Serious Eats |
- Our Favorite Bites from the East LA Meets Napa Charity Food Festival
- Bake the Book: Cold Sweat (Chile, Ginger, and Lemongrass Ice Cream)
- Fast Food International: Dutch-Chinese Wok to Walk Comes to Times Square
- Hot Slaw Dogs
- San Francisco: Great Beer and Bad Burgers at Rogue Ales Public House
- The Vegetarian Option: Tomate et Basilic Galette at Toni Patisserie & Café
- The Best Places to Drink Outdoors in Seattle, WA
- 14 Summer Fruit Ice Creams We Love
- My Pie Monday: Bacon-Fig Pizza, Chicago-Style Deep Dish, and More!
- Corn Week: Grilled Corn with Spicy Chili Mayo, Coconut, and Fish Sauce
- NYC Cooking Classes to Take this Week and Beyond
- 14 Summer Salads
- Cronuts: The Craze Hits Cincinnati
- 33 Cheap Eats We Love in Logan Square
- Cocktail Science: All About Foams
| Our Favorite Bites from the East LA Meets Napa Charity Food Festival Posted: 22 Jul 2013 12:52 PM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: Our Favorite Bites from the East LA Meets Napa Charity Food Festival [Photographs: Farley Elliot] Most Mexican food events in Los Angeles are, frankly, inelegant affairs. Yes, you'll find some of the city's best tacos, endless piles of tamales or any number of Oaxacan specialties. But they're almost always served in a parking lot, under a few pop up tents, or dotted across a patchy lawn somewhere. East L.A. Meets Napa is different. It's classy. But don't think for a second that it doesn't offer some of the city's best moles, cocteles, stewed meats and other finger-licking grub. This is, after all, still a Mexican food festival. The annual wine and food charity event is held at downtown's historic Union Station, in the meandering pathways and tiled corridors that run along the transit point's western edge. There are fountains, a small open air plaza for music and lots of space to nibble on food, sip wine, and generally enjoy a temperate summer night. The serving table at La Huasteca The pricey fête—tickets start at $200 and rise quickly—draws all manner of politicians, celebrities, and serious food hounds, dressed in their best and raising money for AltaMed, a community-focused health care organization that provides core services in traditionally underserved parts of Southern California. All in all, more than 60 vendors converged on the beautiful outdoor space on Friday night, from California wine bigwigs like J. Lohr and Chateau de Vie to Ensenada vintners like Hacienda La Lomita. L.A.'s many-varied Mexican food experiences were well represented, with grilled shrimp from Chichen Itza, the heavenly mole from Rocio's Mole de los Dioses, sweet treats from Carnitas Uruapan and signature dishes from longtime locals like El Cholo and Manuel's El Tepayec. See our favorite bites from this year's East LA Meets Napa event » About the author: Farley Elliot is a freelance writer and comedian living in Los Angeles. He maintains a weekly taco column for SeriousEats.com, as well as a weekly alcohol events column for KCET.org. He also blogs about burgers, comedy shows and holds celebrity interviews for LAist.com and the Earwolf podcast network.        |
| Bake the Book: Cold Sweat (Chile, Ginger, and Lemongrass Ice Cream) Posted: 21 Jul 2013 06:57 PM PDT [Photograph: Anders Schonnemann] When the heat is this high, turn it down with a cold burn. The Ice Creamists' takes the spice of chili, the bite of ginger, and the zest of lemongrass and blends it up with sweetened cream. Tips: For instructions on how to make this ice cream without an ice cream maker, see the "Tweaks" section of the Gin & Tonic Sorbetto post. Tweaks: The suggestion to serve this in a cone isn't random—the spiciness of the ice cream begs for a contrast in texture. If you don't have cones at the ready, crumbled cookie or cone pieces will do well. A simple chocolate cookie works. As always with our Bake the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of The Ice Creamists to give away. Get the Recipe!    |
| Fast Food International: Dutch-Chinese Wok to Walk Comes to Times Square Posted: 22 Jul 2013 09:36 AM PDT [Photographs: Krista Garcia] Country of origin: The Netherlands If there is any doubt that New Yorkers love lining up for food—cronut mania is still going strong two months out—there was a line out the door and winding around the corner of newly opened Wok to Walk even though I waited until 2 p.m. in hopes of beating the lunch rush. It would be safe to assume that no one was there to satisfy an urge for fried rice that only a Dutch stir-fry on demand chain could provide. More likely, this was a case of chasing the new and a crowd fueling interest. (Despite reports of this being the United States' first branch, there was a location on University Place that lasted from 2008-2011.) The concept is straightforward. You can choose from four noodles and two types of rice that come with default chopped cabbage, broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts, and egg for $5.50. Extras come at a price, ranging from 50 cents for toppings like cilantro or peanuts to $2.50 for steak or shrimp. Lastly, you pick from eight sauces, some as simple as oyster sauce or teriyaki. Things can add up quickly, though two mix-ins will keep the total under $10. Two woks could barely keep up with the stream of mostly patient customers (two dropped off in the 20-minute wait). Perhaps some of the appeal is that the food is fresher than at the steam table joints that fill the gap between Times Square and the Garment District. Whole grain rice was my poor attempt at mitigating the effects of a big box of starch. It didn't quite succeed, plus brown rice isn't as absorbent as white, so the overall effect was soupy instead of seared. Shrimp and pineapple make a good pairing with the coconut curry Bangkok sauce ($9.30) that turned out spicier than expected. (One upside to the long line is that you can take your time strategizing flavor combinations.)
