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by hungry monster

When Inauthentic Is Delicious: Weeknight “Gumbo”

Ok, let me preface this by saying that this is not authentic gumbo. No need to point it out to me. I am aware.

I set out to make authentic gumbo with the brown roux and what not, but if you know anything about gumbo, it’s pretty labor intensive and time consuming. That’s not my bag, baby.

I am going to tell you a little anecdote (if you can even call it that) from my week, so you get a feel of how I work in the kitchen.

I went to three different stores looking for fish sauce for this gumbo recipe. Not sure why. I read it in a cookbook, so I figured it’s important. So, 3 stores and nothing. Then my Dad found it and got it for me (love you, Dad!) It was such a huge bottle of fish sauce, so I suppose I was set for many future gumbos.

Except, I couldn’t get it open. That dang top would not come off. I guess this would be where an extra set of (not weak old lady) hands would have been beneficial. Honestly, I probably could have gotten it open, but I have no patience or perseverance for such a task. Don’t I sound like a fun person?

Long story short: no fish sauce made it into this dish. So sad. But true.

Here’s how it all went down.

Weeknight “Gumbo”

by ML

Only in Germany: Meat Vending Machine

I don’t know about you, but the best thing I can get out of a vending machine in my neighborhood is a bag of cheetos and some advil. Not to discount the stuff; the atomic green powder and pills of goodness are my saviors when I’m hungover, but here’s something better.

Enter: the sausage vending machine, which is now gracing the streets in (not surprisingly) Bavaria. Owned by a butcher, he says the inspiration behind the machine came from when he and his friends wanted to have a cookout after the stores were closed (read: drunk barbecue).

I want to go to there.

(Photo: The Local)

in Food Travel / Red Meat / Trends 1 comments

by BS

Artsy Photo Series of the Day

Sometimes when I have a baguette at home, I’m too lazy to grab a serrated knife and instead just tear a hunk of bread right off and shove it in my mouth. I used to think that made me a lazy slob, but then I went to Roberta’s Pizza and realized it just makes me adorably rustic! If the most acclaimed restaurant in Brooklyn serves bread that way, it must be classy, right?

More artsy photos from Roberta’s after the jump.

in Cheese / Photos / Restaurants 4 comments

by BS

Sandwiches in the City

New Yorkers are obnoxiously proud of our lunchtime options. We don’t do chains because we don’t have to. Not when you can find everything from banh mi hot dogs to Brussels sprouts sandwiches for under $10. That’s exactly why I’ve been so bothered by the rapid proliferation of Cosi, Pret a Manger and the like across Manhattan in recent years. Are New Yorkers really lunching at these places now? Sure, these semi-upscale sandwich chains are better than Subway or Quiznos, but I’d still take a Boar’s Head bodega roll any day of the week.

Recently entering the midtown sandwich contest and blowing the chains out of the water is City Sandwich, a Portuguese-style sandwich shop from chef Michael Guerrieri. Now, you foodies may be noting that there’s not really any such thing as a Portuguese-style sandwich. This is true. Like most refined Europeans, the Portuguese prefer to sit down and eat their meals with knives and forks. So Guerrieri, who was born in Naples, raised in New York and spent 13 years cooking in Lisbon, has taken traditional Portuguese meals and turned them into an array of newly-invented sandwiches.

The crispy bread is brought in twice daily from a Portuguese bakery in New Jersey; the insides scooped out to make room for fillings and to ensure the sandwiches aren’t too heavy. Each one is spread with high-quality olive oil and built using unique ingredients you’d be hard-pressed to find in any other sandwich shop in the world. For example, the Bench Girl, pictured above, contains alheira, a smoky, spicy sausage that was pioneered by Portuguese Jews during the Inquisition. In an effort not to stand out among their pork-eating compatriots, the Jews invented this chorizo-like link that is actually made from chicken, but looks enough like the real deal that no one could guess they weren’t dining on swine. Apparently, back in the day on the Iberian peninsula, not eating pork was enough to get you burned at the stake. Today, a little bit of pork has managed to sneak into most versions of alheira currently produced in Portugal, but it’s still a superbly rich and flavorful sausage that’s not quite like any other. It’s paired here with an omelet, grilled onions, spinach, and melted mozzarella, for a savory breakfast-y sandwich that is appropriate any time of day.

