"pork" news and stories

• Bursting with attitude unparalleled by vodka, gin cocktails dominate the bold new face of mixology.
• Renowned for his gluttonous appetite -- and portly physique -- Mario Batali reveals a transformed outlook on food in his new cookbook Molto Gusto, which trades rich decadence for simple, healthy, everyday Italian fare.
• "The love for regional food chains burns hottest of all," a reality largely due to local community pride and further strengthened by the recession.
• Find out which whites pair best with the other white meat.
• Even President Obama is eager to roll up his sleeves for a burger, returning to Ray's Hell Burger with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev after his burger venture with Joe Biden in May 2009.

Pigs of America, get ready for a makeover: Your days of being called "The Other White Meat" are about to end. After 23 years, the National Pork Board is planning to retire the iconic slogan in an attempt to boost sales.

When the campaign first launched in the late '80s, it was somewhat revelatory. Commercials and magazine ads depicted meals with pork surrounded by fresh, low-cal side dishes. By painting pork as an alternative to poultry, they managed to separate it in the minds of consumers from those meats that were perceived to be higher in fat (like beef).

"It did its job, for sure, back in 1987. It was phenomenal," Ceci Snyder, the Des Moines-based board's vice president of marketing, told the Associated Press. "It really changed minds."

You can take your coffee after your meal, or, like photographer and cook stinkkatze, take your coffee and put it in a marinade. Based on a recipe from Good Eats host Alton Brown -- who uses good strong coffee, cider vinegar, molasses and mustard to tenderize and flavor pork -- our blogger uses chicory, which is naturally non-caffeinated. The marinade is later cooked down as a glaze for the meat. Here it's served with sweet potatoes and onions.

A terrific source for all things porcine (as well as for another killer coffee-molasses marinade) is the Complete Book of Pork: A Guide to Buying, Storing, and Cooking the World's Favorite Meat, by Bruce Aidells.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

• Chicharrones, anyone? US plans to loosen regulations on pork-rind products.
• Restaurants are closing and reopening at record speeds in New York. How long does it take to change the look and the menu?
• After the massive recall of cured meats last week, popular labels such as Daniele, Dietz & Watson, Black Bear of the Black Forest and Boar's Head found themselves recalling products due to possible salmonella poisoning.
• Food & Wine published their list of the World's Top 10 Life-Changing Restaurants. Two American restaurants made the cut -- Thomas Keller's The French Laundry and Dan Barber's Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

How do you say, "Too much information" in Spanish?

Argentina's president Cristina Fernandez suggested that devouring pork was a viable alternative to Viagra and she had just spent a very fulfilling weekend with her husband after eating barbecued pork.

"I've just been told something I didn't know; that eating pork improves your sex life ... I'd say it's a lot nicer to eat a bit of grilled pork than take Viagra," Fernandez commented before a meeting with the leaders of the country's pig farmers.

She added that she and her husband, former Argentinean president Nestor Kircher had recently munched down on some pork and, "things went very well that weekend, so it could well be true."

According to Reuters, Argentines are the world's biggest per-capita consumers of beef but in the last few years the government has tried to encourage people to eat more pork because of rising beef prices and a way to expand the meat industry. At the meeting she announced subsidies for the pork industry to keep the price low despite inflation.