Oscar Party Menu: 10 Recipes for 10 Movies

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The countdown is on. Less than one week until Hollywood’s glitzy night of self-indulgence and debauchery. Don’t judge, we’re all a little conceited, right? I know my cooking is better than yours so where’s my trophy? Of course, as much as we love movies, we’re mostly in it for the food. Let’s take a closer look at what the 10 best picture nominees have taught us (dinner-wise) over the past year.

Avatar

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The Na’Vi don’t really eat much in Avatar but that doesn’t stop people from speculating and theorizing for themselves, going so far as to say that Na’Vi wouldn’t have the enzymes to digest earth food, and earth meat would be poisonous. Putting that aside, if I were a Na’Vi I’d be hungry for a big piece of meat like these Hoison Sauce BBQ Ribs.

The Blind Side

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While the world waits for Sandra Bullock to receive her first, and c’mon, only Oscar we can only imagine how many natty lights and burgers were consumed while filming on location at a football field. Celebrate the Blind Side with your tailgating food of choice—may we suggest beer brats.

District 9

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Two words for ya: cat food—the only “food” item worth talking about to come out of this movie. ES in no way recommends eating cat food, but you can always go with a kitty litter cake. The next best thing is SPAM—it comes in a can, it looks like crap and smells awful. And if the Prawns ever do come to earth then ES has this handy guide for you.

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Saluting 10 Ways to Eat Healthy at 7-11

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Finding sustainability is a process. For me, it took years of kitchen experimentation. I started with a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, bathed them in I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray and topped it with an economy-size jar of Cajun seasoning. I know, every item I mentioned should be charged with sustainable foul play. But it’s a process. Not only learning what tastes good together (not frozen vegetables soaked in spray butter), but learning about ingredients themselves. Fresh vegetables would be better. Fresh vegetables in real butter would be even better. And in-season vegetables would be better yet.

When I recently stopped in 7-11 to grab a carton of ice cream (sometimes coffee ice cream is mandatory), the multiple rows of fruit stunned me. Fruit in 7-11. Of course the rest of the aisles burst with high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors, but it’s still a positive first step. Remember, it’s a process.

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Top 10 All-Time ES Recipes

Ever wonder which recipes your ES co-readers are ogling most? Well here’s the rundown. From our humble beginnings throwing all our leftovers into a sushi roll to our more refined recipes for putting an egg on everything, here are the Top 10 all-time most-read recipes from the Endless Simmer archives. Click the pics to check ’em out.

10. Hot Dog Sushi

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9. Feta and Roasted Pepper Egg Sandwich

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8. Bacon-Wrapped Date ‘Cannolis’ with Pine Nuts

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7.  Homemade Ketchup

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6. Marshmallow Nachos

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Next: Top 5 All-Time ES Recipes

Top 10 New Things to Put in Your Drink

We’ve certainly never been against drinking here at ES — it just traditionally takes a back seat to eating. However, in the last year we’ve found ourselves getting more and more excited about cocktails — because every time we go out we discover our favorite ingredients have migrated from the plate to the glass. From fruits and vegetables to spices and more, here are our top 10 favorite new things to mix in our drinks.

10. Saffron

A saffron ice cube anchors the Venetian, one of several new food-inspired cocktails at Tulio in Seattle.

Not just for paella anymore, the Spanish spice has started showing up in cocktail glasses, too. Saffron Restaurant and Lounge in Minneapolis has mixed the pricier-than-gold flakes into saffron-mango mojitos, saffron-blood orange martinis, and their current offering, the gin-based Saffron Rose. Tulio, an Italian restaurant in Seattle, recently introduced The Venetian — a vodka cocktail poured over an orange-y saffron ice cube. For those experimenting at home, the folks over at Video Jug have a video on how to mix a saffron vodka martini. (Tulio photo: Evan Johnson)

 

9. Beets

Fresh beet juice, ginger and vodka make up the Beetnik at Colorado's Dogwood Cocktail Cabin.

It’s hard to make a drink look more dramatic than when filled up with bright red beet juice, as in the beet sangria at New York’s Tailor or the Beetnik, a vodka-ginger-beet concoction served at Crested Butte, Colorado’s Dogwood Cocktail Cabin. Meanwhile, the gals at The Humble Kitchen have a recipe for their own tequila-based Beetnik. (Dogwood photo: eenwall)

8. Mole

Mole bitters liven up the Palermo Gentleman at Death + Co. in New York.