Egg noodles with pork, bok choy, and Hot Asia sauce ($9.30) taught three lessons: noodles are the more sensible and tastier choice, there is no reason to ladle wet sauces on stir-fried rice, and don't order pork expecting char siu or even sliced loin. Pork means chopped pieces of fatty bacon, which the cashier will warn you about beforehand. In addition to soy sauce and now-standard Sriracha, there were also jars of chopped Thai chilies, a nice touch. Don't go too wild, though. Biased by the triple whammy of a chain restaurant, touristy location, and a preconceived notions about Dutch food being bland, I didn't trust that my food would actually be spicy. Don't make the same mistake. Wok to Walk makes a respectable enough carton of noodles, but it's not a destination. After the lines abate it will stand in competition from neighboring international chain Go Go Curry and New Li Yuan, the dirt cheap Chinese restaurant that's perpetually in trouble with the Health Department and changing its name. Poor marks or not, its noodles are only $4.50. About the author: Krista Garcia is a freelance writer and reformed librarian. Being obsessed with chain restaurants and Southeast Asian food, she would have no problem eating laska in Elmhurst and P.F. Chang's crab rangoon in New Jersey on the same day. She blogs at Goodies First.    |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2013 12:23 PM PDT [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] They always say living in the summertime is easy. Same goes for recipe development. Summer recipes tend to fall into two buckets: simply prepared fresh produce and backyard classics. So what makes recipe writing easy? Because if you pick any two things from within the same bucket, chances are the flavors and the spirit are going to go well together. Case in point: cole slaw and hot dogs. We were in the midst of our hot dog bun face-off last week in which we served a side of hot dog bites to act as accompaniment to the buns. Meanwhile, fresh off the heels of a couple weeks of testing cole slaw, there were several quarts of the stuff left in the refrigerator and placed on the staff table every day for folks to help themselves. During the taste test, Ben casually mentioned that slaw dogs were his favorite way to eat hot dogs. Your wish is my command, Ben. Fresh dogs were griddled, slaw was piled on top, and lunch was had. I gotta admit, I'd never been much of a slaw dog eater in the past. I dabbled in slaw-doggery in my early years when I ordered one for the first and last time at the Papaya King on Third Avenue, blowing my precious after-school snack money on a great dog topped with limp cabbage and soupy mayonnaise. I knew I should have stuck with sauerkraut. With that one scarring experience, I hadn't ventured back into the realm. But thank you Ben, for turning me back onto slaw dogs. It turns out that with the right proportions and a crunchy slaw, a slaw dog can be every bit as satisfying as a kraut'ed up version. The slaw, with its slightly sweet, punchy tang goes really well with the salty snap of a good dog—even more so if you add a touch of mustard between the two. Meanwhile, when your slaw is nice and tight with just enough mayo to hold it together, it adds an extra layer of richness to the whole deal. There's not too much to the recipe other than cooking dogs like you normally do, adding a touch of mustard (if you'd like), and topping it all off with Creamy Cole Slaw, but go ahead and peep a look at the recipe if you'd like. About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook. Recipes!    |
| San Francisco: Great Beer and Bad Burgers at Rogue Ales Public House Posted: 21 Jul 2013 04:56 PM PDT Rogue Ales Public House673 Union St., San Francisco CA 94133 (map); 415-362-7880; rogue.com As of late I've been familiarizing myself with North Beach and Chinatown, one of the most densely populated areas in San Francisco, and where food choices are very hit or miss. Recently I had a big miss at Rouge Ales Public House. Rogue makes some great beers along with great cheeses. So how could a place with both great beer and award-winning cheese make a burger so bad? The menu list both burgers and American Kobe Beef burgers. The Kobe cheeseburger ($13.50) advertised as 1/2-pound will run you about $4.50 more than the regular, and it's laughably billed on the menu as "the world's greatest burger." The patty is made with Snake River Farms' hormone-free American Wagyu beef and served on an onion bun with wasabi mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and onion. The burgers come pre-pattied and frozen. How someone could take such great meat and make it taste so bad, I can't understand. The patty was as bland and flavorless as they come, with no trace of salt. The texture of the meat was horrible, too—dense, dry, and tacky, it stuck to my teeth when I chewed. Another huge disappointment was the almost transparently thin slice of cheddar on top of the burger, which was masked by the beef's dull flavor and the wasabi mayonnaise that lacked even a hint of wasabi. The toasted bun tasted old and crumbly. At least the red onions on the burger were crisp and tasted fresh, unlike the mealy tomato and limp lettuce. The burger comes with an order of "Idaho fries" that tasted just like generic frozen fries. They were salted and cooked until crisp, but I found myself adding tons of ketchup to fill the flavor void the burger left me with. This place has so much potential: tons of space, back patio, prime location, and great beer. If they could clean up their act in the kitchen and at least put out a good burger they would have a great neighborhood hangout spot. Until then, do yourself a favor and either go in for only a beer, or walk the 0.8 miles to In-N-Out and get a burger worth chewing. About the author:Wes Rowe is a photographer and eater based in San Francisco who believes there is no such thing as too many burgers, and when given the opportunity, likes to spend the whole day smoking brisket. Follow him on Instagram @wesrowe. Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter while you're at it!    |
| The Vegetarian Option: Tomate et Basilic Galette at Toni Patisserie & Café Posted: 21 Jul 2013 12:51 PM PDT [Photograph: Amber Gibson] Right across the street from Millennium Park is Toni Patisserie's second location (the original is in Hinsdale) and there are quite a few delicious vegetarian options available. When I stopped in for lunch on a hot and humid summer day, which also happened to be Bastille Day, I started with a refreshing watermelon gazpacho ($3.75). his red, white, and blue soup featured both blueberries and diced jicama, which added some nice crunch to the light soup's pulpy watermelon texture.
