Or is that turkey my Lego? Beats me. But if you're a Lego head and you've always wanted a turkey figure for your Thanksgiving-themed tableau, this Medieval Market Village set might do you right. You'll have to wait till next year's turkey day, though; this set comes out in 2009 but was recently unveiled at BrickCon 2008. [via Boing Boing]
Editor's Note: Every morning in October, we'll have something to put you in the Halloween mood!
Candy corn is a love or hate situation, but some people just really really love it. If your ears are cold and you're on the pro side of the candy corn debate, then here's a free hat pattern through Reenie at the yarn site Material Whirled. [via Craftzine]
As most serious eaters know, holidays are full of temptation for those of us trying to lose weight. I went to two Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) dinners this week, and they could have been my undoing. But in both cases, I had a plan going in that just might have worked.
I tried to fill myself up with freshly picked farmers' market apples and bananas (from farms far away from New York) before I arrived at the dinners, and I think I might have succeeded. In a week that could have been disastrous weight-wise, the apples and bananas could have saved me.
Something else might have helped as well, namely, since it was forgotten. Let me explain.
Editor's Note: Every morning in October, we'll have something to put you in the Halloween mood!
It's not hard to find Halloween snacks to impress kids, but finding something classy and creepy enough for adults can be a bit more difficult. That’s why the Eyeball Caprese makes the perfect appetizer for any Halloween party. It’s a simple twist on a classic insalata caprese, and it looks fantastic.
The key ingredient here is the Castelvetrano olives, an Italian specialty that has the perfect shade of bright green skin—as Evil Mad Scientist notes: "You can of course use other types of green olives, but they probably won't look quite as alive." If you're wondering how to make the pupil shape precise, the trick is to use a plastic drinking straw. [via super punch]
Related
Photo of the Day: Halloween Cupcake
Photo of the Day: Vampire Cupcakes
Not bacon!
Happy World Vegetarian Day! The holiday was founded in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society and kicks off October as Vegetarian Awareness Month. If you're vegetarian, check out some of these select vegetarian (and vegan) recipes on Serious Eats. If you're not vegetarian, try to lay off the bacon for one day—it's not so bad. Though many people have gone through vegetarianism flings, who out there feels like a real, true vegetarian? Recipes after the jump.
The Jewish calendar is a funny thing. A lunisolar creation, it doesn't quite match up with the Gregorian one our calendar is based on. That's why every year you hear people asking: when is Rosh Hashana this year? When is Chanukkah?
This year Rosh Hashana starts on September 29, but even without knowing the date I could tell when the holiday is near. In my neighborhood, which is an eclectic mix of hipsters and Hasidic Jews (think Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with better weather), a good indicator that the High Holidays are coming are the sukkah shacks that pop up on Beverly Boulevard. Celebrating harvest, according to the Essential Book of Jewish Festival Cooking by Phyllis Glazer, was the original purpose of what we, today, call Rosh Hashana. It wasn't until after the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews scattered across the globe that the holiday, the Day for Sounding the Shofar (Yom Tru'ah), evolved into the beginning of the new year.
Like any good holiday, Rosh Hashana has a slew of traditional foods. In my family and the homes of most Jews of Eastern European descent (Ashkenazic), the dishes are sweet: challah with raisins, sweet noodle kugel, tzimmes, apples and honey, and honey cake, to name a few, and are meant as a symbol of hope for a sweet year to come.
It's Labor Day weekend, and that means it's Minnesota State Fair time. The New York Times reports that fairgoers can enjoy—get this—60 different foods served on a stick, ranging from corn on the cob to smoked walleye to meatballs and spaghetti on a stick.
I started thinking about two things:
What about it, serious eaters? What is your favorite food served on a stick?
Photograph from roboppy on Flickr
Get out the grill tongs and soccer mom chairs. It's time to avoid labor, and E-A-T. We'll be on a lighter posting schedule this holiday weekend, but will see you all back here in full force on Tuesday. We can't help but ask: what are you slapping onto the grill?
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?
Fires on the Fourth don't have to be exploding lights in the sky—they can be just as good, if not better, when they're cooking dinner in the backyard. To that end, here are a few items to put on (or alongside) the grill this Friday. These dishes may not be not typically American, but hey, this is a country that accepts and celebrates all cultures. Especially ones with tasty, tasty food.
