"slashfoodate" news and stories

I was grocery shopping yesterday, and I couldn't get my eyes off of cute mini artichokes from California. Ah, the gorgeous produce from California! I bought these artichokes and stuffed them with a marjoram stuffing. I'm a fan of the entire artichoke - the leaves and the heart.

Artichoke hearts taste delicious plain or thrown into a salad. They can also make the perfect braised chicken dish. In Italy, artichoke hearts are mixed with olive oil and transformed into an exquisite spread that's often applied to pizza. Besides stuffing the flower, you can also deep fry it. Or, you can simply go for steamed artichokes with an aioli dip.

Not only are artichokes eaten, but they are also used in drinks. In Vietnam, they're made into an herbal tea. And, in Italy the Italian bitter apéritif liqueur Cynar has artichoke as its primary flavor.

Below are 8 different artichoke recipes:

1. Chicken with Artichoke Hearts
2. Cream of Artichoke Soup
3. Artichoke Dip
4. Arugula and Baby Artichoke Salad
5. Fried Artichokes
6. Artichoke and Smoked Tuna Tart
7. Steamed Artichokes with Herb-Caper Mayonnaise
8. Falsone's Roasted Artichoke-Stuffed Artichokes

What are your favorite artichoke dishes?

Kumquats are truly nature's candy. Apart from the texture, the taste has a blend of sweet and sour that reminds me of Sour Patched Kids, it's gummy drastically less healthy alternative. Besides snacking on them plain, kumquats make an incredible sauce. They also pair well in a dessert.

They can be candied and then used to decorate and flavor a cake. The hyper-citrus flavors taste exquisite with chocolate or cheesecake. Try it with roasted duck or with braised chicken. Unlike oranges, lemons, and limes, kumquats are distinctly sugary and bitter. Yet, like other citrus fruits, they are versatile and work well in both savory dishes and sweet desserts.

Below are 8 ways to incorporate kumquats into a meal:

1. Duck Breasts with Mustard and Candied Kumquats
2. Gingerbread Layer Cake with Candied Kumquats
3. Sauteed Chicken Over Wilted Spinach with Kumquat Sauce
4. Chocolate Kumquat Cake
5. Braised Chicken with Kumquats and Green Olives
6. Ricotta Tart with Chocolate and Kumquats
7. Asian Pears with Vanilla-Poached Kumquats
8. Rootbeer Ham with Kumquats

When I was in Mexico, I tried a simple sweet and spicy dessert - chunks of pineapple sprinkled with dried chili flakes and salt, and drizzled with limes. A pineapple can be prepared for a complicated dessert or for something as simple as fruit salad.

This exquisite tropical fruit can be grilled or roasted. Recently, I tried Martha Stewart's recipe for grilled pineapple with coconut sorbet. It's the perfect antidote to the cold wintry weather. Pineapples work well in desserts due to its unique tropical sweetness and its bright yellow color. I'll never forget the light fluffy cake toppled with pineapples that I tried last May at Pierre Hermé in Paris.

Below are 8 recipes for pineapple desserts:

1. Chilled Pineapple Mousse with Pistachios
2. Roasted Pineapple with Star Anise Pineapple Sorbet
3. Caramelized-Pineapple Baked Alaskas
4. Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
5. Pineapple-Coconut Napoleons with Mascarpone Cream and Pineapple Syrup
6. Carrot and Pineapple Cake
7. Roasted Pineapple Milkshake
8. Coconut Ice Cream with Warm Rum Glazed Pineapple

What are some of your favorite ways to prepare pineapples in dessert?

Studies reveal that certain sweets, like chocolate activate the libido. Just last week, The Times of India had an article reporting on the aphrodisiac effects of chocolate particularly on men. Food scientists tracked down a specific ingredient responsible for these effects - Eurycoma Longifolia Jack.

Chocolates have long been associated with romance. As far back as the eighteenth century, food enthusiasts, like Brillat Savarin, raved about chocolate's corporal effects. So, when thinking about sweets for Valentine's Day, I often think of various chocolate confections and cakes.

Below are 8 chocolates I highly recommend this Valentine's Day:

1. Durand Chocolates from Brittany, France
2. Dozen Box of Roni's Roses - These chocolates are flavored with rose petal jam, powdered rose petals and exotic rose liqueur. If you're in NY, I highly suggest that you check out Roni-Sue's in the Essex Street Market in the Lower East Side.
3. Poco Dolce Burt Caramel Tiles - Everything made by Poco Dolce is phenomenal. They have truly mastered the delicious combination of salt and sweet.
4. Assortment from La Maison du Chocolate
5. Valentine's Selection from Jacques Torres
6. Pralus Chocolate Bars from France
7. Truffle Collection from Vosges Chocolate
8. Knipschildt Chocolate Box

Each many Friday afternoons, I sort through the list of recipes, newspaper articles and blog posts that I've bookmarked over the previous week (or two) in order to dish up a tasty assorted eight. Here's the selection this week:

• Several weeks ago, Amy made Franks & Beans and I just haven't been able to get them out of my mind.
• We all have beloved kitchen tools that serve us well over the years. In this fun little post on Simmer Til Done, Marilyn says goodbye to her oven mitt.
• Food Networks stars immortalized in pancakes?
• Trix Are For Kids makes Lara Bars at home. Easy, cheap and you avoid any possible contact with contaminated peanut butter.
• Love the taste of roasted garlic, but can't quite seem to manage to make it successfully in the oven? CNET's Appliance and Kitchen Gadgets blog introduces us to the counter-top garlic roaster.
• Need a romantic dessert for your sweetie? Bake up a cake in this silicone cake pan that spells out LOVE.
• Did you know that Thin Mints make up one quarter of all Girl Scout cookies sold each year?
• I love cakes that get better after a day or two. This Danish Sand Cake from Kate at Warm Olives and Cook Cocktails sounds like it deserves a place in the rotation.