Sunday (Dinner) Service - Church Cafés on the Rise

Posted Jun 4th 2009 4:00PM by Hanna Raskin
Filed under: Southern States

As eaters who've had the opportunity to stuff themselves silly at a dinner on the ground know, Southern churches can be fine places to dine. Church potlucks, socials and family night suppers are sometimes the most reliable bets for knee-weakeningly good deviled eggs, pimento cheese, tomato salad, ham casserole and caramel cake.

But a recent trend means folks no longer have to monitor bulletins for edible events: Baptist churches throughout the region have lately formalized their role in upholding Southern food traditions by opening full-service cafés on their now sizable campuses. While chefs across Dixie are succumbing to the allure of molecular gastronomy and global cooking techniques, some churches have become important outposts of culinary preservation.

"Our clientele here would rather have a piece of fried chicken than a piece of beef tenderloin any time," says Chris Harwell, a professionally trained chef who helms the kitchen at Immanuel Baptist Church's Solid Roc Café in Lexington, Ky. "It's not the most sophisticated of palates."

Continue reading Sunday (Dinner) Service - Church Cafés on the Rise

Do You Use a Recipe When Making Dinner?

Posted Mar 20th 2009 3:00PM by Max Shrem
Filed under: Dinner, Recipes, Trends, Newspapers, On the Blogs, Food News, Sandwiches

If the answer is yes, then you are considered to be part of a minority, or so claims a recent study of 3,000 eaters by the NPD Group, a marketing-research company. According to an article from the Chicago Sun-Times, the reason why people are not using recipes is because the No. 1 food for dinner in the U.S. is the sandwich. Can this really be true?

Perhaps, a lot less shocking is the trend towards using online recipes instead of cookbooks. Fellow blog, The EpiLog is also surprised by NPD Group's "sandwich theory" to explain the fact that people are not using recipes. The EpiLog states that people may not be using recipes, because they are cooking family meals from a "basic stable of a few standard dinners that are familiar, easy, and keep everyone happy." But, to me, what also seems a huge factor is the little time that people have to devote to meal planning.

Just because someone is not following a recipe that does not mean we should assume that this person just eats sandwiches. Perhaps, people are cooking omelets, pasta and a number of other dishes that do not necessarily require a recipe. Check out the poll below and let us know what you think.

Do You Use a Recipe When Making Dinner?

YesNoVote

What to Cook Tonight - Slashfood Ate (8)

Posted Dec 1st 2008 10:00AM by Alanna Kaufman
Filed under: Dinner, Slashfood Ate

Between my vast cookbook collection, the over 100 food blogs that I read, and the wonderful recipe web sites that I use daily, I can find a recipe for just about anything. Anything, that is, except a dish that seems suitable for dinner. Why is it that I can easily find a recipe for chestnut-armagnac souffle (doesn't that sound good?), but not one thing that I feel like eating or cooking on a given night? I usually just end up falling back on old favorites, so I thought I'd share list some here, just in case anyone out there has the same problem as I do. Chances are that many of our default dishes overlap, but maybe if everyone shares some, we'll get some new dishes circulating...

1. Mario Batali's pollo al vino cotto -- The second tastiest chicken dish a person can prepare in a home kitchen (the first is chicken with figs from the Silver Palate Cookbook, but it takes some advance planning)

2. Chicken Caesar salad -- Healthy, plus it's easy to throw in other vegetables that you have laying around

3. Black bean soup -- I use my mom's recipe, but here's a really quick one from Epicurious

4. Roasted chicken -- Carrots, onion, potatoes, rosemary, thyme, lemon, salt, pepper.

5. Roasted vegetable chopped salad with reduced balsamic vinaigrette -- I roast any vegetables I can find at 400 for 30 minutes, then chop them up, toss them with chopped radicchio and chicken if available, and drizzle with a reduced balsamic dressing.

6. Soba noodle salad -- This is always easier than I think it's going to be, and just as refreshing. Here's a beautiful one from Simple Recipes to get you started

7. Lemon fish -- Any piece of any white fish doused in lemon juice, salt and pepper, usually accompanied by a baked potato

8. Sushi take-out -- If worst comes to worst, and I really can't bring myself to cook, this is my plan.

Now, your turn! Please share your default dinner menus!

Do You Ever Spice Up Your Dinner Outside Special Occasions?