Previous Grillfests
Memorial Day Grillfest
Father's Day Grillfest
What with all the fireworks and festivals, July Fourth is a holiday that especially lends itself to spending time outdoors. Maybe it's a Manifest Destiny thing. Or maybe it's just because it's nice and warm out. Either way, it's an excellent excuse to pull that picnic blanket out from wherever you put it on Memorial Day and enjoy lunch in the open air.
(And if these aren't enough suggestions for you, Mark Bittman has 101 more.)
You're facing a long holiday weekend with a good chance of scorching temperatures and intense humidity. A bowl of cold cereal sounds so much more appealing and easier than the thought of actually cooking. So what to eat to beat the heat and still keep you satisfied? Check out these no-frills, fuss-free recipes. More recipes for heartier fare after the jump.
Have an out-of-this-world Fourth of July with the help of your favorite spacefaring crew of the original Star Trek series. Knock back some space beers and rock out with this catchy song about how the Enterprise celebrates the holiday: "We've got space burgers and fries all over the place / Independence Day is even more fun in space." It may not make much sense, but who cares when you have space burgers? Watch the video after the jump.
I always get a kick out of these Flag Day flag-inspired desserts that Martha Stewart has come up with. The flag berry tart is, by now, a classic, but the flag cookies—those seem new. At least to me. Anyway, here's links for you all if you want to do right this Flag Day:
Plenty of dads these days are the primary cooks in their families. And when I was growing up (not very long ago), my dad was part of that burgeoning group of guy chefs. But my father was not your typical backyard griller, lasagna maker or fricasée-er. His foodview was much more global—though he might emerge from the kitchen with something fairly normal like chicken soup or a batch of muffins, he was just as likely to whip up burekas, grape gazpacho, or Georgian cheese bread. He would take out Moroccan or Argentinian cookbooks from the library and read them cover to cover. When mangoes or curries came up in conversation, he'd refer to the class he once took with Madhur Jaffrey.
So I was raised eating turmeric and cumin, seaweed and sesame oil, nigella seeds and cellophane noodles, all of which I happily gobbled up. I'm grateful to my father for teaching me to be a food snob—I mean, to appreciate and understand foods of all nations—and for providing me with so many delicious home-cooked meals. And since that early exposure to gourmet and world cuisine is probably why I'm writing this right now, here (after the jump) is a Father's Day menu in honor of my dad, full of the dishes that I remember enjoying at our dining room table.
Would he prefer a tie or red wine? For this dad, the best Father's Day gift is not a tough call. Here's a short list of wine and wine-related gifts for dads who went long oil futures—and those who didn't.
The fantastic book Billionaire's Vinegar reads like page-turning fiction. This inside view of the world of fine wine collecting derives dramatic force from the intrigue surrounding the auction of some 18th-century bottles of wine from the collection of Thomas Jefferson—or not. For those of us who haven't had a 1921 Petrus from magnum recently, we can rejoice in the fact that many of the remaining ones are likely fakes. $14.97, from Amazon.com
Chateau Laguiole makes the ne plus ultra corkscrew that will last a lifetime (providing the TSA doesn't confiscate it). Try here with a horn handle or even a handle from a yew tree planted in Marie Antoinette's day at Chateau de Versailles. $129.95, from Amazon.com
Nothing will make dad feel better than some great drinks and a touch of comfort food. Here are three spots that’ll fit the bill for Father’s Day in Chicago.
Kuma’s is so hardcore that owner Mike Cain won’t hire anyone unless they have at least one tattoo. That hardcore-nature seeps through to their incredibly deep beer list and perfect burgers. Given the chance to sup here, we’d probably go with the Moylan’s Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale, a rich malty brew which should cut nicely through a big fat juicy Kuma Burger, a 10-ounce patty topped with bacon, cheddar, a fried egg and nestled in a toasted pretzel roll. 2900 W Belmont Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618 (at N Francisco Avenue; map); 773-604-8769; opens at noon on Sunday, kumas-corner.com
Photograph from Paul Goyette on Flickr
Ah, dad. He taught you how to ride a bike and then how to drive a car. (What was that you said, Dad, about driving offensively?) He even enjoyed your homemade cards well past the point where Crayola was cute. So now that you've got a little spare change, why not treat dear old dad to something special? Skip the traditional ties and grilling gear and try a bottle of wine this Father's Day. These selections are sure to please even the most discriminating palates; they're food-friendly and, fortunately, are priced so you won't have to hit mom up for a loan to buy one.
