October, 2009 -

by BS

R.I.P. Gourmet Magazine: 1940 – 2009

Sad day for those of you who prefer your food journalism in dead tree form. Beleagured publishing giant Conde Nast has announced they’re pulling the plug on Gourmet magazine after nearly seven decades in print.

Gourmet’s impending doom had long been rumored, but highfalutin foodies held out hope that Conde Nast would shutter Gourmet’s more downmarket sibling Bon Appetit instead. Personally, I’m glad to see BA survive (at least for now), as it offers more content for run-of-the-mill food lovers while Gourmet was a little too focused on Paris wine bars for my taste. But it’s still sad to see such a longstanding food world authority fall by the wayside.

The November issue of Gourmet will be the magazine’s last. Fortunately, Gourmet’s recipes will live on via the Interwebs at Epicurious.

What say, you ESers? Will you mourn the death of Gourmet?

in Personal 12 comments

by BS

Hot Carb-on-Carb Action in the Buff

It’s an unwritten rule of lunchtime that whatever food you’re eating should be somehow encased in a layer of bread or alternate form of carbohydrates. Yet despite the waning popularity of the Atkins diet, few establishments are bold enough to up the ante and serve lunch encased in two layers of said carbs. You wouldn’t wrap a quesadilla in a taco shell, throw a bagel sandwich on a sub roll, or stuff spaghetti inside a bread bowl. OK, well at least most of you wouldn’t do that last one.

Fortunately, Jamaicans (well, specifically the Jamaican Buff Patty lunch counter by my house in Brooklyn) observe no such standards of carbohydrate restraint. I was shocked/delighted to learn that their patties — which come with beef, veggies or jerk chicken inside — are not only surrounded by a crispy fried shell, but that shell is then wrapped inside a hefty hunk of coco bread. Insane? Genius? Both, I say. You get crispy carbs and doughy carbs in each and every bite. Now that’s what I call a lunch.

PS – this concoction costs a whopping $2.50 — cheapest lunch ever.

PPS – Yes, I went for a 5-mile run afterwards. No, I don’t think that burned off all the carbs I consumed.

by gansie

Ginger Loving Care

I know the weekend is near when I get an email from the farmers market director on Friday afternoon. Rebbie Higgins writes about what she’s been eating:

You may feel like you’re up to your armpits in tomatoes (everyone’s a gardener this year!), but it won’t last forever, so enjoy them while you can. Tree and Leaf is already starting to bring their green tomatoes: I fry them in olive oil and serve them on brown rice with a fried egg and salt for comfort food.

Rebbie also highlights the market’s rare gem for that week:

Tree and Leaf grew ginger. I can’t believe it. They’re only selling it at the MtP market and it won’t last long. Combine with butternut squash and the new Quaker Valley Orchard pears, and make a delicious Gingered Squash and Pear Soup. Top with fried sage and fresh chives. Sounds like Fall to me!

Ginger! Ginger! Holy crap. I never thought about the beginnings of ginger. How it grows, what it looks like, the climate and soil needed…But oh I’ll buy it (even at $15 per pound.) Young ginger hasn’t grown that pale golden skin yet. The ginger is bright and white, with flecks of hot pink. There were green stems popping out as well. While not edible, they can be added to soups for a ginger flavor. (The woman buying the ginger ahead of me talked about brewing a tea with the ginger stem and pineapple.)

I didn’t have such bold ambitions, but wanted to create something to highlight the fresh ginger.

in Recipe / Veggie 2 comments

by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

– Me thinks foraging for edible flowers is the next locavore food trend. Jakesg:

I was camping out at a friend’s farm near La Center, Washington (State) earlier this summer and when we all awoke he had prepared a breakfast of squash flowers. They were breaded and stuffed with an amazing omelet. Uneffinreal.

erica:

i don’t know about marigolds, but i freaking love nasturtiums.

– Are rice cookers cheating? ES readers say no way. Summer:

Using a rice cooker can’t possibly be considered cheating! Rice cookers are standard equipment in Asian kitchens, so in my opinion, it’s not cheating any more than it would be cheating to use an electric stove to boil water for pasta. I dearly love my rice cooker, and use it several times a week.

