Mmm…Blood In many cultures, blood consumption plays an important role in a healthy lifestyle. Enthusiasts say the red stuff keeps you strong, and can even warm you up on a cool day. Chug a glass of blood and your body temperature will indeed rise a few degrees–seriously! Overcoming the psychological hurdles (not to mention the… Read More →
Divulging the Food Network Allen Salkin’s new book From Scratch: Inside the Food Network is a fascinating chronicle of the evolution of a television network, from a scrappy start-up to an influential powerhouse that turned food into a cash cow and chefs into celebrities. The former New York Times reporter paints a behind-the-scenes picture, including… Read More →
Redefining Haute Cuisine in Paris Chicago-born chef Daniel Rose has made a big impression on Paris’ dining scene with his insanely popular restaurant Spring. Considered part of the bistronomy movement in Paris – where chefs have ditched the Michelin institution, ornate decor and 5-dollar-sign prices for bistros with high-quality food that won’t break the bank… Read More →
I love food. What I love even more is food with a story. Through my journeys on Bizarre Foods, I’ve experienced a wide range of rich cultures, foods, and culinary techniques. I’m thrilled to share those stories and flavors from the road with you through Quarterly.Co, a subscription service that lets you receive awesome things in the mail… Read More →
Flying Foxes! With a six-foot wing span, the Samoan giant fruit bat, a.k.a. the flying fox, is the most appropriately named animal since the toy poodle. The bats are native to the tropics of Asia, Australia, Indonesia, islands of East Africa, and the Indian and Pacific oceans, but I tried them first on the uninhabited… Read More →
Obsessed with Entrepreneurship Jason Wang has brought renewed energy and killer business acumen to his father’s acclaimed Xi’an Famous Foods, a string of casual yet highly-regarded restaurants in NYC serving the authentic cuisine of China’s Shaanxi province. The family-run empire is a result of old world techniques (his father, David Shi, is an incredible chef who… Read More →
Changing Lives Through Food Darrie Ganzhorn is the executive director of Santa Cruz’s Homeless Garden Project, an incredible nonprofit that provides job training, transitional employment and support services to those in need on a 3-acre organic farm and garden. Trainees and volunteers grow and harvest fruits and vegetables that sustain daily lunches and fundraising farm… Read More →
There’s a hare in my soup! Oh, wait. It’s supposed to be there. Found on tables in the Americas, Europe, and parts of the Middle East, rabbit and hare are just as cute as they are delicious. Rabbit meat is most often categorized into three groups. Fryer cuts come from rabbits up to nine weeks… Read More →
The Queen City I’ve partnered up with Thrillist to bring you my behind-the-scenes tips on where to eat, where to stay, and what to do when you are traveling across the globe. My guide to eating like a lumberjack, dressing like a hipster and making your wife happy in the Queen City here.
Boston’s Pastry Perfectionist A Harvard-educated consultant-turned-pastry chef, Joanne Chang is an empire building restaurateur with four acclaimed Flour bakeries in Boston, and the popular pan-Asian Myers+Chang. Not making a trip to Boston any time soon? Try your hand at making the infamous, Throwdown-winning sticky buns at home from her cookbook Flour, Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery+Cafe (or… Read More →
Music City’s Most Innovative Chef After honing his skills at The French Laundry, Noma and Sea Change, Erik Anderson moved to Nashville to helm the kitchen at The Catbird Seat, a restaurant where free expression is encouraged and interactivity is the norm. Scoring a reservation may be a challenge, but once you’re in, you won’t… Read More →
Democratizing Entrepreneurship By Andrew Zimmern The long awaited Travail Kickstarter campaign is live. Check it out #prevailtravail. The campaign closes on October 10th, and represents a sea change in terms of how local restaurants get funded. To me, these types of projects have democratized entrepreneurship (obvi!), allowing customers to help push dollars to restaurants they believe in.… Read More →
What Am I? Chopped Liver? A variety of animals gloriously lend their livers to the food world. Beef, chicken, duck, and goose livers, also known colloquially and collectively as foie gras, monkfish liver, and pig liver, are just a few of these organs that end up on the global table. It can be baked, broiled,… Read More →
Living the Sweet Life in Paris A veteran pastry chef who spent 13 years working for Alice Waters at Berkley’s famed Chez Panisse, David Lebovitz has written six cookbooks including the best-selling The Perfect Scoop and The Sweet Life in Paris (stay tuned for the upcoming My Paris Kitchen, due out in 2014). After choosing the expat life in Paris… Read More →
A Toast to the New Year During Rosh Hashanah at my house, you’ll find dishes ripe with raisins, apples, honey and pomegranate alongside the traditional brisket or roasted chicken and noodle kugel. My grandma’s chopped chicken liver always has a place at my table, but especially during the holidays. This time of year it’s so… Read More →
