Daily Loaf

Sushi Rice

Sushi, like most Japanese things, is made using exact skill and precision. But don’t let this scare you from making your own at home. In this recipe I outline the exact steps to take in order to achieve proper sushi rice using a rice cooker. I suggest that you purchase one of these handy kitchen appliances if you don’t already have one. They can be had for a minimal price — mine cost about $12 and can cook 6 cups of rice at a time.

It is important before you begin that you start out with the correct type of rice, wither short grain sushi rice or Calrose rice. Other types will not work as well, and some won’t work at all.

You can also make your life easier by purchasing “seasoned” rice wine vinegar, which includes the salt and the sugar already mixed in.

Yield: With this recipe you should be able to get about 3-4 sushi maki rolls out of one cup of rice.

Ingredients: Read the rest of this entry »

The World Series of Beer Pong — “the largest, longest-running organized beer pong (aka Beirut) tournament in the world, created by beer pong players, for beer pong players” according to the WSOBP website — will start in less than two months, on Jan. 1 at the Flamingo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

But you knew that, right? You’ve been single-mindedly training since 2008, when team Chauffering the Fat Kid managed to snatch the suds from an all-but-victorious  Iron Wizard Coalition by completing an amazing four straight sinks. Cinderella story? Yes. Biggest come-from-behind victory in the history of sports? Probably.

Don’t get the wrong impression about beer pong, though: it’s not all about beer consumption. Read the rest of this entry »

The Table Restaurant in St. Pete, which has flirted with two new names recently — The Place and St. Pete Brasserie — as well as different culinary themes, will begin serving its French-inspired menu this weekend, according to GM Andrew Wilkins. Almost all the prices, excepting a ribeye and bigger portions of lamb and filet mignon, are decidedly under $16. Wilkins is also planning to offer a free cocktail with the purchase of an entree, as well as a 4-course prix fixe menu from 5-7 p.m. for $19.

The menu lists the name of the restaurant as The Table Brasserie, so that back-and-forth saga is obviously still ongoing. Wilkins says that his funding still hasn’t come through, so he’s just moving ahead with the changes he can make in the short term. Hence, the new menu. Check it out.

Full menu after the break (be aware that details may change before this weekend): Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Sherman was the St. Pete Times restaurant critic for 17 years, until he decided to give up the gig at the end of 2006 because of ongoing health problems. He remained a staff writer for the Times and became the restaurant editor and travel writer for its sister publication, Florida Trend Magazine, where he hands out the generically illustrious Golden Spoon Awards.

Now, as of November 1, he’s blogging for big Bay area wine and spirits shop B-21. Does that constitute a conflict of interest, considering his work at Florida Trend? Eh, it certainly wouldn’t here at CL, now that we’ve trended towards giving a voice to people in the community on our blog and in the paper. Although it is curious that in his first post, when he mentions his work at the St. Pete Times, the outgoing link goes to B-21’s weekly newspaper ad, not the Times site.

My most recent baking project has become creating the perfect crumb cake. There are so many elements that come into play here- texture, topping, density, and overall taste are all vital in formulating a masterpiece. I’m happy to say that I just may be onto something with this recipe.

Fall is high time for all things apple. Nothing makes your house smell better when baking or adds more moisture to your goodies. I choose Granny Smith as a rule, because they have a great tartness about them and retain their texture even when baking for substantial periods of time. Plus, if I have any left over they make the best snack when sliced and served with a baked round of brie, a drizzle of honey and some fresh baguette.

You are probably familiar with the classic pastry technique of incorporating very cold, cubed butter into streusel toppings, to create a divine crumb for these types of cakes. I’ve found amazing results instead, in melting the butter and using it to partially dissolve the sugars, bring out the essence of spices, and bind your crumble topping. This way, by the time you are ready to top your batter, the butter has semi-hardened once again, and it’s easy to crumble it into perfection. The pecans add fantastic crunch, and the richness of the brown sugar is the perfect companion to the buttery cake below. Read the rest of this entry »

(Look for three other exclusive recipes from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook here on the Daily Loaf: Three Pea Stir-Fry, Thai-Style Chicken Flatbread, and Lettuce Cups.)