Posted Nov 25th 2008 10:05AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Dinner, Trends

When I was preparing the lamb earlier this month, I looked at the bottle of wine that I needed to pull out for the recipe and came to a decision: I would make a nice place setting, dim the lights a little, and give my meal some ambiance. Topped with a side serving of Henry Miller, I had an amazing meal. A rare, amazing meal. But while the food was great, it rests in my memory banks more for the experience.

The dinner got me to thinking -- even those of us who spend much of our days thinking, talking, making, or writing about food don't always give it the attention it deserves. Think about it -- you taste something, you moan, you devour, but you also get sidetracked by diversions -- television, conversation, busyness. It's quite easy to appreciate, but not really concentrate, on a dish.

But we should, at least a little more. A simple and nice place setting invokes similar responses and feelings to one set for a bigger deal. A wine or flavored water will touch the tastebuds in a way cola can't. Running a paper napkin across your lips is nothing like cloth. But more than all of that, it's the feeling the whole package evokes -- time to relax, enjoy, and savor your food. The spotlight has been turned on, and directed towards your plate.

If you find a quite night in the middle of holiday stress, slow town, take a moment, and make yourself something special. We put so much care into picking our food, why not how we plate and eat it? Sometimes it makes all the difference.

A Southwestern Thanksgiving

Posted Nov 21st 2008 9:05AM by Lissa Townsend Rodgers
Filed under: Dinner, America, Holidays, Thanksgiving

Blitz bread for dinner tonight

Posted Jul 8th 2008 12:01PM by Shayna Glick
Filed under: On the Blogs, Bread

Do you love fresh bread? Are you thinking about some for dinner tonight? You could always go to the local bakery and pick up a loaf baked that morning. Or you could pull some out of your oven about five minutes before you sit down to eat.

King Arthur's blog Baker's Banter has a post about a loaf it's calling Blitz Bread. They claim the bread is done in two hours from start to finish, and the trick is to use a lot of yeast. Using extra yeast will speed up the process. The only downside is that you lose the complexity and flavor that smaller amounts of yeast creates. However, if you're having something that involves tomato sauce, then the super fresh bread is a great option.

The blitz bread looks a lot like a focaccia loaf, and since it only takes a couple hours to make (most of which time will be spent on letting the bread rise and then baking it) it's a great week night dinner option. Baker's Banter walks you through the process, from start to finish, with great photos for every step. Don't be afraid and have some fresh bread with dinner.

Ten things to eat before THEY die, a dining experience

Posted May 22nd 2008 9:01AM by Shayna Glick
Filed under: Tastings, Dinner, British Isles, Artisan Foods

It's an increasingly globalized world out there, with an increasingly global food market. That can lead to a certain amount of homogenization and difficulty for small producers of artisan foods. The idea behind the "Ten things to eat before they die" gala dinner in Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, England this week is to bring attention to some of the worlds most endangered delicacies.

The spotlighted ingredients in the dinner aren't endangered by over consumption, but from under consumption. Items like the English asparagus that used to be a favorite of ocean liners but that's now grown in only four acres, and the Spanish capers that used to be famous but that now can't get sold outside of the local villages will be highlighted.

The event organizers wanted a thought provoking dinner. Part of the idea is to get some of these great foods known to foodies so that maybe high end retailers will pick them up, thus allowing the small producers to make a living selling their delicacies. I'd love to go, but as the dinner is in England and it costs about $160 (£85) it's a little out of the question. The goals of the planners are working, though: I am very intrigued by some of the items on the menu. Does anything on the menu strike your fancy? What would you try?

[Via Guardian Online]

Slashfood in the Kitchen: Quick weeknight dinner

Posted Mar 14th 2008 4:02PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Dinner, Television/Film, Cooking Live with Slashfood

Food Rules: Dinner must include a green vegetable

Posted Mar 10th 2008 11:02AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Vegetables, Culinary Kids, Food Oddities

When I was growing up, nearly every night my family ate dinner together. No matter what else was for dinner, there was always a green vegetable. On the rare occasion that we'd have breakfast for dinner, my mom would serve apple slices and tell us to pretend that they were green (cauliflower and all squashes counted as green). Because of this early conditioning, I have a very hard time feeling like my dinner experience has been complete if there wasn't a green vegetable on my plate.