[Photograph: Amber Gibson] The tomate et basilic galette ($7.75) came next, and I initially wasn't sure if this tart would be enough for an entree, but it was definitely rich and cheesy enough to fill me up. Juicy cherry tomatoes rested atop whole basil leaves, and were then covered with Parmesan and enclosed in a crunchy buttery crust. With "patisserie" in the restaurant's name, and considering my sweet tooth, I knew I had to try several desserts. I learned that the white chocolate mousse cake was Toni's signature dessert back when she was the pastry chef at Le Ciel Bleu in the Mayfair Regent Hotel. I was skeptical, since I don't care for white chocolate, but count me a convert. The mousse was light and the vanilla sponge cake was actually moist and flavorful. It's served with a tart raspberry sauce that really offsets the sweet cake well. The mixed berry clafoutis on the right is another of the red, white and blue Bastille Day specials so it might not be around much longer. Finally, I ended with an assortment of mini treats. The lemon and blueberry macarons each had wonderfully light shells, although I wished the fillings had been tarter. The raspberry meringue uses chocolate ganache to hold the raspberries to the meringue shell. It's the best tasting glue I've ever had and I love the flavor combination of chocolate and raspberry. I saved the salted caramel chocolate tart for last, since it was the richest and messiest, with a liquid caramel center. Worth every calorie though. Toni Patisserie & Cafe65 E Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602 (map)    |
| The Best Places to Drink Outdoors in Seattle, WA Posted: 22 Jul 2013 12:03 PM PDT The garden at Poppy [Photographs: Naomi Bishop] There are precious few exceptions anywhere in the world to the old adage "The better the view, the worse the food," but in Seattle, there's also the drink corollary: "The better the patio, the worse the drinks." In a city blessed with precious few sunny days, you'd do well to stay away from the big-budget patios serving up sugary-sweet margaritas. Instead, you'll want to find the secret gardens, the squirreled-away patios, and the few spots with sprawling water views that also serve up top-notch drinks. Want to know where those are? Here's our guide to the Seattle area's best places to drink outside. Marination Ma KaiBest for three-beer lunches and fans of eating with your hands, Ma Kai, Marination's third location (after Mobile and Station) breaks both the rules mentioned above: you can eat their incredible spam sliders while admiring one of the best panoramic vistas in the city, and enjoy their custom-made Marination Brown session ale from Big Al's Brewing while sitting on the bright-blue and green chairs on the patio. Along with the seven other beers selected for the tap by Washington's first female cicerone, Ma Kai serves cocktails (through a window to the patio, so you don't even have to go inside to order), and boozy versions of shave ice, the Hawaiian hot-weather treat. Toss in the ease of getting here via the water taxi straight from downtown, and it's hard to imagine a better place to spend a sunny afternoon. Marination Ma Kai: 1660 Harbor Ave SW, Seattle WA 98126 (map) 206-328-8226; marinationmobile.com PoppyBada Bing at Poppy If you aren't looking carefully, peering behind the lemon verbena and sage plants, you'll barely know the sweetly romantic garden at Poppy is actually plopped down in a parking lot. Planter boxes and raised beds form impromptu walls, the herbs rising high to shield the noise and view from outside. The chef here, Jerry Traunfeld, did make his name at a place called 'The Herbfarm,' so it only makes sense to be surrounded by fragrant herbs as you sip. Those herbs are also found in many of the drinks—like the sage afloat in the Bada Bing (made with Bing cherries, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, lemon juice, bitters, and sage). To drink here in the garden, though, you generally have to eat—the few small tables next to the brick building are reserved for diners. But if you come when it's slow, and ask nicely, they've been known to let you sit and enjoy the Shrubbing Bubbles out there. And you should, as this mix of Cava, strawberries, Mount Gay rum, orgeat, and a cinnamon and cardamom-spiced shrub is a bright-orange sparkler, which is vaguely reminiscent of a melted Otter Pop and invokes a nostalgia for warm summer days of childhood. Poppy: 622 Broadway East, Seattle WA 98102 (map) 206-324-1108; poppyseattle.com The YardHopvines and passionflowers weave through the wooden fence, guarding drinkers at the Yard from the busy Greenwood traffic and sending a message regarding what the bar is all about: a passion for hops. As the name implies, most of the seating at the bar is in the big front patio, even with a recent expansion. Hoppy beers prevail on the menu of this Mexican restaurant/bar, the owners having made the mental leap that tacos pair as well with an IPA as they do with a Margarita (though they make a mighty strong one of those here, too). IPAs take up about half of the menu of twenty or so brews, with a huge variety within the category: rye IPAs, session-style, and heavy high-alcohol IPAs are all represented. At The Yard, neighbors meet neighbors and beer lovers sit side by side with strangers, soccer fans, and those in search of a boozy brunch in a community atmosphere that's rare in Seattle. Something about sitting at a picnic table in the sun with a great IPA that does that to people. The Yard: 8313 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle WA 98103 (map) 206-588-1746; theyardcafe.com BottlehouseOne glass of rosé on the Bottlehouse patio, and you're likely to be planning a Provençal vacation. Running along the outside of the old Craftsman housing the wine shop and tasting room, the patio's French-style metal chairs and wooden tables are shielded from the street by a flurry of greenery. The only possible downside to the narrow porch is that you might need to go for ice cream after; succumbing to the scent of Molly Moon's waffle cones floating over from two doors down. In the meantime, take the opportunity to sip taster sizes, flights, or full glasses from Bottlehouse's well-curated menu (you can also pay a small corkage fee and open any bottle you've chosen in the store). The list covers a mix of Northwest and European wines, but goes much deeper than you'd expect with just two-dozen wines. From a dry Spanish Moscatel to a Nebbiolo from southeastern Washington, the list is intriguing and the staff is incredibly well-versed not