Try the 1999 Château Labegorce from the Left Bank Margaux appellation. Labegorce is the great château you've never heard of, situated next to the famed Château Margaux. You're dad will pat himself on the back for teaching you to be so savvy. This is old school Bordeaux from a sorely underrated vintage; the tannins, acidity and fruit are singing like the Mamas and & the Papas. Dad will love it for its round, black cherry and plum fruit and spicy, mineral underpinning. And the best part? It's Bordeaux that's drinkable right now! $34.99, from K&L Wine Merchants
Equipped with little more than a hibachi grill and an improvised chimney (a rusty old bottomless chicken-feed bucket that has been a part of his life for at least as long as I have), my father has expertly rendered some of the most delicious, perfectly cooked steaks of my life. On the other end of the spectrum, he’s also been known to make phone calls to the 800-number on the back of a frozen fish stick box to inquire whether or not said fish sticks could be microwaved rather than baked and how to do so.
Cooking can be uncertain ground with dads, but eating and gadgetry rarely are. So, gifted chef or Chef Boyardee, here’s a spectrum of gadgets and gizmos to satisfy all sorts of chow-loving pops.
If Dad’s a lover of trivia and does anything that might require the use of a measuring cup, the Equal Measure might be for him. Whether he’s mixing up marinades or cement, he’ll no doubt delight in discovering that one cup is only a smidge less than the volume of “water in a cumulus cloud the size of a bus” and lots of other interesting volumetric facts. $12.99, from ThinkGeek
We did one for Cinco de Mayo. We did one for Memorial Day. And now, with Father's Day just around the corner, we just had to suggest another thematic bunch of grilling recipes. This menu will make dads happy with its subtle variations on old favorites, from potato salad with a kick to chicken legs soaked in buttermilk. Time to get Dad into that apron and start cookin'.
Dads deserve chocolate too!
When you think about the holidays where gifting chocolate is popular, Father's Day does not immediately come to mind. There's Halloween and Easter, of course, and Christmas—the biggest holiday for gifting chocolate there is. And let's not overlook the timeless appeal of Chanukah gelt. Then there's the oh-so-very romantic pair of Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
Father's Day lacks respect, from the chocolate perspective, because people don't think chocolate is manly and that any self-respecting Dad who's not jonesing for power tools, a riding lawnmower, or personal watercraft really doesn't understand what Father's Day is all about. However, as a Dad and a chocophile, I prefer to think that it is gifters' attitude toward chocolate that really needs to be addressed. Not all chocolate is for wussies and Dads who crave chocolate shouldn't be made to feel that they somehow less than "adequate" if they ask for it.
Let's start at the top—the top of the cocoa content spectrum, that is. There are a number of what I call "heavyweight" chocolates—85 per cent cocoa content and above.
We're coming to the rescue of gift-idea-starved sons and daughters everywhere with an absolutely foolproof Father's Day gift guide. These babies have been road-tested with half a dozen of my friends, all dads who appreciate some of the finer, not-so-fancy things in life. Prices quoted do not include shipping, unless otherwise noted.
I know serious eaters are asking: How could Ed Levine, Mr. New York Eats, be recommending an L.A. delicatessen's pastrami? Simple. It may be the best mail-order pastrami you can buy anywhere in this country right now. This pastrami is a deep reddish purple, it's rubbed with plenty of coriander and pepper, and it steams up in meltingly tender fashion. $20 a pound, two-pound minimum, from langersdeli.com
In the States, I generally rely on the appearance of traditional festive foods to alert me to upcoming celebrations. But now that I’m back in Asia, it’s impossible to miss the fanfare that accompanies the various festivals—firecrackers are lit, special, back-breakingly-tedious-to-make foods are prepared, the house is cleaned, gods are placated, married folks give singles cash (now this ritual, I like), and so on.
