand behind, making us proud to be and American, or at the very least, an extremely full American.
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From Required Eating
Posted by Deb Harkness, July 4, 2008 at 10:00 AM
If your summer calendar looks like mine, it is likely you have somehow managed to accept more invitations to backyard barbecues than there are weekends left in the summer. Barbecue season is in full gear, leaving many wine lovers wondering what to drink with all those hot dogs and hamburgers.
Zinfandel is the default option. It’s widely available, inexpensive, and its fruity character pairs well with the sauce-slathered triumvirate of grilled favorites: steaks, burgers, and ribs. There are problems with Zinfandel, however. Given its high alcohol levels the wine is not at its best in summer heat, and Zinfandel is such a bold wine that it is not the ideal partner for more delicate grilled dishes like chicken, fish, shellfish, or vegetables.
There are equally good, affordable, and more versatile options than Zinfandel. When I head to the store for summer wines, I keep "GRPS" (grapes without the vowels) in mind. It stands for Grenache, Rosé, Portugal/Spain, and Sauvignon Blanc, and these wine categories open up a world of tasty new options for summer get-togethers.
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From Required Eating
Posted by Ed Levine, July 4, 2008 at 8:30 AM
I've been up on the Cape all this week and yes, I brought my scale (right). But having the scale with me only begs the question of how often I should weigh myself no matter where I am.
I brought the scale to hold myself accountable for any forays into vacation gluttony I might embark on, but the fact of the matter is that this question of how often I should be getting on the scale has been weighing on me for months.
I know there is no right answer to this almost cosmic question. I last attended a Weight Watchers' meeting 20 years ago, so I don't know where those eminently sensible folks are on this issue now. Other people advocate trying on the same pair of pants or shorts every week to see how snugly they fit, instead of weighing in. Still others say once a week, a third camp advocates weighing yourself every day at the same time.
Here's where I come down on this issue right now (after the jump). Please, serious eaters, let me know if it makes any sense at all.
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From Required Eating
Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 3, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Will another light-green bar, signaling a new world record, make its way onto this chart tomorrow? Will Joey Chestnut, the only American since 1999 to win the Mustard Belt, hold onto his title? He would make 1916 champ James Mullen proud. [via Waxy.org]
Related:
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Shortened to Ten Minutes
Photo of the Day: Patriotic Hot Dog from Nathan's
From Required Eating
Posted by Clay Gordon, July 3, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Photo composite by Clay Gordon
Celebrating our nation's independence with chocolate? Now that's a revolutionary idea. And, no, I'm not talking about a totally new form of chocolate or a new chocolate flavor, or even about the possibilities that a complete map of the cacao genome might create—I'm talking about the American Revolution and chocolate in observation of tomorrow's 4th of July festivities.
Like Father's Day, Independence Day is not one of those holidays where people think a lot about chocolate. First off, it's the middle of summer and if people are thinking about chocolate, it's in a frozen form (milkshakes, ice creams, and the like) as regular chocolate melts and gets messy. Secondly, where's the connection between chocolate and securing our independence from the British?
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