PDX’s Leading Lady She gained street cred from her placement on Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs list in 2012, a stint on the current season of Top Chef Masters and a couple James Beard nominations, but Jenn Louis’ incredible farmhouse fare need only be tasted to win you over. The chef/owner of two of… Read More →
Good Inking Ever been so scared you’ve peed in your pants? Me neither, but I’ve been close. (Did you see the Bizarre Foods episode where I almost jumped off the nuclear reactor in South Africa…but chickened out? Yikes.) Squid, like most other cephalopods, have a similar problem. These animals have a mechanism that releases a blue-black… Read More →
Savor the Last Days of Summer This end-of-August heat wave has me digging through the archives for refreshing, light recipes for my Labor Day get-together. Here are a few ideas for appetizers and sides that’ll cool you down, from citrusy tomatillo salsa and pistachio-studded guacamole to tuna and cherry ceviche. If you’re looking for an… Read More →
The Big Apple I’ve partnered up with Thrillist to bring you my behind-the-scenes tips on where to eat, where to stay, and what to do when you are traveling across the globe. I love discovering hidden gems in my hometown, New York City. From amazing restaurants in Koreatown to the best bagel in the city, check out my… Read More →
Become a Cooking Wiz There are a few books that I feel are essential to every cook, chef and food lover’s library. If you cooked one recipe a night from one of these five books, within a year you’d be a serious culinarian. How to Cook Everything By Mark Bittman Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, makes… Read More →
Weekend in Montreal I’ve partnered up with Thrillist to bring you my behind-the-scenes tips on where to eat, where to stay, and what to do when you are traveling across the globe. First up, one of my favorite food cities– Montreal. From a fantastic cup of joe at Café Myriade to a gutsy and honest… Read More →
Devoted to Sustainable Seafood Jamie Malone prepares incredible seafood at Minneapolis’ acclaimed Sea Change, located on the Mississippi River in the contemporary Guthrie Theater complex. Her artfully curated menu showcases a variety of well-researched sustainable species, so delicious that Food & Wine recognized her on this year’s list of Best New Chefs. We chat with… Read More →
Inspired Cuisine From South of the Border Highly regarded for his avant garde desserts at modernist temples Alinea and wd~50, Alex Stupak surprised the culinary world when he opened a Mexican restaurant in 2010. Once the critics got over their bewilderment and tasted his creative take on this rich culinary tradition, most realized he’s just… Read More →
I ♥ Ox Heart Ox heart is lean, since it’s almost pure muscle, with very little fat and collagen. And coming in at around two pounds apiece, ox heart is offal-y large. It tastes like beef, which makes sense because oxen are cattle that have been trained as draft animals. Oxen are usually eaten after… Read More →
Exploring the World Through Food Naomi Duguid is a culinary anthropologist, translating her cultural encounters abroad into stories, photographic essays and recipes for the adventurous cook. A writer, photographer, traveler and cook, Naomi has co-authored six award-winning books including Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through South-East Asia and Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Stories from… Read More →
You scream. I scream. Ice cream? Bizarre? Let’s take care of the ground rules. Ice cream is a quintessentially frozen dessert treat made with dairy products. You love it. I love it. It takes an average of fifty licks to finish a single scoop of ice cream, unless you are my son, Noah. He’s a… Read More →
Bringing Thai to the Twin Cities Supenn Harrison introduced Minnesota to the flavors of her native Thailand when she opened her first Sawatdee restaurant in 1983. Thirty years later her story is one of great success – she’s the owner of seven acclaimed Thai restaurants, a cooking class instructor, the recipient of numerous awards and… Read More →
San Francisco’s Pastry Star Melissa Chou has presided over pastries at San Francisco’s Michelin-starred Aziza for the past five years, creating impressive desserts that wowed the folks at the James Beard Foundation (she was a finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2012 and 2013) and San Francisco Magazine, which named her Pastry Chef of the Year… Read More →
Danger! Beware of Japanese restaurants boasting glowing, globular, fish-shaped lanterns…it might mean a meal there could be your last. The lantern signifies that they specialize in serving toxic fugu, also called puffer fish or blowfish. Japan has been home to the fugu dish for hundreds of years, if not more. Anthropologists discovered remnants of fugu… Read More →
Indian Cooking in a Midwestern Kitchen Raghavan Iyer’s new cookbook, Indian Cuisine Unfolded, opens up the world of Indian cuisine for the American home cook by recreating some of his favorite dishes with ingredients found in the typical American grocery store. The Bombay native also narrated a Twin Cities Public Television documentary called Asian Flavors based on… Read More →