I’ve been a bad blogger buddy! My friend Jaden Hair’s lovely new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, has been on the shelves for three weeks and I’ve yet to write about it. Jaden was the first food blogger I ever met way back before my own web site was even a thought in my head.

When I stumbled on her blog a few years ago and realized that she was right here in Sarasota, I immediately emailed her to introduce myself. Jaden was kind enough to invite me to attend one of her cooking classes that just happened to also be a taping for a television feature on her. I didn’t think twice before accepting! I had a blast! Plus, I got to be on TV! That was when the blogging bug really bit me.   A few months later, with Jaden as a major inspiration, I decided to try blogging for myself – and Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy was born.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Jaden’s recipes – and I’ve tried a whole lot of them. When she announced that she was writing a cookbook, I was thrilled for her! I was even more thrilled to be among her many recipe testers for the book. During that time, I tried out some awesome recipes and it drove me crazy that I couldn’t share any of them with anyone, because…well, you know…because they were top secret, hush-hush recipes for the cookbook! I wish now that I had taken photographs of some of those wonderful dishes I made. Read the rest of this entry »

Sadly, there will be no new Top Chef Las Vegas episode tonight – how will I get my Bryan Voltaggio fix? Luckily, we will be graced with a Top Chef All Stars Reunion! That’s right, now we get to catch up with some of the most loved (and loathed) cheftestants from seasons past.

First of all, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Italian stallion, Fabio (season 5), but why did they choose him to host the show? Yes, his mispronunciation of most English words and phrases is adorable, but we could barely understand him the first time he was on the show. Maybe they chose him to host because of his innocence and aloofness when pushing peoples’ buttons (see videos below) when asking why they were such jerks on their seasons and bringing up past rivalries. That way he might have a lesser chance of getting punched in the face, perhaps?

Be sure to check out the clip (below) where he interviews the biggest jerks (and least favorite contestants) from seasons 1 through 4: Tiffany, Marcel (still sporting the Dragonball Z hairdo), Hung, and Stefan. This is obviously just the beginning of tonight’s drama.

Also notice in the dinner party clip that all of the aforementioned jerks and hot heads from past seasons are seated at the center of the table and the nice guys, like Richard Blais, are at the very end. Who wants to hear from the people who stirred up the least drama anyway? (And why is Dale there at all?)

Finally, I’d just like to say that I’d pay to see Fabio put the smackdown on Marcel. As Bravo’s catchphrase goes: “Watch what happens!”

Tune in to Bravo tonight at 10 pm EST/9 pm C, check out our own live Tweets during the show (Jeff: @TheStew, Katie: @culinarypirate), and listen to our podcast when we return next week! (You can now download on iTunes and check out Jeff’s Top Chef Flickr page.)

Videos after the break:
Read the rest of this entry »

Get squashed at Publix Apron's cooking class.

Wednesday, November 4: Snookers Grill
Champagne and Sushi. It seems like the words I’m reading are too good to be true, but unless my senses are deceiving me, it appears that Snookers is offering unlimited — yes, like, all you could ever imbibe — champagne and chef-selected sushi. Those just happen to be two of my favorite delicacies, and though I admit to never having tried them together, it sounds like a damn fine idea. $15. 7-9 p.m., 606 N. Pinellas Ave., Tarpon Springs. (727-937-6665)

Wednesday, November 4: Toasted Pheasant
Autumn Wine Dinner. Fall has finally come to Florida, and although that may not mean a changing of the leaves, it does mean that it’s cooling down at last — and we can swap our cooling whites for a sumptuous selection of warming reds at this wine tasting and dinner, with a menu that includes: autumn sausage and sage corn chowder paired with Shug Pinot Noir Sonoma; grilled asparagus and swiss strudel with a duet of tomato and asparagus coulis paired with Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc; a quail and beef short rib  duo of roasted quail filled with chestnut and sage with rich beef roast, paired with Mettler Zinfandel; and caramel apple ginger snap with cinnamon ice cream paired with Santa Alicia Late Harvest Muscatel. $45. 6:30-8:30 p.m., 14445 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa (813-265-6700)

Wednesday, November 4: World of Wines
Holiday Wine Tasting. Warm up with toasty wines to heat the cockles of your heart, including: Kenwood Yulupa Cuvee, Piper Sonoma Brut, Caposaldo Prosecco, Cristalino Brut and New Age White Wine, accompanied by hand-selected, catered hors d’oeuvres. $10. 6-8 p.m., 3431 S. West Shore Blvd., Tampa (813-835-9463)

