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Food Lust: BibiCaffè
2008-04-28 23:43:00
While sitting in my favorite Italian restaurant for lunch on Sunday, I decided to try something new (to me). BibiCaffè, a sparkling espresso drink, has been around since 1941 but I had never given it a second thought. "Sparkling" and "espresso" just didn't sound very good. I was waaaay wrong. Turns out it's pretty darn tasty. It's sweet, sparkly, and has a nice kick. My wife likened it to "chocolaty root beer". It's exactly what you'd expect Coke Blak to be if it were good. BibiCaffè is all-natural and has no HFCS. It's hard to find in the U.S.--only a few states have it. You can also find it online here. --Spanno
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Cool New Kitchen Gear: The BeaterBlade
2008-04-28 23:09:00
Outfit your Kitchen Aid, Cuisinart, or Delonghi stand mixer with the new, functional attachment: the BeaterBlade. This nifty little attachment beats, scrapes, folds and mixes your ingredients around the bowl without your constant scraping down the sides with a spatula. And, yes, it works! Check out the side-by-side demo. Available now for pre-order, this nifty gadget will be shipped by June 1. --Sous-Chef on the Run
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Having a Drink in Church
2008-04-24 20:38:00
At Pennel, in North Wales, a church may soon not only provide religion to its parishioners, but also, at least on occasion, a little liquid pick-me-up. According to an article on the BBC website, the Reverend Geraint ap Iorwerth, from St Peter ad Vincula Church , is going to the courts to apply for a license to sell and serve spirits, as well as beer and wine, in church. Naturally, the first reason is for events such as weddings, but the forward-looking reverend is also thinking about opening a bar in the church café for more regular sipping. The idea is that more people who aren’t coming to church will come to spend time relaxing and socializing and then stay for services. Dr. Barry Morgan, the Archbishop of Wales, says of the plan, "Indeed, sharing bread and wine is an essential part of the Christian ministry." And, "we see alcohol, taken in moderation and used responsibly, as something to enjoy with others." As someone who believes drinking with friends is one of life’s true ...
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Midweek Happy Hour: Banana Monkey
2008-04-23 23:34:00
In Playa del Carmen, Head Chef and I enjoyed this tasty frozen concoction. A slight twist on the Piña Colada, this tropical treat is mighty refreshing. Ingredients:8 ounces piña colada nonalcoholic drink mix1 fluid ounce Kahlua1 fluid ounce vodka1/3 bananaIce Directions: Add ingredients into blender and blend, adding ice until desired consistency. --Sous-Chef on the Run
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Tortilla Soup Recipe?
2008-04-23 23:20:00
As my Al Dente caballeros know, I am in love with Mexican food. Specifically, spicy salsas, anything wrapped in a corn tortilla, and guacamole. So, my recent honeymoon in Playa del Carmen was not only a vacation for me and my man (Head Chef), but also quite the fiesta for my taste buds. Our breakfast buffets consisted of tortilla chip pancakes, all-you-can-eat deep-fried bacon, fried plantains, refried beans, fresh salsas, and fresh papaya. For lunch, we ate endless platters of chips and guacamole, and washed it all down with banana monkeys or frozen margaritas. For dinner, we usually started off with tortilla soup and finished up with some other tasty entrée. Now that I'm back home, I am going through some serious withdrawls. Head-Chef and I have eaten chips and guacamole at least once a day, but what we are really missing is the tortilla soup. There are plenty of recipes on the web for tortilla soup, but I'm looking for a can't-live-another-day-without-this-torti lla-soup s...
