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Cook's Illustrated is definitely one of the best resources for any food-related technical questions. They test everything - from ingredients to recipes - exhaustively, so you are basically guaranteed a good result just by following their meticulous instructions. Most of the sections on their website require a subscription, so unless you get the magazine through the mail or register with them, your access to their vast resources will be limited to the few things that they keep in the free section of their site. Fortunately, a great article called Mastering Turkey Gravy is available just in time for Thanksgiving. They talk about equipment, as well as the major components of the dish, before getting down to the recipe and the technique. Their recipe calls for a quick turkey stock, a roux to thicken the sauce and the addition of the pan drippings to get the maximum flavor. Take a look at the whole article before the season ends ad it goes back behind the pay wall.

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Rapper and Def Jam Records CEO Jay-Z has announced a boycott of Cristal Champagne in response to an Economist article that used the phrase "unwelcome attention" when it referred to the bubbly's popularity in the rap community.  Although Jay-Z cited comments made by Louis Roederer Cristal's managing director Frederic Rouzaud as his reason for pulling Cristal from his 40/40 sports lounges, the "unwelcome attention" phrase was actually not a quote, but rather text from the article's author Gideon Rachman (or possibly an Economist editor). The AP quoted Jay-Z: "I view [Rouzaud's] comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands including the 40/40 Club nor in my personal life."  XXL's blog features some commentary, pointing back to the Economist article, and not Cristal's Rouzaud, who said that Cristal views the rap industry's embrace with "curiosity and serenity." An article on Pitchfork features a link to a short mix of various Jay-Z rhymes about Cristal. Amuse Bouche also chimes in, wondering when grower champagne will hit it big with the rap world.

In Sunday's New York Times Magazine, there was an interesting article by Mark Bittman about the franchising of great chefs. The article covers how world renowned chefs, including Alain Ducasse, Joël Robuchon and Daniel Boulud, are expanding into restaurateurism, trading on their name and the cooking that is represented by that name.

It is not that there is anything wrong with the branding that the chefs are doing because it is financially a good move for them and, in some cases, good for diners who have world-class cuisine more readily accessible. For the chefs, opportunities like these are outstanding.

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That's right. South Korean astronauts may be taking a specially designed type of kimchi with them when they travel on a Russian spacecraft in 2008. The news comes from a recent Los Angeles Times article about kimchi's presence in the academic and scientific communities in Korea. The kimchi that the Korean astronauts will take is intended to help their digestion. Some of you may recall news about kimchi's possible ability to stave off avian flu, and the Times lists several other health claims associated with the fermented national treasure. Mice fed kimchi were apparently less stressed and had fewer wrinkles. Still, other research suggests that eating too much kimchi may be linked to increased risk of gastric cancer. According to the Times, South Koreans consume 77 pounds of kimchi annually and rates of gastric cancer are 10 times higher there than in the U.S.

[Photo: Kim Kyung-hoon / Reuters]

AZCentral.com recently featured a story by southern food writer John T. Edge about the modernization of American barbecue. Edge profiles some strictly traditional 'cue joints and then goes on to explore some more modern variations. One of Edge's most extreme examples is McCrady's in Charleston, S.C., where chef Sean Brock uses liquid nitrogen to create tiny pearls with the essence of a pork sandwich with vinegar sauce. There is also talk of pork ribs cooked sous vide-style and then finished on Japanese Komodo smokers at 5 Seasons Brewing in Atlanta. There are, of course, more tame variations-gas powered smoke boxes taking the place of traditional pits, etc. Still, Edge doesn't diss them. He points out that many of the new innovators are still rooted in tradition and wonders where they'll go next.

[Photo: Kyle Hood/JohnTEdge.com]