Thursday, November 5: Publix Apron’s Cooking School
Get Squashed. Learn to make the most of this seasonal staple with a menu that includes: butternut squash with curried shrimp; baked acorn squash filled with chorizo sausage; hubbard squash cheese soufflé; zucchini and yellow squash chutney; and a classic pumpkin pie. $35. 6:30 p.m., 7835 Gunn Highway, Tampa (813-926-4465)

Many more events after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about BPA (Bisphenol-A) being found in plastic bottles and food containers and its harmful effects on humans, it also being linked to causing aggressive behavior in children. Use of this chemical has been banned in Canada and in some parts of the US.

Now you don’t have to look much further to get your daily dose of BPA – just open a can of soup or tuna! Tests recently performed by Consumer Reports showed traces of BPA in almost all of the 19 name-brand cans of soup, tuna, vegetables, and juice. There were even some cans labeled “BPA-free” that contained the chemical. And don’t think your organic canned foods are safe either – the chemical showed up in some of those as well.
Read the rest of this entry »

Thai-style Chicken Flatbread

(Read our profile of Steamy Kitchen’s Jaden Hair.)

I make my own pizza dough from time to time, but when I want to make an impressive appetizer last minute, I buy a ball of pre-made pizza dough or, even easier, a package of naan or flatbread from the supermarket. This chicken flatbread is inspired by one of my husband’s favorite restaurants, California Pizza Kitchen. When we were still dating in San Francisco, we’d just hop on the subway and walk to the CPK near Union Square. Those were fun times as many sweet nothings were whispered in my ear over a shared pizza. These days, with two loud, yappin’ giggly boys at the dinner table, there’s no more whispering! (Okay, replaced by footsies!)

SERVES 4 AS APPETIZER OR SNACK

1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium flatbreads or naan
1/2 cup Peanut Dipping Sauce (recipe below)
8 oz fresh shredded mozzarella
1 1/4 cups fresh bean sprouts
Few sprigs fresh cilantro (coriander)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Read the rest of this entry »

According to beer judging guidelines, brown ales should be a celebration of sweet dark grain. English style browns exhibit a heavier, dominant malt character with very little hops presence, while American browns tend to balance malt and hops flavors, sometimes with a modest degree of citrusy bitterness. Alcohol content of both types is usually moderate, somewhere between 3% and 5% ABV.

Jackie Brown, a noteworthy brown ale from Mikkeller, defies categorization under both English and American style. This specialty beer takes the generic base style of brown ales, with the signature appearance, aroma, and mouthfeel and adds a mountain of nugget, simcoe, and centennial hops, resulting in a brown beer that’s bitter as hell. Read the rest of this entry »

Three Pea Stir-fry

(Read our profile of Steamy Kitchen’s Jaden Hair.)

My family loves peas every which way except for canned. What better way to please all than to stir-fry a combination of sugar snap, snow peas and shelled peas? Sometimes I’ll stand in the kitchen and just eat them straight out of the wok.

The peas cook at different times, so I add the sugar snap peas first. At my markets, fresh shelled peas are hard to find, so I often grab a bag of frozen peas. No need to defrost—just add them frozen right into the wok!

SERVES 4 AS SIDE DISH

1/2 lb sugar snap peas
1/2 lb snow peas
1/2 lb shelled peas (fresh or frozen)
1 teaspoon high-heat cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Pinch of sugar
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1. Wash all the peas. Read the rest of this entry »

The Dalmore is a classic name in Scotch — located way up in north Scotland, just past Inverness and the Highlands — but one that has received little credit here in the colonies over the past decade or so. With a change from Jim Beam to a new marketing company, and an alliance with big daddy Southern Wine and Spirits for distribution, The Dalmore is trying to change its image here in the States.

Which is why I found fully-kilted Richard Patterson — Master Blender of The Dalmore’s parent company Whyte & Mackay — in my office, pouring much of The Dalmore’s line. Although most Scotch distilleries try to maintain a “house style” that’s consistent through the years and across different varieties, this was different. Each pour opened up a whole new range of textures and flavors, with a few subtle notes tying the line together.

