2011 - - Page 7

by BS

Mudslides Gone Wild!

If you’ve read ES for, oh, 30 seconds or so, you probably know that we like cooking with booze. And no one does it better than our own bakers royale, who has found not 1, not 2, but 4 ways (so far) to turn a mudslide cocktail into a delicious dessert. Let’s take a moment to say bravo. And yum.

1. Mudslide Cupcake

Chocolate cake plus buttercream frosting infused with homemande Bailey’s, chocolate and kahlua. Bet you’re sorry you said you were over cupcakes now, huh?

2. Mudslide Ice Cream Cake

Take that kahlua, chocolate and Bailey’s, infuse it into some ice cream, and shape it into a cake.

Don’t Say It, Spray It

I don’t know if this is a joke or an art project or the fucking future. But I’m crossing fingers for the latter. Could you imagine a world with just a push of a finger, a spray of raisins will spring forth into the air?

(Photo: I’m just a girl in the world)

in Trends 1 comments

by BS

Food Porn Champion: A Stand-Up Salad

At Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, the salads are as sexy as any steak around.

in Photos / Veggie 0 comments

by gansie

Giada De Laurentiis Suggests You Buy Her $99 14-Piece Knife Set

Raise your hand if you never want to hear the words “CYBER MONDAY” again? Holy crap. I scanned my emails yesterday and I bet every other one rolled in with a CYBER MONDAY deal. (Although I did indulge: NYT digital subscription.)

With these CYBER MONDAY specials come lists. Lots of lists from lots of famous people telling us to buy lots of crap. Take this gift guide from Giada De Laurentiis. She started a line with Target. The list is posted on Target’s blog, A Bullyseye View. Out of fifteen items De Laurentiis recommends, FOUR are from her own line.

Welcome to the spirit of giving.

(Photo: A Bullseye View)

in Holiday 3 comments

by Emily

Killer Crowd-Pleaser Pasta

Lots of wine, lots of friends, lots of food… what can be better than a big dinner party? Being the convivial hostess that I am, I’m constantly gathering friends together for festive meals. I love experimenting with new dishes and ingredients, but sometimes I’m looking for a reliable go-to recipe — especially when I’ve gotten a bit ambitious with my guest count. In scenarios like this, I have an easy pasta recipe I’ve perfected over the years that guarantees dinner party success. Every time I make this I receive nothing but rave reviews. Not trying to brag, y’all, I’m just being honest.

If you’re having a load of guests over for the holiday season, give yourself a break and make a gigantic pot of this rigatoni with gorgonzola and sun-dried tomatoes. It’s simple and quick to put together, but the flavor is richly layered, and the vibrant colors of the tomatoes and basil lend a lively aesthetic to the dish.

Why This Isn’t the Best Cheese and Why That’s Important

Pepper jack lets me be lazy. I can slide this in between tortillas for instant heat and cheese. I don’t have to find a pepper or some cayenne for extra flavor. It’s all there in one slice. (This is not a cheat, but Goober PB&J totally is.)

I thought I found a similar twofer in Hillside Pastures‘ Garlic and Herb. I grabbed this raw milk cheese at the farmers market and immediately tried some once I got home. The cheese smacked of raw garlic. It was a bit sour. While the cheese maintained a soft consistency, the flavors came on strong. Melted though, the garlic flavor mellowed and the herbal flavor evened. It enlivened my fried egg and cheese with toast.

I mention this cheese not because it was the most awesome item in the world, but because it wasn’t. It reminded me that making cheese must be pretty fucking hard. I know what I’m getting every time I pick up a commercial pepper jack at the grocery store. But I bet even the next time I try Hillside’s Garlic and Herb it will taste different. The small batch will be tweaked. With every change in temperature and every variety of grass eaten by the cow, the cheese will turn into something new. And although it might not be perfect, I’m in it for the adventure.

in Cheese 0 comments

by BS

Getting Busy With the Fizzy

One of the most popular holiday presents for foodies in recent years has been the Sodastream machine. These $100 seltzer makers are new, trendy and high-tech, but also fit nicely into the food world’s current obsession with all things organic and D.I.Y. So naturally, when I walked into my cousin’s Manhattan apartment recently and spied a Sodastream, I congratulated her on being such an up-on-it, trendy foodie.

So imagine my surprise when my other cousin, who was in town visiting from Ireland, walks into the kitchen a few minutes later and remarks, “Oh, a Sodastream – how retro!”

Whaaaa?

Irish cuz goes on to insist that every single Irish home had a Sodastream in the 1970s, “back when they were cool,” but that now the contraptions are mostly just gathering dust in people’s attics and basements. Clearly, we didn’t believe her, because these things just got popular here, and there is no way we could be decades behind Ireland in terms of food trends, is there? A few days later, she sends this: