Slashfood Ate

Slashfood Ate (8): Ways to prepare Thanksgiving turkey

by Max Shrem, Posted Nov 18th 2008 @ 5:00PM

Turkey, the centerpiece of everyone's Thanksgiving meal, can be prepared a number of ways, but, ultimately we all want it to be tender and succulent with the meat practically falling off the bone. There are several ways to cook a moist juicy turkey.

When I look back at previous Thanksgiving turkeys with my family, I think about having to dip the meat in so much gravy because of it being too dry. Fortunately, there are tactics (delicious ingredients) that can prevent this from occurring. Below are 8 recipes to follow to cook your scrumptious festive bird this Thanksgiving:

What are some of your favorite turkeys from previous Thanksgiving meals?

Filed under: Slashfood Ate, Ingredients, Holidays, Methods

Thanksgiving Breads - Slashfood Ate (8)

COMMENTS 3

by Alanna Kaufman, Posted Nov 17th 2008 @ 11:00AM

Because Thanksgiving dinner often features so many heavy foods, too many households pass up the opportunity to serve up a delicious and festive bread with the meal. Check out these autumn-inspired breads that will fill your Thanksgiving kitchen with a yummy aroma and please guests of all ages and tastes.

1. Cranberry Walnut Braid from Epicurious. I made this yesterday, and was thrilled by how beautiful it looked and wonderfully seasonal it tasted.

2. Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls from Pinch My Salt. Is there such a thing as too much sweet potato at Thanksgiving? No. No there is not.

3. Quick and Easy Whole Wheat Bread from Zesty Cook. I like the quick and easy part. And the whole wheat bread part.

4. This doesn't really count as one recipe, but check out this article from the New York Times about breads to bake for Thanksgiving. We linked to it once before here, but I'd say it deserves a second mention.

5. Cinnamon Raisin Bread from All Recipes. Leftovers for breakfast!

6. Overnight Soft Herb Rolls from My Recipes. Anything you can prep ahead is Thanksgiving gold.

7. Creamed Cornbread from The Food Network. A southern twist on a classic.

8. Thanksgiving Dark Dense Pear Bread from the Huffington Post. HuffPo, you ask? It seems so.

Filed under: Slashfood Ate, Ingredients, Holidays, Methods

The Friday Pu Pu Platter - Slashfood Ate (8)

COMMENTS 0

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Nov 14th 2008 @ 4:28PM

Each Friday afternoon, I gather up an assortment of links from around the food webs for your pre-weekend enjoyment. Here's some of what's caught my eye recently.

Move over canning, root cellars are the newest (oldest), hottest method of food preserving on the block. The New York Times featured them last week and Culinate offers more on subject from expert Harriet Fasenfest.
Looking for a way to make your winter a little brighter? Plan meals with friends and family.
Like the taste and convenience of slow cooked foods but don't have an electric slow cooker? CityMama helps you use just a cast iron casserole dish and your oven to achieve the same effect.
The Wednesday Chef featured a chocolate chip cookie recipe that includes buckwheat groats for added fiber and texture. These are going on my 'must make' list for this weekend.
I bought a big bunch of kale last weekend at the farmers market. I haven't gotten around to cooking it yet, but I've got my eye on this recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes.
For those of you out there who keep kosher, it's going to be a whole lot harder to get kosher beef for you dining table. NPR reports that one of the largest Kosher meat plants in the country has shut down their beef facility.
I like pumpkin bread and I LOVE cranberry bread. Putting the two of them together? Genius!
Looking for a weekend baking project that will knock the socks straight off your loved ones? What about the Feather Boa Doughnuts that Erin made recently! Based on a recipe from 101 Cookbooks, they are a little lighter than fried doughnuts but I imagine no less delicious.

Filed under: Slashfood Ate

Beer Blog Round-up - Slashfood Ate (8)

COMMENTS 2

by Mike Pomranz, Posted Nov 13th 2008 @ 5:00PM

An old friend came into town this Sunday. We kicked off the celebration with a bottle of DeuS and, long story short, I haven't gotten around to blogging until today. Perfect time to catch up on this week's beer happenings with a beer blog round-up.

There's been a lot of chatter about the Men's Fitness list of "America's five best bars for beer lovers." In today's beer climate, limiting the list down to just 5 seems impossible, and, with as little offense to Men's Fitness as possible, I'm not sure if they are the magazine to do it.
The idea of healthy beer has been a headturner as a number of blogs and news sites have been running the story of scientists at Rice University who integrated the anti-aging chemicals from red wine into a new BioBeer. Here's what Discovery had to say about it.
Hipsters really seemed to Digg this article on Sloshspot discussing The Evolution of Pabst Blue Ribbon's Beer Advertising. Or you can just drop into Bob & Barbara's on South St. in Philadelphia and see it all firsthand.

Filed under: On the Blogs, Slashfood Ate, Drink Recipes

Slashfood Ate (8): Drinking at lunch

COMMENTS 6

by Annie Scott, Posted Nov 12th 2008 @ 9:00AM

Sometimes, it has to be done. Maybe you're celebrating something. Maybe you're entertaining a client. Maybe your editor just chopped up your interview and you want to kill everyone. What am I talking about? Drinking at lunch.

Drinking at lunch can be dangerous. Some people get bad headaches from it, even from a glass of wine. It's really best to drink at lunch only if you're going to have time for a nap, but since that isn't realistic, make sure you have Advil at your desk - it might not hurt to pop a couple as a preventative measure.

Don't scare your clients, and don't knock yourself out. Avoid hardcore drinks like martinis, and avoid drinking your night drink during the day; it's likely to make you tired because your brain is used to having it before sleep. If you're particularly prone to afternoon headaches, it's a good idea to drink something involving juice or coffee to try and trick your brain a little.