only in the wines themselves but also in the art of helping the customer find just the right one. Which, on patio-weather days, often involves the rotating European rosé on tap. Bottlehouse: 1416 34th Avenue, Seattle WA 98122 (map) 206-708-7164; bottlehouseseattle.com Fonda La CatrinaIn a classic Georgetown post-industrial recycling move, two large boat sails strung overhead provide shade to the whole of the Fonda la Catrina patio. Underneath, the wooden tables are covered in bright Mexican-design oilcloths, which seem to look out of place until an order of chips, guacamole, and a Paloma land on them. On the Mexican-inspired drink menu, the Palomazo is the best of the bunch, a smoky take on the traditional Paloma, made by adding mezcal to grapefruit soda in place of tequila. Fans of spicy drinks flock to the Fresca, which mixes El Jimador Tequila with muddled cilantro and serrano pepper, before adding in pineapple juice and lime. Fonda La Catrina: 5905 Airport Way S, Seattle WA 98108 (map) 206-767-2787; fondalacatrina.com CanonLast Float at Canon Canon has taken up the mantle of great cocktails on a tiny garden patio from the late, great, Sambar. But a seat on the patio is far from a sure thing. The patio opens when it can (generally around 6, Thursday through Sunday) and closes when it wants (as early as 8:30, if it cools off in the evening). And it fills up fast when it's open, as there's not enough room for a dozen people, even if they squeeze. But the opportunity to drink from Jamie Boudreau's menu of every great spirit under the sun, while sitting under the sun, or to sip from his dessert-like take on Murray Stenson's classic, called the Last Float (there's Chartreuse ice cream involved), while watching the moonrise is worth the challenge to get here. The best way to find out if you can drink your carbonated Hemingway daiquiri (called the Hemingway Speciale) at one of the four wrought-iron tables is to pay attention to their Twitter feed and see if they mention it's being open. Failing that, a trip down to find out is still worth it—you'll just have to be consoled with a flight of Sazeracs at the indoor bar. Canon: 928 12th Ave, Seattle WA 98122 (map) 206-552-9755; canonseattle.com
View Seattle: Where to Drink Outside in a larger map. Where do you like to drink outdoors in the Seattle area? Add to the list in the comments below! About the author: Naomi Bishop is a Seattle based food and travel writer. Find her wandering through words and worlds on her blog, TheGastroGnome, where she claims that being a GastroGnome is not about sitting idly on the front lawn of culinary cottages. Follow her explorations of cooking and culture around the world at @GastroGnome. Get restaurant suggestions and locate local eats in the Northwest from her app, Unique Eats of the Northwest.    |
| 14 Summer Fruit Ice Creams We Love Posted: 19 Jul 2013 11:45 AM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: 14 Summer Fruit Ice Creams We Love It's hot out, and to be honest all we can think about is ice cream. These recipes use summer fruits to satisfy that craving for a refreshing, creamy, and seasonal scoop. From strawberries to plums to cherries, check out these summery, fruity ice creams that will help you take on the heat. Click through the slideshow to see all 14 ice creams or go straight to the recipes below.
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| My Pie Monday: Bacon-Fig Pizza, Chicago-Style Deep Dish, and More! Posted: 22 Jul 2013 10:17 AM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: My Pie Monday: Bacon-Fig Pizza, Chicago-Style Deep Dish, and More! We've got a slew of new contributors to this week's My Pie Monday! Come on through to check out all 16 gorgeous homemade pizzas in the slideshow. Making pizza at home? Be sure to send us a shot for next week's My Pie Monday. Just take one snapshot of your homemade pizza, briefly describe your cooking method, and follow these instructions to get it to Slice HQ by 8pm EST on Thursday night. Please title your email "My Pie Monday" and make sure to include your Serious Eats username! Looking for inspiration? Find dozens of recipes and home kitchen adaptations in our Pizza-Making Guide or peruse our collection of past My Pie Monday contributions. Even if you're not baking your own pies, we definitely want to hear about the ones you're eating. Submit to My Best Slice to help us spotlight the great pizza being enjoyed across the country. We don't care whether it's a super-simple corner slice or a fancy-pants pie, so long as its memorable. Send a photo and short description to pizz[at]seriouseats.com! About the author: Niki Achitoff-Gray is the associate editor of Serious Eats and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.    |
| Corn Week: Grilled Corn with Spicy Chili Mayo, Coconut, and Fish Sauce Posted: 22 Jul 2013 11:46 AM PDT [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Welcome to Serious Eats' Corn Week 2013. All week we'll be featuring recipes, techniques, and how-tos about how to get the most out of the sweet summer corn that should soon be flooding our farmers' markets, including a new grilled corn topping idea each day. A couple weeks back, I mentioned that elotes (A.K.A. Mexican Street Corn) is the best way to serve corn, period. Some of you agreed. Others of you took me to task, pointing out that nothing beats corn fresh from the stalk, steamed with a little butter and salt. Fair point. Some went even further off the esoteric end, recommending aji amarillo, butter, salt, lime, and a shot of mezcal to seal the deal. Some of you may have gone just a bit too far. But really, you're all right, of course. Saying that any one of these is better than the other and hoping to prove it in an empirical way is an exercise in futility, for we all know that just like with puppies and spouses, provided that a base level of quality is given, the very best corn is always the one you've got right now.