Ingredients

Truffles Worth Dying For?

by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Jan 10th 2011 @ 12:00PM

Photo: Claude Paris, FILE / AP Photo

How much is a black truffle worth? At $30 an ounce, a slim shaving can make decadent a dish as simple as scrambled eggs or plain old linguine. Right about now, a kilo of the fungi that looks like coal could soon land a muck-digger a cold 800 Euros at France's biggest market, Richerenches -- that's more than $1,000, twice what it was worth a decade ago. But word is that stocks are low and prices are inching ever higher. And to one Frenchman, a good truffle is worth a life.

Just before Christmas, farmer Laurent Rambaud was charged with shooting down a would-be truffle thief. "Black diamond" bandits are so often expected that one hunter sleeps with a rifle across his legs and another considered implanting GPS chips into his stock, reports the Global Post. The paper notes that climate affects truffle accessibility (ideal conditions call for light summer rains), as does construction, which "paves over rare hunting grounds." And "few young people take the time to learn the skills of unearthing truffles."

The trick is getting a good pig or canine to sniff out the goods from underneath oak trees as they mature from November to March, but it can take time to properly train your sniffers and longer to find the right oaks. And so goes high-class pick-pocketing. But, ye have been warned.

Filed under: Business, Trends, Food News, Ingredients

Pecan Milk - Feast Your Eyes

COMMENTS 1

by Emily Farris, Posted Sep 30th 2009 @ 10:00AM

Pecan milk. Photo: Flickr, Alejandra of Always Order Dessert.

To call this creamy, cinnamon-specked beverage simply a "nut milk" is an understatement -- it's clearly not something to be wasted on a bowl of cereal. In fact, on her blog, Always Order Dessert, milk(shake) maker and photographer Alejandra writes, "It's lusciously creamy and tastes kind of like an amazing nutty milkshake, except that it's actually healthy."

When served in a wine glass and punctuated with two perfect pecans, this non-dairy "milk" -- which also contains honey, coconut milk, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt and sugar -- certainly gives cashew milk (or soy or almond milk, for that matter) a run for its money, even if it does take eight hours to make. We can think of only one thing that would make it more appetizing -- a shot of Kahlua!

[Via Flickr]

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Filed under: Feast Your Eyes, Ingredients

Manchester - Cheese Course

COMMENTS 0

by Max Shrem, Posted Sep 29th 2009 @ 5:00PM

Photo: Max Shrem.

Unlike a book not to be judged by its cover, you can always judge a cheese by its rind. Manchester, a raw goat's milk cheese from Consider Bardwell Farm in West Pawlet, Vt., has a stunning rustic rind (that must be eaten!) with ridges and brownish-yellow molds. In the U.S., we tend to associate mold with spoiled food; however, when it comes to artisanal cheese -- especially Manchester -- this association is just plain wrong.

The clay-like appearance of Manchester's ridges (which comes from the use of Italian cheese-basket molds) cannot be separated from the cheese's smooth, sweet aromatic flavor, which makes it comparable to a French Tomme de Savoie. In fact, it's the bacteria and mold around the cheese that contribute to this deliciously well-balanced masterpiece. Just eight weeks into the aging process, Manchester's rind already develops spots of red mold on what Peter Dixon, dairy foods consultant and cheesemaker at Consider Bardwell Farm, calls a "wild rind."

By "wild," does Dixon mean to say that the molds and the bacteria grow naturally out of nowhere? Well, yes and no. After making Manchester, Dixon uses a soft brush dipped in whey to wash the rind. "Whatever microbes like that [whey] will grow," says Dixon. "We make the cheese, and then create the look by turning the cheese and rubbing it a couple of times a week."

Filed under: Cheese Course, Food Politics, Ingredients

'Cheeseburger Show' Meets 'Perfect Strangers'

COMMENTS 0

by Sara Bonisteel, Posted Sep 28th 2009 @ 4:30PM

We're fans of the Chicago Tribune's "Cheeseburger Show," and we had to chuckle as "cheeseburger bureau chief" Kevin Pang gears up for a the fall burger season with a tribute to "Perfect Strangers." It's kind of a sloppy scene-by-scene re-enactment -- perfect for a cheeseburger. Click on the photo for the video. (Warning: Mild vulgarity by French Fry.)

Filed under: Television/Film, Newspapers, Ingredients

Burger King to Sell Quarter-Pound Double Cheeseburger for $1

COMMENTS 41

by Sarah LeTrent, Posted Sep 28th 2009 @ 3:30PM

Burger King Double Cheeseburger. Photo: sjeemz, Flickr.

