Peek Inside Bobby Flay’s Refrigerator
Posted by Cate O’Malley on Paper Palate.
I admit it. I love getting to see inside other people’s refrigerators. Who knows what new must-have condiment I might discover? So you can guess that the Celeb Fridge feature in Rachael Ray’s magazine is a particular favorite of mine. A recent issue highlighted the contents of Food Network celeb chef Bobby Flay. Here’s a peek:
RR: You’ve got a well-stocked fridge. What are some of your staples?
I have bacon from Oscar’s Smoke House. I also keep a stash of Greek yogurt on hand - I mix it with hot sauce to make a quick topping for an easy dish like roasted asparagus or smoked bacon frittata. I keep organic eggs around too, because I’m a fan of big, savory brunches.
RR: [I noticed] you make rows in your fridge - that’s a good tip. So what’s a surefire, Iron Chef-caliber dish that you like to make for Stephanie [his wife]?
She’s from Texas, so she loves Sunday-night chicken dinners. When I go all out, I make her fried chicken and waffles with a spicy maple-horseradish syrup to go on top. That’s a serious Sunday dinner for her!
There’s Nothing Strange About These Brownies…
Posted by Carrie Havranek on Just Baking.
Through a small logistical misstep, a care package from Don Strange of Texas arrived too late for a story I was working on, and so I decided to make the best of it and share my findings with the readers of this blog instead. Why let a whole box of goodies go to waste?
Don Strange Market Place of Hill Country, Texas began as a grocery store over 50 years ago and evolved into a catering business and now sells some of its signature sweet and savory items online. Although the company ships its famous white wings (wrapped in bacon and spicy Monterey Jack cheese), which are sent to you uncooked and ready for grilling, along with its apple-smoked Christmas bacon, we’re going to focus on the sweet stuff: double-barrel brownies, Texas “two-bite” pecan tarts and Kendall Creek honey bars. All of the products have nuts, and all of them arrived in perfect condition via priority mail.
Summer Food Fun Hot Off The Presses
Posted by Erika Waz on Kids Cuisine.
This week while we were out grocery shopping, my son suddenly dashed away from me 
and made a beeline toward a check-out several feet away. I ordered him to stop, and he did, but then he continued on until he arrived at the checkout stand where the usual display of magazines were there to tempt shoppers into purchase. He was tempted, all right! He promptly picked up the issue of Fun Food magazine from the fine people at Taste of Home headquarters. On the cover is a fun display of monkey cupcakes and banana cookies, along with a headline across the top displaying 150 family friendly recipes inside. I was sold by the cover alone.
The magazine came home with us, and just a few pages in, my kids have a list of foods they want to make that basically utilizes the whole magazine. We could be cooking for months off of this one issue! This issue cost us $5.99, and states that it should be kept on display until September 21, 2009, so there is plenty of time for you to track down your own copy. The magazine is divided into five themed sections. Sensational Party Fare; Pizzas, Burgers & Campfire Food; Round Food=Fun; Stick Up For Good Food; and Kids Love To Cook all promise to keep your kids cooking and eating for as long as possible. At $5.99, this magazine is a bargain! There are so many recipes inside, it’s like getting a full size cookbook for a real steal. Some of the recipes with catchy names include Bubble Pizza, Breadsticks Jenga, Rack ‘em Up Cheese Balls, and Aloha Burgers.
Steak Extravaganza at Outback Steakhouse
Posted by ynitta on Well Fed On The Town
I had the pleasure of attending a special steak tasting at Outback Steakhouse, celebrating their recent crowning by Zagat as 2009 Best Steak of National Service Restaurant Chains. Once I began tasting the steaks, it was easy to see why. Outback takes particular care in choosing the best ingredients and serving them in a way to emphasize their flavor. Although the restaurant chain values its relaxed atmosphere, making it comfortable for families or groups of teenagers alike, it is very clear that they take their food seriously.
Tim Gannon, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, and Dave Ellis, Vice President of Research and Development, guided a small group of bloggers through their steak menu. The amount of information they knew about each item, and the quality of ingredients used, had me quickly forgetting that they were talking about menu items for a national restaurant chain with over 950 restaurants around the world.
Unlike some restaurant chains that pre-package everything in an attempt to standardize menu items, Outback maintains the utmost quality by using fresh ingredients - never freezing meat - and preparing sauces and seasonings fresh at each restaurant. To insure that each item maintains the Outback flavor profile, a tasting of each sauce and ingredient is held prior to opening every day.
Below are a few of my favorite items from the tasting:
Roasted Filet with Port Wine Sauce
Easily my favorite steak of the night. The filet was tender and well-paired with the slightly sweet port wine sauce. The sauce is a demi-glace utilizing high-quality port wine and shiitake mushrooms. This item made it clear that classic french techniques, such as demi-glace, can be successfully utilized in preparing the sauces and other menu items in a large chain setting.
