Did you know?

Happy National Espresso Day!

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Nov 23rd 2009 @ 1:15PM

Banana cake with caramel espresso frosting.
Photo: Fresh from the Oven 606, Flickr.

Happy National Espresso Day!

Patented in Milan, Italy, in 1901 by Luigi Bezzera, the concentrated coffee drink has been endlessly expanded upon in a plethora of creative culinary delights. Chances are those of you who include the beverage in your daily routine have already gotten your fix today, but may we instead suggest you toy with the idea of getting your fix (or supplementing it!) from a different source -- ice cream, chocolate or a baked good, perhaps?

Or for seriously committed bean fiends, take our Coffee Meister's advice and research home espresso machines for at-home consumption. So perk up and drink (or eat) up!

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Filed under: Did you know?, Food News, Drink Recipes, Holidays

Happy National Raisin Bran Cereal Day!

COMMENTS 2

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Nov 15th 2009 @ 1:15PM

Photo: ProofofthePudding, Flickr.

Happy Raisin Bran Day! Most commonly recognized in the dominant Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch these days, the raisin-bran combination has actually been around since 1926, when it started as Skinner's Raisin Bran. The "raisin bran" moniker was once trademarked, but usage limitations fell by the wayside as the term became widespread.

Statistics say that the average raisin-bran box of cereal houses 1,000 raisins -- but we think the cereal is best put to use adding extra texture and flavor in creative baking, like this Apple Raisin Bran Muffin by Proof is in the Pudding.

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Filed under: Food Oddities, Did you know?, Food News, Holidays

Meet the World's Water Sommelier

COMMENTS 7

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Nov 13th 2009 @ 5:00PM

Dr. Mascha at the Cook. Drink. Eat. Live. event

Mascha shares his water know-how at the "Cook. Eat. Drink. Live." event. Photo: Alexa Weibel.

In the competitive, volatile market of food trends, one consumable blankets the majority of Earth yet is massively overlooked by epicureans: water. Commonly considered flavorless -- most would scoff to hear there are some 3,000 varieties of bottled water worldwide -- the commodity is getting reexamined as health issues abound and alcohol consumption is on the wane.

At the forefront of the water movement is water sommelier Michael Mascha, who is working to "educate people about premium bottled water" in hopes of "taking bottled water to the next level and making it a luxury item" -- a lofty goal, considering the liquid is most often regarded strictly as a commodity. However, after a private water tasting at New York City's Cook. Eat. Drink. Live. convention last weekend with Mascha -- a retired food anthropology professor at USC and self-proclaimed "authority on the art of water tasting" -- there may be more to water than meets the eye.

More on the art of water tasting and 'fine water etiquette' after the jump.

Filed under: Food Oddities, Trends, Did you know?, Food News, Food Politics, Drink Recipes

Happy National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day!

COMMENTS 0

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Nov 12th 2009 @ 12:30PM

Photo: Akuban, Flickr.

Happy National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day! Anchovy lovers may be tiffed, but they can celebrate their topping the other 364 days of the year.

Whether you enjoy your pizza artisanal (thin-crusted, with scarce but quality ingredients, typically served in trendy restaurants) or classic (pepperoni, loaded with cheese, delivered by teenage pizza boys), today is the day to savor a slice.

Do you prefer pizzas with low-quantity, high-quality ingredients, or fully loaded ones, with toppings overpowering the crust? What are your favorite pizza-topping combinations? Spill your delectable slice secrets in the comments!

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Filed under: Food Oddities, Did you know?, Food News, Holidays

Happy National Nachos Day!

COMMENTS 2

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Nov 6th 2009 @ 1:15PM

Chicken nachos at TGIFridays. Photo: Scorpions and Centaurs, Flickr.

Though true queso lovers don't need a national holiday to celebrate the glorious cheese-chip pairing, we're pleased to announce once again that today is National Nachos Day.

The festive gooey treat was first served 66 years ago by ingenious maitre d' Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya in a Piedras Negras, Mexico, restaurant, located across the Rio Grande from Texas. According to legend, some Americans happened to stumble upon the eatery just as the chef had stepped out, so Nacho cleverly satiated them by piling a platter of tortilla chips high with cheese and topping them with a zesty jalapeno garnish.

And the carb-heavy dish has been improving ever since, with the additions of everything from Rotel to radishes, cilantro to crema, guacamole to Velveeta, pinto beans to pulled pork.

What are your favorite nacho variations? Spill the beans, after the jump!

Do you prefer classic nachos, with "real" melted cheese, or the Taco Bell queso variety?
Real melted cheese, no question.	222 (63.6%)
Fake cheese, please!	21 (6.0%)
I like both, depending on what I'm craving or what toppings are offered.	106 (30.4%)

Filed under: Trends, Did you know?, Food News

Scrapple, Sardines and Stuffing - November National Food Holidays

COMMENTS 1

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Nov 2nd 2009 @ 3:00PM

Celebrate sardines on Nov. 24. Photo: Photos in the Sunset, Flickr.

In the month that houses the nation's premier evening of gluttony -- the average American consumes some 4,500 calories every Thanksgiving Day, not to mention seemingly endless leftovers -- it's no wonder November is a dreaded month for dieters nationwide. But despite its most famous celebration, the month also ironically serves as the healthy host to National Pepper Month, Vegan Month, National Pomegranate Month, and National Peanut Butter Lover's Month.