This past Sunday, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, Chinese communities around the world celebrated Duan Wu Jie—also known as the Dragon Boat Festival. Legends abound, but the most popular rendition of the festival’s origins reference poet-patriot Qu Yuan in 278 BC. Devastated when his country was conquered by invaders, Qu Yuan cast himself into the Miluo River. Because he was well-loved by the people, locals threw leaf-wrapped parcels of cooked rice into the Miluo, hoping to tempt fish away from eating his body, as well as to bargain for his life with a dragon that lived in the river. Villages also trawled the waters looking for Qu Yuan’s body, making a massive din in a bid to scare away fish. Today, teak rowboats holding up to 20 peddlers, a drummer, and a tiller are rigged with flamboyant dragon regalia and race in competitions to commemorate the villagers’ original search for the patriot’s body.
Of greater relevance to Serious Eaters, the leaf-wrapped rice parcels known as zongzi used by the villagers as decoys have grown fancier (from what I imagine to be the original plain or bean-filled versions) and are often downright delicious.
Don't feel like venturing out for a picnic this weekend? Take advantage of your own backyard instead—fire up the grill for this appetizing array of dishes.
Photograph from uberculture on Flickr
What could be a better way to spend Memorial Day than a picnic in the sun? Shake out that red and white gingham tablecloth, fill up a cooler with the beer of your choice and maybe a pitcher of fresh lemonade, and load up your picnic basket with this delicious, portable lunch.
Bill Addison sampled nearly 300 tacos and 100 burritos in an incredibly cool ten week-long quest for the best that the Bay Area offers. Do click through to his story because and admire with me the meticulous and thorough way he went about this Pancho Villian–sized task. I also admire his intestinal fortitude (literally). His favorite was the relatively unheralded Sancho's in Redwood City. Here's what Addison had to say about it:
Burritos and tacos are everything they should be at this diminutive storefront with expansion plans. Each element zings with freshness and quality. The bonus of well-made fish tacos, a rarity in the Bay Area, makes this a must-try. Super burrito: $6.55, Regular taco: $1.25
3205 Oak Knoll, Redwood City CA 94062 (near Canyon Road; map); 650-364-8226
Cinco de Mayo is a day of national pride for Mexicans around the world, commemorating Mexico’s victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. We join in the celebration with our favorite Mexican food and drink.
Cinco de Mayo is a day of national pride for Mexicans around the world, commemorating Mexico’s victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. We join in the celebration with our favorite Mexican food and drink.
Cinco de Mayo is a day of national pride for Mexicans around the world, commemorating Mexico’s victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. We join in the celebration with our favorite Mexican food and drink.
Cinco de Mayo is a day of national pride for Mexicans around the world, commemorating Mexico’s victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. We join in the celebration with our favorite Mexican food and drink.
Cinco de Mayo is a day of national pride for Mexicans around the world, commemorating Mexico’s victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. We join in the celebration with our favorite Mexican food and drink.
Photographs by blair christensen and Nick Kindelsperger
While bread gets cracker-ified during Passover, chosen bottles of soda get stripped of their high-fructose corn syrup and are sweetened instead with the real deal. No need to hunt for imported Mexican colas or hitch a ride south of the border for the cane sugar cola that tastes so great.
That's right: Passover Coke is here! (Or Passover Pepsi, if you're on that side of the Cola War.)
Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi make a real-sugar version around this time of year, and you can find it by looking for yellow caps on Coke bottles or white caps on Pepsi. But to be sure you really have a sweet, sweet sugariffic cola in your hands, check the cap for a "P" next to whatever kosher symbol appears (see photo).
This is a true story: when I was about five years old, I asked my mother how Moses and his friends had time to stop in the middle of the desert to dip their matzo in chocolate. Turns out I wasn't the only curious kid. This Passover season marks the 20th anniversary of Chuck Siegel's (the Charles of Charles Chocolates) matzo-dipping party. But the whole scene got started with apples—not dipped in honey, but in caramel. Chuck, then owner of Attivo Confections, was vacuum-sealing his candied Granny Smith apples with heavy-duty equipment. "The guy we bought the bags and the machines from was Jewish, and still is Jewish," Siegel said. "And he said, 'my daughter really wants to make some chocolate-covered matzo—can we come over and put some matzo through the enrobing line?'"
Amy's April Fools' Day "Eggs and Toast" could've fooled me. The "egg" is actually Meyer lemon pudding and Meyer lemon curd, and the "toast" is toasted cinnamon cake slices. Learn how to make this trompe l'oeil dessert at Amy's blog, Eggs On Sunday.