For a look at City Sandwich’s other inventive, Portuguese-influenced sandwich creations, keep reading after the jump.

in Cheese / Desserts / Eggs / Featured / Fish / Pig / Red Meat / Restaurants / Sandwich 0 comments

by BS

Top 10 New Foods at the 2011 State Fairs

It’s America’s favorite meal — the state fair! Every year, the fairs across this great land compete with each other to invent bigger, badder, greasier fair food. But after Texas stepped up its game last year with deep fried beer, this thing hit a whole ‘nother level. The 2011 state and country fair foods have been more insane — and more amazing — than ever. Here are our top 10 favorite finds.

10. Chocolate Covered Corn Dog – Orange County Fair

Could there be anything more American than dipping a hot dog in batter, deep frying it and eating it off a stick? Why yes, there could be. You could cover it in chocolate and put sprinkles on top, a treat that was found at both the OC Fair and neighboring San Diego County Fair. My Burning Kitchen has more on food at the San Diego fair. (Photo: www.myburningkitchen.com)

9. Deep Fried Kool-Aid – San Diego County Fair

In another strong showing for California’s other great fair — and originator of last year’s hash brown covered hot dog, San Diego debuts what is surely the trashiest food ever conceptualized. It’s just unclear why they didn’t wrap it in bacon. (Photo: Cuttlefish)

8. Deep Fried Butter on a Stick – Iowa State Fair

Texas may have invented deep fried butter at their own fair a few years back, but Iowa thought to put it on a stick. See, America, we can do great things when we work together. Yes, this involves frying an entire stick of butter, and yes, you simply have to watch the video for full effect.

7. Buffalo Chicken in a Flapjack – Texas State Fair

The first of several entries from the Lone Star state, this monstrosity is a chicken strip, coated in pancake batter and jalapeño bread crumbs, then deep fried and…you guessed it — eaten on a stick. (Photo: State Fair of Texas)

6. Red Velvet Funnel Cake – Florida State Fair

Funnel cake has fallen behind on the list of outrageous fair foods recently. After fried beer and fried Coke, plain old fried dough starts to look pale by comparison. But this year we saw funnel cake get a new southern fried twist that injects some new life into it…and probably injects all kinds of chemicals too. Why eat fried dough when you can eat red fried dough? (Photo: Bob B. Brown)

Next: The Top 5 state fair foods

in Bacon / Breakfast / Cheese / Desserts / Featured / Food Travel / Fowl / Lists / Pig / Red Meat / Top 10 Lists / Trends 10 comments

by gansie

Trust the Consistency, And the S Bus is Coming

“Who won? Corn cake?” my friend Jake asked. He knew the real winner; he had just eaten the proof.

I’ve been messing around with Jiffy corn muffin mixes for a few years now (Spinach Dip and Black Bean Egg Bake, Kefir Chili Corn Cake, Spinach and Artichoke Corn Cake, Smoked Cheddar, Spinach and Artichoke Corn Cake) and I’ve finished with different results every time. The directions on the box read simply: milk, egg, mix. But I can’t leave it at that. I continue to challenge the ratio of liquid to mix because each time I indulge in another spoonful of mustard or yogurt, my results yield better and better outcomes.

Sometimes the dreary mix wins, and I don’t add enough spin and it turns dry and uninteresting.

But this time, Jake, I won.

Andouille Sausage and Squash Corn Cake

in Breakfast / Pig / Recipe 7 comments

by BS

An Italian Chef Walks Into a Nacho Bar…

Chef Richard Hodge really loves nachos. Unfortunately, he works at an Italian restaurant, which makes putting them on his menu impossible. Or does it?

Hodge recently invented a way out of this horrific dilemma: pasta nachos, a new addition to his menu at Puccini & Pinetti in San Francisco.

Instead of nacho chips, Hodge takes wonton wrappers, cuts them into triangles, and fries until crispy. Then he tops them with housemade fennel sausage, a little ~~salsa~~ marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese and bakes until the cheese melts. Once cooked, it’s topped with diced Serrano chilies, tomatoes, shredded basil and red onion. Italian nachos — they really do exist! Hodge was kind enough to share his recipe.

Pasta Nachos

Makes 4 servings

in Cheese / Restaurants 0 comments