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Updated: 1 week 1 day ago

Chefs on Twitter

Fri, 01/27/2012 - 7:00am
Chefs are tweeting from their kitchens in growing numbers. Whether you love TV show cooks or admire classical chefs, here's a selection of culinary pros you can follow. Which food personalities do you follow on Twitter? (We hope you already follow Epicurious for food news and events.) Grant Achatz Lidia Bastianich Mario Batali Rick Bayless Michelle Bernstein John Besh Anthony Bourdain Michael Chiarello Tom Colicchio Cat Cora Traci Des Jardins Giada De Laurentiis Rocco DiSpirito Todd English Bobby Flay Tyler Florence Madhur Jaffrey Thomas Keller Emeril Lagasse Chef Morimoto Jamie Oliver Jacques Pépin Gordon Ramsay Rachael Ray Eric Ripert Marcus Samuelsson Jacques Torres Alice Waters


Categories: Food News

Super Bowl Menus

Thu, 01/26/2012 - 3:00pm
Super Bowl 46 is a week from Sunday, and to get you in the spirit, we've crafted our annual team menus in honor of the AFC and NFC champs. For the New York Giants, we've designed a mega-meal in honor of Big Blue. Along with New York soft pretzels and city-centric beers, there's appetizer-ready Italian Sausage Rolls, Onion Soup with Gigantic Gruyère Crostini, and a Roast New York Strip Loin that's been loved by our users for years. Finish the game-day spread with a New York classic--Cheesecake. To toast Tom Brady and his New England Patriots, we've put together a Souper Sandwich Sunday, with favorites from the Boston area. New England Clam Chowder leads the charge with Boston Marathon Chili close behind. New England Crab Rolls and Roast Beef Sandwiches with Sweet-and-Sour Red Onions and Blue Cheese put the sandwiches in this Sunday spread. Boston Baked Beans and Boston Cream Pie round out the menu. Pick a soup and sandwich for a smaller gathering, or make the whole spread for your big bash. Wash it all down with a Cape Codder, and root for those Pats! If you're looking for more inspiration, visit our Super Bowl Guide, with everything from meatball recipes to the ultimate chicken wing, as well as tips on pairing beers to game-day grub. (Photo: Sara Bonisteel)


Categories: Food News

At the Chinese Market

Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:00pm
I've never been to China, but I always love checking out Chinatowns whenever possible. Even though I haven't traveled all the way to Asia, these visits feel like a foreign adventure, as many of the products are unfamiliar to me. After checking out Gourmet Lives's Eating Up Asia issue, I realized that there are few more items to add to the list of foods I've yet to try. Chinese okra, for example. What's this? I love the more commonly found okra, but I'm certainly compelled to cook with this variety. And smooth skin mangoes? How have I not eaten every variety of mango out there? So my search begins! I hope that by the end of 2012 I will have eaten all the seven items listed. Have you ever seen or eaten the fruits and veggies mentioned in this piece? (Photo: Josey Miller/Gourmet Live)