The Best BBQ from Food Network Celebs
Posted by Cate O’Malley on Get Your Grill On
The folks at Food Network recently rolled out a new show, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, and after just one episode, I’m hooked. It’s like their celeb chefs … unplugged. Each episode, the Food Network personalities reveal their favorite things to eat, and places to eat them.
A recent episode highlighted their favorite BBQ joints around the country, covering spots from New York City to the deep South. Miss the episode? You can get all the details right here, including the addresses for each place they talked about. Did your favorite BBQ joint make the cut?
Going Green While Camping
Posted by Cate O’Malley on Growers & Grocers
Now the schools are out, the camping begins. Whether it’s with an organized camp or you just head out with your family, either way you still need gear. When you’re planning on what to take with you, now is the perfect time to pack green.
There are a million good reasons to think green when camping - just the 2.7 billion juice boxes that end up in the landfills every year are reason enough, but cutting down on waste is always good too. Looking for a new source for fun eco-friendly alternatives? Look no further.
- The folks at Pearl River have great selections, and their colorful lunchboxes are a great way to start.
Superfoods Save Your Healthy Day
Posted by Colleen Fischer on Fit Fare
The July/August 2009 issue of Health magazine features a list of nine superfoods for women that provide alternatives to common nutrient-rich foods like blueberries and broccoli. Check out these options:
1. Kiwifruit: Instead of oranges, try these fruits also packed with vitamin C.
2. Mushrooms: If your attitude toward broccoli is similar to the first President Bush’s, you can get nutritious phytochemicals from this meaty vegetable instead.
Next Food Network Star - Intrepid
Posted by Patsy Kreitman on Edible TV
This week when the finalists showed up at the Food Network studios, they were greeted by Bobby Flay and a platter covered by a dome. This seems to strike fear in the finalists because you never know what ingredient will be revealed. They were challenged to create a regional burger worthy of appearing on the menu at Bobby’s new restaurant, Bobby’s Burger Palace. The second part of the challenge was to present their burger on camera.
In this challenge, Katie was still struggling and, for the second time this season, served undercooked meat to the judges. Her turkey burger might have had potential if they were able to taste it. Jeffrey was having a rough week after an impressive initial run, his presentation was below par and the food was not what the judges had come to expect.
Michael created a mouth-watering Mulberry Street Burger to represent New York. It was stuffed with fresh mozzarella, topped with basil and the burger itself had proscuitto grilled right into each side of the patty. In spite of his nerves on camera, he went on to win this one based on the fantastic burger! Be sure to look for it on the menu at Bobby’s Burger Palace.
For the elimination challenge, the finalists were taken to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. Guy Fieri met them there and explained what their challenge: They were to prepare a dish that represents a specific state using ingredients provided, which would be served to returning servicemen and women, as well as their families.
E.H. Taylor Returns to Buffalo Trace
Posted by Shelly Brisbin on The Spirit World.
Spend any time touring bourbon country, or reading its history, and you’ll quickly learn that distilleries and brands, long-lived though they may be, do not operate under constant ownership. A brand with a historic tie to a distillery might move to another company, or a conglomerate might acquire or sell a famous brand. And all of this can happen several times in a whiskey’s life.
Buffalo Trace has acquired the E.H. Taylor brand, along with its product inventory, from Beam Global. E.H. Taylor the distiller, first produced E.H. Taylor the bourbon in what is now the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfurt, KY. so this shuffling of brand and barrels amounts to a homecoming. Taylor, a great nephew of 12th US president Zachary Taylor, purchased the Frankfurt distillery in 1870 and eventually named it OFC, for Old Fire Copper. though Taylor eventually sold the distillery, the brand continued under new ownerhip. In the small world of Kentucky bourbon distilling, it has now come full circle.
Manners 101
Posted by Andrea Murray on Kids Cuisine.
Teaching children manners can sometimes be tricky… especially older children with disabilities like autism and Down syndrome. Leading a group of twenty high school students with varying abilities, I am often limited on kitchen possibilities as well. But one of the students in my class made a perfect suggestion, “Ms. Murray, let’s have a tea party!” I jumped on this not only because I enjoy a nice cup of tea, but because I saw it as a perfect opportunity to practice good manners.
For the food: the day before the party some of the students and I made small cookies called haystacks (recipe to follow). We made them bite size so that they could be served on our buffet. This way each student felt that they were a part of creating the upcoming tea party. These cookies are no bake, which makes them perfect to whip up with a group of adolescents with short attention spans. In addition to the cookies I purchased butter mints and other small candies to be served in bowls at the buffet.
For the table: the students, with some guidance, pushed our tables together and set them for all twenty of the students in the class to participate. Napkins, silverwear, saucers, and cups were placed at each seat. The student then set all of the finger foods out on another table as the buffet. They formed a line and gathered the goodies they desired with prompting not to take too much, as there would not be enough for all of their classmates if they did. A good life lesson for all buffets: no overindulgence. As they took their seats, I walked around to each student as they held out their faux china cups to be filled with strawberry tea.
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