Fine dining isn't always so "fine." Sometimes that delicious meal is tainted by overcooked meat, still-frozen food, caterpillars nestled in the greens or other surprises that ruin a perfectly good dinner.
When bad luck strikes, you might want to cast a seething glare at your waiter or stamp your foot and throw a hissy fit, but if Miss Manners has taught us anything, it's that a little kindness can go a long way. The clip above outlines how to handle those unfortunate scenarios that necessitate replacement dishes. With a little tact and kindness, a friendly server should be happy to help.
Naturally, these tips tend to work best at upscale establishments. Complain at your own risk when dining at the local dive. Otherwise you might get an even less savory surprise.
There's something about pork that makes it the perfect wrapping and stuffing. Sizzling bacon often encircles the likes of scallops, beef, turkey and even French toast, while porcine goodness can occasionally be found in that classic junk food, pigs in a blanket.
Chef Albert Di Meglio of New York City restaurant Olana has taken it one tantalizing step further. In the above video, Di Meglio makes Sausage-Wrapped Pork -- a whole new world for the dedicated pig fan. He grabs a pork tenderloin, wraps it in a sausage filling and finally encases it with caul (a type of fat). He pops the whole thing in the oven and then slices and serves it.
Those who just can't wait till the end of the video to broaden their porcine horizons can click here for the recipe.
For some home chefs, the notion of creating a meticulously layered Italian lasagna -- even speeding things up with no-boil noodles -- incites a certain amount of stage fright.
So take a cue from the Greeks and try your hand at pastitsio, a layered pasta dish with similar flavors, a fraction of the fuss and a whole new realm of flavor.
This video from the BBC features Chef Rick Stein making pastitsio as part of "Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escape." The recipe calls for a quick meat sauce, penne, a simple white sauce, shredded cheese and a dish in which to layer it all. The concoction is baked and emerges a rich melange of Greek flavors.
There are few better role models for those wishing to whip up fare in the style of a seasoned pro than Daniel Boulud. Boulud grew up on a farm near Lyon, France, worked under renowned European toques before making his way to New York City and in 1993 opened Daniel. The eatery not only garnered a four-star review from the New York Times but was also was named one of the 10 best restaurants in the world by the International Herald Tribune.
This video for crabmeat salad hearkens back to Boulud's early days (when both his hair and accent were a wee bit thicker!), but his technique still looks masterful. The salad -- a simple mixture of fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs molded into an eye-pleasing ring -- looks ideal for warmer summer months, reminding us that sometimes the basics are all that's needed to create a succulent, four-star meal.
If there's one thing that can beat all the baking restrictions the summer imposes, it's a deliciously layered trifle. There's no baking, no freezing and it only takes a fraction of the time a dessert cooked in the oven requires.
This video comes to us from Simple Foodie, which revels in quick and easy ways to satiate the appetite. If you're tight on time, simply buy a pound cake and whipped cream from the store and macerate the seasonal berries before layering the trifle. (If you have a touch more time and are feeling motivated, turn a perfectly fine dessert into a real winner by dolloping on some homemade whipped cream, because let's face it -- Cool Whip just isn't the same thing).
Have you ever wondered how sushi chefs prepare the large, tentacle-ridden octopus into a delicious delicacy that ends up between your chopsticks? Or, if you're a more adventurous sort, just how you yourself could prepare the cephalopod for your plate?
The laid-back guys at Sushi Bar TV demonstrate just how easy it is to make an eight-legger ready for consumption: With a few slices and a little tenderizing, you're good to go. If the thought of slicing a whole octopus doesn't make you squeamish, watch the video above, in which host Jean Giron -- director of operations at San Diego's Sushi on a Roll -- prepares the octopus and uses it to make some tasty nigiri.
This is only one of the site's great videos. Check out the others, which include California rolls, poke salad and even the fearless Giron taking a bite out of fresh wasabi for a rather impressive, if stomach-turning, outtake.
Nothing beats the heat quite like a deliciously cold and boozy libation, or a delightfully sweet ice cream, so why not combine the two? Chef and author Julie Hasson of EverydayDish.TV decided to pull out the ice cream maker and whip up an easy Tropical Piña Colada Ice Cream, and she promises that it's "one you will find yourself making again and again."
We can see why: this tasty treat requires only four ingredients and a bit of blending before plunking it into the machine. That's it. There's no double-boiled mixtures, and no fuss. To top all of that off, it's made with coconut milk, so you can bring it out one hot summer day and please even lactose-intolerant or vegan guests with an ideally cool treat.
If you're the sort of green-thinking cook who inwardly kvetches every time you toss out a paper cupcake wrapper or piece of plastic wrap, this is the video for you. In it, former StyleList blogger turned culinary vlogger Brigitte Dale dons a flowery apron to create "cupcones" -- cupcakes in cones, minus the "trash" of the wrapper -- with a sort of wide-eyed, pixielike zen: "If you know me, you know that I love cupcakes, and I love the Earth."
One part full-color, one part black-and-white film, this is notable both for its star's posturing and the sharp, cinematic edits. Randomly, it reminded us to click on over to check on a far more nutty food video star -- Thu Tran, whose "Food Party," we learned, has just been picked up by IFC. Congrats to Tran and her team of crazy bandits on the Willy Wonkian, Peewee's Playhousian show. The madness starts June 9.
A big-screen television or a gorgeous Le Creuset makes for a flashy present, but nothing quite matches the gift that requires a little effort, especially when kidlets are involved. In honor of Mother's Day, here's a super-cute Epicurious video featuring Chef Bill Telepan (of Telepan restaurant in New York City) and his daughter, Leah, as they make a quick and easy chilled cucumber and dill soup for Mom.