Here’s the rundown: Read the rest of this entry »

(Read our profile of Steamy Kitchen’s Jaden Hair.)

Lettuce Cups

This dish is an experience in textures and sensations…the cool, crisp lettuce cups cradles the warm filling. As you take a bite, you’ll first taste the bright, sweet, juicy mandarin orange, then the savory chicken and then the crunch of water chestnuts and the mild bite of red onion.

The best part of this recipe is that the ingredients are so flexible. You can keep it light and use ground chicken or turkey, or try it with ground pork or ground beef—it’s totally up to you. My kids love this when I substitute diced green apples for the red onion. Try to dice the vegetables into roughly the same size so that they cook evenly and are easier to eat.

To make this dish a full meal, include 1 cup of cooked jasmine rice per person. My kids like to spoon the cooked rice along with the filling into their lettuce cups.

Read the rest of this entry »

Avocado Café n’ Bakery
14941 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, 813-631-9703‎
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m-7 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

As if Acropolis and Mr. Dunderbak’s weren’t big enough draws to this little North Tampa strip center, there’s also tasty Venezuelan fare at Avocado Café n’ Bakery. If you have ever tasted an arepa con queso at a local art festival and thought it was the best thing ever, you’ll love this place. There are seven arepa variations offered — all at $5.49 each or less — though you may need two of them. One of the best is the Pabellon arepa: mildly seasoned shredded beef, black beans and cheese on the white corn cake.

There’s also Read the rest of this entry »

(Look for three exclusive recipes from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook to be posted on the Daily Loaf today and tomorrow: Three Pea Stir-Fry, Thai-Style Chicken Flatbread, and Lettuce Cups.)

I first met Jaden Hair two years ago, in the drizzled, muddy parking lot of an organic farm stand. She came to my attention thanks to her blog — steamykitchen.com — which had hit the local Sarasota scene a mere six months before and had already garnered a national following. She had brought Spam-fried rice to the CL offices just because we commented on her site.

The two of us bought produce, hit the grocery store for seafood, then retired to a teaching kitchen at the now defunct Chef’s Table in Sarasota, where she whipped up Seared Scallops with Mango-Melon Salsa & Coconut Rice for our $20 Menu Challenge. I didn’t write about it then, but the scallops didn’t have a good sear, the rice was undercooked and the kitchen, by the end, was an unholy mess. A week later, I asked her to write a recipe column for CL.

Jaden has never been a restaurant chef, and never went to cooking school. Until just a couple of years before she started steamykitchen.com, in January 2007, she wasn’t even much of a home cook.

Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this week, the UK’s climate chief and leading authority on global warming, Lord Stern of Brentford, released a report on the raising of cattle and pigs, and how its production greatly affects greenhouse gases and climate change. Bentford said that, “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.”

Stern reports that meat production at about 18 percent of global carbon emissions. He also hopes that “a successful deal at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December would lead to soaring costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases.”

This is proving to be yet another topic to send Glenn Beck on a tirade. Beck plays the meat-loving victim and asks, “Are we going to stand for that? Are we going to put up with this?” He also goes on to mock the Meatless Monday movement and makes it sound like more of a punishment for school children than something that would help teach them to make healthy food choices.

Video after the break:
Read the rest of this entry »

If you didn’t know, Creative Loafing recently relocated its offices from Howard Ave. to Ybor, and staffers are psyched. No disrespect intended to SoHo, but our new digs are an easy walk from coffee, alcohol, food and music, not to mention the ample natural light and old-Florida brick architecture. It’s like waking up from a black-and-white dream.

But, like any large group of disparate individuals, the CL staff can’t settle on which bar should be our new home away from home (away from home). So you get to pick for us.

A few considerations before casting your vote: it has to be open by 5 p.m. at the latest, although earlier is better for those afternoon pick-us-ups; it has to be more a bar than a club — although live music is a plus; no cover charge.

Knowing that, where will you send us for our daily medicine? Vote after the break! Read the rest of this entry »

Last week’s episode sure got my hopes up. I hate to keep complaining about what a snooze-fest this season is, but seriously, it is. Is it the contestants? Is it the editing of the show? Why can’t someone cut themselves or make out with another contestant like last season? Oh, it’s supposed to be about the food – right.

