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Posts with tag review

'Top Chef Vegas' - You Don't Win Friends With Salad

top chef judges in vegas
Padma, Gail, Tom, Mark Peel and the troops. Photo: Bravo
Note to "Top Chef" editors: You fooled us. As with any reality show with a dozen-plus contestants, the ones who get the most face time in the early episodes are usually the superstars, or the ones who'll be packing their knives and going home.

By that logic, perma-cryer Jesse -- who managed the ignominious feat of having the lowest scores in the previous two episodes -- was marked for doom this week. But at least she owned her status -- or lack of it -- as the loser of last night's quickfire challenge: "I'm on the bottom again -- balls!"

Continue reading 'Top Chef Vegas' - You Don't Win Friends With Salad

Frank Bruni Gives Choco Taco Zero Stars, Rants About Review Dinners

Frank Bruni meets the Choco Taco
Frank Bruni reviews the Choco Taco. Video: ABC's Nightline.
As we mentioned last week, outgoing Times critic Frank Bruni will be on ABC's Nightline this evening, talking about his childhood bulimia and taking down the Choco Taco.

"I believe that food that rhymes is almost always better than food that doesn't rhyme, don't you?" he says in the outtake released to the press, in which he calls a reporter "namby-pamby" for ordering a soft-serve ice cream cone instead of his own adventurous "South of the Border" choice.

Who knows if new national critic Sam Sifton will have Bruni's talent with one-liners, but we do know that, after reading this morning's (very accurate) description of the dinner review process, we will miss him: About a woman who "fumed" if her steak arrived at the table already cut, he writes, "People are as strange about eating as they are about love. They want what they want."

Perhaps our favorite description, though, is of those who just don't eat. One friend demanded that they order a fatty porterhouse with fries, and then "She commenced such frantic knife and fork movements that a veritable cloud of dust rose around her -- I was reminded of a Road Runner cartoon. When the dust settled 15 minutes later, I took a close look at her plate, and almost nothing was missing. The food had just been reconstituted and rearranged, a Picasso of its former self."

If this is the stuff of his new memoir, we'll be reading it.

'The Great Big Butter Cookbook' - Cookbook Spotlight

butter
Photo: Amazon.com
'The Great Big Butter Cookbook'
Edited by Diana von Glahn
Running Press -- 2007
Buy it on Amazon

Not unlike meat, butter has gone through a renaissance of late. Scorned as recently as a few years ago, it's now being embraced. And as anyone who has tucked into a bar of European butter lately knows, it's good stuff.

"The Great Big Butter Cookbook," then, with its cover glowing with orbs of golden goodness, is a heart-stopping sight in the best of ways. Any book that has "Because Everything's Better with Butter" as its subtitle makes a great first impression.

Unfortunately, as we flipped through its pages to see recipes for Microwave Cheesy Potato Soup, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup and the frightening-looking, bright-yellow Double Cheese Souper Bowl, all of which glow golden with butter and cheese, we started thinking that maybe there can be too much of a good thing. A quick peek at the copyright reveals that, hmm, this book is copyrighted by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

See what we tested and whether you should buy the book after the jump.

Continue reading 'The Great Big Butter Cookbook' - Cookbook Spotlight

Sid Wainer & Son Chili Oil - Product Spotlight

oil
Some cooks reach for Sriracha, the ubiquitous Thai hot sauce, in a pinch. Others swear by soy sauce. And then there are those who refuse to reveal (*cough, cough* butter) what made the dish you just demolished delicious. For our part, we've developed a tiny -- OK, midsized -- crush on an infused chili oil, and we need to talk about it.

Sid Wainer & Son's Domaine de Provence pepper-spiked oil is fantastic. A drizzle of the fiery goodness rescues storebought and homemade guacamole alike with a heady, late-blooming heat on the palate. According to owner Henry Wainer, it's also tasty on bruschetta. We plan to carry it on our person all summer -- potentially awkward in the 90-degree swelter -- using guerilla tactics to douse any crustaceans and pork we spy sizzling on the grills of party hosts. (Brooklyn, consider yourself warned.)

Wainer has been equally passionate about the oil since meeting its producer at a dinner in France 18 years ago. Such culinary serendipity, he declares, "enriches the world." Can't argue with that.

Don't Judge a Bottle by Its Label - Vintage 17-Year-Old Bourbon

bourbon
OK, OK, so we're a little obsessed with bourbon right now. But Derby Day is just around the corner, the sun is starting to make a cameo and, well, bourbon is absurdly delicious.

While at a whiskey-and-barbecue eatery the other night, the bartender stopped short when he heard me order Woodford Reserve, mistaking me for some high-rolling aficionado (I'm new to the cult and have never even tried Pappy Van Winkle). "You like bourbon?" he asked, smiling. With a flourish, he produced this bottle of Vintage 17-year-old bourbon. I laughed when I saw it. Look at that photo! It was like someone saying, "You know what's a high-quality nail polish?" and dramatically presenting you with an old bottle of cherry-red Wet & Wild with its insanely '80s script. How could this be tasty stuff?