Previously
Trompe l'Oeil Udon Dessert
April Fools' Dinner Ideas
The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
Make tomorrow's April Fools' Day a special night with these recipe ideas from Allrecipes. When else will you have an excuse to make a cake out of meat or a burger out of cake?
Plague-themed Peeps, candy molds, and chocolates: they're perfect for Passover!
The ten Passover Plagues in Exodus didn't involve much sugar or butter. If only Moses delivered G-d's demands in candy form, then those gnats and ticks could have been chocolate, not infectious insects! With Passover only three weeks away, here's a few candy homages to the anniversary of Egyptian calamities. Mmm, who wants a sugar high from boils and murrain?
The Washington Post hosted a contest for Peeps dioramas and the results are in. Called Peeps Show, the contest inspired more than 800 entries, some riffing on pop culture, others on current and past events. My favorite was the one at right, which might be fall into the category of "suicide food," since the bunnies are toasting marshmallows 'round the campfire here. Other dioramas in the contest include a reenactment of former D.C. mayor Marion Barry's arrest, a scene from Hugh Hefpeep's mansion, and one titled "The Lion Peeps Tonight."
Need a last-minute greeting card for Easter? Cybele made some great Peeps-inspired Easter Island postcards for your convenience. And amusement. If only it were real...
Transform your marshmallow Peeps into classy (or classier) treats by coating them in salted caramel and dipping them in melted dark chocolate. Roopa has the recipe for these highbrow peeps at her blog, Raspberry Eggplant.
I'd say the only downside to coating the Peeps in caramel and chocolate is that they ultimately look more like like chocolate lumps than vaguely chick-shaped marshmallows, but the loss of form is worth the 500% increase in deliciousness.
Candy Addict shares an idea for a cute Easter Bunny Cake that's easy to cut and construct. Your naked bunny cake is then a blank canvas for heavy doses of frosting topped with all kinds of Easter candy.
Why are eggs closely tied with Easter? Why do we paint them different colors? And what's with all the bunny-related imagery? Get some basic answers from Food Timeline's page about the history and symbolism of Easter foods.
For Raaven O'Quinn, Peeps aren't just pastel-colored marshmallow blobs, they're what poems are made of. About five years ago, O'Quinn fused two wonderful things, Peeps and haikus, to create PeepHaiku.com. The site allows any Peeps poet to upload 5-7-5 metered dedications to those brown, beady eyes.
In the spirit of prime Peeps season, we electronically sat down with O'Quinn to find out why the fat-free, meatless chicks are just so darn special and have spawned other fetishistic side projects such as this dot-org Peeps Research site or Washington Post's Peep Diorama contest. (The 2008 winners will be announced in Sunday's issue).
Maki over at Just Hungry must be on a similar wavelength as our own Robyn Lee here at Serious Eats, because neither of them can resist stepping to it with the cute foods. Last year for Easter Maki made "bunny bao." This year, it's "hot cross bunnies." (Nice food pun, btw.) Over on her site she says she started with this recipe from the BBC and tweaked it a bit. From there, she shows you in pictures and words exactly how to create these little guys for yourself.
Why had I not heard about the glorious marriage of muffin and goo-filled chocolate treat before reading Nicole Weston's recipe for Cadbury Creme Egg Muffins? Weston say that while you probably wouldn't want to serve these at any regular brunch (but...but maybe I do!), they're good for Easter and may prevent you from eating a bag of Cadbury Mini Creme Eggs all at once, "since you’ll have to eat through each muffin to get to them first." I like that idea; stagger your intake of eggs by wrapping each one in a muffin.
If you have patience, dexterity, and the desire to have some classy chocolate egg-shaped treats for Easter, check out these directions for making golden chocolate Easter eggs from the Culinary Institute of America's baking and pastry art professor, Francisco Migoya. All you have to do is empty out some eggshells, fill the empty eggshells with melted chocolate, and paint the eggshells with edible gold paint. It's just a bit more involved than how you decorated eggs in elementary school. [via craftzine.com blog]
Previously:
Peep Inside a Chocolate Egg: The Must-Have Easter Candy
Jacques Torres's Chocolate Egg
Cadbury Royal Dark Mini Eggs
Are you sick of celebrating St. Patrick's Day by coloring all your food in various shades of green? Check out Gourmet's collection of nontraditional St. Patrick's Day recipes accompanied by beautiful photographs of each dish. For traditional dishes, look through European Cuisine's archive of St. Patrick's Day recipes. [via Rebecca Blood]
What makes March 14 so special? Besides that it's Friday, it's also the Pi Day! And while the purpose of this day may be to honor our favorite mathematical constant, it's also a great excuse to eat its buttery crusted homophone: pie.
