June 2010


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The Next Food Network Star Exit Interview: Episode 1

Star

We’re still a week away from the premier of Top Chef: DC (OMG!), but luckily for those of you fiending for some reality chef gossip,The Next Food Network Star‘s latest season is under way, and our pals over at Good Bite have a chat with the first star-testant to go (we won’t say who it is)…

Before being cast on TNFNS, did you watch the show?
I watched The Next Food Network Star from its inception! I enjoy this show immensely! Watching the show has become a tradition during the summers for my family and I to watch.

Was this your first time auditioning?
This has been my third time applying for The Next Food Network Star! I applied three times over four years. The first year I applied and submitted a video and did not even receive flowers or anything from Food Network saying no thanks. The second year I applied and I heard nothing back, not even an email. The third year I was so discouraged that I decided I would not send anything into Food Network to see if they would notice that I did not send an application into them and….well they did not notice at all. The fourth year I decided to go to an open casting call and thought, “If they are going to reject me, they will have to reject me to my face!” Well, I got called back for a second round on interviews and soon was selected as a finalist for The Next Food Network Star!

What was your favorite memory from being on TNFNS?

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in TV 0 comments
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The Punishment for Being Late

Asparagus and Cannellini Beans 1 (500 x 332)

It’s become my rule. Invited to a BBQ? Bring something not for the grill.

I’ve learned my lesson. I’m a late girl. I come from a late family. We are late. Always late. So if I want to bring something for the grill, I always get there too late. The grill is taken.

That is why I bring a side. Sure, it’s more cooking then bringing marinated eggplant rounds, but people expect more from me anyway.

This past weekend my coworker threw a party for her daughter’s middle school graduation. It was a cook-out. So while I longed to be lazy and just bring my fresh bundle of asparagus bought that day from the Mount Pleasant Farmers’ Market to throw on the grill—I didn’t. I whipped it into a salad instead.

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in Cheese / Recipe / Veggie 7 comments
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The World Cup of Food

S. Africa FIFA World Cup Mascot

Image Courtesy of Nestor Cerami

We couldn’t let soccer’s 2010 FIFA World Cup go by without throwing in our two cents — which as you might expect, has less to do with our feet than with our mouths. So while serious sports fans spend this week debating which squads got the crap draw and which teams are most likely to make the second round, foodies can put all that aside and take a look at our 2010 World Cup Food and Drink Rankings, in which we’ve ranked the 32 participating nations from worst to best, based not on soccer skills but on the appeal of each country’s most iconic dish.

For the record, I offer no apologies for the dishes or the order in which they are ranked—I had many discussions with my international friends when researching these and they have disagreed with me on many—for that, you can leave your opinions in the comments.

#32. Australia – Vegemite on Toast

Australia - Vegimite on Toast

Usually when there is a petition on Facebook in support of something, you know it’s a desperate plea, and Vegemite on Toast is no exception. This isn’t one of those love-it-or-hate-it kind of foods, this is simply a hate it kind of food. Yes, there are nearly 111,000 facebook users on the record as supporting it, but I’m pretty sure that’s roughly the population of Australia, right? Let’s hope for their sake that the Aussie lads find something better to chow on before their matches in South Africa.

#31. Ivory Coast – Kedjenou

Ivory Coast - Kedjenou

Factoid: the current coach of the Ivory Coast team is former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. I’m sure old Sven has some tricks up his sleeves planned for the field, but you’ve got to admire the Ivory Coast’s cooking tricks, too. Kedjenou, like many other West African dishes, starts with some tough old chickens and basically cooks the shit out of them ’til they’re edible. It may not be the quickest way to make a meal taste good, but it sure as hell beats Vegemite.

#30. Slovenia – Buckwheat

Slovenia - Wilted Greens with Buckwheat Noodles

I task you with something — Google “Slovenia” and “food.” Whatever the result is it’ll surely include buckwheat. Buckwheat, buckwheat and more buckwheat. Could you be any more boring, Slovenian cooks? If you must have a Slovenian soccer dish, I sifted through the ES archives and stumbled upon this tasty dish, vegetarian too — Wilted Greens with Buckwheat Noodles (and an egg).

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in Food Travel / Trends 30 comments
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Should You Let Slimy Greens Slither Away

gazpacho

I wasn’t kidding when I said I was stalling on my way back to the kitchen. I’ve been home more than a week and have been in the kitchen maybe three times. I’m starting slowly.

I was away at Maids’ wedding the first weekend we were back and I refused to go real food shopping until I could make it to the farmers market on the next Saturday. I was freaking craving eggs, but I wanted to wait to buy them there. So I had to figure out how to create something to eat with almost nothing.

Gazpacho a la Leftovers

Luckily, my work catered (actually Couscous Cafe catered) a lunch meeting and there were leftovers. A co-worker let me steal a bag with a dressed-salad mix (romaine, feta, olives, carrot shreds, onion, tomato), another bag with a veggie salad (chunks of tomato, cucumbers, onion and parsley dressed in vinegar and oil) and another bag of pita triangles.

80 and I tore through part of the salad as a side for leftover pizza, but I just wasn’t sure how to make the rest into a meal the next day. Ah! I’ll buzz it!

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in Veggie 2 comments
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Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

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– Summer (among others) checked in with a miso recipe:

Hooray for miso! One of the easiest possible recipes is miso salmon: just slather salmon filets with miso paste and either broil them or cook them on the stovetop in a non-stick pan.

Other ideas? Keep ’em coming.

– Ya’ll have been quiet so far as to whether you’re up for eating fish bones, but over at Good Bite, SoDlish chimes in:

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in Fish / TV 0 comments
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Fishing for a Good Title

Just a taste of what was available at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo.  Gansie and I actually missed a lot of the good stuff, as they were shutting down when we arrived at 10:30 am.  Gansie blamed us for being late, but they don’t let tourists in for the good stuff anymore until after 9 am…so I blame other annoying tourists.  After the market, we ate at one of Tokyo’s hard to find, yes, hard to find sushi joints.  Best sushi (fine, nagiri) ever.  No pics of that however, sorry.

Asia Trip and Wedding 1 (500 x 332)

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in Fish / Food Travel / Photos 2 comments
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ES Local: What’s Eating DC

Our weekly local roundup of the best eating and drinking events going down in Washington, DC

Event of the Week: National Fucking Doughnut Day is tomorrow. The two best places that serve these suckers have specials going on: Birch & Barley and Eatbar.

View ES Local: What’s Eating DC in a larger map

Remember, you can check out the constantly updated map any day of the week.

If you represent a restaurant or bar and wish to have your event listed on the ES Local: What’s Eating DC map, please write to me at britannia(at)endlesssimmer(dot)com

in Restaurants 2 comments
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