One sip shut me straight up. My companion crowed, "It's incredible! It coats the palate with caramel!" All I could muster after a long day writing about food was a sober, "Yeah," and a deep sigh -- the sigh of a woman who had just acquired a very expensive new habit.

Continue reading Don't Judge a Bottle by Its Label - Vintage 17-Year-Old Bourbon

Meet Norway's Nøgne Ø

jimmy'sTo put it mildly, Norway is not known for its beer.

"About 98 percent of the beer consists of light lagers," sighs tall, bearded Kjetil Jikiun, cofounder and brewmaster of Nøgne Ø, one of Norway's scant microbreweries. "Norwegians," he laments, "don't know much about craft beer."

Jikiun is the exception: Since launching Nøgne Ø (naked isle) six years ago, the gregarious, bespectacled Norwegian has begun altering his country's carbonated landscape. He crafts bold, flavorful beers more in line with American microbrews than Norway's watery lagers. "Most bars there just have one beer on tap," he says, holding court in New York City's multi-tap beer bar Jimmy's No. 43. "You just order a beer-no choice needed." But Jikiun, an ex–airline pilot who sampled suds wherever he landed, liked choice. He began homebrewing, looking toward American microbrewers for inspiration. "Everybody I served my homebrews to liked them, so I though there'd be a market," he says of launching Nøgne Ø.

Continue reading Meet Norway's Nøgne Ø

Review: Bud Light Lime

Even the Bud Light Lime logo tries to be refreshingGoing nationwide last July, Miller Chill quickly became ubiquitous at stores. This summer, Anheuser-Busch tried targeting the flourishing lime-flavored beer market as well, launching Bud Light Lime in April with $35 million in advertising. Since then, the macro-brew's been bragging about its success crediting the roll-out for an increase in 2nd quarter profits and summer market share.

Enough jabber-jargon... Do I want to drink it??

Personally, my taste buds sour at the mere thought of giving a Bud Light spin-off the full taster's treatment, but just for kicks, let's do BLL proper!

BLL's packaging alerts me it's a "premium light beer with 100% natural lime flavor." Also prominently displayed: "contains alcohol." Sold. After cleansing my palate of a Fudgsicle (hey, it's hot out!), I pour a small amount of BLL into a taster glass. The nose is very typical of Bud Light (subtle malt, ricey) and shows distinct notes of -- ta da! -- lime.

The flavor does not offend as much as I had expected.

Continue reading Review: Bud Light Lime

Orange Creme Hershey's Kisses, re-released and reviewd

Way back in 2005, Cybele reviewed Orange Creme Hershey's Kisses at Candyblog. The orange-flavored white chocolate kisses didn't last too long at the time, but Hershey's has just re-released them, labeled as a "limited edition" offering for their year-long 100th anniversary celebration.

The original review noted - and I completely agree - that these chocolates taste a lot like orange creamsicles in the way that they blend orange and vanilla. The chocolate has a tempting orange scent and melts into your mouth smoothly and easily when you bite into one. Unfortunately, these kisses also have an almost overpowering sweetness to them that makes it difficult to eat any more than one at a time without having something to wash them down with.

The concept for these kisses is a good one. I'd try mixing these up with dark chocolate kisses (or other dark chocolates) for some variety and to subdue the sugar.

The bag makes no mention of how long the release will last, but I wouldn't be surprised if they stick around at least until Easter at the beginning of April.

Dark Chocolate Dipped Altoids - now with cinnamon

Dark Chocolate Dipped Altoids sounded so good after reading Joe's initial review that I decided to keep an eye out for them while shopping. Target seems to be a veritable gold mine of new and limited edition candies, so it didn't surprise me when I saw a box near the checkout and picked them up.

At least, I thought I saw a box of the candies I was looking for. I didn't discover that I picked up a tin of Dark Chocolate Dipped Cinnamon Altoids instead until I took a closer look at the package later that day. I'm not a big fan of cinnamon candies in general, but I have to admit that the chocolate-coated cinnamon Altoids were pretty addictive. The chocolate was not too sweet and melted fairly easily in my mouth, cutting the normally sharp cinnamon flavor substantially and leaving behind an almost Mexican chocolate-type flavor.

I still haven't had a chance to sample the regular chocolate covered Altoids, but I think I'll be satisfied with my accidental purchase for a while yet.

Chocolate Oat Crunch Life, reviewed

Chocolate cereals that are designed to appeal to adults - to women, specifically - rather than to children are one of the hottest new trends in the breakfast industry. Chocolate Oat Crunch Life is the first one out of the starting gate and is already available in stores. The cereal is regular, whole grain Life cereal that has had chocolate granola pieces added to it. It is touted as being low fat, high in fiber and as a generally healthy (2.5 grams fat, 190 calories per 1-cup serving), yet indulgent, breakfast option.

After trying a box, I think I would pass on this as breakfast food.

Continue reading Chocolate Oat Crunch Life, reviewed

Cocoa Bunny Peeps!

Just Born is always expanding their Peeps lineup, as the sugar-coated marshmallows are one of their most popular products. Instead of only offering yellow chick Peeps at Easter, they have chicks, bunnies and egg shapes in a variety of colors and flavors. And for other holidays, they have themed Peeps, with hearts on Valentine's Day and trees at Christmas.

