Endless Simmer - A Food Blog

Tipsters Brian and Alex send us this shot of NBC weatherman and Food Network host Al Roker enjoying a BBQ feast last week at Manhattan’s trendy Hill Country BBQ. Now you may think this is not breaking food news, but consider this: According to ultra-reputable source wikipedia, Roker is an avid BBQ enthusiast; is well-known as one of New York’s best amateur jam-makers, with his raspberry being particularly delicious; and on many occasions has used the phrase “man candy” to describe attractive males. You learn something new everyday!

Seen a celeb chowing down? Send us your pics!

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It’s come to our attention that while all of you surely read every Endless Simmer post carefully and in its entirety, some of you may not have the time to scroll through and read the comments on every story. While we clearly disagree with your decision, we’ve decided to make it easier for you by providing this weekly roundup of the very best of ES commenters. This week:

- MamaBear raised an excellent point in the Cindy McCain/Michelle Obama Cookie War:

Whooooooooops! They BOTH screwed up. The winner ALWAYS goes to the one that posts a chocolate chip recipe. REALLY! Go back over the years.. and you’ll find.. the spouse of every elected President since they started doing this cookie contest.. has posted the good old.. Chocolate Chip Recipe! REALLY!! I’m NOT kidding! lol

- Several of you abstained from our bacon cocktail contest (Maidelitala: I refuse to vote on account I might vomit), but the rest of you were entranced by the idea of bacon-infused bourbon. JoeHoya, being JoeHoya, actually went home and tried it:

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Editors Note: When ES commenter miked emailed me this terrible story of a young vineyard worker that died from poor working conditions, I immediately knew I wanted it on the blog. Sure, we fuck around all the time, but we also care greatly about what we put into our body — the politics of food and its journey to the table. The new tag, Garden Fresh, inspired by rooms’ posts is a small gesture in that direction. Thanks, miked, for reminding ES that once in a while there are more important things than bacon.

I mostly stopped drinking “Two Buck Chuck” (aka Charles Shaw) when I moved from California to DC and found that it costs like $3.99 here—just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Also, I think it started to taste more like kerosene (or maybe my palate became sophisticated enough to recognize its gassy bouquet).

Whether or not you still indulge in 2-buck, or patronize Trader Joe’s, you might be interested in the sad story of a 17 year-old farmworker, Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez, who died of heat stroke working in the Stockton, CA vineyard that grows the grapes for Charles Shaw wines.

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One thing that I will never be accused of is being motivated. I don’t mean that I don’t want to succeed, or put the work in to do it. I mean that in the social sense. I’m not a social planner. If there is a party or a event, I’ll go, but only when pushed to do it. It’s not that I don’t like the people I hang out with, I’m just lazy. Put a TV, the Internet and a bowl of chips and salsa in front of me, and I’ll show you want it means to be sedentary.

But this Monday, I was forced out of my element. Gansie had Monday off as a prize for working overtime to plan a conference. For days, we discussed possibilities and settled upon, what else, food. Not just any food, either, destination eating.

Our destination? Jimmy Cantler’s just outside of Annapolis, MD. Anyone reading in DC, it’s only about a 45 minute drive, depending how long it takes you to get to highway 50 East. But eating fresh seafood on a picnic bench by the water truly made it feel like we were on vacation.

This is the point in the blog post where you may feel the urge to write scathing comments…

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99 bottles of beer on the wall…

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After a ridiculous night out on U Street a couple of months ago when BS came to visit DC, I not only thought it was a good idea to break out the video camera, but I also decided to introduce BS and Vi to an awesomely amazing snack staple of mine that I usually keep very secret: The Oscar Myer Microwavable CHEESE FILLED HOTDOG .

Now, I know what you’re thinking - how does such an awesome thing exist, and more importantly, HOW do I eat this, Liza? Never fear, here are my simple instructions, in video form:

Previous Tips:
Roast Beef Sandwich
String Cheese

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Anyone can eat bacon for breakfast, but it takes a real man to drink bacon for breakfast. No, we’re not talking about licking bacon grease from the pan (actually, you might want to reserve some of that to rim the edge of the glass with). No kidding, folks–it’s the bacon cocktail.

This whole crazy thing started, as many crazy things do, in Vegas, at the Double Down Saloon. They claim to have invented the bacon martini: Bacon-infused vodka, Tabasco, olive juice, a lil bacon grease for the edge, and of course, a slice of bacon.

If you like your drunk breakfast more on the sweet side, head to the Capitol Club in Seattle. The vodka here is infused with candied bacon and mixed with Godiva chocolate liquor and splash of cream. Intense.

Over in New York, ultra-hip bar PDT whips up some bacon-infused bourbon, and mixes it with maple syrup, bitters, and a twist of orange to make their Benton’s Old Fashioned. Confused? Grub Street has a video of how it’s done.

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Photos: CHOW, sparktography, dansays

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I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before but I have a second home. It’s nothing glamorous, just a small house on the beach that I go to with my friends every weekend in the summer, as one does, I suspect you have one too? While at the house my friends and I tend to cook a little more than we usually would while at our primary residence here in DC, as the restaurants can get a little boring down at the shore. Sometimes our cooking adventures are noteworthy and other times they are not. Over the course of the summer I will write a series of posts about my beach house cooking adventures, providing they are ES-worthy. This past weekend one of my friends, BJ, who I share the house with, whipped up something in a matter of moments that was indeed worth sharing.

As you may have read, tomatoes are on their way out. Apparently there is something called salmonella that has struck down tomatoes in the US. The source is not yet known but as a precaution red tomatoes are off the menu. BJ decided he was not going to be put off by this nonsense so he invested in some orange tomatoes. Daring, I know. He made a superb orange tomato, artichoke and pine nut bruschetta–his recipe is after the jump.

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From the top clockwise, TexMex black bean salad, Indian kidney bean salad, Italian cannelini bean salad.

So I’m a bit behind on this post, as I promised it back during MemDay weekend.

Anyway, this is a tale of vegetarianism, lactose intolerance and side dishes that spreads across three continents. For the first BBQ (I’m using the term as a party featuring grilled food, as meant in Jersey) of the season, I decided to make something that Maidelitala (veggie/lactard) could actually eat since she was the one who invited me to the birthday party.

The first thing I could think of to cook was a bean dish. I knew she loved beans and although I’m new to liking the genre, I thought this would be a great way to experiment. I spied this cannelini bean recipe over at Cookthink. As it’s well documented that I can’t follow instructions, I messed up a bit on the adding water part (put in way to much) and then I forgot the vinegar and added it after I took it off the pan. To make it my own, I mixed in asparagus and diced red onion and served it at room temperature. My bean salad was surely a hit, especially smashed on a baguette.

But clearly, this is not the end of the story. As you can see pictured above, there were two other competing bean salads. And I shit you not, these three bean salads were the only non-grilled side dishes. It was super embarrassing. Luckily, all of the bean salads were different and delicious. Mine had a more Italian theme. The host’s mom made a TexMex black bean salad and Maidelitala created a stunningly tasty Indian bean salad. Her recipe post jump.

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