Categories: Food News

Chocolates and Edible Gifts for Valentine's Day

Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:02am
Get ready for a serious sugar rush. Valentine's Day, the holiday of chocolate and sugary treats, is fast approaching. To help you pick the best ways to spend your cupid calories, we've rounded up our top picks for boxes, bars, truffles, and hearts. And because a little smoke with your sweet is always welcome, we've also included two porcine-infused nibbles. TCHO San Francisco's TCHO is one of our favorite recent additions to the growing community of American bean-to-bar chocolate companies. And their appropriately named "SeriousMilk" chocolate bars are perfect for sophisticated chocolate lovers who also happen to (gasp!) like milk chocolate. Available in classic (39 percent) or cacao (53 percent), these bars are rich and creamy, and lack the cloying sweetness of many milk chocolates ($11 for two 2-ounce bars). Olive & Sinclair For Valentine's Day, Nashville's Olive & Sinclair is offering their gritty and spicy Mexican style cinn-chili chocolate in 4-ounce hearts ($11). But we also have our eyes on their smoked nib brittle ($18.50 for 5 ounces), which boasts cacao nibs smoked in the wood smokehouse at Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Hams. In case the number of times "smoke" is used in the last sentence didn't quite grab you, let's just say you'll want to give this brittle to the person who prefers bacon to bonbons. Payard Many a chocolatier makes Champagne truffles for Valentine's Day, but our tasters overwhelmingly favored the Champagne Pop Rock truffles from legendary pastry chef Francois Payard ($55 for 24 pieces). More than just a gimmick, the Pop Rocks accentuate the effervescence of the bubbly, and their sweetness mellows the bitterness of the classic truffle shell. The Redhead The Redhead, in New York's East Village, is known for Southern favorites like grits and fried chicken. They're also famous for their bacon peanut brittle, an addictive and crunchy mix of nuts, maple syrup, uncured bacon, and spices. In short: We love it! ($22 per pound) Norman Love Confections Single-origin chocolates have had a lot of buzz in recent years, but they make an excellent gift for choco-files who take their chocolate seriously, and don't like all the fuss of fillings and flavors. If this sounds like you or your lover, the Black collection from Fort Meyers, Florida-based Norman Love Confections, should be on your list. The 5-piece assortment features chocolate from Venezuela, Madagascar, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Our tasters fell for the light softness of the ganache and one compared the Bolivian option to the very best brownie batter. And despite their name, these truffles feature Love's celebrated colorful exteriors ($25 for 10-pieces with two from each origin). Vosges Haut Chocolat Vosges never ceases to impress and this Valentine's Day is no different. Their solid chocolate Milagros are inspired by Mexican folk charms (Milagro means miracle or surprise in Spanish), and showcase Vosges' knack for combining chocolate with unexpected flavors. We sampled the smoked tomato, which pairs earthy, vegetal notes with warm smokiness and a hint of sweetness and crunch from toffee....


Categories: Food News

The Unexpected Guest

Thu, 01/26/2012 - 9:00am
I come from a very hospitable lot of people, who take great pride in their sense of Southern hospitality, but I've never seen the art of hospitality taken to such extremes as they do in France. Many of us today tend to think of the unexpected guest as a hassle, and for the most part, it's because we just aren't prepared for it. My early years in Germany and France taught me much about how to entertain at a moment's notice. I must stress that the art of entertaining the unexpected guest is not in the lavish spread of gourmet foods, but rather found in the heart of the host and the elegance of cooking something with simplicity from that place. The key to conquering the unexpected-guest phobia is to always keep a few things on hand, so that you may best entertain friends with both food and drink. I call it cooking on the fly, using what I have to create both flavorful and memorable meals. It does require a bit of forethought. You should always keep an extra bottle of Champagne in reserve in the refrigerator and red wine in the pantry, along with some high quality pasta. No matter which roast or braise you have left over from various meals throughout the week, it's as easy as can be to create a simple ragout to serve with the pasta. Who among us doesn't love a great pasta dish with a meaty ragout, drizzle of olive oil, fresh herbs, and Parmesan cheese over the top? It's so simple, yet so perfect. OK, if you're pretty sure you can boil water and season to taste, the main course will be a cinch to tackle. The next thing to keep in mind is the an ultra-simple appetizer; get started on it quickly so that you can focus the bulk of your time on the main course. For this, I look to olives for your guests to nibble on while you open a jar of piquillos. Those peppers are just begging to be heated in some great extra-virgin olive oil with crushed red-pepper flakes and thinly sliced garlic. Serve this with a sliced and toasted baguette. I dare you to find a more perfect bite. (Unless, of course, you happen to have a little salami and/or prosciutto around to serve along side.) In no time, you've got two fantastic quick courses, and all you have left to come up with is dessert. Make a fruit crumble and serve it a la mode with some of that amazing ice cream you have in the freezer. Then serve a glass or two of port, Madeira, or better yet, an exceptional eau de vie from the Loire along with those chocolates that you've been saving for just such an occasion. You'll find you've got yourself some satisfied unexpected guests without stressing on what, and how, to cook on the spur of the moment.