I realized that this wasn't the norm about a week ago when I was making dinner. Scott wandered into the kitchen and asked what we were having. I replied, "Turkey burgers and baby bok choy, gotta have a green veggie." He looked at me strangely and so I explained my mom's rule of dinner. He said that wasn't the rule in his house when he was growing up, but that he could see how it made some sense.

So now I'm curious. What were the food rules in your house growing up? What are the rules that you've made for your own kids? I've got a couple of others that were also the law in my house growing up, but before I share those, I want to hear yours.

Roast your carrots for a quick weeknight side dish

Posted Jan 22nd 2008 4:30PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Dinner, Vegetables, Recipes, Roasting

I had something of a whirlwind weekend in which I hung out with a bunch of Philly bloggers, helped a friend arrange the couches in her new house and baked a batch of brownies to take to an impromptu dinner party. Other than the brownies, I didn't do much in the way of cooking and by last night, I was aching to get back into the kitchen and make some easy food that tasted good and wasn't ordered off a menu.

The meal I cooked was fairly simple, just some chicken breasts marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil and chopped rosemary (grilled up quickly on my trusty George Foreman grill--it's not fancy but it does the job really well), steamed broccoli and roasted carrots. However, it was deeply satisfying.

The carrots were an especially nice touch as they aren't one of my normal sides. They brought added color and sweetness to a meal that could have been a little boring otherwise. Typically I don't peel carrots, but these had been in my crisper drawer for some time and so had gotten a little furry and funky, so I quickly stripped them of their skins. I cut them on the bias for maximum surface area, tossed them with salt, pepper and olive oil and popped them in a 425 degree oven for about half an hour. They came out sweet and tender, but not mushy. You could do the same thing with those half-empty bags of baby carrots that often gather in the produce drawer. By using them, you wouldn't even have to chop them to prepare.

Designboom's "Dining in 2015" contest winners revealed

Posted Jan 22nd 2008 8:00AM by Ellen Slattery
Filed under: Site Announcements, Trends, New Products, Europe

Designboom, a mod blog devoted to the latest and greatest in product design, recently came out with the winners of its 2006 Dining in 2015 contest. The challenge was exactly as it sounds: to design a food-related product that would be useful in 2015 at work, in travel, or at home.

Chefs and designers from Italy and Japan judged the entires and came up with the top three and an honorable mention.

Let's start from the bottom and work up. The honorable mention [ed. note: shown in photo] was an eco-friendly solution to dinner prep: silicone and nylon triangle-shaped buckets that allow the cook to boil three different foods all in one pot, thereby saving energy, time, and water. I totally expect it to be selling out on QVC in no time.

Third place? A creative ceramic salt and pepper shaker that forces you to physically break open the canister to access the spices inside. The goal of the project? There isn't any, really, but we bet it's really, really fun to break open. Save it for a day when you're really pissed off at someone, and then smash away. (But don't get carried away - - then you'll just have a mess of salt, pepper, and white ceramic shards to clean up).

Continue reading Designboom's "Dining in 2015" contest winners revealed

Lucy's Brussels Sprouts

Posted Dec 19th 2007 10:31AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Dinner, Vegetables, Recipes, Christmas

My parents had Thanksgiving dinner with some old friends this year and after the meal was over, my mom called me to rave about the Brussels Sprouts that Lucy, the friends' daughter, had made. Lucy has two young sons and had made these sprouts in the hopes that her boys would eat them. She put a lot of effort into them, removing each leaf from every small sprout head in order to get a kid-friendly consistency. When she gave my mom the recipe, she stressed that one does not have to go to such labor-intensive lengths in order to make this dish.

The way we did it last night was to chop 2 pounds of sprouts into eighths (quarter them and then halve the quarters), which took some time but was worth it in terms of cooking speed. In a large skillet, I sauteed four thinly sliced leeks (they were fairly small leeks, total yield was about 1 1/2 cups) and two chopped shallots in a couple teaspoons of olive oil. Then the chopped sprouts went in, along with a sprig's worth of minced rosemary. When the started to get a little dry, I added about half a cup of chicken stock (there happened to be some around, otherwise I would have used water). Cover until soft. At the very end, add 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg and 1/2 a cup of cream or half and half. Lastly add salt and pepper to taste.

They were so good and while they felt a little decadent, they weren't overwhelmingly rich. I think these are going to end up on the table come Christmas dinner.

