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 →
Where to Eat at the Great Minnesota Get-Together 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 every type of novelty deep-fried and on-a-stick creations, but when it comes down to it, half of the food sales comes… Read More →
Vibrant Summer Salad By Andrew Zimmern The trio of grilled radicchio (I prefer the long-leaf varietal for this recipe), goat cheese and tomato is about as essential as it gets, focusing heavily on sour-salty-bitter-sweet. Paired with crusty bread it stands on its own, thanks to the cheese pairing, but it’s also killer with something off… 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 →
Eat Clean. Live Loud. Melissa Joulwan is a badass. A retired Texas Rollergirl, Mel J has a serious thing for friendly competition, the band Social Disortion and cooking up a storm. In 2008, she launched her blog, Clothes Make the Girl, which kinda started out as a lifestyle/style site and eventually became one of the… Read More →
How to Cook & Entertain for a Crowd By Andrew Zimmern Ben Ford is a true gem of the culinary world. His new book, Taming the Feast, is a departure from your run-of-the-mill cookbook. I am not looking for another way to make a Caesar salad. I want to know how to make wood-fired paella and roast… Read More →
Like Father, Like Son Marc Forgione, the Michelin-starred mohawked chef who won Food Network’s Next Iron Chef in 2010, began his culinary career working for his father, beloved chef Larry Forgione. After cooking in kitchens in France, he joined Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Prime empire as corporate sous chef, before opening his eponymous NYC restaurant in… 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 →
Gratin de Pommes de Terre au Bleu et à l’ail Confit By David Lebovitz Although I’ve confessed to never being comfortable with the term comfort food, I’ll admit it’s a pretty spot-on moniker for potato gratin. Pouring cream over a dish of potatoes and adding some blue cheese and garlic, mellowed and sweetened by oven… 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 →
For the Love of Ramen Ivan Orkin’s path to culinary greatness is somewhat like folklore. A Jewish guy from Long Island falls in love with Japanese culture and cuisine, marries a Japanese woman and moves to Tokyo. In 2007, he opens a ramen shop as a gaijin (foreigner) in a city where residents are passionately… Read More →
Khao Niaw Sankhaya Turian By Andy Ricker Durian has a powerful aroma. Westerners, who tend to shun the fruit, would probably choose a stronger term. In Southeast Asia, however, durian is considered the queen of fruit and it fetches a high price. Yet even where durian has fans, it’s not always welcome. Cabs, trains, and… Read More →
Food and Stories From Thailand If you’re looking for a lesson in Thai cooking, there is no better teacher than Andy Ricker. As the James Beard award winning chef and owner of a thriving Pok Pok empire that includes seven restaurants between Portland and New York City, Ricker has become one of the most knowledgeable… Read More →
Eating Queens Queens-based food writer Joe DiStefano has been covering the borough’s ethnic food beat for more than a decade. When it comes to ethnic diversity, some estimates name Queens as number one in the world – it’s so rich that DiStefano has made exploring the borough his life’s work. He’s our go-to guide for… Read More →
Kings of Dude Food As chef/owners of the widely acclaimed restaurants Animal and the seafood-centric Son of a Gun, Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo are anchors of the Los Angeles food scene. These rockstar chefs turned successful restaurateurs also recently opened Trois Mec with pop-up king Ludo Lefebvre, plus another project in the works. Dotolo… Read More →
Thai-Style Carrot Soup By Andrew Zimmern Carrots and curry were made for each other. Michael Voltaggio’s cold carrot salad with Thai flavors at Ink., in Los Angeles, is so superbly crafted that I thought about it for days after trying it. At home I don’t do anything with liquid nitrogen or as many bells and… Read More →
Preserving Eastern European Heritage Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company is an iconic Twin Cities restaurant and deli, serving Eastern European sausages and comfort classics for more than 50 years. The Kramarczuk family’s story is an ultimate immigrant success story. Wasyl and Anna Kramarczuk moved to the United States to escape war-torn Europe in 1949. In the 50s,… Read More →
Curry in a Hurry By Andrew Zimmern This Indian-inspired curry is a healthy, meatless main dish that makes for a quick weeknight meal (and great leftovers). Serve with basmati rice and a cool cucumber salad seasoned with mint and lemon juice.
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 →
A Quintessential Italian-American Dinner By Andrew Zimmern A steaming bowl of al dente spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce, fresh basil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. To round it all out, serve with crusty bread (or breadsticks) and a big salad.
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 →
My Riff on a Classic Lebanese Salad By Andrew Zimmern Tabbouleh is chock full of fresh, in-season summer ingredients such as tomatoes, cucumbers and fragrant herbs. It’s not only healthy and packed with that bright citrusy flavor you crave this time of year, tabbouleh is a cinch to make. Be sure to let the composed… 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 →
Not-Your-Mother’s Coleslaw By Raghavan Iyer Unless your mama is from western India, chances are this is not your mother’s mayo- smothered, garlic powder-ridden coleslaw. Nutty, tart, with a citrus burst, these crunchy shreds of cabbage pack just the right amount of heat from the fairly benign Serrano chiles. Serve it as is for a salad… Read More →
Summertime Recipe Round-up The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. There’s no better way to celebrate America’s independence (and my birthday) than sitting around with the family, swimming, grilling up my favorite meat, noshing on fresh summer eats and indulging my inner pyro. Here are a few of my top picks, from… Read More →
Cool Down By Andrew Zimmern In the heat of the summer, turning on the stove isn’t always ideal — and the thought of hot food isn’t always appealing. Cold soup to the rescue! Gazpacho might be the most widely recognized chilled soup, but we’re here to tell you there’s a whole world of cold soup options ready… Read More →
Advocate for Healthy Kids Already an accomplished cookbook author and entrepreneur, Sally Sampson decided she wanted to address obesity by inspiring kids to cook and eat real food. In 2010, she launched ChopChop, a nonprofit quarterly magazine that features nutritious recipes, as well as food-related fun facts and games, and in 2013 ChopChop was named Publication of… Read More →
Perfect Picnic Food By Mindy Fox Homemade tabbouleh, especially when heavy on the lemon and herbs, has an extraordinarily fresh and vibrant quality that is lacking in most store-bought versions. Though the bulgur requires some time to soak, by the time you’re finished chopping up the herbs and vegetables, the salad is tossed together in… Read More →
Soft-Shell Crab Gets a Makeover I call this yakitori style because of the sauce — because yaki means chicken and tori means skewered grilling, and this dish is neither! But the simmering nage (broth) that you bathe the duck in reminds me of yakitori bars all over Japan. The cooking technique for the duck can be used to great effect in other recipes… Read More →
Latin Flavor Ingrid Hoffmann has built a large following around her Delicioso brand – she’s the lovely host of a popular TV show on the Cooking Channel and Univision, the creative director of a Latin-influenced cooking line and a best-selling cookbook author. Ingrid shares her go-to recipes for entertaining, tips for healthy eating habits from… Read More →
