How cute is this: an online Chinese take-out party. Hong Kong-based blogger Mocochocolata Rita invited all her food blogging friends to contribute recipes and pictures for Chinese dishes, which she posted together, menu-style. What a feast!
There are several Hong Kong 'set meals' - a main with noodles and soup; a multi-course dinner for friends - potstickers, beef braised in chou hou sauce, pina colada milk pudding; sides of kimchee gyoza and baked tofu; several different takes on kung pao chicken; desserts of sweet peanut soup and homemade fortune cookies.
The recipes all look delicious - I'm particularly keen to try the pineapple sesame chicken recipe. It's also a great introduction to a lot of neat food blogs - Rita must have a lot of friends.
I come from a long-line of Irish alcoholics. And although I myself hold my liquor like a ten-year-old, I have a special place in my heart for alcohol-flavored sweet things. Indeed, I have had a torrid love affair with the bourbon ball ever since my mom first let me try one during the holidays when I was a kid.
See, at my house, bourbon (or rum) balls were holiday fare. But I'm told they're traditional at the Kentucky Derby as well. I've never been to Kentucky, and I know next to nothing about the event, which, I'm told, involves race horses and women in elaborate hats.
But in the spirit of this prestigious event, I offer you my family's decidedly un-traditional recipe for bourbon balls.
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that E from Foodaphilia had teamed up with Nick the Peanut Butter Boy and Kristina from The Chocolate Peanut Butter Gallery to create the first ever Peanut Butter Exhibition. They asked their readers to put on their thinking caps and send in recipes and pictures of the best of their peanut butter baked goods. They had 16 entries and while all the recipes sound delicious, they managed to determine winners for the first, second and third places. However, there are no losers, as how can you lose when you have a pile of peanut butter confections at the end of the day?
Meet the contenders for New York's best sandwich: the Moroccan merguez sausage on grilled bread; the cemita poblana with pork butt al pastor; the pressed potato knish; the braised beef-stuffed shao bing; the Benny Mac - a chicken cutlet sandwich with macaroni and cheese and bacon; chili mackerel on a fluffy bun; a cilantro-spiced falafel.
April showers bring May flower-covered cupcakes. Yes, spring is in full swing, time for the ultimate in stunningly beautiful, impress-all-your-friends-with-little-effort cake decoration: sugared flowers.
Martha Stewart has an instructional video on how to candy flowers, definitely a Good Thing. Start with pesticide-free edible flowers, such as pansies, marigolds, roses, dianthus, violets. Mix egg white or meringue powder in water and brush onto the petals with a clean paint brush, then sprinkle front and back with extra-fine sugar. Dry on a rack for two to four days until completely dry, then use to make adorable cupcakes like the ones in the picture.
Looking for more economical recipes that don't involve canned chili or hot dogs? Kevin Weeks, a food writer at Gather.com, does a twice-monthly column called Paisano, which offers luscious-yet-affordable rustic recipes from culinary traditions worldwide. Think rich, slow-cooked, peasant-y foods - sumac-spiced chicken kebabs, steak and mushroom pie, lamb with caramelized onions. Stuff from cultures that, out of necessity, invented really really tasty ways to use up that cheap cut of beef.
I might try the Middle Eastern-inflected chicken kebabs, marinated with yogurt, garlic, lemon juice and spices, over green salad for a quick warm-weather dinner. Do you have any favorite peasant recipes in your repertoire?
Writing in Slate, Sara Dickerman complains about how, despite the looming recession and sky-high food price inflation, food writers continue to rhapsodize over black truffles and $24 a pound Papillon Roquefort, without even a nod towards the fact that these ingredients cost more than many people's weekly food budgets. Any cookbook that mentions cost tends to be the kind of retro, housewifely home ec treatise that recommends things like sloppy joes and cabbage stew. Why not combine price-consciousness with foodie flair, Dickerman wonders?
Over at Salon, the always-hilarious Heather Havrilesky writes about the recession and the comforts of coupon clipping and worrying over the price of a $1 bag of dried navy beans. In hard times, people will need to get back to basics, quit obsessing about the origin of their organic lambs lettuce, return to crock pot cooking and making do. Maybe Dickerman can combine her food savvy with Havrilesky's thrift and write a cookbook?
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."
Globe artichokes are in season, their spiky green heads peeking out of produce bins, their petals vaguely purple-tinged. Artichokes have long been one of my favorite foods, the special thing my mother would make when I came home from summer camp or on my birthday. But for years, the reason I really loved the artichoke was for its capacity as spoon for melted butter - when else can you publicly scoop tablespoons of hot, salty fat into your mouth, without anyone blinking an eye?
These days I appreciate the artichoke in a variety of preparations, sometimes even swapping the melted butter for vinaigrette or aioli. Perusing the Internet for new recipes, I stumbled upon a treasure trove of ideas at The Gutsy Gourmet, and thought I'd share. There are recipes for Italian stuffed artichokes, Roman fried artichokes, artichoke and crab dip, prosciutto and artichoke sandwiches with rosemary mayonnaise (I am considering having a picnic this week, just for an excuse to make these), and more. Any favorite artichoke recipes from you guys?
