A few of the best stories spied elsewhere on the Web this week:
Learn some new holiday cooking and baking skills with this roundup of Thanksgiving cooking classes across the nation.
Not surprisingly, an Aloha, Ore., man was fined $300 for calling 911 to complain about his botched McDonald's drive-through order.
Design icon Isaac Mizrahi will sell tartan-topped cheesecakes from Junior's on QVC in early December.
Los Angeles' popular Kogi Korean Taco Truck gets a tricked out Toyota Scion Kogi xD Mobile Kitchen that's fully loaded with a grill, a sink and an Alpine Sound System.
Restaurant consulting firm Baum + Whiteman released its 2010 food and dining trend forecast, which claims "fried chicken is the new pork belly."
Former New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni sold the TV rights to his memoir, "Born Round."
Nostalgia abounds as the reality sinks in that Gourmet magazine is really gone: We'll never receive another issue in the mail. We'll never have another opportunity to crack the glossy binding holding together a new month's culinary content.
We're still adjusting to the news and no doubt you are, too. Check out this poignant photographic essay from Kevin DeMaria, the former associate art director of the magazine. It documents the offices, common areas and test kitchen of the magazine as staffers were looking back, packing up and moving out.
A few of the best stories spied elsewhere on the Web this week:
Much to the dismay of the meat industry, the Baltimore Public School System has instituted Meatless Mondays on the lunch line in an effort to reduce students' intake of cholesterol and saturated fats.
Building on the success of "Top Chef," Bravo plans to launch "Top Chef: Just Desserts," a competitive show for pastry chefs. They have yet to release the planned panel of judges or the host.
Jelly Belly announced a new line of beverages called Jelly Belly Gourmet Soda to be sold in 4-packs in popular jelly-bean flavors Sour Cherry, Lemon Drop, Crushed Pineapple and Blueberry.
Still looking for Halloween costume inspiration? Check out this slideshow of celeb chefs and dress accordingly -- will you choose tattooed arms or the traditional chef's coat?
A few of the best stories spied elsewhere on the Web this week:
Bravo announces that "Top Chef Masters'" will be renewed for a second season, this time with the addition of Food & Wine's Gail Simmons to the judges' table.
Chicago pizza lover Craig Scharoff takes a bet to eat only sausage pizza for one month and, with a little over a week left, Scharoff has actually lost a few pounds, owing to the fact that he no longer eats his kids' leftovers.
We know you'll be lining up for the Heston Blumenthal-endorsed SousVide Supreme, the first to market sous vide machine for the ambitious home cook who can't live without the tender texture and flavor the cooking method yields.
In surprising and annoying study news, researchers found that in addition to red wine, prolonged contact with white wine erodes tooth enamel -- making teeth more sensitive to cold, hot and sweet food, as well as staining. Even more surprising is that brushing teeth after drinking white wine worsens the damage.
The new edition of classic cooking tome "Larousse Gastronomique" arrives in stores with a thud, weighing in at eight pounds and 1,206 pages, with updates from avant-garde chefs such as Ferran Adria and Thomas Keller along with recipes for traditional French dishes like crepes suzettes.
Expat foodies have been known to sniff out American favorites in every corner of the world, whether it's bagels, burgers or cupcakes. According to a review we read, even in China, it looks like a seriously good American burger can be had at Bistro Burger. Made from 100-percent Angus beef, imported from the States and ground on the premises, this Shanghai burger has the potential to be better than most you'd get in the U.S. We don't know what the meat to fat ratio is, but we'd be willing to try them regardless.
In addition to ordering a variety of international themed burgers, homesick visitors and expats can take advantage of the restaurant's October promotion, where they can "get a free milkshake with any burger." Apparently, authentic milkshakes are a big deal in these parts, due to the fact that many are made with ultrapasteurized or nonperishable milk, whereas Bistro Burger uses the fresh stuff.
The review also raves about the eatery's chili cheese fries, pronouncing them the "best" in Shanghai, as well as homemade apple pie packed with honest-to-goodness imported U.S. apples and Brooklyn beer. Who says you can't find the comforts of home halfway round the world?
Not sure which new cookbooks are worth investing in this year? Take the guesswork out of your decision and follow along with food52'sTournament of Cookbooks. The competition -- run by this new home-cooking Web site's founders (former New York Times food editor Amanda Hesser and food writer Merrill Stubbs) -- pits 16 of this year's best books against each other, to be cooked from and judged by 17 venerable chefs and food writers.
Tournament rounds will play out over the course of 4 weeks, with a decision announced every weekday beginning Wednesday. For the first challenge in the bracket, "My New Orleans," by John Besh was bested by "Real Cajun," by Donald Link, as judged by Daniel Patteron. The winning book will take home the first Piglet trophy and be feted at the Astor Center in New York City on Nov. 9, 2009.