Vegetarian suggestions for your holiday meal

Posted Dec 19th 2007 8:19AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Vegetables, On the Blogs, How To, Real Kitchens, Holidays, Christmas

I saw an ad in a food magazine recently in which a mother was putting down a platter holding a tofurky in front of her son and girlfriend. It implied that it was the first tofurky that this woman had prepared and that she was doing it for this new arrival who was presumably a vegetarian.

I imagine that there are actually quite a few of you out there who may find yourself with a vegetarian or vegan around your holiday table next week. I actually don't recommend preparing tofurky as my experiences with it have been decidedly unpleasant (it's great in concept but sadly just doesn't taste that good). Instead, you might want to check out this post over at the Well Fed Network which lays out a bunch of tips and recipes for how you might want to make your non-meat eating guests feel welcome around your table.

During the years that my sister was a vegetarian, we typically made lots of veggies and always had several non-meat dishes into which we added chopped and toasted nuts for additional protein. For those of you who aren't meat eaters, how to do you handle these big, celebratory meals?

Dinner by spreadsheet

Posted Nov 29th 2007 10:35AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Dinner, East Coast, Recipes, Newspapers

Making dinner every night can turn into something of a challenge. Without a little pre-planning, you can find yourself falling into the pattern of having the same things over and over again, every single week. However, with just a little bit of planning, you can make sure that you have everything you need to make terrific food every night of the week.

Need some proof? Check out this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer's Food Section about Scott Murphy's dinner system. He reads cookbooks for fun and then enters the recipes that he likes into a spreadsheet. Then he'll decide what to make for dinner and create a shopping from the ingredients he's listed. His system might be a bit much for some people (especially for those of us who cook by inspiration), but there are some good tips that can be gleaned from it. Most importantly is to read and mark the recipes that intrigue you and then make sure to add the necessary ingredients to your shopping list.

One roast chicken that lasts all week

Posted Nov 1st 2007 9:39AM by Marisa McClellan

I am a huge fan of taking the leftovers from one dinner and turning them into something new for the next meal. I've often roasted a chicken for dinner one night, tucked some of the meat from the bird into sandwiches the next and then made soup out of what remains on the third night. However that cycle isn't particularly creative and I rarely vary it. And then I end up with an enormous pot of soup that I have to eat for days.

Over at An Obsession with Food, Derrick has posted about his chicken cycles, the series of dinners he creates from a single roast chicken. I was really impressed with the variety and creativity he puts into each dinner. It's a great thing to check out if you are in need of dinner inspiration and want to make your meat stretch for multiple meals.

Photo link

Slashfood Features

Seasons

Spring (74)

Summer (300)

Fall (215)

Winter (73)

What is it?

Beef (634)

Bread (81)

Candy (518)

Cheese (582)

Chocolate (836)

Comfort Food (802)

Condiments (263)

Dairy (567)

Eggs (316)

Fish (377)

Fruit (1059)

Grains (623)

Herbs (10)

Meat (358)

Nuts/seeds (313)

Organic (5)

Pork (397)

Poultry (455)

Rice (56)

Sandwiches (33)

Shellfish (191)

Soups/Salads (120)

Spices (322)

Sugar (434)

Tea (7)

Vegetables (1401)

Holidays

Christmas (132)

Easter (37)

Halloween (99)

Hanukkah (56)

Memorial Day (15)

Mother's Day (37)

New Year's (41)

Passover (11)

St. Patrick's Day (14)

Thanksgiving (134)

Valentine's Day (50)

News

Bakeries (151)

Books (810)

Business (1277)

Celebrities (238)

Coffee shops (194)

Edible Gifts (39)

Farming (467)

Fast Food (370)

Food News (558)

Health & Medical (872)

How To (1424)

Lists (834)

Magazines (508)

New Products (1588)

Newspapers (1627)

On the Blogs (2520)

Raves & Reviews (1189)

Recipes (2458)

Restaurants (1467)

Science (741)

Site Announcements (186)

Stores & Shopping (1023)

Television/Film (725)

Trends (1436)

Vegetarian/Vegan (95)

Features

Cheese Course (72)

Diary of a Distiller (30)

Dining at Our Desks (8)

Festive Family Feasts (9)

Guilty Pleasures (83)

Quizzes (22)

Raising the Bar (23)

Taste Test (18)

The Hungry Bride (34)

The Skinny Chef (64)

Tinfoil Swan (24)

Tip of the Day (369)

Wild Edibles (22)

X Marks the Spot (1)

Back to School (14)

Cocktail Hour (130)