At Halloween, Just Born introduced cocoa-flavored black cat Peeps, which I passed on because I was somewhat put off by the color. I am a huge fan of Peeps, but I like my Peeps in the spring. While shopping this week, however, I came across Cocoa Bunny Peeps and, as they were Eastery-enough to meet my standards, I picked up a package for a taste test.

The important thing to note about these candies is that they are not chocolate marshmallows, despite the promising light chocolate color. They are merely cocoa-flavored and that flavoring is entirely limited to the sugary coating on the outside of the bunny. The subtle chocolate flavor didn't really do anything to enhance the Peep and, although I would eat them again, if I really want chocolate with my Peeps, I'll stick with Milk Chocolate Peep Eggs - or better yet, a dark chocolate Peeps s'more using a regular Peep.

For a closer look at the cocoa bunnies, click past the jump. *warning - the photo after the jump is graphic, and may not be suitable for all viewers*

Continue reading Cocoa Bunny Peeps!

LolliBeans from Jelly Belly

Dubbed "lollipops for the new generation" by the company, Jelly Belly's LolliBeans are one of the company's newest products and were promoted at the SF Fancy Foods Show along with their new pomegranate jelly beans. Lollipops are hardly innovative, as far as candy goes, but the company seems surprisingly excited about these pops. Each one is shaped like a very large (over 1 inch long) jelly bean and is embossed with the famous Jelly Belly logo, and 10 flavors - very cherry, watermelon, sizzling cinnamon, strawberry cheesecake, cotton candy, blueberry, tangerine, bubblegum, grape and lemon - all of which are as true-to-life as the original Jelly Bellys are.

Perhaps if I had picked up a Strawberry Cheesecake pop instead of a lemon I would have been more impressed, but this was simply a good - not fantastic - piece of candy.

The Lollibeans are available at candy and gourmet stores nationwide and will probably be more widely available as we head into Easter.

Del Monte Fruit Chillers review

Del Monte's brand new Fruit Chillers line is sure to be a hit with both kids (and adults) this summer, even though it is a little on the cold side right now in most parts of the country. The Chillers are individual sorbet cups, but there are a couple of things that set them apart from the average individually portioned kids dessert. The first, and most important, thing is that they are made with real fruit purees, rather than concentrated juices that have artificial colorings and flavors added to them. In fact, there are no artificial flavors in them at all and they contain 100% of the recommended daily value of vitamin C (150% in the mango flavor) and 3/4 serving of fruit, based on the nutrition pyramid. The other interesting thing about these is that they are not found in the frozen foods section of the grocery store. They are packed sealed and unfrozen, so you can simply pop them in the freezer before you are ready to eat them. The Chillers are fat free and contain about 190 calories per 4.5-ounce serving.

Continue reading Del Monte Fruit Chillers review

CR picks McDonald's as top coffee

bConsumer Reports recently taste-tested four widely available brands of coffee - McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts - to see where you could find the best coffee in the country. They were treading old water with their report, as both AOL and USA Today have done identical taste offs in the past. Unlike the previous tests, however, CR picked McDonald's as offering the best coffee of the bunch, describing it as "decent and moderately strong. Although it lacked the subtle top notes needed to make it rise and shine." USA Today, in their test, picked Starbucks.

Needless to say, you can do a lot better than McDonald's - no matter what CR says. One option is to brew coffee at home. With a little practice, you can beat out any store bought coffee, and it's less expensive in the long run. Another option is to try different local coffee houses, where you will be able to find a real cup of coffee, not just fast food coffee that is better than the rest.

New Yorkers can get started with the recommendations in the NY Post, where they didn't look too kindly upon CR's taste in coffee. Their top picks include Amy's Bread, 71 Irving Place and the MUD Truck.

Cooking for Engineers tests the Baker's Edge

I am a big fan of my Baker's Edge pan and use it just about every time that I bake bar cookies or other treats I might ordinarily use a rectangular pan for, including brownies and cheesecake bars. The pan's unique design allows for more even cooking and a higher crust-to-center ratio for baked goods. Cooking for Engineers set out to scientifically test the pan in a side-by-side bake off with a 9"x13" rectangular pan. Their goal was to test the evenness of the cooking, as compared with the standard pan, and to see how the crustier batch appealed to tasters.

The Baker's Edge cooked very evenly and produced pieces with appealingly chewy edges (unlike the hard edges that can result in regular pans), but the brownies weren't quite as popular with center-piece lovers as the brownies from the larger, more traditional pan. A few batches later and C for E found that a slightly shorter baking time made the whole batch of Baker's Edge brownies just like center-pieces.

Their overall verdict was that the pan worked extremely well, with the only real drawback being that it was difficult to get out the first piece. Of course, as the chef, having a sample piece for yourself isn't such a bad thing, is it?

Next Page >

Tip of the Day

December may have peppermint bark, but have you thought to incorporate the taste of autumn into white chocolate with a rich pumpkin swirl?

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