"SamKass" news and stories

The New Orleans Saints visited the White House earlier this week for a special ceremony honoring the Super Bowl champs. And the big guys didn't come empty handed -- they brought Gulf seafood, recipes and serious cooking skills. "While they're here today, several Saints players are going to spend some time teaching our staff their favorite Gulf seafood recipes," said President Obama. "So ... who's cooking?"

The White House put together a video featuring several members of the team cooking in the kitchen with White House chef Sam Kass. Tackle Zach Strief, Defensive End Bobby McCray, Center Nick Lecky and Kicker Garrett Harley rolled up the sleeves on their three-piece suits and showed the staff how to prepare a recipe from Streif's cookbook, When You're the Biggest Guy on the Team -- andouille sausage and Gulf shrimp marinated in Creole mustard, bourbon, honey and a little Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce.

"Put this in some French bread and you've got yourself a good po' boy," says Bobby McCray. Strief adds, "They've done a ton of testing [on the shrimp] and it's all been cleared. It's the best in the country."

Later they surprised Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, journalists and visitors in the White House briefing room with portions of the dish -- an edible tribute to New Orleans.

After the jump, an exclusive behind-the-scenes video of the Saints cooking with Sam Kass in the White House kitchen.

• Trevor Corson, the author of "The Story of Sushi," says to step away from the chopsticks -- the proper way to eat sushi is with your fingers.
• Joaquin Baca of the Brooklyn Star only serves up food he likes to eat -- including the Americana classic green bean casserole, updated with homemade mushroom soup and onion rings.
• White House chef Sam Kass stirs pots and policy. When he's not preparing meals for the first family, he gathers with senior policy advisers to figure out how to improve the health of the country's children.
• First Lady Michelle Obama makes a cameo on the Jan. 3 episode of "Iron Chef America" to raise awareness for the Healthy Kids Initiative -- and revealing that the secret ingredient is anything from the White House garden.
• From Momofuku to Marco Canora, the roundup of this season's best new cookbooks is sure to take readers on an "edible adventure."
• Sam Sifton's latest reviews Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecôte, the Parisian import to Midtown that relies on "the simplicity of salad, steak and fries, heavy on the salt and butter, rich as a cardiologist," and waitresses in what resemble French maid outfits.
• The Minimalist, Mark Bittman, takes meatball madness to the Middle East with lamb, cumin, mint and bulgur.
• Nostalgic for wine from their Vienna upbringing, Carlo Huber and Paul Darcy made it their mission to bring Viennese wines and wine culture to the United States.
• Saltie, a tiny sandwich shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, serves up sandwiches "the Earl would approve."

A familiar face from Chicago is joining the White House kitchen.

Chef Sam Kass, 28, who cooked for the Obamas and other families on the South Side of Chicago, has been named assistant White House chef -- one of three assistants under executive chef Cristeta Comerford.

The University of Chicago grad's pedigree with the sustainable food movement seems to be answering the call from chefs like Alice Waters, who wrote then President-elect Obama in November urging him "to set the tone for how the nation should feed itself."