"SheilaLukins" news and stories

• A brief background on bloodsuckers, plus "a bloody fete Dracula would thirst for" -- creative fanger foods, pun intended.
• When left home alone with the task of feeding trick-or-treaters, one columnist came to discover the marvelous match of red wine and chocolate.
• Bacon banter has finally leveled out a bit, but isn't going anywhere anytime soon. However, a recent local event preceding April's Baconfest Chicago wowed porcine appreciators, with dishes like the pumpkin-bacon-waffle with pomegranate-glazed pork belly.
• More than "junk food with a European pedigree," Nutella is a "vaguely wholesome" snack with an interesting background -- and can be made at home from scratch.
• The Festival of Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer takes place November 7, and pays tribute to a worthy beer trend on the rise.
• A gallery of ten "superfoods" we should be consuming more of, from avocados and beets to chia seeds and dandelion greens.
• Recipes: Comforting Chicken Pot Pie with Drop Biscuits ("the gustatory equivalent of curling up with your favorite blanket"); the luscious Vanilla Ice Cream with Bourbon Walnuts and Caramel; Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork and Spicy Slaw "warms up a Halloween party;" Sheila Lukins' Banana Cake.

• The craft beer hype has brought stout beer into the mainstream -- but the public's perception of it as purely "stout" is inaccurate.
• Playwright humorist Paul Rudnick disproves parents everywhere in his new book, "I Shudder," by living 51 years subsisting mainly on candy -- and sveltely, at that. "What I love about Halloween is its childhood honesty," he says. "It's about what children want rather than what parents want them to want."
• A touching story on the "softening" of chef Thomas Keller preceding his last meal with his once-estranged father.
• Tater tots and Tecates have started to replace caviar and Chardonnay as foodie first dates take a more casual, adventurous note.
• Prompted by a resourceful reader in Beijing, a New York Times writer matches Italian wine with Chinese fare In a pairing fit to make Marco Polo proud.
• After ruinous delays for restaurateurs, the liquor license process has been streamlined by the new New York State Liquor Authority chairman, David Rosen.
• Restaurants: Flushing, Queens' Imperial Palace is "at the zenith of Cantonese cooking in New York City;" Green Apple BBQ in East Harlem proffers a Mexican influence on Southern cuisine; Brooklyn's Rocky Sullivan's in Red Hook tackles steamed lobster, successfully.
• Openings and closings; plus Dining Calendar -- highlights include Day of the Dead workshops, a pumpkin dinner and a meal in memory of Sheila Lukins of the Silver Palate.

Clamato. Photo: Bludgeoner86, Flickr

Syvlia Schur -- a recipe developer for Betty Crocker, cookbook writer for companies like Campbell's and creator of products like Clamato, Cran-Apple juice and the pre-Slim-Fast diet drink Metrecal -- has died at the age of 92.

The cause of death was respiratory failure, her daughter, Jane S. Smith, told the New York Times.

Clamato, a cocktail juice made with tomato juice, onions, celery, spices and a dash of clam juice, is known for being a key ingredient in the Michelada. It is made and distributed by Mott's.

Along with independently helping food corporations develop new products, Schur was the founder of her own restaurant and food company consulting business, Creative Food Services.

"She was a pioneer of modern food usage," her Creative Food Services coworker Heidi Kost-Gross told the Times. "Her company was at the cutting edge of how food should look and taste, and above all, how it should be used."

Sheila Lukins. Photo: Parade

Sheila Lukins, one half of the team behind the iconic 1980s "Silver Palate Cookbook," died on Sunday after a brief battle with brain cancer. For those who wish to mourn her loss through cooking, Cookstr.com has put a handful of "Silver Palate" recipes online.

The following recipes are up now: chicken Marbella, salmon mousse, chili for a crowd, phyllo triangles, shrimp and grape salad with dill, tarragon chicken salad and bouillabaisse. Cook one and remember: Great chefs live on through their dishes!

[Via Cookstr]

3 scoops of ice cream. Photo: jessicafm, Flickr

• 87 flavors later, a tour of the notable seasonal ice cream stands in New York.
• 35 years after kicking off, Oregon wines like Pinot Noir are something to talk about.
• The Temporary Vegetarian makes white gazpacho.
• In honor of the 400 years since Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River, the city goes Dutch in flavor and prices. Twenty-four bucks of course, like the 24 guilders paid for the island of Manhattan.
• French names like Michel Bras are descending on the city for a number of food events in September.
• The Minimalist makes muffin-esque corn arepas.
• The amazing story of one family who bought the farm back and now serve restaurants with a selection of rare produce.
• Say it ain't so -- fresh fruit hits the new Yankee Stadium.
• Fighting homemade mayo fear to whip up its tasty cousin, rouille.
• RIP Sheila Lukins, owner of Silver Palate food shop and writer of subsequent cookbooks.
• Troubled times hasn't killed the restaurant industry. Among the closings are chefs changing menus to suit the times and new frugal foodie ventures.
• The Times' Big Restaurant Preview: As the froufrou falls, eateries like Lever House get back to the cheaper basics. Also: a look at Missy Robbins, new chef of A Voce; Tony May of San Domenico is creating "one of the more theatrical debuts of the fall;" Tien Ho is taking over a still-unnamed fifth Momofuku restaurant in the Chambers Hotel; Richard Caring moved from fashion to food in England, and now wants to set up more of his restaurants in New York; and San Fran's Nate Appleman moves to the Big Apple for a slice of Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria.
• Old New York suffers the death of classic restaurant Café des Artistes after money and union woes.
• Restaurant: Kajitsu offers vegan Japanese fare in the East Village.
• New York's dining calendar.