« July 2005 | Main | September 2005 »
Upcoming September & October Food Festivals
Here's some upcoming food events from around the country--
- Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off | September 1-5, 2005 | Victorian Sq., Sparks, NV
- National Buffalo Wing Festival | September 2-4, 2005 | Buffalo, NYUSA
- Taste of Cleveland | September 2-5, 2005 | Cleveland, OH
- Chowderfest | October 1-2, 2005 | Beach Haven, NJ
via Jessica's Biscuit Newsletter
August 31, 2005 in Gourmet Food Events | Permalink | Comments (0)
Silicone Basting Brush - No more loose hairs
If you're tired of those loose hairs coming off your basting brush, try a silicone brush. We recently bought a set and love them. I don't worry any more about leaving loose bristles on my barbeque while brushing on my marinade. Another advantage--these brushes are heat resistant to 600 degrees.
ISI 15-in. Orka Silicone Basting Brush (pictured) available thru Cooking.com
August 30, 2005 in Kitchen Gadgets | Permalink | Comments (1)
Autographed Chef Cookbooks
Sur la Table's website offers a great collection of autographed chef books from authors like Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray, Ina Garten, Lidia Bastianich, Jamie Oliver, Thomas Keller, Jacques Pepin, and more. A great gift for food lovers.
Autographed Chef Cookbooks available from Sur la Table.
August 30, 2005 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Chef Books | Permalink | Comments (0)
Rising Dessert Trends from Top Restaurants
From a survey of 350 executive pastry chefs, Star Chefs found out about some of the recent trends in desserts around the country. From chocolate (of course!) to drinkable desserts to Asian and Latin influences, you'll find out what's being created by top pastry chefs today.
Read Pastry on the Curve: The Latest Trends in Desserts via StarChefs.com
August 30, 2005 in New Food Trends | Permalink | Comments (1)
2003 Shaping Up to Be a Vintage Year for Port
A couple months ago over dinner with friends, we started our dessert course with a few rounds of port. With luck, we were in the company of experienced port drinkers and their selections have opened our palates to the wonderful world of port. Now, we look out for any information to learn more about port wines and here's a few links to get started with.
- 2003 Vintage Ports to Save - More Ports in a Storm via StarChefs.com
- The Origins of Port via TheWineMan.com
- Port Wine via Wikipedia
Read more in All Things Wine
August 29, 2005 in All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)
Amazing Latte Art
Months ago I saw the baristas at my local Urth Cafe make these fascinating floral designs in the latte foam of my cappucinos. Ever since then, I wondered that there must be some name for this art. I just found out by accident today--it's called "latte art"! Here's some great links to see the beauty of the latte art form.
- Collection of latte art images via Flickr
- A "how to" at Latte Art 101
- Latte Art Guide via coffeegeek.com
- Enter $1000 Latte Art Competition at Coffee Fest Seattle, October 28-30 2005
- How-to video "Caffe Latte Art"
Latte Pour photo courtesy of tonx.
Read More: Espresso & Coffee | Chocolate
August 23, 2005 in Coffee & Espresso | Permalink | Comments (1)
Diary of a Culinary School Student
I read once that if you want to become a cook, work in a restaurant kitchen first. Probably as a dishwasher to see what it's really like. Makes sense. Or another way is to read a cooking school student's diary.
Well, fellow blogger Sera F writes about her first year in cooking school on her ongoing blog, Culinary School Diary.
Read More: Cooking Schools
August 16, 2005 in Cooking Schools | Permalink | Comments (0)
Gourmet Chocolate Market Growing
The gourmet chocolate market has mostly been the realm of smaller chocolate makers who have mushroomed from just 250 manufacturers to over 1000 today. With such a demand, the market has become big enough to attract the attention of the big boys. Watch out here comes Hershey, Mars, and Godiva with recent moves to get their piece of the gourmet chocolate pie.
Read "Chocolate makers target consumers' sweet spot" via USAToday
Read More: Chocolate | All Things Wine
August 16, 2005 in Chocolate | Permalink | Comments (0)
Must Have Cookbooks for the Season
Time Magazine suggests their must-have cookbooks for the season with these three books--
- GRAND LIVRE DE CUISINE Alain Ducasse's culinary encyclopedia is now available in English
- RECIPES FROM A VERY SMALL ISLAND Celebrates the food of Maine's Isle au Haut
- SUSANNA FOO FRESH INSPIRATION Fuses Asian ingredients with Western techniques
via Time Magazine
August 15, 2005 in Chef Books, Cookbooks | Permalink | Comments (0)
Are You Using Enough Salt in Your Cooking?
