"foodie-flicks" news and stories

Whether you read the New York Times or not, you know Mark Bittman. He's the Minimalist, the man who's vegan until dinner and the popular writer who has published a number of ultra-handy cookbooks. Recently, he wrote a blog post about Sweet Potato Salad, taking the predictable white-potato-and-mayonnaise variety and turning it into healthy, colorful fare. Thanks to YouTube, you can watch him make it.

This is not your everyday cooking show. I mean, the guy turns pitas into turntables! But he gets down to business -- after a hilarious rap-star opener -- and relays the intricacies of his sweet potato salad. Rather than slopping a whole bunch of mayo in a bowl with veggies, this salad gets an updated oil-and-lime splash with some spicy Southern sass.

And maybe it's less than hygienic, but I dug watching him dip his finger into the dressing, licking it and then just wiping it on a tea towel. It's not the most PC prep etiquette, but it's a lot more realistic than 20 shots of the cook cleaning his hands.

Has Bittman charmed you with his modern potato salad? Tell us in the comments.

As foodies, we're automatically inclined to take every morsel of what's given to us and deposit it right into our mouths. But food is also ripe for art -- not just the Alinea-type awe inspired on the plate, but as ingredients for inedible creations. This week's Foodie Flicks heads to Cooking Up a Story to celebrate the seriously impressive seeds and deets of Portland's Cathy Camper.

When some artist friends decided to enter the Minnesota State Fair's juried arts show, Camper took a different route. She entered the seed art competition, set up to promote the seeds and crops of Minnesota. But she didn't take the tacky route and recreate Elvis or lather her portraits in shtick. She recreated famous figures she was drawn to -- Frida Kahlo, Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Bob Marley and even Haile Selassie. Delighting in the process, Camper explains that the art is not in the end product, but the growth of meeting artistic challenges and finding ways to beat them. And really, that seems to be the only way to do it. As she notes, these funky, food-filled art pieces aren't permanent. Just like any piece of edible fare, they discolor, age and lose their life. But at least for a moment, they're impressive.

Mayonnaise might be a perfect condiment on its own -- consistently creamy and delicious -- but it has the potential for so much more. Above, Chef Jason Hill of CookingSessions.com pulses up a super-simple Southwest Sauce. A good spicy mayo dressing can really save dry chicken or steak, bland sandwiches and even raw veggies.

This sauce starts with a base of mayo and sour cream and gets a kick from garlic, serrano peppers, cilantro, onion and dried spices. Other than portioning out the ingredients, the only work the food processor doesn't do is chop the cilantro, but we bet you could get away with just picking the leaves off the stem and throwing them in. Once it's combined, load the sauce into a squeeze bottle and add it on whenever Southwest Sauce is needed.

One of the most popular faces of the Canadian Food Network scene is Ricardo Larrivée -- a wonderfully flamboyant Montreal native who whips up unending piles of deliciousness. While promoting his new book "Meals for Every Occasion," Tourisme Montreal chatted with him about the notable foodie destinations in the French-Canadian city.

Of course, the first things on the docket were the classic smoked meat and poutine. While he stuck to the roots of the curds and gravy grandeur by stressing the pleasure of simple fry stands, Larrivée also made sure to mention the succulent wonder of Au Pied du Cochon's foie gras poutine. (If you follow Anthony Bourdain's show, you definitely know what we're talking about.) From there, he mentions foods and destinations such as the excellent local brew, Blanche de Chambly, French feasting at Restaurant Julien and Jean-Talon Market -- which Larrivée says is the largest open market in North America.

Anyone else ready for a road trip?

A classic eggs Benedict looks like a luscious exercise in simplicity -- a nicely toasted English muffin topped with Canadian bacon, a poached egg and sinfully creamy hollandaise sauce. But looks can be deceiving -- that sauce is a thorn in the side of many cooks, a precarious and gentle concoction that needs coddling to turn out right.

Luckily, as the above video from foodwishes explains, a broken hollandaise is not necessarily the end of the world. Restaurant chefs might throw the separated melted butter and egg yolk away, but home cooks can save it with two things we all have on-hand -- a warm bowl and a little boiling water. Slowly, while whisking up a storm, the failed sauce is added to the bowl and water, where it becomes creamy and pristine once again.

Apparently hollandaise isn't so insurmountable after all!