Satin Black, Biscuit Cream: A Writer's Blog

Paula's Southern Thanksgiving Turducken

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:41:00 +0000

It's that time again, and my favorite "Hey, yawwwl!" drawling, down home girl, Paula Deen (with the aid of her ever supportive hubby, Michael), shows you how to prepare Turducken. So make that all-important trip to the poultry counter at your favorite supermarket for the three main ingredients (that'd be a whole turkey, whole duck, and whole chicken, all gutted and semi-boneless, of course), and watch Paula show you how it's done in this video clip:

The Imperfect Match

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:47:00 +0000

The rather old (yet totally accepted) belief that red wine is not to be paired with seafood is nearly a religious dogma among connoisseurs.

Their reasoning is that the combination usually results in a strong and unpleasant fishy aftertaste. The traditional explanation for the "bad" pairing is based on the presence of tannins—the chemicals that make red wines taste dry and cause the mouth to pucker. Yet, every now and again, a tannin-rich red wine that does go well with seafood turns up. Even though which wines can manage this pairing, and why, has remained a mystery that even the best-trained sommeliers do not understand.

So, a bit "stumped" over this little wine-and-fish quandary yourself? Then trust me, you're not alone.

Read more here

Nation Of Food Bigots?

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:41:00 +0000

In an interesting opinion column published on CNN's website, Ruben Navarrette Jr. addresses "food racism" relating to a controversial statement made by ESPN sportscaster, Bob Griese, regarding Latino NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya. When fellow analyst Chris Spielman asked where was Montoya, Griese replied he was "out having a taco." And I think this is where I'll also point out that Montoya happens to be of Colombian... (not Mexican) heritage.

Griese has since been suspended by ESPN for one week, as well as having rendered an apology for the remark. And when asked about the comment, Montoya immediately and very succinctly rose above it all, stating: "Somebody mentioned it to me. I don't really care to tell you the truth. Yeah, I don't. I could say that I spent the last three hours eating tacos, but I was actually driving a car."

In any case, watch this following video clip -- and you decide.

Tempest (or in this particular case...taco) in a teapot? Or, are we indeed becoming a nation of cultural "food bigots," as the above opinion column might suggest?

Cookbook Sales On The Rise

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:58:00 +0000

Not only is Ruth Reichl's Gourmet Today selling better than her 2006 Gourmet Cookbook, it seems that interest in both cookbooks have increased dramatically, since news of the shut down of Gourmet Magazine earlier this month.

Could it be the start of a post "foodie magazine" trend? (Sure hope so, cookbook shelf enthusiast... that I am.)

Anyway, read more about it here at Eater.

Cook Or Be Cooked By Wii

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:56:00 +0000

The Food Network is making a game out of teaching you how to cook.

No, really.

Coming November 3, 2009 is the Food Network's Cook or Be Cooked video game by Namco for the Nintendo Wii ($39.99, preorder at Amazon ). This new cooking video game offering also appears to be a more "professional" version of the Cooking Mama series of games.

That said, I totally agree that it really couldn't get any cheesier than the obvious train derailment that was Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine for Wii. Oh, well. Cookbooks and their hallowed kitchen cookbook shelves...be damned.

In any event, catch a sneak peek at how to: "Flip, chop, slice, and dice your way to the table!" in this nifty (yet also slightly cheesy) Food network Cook Or Be Cooked trailer:

Twitter Wine (For Reading Sake)

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:51:00 +0000

In collaboration with the San Francisco-based wine-making enthusiasts, Crushpad, Twitter is launching its own brand of wine -- for a literary cause.

The wines (pinot noir and chardonnay) will carry the the label "Fledgling Wines," and a portion of proceeds from sales will go to support Room to Read, a literacy organization.

There's a website with more details and how to purchase the wine (and how to start a twitter account too @fledgling).

"Because if you can't read you can't Tweet!" say founders Biz Stone & Evan Williams in promoting their philanthropic effort.