Categories: Food News

The Comfort of Food and Drink After 9/11

Thu, 01/26/2012 - 7:00am
It's been long enough after the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11 that I can start thinking about it without all the needless and gaudy pageantry that accompanied it, as long as I avoid a certain schmaltzy and crassly exploitative 9/11 flick. (Full disclosure: Part of the reason I have strong feelings about the way the networks choose to mark the Sept. 11 anniversaries is probably related to my personal experiences on that day. Like other journalists, I was covering the story that day, and I was very close to the towers when they came down.) Now that I can think back about it without media programming in the form of TV tributes, tear-stained anthems and de rigueur speeches from wooden politicians what comes back most isn't the day itself, but the way New Yorkers comforted each other in the aftermath: with food and drink. Down at Ground Zero, places like Bubby's plied hardworking rescue workers with food and water. A little further out, past the police barricades that kept most of the public out, people flocked to bars and bought endless rounds of drinks for New York's Bravest. Like mourners at an Irish wake, we sought out these occasions as a heartbreaking yet heartwarming way to pay tribute to what we'd all lost as a family, and those meals and those drinks provided us with the cover we needed to fool ourselves into thinking we weren't at a funeral. It was the worst thing to ever happen to the city, but it brought New Yorkers together in way nothing else ever could. I've never been part of something quite like it since. And I don't think it would have happened without hot food and cold beers to share with friends and strangers alike. Though I don't spend nearly as much time covering what used to be my main beats, law, politics and crime, the memories of those days after Sept. 11 tell me that writing about food can be just as important. Anyway, that's probably the memory that stands out most when I think of ways food and drink have provided me comfort. How about you? (By the way, those links won't work after Monday.)


Categories: Food News

The World's Most Expensive Hot Dog

Wed, 01/25/2012 - 3:00pm
Economy in trouble? People tightening their belts? Nah, perfect time to unveil the world's most expensive hot dog. Canada's Globe and Mail reported yesterday that DougieDog Hot Dogs in Vancouver is introducing the Dragon Dog, "made with a bratwurst infused with century-old Louis the 13th Cognac, which costs more than $2,000 a bottle." Don't worry. The hot dog only costs $100. As well as the Cognac, the hot dog also contains "Kobe beef seared in olive and truffle oil, fresh lobster, and a secret picante sauce," says the newspaper. Hold the ketchup. Love hot dogs but balk at paying a hundred bucks to enjoy one? We've plenty of delicious hot dog recipes that won't break the bank. Pictured: Cheddar Dogs with Cider-Braised Leeks and Apples (Photo by Kenji Toma)


Categories: Food News

Always Take Restaurant Leftovers: Little Bits Mean a Lot

Wed, 01/25/2012 - 1:00pm
Hope I'm not repeating myself, and hope this actually looks like lunch. But I can't advocate what I call kittybagging enough. The other midday I met a friend at the wondrous Momofuku Ssam, where we split the outstanding fried duck dumplings and then the world-class rotisserie duck. I tried to pace myself because I had a birthday dinner to go to in just a few hours, so there was a fair amount of wondrousness left on the table, and I insisted Wally take it home. The server was happy to pack it up; I know Wally and family were happy to unpack it later. Once upon a time I might have been shy about asking to take the last bite of foie gras or last forkful of halibut. But it's amazing how those little bits can take on a second life the next day. The birthday dinner was at Aldea, where my consort ordered the suckling pig, which was pretty much the whole little beast compacted into essentially a terrine that was then cut into slabs. Even he could only eat about two-thirds of it, so we brazenly asked for the small chunk that was left. And yesterday it was just enough to use instead of sausage in orecchiette with broccoli rabe and garlic for lunch. What would have gone into the trash in the restaurant became the foundation of a whole new meal (complete with a few bites for The Cat, the omnivore with no dilemmas). In New York, everyone kvetches that Mayor Bloomberg has turned the city into a nanny state. But I actually like one of the 600 advisory signs you now see posted in restaurants: Save half for later. Even an eighth will do.


Categories: Food News

A Downton Abbey Dinner

Wed, 01/25/2012 - 9:36am
I share the Downton Abbey obsession that is overtaking Esther Sung and millions more, partly because it's an updated version of an old favorite, Upstairs Downstairs, and partly because it strikes a chord with me: My paternal grandmother was a nanny in a grand old English home when she was young, and my maternal grandfather grew up in a worn but still gracious estate, so I have both the upstairs and the downstairs coursing through my blood. I've planned a Downton Abbey-inspired dinner for this Sunday and invited over a few friends. The menu reflects a more downstairs aesthetic than upstairs, as the servants' fare was less fussy than the gentry's typical items like roast guinea hen with leeks in aspic: Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Rosemary and Stilton Nan's Shepherd's Pie Spinach Gunge Black and Tans Chocolate Biscuit Cake photo courtesy of PBS.org


Categories: Food News

Shakshuka in Marrakech

Wed, 01/25/2012 - 7:00am
There is a vibrancy and excitement to Marrakech that's irresistible. It's a city of contrasts. On one hand, there are the cool refreshing blues and greens of the Jardin Marjorelle (most recently the home of Yves Saint Laurent) and the jazzy tiled floors at the glorious Saadian Tombs set among gardens and greenery. On the other hand, there is the hustle of the souk and the the spectacle that is Djemaa el-Fna, a square that fills nightly with snake charmers, fortune tellers, and street food vendors selling everything from bowls of spicy snails to glasses of orange juice squeezed to order. A huge range of options also exist for dining and accommodations in Marrakech. I stayed at the newly opened and very posh Four Seasons Resort Marrakech. It's set away from the crowds and is a true oasis in the desert. I loved the big rooms and landscaped grounds, but I longed to be closer to the action. If you're looking for a good place to park the kids, have a fine Italian meal or get a massage, you can't go wrong here. On my next trip to Marrakech, I've already booked a room at Le Nid des Cigognes, one of the boutique hotel properties in the Sanssouci Collection of Marrakech riads. While the souk and some major attractions are just outside the walls, inside you can relax in the beauty of traditional Moroccan decor and hospitality. You can also enjoy excellent Moroccan food which I was fortunate enough to experience in November. All the food I had in Marrakech was terrific. The simplest dish that I have duplicated since returning home was something served at breakfast at the Four Seasons, called Shakshuka. Popular in Israel, it surely originated in the Maghreb. My recipe next... Shakshuka 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1/2 onion, minced 1 jalapeno or 1 teaspoon hot pepper paste 2 garlic cloves, finely minced 1 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 4 eggs Heat a 12-inch skillet and add the oil. Saute the onions for a few minutes, until translucent and then add the jalapeno or hot pepper paste and garlic. Stir for one minute, then add the tomatoes and spices and cook, mashing the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. When the sauce has thickened, make four small indentations for the eggs and add the eggs to the sauce. Simmer for a few minutes and cover or broil to cook the tops of eggs to your liking. Serve with bread or toast. My thanks to the Moroccan Tourism Board for hosting me.


Categories: Food News

Menus For the 2012 Oscar Nominees

Tue, 01/24/2012 - 2:46pm
Early this morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the Oscar nominations for 2012 and in what's become an annual Epicurious tradition we created menus inspired by each of the Best Picture nominees. For The Help, we gathered recipes for classic Southern dishes featured in the movie, and Minnie's specialty, chocolate pie. Hugo, a 3-D film that takes place in a Paris train station, gets kid-friendly French fare, while the baseball-focused Moneyball is celebrated with stadium-worthy hot dogs and caramel corn. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close was a tricky one, but with Oskar's multi-borough trek through New York City in mind, our menu brings together the city's diverse cuisines for an "I Love New York" buffet. Below is our complete collection of Best Picture menus. Let us know what you think and what you'll be making on Oscar night. The Artist The Descendants Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close The Help Hugo Midnight in Paris Moneyball The Tree of Life War Horse


Categories: Food News

A Few Tips on Cleaning Your Cast-Iron Skillet

Tue, 01/24/2012 - 1:00pm
When it comes to cleaning certain cooking pans I've always gone to my mom for some answers. I'm not sure what I would do without her advice, but thanks to Bon Ap, I think that I can finally be the source of information when it comes to taking care of a cast-iron skillet (aka my favorite kitchen tool). Read on to find out tips on cast-iron skillet handling. You'll be happy to know that it's not as hard as one might think! Once your pan is ready to cook up a delicious dish, I recommend this Banana Upside Down Cake. It's insane. (Photo: Matt Duckor/Bon Appétit)


Categories: Food News

Store Attacked for Selling Cheap Chocolate

Tue, 01/24/2012 - 9:00am
British supermarket chain Tesco came under attack for slashing the price of chocolate and candy bars the other day. The National Obesity Forum slammed the company, saying it was irresponsible to sell half-price candy when there was such an obesity crisis in the country, reports the Globe and Mail. The story raises a number of interesting questions. Do stores bear some responsibility for what they sell? Should they? Or is this just another manifestation of the invasive reach of the "nanny state"? I've spent a lot of time in West Virginia, visiting towns that have suffered flood damage and don't have a safe public drinking water supply. We've seen soda on sale for so much less than the bottled drinking water that the local people have to buy. It hardly encourages smart shopping choices. Isn't there something wrong with that picture? What do you think? Should stores and manufacturers be more concerned with the health and well-being of their customers? Or is business just business?


Categories: Food News

Homemade Treats by <em>One Girl Cookies</em>

Tue, 01/24/2012 - 7:00am
When I have a hankering for florentines and rainbow cookies, there are several Italian bakeries to choose from in my Brooklyn neighborhood. But when I'm looking for a delicate baked treat to gift (or to fulfill my own yearning), I look to One Girl Cookies (OGC). It's not often that I walk into the serene space but when I do, I know I have some tough decisions to make when standing at the counter. Thankfully, the OGC's owners/bakers, Dawn Casale and David Crofton, have written One Girl Cookies: Recipes for Cakes, Cupcakes, Whoopie Pies, and Cookies from Brooklyn's Beloved Bakery (Potter), which means I won't be holding up the line. Anyone visiting the bakery should expect to be charmed off his/her feet. The turquoise blue walls, old family photos, dainty packaging and presentation, and a surprisingly quiet hum all make OGC a serene space. And what about the baked goods? The standbys are cookies named after women with significance to the owners. In the book, you'll find recipes for Dana (Bittersweet CHocolate Sandwiches Filled with Raspberry Preserves), Alice (Decadent Chocolate Coins), and Sadie (Orange Butter Drops with Shredded Coconut) in the cookbook. Personally, I've been on a macaroon kick so I'm looking to make Sheila (Toasted Almond Coconut Macaroons). You will also find OGC's signature whoopie pies in the book. As a bonus, as if all the sweet and savory recipes weren't enough, Casale and Crofton include recipes for family classics that aren't sold at the bakery like Fig Cookies and Milk Pie. The photos are tantalizing, and the recipes are easy to follow. But I'll be the first to admit: I'm enamoured by the stories of family, tradition, and food that serve as the bakery's foundation. The ties that bind make this book shine. And while it is possible to order and to ship baked goods from One Girl Cookies, there's something to be said about making these recipes yourself for that special someone--even if it is yourself sometimes. Recipes to try: - Old-Fashioned Graham Crackers with Turbinado Sugar - Rich Chocolate Cake with Salty Dulce de Leche & Hazelnut Brittle - Fresh Pumpkin Pie with Salty Roasted Pepitas (Photos: Courtesy of Clarkson Potter)


