How to Shell a Lobster Buying a live lobster, dispatching it, cooking it properly and then extracting all of the meat can be an intimidating process. I totally get it. However, if you love lobster—or are trying to impress someone with a luxurious meal—cooking it at home is easier than you think and far more… Read More →
Wok-Tossed Crickets in Black Bean Sauce By Andrew Zimmern High in protein and rich in minerals, crickets are the most popular insect eaten around the world. Tossing the crickets in a hot wok with Chinese fermented black beans is the best way to cook and eat the nutty, crunchy bugs. I think this is real… Read More →
Hollandaise Sauce By Andrew Zimmern Mastering this classic French mother sauce is a skill every cook should learn—it provides a base for many other sauces and is a versatile technique to have in your back pocket. Making traditional hollandaise can be intimidating, many attempts to emulsify butter and egg yolks have certainly resulted in a… Read More →
How to Prepare Artichokes The edible bud of a thistle plant, artichokes can be intimidating to prepare and cook. Covered in an armor of spiky bracts and filled with a fibrous inedible choke, their defense system is on point. Cleaning, trimming and prepping them for cooking is easy once you learn a few simple tricks.… Read More →
Bar La Grassa This ode to Italy isn’t your grandparent’s eye-talian eatery. With moody date-night lighting beaming from chandeliers, a steel pasta bar that provides the best seats in the house, and a broad range of shareable plates, Bar La Grassa is one of the great Italian restaurants in the Twin Cities with consistently good… Read More →
What is Huitlacoche? Easy to identify from its grey kernels, huitlacoche is a fungal mold that grows on corn. Often called corn smut or Mexican truffle, it’s considered a delicacy with its uniquely sweet, earthy, funky, antique corn flavor. Use the huitlacoche to season soups, saute it with vegetables, stuff it in a quesadilla or… Read More →
French Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette By Andrew Zimmern Famed French chef Pierre Gagnaire taught me how to make his grandmother’s classic mustard vinaigrette while I was filming an episode of Bizarre Foods in his Paris restaurant. Make a big batch of the dressing base without cream and store it in the fridge to prolong its shelf… Read More →
Bizarre Foods: Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Premieres Tuesday, August 1 at 9|8c on Travel Channel On this episode of Bizarre Foods, I’m following in the footsteps of famed frontiersman Daniel Boone, from colonial Virginia to the fertile lands of Kentucky. While visiting the re-constructed frontier fort at Martin’s Station, reeling in flathead catfish on the Kentucky… Read More →
Bizarre Foods Season Premiere Tuesday July 25, 9|8c on Travel Channel On the season premiere of Bizarre Foods, I’m headed to Texas to explore American cowboy life, past and present. The cowboy is the last great American icon, a romantic, rugged symbol of our frontier past. Camping along the Chisholm trail—the storied bovine highway that… Read More →
Tilia Chef Steven Brown is one of Minneapolis’ greatest assets. At Tilia, he’s taken the concept of a comfortable neighborhood restaurant and perfected it—from the cozy atmosphere and kitchen counter seating, to the affordable, yet insanely delicious menu. It’s a place I can take my kid for breakfast, my wife for lunch and my lawyer… Read More →
Nico Osteria By Bob & Sue This Paul Kahan restaurant on Rush Street features imaginative Italian fare. Executive Chef Erling Wu-Bower, a James Beard finalist in 2017, brings his own interpretation to traditional dishes. Crudo selections included Suzuki bass with chili flakes, Madai snapper with a kohlrabi salsa verde, bigeye tuna with black olives and… Read More →
A Few Paris Gems By Bob & Sue In addition to our favorite Michelin 3- and 2-star restaurants (L’Astrance, Le Cinq, L’Ambroisie, Pierre Gagnaire, Jean Francoise Piege, and L’Atelier Robuchon), we enjoyed some exciting meals in smaller venues and bistros: Chez Georges This old fashioned bistro delivers classic dishes as well as anyone in… Read More →
What is the best thing you ate while filming these episodes of Bizarre Foods? The classic fixins’ from the inside of the hog at Gerald Lemoine’s farm in Moreauville, Louisiana. They shoot a hog, clean all the entrails and collect the blood. The hog goes on the spit, split-open to be turned into their version of cochon… Read More →
Celebrate Chinese New Year With These Recipes Chinese cooking has complex, technique-driven elements, which makes it a bit daunting for the average home cook. But, practice makes perfect. Get a great cookbook, and cook a new dish twice a week. Next, make sure you have the right equipment (a good wok, a bamboo steamer) and the… Read More →
Fish in Chili Sauce By Kei Lum and Diora Fong Chan Recipe from China: The Cookbook by Kei Lum and Diora Fong Chan.