Professional chef and writer, Emily Kaiser, raises some good points about when and how much salt to use when cooking on her website. Her points certainly help us in using salt a bit more boldly in our cooking. She quotes Thomas Keller of The French Laundry and Per Se, "Salt is the new olive oil."
Read "Chefs who salt early if not often" via The Food Section
August 10, 2005 in Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)
Prepare for Your Northern California Wine Country Trip
Looking to travel to Northern California wine country? Spending a weekend in Healdsburg, Napa Valley, & Sonoma? Two new books help you plan your wine country trip this coming fall. Published by Chronicle Books, check out "The Wine Lover's Guide to the Wine Country: The Best of Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino"
via LA Daily News
August 9, 2005 in All Things Wine, Food & Wine Country Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)
Cook for Google -- Two Executive Chefs Wanted
Google is searching for two new executive chefs. It's news because Google provides free meals to all their employees at their Mountain View, California headquarters that goes above and beyond the standard cafeteria menu. They've set a standard of using fresh and organic ingredients with some menu items like Ahi Tuna & Avocado Poke Salad, Eggplant Tomato & Onion Skewers, Pork Loin Steak, Pad Thai Noodles, Arugula with Dried Apricots, and Tropical Shrimp Bisque Soup. The new chefs will be responsible for continuing to create such menus.
Click here to see a sample of Google's daily menu.
Read Google's announcement - We Want New Chefs - via Yahoo News
August 5, 2005 in Food News | Permalink | Comments (0)
Modern & Modular Kitchen Design by Henrybuilt
Henrybuilt Modular Kitchen components is an option for those wanting a unique contemporary look for their kitchen remodel or newly built custom kitchens. We love the clean, simple lines of these kitchen components. In addition to their modular components, henrybuilt also offers a full service kitchen design service to help you build your new kitchen from ground up.
Visit henrybuilt.com to view their collection of modern kitchen cabinetry design.
August 3, 2005 in Kitchen Design | Permalink | Comments (2)
Get Hip with Stemless Wine Glasses
Over the recent months, we've been seeing more and more stemless wine glasses--in wine shops, restaurants, style magazines, and online wine sites. It's a bit different and that's probably why we like it. Next time you entertain, serve your favorite chardonnay or cabernet in a stemless wine glass. You'll be certain to start a conversation.
"The tumbler glass concept is really new for the industry,' said Maximilian Riedel, 27, who only six months ago launched his family company's line of stemless wine glasses.
Read "Stemless glasses are the new way to drink wine" via Yahoo India.
Shop Riedel O Line Stemless Wine Glasses at WineEnthusiast.com
Read More: All Things Wine
August 3, 2005 in All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)
The 80 Hottest Tables Around the World
Conde Nast's Traveler Magazine features its 2005 Hottest Tables List with restaurants from far away countries including Argentina, Australia, China, Czech Republic, India, Morocco, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. Of course, there's a always your fair selection from Europe, Asia, and the US.
Read 2005 Hot Tables via Concierge.com.
August 2, 2005 in Restaurant News | Permalink | Comments (0)
Start Your Wine Cellar with These 60 Bottles
Starting to enjoy wine enough to think about starting your own wine cellar collection? Canadian wine writer, Tony Aspler, offers some great guidelines to starting your own cellar. Along with his tips, he also suggests a list of 60 wines to start your cellaring.
Read Tony Aspler's Tips on Starting a Wine Cellar.
August 1, 2005 in All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)
Specialty Coffee Pods for Your Espresso Machines
Looking for different specialty coffees to try in your espresso machines, and tired of the manufacturer's specified coffee pods? We were too.
We're so happy to have found Podhead.com, a company that meets the need for those of us wanting to try a wider variety of coffees in our espresso machines. At Podhead, you'll find coffee pods for the Melitta One, Bunn's My Cafe, and Philips Senseo machines. The selection ranges from Arabica, Brasil, Costa Rica, to Kona, Kenya & Organic Colombia coffees.
Visit Podhead.com to find a specialty coffee pod for your espresso machine.
Related Link: The single shot espresso market has grown to form it's own standards. For more information, visit the Easy Serving Espresso Consortium.
August 1, 2005 in Coffee & Espresso | Permalink | Comments (0)