Then again, it also begs the question: If I had the "Room to Read" (so to speak), when would I have the time... to Twitter? This, in addition to Twitter's own notable contibutions to literacy, of course, in the forms of: LOL, OMG and How r u tday?

Hmmm.

Jonathan Safran Foer: Eating Animals...Not

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:15:00 +0000

This Sunday's New York Times Magazine "food issue" showcases one of my favorite modern-day fiction authors, Jonathan Safran Foer , on not eating meat, in an excerpt from his upcoming book titled, Eating Animals, which has a scheduled release date in November 2009.

Makes for some truly interesting (as well as reminiscent) reading, especially, how he depicts his grandmother as the family's kitchen "Sentinel" while growing up. Like so many mothers and grandmothers we remember from those years, she was the one who was so consumed by the masterful meal she had created -- that in most cases it had already filled her stomach to the proverbial "brim," so that there was no desire on her part to eat another bite.

Memories.... (Even, if it probably has very little to do with the "key" focus of Foer's new non-fiction book, which explores his own personal eating habits, overall.)

In any event, I'm really looking forward to this new one from Foer, who made me an instant fan with his offbeat and quirky runaway debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated.

Emotional Dinners

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:03:00 +0000

We've all probably had at least one (if not more) emotional memories of some of the most meaningful meals we've ever eaten. And over at Epicurious this week, Editor in chief Tanya Steel interviewed chef Daniel Boulud in the kitchen of their Entertains NYC pop-up event. There, Boulud describes the "emotional" dinners that have impressed him most in his career.

Interesting (as well as heartwarming) stuff. Especially the story of a retiring chef who signed his chef coat and gave it to Boulud as a memento of the event.

Catch a peek at the video clip here

Trouble "Brews" In The Pairing Of Wine and Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:26:00 +0000

Pictured above: A recent beer-and-cheese pairing class at the
Slow Food association's Cheese 2009 festival in Bra, Italy.

The combination has long been a staple in Belgian cuisine, but in recent years, the pairing of beer and cheese has gained legitimacy even in wine-obsessed Italy -- where beer is hardly the default drink to accompany fine dining.

And here in New York, at gourmet beer spots such as the Beer Table, serving cheese with a $10 brew -- no longer raises an eyebrow. According to sources: "People are struck by how easily the two go together."

Read more about what the Wall Street Journal had to say about this new pairing here
(Hmmm... An actual "class" over in Italy on this? When I'm sure some of the good folks in my favorite watering hole in beautiful, downtown NYC, could probably have…oh, well, never mind.)

But Is It Really?

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:49:00 +0000

Ever wonder if that cup of decaf you just ordered at your local diner -- was really decaf? Or, just the same old cup of over-caffeinated java they serve everybody?

Well, no matter what some of us may think, you can’t tell by looking, or even tasting. And studies have shown that up to 30% of decaf coffees ordered at coffee houses and restaurants contain unacceptably high levels of caffeine, or aren't really decaf at all.

But now the good folks over at Spoon Sisters have stepped in with these nifty little tester strips, that will help you determine whether your coffee or tea is really decaf.

Just drop in a strip, and find out whether you've been truly decaffed -- or totally put on caffeine overload.

And only $9.95 for a pack of 20 strips. Love it!

Caught, Bare-handed

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:02:00 +0000

Over at the Food Section blog, is a post about the irony of the new cookbook from "Top Chef" alum Fabio Viviani, and the likeness of the book's images to a photo from another chef cookbook.

The above image of Ludovic Lefebvre (left) from his cookbook Crave is strikingly similar to that of Viviani (right) in his new book: hunky bad boy chef dude trampling through the waters with rock-solid abs and rolled up jeans -- seemingly snatching two giant fish from the water with nothing but bare hands.