– And of course every ESer has their own theory about who got Padma Knocked up:

in Celebs / TV 2 comments

by gansie

Switching Savory for Sweet

It’s absolutely KILLING ME but I haven’t been to the White House farmers market yet. It’s only a few blocks from my office, but I’ve been out of town, then out at a conference and then this week I didn’t leave my desk until quarter after 6 and the market closes at seven. No Michelle Obama treats for me.

But I hid my disappoint and redirected my energy to the challenge at home. 80P had to leave for class by 7:30, meaning we had to start eating by 7 (or at least start taking pictures of what I made.) I got home 6:30. I literally had to make a 30 minute meal. This alone is comical.

My aunt bought me one of Rachel Ray’s 30 minute cookbooks, I think it was entertaining themed. The recipes easily took me triple the 30 minutes (probably because I refused to follow the instructions. Whatever). But that was years ago. Could I actually whip something up, and not just breakfast burritos, in 30 minutes?

Okay, so I mentally scan my kitchen on the bus ride home. What’s going bad? What’s fresh? What can be made quickly. And then I remembered what I almost made for dinner the night before. But then the Phillies gladly interrupted my life and I had to find a bar to watch the Phils capture the division. Yes, ma’am, that’s a three-peat.

My focus was on the rosemary country white loaf. Very about-to-go bad. And dude, isn’t that scary: how can a sliced loaf bought in the store last 3 weeks but an unsliced loaf bought at the market last for days.

Anyway, I had to use that bread. And I didn’t just want to cube it for croutons. I thought about a dish incorporating eggs, of course. I noticed that stratas require hours of marinating.

What about french toast? Those slices only take minutes to absorb the egg and milk. But wait. There’s rosemary in that bread. Syrup won’t work with rosemary. Hmm…

in Cheese / Eggs / Recipe / Veggie 3 comments

by BS

Breaking Gossip: Padma Expecting Mini-Padma

Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah. Stop the presses. Or whatever the online equivalent is. Keep the presses going, I guess.

Grub Street points us towards the “Moms and Babies” section of US Weekly’s website (yes, it’s an entire section), where the latest item is about close friend of ES PADMA LAKSHMI. Yes, it’s what you’re thinking:

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi is pregnant, her rep confirms.

So much to discuss! What does this mean for her sitcom deal? When will the Top Chef-testants have a “cook for pregnant Padma challenge?” Where is she registered?!?

Oh right, the gossip part. US goes on to call Padma’s pregnancy “nothing short of a medical miracle” due to her endometriosis (unclear exactly how much of an exaggeration that statement is). But furthermore:

The baby’s father has not been revealed. Online reports have speculated Manu Nathan is the dad, but her rep denies that, telling Us he’s Lakshmi’s cousin.

Weird! I had no idea Padma was dating her cousin. Or that she was back together with Rushdie! Or that the baby is Bourdain‘s!

Feel free to continue unsubstantiated rumor-mongering in the comments.

(Photo: Us)

in Celebs / Personal / TV 5 comments

by LC

Mary Had a Little Lamb. Roast.

It’s officially Fall and getting chilly. I know some families make hamburgers and hot dogs to celebrate the end of summer. We, on the other hand, put a lamb on a spit and roast the shit out of it then invite neighbors and co-workers over to get completely inappropriate, courtesy of my uncle G. In keeping with ES’ other end-of-summer post, I think this might count as food on a stick but more…I don’t know…pornographic?

I’m sure you have a lot of questions: where do you even buy a whole lamb? How long do you have to cook it for? How do you cook it? What parts of it do you eat? What parts are the best? What does it taste like? I The actual chef will reveal the secrets of the lamb after the jump…

in Lists / Personal / Red Meat 7 comments

October 2009

R.I.P. Gourmet Magazine: 1940 – 2009

Hot Carb-on-Carb Action in the Buff

Ginger Loving Care

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

Switching Savory for Sweet

Breaking Gossip: Padma Expecting Mini-Padma

Mary Had a Little Lamb. Roast.