This week’s Quickfire consisted of creating a TV dinner (in a plastic tray, even) inspired by a classic television show. Redbeard (Kevin) gets The Sopranos, so he makes meatballs. Okay. Eli gets Gilligan’s Island, so he makes macadamia nut-crusted shrimp. Fitting. Ceveech (Jen) gets The Flintstones, so she makes a chicken roulade. Huh? And Jersey Mike has never even seen Seinfeld so he just pulls something out of his ass. I understand that most of the shows are a bit before their time, but seriously, who isn’t familiar with them? Maybe I expected some of them to be a little more cultured and up-to-date on their classic television (excluding Jersey Mike). Anyway, Redbeard takes the win. Big surprise, though I was a little amazed that he didn’t use pork in his dish.

For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs were let loose in Tom’s restaurant, Craftsteak, where they go apeshit over all of the choice proteins they think they’re going to use. Then their guest judge is introduced: Natalie Portman! And guess what? She’s a vegetarian! (Didn’t we see this in Top Chef Masters?) The cheftestants’ faces then immediately took on the “oh shit” look and they all turned white.

Jersey Mike claimed to be an expert on vegetarian cuisine, Redbeard said he doesn’t eat meat during Lent (meaning: he doesn’t eat pork products), and Eli proceeded to give vegetarians a lovely compliment by saying that they’re “lower human beings”. In the end, Jersey Mike tries to pass of undercooked leeks as a protein and gets the axe, while Redbeard takes the win with his “manly” veggie dish.

More fashion foibles this season: Padma’s tube top/pant suit atrocity, Ceveech’s tube top dress and open-toe ankle boots ensemble a la Pretty Woman, and Gail Simmons’ green prom dress circa Dynasty ‘86.

Podcast highlights: Natalie’s colorful language at the dinner table and her lack of ethnic friends, Ceveech’s “Philly Camaro” hair and falling self-esteem, and a plethora of ”That’s what she said” jokes.

Hear the hilarious podcast after the jump:
Read the rest of this entry »

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale — Brewed in Portland, Maine by Shipyard Brewing Company, Pumpkinhead is easily the mildest, most accessible, and sessionable pumpkin beer. At 4.5% ABV, this institution in pumpkin ales pours a golden hue, emitting aromas of wheat grain with faint traces of baking spices. On the palate, nutmeg dominates; making it very pie like, yet the brew is light bodied and easy drinking. It’s a nice introduction to pumpkin beer, with all the quintessential flavors packed into a thin, light-tasting brew.

Wolaver’s, Dogfish Head, Weyerbacher and Terrapin after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

Whenever I talk to someone not originally from Florida, especially a recent transplant, one of the first complaints I’m likely to hear is that they miss the change of seasons. Well, guess what? The seasons change here in Florida, too. The signs are just a lot more subtle, so you have to pay closer attention. Sure, we don’t get that “in your face” lavish display of reds, golds and oranges dotting our landscape, or those cool, crisp temperatures that traditionally mark the arrival of fall. But, that doesn’t mean it isn’t here.

In Florida, autumn sneaks in on tiptoes. An early morning 75 degrees the past several days has felt distinctly different from the early morning 75 degrees of a month ago. And the air looks just the merest touch clearer, the curves and angles of our skyline ever so slightly sharper. The change is barely perceptible, but I know it’s there. Maybe it comes from living here for more than three decades, but I can see it. I can feel it too.  Read the rest of this entry »

According to this Reuters article, “Hog producers have lost, on average, nearly $23 for each hog marketed since September 2009, ‘and things look bleak going forward,’ said NPPC president Don Butler at House Agriculture subcommittee hearing.”

You might want to blame this porcine problem on idiots who believe that they’ll contract H1N1 from ham, but the National Pork Producers Council website actually says that the industry has lost $23 per hog since September, 2007. What? Amidst the greatest outpouring of love for the humble pig by restaurant chefs, television food celebrities and people like me, pig ain’t selling?

Actually, sales haven’t been the real problem until recently. Grain prices started rising dramatically during the international food crisis that started a couple of years ago, thanks to the rise of environmentally unstable bio-fuels. And that grain makes up 60 percent of the cost of raising a hog, according to the NPPC. Add in a ban on U.S. pork imports by China and Russia — ostensibly because of H1N1, but more likely political maneuvering — and the industry suffers.

