French Roots French chef Jean-Pierre Moullé ran the kitchen at Berkley landmark Chez Panisse for more than 30 years until his retirement in 2012. His wife, Denise Lurton Moullé, was born into the Lurton family wine-making empire in Bordeaux, which led to her career in wine distribution and now a business leading wine tours through France.… Read More →
Kitchen Shears Are an Essential Kitchen Tool In my humble opinion, few items can be as useful as a good pair of kitchen shears. They’re more than just a pair of scissors you keep in your kitchen, they’re a versatile tool you can look to for precise, easy cuts. Skipping on the cutting board also… Read More →
Where to Eat in Mexico City When I first started traveling, Mexico City’s fine dining scene was peppered with Mexican chefs cooking other countries’ food, like Italian or French cuisine. That’s no longer the case. These days the best Mexican food is once again being cooked for Mexicans, by Mexicans. Here are five restaurants you… Read More →
The largest celebration of local foods in the region. Next Sunday, November 2, check out the best of local food by producers and makers from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin at Feast! in Rochester, Minnesota. With more than 100 exhibitor booths, you’ll find a variety of specialty foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi, artisan cheese, African simmer sauces,… Read More →
An Exploration of Bitter A James Beard award-winning author, Jennifer McLagan is known for challenging her readers, delving into topics that make us rethink what we eat and why. She’s famously covered Bones, Fat and Odd Bits, each a single subject book with recipes that aims to revive an unloved ingredient. McLagan’s latest book is… Read More →
Tips For Piping Macarons Twist end of pastry bag closed tightly and hold it with both hands. Pipe quarter-sized mounds away from you at a 45-degree angle. Stop squeezing bag and flick tip up counterclockwise; “tail” will settle into batter. Tips for Successful Macarons For the best results, bake macarons on silicone baking mats or… Read More →
Dana Cowin’s Little Secret As the editor-in-chief of Food & Wine since 1995, Dana Cowin has her finger on the pulse of the food world, harnessing this country’s obsession with food and celebrity chefs, while setting the bar for quality, relevant journalism. Yet she harbored a secret: while she loved to entertain, she lacked confidence in… Read More →
How I SweeTango I’ve been a huge fan of SweeTango apples ever since they debuted a few years ago. It’s a juicy apple that has unique touch of spice with just the right honey finish, but they’re only around for a few months every year. Here’s how I eat them: Frankly, they are killer ‘under-cooked’… Read More →
I Believe in Using the Right Tool for the Job. That’s why I geek out over weird knives like these. Sure, you could use a chef’s knife for a multitude of purposes, but if you break down whole chickens or make noodles at home, you cannot beat using a tool designed specifically for that purpose.… Read More →
Music City Food + Wine 2014 was the most intimate and fun food fest I have been to in years… Great out-of-town chefs, amazing local restaurateurs and food talent, superb food entrepreneurs and the most carefully-curated Grand Tasting Tent I have ever walked through. You gotta get there next year. Here are a few observations:… Read More →
Defining New Nordic Cuisine Chef Gunnar Gislason celebrates Iceland’s unique culinary heritage, embracing once-forgotten ingredients and techniques at his much-loved Reykjavik restaurant Dill. In his new cookbook North, written in collaboration with food writer Jody Eddy (author of 2012’s Come In, We’re Closed), Gislason and Eddy profile various artisan producers who are reviving Iceland’s culinary heritage–a… Read More →
The Food-Obsessed World of Edward Lee A native New Yorker turned Louisville culinary ambassador, chef Edward Lee stars in the brand new third season of Mind of a Chef—the Emmy-winning PBS series, narrated by executive producer Anthony Bourdain, that delves deep into the inspirations and philosophies of renowned chefs. Lee’s brilliant cooking at his acclaimed… Read More →
Whole Animal Butchery Without the Self-Congratulatory B.S. Tom Mylan is a butcher. Not because it’s trending, but because no one else in his company wanted to do it. Seven years after launching Marlow & Sons’ local meat program, the largely self-taught meat man is running one of the best butcher shops—The Meat Hook—in New York,… Read More →
Another State Fair Has Come and Gone. We do things a little differently here at Food Works HQs. Where to start? The time one of us devoted a full day’s work trying to source live crickets for a cooking demo? Or maybe the time one of us once opened a UPS box with a whole… Read More →
50 Things to Look for at the MN State Fair Looking for a fun way to explore the Minnesota State Fair? Try completing this State Fair scavenger hunt. Mullets, crazy tattoos, award-winning baked goods, celebrities, unintentional innuendos… if you can think of it, you can find it at the fair. So to liven things up,… Read More →
