My Favorite Cookbooks of the Year Every year hundreds of cookbooks are published, dozens of which deserve a spot on your shelf. But we’ve tried to narrow it down to a handful that really impress–whether it’s the private cooking lessons from the world’s best chefs in Dana Cowin’s Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen, cooking… Read More →
Gift Giving Inspiration From products made by my students at Babson, such as the Craic & Blonde Haitian Pikliz and the super cool FireQube, to Shop Andrew Zimmern swag and my new line of cookware with CHEFS Catalog, here are my gift giving recommendations for 2014. We’ve also thrown in a few mainstays that never go out of… Read More →
Marcus Off Duty In Marcus Off Duty, chef, award-winning author and TV host Marcus Samuelsson steps out of the restaurant and into his home kitchen, where he teaches readers to cook global, flavorful and approachable recipes. It’s a beautiful book, filled with funky illustrations, stories, personalized playlists, and his tips and tricks for tackling ethnic… Read More →
Grilled Sardines with Charred Peppers By George Mendes Fresh sardines are completely different from the tiny, salted canned kind. They’re as fatty as salmon but with firm yet flaky mild white flesh. Their thin skin’s tough enough to hold up on the grill, but delicate–and delicious–enough to eat. I love the roasted, marinated peppers here,… Read More →
Salade de Poireaux, Sauce Moutarde By Denise Lurton Moullé Leeks are a staple in France. All vegetable gardens have leeks planted and French farmers’ markets offer beautiful, tall, firm leeks throughout the fall and winter. As common and as inexpensive as potatoes, leeks are used throughout the long French winters to make soup (the sentimental… 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 →
Barbecue Beef Ribs By Tom Mylan
Where to Eat & Drink on the North Shore By Molly Mogren Perched next to the great Gitche Gumee (that would be Lake Superior), Duluth, Minnesota and the North Shore offer up some of the most beautiful vistas in the northern United States. It’s also home to some pretty amazing food. That combo made this… Read More →
Heritage Hog Renaissance As the founder of the pork-centric culinary competition Cochon 555, Brady Lowe is on a mission to remind us what true pork tastes like. In each of the 10 cities on the annual tour, Cochon 555 showcases five chefs, five heritage breed pigs and five winemakers to promote breed diversity and whole animal… Read More →
NFL Perks & Challenging the 70/30 Rule By Andrew Zimmern Local scribes and pundits have gone all “WHAT?!?!?!?” on their social streams expressing outrage that the NFL requested a massive perk list before awarding the 2018 Super Bowl to Minneapolis. All for free. That’s like crying fire after you passed around the gasoline and matches, for… Read More →
Pickled Fried Fish By Andrew Zimmern I love escabeche and so does the rest of the world. But Americans don’t adore it the same way. It’s like our relationship with soccer: We get it, and when we try it we love it, but it’s a new passion. Around the world, the oilier and fishier, the… Read More →
Sin City Recommendations Las Vegas is wholly intoxicating, a city dedicated to sensory overload that’s all about being the biggest and the best. And while chefs from all over the country are generating a lot of great food in glamorous settings on the Strip, you won’t be sorry if you venture off the main drag… Read More →
Moroccan Seafood Grill By Andrew Zimmern I love grilled scallops. The delicate, mild meat goes well with a hint of smoky flavor, plus it makes for a quick meal. Paired with a Moroccan tomato and red pepper chutney, these grilled scallops are delicious served with a basmati rice pilaf and roasted vegetables.
