July 5, 2008
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:
Continue reading »
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.
Continue reading »
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.
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.
Continue reading »
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.
Continue reading »
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.
Continue reading »
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
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?
Continue reading »
Posted by Robin Bellinger, July 3, 2008 at 5:45 PM
For a long time I was more intimidated than excited by The Taste of Country Cooking, the late Edna Lewis’s remarkable account of the foods she ate growing up in a farming community called Freetown, Virginia. Her beautiful and evocative descriptions of a life so wonderfully attuned to the earth and the seasons seemed to preclude preparing her recipes with meat and produce from the supermarket; how could they possibly compare, and wouldn’t it be sacrilege? Lewis doesn’t try to make her reader feel that way—writing in 1976 she recommended Perdue chickens to those of us who can’t find better. But a supermarket bird hardly seems enticing when you’ve been reading about the antics of the chickens of Freetown.
Last March the Wednesday Chef described Lewis’s sour-milk griddle cakes in terms so tempting I had to try them, and thus I eased into this book with baking. My flour couldn’t be too terribly inferior, I guessed, and when breakfast is this yummy, you don’t feel guilty about not having picked and preserved the berries yourself.
Continue reading »
Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 3, 2008 at 5:00 PM
On the left, the Loews Regency version of the classic Swanson's fried chicken dinner.
At the Loews Regency Hotel in Manhattan, the price of a "TV Dinner" is on par with Kobe beef or lobster. But other than the nostalgic segmented plates, there's not much "TV Dinner" about this thirty-buck meal.
Introduced last month, the weekly-rotating combos are available downstairs at The Library restaurant or via room service. Here are ten differences we discovered between chef Andrew Rubin's creations on Park Avenue and 61st Street and your average Swanson-brand frozen dinner.
1. There are no pull-back plastic covers on the $30 version.
2. Lowes Regency does not use a microwave or what Rubin remembers using "back in the day"—an oven.
3. You don't have to poke special holes for the dessert. Rubin prepares his old-fashioned chocolate pudding and other desserts separately, so they don't accidentally reach tongue-burning temperatures meant for pot roast.
Continue reading »
In 4,200 words, Robb Walsh valiantly searches the Lone Star State for old-school Tex Mex. We're talking chili con carne before Velveeta was ever a thing, third-generation tamale carts, and what tacos used to be: tortillas dipped in oil, filled with smoked brisket, and then griddled. If anyone can build a Tex-Mex time machine, Walsh can.
Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 3, 2008 at 4:15 PM
This week The Kitchn looks at classy doilies for cakes, in case you needed another reason to eat that delicious slice.
Also on The Kitchn, a discussion of American wines for the Fourth, jalapeño pepper recipes, indigenous New England flavors and how cheese ages in the Vermont cellars of Jasper Hill Farm.
Continue reading »
