Brown is better - We always had a feeling brown rice was better than white, but now the FDA has confirmed our suspicion by labeling the rice a truly healthy grain.

Under the microscope - Is molecular gastronomy an old fashioned term for the avant garde techniques? What does the future have in store?

Internatonal pickle week - All across the world, people are celebrating their love of all things pickled!

Can a strawberry be savory? - Knowing how often its used in desserts, its hard to get past the sweetness of the strawberry, but some chefs took the strawberry to new territory.

Links courtesy of Pro Chef Smart Brief.

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Contest now ends May 21.

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I find it funny that this week’s episode completely stereotyped police officers with obesity. They flat out assumed that cops only eat greasy, terrible-for-you food and while I’m not denying that that could be the case, why was it attributed only to police officers? I missed the connection somewhere I guess.

But in all fairness, I admire Top Chef’s efforts to battle the problems of obesity and preach healthy cooking through many of the show’s challenges.

EPISODE 10 RECAP:

Title: Serve and Protect

Challenges: Quickfire - Put the sexy back in salads. Create a salad in 45 minutes. Elimination - Create a healthy box lunch using one ingredient from each food group for the Chicago Police Academy.

Winner: Dale Eliminated: Andrew

Chefs Remaining: Richard, Stephanie, Antonia, Spike, Lisa, and Dale.

Tune in for Episode 11 next week!

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Contest ends May 21.

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Pizza for breakfast? YUM!

Something about this looks so delicious! I’m thinking about making something like this myself. What do you think? Check out the recipe over at The Kitch’n: Apartment Therapy. Nice job guys!

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Contest now ends May 21.

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Sometimes I just don’t know when my mustard is going to expire. Or what if I make a hollandaise sauce from scratch - how long can I keep it around? Well, have no fear, the “Table of Condiments that Periodically Go Bad” is here to help you through your terribly important concerns.

I know this is a little bit hard to read, but I thought it was super cute so I just had to share. To view it larger, simply click on the photo or right here. While this information isn’t guaranteed to be accurate, the ballpark estimates are actually quite useful!

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Contest now ends May 21.

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But be sure and enter now!

Our Recipe4Living product testers have been very busy in the kitchen, testing one of our latest samples: King Arthur Flour. We were fortunate to receive a total of 7 different King Arthur Flour products ranging from the classic All Purpose Flour to specialty products like their Chocolate Lava Cake Mix.

And after baking batches and batches of whole wheat bread, blueberry scones, lava cakes and…you name it, our reviewers had quite a few positive things to say.

So check out our King Arthur Flour review for many more details and to decide whether or not King Arthur Flour products are for you. But in the meantime, we highly recommend them!

More Product Reviews:
OXO Handheld Mandoline Slicer
O Olive Oil

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]]> http://chewonthatblog.com/2008/05/12/product-review-king-arthur-flour/feed/ http://chewonthatblog.com/2008/05/09/food-in-the-news-weekly-roundup-10/ http://chewonthatblog.com/2008/05/09/food-in-the-news-weekly-roundup-10/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 19:43:36 +0000 Hillary http://chewonthatblog.com/?p=639 Top Chef cruise? - Bravo goes multimedia. We knew about the cookbook and the calendar, but a cruise?!

Blueberry juice wins - I knew it! Blueberry juice isss better than pomegranate juice for antioxidants!

Roses aren’t just for smelling - Many international pastry chefs have been incorporating rose water and rose petals into their pastries!

The effect of higher food prices - Going out to eat might be less of a treat these days…now that quality is at risk.

Going Danish - The latest cuisine to permeate its way into  the American stockpot of worldly cuisines hails from Denmark.

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Contest ends May 14.

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Hey there! Does everyone remember when I went wine tasting at Cork and Canvas? Well since then I’ve developed a bit of a crush on wine tasting, and have now been corresponding with wine sommelier Mick Ter Haar. Fortunately for us, he has joined our team for a little seasonal advice in the way of wine. Please give him a warm welcome! - Hillary.

And now, here’s Mick:

Fresh spring dinners, lazy, hot summer days, weekend family outings, and picnics at Ravinia, all call for rosé wines.

And here is a little trivia for you - 2008 marks the 35th anniversary of the invention of white zinfandel. It was crush season of 1973 at Sutter Home Winery in St. Helena, CA when owner Bob Trinchero was looking to give his red zinfandel more color and flavor. He used an old French trick called saignee, or “bleeding.”

Immediately after the grapes were crushed, he bled away some of the juice to make the remaining juice more concentrated as it soaked on the skins. A friend suggested that he save the saignee juice. Bob did and vinified it. White Zinfandel was born.

Consumers loved it and it exploded in popularity, making up 24 percent of all varietal wine from California by the 1990s. Critics on the other side bashed it and all blush wines deeming them too bland, too simple. They called it wine for people who don’t really like wine.