Today is National Eggs Benedict Day and man, do I wish it were a weekend so I could have some runny-yolked goodness for brunch!
Traditional Eggs Benedict is simply poached eggs on a round of Canadian bacon perched on a split English muffin, covered in a soft yellow blanket of hollandaise. But, as brunch.org (I love that "brunch" deserves its own "org!") points out, there are lots of great variations. How would you like some Country Eggs Benedict (poached eggs and sausage gravy over ham on a biscuit) or Eggs Maryland (poached eggs and hollandaise over crab cakes) or Eggs a la Commodore (poached eggs and Béchamel sauce over foie gras puree on buttered toast circles).
Wow, the food world has its very own political scandal! I am pleasantly surprised. It's about time that we get our turn. I mean, food is something we all have in common, but its always the sex scandals that get noticed.
I'm sure that Cindy McCain wishes this one had been swept under the rug. The wife of Republican presidential hopeful John McCain had a section on the campaign website about old family favorite recipes. That's really cute, a nice way for the voters to get to know the McCain's. The only trouble is that apparently the recipes were lifted directly from the Food Network website.
The LA Times posits that it was probably some lowly intern that had to put the recipe section together, and just put up some recipes. That might work if your boss weren't running for president. Everything he does gets put under the microscope, so plagiarism like that might get caught.
Over at Apartment Therapy's The Kitchn, they had issued a McCain family recipe challenge for readers to test the recipes from McCain's website. The results are in, and even though the recipes didn't turn out to be authentic, you should check them out. Even if the McCain family has never tried them, you can know what to expect if you ever want to!
Pollsters are now looking at how consumer behavior, including eating, affects voter choice. Dr. Pepper is for Republicans, Sprite is for Democrats. Clinton supporters snack on Fig Newtons, McCain fans on stuffed-crust pizza. While some results are weird, others are predictable - Whole Foods is a dead giveaway of liberal orientation.
Cookbook author Susie Fishbein is providing observant Jews with gourmet Passover recipes, including turmeric, tomato and spinach matzoh balls.
**#!*@! souffle! *$*#*!* emulsification! Chefs like to curse in the kitchen. Really.
Eric Asimov talks kosher wine - you don't have to be Jewish to like them.
The Minimalist does Hangtown Fry - eggs, bacon and...oysters.
Cakes masquerading as muffins make breakfast less guilty. Includes a recipe for spicy ginger muffins with currants and toasted pecans.
Food, or lack thereof, in Holocaust concentrations camps is still a taboo subject for survivors, writes Jewish cooking maven Joan Nathan.
Cindy McCain shares her favorite family recipes. Except they were ripped off from the Food Network. A rogue intern is apparently to blame.
I never thought that much about watercress, that little green leaf generally reserved for salads and soup. Apparently some people think much more highly of it than I have. In fact, if you too would like to be a watercress buff, check out this site.
You can find out all about the Watercress Alliance, the 200th anniversary of the first watercress farm in England, and the National Watercress Week and Festival in Alresford, Hampshire, England. There's even an anniversary cookbook to go along with everything. Also, there are 100 recipes featuring watercress on the website. I had to look twice at some of the health and nutrition claims, though.
This is a great resource site for anyone who is curious about watercress. I realize that it's site set up by watercress advocates, but it's easy to follow and very informative. Plus, all the recipes looked really good.
Have you ever stashed a Coke in the freezer, hoping to chill it quickly, then forgotten all about it, only to have it explode all over your frozen peas?
The feature story this week is on the Bay Area's small-batch coffee roasters.
How cute is this: an online 
I come from a long-line of Irish alcoholics. And although I myself hold my liquor like a ten-year-old, I have a special place in my heart for alcohol-flavored sweet things. Indeed, I have had a torrid love affair with the bourbon ball ever since my mom first let me try one during the holidays when I was a kid.
The feature story this week is on restaurateur and 
April showers bring May flower-covered cupcakes. Yes, spring is in full swing, time for the ultimate in stunningly beautiful, impress-all-your-friends-with-little-effort cake decoration: sugared flowers. 
Looking for more economical recipes that don't involve canned chili or hot dogs? Kevin Weeks, a food writer at Gather.com, does a twice-monthly column called 
Writing in 
Wow, the food world has its very own political scandal! I am pleasantly surprised. It's about time that we get our turn. I mean, food is something we all have in common, but its always the sex scandals that get noticed.
I never thought that much about watercress, that little green leaf generally reserved for salads and soup. Apparently some people think much more highly of it than I have. In fact, if you too would like to be a watercress buff, 
A fraking amazing Battlestar Galactica cake
Iced Tea 101
Pierogies + cheese + onions + kraut = Parmageddon!