Mexico’s spicy-sweet chocolate treat is making the surprising transition from tamales to cocktails via Bittermens Bitters newest product, Xocolatl Mole Bitters. A neat way to add quite a substantial kick to any drink, the mole bitters are showing up in new cocktails like the tequila-based Chipilo at Brooklyn’s Buttermilk Channel and several options at Manhattan’s Death + Co. (Photo: Vidiot)

7. Sriracha

Every Top Chef contestant’s favorite secret ingredient can save a cocktail menu too, as in “El Scorcho,” a fiery mix of habanero infused vodka, sriracha, and jalapeno foam at Bend, Oregon’s Blacksmith restaurant. The sauce also makes a great replacement for Tabasco in bloody Marys — the blog White on Rice Couple has a great recipe, and if you want to get super-serious, check out their instructions on how to make sriracha from scratch. (Photo: White on Rice Couple)

6. Chinese Five Spice

A Chinese five spice grilled lemon garnishes the Fortune Teller at Bar Pleiades in New York.

Another ingredient Chinese chefs may be shocked to discover in American cocktails, C5S is showing up both as a garnish, as in the Fortune Teller drink served at the Surrey Hotel‘s new Bar Pleiades in New York, and as the basis of a drink, such as Imbibe magazine’s Five-Spice Fizz. (Photo: Bar Pleiades)

Next: Top 5 New Things to Put in Your Drink

ES Local: The Top 10 Most Anticipated New NYC Restaurants of 2010

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2009, as we all know by now, was more a year for restaurant closings than openings. But with the economy kinda-sorta-maybe turning a corner-ish, here’s hoping that 2010 will be a banner year for eating out once again. With that thought in mind, take a look at the top 10 rumored/confirmed/dreamed up/maybe really happening NYC restaurants we’re crossing our fingers for in 2010.

10. No. 7 Sub

Fort Greene’s inventive No. 7—called one of 2009’s best new restaurants in America by Bon Appetit—is heading to Manhattan, of all places, to debut a more wallet-friendly menu. Rumored to open early this year inside midtown’s Ace Hotel, the take-out-only offshoot will feature a selection of under-$10 sandwiches made on house-baked bread and topped with yummy extras like kimchi pickles and Japanese kewpie mayo.  20 W. 29th St.

9. Three More Shake Shacks!

One day, there will be more Shake Shacks in New York than Starbucks. Until that glorious, heart-stopping moment arrives (we’ll set the over/under at February 2014), those not near existing shacks at Madison Square Park, the UWS, and Shea Stadium can get their burger fix at three new locations: downtown (Prince and Mulberry Streets), midtown (8th Avenue and 44th Street), and UES (86th Street and Lex). In the randomest restaurant news ever, there will also be one in Kuwait.

8. The Sam Talbot Project, Continued

The New York foodie set is certifiably obsessed with this Top Chef reject/pin-up model/chef at Long Island’s seasonal Surf Lodge. But despite being constantly seen all over town and rumored to be making a bid on every space that comes on the market, we’re still waiting for the great Sam Talbot restaurant. Supposedly, and emphasis on supposedly, Sam will be cooking at an as-yet-unnamed over-the-top eatery inside Chinatown’s upcoming Mondrian Hotel. Here’s hoping! 150 Lafayette St.

7. DessertTruck

It’s been a full five months since the truck that started the upscale mobile restaurant trend traded in its wheels and then announced it’s transformation into a permanent LES eatery. Let’s get this thing going, guys! New Yorkers can’t be expected to go without $5 rosemary-caramel goat cheese cheesecake for much longer, can we? 6 Clinton Street.

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The Top 10 ES Posts of 2009

Yay! It’s lazy editors week on ES! Which is a perfect time for you to catch up on any simmer you might have missed this year. Our Top 10 most-read posts of 2009:

10. Cupcake Ice Cream Cones

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Cute kids and dessert. Two things that never get old.

9. Jacques Torres Shows How to Make a Chocolate Sculpture

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Brooklyn’s chocolate god shows us how it’s done.

8. Pittsburgh vs. Arizona Super Bowl Food-Off

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A strong showing from Primanti Brothers leads Iron City into the Endless Eaters Hall of Fame.

7. Top 10 Food Finds at the Iowa State Fair

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Keep frying, America. Keep frying.

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Vintage ES: Top 10 Stocking Stuffers

watermelonusb1Still searching for that special something to stuff in that special someone’s stocking? From bacon toothpicks to one-click butter, don’t miss our list of the most pointless, but amazing Top 10 Stocking Stuffers for Foodies.

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