I think in honor of it being the 20th anniversary of Pi Day, you should feel no shame in eating at least 20 different kinds of pies. (You don't have to finish all of them; just think of it as a pie buffet.)
Previously:
The Best Pies in America: The Serious Eats Pie Honor Roll
Vodka the Secret to Foolproof Pie Dough, Banana Cream Pies in New York City
In Gear: Pie Birds
Photo of the day: Pi Pie
Candy can be a beautiful thing, but throw Valentine's Day into the equation and suddenly every candy company unloads the kitschiest, tackiest, most undelicious confection onto the shelves. Sometimes it's the thought that counts, but other times, it's just a waste of perfectly good sugar—and, potentially, a relationship killer. We went on a hunt to find the best of the worst so you could see how bad it really is out there.
Add this to the nauseating marshmallow lollipop genre, except ... wait. Serious Eats intern Emily Koh—who probably loves Disneyland and Thunder Mountain and Minnie deep down—wanted no part in the taste-test. And who can blame her? The confection had all the, ahem, subtle aroma of undiluted lemon-scented floor cleaner. Disney should really get a grip on brand image.
Warning: The following link is not safe for work (NSFW). For some of you, it may not even be safe for home. ;) But, just in time for Valentine's Day, here's a set of lollipops in the shape of NSFW. And before you click, did I tell you—NSFW?
Ever since I had my say about my dislike of Valentine's Day, I've been thinking about ways to ratchet down the pressure and the expectations and ratchet up the pleasure and enjoyment we derive from spending Valentine's Day with people we really care about.
If you have a significant other, find a way to actually talk to each other on Thursday night. My wife says that that is more likely to occur with me (a guy) when we sit side by side, so sometimes we search for a bar or counter to eat at. Other people without significant others at the moment can hang out in a communal celebration of friendship. But what kinds of communal things can you do for Valentine's Day without spending much money?
This year for Valentine's Day, I'm taking my kids and wife, Susi, out for our traditional fondue fest at Artisanal. We all send Susi a dozen wacky flowers (never roses—way too common), and then it's out for the first seating at 5:30 p.m. for some cheese and chocolate, and then home early!
My ideal menu celebrates the most mysterious and romantic town of Italia—Venezia—and is based on Carnevale, which always falls near, and sometimes overlaps, with Valentine's Day. The celebration is simple and based on seafood and birds from the Venetian lagoon—or the closest lagoon to you.
I love my wife to pieces, but I don't like Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day puts so much pressure on all of us to show our love in so many superficial ways. How are we supposed to show our love? With chocolate, flowers, jewelry, and fancy dinners. And it's these supposed-tos that get us all in trouble because people's expectations often don't match up. Flowers from my local Korean market or grocery store might not do if my wife is expecting an expensive arrangement. My own standards would never let me give her Russell Stover chocolates.
And the fancy dinners? Many restaurateurs don't show us much love on Valentine's Day. They double their prices and offer set menus featuring supposedly aphrodisiacal foods like oysters and pumpkin pie.
So what's the answer?
Brian Halweil of Edible Communities and editor of Edible East End with Valentine's presents that are all the more sweet for being local to the East End of New York's Long Island.
Just as the New York Times style mavens tell us that organic and fair-trade nosegays are becoming as popular as similarly conscientious comestibles, here’s a short list of locally raised, baked, and brewed Valentine’s gifts to arouse your lover’s passion while reducing her carbon footprint.
This Valentine's Day share Mii-shaped chocolate figurines with the one you love. They come packaged in a Wii-shaped box bearing the heartfelt declaration, "Wii belong together, you and Mii." Available for $15 at Paul Pape Designs. [via Yumsugar]
Washington D.C. houses the largest Ethiopian population second to Ethiopia. That means lots of spongy injera (their bread alternative), tibs (lamb stew), doro wat (chicken stew), and tej (honey wine)—the best of which is packed on U Street. “Little Ethiopia,” as I like to call it. Though favorite Ethiopian eateries such as Etete, Dukem, and Madjet are all open today, it’s actually Ganna, or Ethiopian Christmas, according to the lunar calendar.
