How's that foie gras ban going in Chicago? The city has sent warning letters to nine restaurants believed to have served foie gras but issued no citations. And Mayor Richard Daley called it "the silliest law" the City Council has ever passed. Chefs are openly serving it and some are even hanging their warning letters on their walls. [via Ruhlman]
Month: December 2006
Today's final gift suggestion contains…
Today's final gift suggestion contains neither a picture nor a link, because it's more of a rough idea. And that idea is cheese! Why not go out and buy someone a hunk of some really expensive lovely cheese (Coach Farm's triple cream goat cheese comes to mind, or Humboldt Fog) that they'd never buy for themselves? For the price of a DVD, you can give someone a delicious treat they'll remember long after its been digested. And who doesn't love cheese?
That wraps up not only my gift suggestions but also probably my posting around here for a while. Family arrives in town tomorrow and I've got a Vermont goose waiting for them in my fridge. In addition there's a bûche de nöel to be constructed and many tasty side dishes to be prepared. Updates next week only if the mood strikes. If it doesn't, I'll see you back here in 2007.
Totally excellent photograph of…
Totally excellent photograph of some smiling kettles is an optical illusion. The faces aren't painted on, they're reflections of objects on the stove top. [via bb]
Anyone interested in food would…
Anyone interested in food would be interested in reading The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation by David Kamp. Again, easy to pick up at the local bookstore for you last-minute shoppers out there. Or for $17.16 from Amazon. Stay tuned for tomorrow's final installment of my gift suggestions guide.
Second-rate chefs who eat one…
Second-rate chefs who eat one meal at El Bulli and think they’re Ferran Adrià don’t realize that bad foam belongs in cheap mattresses. Ed Levine assess the foodscape to determine what we’re going to see more of on our plates next year, and what we don't want to see ever again.
"Whether it's sweet or savoury,…
"Whether it's sweet or savoury, people always love to receive something homemade," suggests the BBC and today's gift idea follows their advice. You might be too late to order something online, but it's probably not too late to make a nice food-related gift you can bring with you to holiday events. The BBC suggests some things you can purchase and assemble to make a gift basket (which they call a hamper) or you can do something all homemade, like make this lemon curd in less than an hour. $ varies depending upon what you make.
Honey, of course, he loved…
Honey, of course, he loved especially, slathered on bread and butter or crunched in the comb until the sticky goo ran down his chin. Nineteenth-century English poet Percy Shelley loved sweets, but boycotted sugar as many of his countrymen did because of its connection to slavery. An interesting look at some of the history of sugar from The Economist.
You have until this Friday…
You have until this Friday December 22 at 6 PM PST to donate to Menu for Hope, our food blogging fund raiser for UN World Food Programme. We've raised over $30,000 to date. Instructions here on how to donate, and how to be entered to win the KitchenAid mixer I've donated.
How to deal with the…
How to deal with the traumatizing experience of dining alone and how to cope with the perils of being a giant loser. Buzzfeed indentifies the latest trend of dining alone, and offers links to help you deal. That is, if you want to jump on the trend bandwagon and dine alone.
From the reader mail bag:…
From the reader mail bag:
I was wondering if you have any experience trying to make a good General Tso's sauce for either chicken or tofu. I have done some searching of my own but feel that the recipes seem a little boring. Granted, it is a very generic (though popular) food item on a Chinese menu, but I was just hoping you might have come across a recipe or tried one yourself which made the food a little more exciting. I tend to prefer the sauce a little less sweet as well, but that's just me. Any feedback, advice, or creative thinking would be appreciated if you have the time.
I don't. Does anyone else? I don't do much Chinese cooking at home.