"blogging" news and stories

Controversy is brewing this month in the mommy blogosphere over high-fructose corn syrup, after the website Mom Central, a marketing consulting group that arranges blog tours, launched a campaign on behalf of the Corn Refiners Association (CRA). Mom bloggers were lured by $50 gift cards and the opportunity to participate in a webinar led by paid consultants in exchange for creating HFCS-focused content that reflected typical CRA talking points. Mom Central's own website published plenty of pro-HFCS content as well.

Mark Bittman, better known to New York Times Dining and Wine section readers as the Minimalist, announced this morning that he is joining the blogging movement. His site is called Bitten and part of the New York Times family of blogs. He says that the goal of his new writing venture is, "to look at great food made with everyday ingredients and readily achievable techniques - as The Minimalist has been doing for a decade - not food as something to be admired from afar, but as a part of daily life."

So far, his blogging seems appealing and conversational, a more casual version of the voice we're used to reading in his weekly columns. I, for one, am happy to welcome Bittman to the blogging world. I think his perspective will be a valuable addition to the food blog conversation and I look forward to reading it regularly!

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We're not planning to have an ice cream theme day, not until it gets a little closer to summer and warmer weather, but the fact that it's cold out doesn't mean that we're not going to get an ice cream fix between now and then. And Turkey Hill's Ice Cream Journal might just be the way to do that without giving us brain-freeze. The all-ice cream blog is the first one that I've seen out there and although there are a number of other food-specific blogs, I'm not sure that I could have guessed that there was so much to say about ice cream. Only a few posts are up on the brand new blog, but their post about spotting a happy face in the top of the ice cream container is pretty interesting (and it's only a matter of time before someone finds some sort of religious icon). Drop in a leave a comment for them, since they're giving away a prize each month to a random commenter. It sounds like bribery, but as long as ice cream is involved, we're willing to look the other way.

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According to Yorkshire Post, baking at home is on the rise in the UK, and according to the UK Guardian, it's no coincidence that baking blogs are are on the rise as well. Baking bloggers run the gamut, from amateur bakers to professional pastry chefs, posting about their latest and greatest (and sometimes not-so-greatest) creations out of the oven. The Guardian highlighted a few, like The Pastry Department, written and baked by a former Phat Duck pastry chef, but the one that's important to us is Bakingsheet (now Baking Bites), the personal baking blog of our very own Nicole Weston!

Anyone who lives in, or around, Chicago might want to take a peek at this great map put together by Dr. Vino. According to him, the city has over 400 restaurants that allow customers to bring their own drinks to dinner, but even with so many places, it is hard to figure out quickly what restaurants permit this. The Chicago BYOB map is a start at cataloging all of these places so that diners know where they can - and can't - BYO. As of now, the map only lists about 45 or so places, but you can always write in and submit your favorite spots if they're not already listed.

And diners who are interested in BYO dining might want to check out the companion map of Chicago wine shops to pick up a bottle or two o the way to dinner.

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