"sizty seconds" news and stories

The "discerning cook" is no longer content with what local supermarkets have to offer (note: although many at least in my area, actually do seem to offer these foods) an is willing to search far and wide for the best of the best ingredients to improve Thanksgiving sides. Among the most sough out foods: pie apples, farm-fresh brussel sprouts on the stalk, high fat butter, Italian chestnuts, cornmeal, organic cranberries, Russet pecans, potatoes, squash and wild rice.

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, shares the secret of baking great bread at home with a surprisingly easy recipe that requires no kneading and produces great results.

Does Domino's Brooklyn-Style pizzas actually compare to a real pizza from Brooklyn? Their pizzas are thinner than the standard, with "large, floppy slices" so big you can fold them in half. Reviews are mixed over how good the Domino's pie is (Adam from SliceNY thought that it was okay), but the bone of contention for New Yorkers seems to be the fact that there is cornmeal in the crust.

Six turkeys - Bourbon Red and American Bronze, heritage birds; farmed "wild" turkeys; organic; "natural"; and Butterball - were cooked up to see which type was the best fro T-day. The conclusion was that, while Heritage, organic and natural birds came out slightly ahead of the rest, the key factors are cooking time and temperature.

Some Chilean sea bass, namely that from one sea bass fishery in the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic near Antarctica, is sustainable and Whole Foods is carrying it again.

Frank Bruni eats at Picholine and gives it 3 stars.

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Dry-cured sausages are uncooked and hung to age in all their smelly, molding glory. Very few people  still make them due to health regulations, which are in place to address food safety concerns but can adversely affect the flavor that would result from a traditional curing process, which has been developed over thousands of years. Instead, vendors are buying them from commercial producers, some of whom offer only a cooked variant. The Times has a list of the places to get the real thing in New York.

Cured culatello, said to be a prince among pork products, and Armandino Batali (father of chef Mario Batali) learned how to make it in Italy and produces the $35/pound treat in his Seattle Store. He faces some of the same regulatory challenges as the salami makers (above).

Sometimes the desire for precision that a pastry chef has can be useful to savory chefs, especially when recreating recipes. Iacopo Falai, both chef and pastry chef, lets himself wing it - just a little bit - when preparing dessert, especially when dessert is disguised as a salad.  Salad then takes a turn as dessert in celery pudding cakes with strawberry rhubarb compote.

The minimalist, Mark Bittman, talks about fat vs thin asparagus and then cooks some.

Frank Bruni dines at Crema and gives it 1 star.

The next Le Cirque is scheduled to open on May 30.

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