"smoke" news and stories

Do you have a tendency to set off your smoke alarm when you cook?

The Cupcake Project is a huge contributor to the Slashfood Flickr pool. But because I don't want to express favoritism among our flickr posters, I try to limit my Cupcake Project posts to about one a month.

And what better way to celebrate the upcoming Memorial Day weekend than with cupcakes? But these aren't any cupcakes, and they probably won't satisfy your sweet tooth.

Enter: All-American Barbecue Cupcakes. Essentially, you add liquid smoke to a chocolate cupcake recipe, and top it with a sweet corn frosting that contains four gloriously simple ingredients: sweet corn, cream cheese, butter, and sugar. (And did anything bad ever come out of a recipe whose two main ingredients were butter and cream cheese?) The red, white, and blue star sprinkles don't hurt, either.

Okay, so they sound a little funny - but props to Cupcake Project to being creative and unique. They sound like the perfect addition to any cookout. Just serve 'em and watch your guests' eyes widen in surprise and their faces sink into relaxed, contented smiles.

David Lebovitz mentioned that France is supposed to ban smoking in restaurants on January 1st, 2007, though the law would still permit smoking in casinos and nightclubs. As happens in every city, state and country that tried to enact such a ban, restaurant and cafe owners argue that it will hurt business, presumably because they think people want cigarettes more than they want food, but studies have shown that a ban is actually good for business. As David pointed out, tables in restaurants turn over slightly more quickly and virtually all customers and employees enjoy a smoke free environment, where it is easier to even smokers to breathe. One more important reason is that food tastes better in a room with cleaner air, where the taste of cigarette smoke is not touching to tongue at every bite.

France is hardy the first country to enact such a ban and it seems extremely unlikely that their restaurant and cafe business would suffer when it has not in so many other countries around the world.

Source