2011 - - Page 29

by ES Guest

Small Plates Get Smaller: Pinxto in Basque Country

San Sebastian

Ed Note: Our friend Jake recently returned from the Basque Country, eager to tell me about his love affair with food from the region. I think he might have even said it was his favorite cooking from around the world.

Baby Eel

And Jake’s been around, growing up in Philly, living in Boston, DC and Portland and traveling through Asia and India and many more places. Especially, Costa Rica, where he toured with teenagers around the hills, farms and lakes of the country. He also wrote about it on Simmer a few years ago. Here are a few highlights from his taste of the Basque Country.

Beans, Jamon and Olives

Basque Country (Pais Vasco) claims to be neither a part of Spain nor France, rather an independent region with its own take on how eating should be done. I like.

Anchovies

I’m pretty sure everyone knows tapas, you sit down to eat with a few friends, share a few small plates and leave hungry and feeling like you overpaid. I get it.

Oxtail, Mashed Potato, Pepper Guernika

Enter pinxtos (pronounced pinch-os).

by bakersroyale

Endless Poptails: Bloody Mary Popsicles

Thanks to last week’s commenter, Angela, whose request for a Bloody Mary reminded us that being in cruise control sucks. With that, we decided that, hell yeah—let’s interrupt the summer sweet series with a savory Bloody Mary Poptail.

To start things off, we used heirloom tomatoes, because well, that’s what is in our backyard right now.If you don’t have any in season where you are, regular tomatoes will work just as well. Or for complete ease of mixing, skip the fresh tomatoes for some tomato juice and adjust the flavor accordingly. Whatever you use for the body, don’t forget the chili powder.

We guarantee you that this chili powder infused Bloody Mary on a stick will be a summer addiction to remember.

Bloody Mary Popsicles

in Desserts / Endless Poptails / Featured / Recipe 5 comments

by ML

Salad Karate

Know a person who thinks cooking isn’t fun?

Buy them this: the GAMA-GO Karate Chopper.

in Rants & Raves 0 comments

by gansie

Food Porn Champion: Avocado Flesh

Sometimes just the hint of flesh is the right amount of sexy. And this sly shot of an avocado pulls off the feat. But in case you want more than a tease, check out the avocado love at Avocado Wonderland.

(Photo: Avocado Wonderland)

in Photos 1 comments

by BS

It’s an Endless Wedding!

Close readers of ES noticed that gansie went and dropped the f-bomb in her post yesterday. No, not the f-bomb she uses every day. The other one — fiancé. Eek!

Yes, it’s true, our founding editor is engaged to the blogger formerly known as 80 proof! And since I think the ring looks like caviar, it’s officially fit for inclusion as a topic on this food blog. For a more nuanced expert analysis, we turn to longtime ES commenter Mariah Carey:

Bennett gave this ring to Stef with the explanation that it’s not necessarily an “engagement ring.” Rather, it’s the ring he’s giving her while asking her to spend the rest of her life with him. “Wear it all the time, don’t wear it all the time, wear other rings as well…”

So fucking cool.

Congrats 80p and gansie!

Feel free to leave catering suggestions, gift ideas and foodie-friendly baby names in the comments.

in Celebs / Personal 11 comments

by forkitude

10 Things I Learned About Food From a Swiss Grandmother

My recent trip to Switzerland with my boyfriend brought me to his grandmother’s house. In an old farmhouse with a garden, a wood oven, and a ceiling so low that I hit my 6’0″ tall head a few times.

I ate three square meals a day, sitting down at a table. (Can this be real?) When I stumbled down the stairs in the morning, the breakfast table would be set with plates, napkins, silverware, hot tea, milk, yogurt, cheese, fresh-made jam, honey, bread and museli. Did I die and go to heaven? No, I was still alive in Switzerland at a grandmother’s house.

in Food Travel / Lists 6 comments

by BS

Beyond Chocolate: Why Americans Do Get Fat in France

I just returned from 10 days in Paris and Brittany, France, where my girlfriend and I had a highly delicious time combining refined French cuisine with old-fashioned American overindulgence. They may say French women don’t get fat, but Americans on vacation in France most decidedly do. I mean, there’s a cheese course option at every meal. What can you do?

While desserts aren’t generally my favorite, it was food in that category that we found the most to write home about.

There were plenty of traditional sweets options at Mathray and Robert’s Pain de Sucre in the Marais, but we were most intrigued by their nouveau marshmallows, heavily infused with flavors like saffron (left) and whiskey (right).

Their classic macaroons also have a new school twist, with flavors like cool mint, salted caramel, and passion fruit-chocolate.

in Desserts / Food Travel / Photos 2 comments