Categories: Food News

Restaurant Ordering Etiquette

Mon, 01/23/2012 - 2:57pm
This may date me, but I've noticed a jarring trend lately when I eat out in restaurants: People order their food by telling the waiter or waitress, "I'm gonna get ...." Color me old-fashioned, but I was raised to believe that when you ordered in a restaurant, it was important to be extremely polite to the people who were serving you. Ideally, you'd use the subjunctive, as in: "I would like blah blah blah, please." The implication being that your waiter has the option of serving you or not, and you wouldn't presume that he or she is at your beck and call. Or you'd ask: "Could I have the blah blah blah, please?" Once again, the convenient fiction being that you're a guest in the waiter's establishment, and you're hoping that your request wouldn't be too much of an imposition. (Of course, asking, "May I have blah blah blah, please?" is a line reserved for little girls' tea parties nowadays.) But the habit of ordering food by telling the waiter, "I'm going to have X, Y and Z" (which I've only noticed lately but am told people have been saying "for forever") always raises my hackles. It eliminates the pleasant fiction that your waiter is a welcoming host and not someone you're paying to transport food to your table from 20 feet away, one of those common, mutually understood little falsehoods that keeps our society running smoothly. It's also a phrasing that's half a step away from the imperative ("Give me the blah blah blah ..."). And it just sounds rude to me. Am I being too sensitive? What's your ordering etiquette in restaurants?


Categories: Food News

Why Clementines Are Sold in Boxes

Mon, 01/23/2012 - 1:00pm
I'm very glad I was educated before Al Gore invented the internets. I would have missed the wonders of getting lost in dictionaries and encyclopedias and card catalogs and the stacks; I would have been as lazy as I am today. Which is by way of saying I've been wondering lately why you can almost never buy one clementine, why you have to commit to a whole box or, increasingly, a whole bag. But instead of picking up the phone and actually calling a citrus expert, I went straight to Professor Google and immediately found someone who had, Molly Gordy, who's actually a friend of ours. It's not that clementines spoil if separated from the other 30 or so in the package, because they don't once you open that package at home. It's just that one smart guy in Spain came up with a marketing gimmick. He noticed clementines sold really well when boxed with a bow at Christmastime and thought of doing it all season. It's more lucrative for everyone, although growers in South America have jumped on the bag wagon. And now clementines are synonymous with commitment. BTW: I found the answer on the Straight Dope message board, which is pretty entertaining.


Categories: Food News

Food and Drink Festivals This Week

Mon, 01/23/2012 - 9:59am
Wine, oyster, chocolate, and barbecue festivals are on the calendar this week. Here, a selection of events. What's going on where you live? California: ZAP's 21st Annual Zinfindel Festival (Jan. 26-28) Colorado: Beaver Creek Food & Wine Weekend (Jan. 26-28) Florida: Key West Food and Wine Festival (Jan. 26-29) Minnesota: Okanagan Winter Wine Festival (Jan. 27) Oregon: 7th Annual Oregon Truffle Festival (Jan. 27-29) Connecticut: The Sun Winefest '12 (Jan. 27-29) Texas: Texas ZestFest 2012 (Jan. 27-29) New Mexico: The Souper Bowl XVIII (Jan. 28) New York: Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival (Jan. 28) Ontario, Canada: Chocolate and Cheese Contest (Jan. 28) Oregon: Lincoln City Jambalaya Cook-Off (Jan. 28) California: Bring Out the Barrel 2012: Good Wine Hunting (Jan. 28-29) Missouri: 10th Annual St. Louis Food & Wine Experience (Jan. 28-29) South Carolina: 29th Annual Lowcountry Oyster Festival (Jan. 29)


Categories: Food News

Happy New Year!

