Slashfood

Also known as Arrack Punch after it's Batavia Arrack ingredient, Swedish Punsch liqueur is not currently commercially available in the U.S. But importer Haus Alpenz hopes to change that by the end of this year with the launch of the Facile label in the U.S. American cocktail enthusiasts applaud this effort, as Swedish Punsch has been a hard-to-find ingredient in replicating many old drinks for more than forty years.

Swedish punsch is drank hot or cold in its homeland and can be found served alongside hearty pea soup.

What food do you eat that would give you a bad rep if other chefs knew about it?
CC: When I get home late at night after a party, I make a sandwich with beef, salami, cream cheese and toast. My nickname is the Swami of Salami, I don't think I've ever told anyone about this.

Which celebrity would you love to cook for and why?
CC: Jimmy Fallon, because I want to go on the show and cook with him and other celebrity guests. He hasn't had me on yet, and I'll show him real Italian food.

What chef would you like to see naked?
CC: I think I prefer to see most chefs with their clothes on. Even the Naked Chef Jamie Oliver wears clothes.

What do you think of vegetarians?
CC: My pigs are vegetarians too -- the ones we make salumi with. There's nothing wrong with being vegetarian.

What's going on in the food world that's pissing you off?
CC: A lot of people cook Italian food, but they don't know true Italian cooking. This confuses people to what real Italian cooking even is. You don't see me cooking Chinese or French food!

Cesare Casella is chef and owner of Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto in New York City.

In celebration of National Chip Day (March 14th), Frito-Lay is giving away a year's worth of potato chips to one lucky Slashfood reader. How do you win? It's as simple as telling us your favorite Lay's chip flavor in the comment section -- from barbecue to salt-and-vinegar to the classic crunch of the original.

Continuing in the spirit of the fried snack, the Frito-Lay truck will be driving around New York City, handing out thousands of free bags this Sunday.

Truck stops and complete contest rules after the jump.

Who doesn't love a nice, dry Cabernet? As if to a flame, moths have been flocking in great number to the grape vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, and Salano and feasting on the young spring crops -- causing the wine industry a major headache. The California Department of Agriculture has quarantined 162 square miles in an effort to isolate the moth larvae.

It's not just any moth, either: This is EGVM, or Lobesia botrana, which up until now has been found in Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America, but never in North America. The pest was first spotted in Oakville, Calif., last September, and since then two pockets of infestation have been identified -- both in the heart of wine country.

"When Irish eyes are smiling... they steal your heart away" -- those lyrics probably bring to mind serious St. Patty's celebrations. I'm big into entertaining and any excuse to host a party works for me – especially if there is a theme, color or food involved.

But St. Patrick's Day has always been much more to me than just a day for late-night bashes and green beer, because it also happens to be my Granny "Patricia's" birthday too.

I'm starting a new tradition in celebration of the wonderful cooking legacy she passed on to me, growing up in her kitchen. Every year, along with the gift and birthday card I send, I'll include a brand new recipe and photo from my blog, only it will be delivered the old-fashioned way, via snail mail. (Granny certainly knows her way around the kitchen but isn't as savvy when it comes to the computer.)

Find the Skinny Chef's recipe for a Shamrock Shake after the jump.

• Even garlic is going green -- and adding nice mellow flavor as it does.
• "Zinfandel's like Beyonce"... and these wines are Zin's sexy backup singers.
• For the Vegas-bound, here are tons of great new restaurants.
• If you're thinking more about China than Vegas, try out Yu Garden -- a taste of Shanghai without the 12-hour plane trip.
• What is this, chopped liver? Why, yes, it is actually.

What's worse than having to endure a long, hard winter? Enduring a long, hard winter as a crawfish.

Crawfish hate the cold. When the temperature dips, they respond in kind, burrowing into the mud and refusing to eat. That means the few critters that have wriggled into farmers' traps this season are too puny to impress the many Louisianans who traditionally feast on crawfish during Lent.

"Mother Nature's throwing us a curve ball, and the trouble is she keeps throwing them," says Stephen Minville, director of the Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association.

Minville's 2010 harvest stands at about 30 percent of his typical year-to-date haul, with the most successful farmers topping out at 40 percent. "Optimism is running out," Minville says.

Go on. Fuss a little. Make breakfast in bed for somebody this weekend. Grind the best coffee you've got, bake these over-the-top eggs and mushrooms in Black Forest ham crisps, stick a flower in a vase, throw it all on a tray and it could lead to the best Saturday morning you've spent in a while.

I don't know where blogger Frim-fram-sauce served her eggs, but she added a little cheddar to the original Gourmet recipe to make it even more creamy. I do know, however, that cooking up a breakfast like this is akin to offering up a love potion, so serve it wisely and well.

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