After the jump, see list of the cookbooks and judges in play. ...
Anthony Bourdain.
Photo: New York City
Wine & Food Festival.
When we got our hands on a coveted ticket to the Frank Bruni/Anthony Bourdain TimesTalks event, we were psyched to attend. What could be more fun than witnessing the outgoing New York Times restaurant critic participating in a culinary spar with the preeminent enfant terrible of the chef world?
Not surprisingly, Bourdain is a natural and answered practically every Bruni question with a clever, brutally honest quip. Bruni began by inquiring about one of the more unusual things he had seen Bourdain eat on his Travel Channel show, "No Reservations." The delicacy in question was a warthog's rectum. After firing off a few expletives, Bourdain admitted that while he was eating the warthog delicacy, he knew he was "in trouble," adding he humbly tries to eat everything that people around the globe offer him.
"Where we're going is based on directors we like and want to dupe," Bourdain said of the show. "We want to make something along the lines of films we admire." Of course, he capped the exchange off with a self-mocking, "But, it's all about me in the end."
More Americans are starting small farms, sometimes called 'hobby' or 'lifestyle' farms, which provide much of the food found at the nation's farmers' markets and roadside stands.
Le Bernardin reservations out of your reach? Chef Eric Ripert launched a wine club, giving the average Joe access to his vino-expertise and recipe pairings to use at home.
Imagine you're at your desk and the 4 p.m. munchies strike. You walk over to the vending machine and are faced with chips, soda or freshly customized ice cream from the MooBella machine. Disaster or delight? Probably both.
With 96 possible variations, based on 12 flavors, 3 mix-ins (candy, cookies, etc.) and two varieties (premium and light), it will take a while to get bored. Variations include pistachio chip and mocha cookie. The company says the 100-percent all natural dairy ingredients are shelf stable until mixed and flash frozen right inside the machine. Will this strange and mysterious process yield a deliciously creamy frozen treat or one that's slightly off?
The first machine is located at Northeastern University, but 100 are scheduled to be installed throughout New England in the near future. We'd love to hear from anyone who's tried the stuff. Spill it in the comments!
Just when you thought fondue was any combination of melted cheese bubbling away in a pot, along comes the Swiss government with their strict rules and regulations. Not that we're surprised -- a country known for its precision and design sense would naturally prefer to mandate the definition of exactly what goes into the pot.
According to the Canadian Press, a new national cookbook, "The Swiss Cookbook," put out with the help of the country's tourism agency defines the recipe as a mix of "only Vacherin and Gruyere cheeses mixed with Fendant wine and a dash of kirsch (cherry) schnapps." The book even includes instructions on the proper way to eat the fondue, including stirring tips and what to drink with the dish. Aside from the classic fondue recipe, the book packs more than 140 national dishes for rib-sticking mountain fare.
With more upscale restaurants open for breakfast, doughnuts are popping on many of their menus.
Celebrity chefs, including Guy Fieri, Paula Deen and Anthony Bourdain, hit the road like rock stars on tour.
A Sydney restaurant has been fined for topless food handlers, just one of many food safety infractions on New South Wales Government's Name and Shame Web site.
Today's the day to skip burgers and bacon -- it's World Vegetarian Day! Slashfood is celebrating the beginning of vegetarian-awareness month with lots of posts highlighting the best in fruits and veggies. They'll be a few roundups that aren't all-veg, but barring those, we're bringing you meat-free fare all day long. Check back here for posts on vegan wine, the best in vegetarian cookbooks and food festivals, plant-based recipes and more.
What happens when the best French and American chefs of the moment converge on New York City for a weekend of casual culinary madness, all in the name of charity?
It's called Le Fooding D'Amour Paris-New York. The two-day event took place in Long Island City, N.Y. at the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center and included tasting stations by David Chang (Momofuku), Wylie Dufresne (WD~50), Yves Camdeborde (Le Comptoir du Relais), Sean Rembold (Diner), William LeDeuil (Ze Kitchen Galerie), Christophe Pelé (Bigarrade) and more.
Slashfood attempted to try as many of the dishes on offer as possible, considering the long, snaking lines and lack of lighting at the outdoor venue.
A few of the best stories spied elsewhere on the Web this week:
Grillwalkers are the newest street-food trend in Germany. Vendors with propane canisters strapped to their backs and grills suspended from their necks sell freshly grilled sausages to passersby.
U.K. man finds an apple that's perfectly split, half green and half red. Experts say that the odds of finding an apple with such perfect symmetry are more than 1 million to one.
Nationwide, restaurants participate in Share Our Strength's Great American Dine Out to benefit child hunger through Sep. 27.
Someone left a bacon bookmark in a U.K. library book; it was found by a librarian/artist who added it to his collection of quirky items left in returned books.
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