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The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go
2008-04-23 20:09:00
Puddin' on the Ritz: Melissa Clark explores chocolate pudding and the upscale upgrade restaurants have been giving this comfort food classic--"Luscious and sexy, with a haunting bittersweet flavor and a texture like a silk camisole... less family matron than femme fatale." [NY Times] A Papal Menu: Want to know what Lidia Bastianich cooked for Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to New York? Ed Levine has the menu. [Serious Eats] Case Closed: It turns out that Elvis Costello's new album, Momofuku, is not a tribute to NYC rock-star chef David Chang, but to Momofuku Ando, the inventor of the Cup Noodle--"Like so many things in this world of wonders, all we had to do to make this record was add water." [VH1 via Grub Street] See You Next Year: Popular food blogger Molly Wizenberg revealed the title of her debut book, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, coming out in Spring '09--"When I first started to work on it, I intended to write a cookbook, but what came...
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Slate Calls BS on PETA's Meat Prize
2008-04-23 20:08:00
Just days after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PITA) announced a $1 million dollar prize for a commercially viable in vitro meat, Slate has called it "bogus" and a "publicity stunt". You can read the article here. The problem, according to Slate, is that in order to cash in on the prize money, "they need to move 2,000 pounds of the stuff at supermarkets and chain restaurants spread out across 10 states during a period of three months. And the Franken-meat can't cost more than regular chicken." A company would have to make a significant and successful investment in order to get paid. That's like your parents bribing you to get a decent job, but only paying you after you've had the job for three months. To top it off, the test tube meat would need to be approved by the FDA in record time in order to meet the prize deadline of June 30, 2012. To put that time-frame into perspective, sucralose (Splenda) was discovered in 1976 and approved by the FDA in 1998. I wouldn...
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Food Brands That Don't Export Well
2008-04-21 19:04:00
Most of the time when you read about brands that don't export well, it's U.S. brands like GM's "Nova" not doing well in South America, or Gerber baby food creeping people out in Africa. This time it's foods brands that just wouldn't work in America. From racist Australian cheese, to bowel-moving candy, the fine folks over at the Commercial Archive have come up with a giggle-inducing list sure to offend some American's delicate sensibilities. --Spanno
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IACP Cookbook Awards: 2008 Winners Announced
2008-04-20 08:14:00
Last night, at an awards ceremony in New Orleans, the International Association of Culinary Professionals announced their 2008 cookbook award winners. Paul Johnson's Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood took home the top honor, Cookbook of the Year. John Wiley & Sons led the pack with four awards total, with Fish Forever taking Cookbook of the Year and the Single Subject Category. On Friday morning I printed out the list of the nominees and, Oscar pool-style, checked off the titles I thought would win in each category (with a Cookbook of the Year write-in), put it in a sealed envelope and filed it away to compare and contrast once the IACP picks were revealed. Let's just say, thank goodness I didn't hit the casinos this weekend as my projections were an abysmal one for fourteen. Bring on the Beards! --BTP 2008 Winners and Finalists Cookbook of the Year:Fish Forever: T...
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My, Oh Pie
2008-04-18 19:03:00
Had I known earlier that this weekend is the National Pie Championships and the Great American Pie Festival, I would be in the sunny state of Florida today. And, the impending arrival of snow in Seattle (in April!), makes me think I really missed the boat. Here's the dish on this three-day pie extravaganza (courtesy of the American Pie Council website): Amateur entrants can enter into 1 or all 15 flavor categories Pies entered in the Professional Division are entered in the following categories; apple, fruit and berry, Crisco classic chocolate, citrus, Crisco classic cherry, open cream, open, and nut Best of Show prize for the Amateur and Professional divisions includes $5000 Commercial entrants can participate in 22 categories, including: apple, blueberry, fruit and berry, open cream, citrus, open, nut, and chocolate, plus the new raisin category Junior chefs, ages 14 to 17, who win their division get a $1000 gift certificate to the Chef Depot Pies are judged on appearance ...

Waiter, Is That a Frog in My Salad?
