"pudding" news and stories

A search for the best chocolate pudding leads the author through dozens of cookbooks, calls to pastry chefs, and a multitude of cooking experiments. The pictures nearly led me to the grocery store at midnight to satisfy my suddenly awakened craving for bittersweet chocolate pot de crème. Included recipes look insanely delicious.

Tuscan vintners get in a battle over labeling laws, grape origins, and possible wine contamination - is a brunello di Montalcino by any other name as pleasing?

An Iraqi restaurant in midtown Manhattan is a gathering spot for Iraqi ex-pats, Iraqi-Americans, and journalists home from the Baghdad beat.

The Minimalist does tacos Yucatán-style, with poblano peppers, potatoes and corn.

After losing a lawsuit, Pinkberry is forced to reveal what's in its frozen yogurt, and the truth is less than "all natural."

Eric Asimov discusses German Rieslings.

Florence Fabricant explains the grains behind Whole Foods new multigrain sushi.

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• The classic food mag gets a makeover. Here's a letter from Editor-in-Chief Barbara Fairchild explaining the new look.
• The magazine picks the best dishes of the year, including the Indulgence of the Year, the Cuisine of the Year, the Ingredient of the Year, and the Dish of the Year.
• A slideshow on how to throw the best cocktail party this holiday season.
• Radicchio is not your average green.
• The top 20 recipes of 2007.
• They also pick the best puddings.
• If you haven't seen it, check out the Bon Appetit blog.
• More recipes: Baked Apple, Raisin, and Brown Sugar Dumplings, Fried Egg and Sausage Ciabatta Breakfast Pizzas, and lots of holidays desserts.

In Kim Severson's mind, her grandmother's "red sauce" recipe, a marinara sauce that stuck with her family through all of her many childhood moves, originated in her grandmother's Italian hometown, where there would undoubtedly be a "single iconic red sauce." After traveling to Italy and tracking down her nearest relatives in that town, she discovered that there was no such sauce because there was no one way to make sauce taste "right" - there was just good sauce.

Frozen yogurt is one of the hottest cold foods around, thanks to a growing interest in yogurt products from consumers and the desire for tasty, lower fat snacks. While some consumer still like the flavor and texture of low fat ice cream, more are drawn to the hint of tartness found in good-quality fro yo. Competition among shop owners is tough, especially for those looking to enter in to the higher end part of the market that Pinkberry (rapidly expanding in LA and NY despite lots of recent criticism) has a large chunk of.

A tribute to the artist/foodie/chef Gordon Matta-Clark will open tomorrow at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Lamb stew is hearty, but surprisingly bright and sweet, thanks to the addition of apricots, which are complemented by olives and buttered almonds.

Frank Bruni dines at Momofuku Ssam Bar and gives it two stars.

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, makes Babbo's Maple Crema, Vanilla Pudding and Indian Cornmeal Pudding.

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Chocolate pudding cake is an intensely satisfying, yet simple, dessert. As it bakes, it separates into two layers - a tender chocolate sponge-type cake and a very rich chocolate sauce/ pudding base - so the cake needs no accompaniment unless you want to throw a scoop of vanilla ice cream into the bowl, too.

The second best thing about this cake (the flavor is the first, of course) is that it is incredibly easy to make because it is mixed in the pan that you bake it in. This means that cleanup is minimal and that you can have a delicious, from-scratch dessert on even a very busy weeknight. Not that you shouldn't have it at other times, as well. Any excuse is a good one for chocolate pudding cake.

I love making pudding cakes. I find them to be both easy and satisfying, especially on a cold evening where the dessert can really warm you up. A basic recipe for one will have egg whites folded into a flavored batter, much like a souffle. Unlike a souffle, however, pudding cakes are baked in a water bath that keeps the bottom portion from puffing up as it cooks, leaving a thick pudding at the base of your baking dish. The top portion of the cake, uninhibited by the insulation of the water bath, bakes into a light, moist sponge cake that provides a perfect contrast for the pudding below.

I baked this batch in individual ramekins, which makes them look a little more elegant than a pudding cake baked in one large dish and scooped out for serving. As an extra touch, I also used Meyer lemons in place of regular lemons. They add a lot of lemon flavor without any of the sharpness that is usually associated with lemons and lemon juice.