Reviews - - Page 4

by gansie

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

vs.

Most of the chatter this week was concentrated in forkitude‘s Ode to Staub:

This thing was a culinary tool workhorse. A Clydesdale of cookware. The creme de la creme of enameled cast iron.

However, not everyone is on team Staub.

Brit showed off his Le Creuset collection:

I’m the proud owner of a Le Creuset grill pan and press, 7.25qt dutch oven, 2.25qt saucier and a 3.5qt casserole all in black with stainless steal knobs and I couldn’t be happier (I didn’t need to list them all but I thought I’d make you weep).

BS’s Mom showed off Le Creuset’s longevity:

in Uncategorized 0 comments

by forkitude

Battle Of The Brands: Staub vs. Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron

Kitchen stores make me giddy. I was lucky enough this Christmas to be the recipient of a Sur La Table gift card from some special people. Like a kid in a candy store a chef in a kitchen store, I was excited to find one new ridiculous cooking tool.

With utter certitude that I had found the best deal in the tri-state area, and self-assurance that I had all the chef’s knives a girl could want, I settled on a Staub cocotte enameled cast iron pot that required a supportive hand underneath the paper shopping bag to prevent it from ripping. The sheer weight of the thing is impressive.

What a beaut it is, and I couldn’t wait to use it. Having studied in the Alsace region of France, known for their hearty, one-pot meals like baeckeoffe, I had an instant emotional connection to this pot, which was a product of Alsace. Having been a Le Creuset owner and a huge fan of soup and meals made in pots, I knew the benefits of enameled cast iron. Is there anyone who doesn’t love a little cast iron?

But the real question is: Would this beautiful red gem hold up to my faithful Le Creuset?

in Uncategorized 28 comments

by gansie

Color Me Hungry

Almost a decade ago my family and I traveled to Durango, Colorado for my cousin’s wedding. I’d never been out West before and I remember thinking how insanely different everything looked and felt. I decided, while staring out of the hotel window at a mountain range, that I’m a city person. I’d rather look at buildings. I’d rather be surrounded by tall steel and crowded streets than lonely nature.

In those ten years I’ve seen plenty of cities and gorgeous buildings and cramped sidewalks. But now, my deep appreciation for food forces me to better acknowledge the brilliance of nature.

Like, seriously, how the fuck did the Grand Canyon come about? I’m still confused. That thing is enormous. And scary. Totally insane. I think about my few hours in its presence and I’m shocked, humbled, amazed.

Nature also impresses me in the every day with its color coding abilities: similarly hued vegetables contain similar nutrients, vitamins and healing properties. I knew orange colored veggies could help with cancer prevention but I hadn’t mastered the rest of the colors. Enter Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

by forkitude

What The Hell Is A Damson?

I sometimes buy things because I don’t know what the hell they are. It’s palate education. My friend Julia Child says you should always be educating. Never let your palate go slack. Don’t get comfortable with peanut butter & jelly and Cheerios. From Julia’s Menu Cookbook:

Eat out. Drink good wine. It doesn’t have to be often, but your palate becomes dulled if you go too long without stimulus or without quality. That’s when an otherwise excellent cook will begin to overseason.

Thanks, Julia. Overseasoning, bad. Tasting lots of shit, good.

Enter damson. No, not daaaamn son! but damson: a purple oval fruit; a subspecies of the plum tree. It can also be used as a descriptor for red wines. OK, I like it even more. And given my Czech heritage, at some point I would love to get my hands on this fermented damson they speak of called slivovitz for an evening of drunken shenanigans palate education.

I ran into this ($7 jar) of damson jam at a small specialty grocery. For today’s lesson, we will spread this lovely damson on some strong, soft cheese as the label suggests. Damson + Brie = ahhmazing. Try it.

in Cheese 0 comments

by gansie

Bagels: A Lifelong Journey

I am on a lifelong quest to catalogue all things bagel. I’ve seen a lot in the world of bagels. Actually, it’s been quite a personal journey. I used to only eat plain bagels, then cinnamon raisin, then everything and now pumpernickel bagels. There’s been bagels in Arizona, bagels with seeds in the dough, and get this: I spied one in the shape of a fucking turkey.

Anyway, all of the bagels, regardless of seed or grain, have been the same shape (well, besides the turkey). Until this past weekend. I was introduced to Thomas’ Bagel Thins.

The bagel is more like toast. It has some of the characteristics of a bagel, where there is a dome crust instead of an outer crust, but it’s as thin as toast. It’s interesting from a portion control angle, but I’d still rather have the density of a regular bagel but stop at eating a half. It’d probably be the same carb effect.

God I love talking about bagels.

in Uncategorized 5 comments

by Russell Warnick

The McRib is McBack

It’s back. The iconic spare-rib shaped sandwich from McDonald’s. I was but a twinkle in my father’s eye the first time the McRib surfaced, so I never got around to eating one, and I’ve never been so inclined as to cross state lines just to find it.

It’s been almost four years since my last McDonald’s fine, two years since I got drunk and ate McDonald’s. I’m not sure why McD’s became the victim of my boycott, but I have always thought of it as the epitome of fast food. For some reason I feel less guilty when eating Burger King or a late night slice of pizza.

But for the purposes of research alone, I broke my “fast food” boycott and took a bite into the elusive McRib, which McD’s has brought back by popular demand for a special six-week, nation-wide run, now through December 5. Continue reading to see what I have to say.

in Sandwich 9 comments

by gansie

Another Victim of the High Fructose Corn Syrup Backlash

What can I say? Even a girl who’s tasked to write about food on a daily basis needs a pizza and fries kind of night. And so we ordered a large cheese and crispy potatoes on the side. This would have been an uneventful meal save for the use of new ketchup.

It looks like Heinz has fallen to the sword of real sugar and came out with a no-high fructose corn syrup rendition of their tomato spread. Last Target trip, my boyfriend picked up “Simply Heinz” and promptly ditched its chemical predecessor, therefore crippling our chances for a quick blind taste test.

Now, I totally fucking hate ketchup. (Viva la Mustard!) And, frankly, I’m not even sure if homemade ketchup could persuade me otherwise. But I saved one fry from a dip into a spicy mustard for a taste of the newly enhanced, newly natural ketchup. To me, it still tasted like ketchup. I’m still baffled why people want this weird sweet liquid crap on their fries, or anything. Why is it so sweet? Why!

Anyway, 80, an official ambassador for ketchup, liked the new product:

A little bit different. Less sweet. Lighter. Tastes like ketchup I had in England years ago. I probably could tell the difference in a taste test.

So for now, we’ll have to take his word on the difference. But I did steal a packet that they sent with the fries. Testing for another day. In the meantime, feel free to read some brain washing by the Corn Refiners Association.

Photo from flickr user Maalokki

in Trends 6 comments

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