* *Exceptions apply. Please send a message to regulations@puppiesspousesandcorn.com for a full list of rules and exceptions. Not responsible for carpet stains, failed marriages, and sub-par corn experiences. This is good news for all of us, as it means that we can eat grilled corn with a different flavored rub or sauce every night of the week, and be eating the best corn ever every single time. Ain't life grand? Our first variation draws its inspiration from the grilled corn at Num Pang, one of our favorite sandwich shops in the city, which slings large-proportioned Cambodian sandwiches (essentially identical to Vietnamese bánh mì), along with char-grilled corn served with a chili mayo, lime, and a sprinkle of toasted coconut flakes. Their version is great, but I prefer a bit more kick with my chili sauce, so I've added garlic and upped the proportion of hot sambal oelek to give it a more intense heat, tempering it with a bit of sugar. When grilled, corn picks up extra sweetness, but it also starts to layer on more savory, browned flavors. To help boost this savoriness, I added a bit of fish sauce, a glutamate-packed flavor enhancer that made my corn taste meatier with just a faint whiff of its pungent aroma. A sprinkle of chopped cliantro adds brightness. Once its got its coating of aromatic toasted coconut flakes, we've got all the cornerstones flavors of the Thai kitchen: hot chili sauce, acidic lime, and salty and pungent fish sauce. The corn itself provides most of the sweet backdrop to balance out the flavors. Get the RecipeGrilled Corn with Chili Mayo, Coconut, and Fish Sauce More Grilled Corn Recipes!
About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook. Get the Recipe!    |
| NYC Cooking Classes to Take this Week and Beyond Posted: 22 Jul 2013 07:48 AM PDT [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.] We're teaming up with CourseHorse, a free service that aggregates classes to take in your spare time. This week: food-centric courses selected by the Serious Eats staff to bone up on your cooking chops and food knowledge. Note: CourseHorse is offering a special deal for first-time course subscribers: receive $5 off your first class with the promo code SeriousEatsNY. This WeekDIY: Mexican Taqueria Herbs & Spices Mozzarella Making 100% Tomatoes Gelato/Sorbet Workshops Road to Bali! Vegetarian Style Tapas to Tempt Special Food & Wine Seminar: Extravagance of France Thai Street Food w/ Jay Weinstein Malaysian Cooking Class Greenmarket Cooking Essentials of Middle Eastern Cooking Looking ForwardNorthern Italian Classics Soul Food Italian Cheese & Wine Plan Ahead: Grab Them Before They're Gone!Essentials of Provençal Cooking All About Knife SkillsKnife Skills: Sharpening, Slicing & Chopping Knife Skills (Adult) Knife Skills    |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2013 08:28 AM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: 14 Summer Salads Summer can leave you feeling sticky and sluggish. You find yourself languishing on the sofa, head in front of the fan. From a spicy cabbage slaw to a grilled chicken Niçoise, here are 14 recipes for cool, crisp summer salads to help you along when you're in the mood for something a little lighter and brighter.
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| Cronuts: The Craze Hits Cincinnati Posted: 22 Jul 2013 08:11 AM PDT [Photographs: Jacqueline Raposo.] Here, Cinnamon, Mocha, Strawberry and Glazed doughsants at Holtman's Donuts. Over the past few years, Cincinnati locals have repeatedly warned me that the Queen City is often "20 years behind the times." But I'd recently been back in town for only two days when, while walking St. Gregory Street in Mount Adams, I was floored by the signs I saw: "We Have Cronuts and Crookies" and "Croughnuts are Here!" The craze started by Dominque Ansel back in New York had made its presence known in less than two months. And while he certainly isn't the first to cross a doughnut and croissant, those two signs were making rather bold statements. "Ours is better," the barista at Bow Tie Café informed me, referring to my mention of The Sweetest Things, one block away. I've spent enough time on both sides of the Ohio / Kentucky line to know that the people in the food industry here are extremely friendly, and so I suspected that their attempts weren't birthed by hostile competition. So then, what conversations had resulted in three local cronut interpretations six hundred and fifty miles away from the hubbub in New York? And what do their results taste like? From Savor Catering in Newport, Kentucky "Our pastry chef saw this story about cronuts and this beautiful photo and was like, I can do that!" says Mary Beiser, owner of Savor Catering and Events in Newport, Kentucky, who supplies to Bow Tie and two other local coffee shops. "And he did, and we just thought that they were wonderful." The buzz around them was minimal, but when local Channel 9 News broadcasted that one of their anchors really wanted to try the epic pastry, Mary was quick to offer her version up. Since their on-air success, they sell out at the coffee shops and at their stand at the Saturday morning Covington farmer's market in around an hour. They've become Savor's top selling item. Nearby the market, Left Bank Coffeehouse's Maggie Soard had heard about cronuts before Mary's newscast, when Jean-François Flechet—owner of local Taste of Belgium restaurants—updated his wait at Dominique Ansel Bakery on their Facebook page. He was in line apparently to "see if it's worth trying to reproduce". But by the time his turn came, they were out. "In line for two hours for nothing. #nocronut." "Mary makes really good croissants," Maggie said. "So the cronuts are delicious. They taste the way a funnel cake at a fair smells; what you want it to taste like too, but it never does." Patron Kate Welsh added, "It's just pure wonderful. They run out very quickly—I've only had one." "Quickly" means 20 pastries and 15 holes in about an hour on the three times a week when Savor delivers. It's a small but significant number. At The Sweetest Things, Mount Adams, Cincinnati. Back in Mount Adams at The Sweetest Things, owner/chef Heather Turner saw an opportunity for her much-loved croissant recipe to step up to the next level in a new offering for her clientele. Like Mary's version, Heather deep-fries and glazes her croissant dough, and while she only sells a few daily, they now compete with her signature pain au chocolat. "These are amazing," Lucy Hodgson swooned as she took a bite. Neither she nor her dining companion, David Rentschler, had heard of them. But they were full of questions and seemed somewhat shocked by the around-the-block hysteria I explained was happening in New York, so much so that I gave them what I'd been photographing. By the time I'd packed up and left, the pastry was gone. Cinnamon Sugar and Glazed at Holtman's Donuts, Loveland, Ohio. Nearby in Loveland, Ohio, the community push came before Holtman's Donuts tried their hand; "We had just been on our local station and the next day or so it came out that the cronut was a big thing in New York, so the station called up to see if we'd make it for them," said Katie Willing, who works at and is