2008-04-17 19:04:00
As reported in an article on News.com.au, a tree frog (now named “Popeye”) was recently discovered in a pre-bagged batch of spinach, after the woman who bought the produce spotted him when unpacking her bags. Though slightly worn down from his travels, Popeye was taken to a wildlife sanctuary and is doing dandy. Which I’m glad about, because I find those little tree frogs pretty cute. What isn’t so gladdening is that the article reports that about 50,000 frogs make it into food packages every year. It doesn’t say (and if anyone out there can clarify this for me, I’ll be grateful, as will all Al Dente readers I’m sure) whether this is just in Australia, or worldwide. If just in Australia, that’s a pretty high number, and makes me wonder what the correlation is in the U.S., or in the world. Not that I’m worried about my salads (though, being a vegetarian, it freaks me out a bit)--I’m worried about the frogs. Not all of them, I’ll bet, are making it to nice cozy a...
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A Cupcake Waltz
2008-04-16 22:30:00
What's next, a muffin minuet? I assume this is an American waltz. Please let me know if I'm wrong. --Spanno

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go
2008-04-16 19:27:00
Break Out the Swear Jar: Breaking news alert: chefs use salty language! [NY Times] Pepcid Alert: Chicago baseball fans can finally agree on something: giant sandwiches. Wrigley Field introduces the 2-foot-long Italian beef sandwich and look for the Double-Header Dog, a 24-inch hot dog, at U.S. Cellular Field.  [Chicago Sun-Times] Today's Forecast Calls for a "Meat Wave": Carla Spartos chronicles the "entrail-oriented" carnivores of the NYC dining scene. [NY Post]In Memoriam: Pop Culture Eats: Eric Zimmer mourns the empty grocery store shelves for these Top 10 Awesome Nostalgic Food s We Want Back. Hi-C's Ghostbusters-themed Ecto-Cooler? Really? [Serious Eats] Bruni Beat: Frank Bruni visits Adour Alain Ducasse in the St. Regis Hotel and hands out three stars ("excellent"): "This time around he's taking a less flamboyant approach, and he's eager to get out that message, so much so that advance reports on Adour, named for a river in France,...
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Midweek Happy Hour: Piña Colada
2008-04-16 18:52:00
Although the Piña Colada is known as the official beverage of Puerto Rico, the delicious blend of pineapple juice, rum, and coconut is also one of the most popular drinks in Hawaii. Seeing as I'm heading there in a few days for vacation, I figured I'd get my palate ready early. This drink also comes in handy if you happen to live in a city famous for rain and late-starting summers (ahem), and need something to remind you of sunnier days to come. Ingredients:4 ounces fresh pineapple juice3 ounces rum2 ounces coconut cream2 cups crushed ice Directions:1. Pour all of the ingredients into a blender. 2. Blend briefly at high speed. 3. Strain into a glass. 4. Garnish with a slice of fresh pineapple and a cherry. --AndreaLeigh
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Something Sweet for Spring (and Mother's Day)
2008-04-15 19:58:00
The Rosanna brand of tableware already has a lot going for it--they're based in Seattle, the people I've met from the company are super nice, and their cool soda fountain glasses recently made Oprah's favorites list. With Mother's Day coming up, I realized Rosanna is also a good place to find Mom the perfect gift--whether she's in to modern stuff, a retro look, or likes the funky patterns you might find at Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters. Some of my favorite patterns in the Amazon.com Rosanna store include Fleur, King's Road, and the Napoleon flatware. Oh, and Rosanna herself has a cute blog too! --AndreaLeigh
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Wendy Gets a Speaking Role
2008-04-14 22:19:00
Wendy's has recently beefed up (sorry) their marketing and menu. They've given Wendy a speaking role, added a new catch phrase, slogans, and introduced a couple new sandwiches. Let's break it down. New catch phrase:  "It's waaaay better than fast food. It's Wendy's." That's four A's. I bet there was a long and heated marketing meeting about the number of A's. I've been in meetings like that. It's a strange feeling to get mad at someone over how to spell aaaa word. New marketing slogan:  "At Wendy's, we're unrivaled in our passion for giving people what they want — and uncompromising in giving people what they deserve." Now, I'm a little concerned about that last part. I thought that was Santa Claus' job. New burger:  "The Spicy Baconator". Wendy's combined the Baconator with their jalapeno pepperjack burger to create this 880 calorie tongue-melting, heart-stopping frankenburger. New breakfast menu:  Wendy's now...