Excuses for culinary celebrations range from tame (National Sunday Day, Nov. 11), to obvious (National Turkey Day -- you guessed it, Thanksgiving Day), to practical (National Leftovers Day follows Turkey Day), to downright bizarre (Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day, Nov. 9). So get cooking -- if only for the holidays that you can stomach.

Notable national food holidays for the month of November, after the jump...

Filed under: Food Oddities, Did you know?, Holidays

Chefs' Guilty Pleasures

COMMENTS 29

by Katie Workman, Posted Sep 25th 2009 @ 4:00PM

Mario Batali, sans Doritos. Photo: Bauer-Griffin.

What do chefs eat when they need a palate cleanser after so much fancy restaurant fare? When they take off their aprons, they reach for the same indulgences we do -- perhaps just with an upgrade. Slashfood asked celebrity chefs to share their favorite cravings.

Mario Batali
When orange-clogged chef and television personality Mario Batali isn't reinventing Italian cuisine, he's still got it in the bag -- of Doritos, that is. "I love two things: good gelato and, strangely enough, Doritos and salsa. It has to be Doritos, though. I especially like the lime-flavored ones with chili."

Nigella Lawson
Which foods make domestic goddess Nigella Lawson feel sinful? None! Nigella, who is famous for her intimate, relaxed cooking style says, "I don't have any guilty food pleasures. The only thing one should ever feel guilty about is not taking pleasure."

See what snacks Bobby Flay, Tom Colicchio and other celebrity chefs sneak after the jump.

Filed under: Did you know?, Celebrities

Greek Groceries

COMMENTS 1

by Eric Diesel, Posted Apr 20th 2009 @ 4:00PM

greens

Ancient yet modern at once, Greek cuisine radiates with sunshine and bright, fresh flavors. Succulent lamb enlivened with rosemary and garlic, a classic dish, is as redolent of Greece as it is of springtime. And as is true of anywhere with a shoreline, seafood is center stage. Always present are plates of local feta, stark-white and salty, and olives whose depth of flavor will keep you from ever opening canned olives again. For dessert, honey forms a sinful pact with walnuts and cinnamon, or yogurt made in-house just that morning cozies up to macerated cherries.

A Greek dinner is lovely to prepare and a joy to eat. Many of the ingredients are staples you probably have in your kitchen, such as lemons, herbs, eggs and olive oil. Here are some ingredients you might want to try.

The Basics: Olives and Feta. Olive oil is central to Greek cooking. The essential Greek olive is kalamata. They should be deep black and packed in an olive oil and vinegar brine; a taste should reveal a distinctive, fruity flavor and a firm bite without mealiness. Here's a great recipe for using these beauties. There are other Greek cheeses beyond feta, but this standard should be available in every cheese case. The cheese should be pure white with a gently pocked surface, lounging in a clean bath of salt-water brine (never buy dry feta).

Filed under: Stores & Shopping, Did you know?, Ingredient Spotlight, Ingredients

CHOMPr Hamburger Grasper

COMMENTS 0

by Eric Diesel, Posted Feb 6th 2009 @ 9:00AM

Yes, you read that right. Thanks to the modern phenomenon of solutions to problems no one has, there exists concept design for a device which, depending on your viewpoint, is genius, preposterous, useless, or somewhere between the three. Please meet the CHOMPr hamburger grasper, which according to the copy is "a conceptual hamburger grasping device for high-end restaurants." Looking like two coffee tables from a dollhouse from the Eames era held together by those pins Ikea gives you to keep your bookshelf from collapsing, the CHOMPr seeks to ameliorate the conflict between the informal process of eating a hamburger and formal surroundings.

To some, whether you need a hamburger grasping device beyond those at the ends of your arms is sort of, well, silly. But it is very interesting as an etiquette question, because it raises the related issues of utensils as a dimension of table manners and hands as a dimension of utensils. For the former, utensils are a mark of civilization precisely because they aren't your hands, and the development of utensils has followed a trajectory more or less complimentary to the Industrial Revolution, culminating in the Victorian era, when a fully outfitted silver trousseau could top out at 500 pieces and counting.

Filed under: Trends, Did you know?, Food News, Ingredients, Chefs & Restaurants, How To, Restaurants

Obama's Burger Order

COMMENTS 4

by Bruce Watson, Posted Jan 21st 2009 @ 3:00PM

On the one hand, I have to admit that I am a little creeped out by the amount of coverage that the Obama family is getting. There is no reason that I need to know the menu options offered by Sidwell Friends School or the identity of Michelle Obama's favorite clothing designer. These things have no impact on the President's ability to govern or on my day-to-day life.

On the other hand, I, like so many of my fellow Americans, am fascinated by my new President, and the more I learn about the little details of his life, the more human and real he seems. While I admit to being a little disturbed by the nascent cult of personality that seems to be developing around President Obama, I feel like I can trust him to keep a clear head, no matter how hard the country seems to be working on giving him a messiah complex. In fact, the man who emerges from this National Geographic trailer seems as level-headed as they come.

Filed under: Did you know?, Food News, Ingredients, Celebrities