But they're not frosting snowman sugar cookies or sucking on candy canes. When asked about the yuletide holiday, Hareqwine Messeret, an Ethiopian-born baker at the French bakery Chez Hareg on 9th and U Street, actually decided to improvise Christmas cookies this year. She's got a spicy shell-shaped cookie made with chili pepper, cardamom, and other savory spices usually added to Ethiopian meats. She didn’t want to re-create the indigenous flavors, so she just worked with what she had in the spice cabinet.
Southern Foodways appears weekly as part of our collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization based in Oxford, Mississippi, that "documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South." Dig in!
Looking for good luck and good fortune in the new year? Secretly wishing for both while publicly resolving to do good unto others? Maybe you're just looking for a way to celebrate the new year that doesn't involve Champagne, Times Square, or staying up late?
Try a New Year's Day feast of black-eyed peas and collard greens. Both are thought to bring a year filled with prosperity. Some think the black-eyed peas represent copper—pennies, specifically. So, for truly good fortune in the new year, be sure to eat 365 black-eyed peas (the only way to get a whole year's worth of good luck).
On Christmas morning, we wake up at 8, light the fire, open presents, and eat lightly: clementines, Marchesi panettone from gustiamo.com (which will become your only panettone once you taste it), and scrambled eggs with white truffles. Lunch really does not happen, but I fire up the pizza oven as we head out to ski.
For dinner we go to the American South for inspiration. I put a ham from Nodines with cloves and a brown sugar glaze in the slow wood oven and steal the rest from the Lee Brothers' excellent cookbook; we eat black eyed peas, collard greens, biscuits with black truffle honey from Otto and then finish with a selection of chocolate gifts from my friend Katrina at Vosges Haut-Chocolate and some cool confections from Camilo de Blas in Oviedo, Spain, including glazed hazelnuts, tiny bitter chocolate creams, and a bottle of orujo de hierbas to burn the path clear.
The rest of the week is devoted to football, ping pong, and snow activities with the boys.
Ho! Ho! Ho! and Merry Christmas, Serious Eaters! Please enjoy our version of the famous WPIX Yule Log program. For your enjoyment, we give you the Burning Bûche.
Everyone here at Serious Eats wishes you and all your extended family the happiest of holidays. We hope all of your holiday wishes come true.
Of course you're going to want to leave some cookies for Santa tonight. If you don't already have a recipe in mind, here are some of our favorites from the Serious Eats Recipes archives.
If this adorable pink gumdrop laden gingerbread house is what Look at my photos made on her first try, I'd love to see what she comes up with next. And preferably it'd be life-sized so that I could live in it.
You may ask, "But what gingerbread house wouldn't you want to live in?" And that is when I would direct you to Gingerbread Ghetto.
I like to be creative with my new year's resolutions. I try not to repeat myself, but that can be hard to do when I don't follow through on many of them. That said, I have many new and old resolutions, and I know you won't be surprised to find out that just about all of them revolve around food.
I resolve to eat more vegetables, even if I have to cook them with bacon to do it.
I resolve not to stop at New York's Gray's Papaya for one little hot dog any more on my way home or on my way to a fancy-pants restaurant for dinner. I justify that stop by saying to myself that it's really my own form of amuse bouche. I also resolve to stop wasting my breath by ordering my hot dogs well done at Gray's. The counter guys never listen.
I resolve to eat less bad pizza. No matter what city I'm in, I know where the good pizza is, and there is no excuse for not seeking it out. Being late for a meeting is a small price to pay for an excellent slice.
Instead of making traditional cutout cookies, try Elise Bauer's recipe for stained glass cookies whose centers are filled with melted hard candies.
Morgan Moore's homemade peppermint marshmallows look perfect for the holiday season. If you've never made marshmallows before, start by watching Design Sponge's marshmallow-making video tutorial. Swirl red food coloring into the surface of the marshmallow batter to get the marbled look.
“A merry Christmas, Bob!” said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. “A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year! I’ll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss our affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob! Make up the fires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i, Bob Cratchit!