We won't give away all of Leah's one-liners, but she makes the video sparkle with her kid-cook commentary about everything from salt ("That's a lot of salt!") to tuna ("ew!"). Best of all, this is only the beginning: the soup is part of an entire Epicurious Mother's Day Picnic Menu encompassing all sorts of picnicky fare. Enjoy!
If you live in a thoroughbred-loving household, May isn't the month of Maypoles and Cinco de Mayo. It's the month of the Triple Crown, kicking off the first Saturday in May with the Kentucky Derby -- an event known as much for its iconic food as for its thundering thoroughbreds.
When it comes to the eats, the Derby means all things bourbon, from iconic mint juleps to a tasty Derby Pie. The latter might be a trademarked name and secret recipe, but that doesn't mean Kentucky cooks can't come up with their own twists. The above video outlines how you can make Betty's Kentucky Derby Race Day Pie, whether you're itching to bake while wearing your favorite hat (because Derby Day requires a fancy chapeau), throwing a race-day party or just really love bourbon. Betty suggests serving the pie with a hot hazlenut coffee, but you could always whip up a mintjulep, grab a non-alcoholic twist, or tuck into bourbon straight-up (unless your guests drank it all!) While we're at it: Who are you rooting for? The gorgeous grey Dunkirk? The 3-1 favorite I Want Revenge?
If the hubbub around the bready beast was any indication, New York bagels would seem to be the only ones out there -- chewy behemoths with small holes and lots of room for toppings. Gotham has a competitor in the Montreal-style bagel, however. These tasty rounds are distinguished by larger holes, flatter, denser bodies and a slightly sweet flavor (from a dash of malt and a quick boil in honey-sweetened water).
Above is the first video in a 3-part series detailing how to make Montreal-style bagels. Some say there should be no salt in these babies, but many recipes call for it, so it's your choice. (It's worth noting fellow makes his bagels plumper than the usual slim version, so the fluffiness quotient is also up to you.)
Tip: An easy way to add sesame or poppy seeds to bagels is to pour seeds on to a plate or in a bowl and dip the bagel in post-boil. Sprinkling them on also works, but more coverage can be snagged via a quick roll.
Although the film adaption of "Julie & Julia" isn't coming out until August, Julia Child fans are already excited at the prospect of seeing America's most iconic cooking superstar served up onscreen. Following last weekend's sale of the film's props, your devoted Slashfood staff has been searching for images of the upcoming film.
Everything about Julia Child was outsized, from her flamboyant cooking style to her rich, fluttering falsetto, to her famously dry humor. This, after all, was the great chef who started her professional life as a purported spy in the OSS during World War II, became one of the few women to attend Paris' Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, and ended up spearheading a home-cooking movement that transformed American cuisine with her TV show "The French Chef."
Given Child's impressive height (she was 6-foot-2), it's perhaps unsurprising that the majority of her imitators have been men. The most famous was probably Dan Aykroyd on "Saturday Night Live." His repeated exhortation to "Save the liver!" captured Child's forceful personality and occasional tendency toward self-parody. An even better tribute was offered by John Candy, with a spot-on impression of Child boxing with Fred Rogers in "Battle of the PBS Stars" on "SCTV."
There are some vegetarians out there who swear up and down that a veggie burger tastes just like the real, meaty original. Well, we disagree, but that also doesn't mean that veggie burgers are bad. In fact, vegetable patties can offer a whole other realm of flavor -- especially when they're made from freshly sautéed mushrooms.
Next time you have a hankering for meat-free burgers, don't pick them up at the store. Instead, whip up the veggie burgers above, courtesy of Chef John's Food Wishes. A simple mix of sauteed 'shrooms and onions bound together with oatmeal and breadcrumbs, they look pretty delish. The recipe can be found right here, and while you're at it, skim the rest of the site as well. We're betting you'll find some tasty grub videos you can't resist.
Any vegetarians out there? Got a secret veggie burger recipe or fave storebought brand?
Everyone has his or her own way of poaching an egg. Some twirl the egg into a ghostly tornado in a pot of water , some buy special poachers and some even cheat and bake them. (One of our favorites is cracking an egg into a greased ladle and holding it in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes.) This video, however, explains an even an easier way -- gently pouring eggs into vinegar-laced water.
Bay Area food editor Jenny Slafkosky here describes the particulars of poaching and how a little vinegar will help the albumin in the egg white coagulate (or firm up) more quickly. This is quite a discovery for those of us who love poaching eggs, all of whom have probably experienced watching them shred mercilessly in a pot of boiling water.
Slafkosky's simple method gets wonderful results, and -- a bonus! -- she also tells us how to make poached eggs for a whole crowd. Give it a click for flawless poached eggs down the road, and let us know how it goes!
Easter is almost upon us -- the wonderful holiday for excellent sweets and a proliferation of dyed, hard-boiled eggs. But rather than direct you to chemicals and pricey little packages to color your eggs this year, check out the video above, courtesy of Curbly.
They've taken a natural approach to egg coloring and offer some excellent techniques for getting both simple and fancy looking eggs with a mixture of all-natural ingredients -- many of which you can find in your kitchen. They might not be the dynamic, pastel colors that you can get from a box, but I love the great effects they get with simple additions like vegetable oil, wax and PVC tape. The video outlines just how they do it, and you can check out a text version here.
If you have any other all-natural color suggestions, please leave them in the comments below. Happy coloring!
We can change the way we make eggs -- scrambled, poached, fried -- but what about changing the eggs themselves? Mix up your scrambling routine with quail eggs.
Second Helping of Slashfood - June 19
Competitive-Eating Contest to Pit Humans Against Elephants
The Backyard Boom - The Hungry Bride