The King has had a change of heart. Starting Oct. 19, Burger King will offer its quarter-pound double cheeseburger for $1 nationwide. This comes after we reported back in July that franchisees turned down a plan to instead sell the double cheeseburger for a buck, forcing the chain to plan a coupon campaign targeting nearly 80 million households nationwide.

But Nation's Restaurant News reports that the $1 promotion is just the fast-food giant's latest attempt to boost sales following a 4.5-percent drop in the last quarter.

Filed under: Ingredients, Fast Food

Flashback to the Seventies: All-Purpose Marinara

COMMENTS 1

by Bruce Watson, Posted Sep 28th 2009 @ 11:00AM

Ripe summer tomatoes. Photo: The Ewan, Flickr.

In this weekly series, home cook Bruce Watson works his way through a decades-old family cookbook, adapting the best recipes exclusively for Slashfood.

When I was a kid, the end of the summer brought with it a painful, unpleasant tradition. Every August, when the farmers' market was filled with tomatoes, my parents would buy a few bushels, and the whole family would spend a couple of days blanching, peeling and processing the fruits. Every time, the process resulted in clothing and skin that reeked of tomatoes, fingers that stung and a freezer full of watery tomato sauce that we would defrost throughout the year.

As an adult, I have continued the tradition, although I make my sauce in the fall, when cooking pleasantly warms and perfumes the house, rather than turning it into a sweatbox. I also prefer using canned tomatoes, rather than fresh ones: In addition to sparing my fingers from burns, they produce a sauce that is richer, more flavorful and has a better texture than my parents' marinara. On the other hand, I still use my mom's recipe, which she learned from her Italian godmother, although I add a little bit of red wine vinegar, which gives the sauce more depth. Ultimately, it's a spicy, fennel-accented marinara that freezes well, tastes delicious and is inexpensive to make.

Get the recipe for all-purpose marinara after the jump.

Filed under: Budget Cuisine, Retro cookery, Ingredients

Homemade Peanut Butter - Tip of the Day

COMMENTS 4

by Sarah LeTrent, Posted Sep 28th 2009 @ 9:00AM

Why buy a jar of processed peanut butter when you can easily make it at home?

Filed under: Tip of the Day, Ingredients

McDonald's Sued Over Gold Earring in Sandwich

COMMENTS 41

by Sarah LeTrent, Posted Sep 25th 2009 @ 4:30PM

McDonald's at Chicago's Navy Pier. Photo: jwrb,Flickr.

A Chicago man has filed a lawsuit against McDonald's Corporation after he says he swallowed a gold earring in his sandwich.

The man purchased the sandwich on Aug. 11 from the McDonald's at Chicago's Navy Pier, according to the suit filed on Wednesday in the circuit court of Cook County, Ill.

Filed under: Health & Medical, Ingredients, Fast Food

Ropa Vieja for Cool Autumn Nights

COMMENTS 4

by Jennifer Iserloh, Posted Sep 25th 2009 @ 1:00PM

Ropa vieja. Photo: Jennifer Iserloh.

This week, we've had our first cool night on the East Coast, which got me craving something warmer for dinner. Savory beef with a soupy tomato sauce is my favorite Cuban country dish (with the exception of black beans and rice, of course!).

I've always wondered about the name, but realized the shredded beef does indeed resemble a twisted old dress shirt. There are several stories as to how the dish was named, but my favorite is about a very poor man who didn't have money to buy food for his family. He took some "ropa vieja" -- old clothing -- from the closet and cooked it in a pot with a lot of love. Miraculously, it turned into a rich and hearty beef stew.

My old clothes recipe, after the jump.

Filed under: The Skinny Chef, Ingredients, How To

Heavenly Honeycrisp - Feast Your Eyes

COMMENTS 4

by Emily Farris, Posted Sep 25th 2009 @ 10:00AM

Honeycrisp apple. Photo: Happy in a Bag.

We've started watching the leaves change to all different shades of red, brown and yellow. Fall colors also abound in apples. But with all of the options out there, which variety is one to eat while watching the trees' brilliant transformations? Well, if you're is a fan of consuming crisp fruit in crisp weather, Honeycrisps are definitely the way to go.

Based on the status updates of food lovers all over Facebook, it seems many were lucky enough to get their hands on Honeycrisps over the weekend, including blogger Happy in Bag who managed to hold off biting into this one long enough to snap a picture.

[Via Happy in a Bag]

Filed under: Feast Your Eyes, Ingredients