Hot and Sour Soup By Kei Lum and Diora Fong Chan
Caribbean Brilliance at Fish, Wings & Tings London is fast becoming one of the best restaurant cities in the world, and it’s not just because of Harrod’s Food Hall or stalwarts like Fergus Henderson’s St. John (although I can’t go to London without eating at both), there is culinary brilliance happening in unexpected places. If… Read More →
A Local’s Top Recommendation for Medellin Tune in for Andrew Zimmern’s Driven by Food: Medellin, Tuesday August 30 at 9|8c on Travel Channel. Nestled in the gorgeous Aburra Valley in northwestern Colombia, Medellin has come a long way since it was dubbed the most dangerous city in the world during the reign of Pablo Escobar.… Read More →
Eat Andrew Zimmern’s favorite fair foods and share your pics for a chance to win. There’s a reason Andrew finds himself at the Minnesota State Fair for every one of its 12 days: the food. Sure, every year brings new booths to peruse and novelties to try, but nothing beats traditional state fair chow from… Read More →
Mind Blowing Thai Food at Soei Catch Andrew Zimmern’s Driven by Food: Bangkok, Tuesday August 23 at 9|8c on Travel Channel. Located along the railroad track in the Dusit neighborhood, Soei is my new favorite restaurant in Bangkok. Our meal at this casual, open-air restaurant simply blew me away. Nearly every single thing I ordered… Read More →
Where to Eat at the Minnesota State Fair I love the Minnesota State Fair so much that I try to go all 12 days. Every year there’s a list of new food booths, serving all types of novelty deep-fried on-a-stick creations, but I’m a traditionalist when it comes to state fair chow. What’s the key… Read More →
Nothing beats simple, homemade pesto in the summer. Most recipes for traditional basil pesto call for pine nuts, but I’m here to make the case for pumpkin seeds. I fell in love with pumpkin seeds (pepitas) after visiting Mexico, where seeds and nuts are used in a variety of recipes, from salsas to desserts. I… Read More →
Andrew Zimmern’s Driven by Food kicks off in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, August 16 at 9|8c on Travel Channel. In the series premiere, I’m visiting the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro to experience it like a real carioca, tapping into three local cab drivers to get a true feel for this bustling, diverse metropolis.… Read More →
Mediterranean Food Heaven in Cyprus Cyprus is an island paradise, and a crossroads of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culture. It’s also a nation ripped in half by decades of conflict. In Nicosia, Cyprus, the world’s last remaining occupied and divided city, there is a small café called the Berlin 2 Wall Kebab House. They serve a… Read More →
Modern Food, Age-Old Technique Defined more than a decade ago by chefs Claus Meyer and Rene Redzepi, the New Nordic food movement is reimagining what Scandinavian cuisine is, with a focus on seasonality, sustainability, animal welfare and traditional Nordic ingredients. And while this ground breaking philosophy has famously fueled avant-garde creativity, exploring old traditions is… Read More →
My Best Recipes for Spring Produce I love hearty meals in a bowl as much as the next guy, but it’s time to swap out beef stew and chili for recipes highlighting fresh spring produce. Here in the upper Midwest, we love anything that comes out of the ground as early asparagus, morels, ramps and rhubarb. And… Read More →
Tips & Tricks for Tastier Vegetables Working with vegetables seems easy. It’s not. What it is, though, is simple. Keep a few things in mind and dishes like my vegetable barigoule become easier and tastier. • • • Add layers of flavors and texture when cooking vegetables. Peas are delicious. Why not smear a large bowl… Read More →
Artichoke & Asparagus Barigoule By Andrew Zimmern Barigoule is classic, it’s French and it’s the perfect time of year for it. IT’S SPRING! You can put on some great music, open the kitchen window and have a great dish to snack on all week long. I usually double this recipe because it goes so fast… Read More →
Wok Cooking Essentials Wok cooking is intimidating, but it’s the most versatile and handy tool in your kitchen. It can braise, fry, sauté, and even make a handy smoker (I use one of my woks fitted with a small inset grate to tea smoke duck and squab all the time). Because of its unique shape,… Read More →
Eating Words: A Norton Anthology of Food Writing Edited by literary critic Sandra Gilbert and professor and award-winning restaurant critic Roger Porter, Eating Words is a vast volume of exquisite food writing, from Biblical times through modern day. It’s a historically and conceptually diverse anthology, that goes beyond mere consumption and explores food’s relation to politics,… Read More →