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Nod to Kansas City
2008-04-14 20:48:00
If “barbecue” gave out patriotism awards, perhaps it would go to Kansas City …maybe that is because in Kansas City, they have a saying, “we barbecue anything that moves.” If I could have all the great barbecue and eat it too, I’d be pretty content…the only catch for me is all the thick red sauce. I prefer my meat without sauce or with just a tiny bit of sauce to accent the food. In my opinion, the sauce often over-powers the meat, and if the barbecue is done right, you don’t need the sauce. In my years of eating in KC and judging the American Royal, I can say that Kansas City really is a melting pot of barbecue. My barbecue buddy, Carolyn Wells is the founder of the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) and she grew up in Memphis. In all her years at the forefront of Kansas City Barbecue, you know at least a little Memphis had to seep in! And, the Royal and the Jack (Jack Daniels Invitational) are the only two contests I know that have a dessert category. The Roya...

What to Cook This Weekend: Salmon Burgers
2008-04-11 21:04:00
It's Spring and that means fresh salmon is starting to show up in grocery stores. You won't be able to find any wild chinook (king) salmon, but you can still get PCB-fortified farm-raised salmon and wild Alaska salmon. No matter what kind of salmon you get, you should definitely make salmon burgers this weekend. This recipe is courtesy of Emeril Lagasse. Ingredients:2 1/4 pounds salmon fillet, skinned, pin bones removed 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or other dried bread crumbs 1/2 cup minced scallions 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon sambal oelek chili paste 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce 1/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup mayonnaise 3 cups shaved purple cabbage 3 cups shaved green cabbage 1/2 cup shaved red onion 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1 ...
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Living the American Dream
2008-04-11 20:12:00
For years now I've had a love affair with diners. And, while I do enjoy pretty much any old diner with retro attitude, what I really lerve is the real deal--the prefab dining car with a counter and stools, and stainless steel so shiny you can see it a mile away. Sit me down there, pour me a tall chocolate Coke, and serve up some pie à la mode! Since about 2001 I've entertained the notion of writing a book on classic diners. During my "vacation" after the dot-com bust, I scoured the web and made an authoritative listing of all existing classic diner cars, broken down by region. My original intent was to do a road trip and chronicle the foods, designs, and cultures found at these places. Thoughts of money and cholesterol held me back, and then, alas, Amazon.com came calling. So, now I just enjoy the diners on vacations, working them into the roads we travel. This morning I thought I'd check in on the American Diner Museum website and I discovered that they list classic diners th...
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Call Me Lucky Charms
2008-04-10 20:53:00
As recently reported in an article on The Argus, a Brighton (U.K.) man, once called Peter Thomas, has changed his name to Honey Monster, after the mascot for the cereal Sugar Puffs. Turns out that Mr. Monster had eater Sugar Puffs since he was 9, loves them, and consumes lots and lots of them--so much so that his pals said he should change his name to match the cereal mascot’s. And so he did. From what Mr. Monster says (just “Honey” to his friends), “my mum and dad think I'm crazy but I love the name.” Admittedly, it’s a pretty great name. And it made me wonder--what cereal or cereal mascot would I change my name to? Sugar Bear is darn swell (and tasty). Maybe Big Otis, lesser known mascot for Kellogg OKs? Definitely not Count Chocula, cause he sorta freaks me out. I think, at the end, I’d go with Lucky Charms, even though it’s a cereal and not a mascot (I sure don’t want to be Lucky the Leprechaun though). Not just because I think the name is good, but also becau...
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