Why, you may ask, should I care? Read the rest of this entry »

As we saw in last week’s episode of Top Chef Las Vegas, the stakes and drama are getting higher and it’s getting harder to predict who will be going home next (with the majority of the weak links now gone). We’ve seen some of the heavy-hitters, like Ceveech (Jen), slipping up and some of the underdogs, like Robin, excel. I’m just excited that we’re finally getting to the meat of this competition, after cutting away the fat like Phranc (Preeti), Mary Kay Letourneau (Eve), and cleaner of Picasso’s paintbrushes, Ash.

Tonight’s episode looks entertaining because the cheftestants are getting all kinds of curve balls thrown at them. Their Quickfire Challenge is to cook a TV dinner (complete with plastic tray) inspired by a classic television show, i.e.: M*A*S*H, Gilligan’s Island, etc.

After viewing the preview video below, it looks as if some of the chefs are out of their element, like Eli who claims to have never eaten a TV dinner. And why would he when he lives at home with his mother who probably waits on him hand and foot? Our one-time favorite, whom some of us had in their top three, Ceveech, looks like she’s drowning in self-doubt again this week as well. Will this affect her power ranking or even her spot in the finale? (I know I’m changing my bet on the finale trifecta.)
Read the rest of this entry »

Alright, maybe the recently launched Dunkin Donuts Kimchi or Lentils Curry Croquettes aren’t exactly donuts, per se, the fundamentals are there: stuffed, fried dough. And they take a spot right in the middle of the rest of the company’s sweet stuff.

Imagine if our domestic Dunkies took a more progressive stance and started offering international street food versions of their usual banal fare.

Here’s my fantasy menu: Read the rest of this entry »

Cafe Dufrain
3 stars
707 Harbour Post Drive, Tampa, 813-275-9701 or cafedufrain.com

One glance at Cafe Dufrain’s new menu — which is still evolving — and you can see where new chef Ferrell Alvarez has come from. Alvarez spent the last seven years next to Marty Blitz in the kitchens of Mise En Place, Chef de Cuisine in Tampa’s grande dame of modern American dining. He moved over the bridge to Harbour Island this summer to serve his own brand of cuisine in the casually elegant restaurant with expansive views across the water, at prices that are much more comfortable to the pocketbook than his former home.

I can recognize Blitz’s influence, though, just by reading Alvarez’s entree list, each entry topped by a bland protein — veal flank steak, Korean short ribs — followed by a procession of fabulous-sounding concoctions that always seem more interesting than the headliner. Polenta sandwich, duo of kimchi, “loaded” frites. Ordering becomes a gut-wrenching choice between groups of side dishes you don’t want to miss. Can I order several plates of accompaniments, hold the protein?

Those sides, which list ingredients and techniques that range from North African preserved lemon to the aforementioned kimchi, illustrate Alavarez’s excitement and vision. It’s modern food that flirts with trends without being trendy, unique enough to stand out in Tampa’s stifled dining scene, with a flair for gorgeous presentation on the table. All of that sets the bar rather high, however, for when you finally put fork to mouth. Read the rest of this entry »

The Food Network’s first mainstream video game — Cook Or Be Cooked ($39.99), for the Wii — is almost out. Just a glance at the title might make you think that it’s a cooking game, likely with a nasty cannibalistic undertone probably injected by Rachael Ray’s know predilection for “long pig”. But no, it’s both more and less than that.

Hitting stores on Nov. 3 — you have yours pre-ordered, I assume — Cook Or Be Cooked “is designed to teach players real, practical cooking skills using their Wii Remote and Nunchuk.” That means it will have a number of Wii-style mini-games where you flail your arms about attempting to Read the rest of this entry »

California will soon be host to the world’s smallest wine appellation, or legally designated wine region. The U.S. is already home to the largest appellation in the world, the ever-popular Upper Mississippi River Valley American Viticultural Area, which covers almost 30,000 square miles spread across four states, approved earlier this year by the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Maybe they’re going for a Guinness Book of World Records spot?