Cocktail Revolution (0)

Cookbook Spotlight (568)

Cooking Without a Recipe (5)

Culinary Kids (235)

Did you know? (451)

Fall Flavors (136)

Feast Your Eyes (401)

Food Gadgets (485)

Food Oddities (1035)

Food Porn (892)

Food Quest (177)

Foodie Flicks (65)

Frugal Food (95)

Garden Party (28)

Hacking Food (109)

Happy Hour (212)

Head to Tail (44)

In Sixty Seconds (728)

Ingredient Spotlight (60)

Leftovers (53)

Light Food (189)

Liquor Cabinet (186)

Our Bloggers (34)

Pop Food (146)

Pumpkin Day (12)

Real Kitchens (85)

Retro cookery (154)

Slashfood Ate (206)

Slashfood Talks (4)

Slow cooking (55)

Super Size Me (121)

The History of... (72)

What's On Tap? (42)

Wine of the Week (52)

YumSugar (53)

What Time Is It?

Breakfast (757)

Dessert (1364)

Dinner (1389)

Hors D'oeuvres (318)

Lunch (1041)

Snacks (1128)

Where Is It?

America (2661)

Europe (515)

France (178)

Italy (174)

Asia (550)

Australia (158)

British Isles (875)

Caribbean (38)

Central Africa (8)

East Coast (582)

Eastern Europe (45)

Islands (58)

Mediterranean (131)

Mexico (40)

Middle East (63)

Midwest Cities (230)

Midwest Rural (74)

New Zealand (63)

North America (94)

Northern Africa (21)

Northern Europe (66)

South Africa (36)

South America (101)

South Asia (125)

Southern States (302)

West Coast (936)

What are you doing?

Baking (831)

Barbecuing (112)

Boiling (130)

Braising (21)

Broiling (36)

Frying (190)

Grilling (212)

Microwaving (40)

Roasting (105)

Slow cooking (34)

Steaming (45)

Choices

Fairtrade (16)

Artisan Foods (161)

Local Eating (148)

Additives

Artificial Sugars (42)

High-fructose corn syrup (21)

MSG (7)

Trans Fats (58)

Libations

Hot chocolate (27)

Soda (174)

Spirits (424)

Beer (531)

Brandy (13)

Champagne (118)

Cocktails (471)

Coffee (417)

Gin (115)

Juice (126)

Liqueurs (81)

Non-alcoholic (27)

Rum (103)

Teas (185)

Tequila (23)

Vodka (164)

Water (88)

Whisky (119)

Wine (759)

Affairs

Celebrations (107)

Closings (14)

Festivals (87)

Holidays (285)

Openings (50)

Parties (246)

Tastings (164)

RESOURCES

• Send us news tips
• Contact Us
• Advertise
• Corrections?
• Problems?

Featured Stories

• What Can I Get You Folks? - Server Revenge
• Reality-Show Celebrities Serve Up Chef Curtis Stone's 'Hundred-Dollar Burger'
• Foods Celebrity Chefs Hate

Most Commented On (60 days)

• Woman Finds Frog in Bag of Lettuce (206)
• Michelle Obama on 'Iron Chef America' (120)
• Worcestershire Sauce Secret Recipe Found in Trash (117)
• Fight For Your Country -- Get a Free Bloomin' Onion (44)
• Ground Beef Recall Expanded (20)
• What Can I Get You Folks? - The Eternal Ketchup Quandary (14)
• Citrus Growers Sweet on Remarkable New Mandarin (8)
• 'The Next Iron Chef' - The Rise of Jehangir Mehta, Archvillain? (7)
• What Can I Get You Folks? - The New York Times Takes on Service Rules (7)
• Julia Child's Primordial Soup (7)

Sites We Love

• 101 Cookbooks
• Beekman 1802
• Chow
• Cook The Wolf
• Cooking Issues
• Cooking With Amy
• Eat Me Daily
• Eater
• Food News Journal
• Gluten Free Girl
• Gourmet
• Grub Street
• Homesick Texan
• Serious Eats
• Smitten Kitchen
• Southern Foodways Alliance
• The Atlantic Food
• The EpiLog
• The Feedbag
• The Kitchn
• The Skinny Chef
• YumSugar

All contents copyright © 2003-2009, Weblogs, Inc. All rights reserved

Slashfood is a member of the Weblogs, Inc. Network. Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Notify AOL