Mon, 01/23/2012 - 7:00am
Gong xi fa cai! Today marks the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Dragon and to celebrate, we've got a slew of recipes and ideas make today delicious and auspicious. As siblings Mary Kate and Nate Tate told us in the interview for their new book, Feeding the Dragon, today is the day to eat foods steeped in luck. Jiaozi Dumplings, tangerines, and long noodles are among the fare thought to ensure a year of success. Thinking about dim sum today? Our humorous dim sum etiquette guide will help you navigate the food carts. We've also got a dumpling primer with chef Anita Lo, the five tastiest places to eat in Shanghai right now, and three lucky snack recipes, as well as Lunar New Year menus and stories from throughout southeast Asia. Will you be celebrating Chinese New Year today? Tell us about your plans! (Photo: Sara Bonisteel)


Categories: Food News

Tostilocos in Mazatlan

Sat, 01/21/2012 - 7:00am
The city of Mazatlan has a few culinary specialties worth seeking out including asado a la plaza, a kind of beef-and-potato stew served with salad on top and broth on the side; pescado zarandeado, snapper coated in a mayonnaise-based sauce, then grilled; and a very raw, less cured type of ceviche, aguachile, made with local shrimp or scallops. Like most Mexican cities, Mazatlan also has plenty of options for snacking, from ice cream to tacos and smoothies to juices. But the most exciting snack I ate in Mazatlan was called "Tostilocos." It's reminiscent of Indian bhel poori, a sweet savory dish of puffed rice, potatoes, mangos, peanuts, and a tamarind sauce. At a street stand, packages of salsa verde-flavored tortilla chips are slit open and topped with chopped cucumbers, a mixture of minced carrot and fish, cueritos (pickled pig skin), and then drizzled with hot sauce and chamoy, a kind of sour pickled fruity sauce. The combination is sensory overload but in the best possible way. It's spicy, salty, sweet, crunchy, sour, and juicy all at once. Tostilocos also reminded me of another "slice-open-the-bag-of-chips" treat, the Frito Pie, where a bag of Fritos is opened and chili and cheese piled on top of the the chips. It's popular in Texas, which is not surprising since Texans claim both Fritos and chili as their own. There are lots of versions of Tostilocos, some ingredients that get added to the chips include chopped cabbage, diced tomatoes, peanuts, jicama, tamarind, lime juice, bacon, grated dry Mexican cheese. But really, the sky is the limit. I think a DIY version would be fantastic to serve at a Super Bowl party! Here's my basic recipe, but feel free to experiment and create your own. Tostilocos 1 small package tortilla chips (about 2 ounces), preferably salsa verde 3 Tablespoons cucumber, peeled and diced 3 Tablespoon chopped tomatoes 2 Tablespoons jicama, peeled and diced 2 Tablespoon roasted peanuts 1/2 small lime Hot sauce to taste, preferably Mexican Slice the bag of chips open, lengthwise. Open the bag of chips and top with the cucumber, jicama, tomatoes, and peanuts. Squeeze the lime and hot sauce over the toppings and serve.


Categories: Food News

A Wedding Cake (Stamp) From the Postal Service

Fri, 01/20/2012 - 3:00pm
I've never been a big believer in marriage, obviously, although I'm coming around now that it's become a rights issue. But I am a huge believer in the Postal Service, which gets zero tax dollars, so I'm going to plug its latest stamp, this little beauty that has just gone on sale. (And the least crowded post office is online.) It's priced for heavy-duty wedding invitations or announcements (up to 2 ounces). And it's something you don't think of with stamps: A photograph of a real cake (I always envision Pixar-style elves designing away in some studio next to the adhesive stockroom). To give proper credit, it was created by pastry chef Peter Brett and photographed by Renée Comet, both of Washington (nice work if you can get it). The slash through the price here is merely to prevent counterfeiting, BTW. The real deal will be pristine. I'm guessing wedding paperwork remains a good source of revenue for the beleaguered Postal Service. An e-vite seems kind of cheesy, not to mention more ephemeral than even the actual cake. And FedEx will never deliver everywhere in America for 65 cents. Photo copyright 2012 USPS


Categories: Food News