Soft-Shell Crab Toasts By Andrew Zimmern Over the years my love for crabs has grown steadily. I set my culinary calendar for the soft-shell crab season and eat them as often as I can. Freshness is paramount. When taken straight from the water, especially in the Mid-Atlantic coastal states, the intense saline brightness is almost… Read More →
The Votes Are In! Hosted by yours truly and an expert panel of 43 in-the-know culinary experts, the 2015 Munchies: People’s Choice Food Awards recognize the best-of-the-best in the food biz. After more than five weeks of competition and hundreds of thousands of votes, Tablespoon.com reveals the 2015 winners in 20 different categories, from terrific tastemakers to top food… Read More →
Minnesota Restaurants Supporting Local Farms I love all four seasons, but there are few greater things in life than the first days of a Minnesota spring. We love celebrating another winter survived, and if you’re anything like me, food plays a huge role. I can’t wait until restaurants unveil their spring menus, teeming with fresh… Read More →
Celebrate spring with this delicious and easy Spanish classic. By Andrew Zimmern I love paella. It’s easy and more forgiving than risotto for the home cook. Paella is typically cooked over an open fire. I often do mine on my grill, over cherry and hickory hardwood coals. The crust develops superbly, while the aroma and flavor… Read More →
Pig in the Stable The Cochon 555 weekend takeover kicked off with a Chef’s Course Dinner at Spoon and Stable last Friday—a seated five-course meal prepared by host chef Gavin Kaysen, Steven Brown, Erik Anderson, Doug Flicker, Diane Yang and yours truly. An amazing group of local chefs that have made this city’s food scene what… Read More →
VOTE NOW! I’m happy to announce that The Munchies: People’s Choice Food Awards is back for its fourth year, honoring 100 of the top food experiences in America, along with Dan Barber as the inaugural Inspirational Food Thought Leader. The public can vote for nominees from across the country, chosen by an expert panel of… Read More →
Trust me, you don’t want to miss this. Cochon 555, one of the country’s most talked about culinary competitions, comes to Minneapolis on Mar. 1, 2015 to celebrate family farms, heritage breed pigs and today’s emerging chef community. This epic culinary experience coming here is further validation of our position as one of the great… Read More →
A Love Letter to Food With Love, Go Fork Yourself We celebrate the season of love by letting our crushes know how we really feel. Andrew, Molly and many of our food-loving friends like Lidia Bastianich, Hugh Acheson and Dana Cowin pour their hearts out on this special Valentine’s Day episode of Go Fork Yourself.… Read More →
London’s Best Splurge-Worthy Indian Food The first Indian restaurant in the world to receive a Michelin star, and one of only a handful that have one to this day, Tamarind of Mayfair celebrates traditional Moghul cuisine with an emphasis on tandoor oven cooking. This is a special occasion kind of restaurant, one where you feel like… Read More →
Embrace the Cold A lot of people think I’m nuts when I tell them I live in Minnesota. Yeah, it’s cold here. However, the difference between Minnesotans and most other folks is that we embrace the cold. We ski, ice fish, skate and sled. We even still cook outdoors. We pack our weekends with loads… Read More →
A Mecca of Korean Cuisine Over the past decade, Los Angeles has become as famous for its food as it is for its celebrity sightings. It is also home to the country’s largest Korean population, and with them came incredible, authentic Korean cuisine in all shapes and sizes. Here are a few restaurants that won’t disappoint… Read More →
9 Brunch Recipes to Ring in the New Year New Year’s Day is for taking a deep breath after a few weeks of holiday celebrations, lazing on the couch with the family, and naturally, eating lots of good food. Here are a few easy brunch ideas to start your new year off right, from a… Read More →
Best of 2014: Part 2 Best of 2014 To celebrate the end of a great year, here is part two of our Best of 2014 episodes. One of our favorite interviews from 2014, Andrew sat down with Alton Brown in his trailer on the Cutthroat Kitchen lot to have a very honest and personal conversation… Read More →
Recommendations for the Far Flung Faroe Islands Halfway between Iceland and Norway in the heart of the North Atlantic, the Faroe Islands have famously been described as ‘the windy edge of nowhere.’ The 50,000 Faroese who live among the 18 islands are proud descendants of a Viking culture that landed here 1,200 years ago. Centuries… 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 →
Taste of the NFL founder Wayne Kostroski was recently honored with the Pedestal Award at this year’s Legends Invitational. The award recognizes former NFL players who are committed to giving back to their communities through philanthropic efforts. Kostroski, who was also the James Beard Humanitarian of the Year in 2010, is passionate about raising awareness… Read More →
Save Room for Dessert Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because we celebrate our cultures with our families surrounded by something other than gift-giving… and there’s lots of great grub. From a classic pumpkin pie and gooey pecan tart to an updated apple cake with porter fudge caramel, here are nine delicious desserts to… Read More →
Roast Crown of Goose By Giana & Clovisse Ferguson Goose will always be a celebration dish – the bird itself is large and its meat is very rich, so it lends itself to feeding a big table full of family. The reason for removing the legs is that they always overcook and dry out; here… Read More →
Johnny Iuzzini Sugar Rush Johnny Iuzzini talks about his relationship with Dorie Greenspan, how new bakers should approach a recipe, and his days as a club kid. Plus, Andrew shares his litmus test for dealing with a bad experience at a restaurant. Get: Sugar Rush (Amazon) Go:In Celebration of Chocolate, Destination Chocolate See: Big Blue Tailgatin’… Read More →
A Few Important Issues Support Local Food The 70/30 law is a twenty-year-old sales ratio that’s no longer compatible with today’s dining culture. It’s antiquated legislation that needs to be removed for small businesses to be able to thrive and grow. Here’s the gist: In 1983, Minneapolis passed a law that required restaurants and bars… 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 →
Changing the Way We Think About Food Devoted to celebrating, nurturing and preserving America’s diverse culinary heritage, the James Beard Foundation is very dear to me. The JBF fosters thought leadership, provides scholarships for culinary students, and sets the bar for culinary excellence with the annual James Beard Awards. And this video sums it all… 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 →
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 →
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 →
#TBT Back in 2001, Minneapolis was the host city for the annual IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) conference. Marcus Samuelsson was chef and owner at Aquavit in Minneapolis at the time. Aquavit hosted a fantasy dinner to celebrate the end of event with a menu put together by Marcus, Tetsuya Wakuda and the late… Read More →
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 →
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 →