In addition to headaches and naps (and wildly inappropriate crying jags), drinking at lunch can also cause raucous laughter, the closing of deals; the alleviation of unbearable tension, and a more carefree afternoon to follow.

My picks for what to drink at lunch ( In moderation) are after the jump...

Filed under: Slashfood Ate, Drink Recipes

Slashfood Ate (8): Citrus recipes

COMMENTS 0

by Max Shrem, Posted Nov 11th 2008 @ 5:00PM

As we approach December, I start to crave the diversity of fruits available during the rest of the year. I get tired of seeing apples and pears. So, what I look forward to is the citrus season when you can find vibrant gorgeous oranges full of vitamin C. From December to early spring, markets are full of seasonal citrus fruits to fulfill your fruit needs and your sweet tooth.

While oranges taste perfect on their own, they can add a unique sweet and citrus tang to some of your most simple dishes. And, the citrus fruits that one may not necessarily want to eat plain, such as lemons and limes, create tasty salads and enhance flavors in poultry and fish.

Below are 8 citrus recipes to try:

What are some ways you like to add a citrus tang to your meal?

Filed under: Slashfood Ate, Ingredients

Slashfood Ate (8) - Fruit pancakes

COMMENTS 0

by Alanna Kaufman, Posted Nov 10th 2008 @ 10:00AM

Over the weekend, I ate the best pancakes of my life. I headed to CT with friends, and we had pancakes BOTH mornings. Sunday morning, I tasted the most delicious blueberry pancakes that you can imagine -- the taste and fluffiness were beyond what I thought a pancake could achieve. So I was already on a pancake high when I returned to the internet Sunday night to find TWO WHOLE blog posts on fruit pancakes. It made me even more excited to start experimenting with these types of recipes at home. Here are some from around the web that look particularly tasty:

1. Apple Pancakes from Smitten Kitchen

2. How to add fruit to pancakes post from Baking Bites

3. Whole-wheat pumpkin pancakes from Pinch My Salt (not a fruit, but so mouth-watering!)

4. Pineapple orange pancakes from All Recipes

5. Oven pear pancake from Real Simple

6. Vegan blueberry pancakes from Epicurious

7. Oatmeal raspberry pancakes with berry coulis from My Recipes

8. Spiced banana pancakes from Post Punk Kitchen

Filed under: Slashfood Ate, Ingredients

Slashfood Ate (8): Frank Zappa-inspired beer edition

COMMENTS 3

by Mike Pomranz, Posted Nov 6th 2008 @ 5:00PM

Frank Zappa at the Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, Texas, 1977

When I think of my mom, two things usually don't come to mind: beer and Frank Zappa. Which made it odd earlier this week when I opened an email to find she had sent me the following quote: "You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."

Now, I'm not a big Zappa fan and have never heard this quote. I'm guessing that puts me in Group A of two possible groups, with Group B consisting of huge Zappa fans who have heard this quote a million times. But the quote did get me thinking that there are a number of countries that I associate with one specific beer. Yes, I realize they have more than one beer, but every time I think of said country, one specific beer immediately pops into mind trumping all others.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying these are the best beers each country has to offer, or even a list of my favorite international beers, but for this week's Slashfood Ate beer edition, I present the 8 countries that through experience and marketing I most associate with one specific beer.

See the list after the jump...

Filed under: Lists, Slashfood Ate, Drink Recipes

Slashfood Ate (8): Foods and drinks to help you sleep

COMMENTS 4

by Annie Scott, Posted Nov 5th 2008 @ 9:04AM

The holidays tend to stress us out. Stress makes it hard to sleep. The best thing for you when you're stressed? Sleep. Evolution FAIL.

Everyone knows about tryptophan, that magic amino acid present in turkey that totally knocks you out after Thanksgiving. There's actually quite a lot of it in egg whites, soybeans, and parmesan cheese, too.

It probably doesn't occur to you to get up and eat some turkey in the middle of the night to help you sleep. That's because the protein in turkey and many other tryptophan-rich foods gets your mind ticking. If you awaken from a turkey-induced slumber, you'll find yourself thinking clearly and unlikely to fall back asleep. Conclusion: Turkey is the perfect nap-food.

Here are eight foods and drinks that help you sleep, naptime and/or nighttime:

1. Turkey - the classic nap food.
2. Rice cakes - a food with a high glycemic index eaten about four hours before bed can cause the perfect crash.
3. Milk - also has tryptophan, and is very soothing when warm.
4. Yogurt - dairy foods without a lot of protein are ideal.
5. Wine - don't overdo it; one or two glasses is relaxing; more can disrupt your sleep patterns.
6. Bedtime Tea from Yogi Tea - this tea is serious business.
7. Chamomile tea - your grandmother's version of the same thing.
8. Oatmeal - melatonin, people.

I dare you to have them all in one sitting just to see what happens. Thank you and good night.

Filed under: Slashfood Ate, Ingredients, Holidays

Slashfood Ate (8): Different kinds of quiche

COMMENTS 3

by Max Shrem, Posted Nov 4th 2008 @ 3:01PM

Ah, the creamy savory quiche that exudes a delicious aroma from the window of the French boulangerie and patîsserie! For some reason, I have not been able to find the same passion for quiche in NY that obviously exists in Paris.

Food historians have traced the quiche back to the Ancient Roman patinea (cheesecake) composed of eggs, cream, and spices in a crust. However, they attribute the Lothringen medieval Germanic kingdom, located in the current region of Lorraine, with producing what we think of today as the modern quiche or the quiche Lorraine.

In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child says that the classic quiche Lorraine contains heavy cream, eggs and bacon, no cheese. Even to those who are not quiche enthusiasts, it's clear that there are several different kinds of quiche. Below are 8 recipes for quiche that I highly recommend: