|
|
|
Snack Time
 |
| Babbo's Pumpkin Cake, made by Claudia Young of CookEatFRET |
| CookEatFRET |
Every week, Meal Ticket pokes around the food blog world to see what's simmering. The Thanksgiving Edition of Snack Time brings you last-minute recipes from genius food bloggers to load up your holiday table.
- Displaced New Yorker-in-Nashville Claudia Young of CookEatFRET picks up Gina DePalma's new pastry cookbook and whips up a version of Babbo's pumpkin cake. The batter makes use of toasted pine nuts, grappa, Spanish extra-virgin olive oil and a surprise appearance by rosemary, to good effect — for dessert or just a happy snack.
- Alexandra Harcharek of A Food Coma updates that mushy holiday classic, green bean casserole, with a vegan-ized treatment of actual fresh green beans with nary a can of Campbell's condensed mushroom soup in sight. A dash of cayenne should fortify vegans enduring their annual round of holiday explanations to Aunt May regarding why turkey is, in fact, a meat.
- 101 Cookbooks author Heidi Swanson shares a recipe from her friend Nikki for totally indulgent coconut and macadamia-crusted, double-baked sweet potatoes. Not only are these tater babies absolutely gorgeous and creamy with coconut milk, they are magically vegetarian and vegan.
- Neal over at Burning Pasta shares a kinda-historically accurate butternut squash and apple soup that is good enough to have sustained General Washington himself. He also reassures readers that the ghost of Julia Child will not strike you down should you use store-bought chicken stock instead of making your own from scratch. Whew, dodged that lightning bolt.
- Uber-locavore Nicole of the Farm to Philly blog presents a new Turkey Day challenge: cajole canned cranberry sauce lovers into at least tasting homemade cranberry quince pinot noir sauce. Though the canned vs. homemade cranberry sauce battle is as deep-rooted as the Jets/Sharks rivalry, hopefully the spirit of Thanksgiving will triumph on this, the most gluttonous of holidays.
Every Wednesday, Meal Ticket pokes around the food blog world to see what’s simmering.
- One to add to the Why the Hell Not File: Adam Kuban of Serious Eats reported on Snoop Dogg's recent appearance on The Martha Stewart Show, where he and the Martha-bot smash up some cognac mashed potatoes. The two original gangstas have a splendid visit, with the Dogg turning Martha on to correct usage of "Snoop-guistics" and inducting her producer as a junior member of his posse, all while whipping the shizzle out of some taters with "a machine. (It's a KitchenAid, dude.)
- Joe Sixpack, aka Don Russell of the Daily News, takes deep issue with the University of Pennsylvania's neglect of the oldest standing tavern in the city, the Man Full of Trouble at Second and Spruce. Penn was bequeathed the building 14 years ago and has declined to get on the stick, despite development offers from interested parties. Russell wants to see it made open to the public again, ideally in conjunction with a program that would celebrate the role taverns played in the founding of the nation. He softens the slap with an offer to discuss the matter with Penn prez Amy Gutmann over a pint of Dock Street's new Man Full of Trouble Porter.
- Indefatigable food explorer Adam Erace of Blogalicious shares his latest discovery: Merl's South Philly Breakfast Spot. A baby blue dining room and thick china mugs of coffee set the stage for some soulful diner chow. Erace is particularly hot on Merl's take on the Southern classic, chicken and waffles. The best news: Merl's is only a short crawl from the South Philly Taproom, so if the Belgian beers are beating you over the head come morning, Newbold residents are well-placed to fight back with cheese grits and the detoxifying effect of maple syrup poured over fried chicken.
-Kristin Henri at Foobooz is assisting Doug Hager and Kelly Schmitz, owners of upcoming German beer bar Brauhaus Schmitz, with the hairy issue of staff uniforms. Hager is pushing for those wonderfully fetishized dirndls, while Schmitz is not interested in owning a theme park. Ever democratic, Henri put up a survey so readers could weigh in on this most pressing issue. As of noon today, results are standing at 52 percent for and 3 percent against, while an 18 percent minority doesn't care if the waitresses even have heads, as long as the beer is good.
-Set your tasers to drooool: Collin Flatt at Phoodie.info pops in for a cocktail at an Old City institution, Fork, and ends up with a deconstructed, spiked hot chocolate that will melt down even the bitterest winter day. Frothed milk, Barbancourt rum and Bailey's Irish Cream are served with a swizzle of Hot Éclat, a decadent paddle of dark chocolate that drinkers can stir into a hot bev in their own sweet time. It's not for nothing Éclat won Philly Mag's "Best Chocolate" category for 2008.
 |
| The enigmatic quince |
| chocolateandzucchini.com |
Every Wednesday, Meal Ticket pokes around the food blog world to see what's simmering.
- In The Insider, Michael Klein looks in to the liquor license application in the former Empyrean Coffee space at 1921 Walnut. Seems like Monkey Bar owners, the brothers Vasiliadis, are looking to expand their Rittenhouse presence by turning the "odd shaped mansion" into Kashmir, an "'ethno-lounge kitchen' reminiscent of a 'Parisian boudoir in Tangier' featuring comfort food from all parts of the world." If Monkey Bar is doing well enough in this anxious economy to inspire them to open another venue, the bold brothers might be the men to tame the curse of that long-vacant space.
- Clotilde Dusoulier of the elegantly Francophilic Chocolate & Zucchini explains the mystery of the autumn quince, a fruit that "unlike the pear and apple, its comelier cousins, it opposes the blade with an almost wood-like resistance." Clotilde suggests sharpening up your knives to peel and core this enigmatic fruit before poaching it gently with vanilla beans. Sensual living bonus: a bowl of quince ripening on the counter will perfume your home with an "irresistibly sweet, floral, candy-like scent", an extravagance the puritanical apple would surely consider unseemly.
- For those who don't know they're finished until they are on the verge of a stomach rupture, the CHOW food team has concocted a simple recipe for a mandarin orange digestif. The 151 grain alcohol infused with mandarin peels should speed feast victims from food coma to buzzed burping in no time.
- Thanksgiving contrarian the Urban Vegan encourages readers to adopt a turkey this year, and shares photos and a thank-you note from her turkey adoptee, Apollo. Wonder if 10 cents a day means little Apollo will be going to a less fowl school this year.
- The always-newsy MenuPages blog gushes over tonight's performance by two gastronomic giants at New York's Per Se: Thomas Keller (The French Laundry, Per Se) and Grant Achatz (Alinea) are preparing a tasting that will have Big Apple foodies committing suicide, as attending means their lives have certainly peaked. At $1500 per person for the 20-course meal, the event "sold out fairly quickly." A few seats are left for the second extravagant performance, at Alinea in Chicago on Dec. 2.
 |
| matzoandrice.wordpress.com |
Every Wednesday, we poke around the food blog world to see what's simmering.
- "Even if this pizza design is not palatable to your political tastes, the crust recipe is still tasty," says Matzo and Rice of their Obama logo pizza. How topical and topping-ful.
- Livia of No Counterpace deviates from her usual Metropolitan Bakery pumpernickel and discovers their smashing spelt bread. She also drops into the new Cafe Clave, which we first told you about here.
- Over at A Food Coma, Alexandra is mixing up a Phillies-themed pomegranate martini. It's never too late for celebratory imbibation. (Is that a word?)
- What the hell do you do with the leftovers from a sushi party? Jovialism knows.
- CP contributor Amanda McKenna gets into Dia de los Muertos by baking festive bread and decorating sugar skulls.
- Between the Phillies, Obama and Cali voters supporting Prop 2 (combating commerical animal cruelty), Urban Vegan can't contain herself. She celebrates by whipping up a raspberry swirl poundcake with limoncello glaze.
- Apparently, Ralph Nader's mother's hummus recipe is way too garlicky.
- Epicurious has posted dinner party tips from none other than Gordon Ramsay.
 |
| Minar Palace's brinjal bartha |
| Photo | Shirley Nicole Fonner |
- Minar, Minar, on the wall: David Snyder rocks an extended Michael Jordan metaphor to weigh the worth of Minar Palace, the highly regarded Indian restaurant that closed in 2006 only to reopen at 13th and Walnut. He even throws in a wine recommendation for the spot (it's BYO).
- This week's Feeding Frenzy touches on four new/notable openings — Stephen Starr's Butcher & Singer, brand-new Bella Vista Medi spot Mazag Café, Teri's Restaurant in the Italian Market and Coconut Grove above Copa on South.
- Trey Popp takes on Home Slice, the casual Liberties Walk pizza parlor/takeout from the owners of A Full Plate Café. Verdict? "They're serving better pizza with more variety than many places that charge a higher price. Discover it already."
- Dinner and a movie is one of the most time-tested date approaches in history, second only to cow tipping/rodeo clowning. (What? Where are you from?). This week's Top 5 list features Gary M. Kramer's top picks for dinemacinema DESTINATIONS — think local film screenings at N. 3rd, renting Bollywood flicks at Tiffin, etc.
- Wondering What's Cooking this week? Let Nikki V. help: wine dinner at Rum Bar, a MANNA Pie in the Sky happy hour, election night debauchery at Johnny Brenda's and more.
 |
| Bistrot La Minette |
| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Every Wednesday, we poke around the food blog world to see what's simmering.
- Adam at Blogalicious makes a bid to get Peter Woolsey's French in-laws to adopt him, proving his love at Bistrot La Minette's family-style prix-fixe dinner. Four-course menu options range from $45-$65, with increases based on the inclusion of luxe ingredients like foie gras or a fromage plate. Consider yourself at home, Adam.
- Foodaphilia wishes happy birthday to Metropolitan Bakery, which turns the big 1-5 this year. Elizabeth also highlights Metropolitan's new 15-month calendar full of recipes, customer comments and pretty pretty bread pictures. All proceeds from the calendar will be donated to Project H.O.M.E., aiding them in their mission to end homelessness in Philadelphia.
- Collin Flatt of phoodie.info lays out his picks for Philly Mag's Wine Week dinners. La Famiglia and Le Castagne both make the thumbs-up list, while Davio's Italian Steakhouse is scathingly dissed for their spendy snoozer of a Wine Week menu.
- The MenuPages blog sticks to hard news, updating the story on the UK cannibal chef, who's drawn canteen duty in a Leeds prison.
- Serious Eats reports on banana shortages in Japan that have mono-fruit dieters in a tizzy, Russian reproductions of famous paintings rendered in charcuterie, and AQ Kafé, a new Swedish coffee and sandwich shop in NYC owned by Marcus Samuelsson (who lasted less than one summer as chef of Stephen Starr's doomed eatery Washington Square).
 |
| bettereatingthroughchemistry.blogspot.com |
Every Wednesday, we poke around the food blog world to see what's simmering.
- Josh Homacki, chef at Rittenhouse's Snackbar, has launched Better Eating Through Chemistry, a blog about his molecular meanderings in the kitchen. Look at that cheese plate!
- beXnlog offers up mini reviews of three slightly under-the-radar spots: Mustard Greens, Cedars and Almaz Cafe (a Meal Ticket favorite).
- Yes, it's October, but don't tell Foodaphilia, who's clinging onto summer with this delicious-sounding gazpacho tilapia with avocado recipe.
- Alexandra Harcharek of Le Petit Cochon has a new blog: A Food Coma, "aimed at twenty-somethings and those interested in cooking fabulous semi-gourmet food on a minimal budget." Welcome!
- David and Johnny, aka Two Guys on Beer, hit up the 23rd Street Armory for Philly Oktoberfest. Heidi wigs and Yards' prez Tom Kehoe are involved. Prost.
- Chicago Sun-Times via Serious Eats: Top Chef champ Stephanie Izard is steamed that a Cook County, Ill. GOP-er is using her likeness in the logo of a public access cooking show called What's Cookin' with the Republicans! "That really is the girl who won? I'll make her famous," the show's Republican producer (who claims he had no idea who Izard was) is quoted as saying. "Also, I love enforcing blanket stereotypes," he added. "Now go check on that roast, pick up my dry cleaning and pour daddy some scotch, angelface."
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