But back in 2005, staff writer, Leslie Brenner, went fairly giddy and ga-ga over the photo of Lefebvre on the pages of the Los Angeles Times: "Look at him, emerging from the surf like a chef-Adonis, kelp fairly dangling from his biceps. He caught those big fish with his bare hands!"

(But honest, folks...she really did hold on to that edition of the LA Times Food Section all these years for the recipes. Honest, she really, really did.)

In any case, hot bods, badassed tattoos, and bare-handed fishing...oh, my!

Which truly begs the question: At this rate, who needs fishing poles?

Who, indeed.

A Meal Fit For A Critic

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:44:00 +0000

Finally out this week, is the trailer for Bitter Feast, an upcoming low-budget horror film about a chef who takes revenge on a food critic, already being tagged as a horror flick for the "latent" foodie in all of us. Mario Batali (not featured in the trailer) plays the owner of the restaurant.

Merciless editors and book critics -- please also feel free to take note. Bwahahahaahaa!

Catch a glimpse here

Kitchen Gadgetry: Alton's Judgment Calls

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:24:00 +0000

One of my favorite food nerds (even by his own admission) is the well-known Food Nertwork TV host, Alton Brown. One part chef, one part "Bill Nye the Science Guy" of the kitchen, he's also well-known for his disdain toward spending money on "unitaskers" and other kitchen gadgets, when you can just as easily (and far more cheaply) get by with what's around the house.

In any case, over at the Gizmodo Gadget Blog this week, from stick blenders to melon ballers, Alton gives a detailed rundown on the kitchen aids he feels are useful, and those that are a waste of time, as well as your money. And topping his list of time wasters, are two of my own personal pet peeves -- as well.

Ice Cream Maker

• I don't have a lot of reasons for a regular ice cream maker. Good continuous-churn models are expensive, $800 to $1000. Frozen core models are messy—you have to store them in the freezer, and you're always losing parts. I don't have any great need for that.
If I didn't have access to liquid nitrogen, maybe I would. Maybe I could use one for something other than ice cream that I haven't thought up yet.

Garlic Press

• There is absolutely no reason for a garlic press to exist. It is utterly completely magnificently useless.

Amen, Alton.

Read more here

White House Fruits and Veggies

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:54:00 +0000

President Barack Obama visiting the farmer's market in Greensboro, N.C. last summer.

According to remarks made by President Barack Obama at yesterday's Organizing for America health care forum, the creation of a small farmer's market is being considered just outside of the White House:

"So, you know, Michelle set up that garden in the White House. One of the things that we're trying to do now is to figure out, can we get a little farmer's market outside of the White House -- I'm not going to have all you all just tromping around -- (laughter) -- but right outside the White House so that we can -- and that is a win-win situation. It gives suddenly D.C. more access to good, fresh food, but it also is this enormous potential revenue maker for local farmers in the area. And those kids of connections can be made all throughout the country and has to be part of how we think about health."

Enterprising. Now along with local D.C. farmers...if we could just focus on some potential revenue for "everyone" by putting millions of Americans back to work....

You know, by putting a paycheck in their direct deposit accounts again, as well as a few dollars in their pockets to pay these local farmers at this new White House market?

Much good, wholesome food for thought, wouldn't you say, Mr. President?

Julia and Jacques

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:45:00 +0000

With all the recent success of the fantastic new movie, Julie and Julia, featuring Meryl Streep as my goddess, the late great Julia Child, I just want to remind all of you that one of the greatest "pairings" of chefs was the match up between Julia Child and master French chef Jacques Pépin.

And along these same lines, a simply must-have for your cookbook shelf is Cooking at Home by Jacques and Julia. The book, released in 1999 was (and is) the companion volume to Julia Child and Jacques Pépin's PBS TV series of the same name.

Julia Child often defended some of her trademark dishes, that people over the years have touted as extremely "high" in fat content...and not very slimming. According to my dear Julia's words:

"The only key to your weight issues...is choosing your grandparents more carefully."

