"ThomasKeller" news and stories

• 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.

It's National Grilled Cheese month, folks, and boy are we fans. Americans chomp upwards of 2 million sammies each year. Of course, as is typical of populist foods nowadays (burgers, fried chicken, mac 'n cheese) even high-minded artisans like Terrance Brennan and Thomas Keller have gotten into the act to put their spins on the classic. Brennan will take it one step further at Artisanal, his New York bistro and paean to all things fromage, with a grilled Cheese Sandwich Contest on April 29. It should be quite the showdown, with food-lebrity judges to boot.

But wait! You don't need to be local to enter this thing, and still have till Friday to wow the cheesemonger with a creation that will win you one of 12 places in the cookoff. And we're going to help you cheat. With the deadline looming, we went straight to Brennan for tips and were unsurprised to find that he hews close to a simple, winning formula: Use good bread, great cheese and no more than three ingredients.

Fave fromage? "I just love a good Comté," he says. His bread of choice, which he prefers on the crunchy side, is pain campagne. "It's a good bread and it's still kind of a little airy. [With] a baguette, you have too much bread. It's a texture thing." Stay away from using Parmesan for filler, he warns, but feel free to dust the outside with a few shavings as a seasoning agent to get a swell crust.

Not on the East Coast but need a fix? Head to L.A., where the Grilled Cheese Invitational began with a few dudes in an artist's loft caught up in a dare over which of them was a grilled cheese god. Seven years later the summit has more than 100 participants and processed cheese giant Kraft as a sponsor. Not bad for a simple little sammie.

Got a recipe that would destroy the competition? Let us know in the comments.

I didn't grow up eating fried chicken. My mom was always more of a baked chicken kind of person (she liked to keep things as healthy as possible). In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times in life I've eaten friend chicken. And to be honest, I've never made it myself. And yet, I find it fascinating and totally hypnotic. I love the idea of good fried chicken and aspire to one day giving it a try in my kitchen.

The guys at The Bitten Word have no fried chicken fear and recently whipped up not one, but two batches of the stuff. They put Clay's mom's fried chicken up against Thomas Keller's recipe and invited a whole bunch of friends over to help them with the taste test. Clay's mom's recipe was the winner, mostly for its classic taste and super crispy skin. Sounds delicious!

Source

• While it might still be a challenge for the pickier kids out there, deli meat issues opens the door for other tasty ingredients like edamame.
• Chef Thomas Keller went north to the land of Quebec to cook for Quebec City's 400th anniversary.
• Eat tongue in cheek -- literally -- at Niagara Street Cafe.
• Wines to indulge in as summer wraps up: Pacific Rim 2006 Dry Riesling, Flat Rock Cellars 2006 Seriously Twisted, Konrad 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Luigi Bosca Reserva 2005 Malbec, and Bodegas Carrau Ysern Blend of Regions 2004 Tannat.
• Recipe: Penne with Asparagus, Oyster Mushrooms and Goat's-Milk Cheese.