The newly approved Happy Canyon AVA (happycanyonava.com), located inside California’s Santa Ynez Valley AVA and the huge Central Coast AVA, only encompasses eight vineyards, and only six of those — Cimarone, Grassini, Vogelzang, HCV, McGinley, and Star Lane — actually make wine. Why such a fiddling little designation, when the wineries involved could easily use the Santa Ynez Valley branding? Different micro-climate, different soil and, well, Happy Canyon sounds so much nicer than Santa Ynez, doesn’t it?

(Want to follow all of CL’s Food, Drink and Restaurant news? Bookmark the food section of the blog, add the CL Food RSS feed to your reader of choice, follow @BrianRies on Twitter, or check out the Food Section page multiple times daily.)

(Want to follow all of CL’s Food, Drink and Restaurant news? Bookmark the food section of the blog, add the CL Food RSS feed to your reader of choice, follow @BrianRies on Twitter, or check out the Food Section page multiple times daily.)

Tuesday, October 27: Snookers Grill
Champagne and Sushi. It seems like the words I’m reading are too good to be true, but unless my eyes are deceiving me, it appears that Snookers is offering unlimited — yes, like, all you could ever imbibe — champagne and chef-selected sushi. Those just happen to be two of my favorite delicacies, and though I admit to never having tried them together, it sounds like a damn fine idea. $15. 7-9 p.m., 606 N. Pinellas Ave., Tarpon Springs. (727-937-6665)

Wednesday, October 28: Splash! An Ocean Grill
Kennedy White House Wine Dinner. It’s no run-of-the-mill wine pairing, that’s for sure. Sommelier and foodie Perry Thomas dares you to test your tastebuds against the personal favorites of the Kennedy family, with a menu that includes: Clams Jaqueline, Little Neck clams stuffed with  pernod spinach and watercress, topped with asiago bread crumbs and oven roasted, paired with Chateau La Freynelle, Bordeaux Blanc, 2007; Homard en Bellevue, rock lobster medallions stuffed with a shrimp mousse and asparagus, served in a chilled lobster consommé with caviar-stuffed new potatoes, paired with Jadot, Pouilly Fuisse, 2007; Spring Lamb a la Broche aux Primeurs, lambsickles pan seared and glazed with a rosemary and garlic mint aspic, served with pan roasted thumbelina carrots and truffled fingerling pommes frites, paired with Chateau Bellevue Peycharneau, Bordeaux Superior, 2005; Salade Mimosa, fresh baby spring greens tossed in a light champagne-horseradish vinaigrette, garnished with sliced avocado, lump crab and chopped egg yolk, paired with Piper-Heidsieck 1785 Champagne; and Strawberries Romanoff, Plant City strawberries macerated in Grand Marnier topped with crème anglaise and chantilly cream, paired with Chateau Laribotte, Sauternes, 2003. Reservations required. $90. 7 p.m., 3973 Van Dyke Road, Tampa (813-269-8611)

Many more events after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, by Richard Wrangham, is rightly taking the food world by storm. Well researched and documented (the bibliography alone is 30 pages long), it is also an engaging read. Astonishingly, few other writers have previously related the importance of cooking to the nutritional quality of food, thereby enabling human beings to evolve.

Not only does Wrangham detail the evolution of humankind in terms of how we understood and utilized fire, he also sets his aim on the modern food system. He takes on the trendy raw food community, as well as the fast food, chemically-processed types. He argues that eating calories that are too easy to digest is now a bigger problem for many than getting enough food. His book puts out a clarion call to Read the rest of this entry »

Like me, most of you Top Chef fans probably get a little anxious by this time of the week – it’s been how many days since the last episode?! Well, I’m here to give you a Top Chef fix to help you get through the next few days. Since the Restaurant Wars episode aired last Wednesday, I have come across some very exciting news about  future seasons and a few stupidly entertaining videos from the current season.
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The most important men in my life all have one thing in common: they are, among other things, die hard green chile fans. Watching my dad, grandpa and my uncles at the dinner table anticipating the goodness that was green chile stew, sticks in my mind like a movie reel. As young girls my sister and I would try to hang in there with the heat, knowing it was surely in our blood, but usually passed our plates onto the guys and opted for something less spicy.