marrying into the third generation of the family-run shop. But the team was busy preparing for their upcoming Over the Rhine location, and didn't think too much of it until more and more people began to request them. In their third trial batch, they sold three dozen in less than two hours. "We're not putting all of our money in this. If they sell, that's great. If they don't, it's just like the other fun little experiments we do." Their experiment sheds light on the differences between what's popping up around Cincinnati and Chef Ansel's version. His is a layered pastry that's rolled in sugar, piped with pastry cream in layers, then glazed and garnished—a recipe that took him two months to perfect and takes three days to execute. "Chef Dominique Ansel's creation is not to be mistaken as simply croissant dough that has been fried," his website clarifies. [Photograph at Dominique Ansel Bakery by Niko Triantafillou] Which is, in simplest terms, what bakers nationwide and locals in Cincinnati are making. Savor and The Sweetest Things versions are fried and glazed croissants—they retain all the things you love about a doughnut but they have an airier texture and aren't as cloyingly sweet. Holtman's are made from layers of their doughnut and Danish doughs, which they let rise, freeze, and rise a second time before frying and either rolling them in cinnamon sugar or glazing them with strawberry, mocha, or plain glaze. They taste like a really well made classic doughnut with a somewhat flakier texture and much more volume, but not a croissant made in the style of a doughnut. "It's our version, we're not trying to copy anything", Katie is quick to point out. The same was said at Savor and The Sweetest thing; each shop is proud of their accomplishment, and not trying to knock-off or compete with the original. Yet they know the comparisons are out there, and it's already changed the way they look at and speak about their pastries. In the three days between when I'd read that first "We Have Croughnuts" sign and spoken with the creator, Mary had gotten a Cease and Desist letter in the mail from New York. She pressed, "We are a catering company in northern Kentucky that doesn't do any advertising—it's all word of mouth—so the news spot was a golden opportunity to maybe get more catering jobs. We never thought that we were taking something from someone a thousand miles away. We feel awful about the attention that poor man is getting up there—it looks like it's just craziness. But it was quite the shock when we got that letter in the mail." Dominque Ansel (the chef and the company) has received a lot of backlash since similar letters went out around the country, and Mary is right that there's been much attention heaped onto the chef from both sides of the argument. A recent statement on the bakery's Facebook page clarified, "Our desire to protect the name is not an attempt to claim or take credit for all cooking methods associated with the recipe or all croissant and doughnut products in general. Instead, it offers the bakery and Chef protection against un-granted affiliations with the bakery or confusion from customers." Heather and Katie hadn't received one, but were very aware of the patent issue around the word and now all three make it clear that they offer "doughsants". They're careful not to even "like" it when someone tags their pastry as a cronut. Yet that word accidentally slipped constantly from well-meaning mouths, including mine, during conversations with bakers, baristas, and diners alike. Many miles from New York, the craze of the cronut has created a strong ripple, if not a stir, in Cincinnati. But if someone were to want to put a truly local stamp on the pastry, David (the diner at The Sweetest Things) offers up a solution: "Put some bacon on it. That's how we do it in Cincinnati. Make it a three-way." Days after this statement had slipped from David's mouth, Mary at Savor began doing just that; this past Saturday at the farmer's market, she welcomed in the Bacon Maple Croissant Doughnut. About the author: Jacqueline Raposo writes about people who make food and cooks things for her bread and butter. A "three way" in Cincinnati refers to their Cincinnati chili, not something naughty, by the way. Read more at www.WordsFoodArt.com or tweet excessively with her at @WordsFoodArt.    |
| 33 Cheap Eats We Love in Logan Square Posted: 22 Jul 2013 12:21 PM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: 33 Cheap Eats We Love in Logan Square [Photograph: Debbie Carlos] Of all the Cheap Eats guides I've put together, this was easily the most personal. I've lived in Logan Square for the past five years, so I feel like I've amassed some serious first hand knowledge of the affordable options. Which isn't to say that I'm completely done and that I've found every single great option, because whenever I think I have the northwest neighborhood all sussed out, a dozen new places pop up. Most shocking of all, most of these places turn out to be really, really good. So, how best to sum up such an unruly hood, one that contains a host of the most exciting new restaurant openings in Chicago along with a solid base of more affordable joints? The answer I decided upon was this: exhaustively. Instead of shying away from the task at hand, I embraced it, picking out 33 different dishes in Logan Square under $10. While most of these picks are genuine meals, I also decided to include a snack section in this guide, which was a great way to explore some of the more expensive options around the area. Oh, and there are some sweets, too. I can't forget those, now can I? The Boundaries
Though not as confusing as same neighborhood divisions, Logan Square has its own issues. Basically, Logan Square is big, so I had to figure out what to leave out. Though most people agree that Pulaski is the western edge, the other three sides can be disputed. It's technically a community area in Chicago, but if I went off that map, I'd also have to add Bucktown to the mix, and that just didn't seem right (plus, I already wrote a Cheap Eats guide for Bucktown). To fix that, I used Western Ave. as the eastern edge. Finally, I went as far as the Bloomingdale Trail (which will soon become an amazing looking park) to the south, and, with one notable exception, Diversey to the north. Check out all of our favorite cheap eats in Logan Square by clicking on the slideshow, or by checking out the list below. And if I missed one of your favorite spots, let me know in the comments! Cheap Eats We Love in Logan Square
Snacks
Sweets
More Cheap Eats Guides!