Miss you, Julia.

And check out the absolutely sinful mashed white and orange (sweet) potatoes she and Jacques whip up toward the end of this video clip.

Good Lord!

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service...Baby?

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:28:00 +0000

Hello, all. I'm back.

And yes, the summer so far...has been great. Barbeque, barbeque, and more barbeque... 'nuff said. Wildwood Barbeque here in beautiful downtown NYC, you ROCK. Talk about getting totally sauced? Yowsa!

But now that I'm back check this one out.

Ripe for my "Come on…Are You Kdding Me?" file, is this recent happening from the good folks (or should I say fast food Nazis…er, um…"engineers") at a local Burger King in St. Louis, Missouri.

It seems that like most restaurants, the Burger King in a St. Louis suburb has a no shoes, no shirt, no service policy. And baby, do they enforce it. Too much so, the company admitted, after apologizing for restaurant workers who asked a mother to leave because her 6-month-old wasn't wearing shoes.

Jennifer Frederich, her mother and Frederich's infant daughter, Kaylin, stopped at the Burger King in Sunset Hills on Sunday. The baby was shoeless - Frederich figured tiny baby feet were immune from the rule.

But workers told the family to leave because the shoeless baby was violating a health code. In fact, shoelessness is not a health code violation in St. Louis County.

Frederich told KTVI-TV that she and her mother ate hurriedly and left before they could be kicked out. Frederich did not have a listed phone number, and The Associated Press could not reach her for comment.

Burger King released a statement Thursday indicating workers had taken the no shoes, no service policy too far.

Um...yeah?

In any event, read more here

Taking A Break

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:39:00 +0000

I'll be resting my pen for a while, in order to catch up on some summer fun, food and enjoyment while it lasts. Let's face it, we'll all be shoveling out from under mega-mounds of snow here in New York again -- before you know it.

Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of your lazy days of summer, and see you soon.

Hummus...or Hamas?

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:56:00 +0000

Isn't Pita The Real Enemy?

Here's a clip from the new movie "Brüno," where Brüno a.k.a. Sacha Baron Cohen (and Borat in yet another life incarnation) confuses Hamas with a certain Middle Eastern puréed bean dish.

Who knows? Maybe food can really bring peace among nations. (At least it's got them sitting down at a table with Brüno …and talking about it.)

Stay tuned….

Fill Your Cup

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:48:00 +0000

Or not...depending on how you look at photographer Annie Leibovitz's new collaboration with Lavazza. (Jeez, you can "barely" see the demi-tasse cup in the model's hand in the picture above.) It's a 2009 calendar and marketing campaign that features scantily clad women lusting for (get this) . . . coffee.

Leibovitz's photos feature models in various poses in Italian locales, mainly holding demitasse cups filled with espresso. There's a photo of woman "baring all" in a plate of tossed noodles (above), a frolic in the Trevi Fountain, and a rather strange recreation of Romulus and Remus suckling from a highly caffeinated model/she-wolf.

See more images of how Annie and Lavazza keep things brewing at lavazza2009.com.

Le Chocolat Goes Postal

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:48:00 +0000

Blogger and author David Lebovitz tells us this week about these new chocolate stamps that are being printed by La Poste, the French postal service.

Unlike those popular Chinese Year of the Pig stamps (which were touted to taste like sweet and sour pork, but by all accounts...kinda didn't), Lebovitz writes that these stamps really are scented (with the aroma of chocolate).

A set of 10 stamps -- which come in a booklet made to resemble a chocolate bar -- is 8.5 € over at La boutique web du timbre.

Interested? Why not? These chocolatey-good stamps can also be purchased online and shipped to the U.S.

Five Meals, Ten Ingredients

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:47:00 +0000

Right now, go and take a quick peek inside your fridge. Think you can do it? Well, in this video clip, Mark Bittman food writer and and author of How To Cook Everything shows you just how easy it is. (Love that shrimp and asparagus pasta dish!)