Now as I look back on the tastes and flavors that shaped my palate, this is definitely one of them. Roasted Hatch green chile is divine to those raised in the Southwest. I’ve also seen newbies get hooked- and give into the craving of the pungent, roasty, mild spice of New Mexico green chile. Read the rest of this entry »

Gratzzi’s not dead yet! CineBistro ups the ante on beer and fries theaters! The Table will not be The Spot, or will it? Primi changes owners, but not much else!

Read on for all the details!

Gratzzi closed up shop in Baywatch a few weeks back, right around the same time that Pacific Wave closed on the other side of Downtown St. Pete. For Pacific Wave, the closure was about revenue, and the economy, and being tired of struggling in an industry that’s tough in the best of times. For Gratzzi, though, it was more about the fact that Baywalk is on life-support, with relatives eager to pull the plug and divide its meager posessions. Don’t count Gratzzi out. The Italian restaurant is planning to re-open in the former home of Pacific Wave before the end of the year, if things go well. Owner Domenic D’Angelo will scale back his upscale menu to concentrate on homier dishes that cater to diners’ reduced budgets, with the smaller space a better match for the more casual fare. Read the rest of this entry »

Wow. I have to say this has been the first episode of Top Chef Las Vegas where I was actually on the edge of my seat and cared about who won or lost. It also showed us that maybe nice guys do finish last.

For the Quickfire, we saw the cheftestants divided into two teams of four and they had to compete in a blindfolded and gagged (no talking) relay race to complete a dish. Though the blue team, lead by Ceveech (Jen), didn’t really work cohesively for their dish they seemed to pull it off and take the win. I’m sure this added fuel to Angry Bro’s (Mike V.) fire to kick their asses in the Restaurant Wars Elimination Challenge.

At the beginning of the Restaurant Wars challenge, I really believe it was up in the air as to who would take the win. Though by service time, we had a much better idea of who would be on the chopping block. The red team, though led by a cruel tyrant, Mike V.,  bickering like school children, took their heated passion and directed it into their food – coming out on top and taking the win. Success stemmed from the leaders this episode and Ceveech’s stressing out (again) really took a toll on her team. Everyone on the blue team were just too nice and agreeable, leaving no one really in charge and a line of dishes that were ill-prepared.

In the end, Whatsherface (Laurine) was spared another grueling week on the show – as the majority of Top Chef fans probably wanted and/or predicted at the beginning of the episode. And then there were seven.

I hope that the action and excitement carries over into next week because this season has been blander than Jersey Mike’s dish that he served to Padma last night. Next week we get to see the cheftestants’ “oh shit” faces when they receive their orders from Natalie Portman – Super Vegan Challenge! What will Redbeard cook – tofu bacon?

Podcast highlights: We rag on the show’s fashion foibles, comparing the V. Brothers to characters in a Jane Austen novel, the Top Chef Las Vegas drinking game, and Jeff gives us more intriguing information as to the possible winner (no spoilers, though).

Hear the hilarious podcast after the jump:
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This time of year is ripe for ghosts, ghouls and scary tales, but don’t let witches brew distract you from great inexpensive wines. Halloween screams for some scary and spooktacular vino, and one of my all time favorites to drink on Halloween night is Vampire Cabernet Sauvignon. Vampire — like its counterpart, Dracula Wine — was at one time made in Transylvania, but has now moved operations to Paso Robles; that just bites, no pun intended.

Half the fun of drinking Vampire was the storied location where it was made. Thankfully, the change in venue has not resulted in ghastly juice.

I’m first enticed by the aromas of blood-red, ripe fruit. The scent calls to me and I can’t resist taking a small nibble, er, sip of the garnet colored liquid swirling in the glass. On the first taste I’m hit with a lip smacking, succulent flavor, with a finish leaving me wanting more. Just one thing to do: Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve said it so many times when I cook: Simple is always better. Sure, sometimes I get mired down in complex recipes, but a handful of great ingredients with just the right touch of care always bring the greatest rewards. That couldn’t be truer than in this duck and scallop dish.

I found this gem on a menu in Stonington Borough, Connecticut — a charming little seaside village.  Water Street Café is a quaint, eclectic restaurant that is always busy, even in the dog days of winter. The fare is remarkably fresh and creative. Every meal I’ve eaten there (and I’ve had many) has been terrific.

Particularly, I’ve been fond of a very simple preparation of duck and scallops they serve. Read the rest of this entry »