After a lengthy period of declining popularity, rosés are on the rise around the world again. Excellent rosé wines come from Provence and Southern Cotes du Rhône (both in France), Catalonia, Navarra (both in Spain) and also from Ontario and B.C. They are short lived and lose their youthful appeal within a year, maximum two.

What gives rosé its rosy hue? Even red grapes have white juice, which doesn’t become red unless it is soaked for hours, even days, on its red skins. Rosé is made from juice that is removed early from its skins. Rosés can be made from any red grape - grenache, mourvedre, pinot noir, syrah, merlot, even cabernet sauvignon.

Rosé wines go with casual summer meals because they’re casual themselves. Affordable, fruity, sometimes a touch sweet, they should always be chilled, but not iced and match well with simple seafood, strawberries, barbecue, even spicy Cajun or Asian dishes.

A few delicious choices:

2005 Rietvallei Special Select Juanita Rosé, Robertson Valley, South Africa ($15)
A very fruity but dry rosé made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Berry fruit flavors on the nose while the palate reveals a full-bodied rosé not to be taken lightly.

2007 La Petite Mignarde, Cuvée des Amandiers Rosé, VdP Coteaux de Peyriac, France ($12)
Bright cherry & raspberry aromas on the nose. Light, lively and refreshing.

2007 Chateau du Donjon Rose, Minervois, France ($15)
Loads of mineral, ripe raspberry and dark cherry flavors with a finish of smoke . and spice. Sophisticated and complex.

I am thinking Pink this season, are you?

Cheers!

By Mick Ter Haar, Sommelier

Cork and Canvas,
Wine & Art Gallery
Uncork a World of Art ™

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Contest ends May 14.

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]]> http://chewonthatblog.com/2008/05/08/%e2%80%98tis-the-season-to-drink-pink/feed/ http://chewonthatblog.com/2008/05/08/top-chef-chicago-watch-episode-9/ http://chewonthatblog.com/2008/05/08/top-chef-chicago-watch-episode-9/#comments Thu, 08 May 2008 20:40:11 +0000 Hillary http://chewonthatblog.com/?p=638

This was one of my favorite episodes! Not only did the quickfire involve my favorite (and apparently Tom’s favorite) challenge: the relay race, but the elimination challenge was a wedding! How much more fun can you ask for?

But the chefs might have a different opinion. While they loved the relay race, I don’t think they had too much fun in the elimination challenge after staying up for 36 straight hours consisting of 14 hours of prep work before the actual wedding buffet service.

Warning: Spoilers after the jump!

First let’s talk about the relay race. Though Spike and Antonia came somewhat close with their task, we didn’t quite relive the onion chopping incident Casey pulled off last season (did she know it was a relay race?) Andrew whipped through his artichokes while Lisa nervously kicked ass at the oranges.

But in the end, it came down to a matter of seconds between Stephanie’s systematic mayonnaise approach and Nikki’s anxiety. Stephanie won that competition, and I think both Nikki and Stephanie built up some muscle with all that fast whipping.

The same teams were kept for the Wedding Wars. And lo and behold similar results ensued. What would become “the bride’s team” - a pairing of Stephanie, Richard, Andrew and Antonia pretty much felt like the dream team if you ask me. I’m not huge on Antonia, but Stephanie and Richard really brought their game. Designing their menu after the bride’s love of meat and potatoes, the team came up with:

Antonia put Andrew down for suggesting a crispy chicken. While she was right as the judges wound up hating the chicken, she should have stepped up and said something so it didn’t even wind up on the menu.

But speaking of not stepping up, one cheftestant had a bigger issue in that department. I’m talking about Nikki. In discussing the menu, her and the groom bonded over Italian flavors and tastes and her teammates almost assumed she’d take the leader role because of it. But, this was not the case. She had her opinions about what should be done but stepped back as far as she could from the leader position. She didn’t want any of the blame.

Their menu stayed mostly consistent with Italian flavors but the execution was where this team had its flaws. If no one is leading the term, you’re surely not headed toward victory. Nikki had as much of an opportunity she could have, but failed to take it which is why she was sent home.

Not to mention, the one thing she should be good at is making pasta. Many people didn’t like her tortellini dish, claiming it was too sweet. So, when it comes down to it, if you’re not strong enough to lead and not even making good dishes, why should you be here? I completely agreed with the judges.

Dale was also a part of that losing team. In the end you weren’t sure if Nikki was going home for not stepping up to the plate, or Dale for his terribly team playing and all around half-assed food. I think Dale’s a good chef overall but this episode he really seemed to have an attitude problem. Had he been working with Richard, he might have been a little bit more cooperative…Stop complaining about your teammates and do something about it. Step up to the leadership role if you have a problem, it was definitely up for grabs!