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| Cocktail Science: All About Foams Posted: 21 Jul 2013 04:19 PM PDT [Photo: Quinn.Anya on Flickr] The head on a pour of Guinness, the crema of a perfectly pulled espresso shot, the froth from a malted milkshake. Creamy, bubbly, and aromatic, each of these naturally-occurring foams adds an extra dimension of texture to drinks. Today, we'll look at some traditional and not-so-traditional techniques for making and perfecting foams for cocktails. What Is A Foam?All foams are a subcategory of dispersions. In chemistry, a dispersion is the evenly-spread mix of one material into another. When a solid is dispersed into a liquid (like coffee grounds in hot water), it's called a suspension. When a liquid is dispersed into a liquid (like oil in a vinaigrette) it's called an emulsion. And when a gas is dispersed into a liquid, it's called a foam. If you've ever made mayonnaise or vinaigrette, you may know that naturally-occurring emulsifiers in egg yolks and mustard help to hold the oil and water portions of these recipes together. Today, we're looking specifically at foams. In foams, surfactants reduce the surface tension of a liquid, which in turn affects the amount of pressure that can build up in bubbles before they pop. And when bubbles don't pop, a foam forms. Tweaking foam textureA foam on top of cocktail is like any other garnish. Not all drinks need the same garnish, and some require none at all. Likewise, some drinks need a thick, heavy foam while others benefit most from no more than a slight froth. All foams are composed of two distinct parts: a dispersed phase (the bubbles) and a continuous phase (the liquid.) Tweaking the characteristics of either of these two phases changes mouthfeel. [Photo: Kevin Liu] The mouthfeel of a foam is most directly affected by two variables: viscosity and creaminess.
Of course, real foams made by cooks and bartenders are rarely ideal. For example, fruit juices and purees are suspensions, and egg yolks are emulsions, which means that the texture of foams made with these ingredients will depend not only on bubble size and viscosity, but also on the particle size of suspended solids and the interactions between oil and water. Suffice it to say, there are a fair few ways to make foams. Here, I'll cover the easiest and most useful techniques I know of. *1 micron = 1/1000th of a millimeter. The diameter of a human hair is between 17 and 180 microns. Egg Foams: Simple, easy, and good for most situations.Fizz a la Violette from Barmini in Washington, DC [Photo: Kevin Liu] For a simple cocktail that really benefits from the addition of an egg white, look no further than the classic Pisco Sour. Without the egg white, the Pisco Sour is exactly what it sounds like—a tart, lemony drink reminiscent of a daiquiri. With egg white, though, the drink transforms into a creamy decadence. Plus, the thick foam keeps the Angostura garnish from bittering the rest of the drink, and enhances the drink's aroma.
Many sours, particularly those based around lemon, benefit from some frothiness. In fact, many bottled sour mixes contain a small amount of dried egg white to lend drinks a slightly frothy texture.
Another classic egg white preparation can be found in the Ramos Gin Fizz. This cocktail calls for both egg whites and heavy cream. The drink is famous both for its luxurious texture and for the fact that it historically took over 12 minutes per drink to make. The long preparation time probably has to do with the fact that while the fat in the heavy cream makes the foam more stable, it also makes it more difficult to form a foam.
Dry Shaking Optional?Dry shaking works because egg white foams form more easily when warm, but any technique for introducing air works. Here are some options:
A few factors to consider.