So watch here as he shows you exactly how to stock your pantry -- and make five (yes, count them...FIVE) dishes from the 10 average ingredients you should have on hand.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

NYC Food Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:01:00 +0000

I'm off to the third annual NYC Food Film Festival this evening here in NYC. And, if you happen to be a foodie living in or around the NYC area, it pays to hop on down to the Astor Center today, or one of two other NY area locations through June 19th.

The complete food movie schedule lists at least several dozen films. From the inspiring -- to probably the slightly ridiculous, some of these movie titles (such as "Buttermilk: It Can Help" and "Mutton: The Movie") have totally peeked my interest, and I've gotta check it out this year, for sure.

Have a quick peek at the event's official trailer here:

2009 NYC Food Film Festival Trailer from George Motz on Vimeo.

Spherical Ice

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:31:00 +0000

This month, New York's B Flat Restaurant's drink mixologist, Takaaki Hashimoto, is giving a video demo on Star Chefs where he demonstrates how to carve jewel-shaped and spherical ice, just like the ones on New York Magazine's slideshow of the city’s best cubes. (Yes, folks...there seems to be a definite "art" to sculpting ice cubes, obviously stretching far and beyond those dinky little trays in our refrigerator freezers.)

By using only a few extra-sharp sushi knives and bare hands to shape a frosty slab of ice, Hashimoto makes the round "jewel" cut look especially easy.

Then again, given the sharp blades (and bare fingers) involved here, I really wouldn't suggest trying it -- at home.

But on the other hand, if you really think you've got the ice sculpting "cojones" -- the end result might wind up looking as gorgeous as this:

Food and Family vs. Twitter and Texting

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:40:00 +0000

I've seen it, as recently as this past week, when a friend offered me a lift and her two young daughters were text messaging each other -- in the back seat of the car -- seated right next to each other.

But these days, the phenomenon of "texting" has also found its way to family dinner tables, including important holiday meals such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, breaking the fast on Yom Kippur, Passover -- you name it.

According to Emily Post’s great-granddaughter, Cindy Post Senning, it's called texting anarchy, and "People are texting everywhere," she says.
Husbands, wives, children and dinner guests who would never be so rude as to talk on a phone at the family table seem to think it’s perfectly fine to text (or e-mail, or Twitter) while eating.

But Dr. Post Senning says that it's not perfectly fine. Not at all. So new is the problem that her latest book, Emily Post’s Table Manners for Kids (HarperCollins, 2009), written with Peggy Post, covered it only generally, in a blanket ruling: "Do NOT use your cell phone or any other electronic devices at the table."

Works for me, Cindy.

Read more here

Zip Code Winery?

noreply@blogger.com (H.G. Dowdell) — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:02:00 +0000

Yep, seems it's a new term for a winery whose vineyards may be located in one place, but seeks to associate itself with another area.

In a profile of wine mogul, Fred Franzia, the May 18, 2009 issue of The New Yorker describes how Franzia's popular "cheapie" Charles Shaw wine, also known as Two Buck Chuck at Trader Joe's, gains from the prestige associated with the Napa Valley wine region -- where it is bottled -- even though it is made from grapes grown in vineyards in California's less desirable Central Valley.

Although Charles Shaw wine falls under the generic California branding, it can legitimately be labeled "Cellared & Bottled by Charles Shaw Winery, Napa, CA," a practice that strikes many in Napa as a bit unsavory. "It’s called a Zip Code winery," Vic Motto, a business adviser to Napa Valley wineries, says. "The unsuspecting consumer may not realize it’s not Napa wine."

This sort of reminds me of the rumored waters from the French Alps -- which actually start out from a kitchen tap somewhere in The Bronx. On the other hand, the "bottling" is probably happening in The Bronx too...but you get the idea.

Anyway, if you'd like to know a little more about zip code wine processing, read more here