But anyway, on to bigger and better things, like the Bride’s team’s victory. Richard led this team, creating delicious meats and was all around a great executive chef. Therefore, he won! But in a gentlemanly turn of events, he tried to hand his winning off to Stephanie who created a cake he admitted he couldn’t have made.

Groom’s cake (left) and Bride’s cake (right).

And yea, Richard was right. Stephanie definitely whipped it out with that wedding cake. Honestly, I would have thought they brought that cake in, it looked so darn professional. Even Gale Gand, renowned pastry chef and guest judge said so! It was beauuuutiful! In the end, they thought Lisa’s groom’s cake tasted better but Stephanie’s was still raved about and definitely belonged in a wedding.

In the end, Stephanie and Richard split the prize. How polite.

EPISODE 9 RECAP:

Title: Wedding Wars

Challenges: Quickfire - Relay race! Elimination - Cater a wedding including appetizers, buffet and wedding cake.

Winner: Richard (who decided to share it with Stephanie) Eliminated: Nikki

Chefs Remaining: Richard, Stephanie, Antonia, Andrew, Spike, Lisa, and Dale.

Tune in for Episode 10 next week!

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Contest ends May 14.

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This past weekend, I took a road trip to a lovely little place called Lou-ah-ville to attend my very first Kentucky Derby! A subculture of Kentucky in its own right, you haven’t experienced Louisville if you haven’t seen the “Derby Life.” Honestly, the Kentucky Derby might as well be its own holiday there because it’s treated like such. And the beverage of choice: The Mint Julep.

Yes, every first weekend in May, the Kentucky Churchill Downs prepares to host over 180,000 Derby enthusiasts who come from both near and far. At multiple mint juleps per person, that’s almost 1 million Mint Juleps served in a day!

But they wouldn’t have it any other way. Everyone has their own recipe, but the official sweet little drink is made with mint syrup, Kentucky whisky, crushed ice, and crushed mint, served in a souvenir Derby glass of course.

Before I continue on with the juleps, you should know that the Kentucky Derby consists of two very different sections. One is the seated section, where, if you can afford a seat, life is a little more civilized and much more focused on the race. The other is the infield section for those who can only afford general admission and barely any view at all. I of course was in the infield (hey! it’s my first Derby what do you expect?) and entered the venue in a very uncivilized, chaotic door.

But the infield happens to be fun. Think of it as sort of a picnic with hundreds of thousands of other people. You bring your own chairs, blanket, tent or what have you and just have yourself a good time. If you get to see the track (aka get there at the crack of dawn) then hey, you’re one lucky Derby attendee. If this doesn’t sound like fun to you at all, do note that they have large TV screens atop the track so we can still see what’s going on and who wins.

I had three goals for my first Derby. One, make sure to get a program. I’m a sucker for horse race programs (not sure why) but I thought this one would be a hell of a souvenir. Second, make some bets - if there’s ever a race to win big, it’s the Derby. With a $2 million purse alone, and an in-house pool of over $25 million, it’s almost a requirement to bet. But, lastly, and most importantly, I just had to try the mint juleps!

I wasn’t sure I’d like all the sweetness of the mint syrup, but there was no way I was going to endure the 5 and a half hour drive not to have me a mint julep!

Of course it was sweet but I did enjoy it. The whisky melded out the sweetness of the syrup and the real sprigs of mint carried the drink to form one cohesive glass of tradition. My favorite part: the 134th Kentucky Derby Souvenir Glass. Dressed in my oversized hat and sun dress, drinking my first official Mint Julep, I felt like a true part of The Derby Life… even if just for a sip.

The Kentucky Derby Mint Julep
For nearly a century, the mint julep has been the traditional beverage of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. The Early Times Mint Julep Cocktail is a ready-to-serve beverage that has been the “The Official Mint Julep of the Kentucky Derby®” for over 16 years. Over 80,000 Early Times Mint Juleps are served over the two-day period of the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, requiring 8,000 liters of Early Times Mint Julep Ready-to-Serve Cocktail, 2,200 pounds of freshly harvested mint, and 80 tons of shaved ice.

Ingredients

2 C. sugar
2 C. water
sprigs of fresh mint
crushed ice
Early Times Kentucky Whisky

Directions

Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool and place in a covered container with 6-8 sprigs of fresh mint, then refrigerate overnight. Make one julep at a time by filling a julep cup with crushed ice, adding one tablespoon mint syrup and two ounces of Early Times Kentucky Whisky. Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost the outside of the cup. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

Recipe from KentuckyDerby.com

But the Kentucky Derby is more than just mint juleps. It has its own foodways to help people with their infield picnics. Try out these tasty recipes!

Derby Pie
Kentucky Derby Chicken Noodle Casserole
Kentucky Derby Ham Biscuits

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