Get off the gas. The cavemen had it right. Cooking meat over wood is delicious. I’m thrilled to announce we’re launching another grill giveaway with our friends at Memphis Wood Fire Grills. Yep, that’s right. This amazing grill could be all yours. Wood-fire grills are becoming extremely popular and Memphis makes the best of the… Read More →
New State Fair Foods for 2014 Every year there’s a host of new foods at the Great Minnesota Get-Together, and while the imaginative deep-fried-on-a-stick creations can be hit or miss, sometimes the shear novelty is worth shelling out a few bucks to try. Without further ado, here’s the line up for 2014: Photographs courtesy… Read More →
Oops, I messed up my knife. A few nice knives can elevate a home cook from good to great. However, investing in those items isn’t cheap– precisely why any dings, nicks or rust can be a real heartbreaker. Don’t fret, there are some easy ways to keep your knives in ship shape. Here are four… Read More →
Good Genes Pound for pound, Austin’s culinary gravitas rivals the best food cities in the nation. And it’s folks like Bryce Gilmore—a second generation Austin chef, a two-time James Beard award nominee and a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2011—who make the city’s food scene what it is. At his restaurants Barley Swine and… Read More →
Hot-n-Fresh Out the Kitchen T-shirts, autographed books, one-of-a-kind hoodies, hats, travel gear and more now available on the brand-new Shop Andrew Zimmern. Check it out>>> Andrew Zimmern Hollyhoodz Andrew Zimmern’s Canteen Baseball Hat Andrew Zimmern’s Canteen T-Shirt Autographed Copy of Andrew Zimmern’s Field Guide… Autographed Copy of The Bizarre Truth Barnyard-y T-Shirt (Men) Barnyard-y… Read More →
Adventures in Sustainable Eating A two-time James Beard Award-winning online documentary series, The Perennial Plate explores socially responsible eating in the United States and abroad. The beautifully shot weekly series was created by Daniel Klein, an activist and chef, and Mirra Fine, a graphic designer, writer and now filmmaker, who impressively research, film, edit, and produce each piece… Read More →
Functional Fashion I’ve been a SCOTTeVEST customer for years. Their vests are the best travel tool in my go-bag. They are flawlessly engineered and stand up to travel abuse. They’re also super cool and fun to wear, I feel like a secret agent when I put it on. Working with SCOTTeVEST, we’ve made a special… Read More →
Tunes for the Road If you’re driving cross country this summer, you’ll need a soundtrack for the ride. I put together a list of 60 of my favorite songs to listen to while heading down the highway from Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl”… …to Beastie Boys’ “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun.” Get the full… Read More →
Summer Lovin’ There is a reason we put up with the subzero temperatures and blizzards in Minnesota: our summers are amazing. When I am clearing the snow off my car and I can’t feel my toes, I visualize of all of the fantastic things I’m going to do after the thaw. I always look forward to… Read More →
All-Star Festivities In celebration of the MLB All-Star Game in Minneapolis, Children’s Hospital chose 16 kids to form its own all-star team. It was a fantastic event, where the Children’s All-Stars signed autographs for sports and television celebrities, including actor James Denton, Wild player Zach Parise, Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers, and yours truly. The… Read More →
Take Me Out to the Ballgame I’m a huge baseball fan. I could not be more excited about the MLB All-Star weekend coming to my hometown of Minneapolis. I’m even more excited that I get to be a part of it. But I’m most excited that you can be a part of it too. On… Read More →
What to Eat & Drink at Target Field Open since 2010, Target Field is a beautiful stadium in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. Thankfully, there’s a host of good eats from local chefs, restaurants and breweries, so don’t settle on a wimpy tube steak washed down with watery beer. In honor of the 2014 All-Star… Read More →
Bringing electricity to millions in the poorest parts of the world is the best way to help them. By Andrew Zimmern “Does anything gross you out?” It’s a question I get at least a dozen times a day. Millions of people have seen me on television eating outrageous things, perhaps thinking I was born without… Read More →
Redefining Scandinavian Cooking A former Navy Officer who opted for a chef’s life, Paul Berglund has made a name for himself as the executive chef of Minneapolis’ Bachelor Farmer, where he’s cooking trend-setting modernist Nordic cuisine. We talk with Berglund about the resurgence of Scandinavian food, taking risks and note-worthy chefs in the Twin Cities.… Read More →
Minnesota Food Truck Fair It’s that time of year again, so get out of the house, soak up some rays and head to the Minnesota Food Truck Fair in Uptown for great food and live music. Now in its third year, they’ve really expanded the festival with dozens of trucks offering cuisines from all over… Read More →