Rust Belt Revival After years spent working in some of the best restaurants in New York City, chef Jonathon Sawyer is back in his hometown, raising his family and Cleveland’s food profile. He’s become an incredible son of Ohio, who has changed this town’s culinary landscape with his restaurants Noodlecat, Sawyer’s Street Frites, SeeSaw Pretzel… Read More →
#JBFA Every year a new crop of Bizarre Foods alums win Journalism and Media awards. This year Tim Byres led the charge for his book Smoke. Buy it. It’s a great one. Amy Thielen is loved by all, she cleaned up this year and her son Hank and husband Aaron were by her side all weekend.… Read More →
Congratulations JBF Award Winners! I had a fantastic weekend at the James Beard Foundation Awards in NYC, the nation’s most prestigious awards ceremony honoring professionals in the food and beverage biz. Winners of the Foundation’s annual Book, Broadcast, and Journalism Awards were presented on May 2, at Gotham Hall in New York City, during a… Read More →
Another Austin Food & Wine has come and gone, and I for one can’t wait for 2015. One of the most fun, intimate festivals in the country. Without further ado, some of the best moments (and one sort of ugly one) from this year’s party: 1. Paul Qui has confirmed for me that the Next Big Food Trend… Read More →
#OnlyinMN I’m constantly traveling around the world, but there is no place I would rather be than my home state, Minnesota. What makes the land of 10,000 lakes so great? Check out just some of my favorites things to do only in Minnesota. MINNESOTA STATE FAIR I love the Minnesota State Fair so much that I try… Read More →
A Nashville Staple You can’t talk about the Nashville food scene without mentioning hot chicken. This dish is to Nashville’s food what the Opry is to music, and a trip to Music City is incomplete without trying it. Here’s the run down: chicken pieces are marinated, usually in buttermilk, then dredged in a mix of… Read More →
Madtown Recommendations By Molly Mogren Wisconsin’s capital city is also its biggest college town. While Badgers are known to party hard, this hippy-dippy town also offers up amazing ethnic restaurants, classic German bars and locally-driven fine dining. Without further ado… The Classics Tornado Steak House An old-school steak house serving up classic cuts (T-bones, ribeyes… Read More →
Congrats to the Nominees! Yesterday, the James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for the 2014 JBF awards. Congratulations to all of the nominees, what a talented pool of culinary greatness. If you didn’t catch the nominee announcement, the full list is below. The winners for the Book, Broadcast and Journalism Awards will be announced at… Read More →
The Publican’s Signature Dish By Paul Kahan and Brian Huston The James Beard Foundation Award nominees are announced today, so we asked last year’s recipient of the Outstanding Chef award, Paul Kahan, to share one of his favorite recipes. From modernist fine dining to a beer-focused gastropub, chef Paul Kahan’s multifaceted restaurant empire is a… Read More →
Oh, Rats! I have eaten quite a few rats in my day, and I’m here to tell you they are pretty darn tasty. Bush and pack rats of several species in Arizona, jungle rats of several types in Ecuador and Suriname, Royal rats (gibnuts) in Belize, cane rats in Uganda, rice rats in Thailand, a giant… Read More →
Hong Kong-Style Seafood Fishman Lobster Clubhouse is the best Hong Kong-style seafood restaurant in North America. Whole king crabs, fish, eels, and massive lobsters are all cooked family-style with such finesse and in so many styles that I think about this place every day. Made from a single crustacean, the 13-pound lobster tower with chiles… Read More →
Lessons Learned Along the Way By Andrew Zimmern John Besh is one of the great culinarians of our time. He owns and operates nine fantastic restaurants – August, La Provence, and Domenica, to name a few. He’s got TV shows, and endorsements and cool things with his name on them, but I admire him most for how… 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 →
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 →
Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook Hank Shaw’s James Beard award-winning blog, Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, documents his adventures hunting, gathering and cooking with editorials and recipes that expound his admirable, back-to-nature philosophy – we need to take ownership of the food we eat by buying, hunting, foraging and consuming honest ingredients. The former line cook and… Read More →
Congratulations JBF Award Winners! I just returned from the James Beard Foundation Awards in NYC, the nation’s most prestigious awards ceremony honoring professionals in the food and beverage biz. Winners of the Foundation’s annual Book, Broadcast, and Journalism Awards were presented on May 3, at Gotham Hall in New York City, during a ceremony hosted… Read More →
The Live Music Capital Celebrates Food I just returned from another great year at the Austin Food & Wine Festival. Austin is one of the best food towns in the world, filled with talented chefs and adventurous eaters. It was a jam-packed weekend, I taught a grilling demo with Tim Love, cooked wild bird three… Read More →
