April 2011


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There Better Be Room In Your Easter Basket

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. –Charles M. Schultz

Dear Vosges,

You have really captured my heart this time. You made my Valentine’s Day special with your kumamoto oyster truffle and Sweet Coquette Truffle Collection. But this April, I have really fallen in love.

Starting with the dense, and I mean dense, toffee bunny: those ears are just asking to be bitten off. This is not one of those weak, hollow, fake chocolate bunnies that cause disappointment on children’s faces at the first empty bite. This is a grownup bunny for grownup chocolate freaks. Full of delicious, 43% deep milk chocolate, the tiniest of butter toffee specks and finished with pink Himalayan salt. Sometimes, it’s good to be a grownup.

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in Desserts / Holiday 0 comments
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Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

– Patty H. is lovingly concerned for those peeps in a jar:

Love it! Made me smile, but then, just as I clicked to leave the site, I thought “Oh no, I bet they can’t breath.” So, just wondering about maybe some holes in the lid.

We’ll make sure they’re safe. PS — an ES sneak preview — next week we’ll be featuring different ways to cook with peeps. Have any ideas? Send us your links.

– Hope everyone has made good use of our 100 ways to cook with sriracha post. Michael Birchenall of Foodservice Monthly checks in with a 101st recipe:

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in Drinks / Recipe 1 comments
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Ancho Chile Onion Ring Quesadilla

I think it has become apparent that I’m not one for following Michelle Obama’s healthy eating campaign. Considering that my recent creations have included nacho-stuffed potato skins and mac ‘n’ cheese in a grilled cheese, some might argue I’m actually a secret Palin operative. I’m not, I promise you. I just like to fry things.

My better half is a meat and potatoes kinda guy — no greens, no fruit and no vegetables. So once in a while I like to try cooking something that I know he’ll enjoy. In this case I combined his love of Mexican food with our combined love of fried food. I present to you the Ancho Chile Onion Ring Quesadilla.

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in Cheese / Featured / Recipe / Veggie 2 comments
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Artsy Photo Of The Day

This must be what heaven is like.

in Desserts / Photos 2 comments
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Top Chef Masters Exit Interview: Episode 2

Much like the original Top Chef, Masters is also drawing on celebrity friends for a ratings boost. To kick off the celebrity circuit they brought in Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks and her fellow actor husband, Geoffrey Arend. In true form, the chefs were required to modernize a 1960s inspired dish — fondue anyone? In other news, the show lost John Rivera Sedlar due to an emergency so last week’s losing chef, Hugh Acheson, returned. We talk to the chef who went home, after the jump.

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in Celebs / TV 0 comments
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Corn Syrup: Ruining Passover

Long before the war on corn syrup became public in the case of Michael Pollan vs. Corn Refiners Association, I despised the stuff. But only for 8 days out of the year.

For Passover, which starts sundown on Monday, observant Jews are not to eat leavened bread, legumes, corn, rice and most other grains. It’s tough. But it’s made all the more difficult when my favorite foods as a child were laced with high fructose corn syrup.

I couldn’t chew regular gum, couldn’t bathe my pancakes in syrup (we used Aunt Jemima, but I think real maple syrup would be okay?) couldn’t squirt ketchup on my fries, couldn’t drink Coke, couldn’t indulge in coffee ice cream and the list goes on. I never understood what corn syrup was or why it was in EVERYTHING. But I fucking hated it because it made Passover that much worse. I could live without bread, but without real gum?! Ugh – have you ever tried Bazooka “Jew”? It’s awful.

Anyway, it’s that time of year again when Jews commemorate the parting of the Red Sea. (And maybe this year we’ll read about it in gender neutral terms!) Here are some ideas to keep you bread and corn-syrup free for the holiday.

Before Passover
Get rid of that leftover bread

Za’atar Breaded Chicken with Avocado and Carrot Salad

Savory French Toast with Creamed Herbs and Zucchini

Peanut Butter and Apple Sandwich

Apple Walnut French Toast

During Passover
“Enjoy” Matzah

Acorn Squash and Leek Muffins with Matzah Meal

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in Holiday / Recipe 2 comments
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Stove Top is the Un-Potato: Stuffing Shepherd’s Pie

One of the first things I ever learned to cook was Stove Top stuffing. When my college roommate and I discovered Stove Top, we could not believe how easy it was to basically replicate the stuffing that our moms took so many hours making on Thanksgiving. Culinary skill-less as we were, even we could figure out how to boil water and butter in a dorm room hot pot, add stuffing mix, and fluff with a fork. Actually, I still haven’t figured out exactly what the last direction means, but I digress.

While I still make Stove Top for a late-night snack now and again, I’ve often wondered why it so rarely shows up as an ingredient, aside from the odd post-Thanksgiving stuffing pizza. But why not? I can think of many a meal that could stand to benefit from a tasty bread-and-butter mixture poured on top. First case in point: shepherd’s pie. While this is one of my childhood favorites, I barely make it myself because it’s such a pain to have to boil and mash potatoes before you even really get started cooking. Of course it’s great if you have leftover potatoes, but…I rarely find myself with leftover anything. So my newly invented version of shepherd’s pie subs out the potatoes and replaces them with a thick coating of stuffing. Give me one good reason why not.

Stove Top Stuffing Shepherd’s Pie

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in Fowl / Recipe / Red Meat 0 comments
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