*Cream of tartar, like lemon juice, is an acidifier. Acids help egg white foams form by interfering with sulfur bonds that would otherwise make the foam collapse. Gomme syrup: The classic forgotten mouthfeel modifier3 Whiskey Sours: Made from left to right with gomme syrup, egg white powder, and methycellulose (the methylcellulose foam is spooned on top) [Photo: Kevin Liu] Page through any classic cocktail book and you're likely to find recipes calling for "gomme syrup," "gum syrup," or simply, "gomme." In the past, gomme syrup was made by combining sugar, water, and gum arabic in a rough 1.5:1:1 ratio. Gum Arabic is a hydrocolloid* made from the sap of the acacia tree. It's unique in that it acts as both an emulsifier and a thickener. Gomme syrup in place of simple syrup gives cocktails a slight rich, creamy mouthfeel and light froth. Although gomme syrup remains commercially available today and can also be made at home, political instability in the regions of the world where gum arabic has traditionally been harvested have driven up prices for it. Making Modern Gomme I'll skip the research and science here, but my version of gomme syrup calls for much less gum arabic and substitutes in egg white powder for emulsifying power and xanthan gum for thickening. A note on "scaling" When working with powerful hydrocolloids, especially in small batches, a little goes a long way. A "1% scaling" means that a recipe calling for 100 grams of water (which, at sea level, is the same as 100 mL) would need 1% as much of the hydrocolloid, or 1 gram of powder for every 100 grams of water. A cup of water comes out to about 240 mL, so a 1% scaling would be 2.4 grams. For these small measurements, I use a cheap jewelry scale and a paper muffin cup. If you don't want to go to this trouble, you can ballpark 1/8 teaspoons as 0.5 grams, try the recipe, and go up from there. Xanthan is the most powerful of the hydrocolloids—use less of it than you think you need and add a little bit at a time until you get the texture you want. *Hydrocolloids describe any polymer that can be dispersed in water. Different types can thicken, emulsify, or form gels. They're not as scary as they sound: the "polymer" portion of hydrocolloids are no more than starch or proteins. Flour and gelatin, for example, are both hydrocolloids. Beer FoamNothin' but beer. [Photo: Kevin Liu] If you're a fan of Guinness stout or Boddington's pub ale, then you're familiar with the rich and creamy foam that perches on each. But what if I told you you could create that same rich foam with any beer? The secret behind Guinness' signature head lies in the use of nitrogen gas in addition to carbon dioxide to create smaller bubbles. The science behind why this works is still the subject of some debate, but I know that nitrogen is important because, well, I tried it. The above image is of me squirting a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon that had been charged with a CO2 canister and one or two N2O canisters in a whipping siphon. As you can see, the result is a rich, velvety foam reminiscent of Guinness, but tasting of light beer. Almost all beers contain natural starches and proteins that act as foam stabilizers and emulsifiers. Many beer producers will also add foaming agents to their beer formulations to achieve the perfect amount of foam on top. When I experimented, a straight PBR foam lasted for about 3 minutes before the tiny bubbles formed larger ones and the foam started to melt away. I found that dissolving a pinch (scant 1/8 tsp) of xanthan gum per 12 oounces of beer helps stabilize the foam. Just keep in mind that if you decarbonate the beer to dissolve the xanthan, you'll want to charge the whipping siphon with a charger of CO2 in addition to the N2O canisters. Light and Airy Foams and "Bubbles"[Photo: foam on Flickr] You've probably heard the term "air" used to describe particularly light foams, often used in modernist cuisine. Depending on what ingredients you use, these foams can range from big bubbles stacked on top of a drink to a substantial yet effervescent froth reminiscent of Champagne. Gelatin Xanthan To create frothy xanthan-only foam, try 0.5% to 0.8% scaling with a strongly-flavored fruit juice, like pineapple or watermelon. After combining the xanthan with the juice, allow to rest for 5 minutes (the mixture will thicken slightly with time) then dispense with a whipping siphon. To make big, pretty cocktails bubbles, you'll need both xanthan gum and egg whites as well as a cheap fish tank bubbler. Luckily, the doodad can be multipurposed: I use mine to circulate my DIY immersion circulator when it's not being used for bubbles :-). Lecithin The biggest pain about using lecithin is that the stuff I've bought bunches up hard like brown sugar over time and can be a pain to use. It's also not as widely available as xanthan or gelatin. More info on lecithin here. Unique applications, batching, and dietary restrictions[Photo: Kevin Liu] The techniques for making cocktail foam we've covered thus far should let you create any texture you want without much fuss. But, there are a few other ingredients you can try for special applications. If you are part of an at-risk population and need to avoid the consumption of raw eggs, feel free to use pasteurized or powdered egg white instead of raw. I prefer using powdered because you can add more powder to bulk up your foam without diluting the drink. The standard is 2 teaspoons of powder and 2 tablespoons water per egg white. Combine the powder and water in warm (not hot) water. A fork or immersion blender helps. Egg white powder is also sold as albumin powder. If you're allergic to eggs, you can use egg-free hydrocolloids designed specifically to mimic the texture of an egg foam. These hydrocolloids can be useful in situations when you need large batches of foam: they stay stable for hours at room temperature, there's less risk of microbial growth than with egg whites, and it's a lot easier to scoop a few spoonfuls of powder than it is to crack and separate dozens of eggs. The image at the beginning of this section is of a foam made with Methycellulose and xanthan gum, and you can get the recipe here.
For vegans, both Versawhip and methycellulose contain no animal products. Another option is agar (or agar agar), a seaweed-based replacement for gelatin. Use agar as you would gelatin, but keep in mind that agar will gel at a higher temperature, so you may need to use less to achieve the same texture as an equivalent gelatin foam. Agar is available online and at many Asian groceries. What have you tried?In this article, I've tried to cover the techniques and tricks most useful and easy to implement at home. I'm sure there are other methods out there—what bubbly ideas do you have? About the author: Kevin Liu likes to drink science and study cocktails. Wait, that's backward. Ask him geeky food and booze questions on twitter @kevinkliu. While you're at it, check out his book about cocktail science and his blog about food and science    |
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