Small Plate #3: Acero Executive Chef Adam Gnau

Sunday, December 27, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast

Four Courses has had a lot of exciting changes in the past year. From our new guest hosts to joining the STL Vernacular Podcast Network, we've been really please to be expanding our mission. And now, let's expand even more with our very first interview with a member of the St. Louis food scene!


In Episode 22, guest host Chris Romer and I talked about Acero. Several hours before we arrived to settle in for what turned out to be a fantastic meal, Chris got the opportunity to sit down and talk with their executive chef, Adam Gnau.

Chef Gnau was very generous with his time, so go on over to the Four Courses page and give Chris' interview with him a listen. Enjoy!
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Nuptial Libations and the Lentil Seduction

Monday, December 21, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast - Episode 22

November's runaway food train continues into December. With company holiday parties, cookie exchange parties, family get-togethers, and New Year's Eve celebrations, there seems to be no end to the feasts we enjoy at this time of year. Four Courses heartily supports this tradition, and we hope you'll help us close out our second year with some chatter about some interesting culinary subjects! Hop on over to the Four Courses site and give Episode 22 a listen!


Topics include Acero, the sweet touch of honey, a rousing talk about holiday bread traditions, and how to stem the tide of food waste. We also welcome guest host Chris Romer, who is the first guest to actually prepare some of the food under discussion to bring to the recording. This practice is highly encouraged. Enjoy!
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Child-Repellent Delicacies and the Neanderthal Cupcake Hankering

Monday, November 23, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast - Episode 21

Ah, November. The month when we really put on our Eatin' Pants and go to town on some truly impressive meals. More than any other month, this is when discussions about food and drink traditions really come to the forefront. And to that end, hows about you take a jaunt over to the Four Courses site and give Episode 21 a listen?


Topics include Farmhaus, the majesty of paprika, a chat about the Thanksgiving customs we enjoy or disdain, and a royal side-eye given to the trend of gluten-free diets. We also welcome guest host Dana McDonough, who is equal parts lovely and intimidating. Enjoy!
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American Plate - Bite #4: Venison

Wednesday, November 18, 2015 0 comments
Modern Americans tend to prioritize convenience over a lot of other attributes when it comes to eating. Getting something cheap and fast often trumps everything else - even flavor. It wasn't always so. Our continent's first residents had far more pressing concerns. Native Americans had limited options when it came to eating, so they made the most out of every food source. Anyone who lives near a forested area knows that deer are extremely fleet-footed, but native tribes developed several systems of hunting them - driving them into rivers or enclosed spaces to be picked off by bow and arrow, for example. They were more than worth it; deer was an invaluable resource to countless natives.

Hides were made into clothing, blankets, and shelters. Antlers, bone, and teeth were fashioned into weapons and tools. Tendons were stretched into webbing for shoes and papooses. There were a ton of other uses, too, but let's get to the meat. The importance of venison cannot be overstated. It was the primary source of protein for a lot of tribes. Though it's a very lean meat in comparison with cattle, the rendered fat from deer was a popular way of providing important caloric bursts to tribes that may have gone hungry otherwise. Venison was also easier to preserve than other foods. Natives would hang strips of the meat over slow fires in order to make jerky for the winter months.

Once European settlers arrived, domesticated animals became the dominant source of meat on the continent, but for a long stretch of American history, venison was king. And it's not as if those Europeans had no interest in deer. Trading for animal products was a large source of commerce in the colonies. In fact, a single deer skin could be traded for about a dollar, which is why to this day, we use the word "buck" to signify that amount.


I adore venison, but unlike most other meats, it can be difficult to get my hands on. Grocery stores rarely sell deer meet, and even butcher shops tend not to carry it. There are plenty of local hunters, though, so it may just be a matter of finding a local venison hookup on the down-low. I hope I can find a consistent supplier soon, because there are countless ways to enjoy it. I used to go down to my ex's family place in Georgia for the holidays, and his mother made a venison stroganoff that was out of this world.

Recently, I came into a bit of good luck. I was hanging out at a friend's place, when another of his friends dropped by, his arms loaded down with both ground venison and venison loin. An impromptu grill session commenced on the spot, and we were able to dive face-first into platters of deer burgers and steaks. It was a dream come true. Venison is not only leaner than a lot of other meats, but it has that gamey, pungent flavor I love so much. The holiday season (and its attendant frigid weather) is almost upon us, and I already know what's going straight to the top of my gift wishlist: The name and phone number of a local deer meat purveyor.
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How Sweet It Is

Monday, November 16, 2015 0 comments
Allow me to severely, severely, severely paraphrase Tolstoy: There are countless ways to rip apart a television show that sucks, but there's only so much you can write about a show that's consistently good. Unless it inexplicably veers off a cliff, what more can I say about a program so flawless that it earned a rare A+ grade, and that warranted a podcast mini episode devoted entirely to talking about how enjoyable it is?

I speak, of course, of The Great British Baking Show, which just wrapped up its second American season. Everything I loved about the first season is still present. The challenges are still well-designed. The contestants are still fantastic. The judging is still fair. The hosts are still engaging. The food photography is still mouth-watering. I really don't have much to add to the effusive praise I babbled in the linked post above.


If anything doesn't stack up to the first season, it's that the dishes prepared weren't quite as impressive as they were the last time around. I can't hold that too much against the show, though. And if that's the biggest nitpick I can come up with, you know we're dealing with an extraordinarily terrific program. I'm not much of a gospel-spreader when it comes to television, but if you're not watching this show, you're missing out.

The Great British Baking Show - Season 2: A+
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Small Plate #2: The Great British Baking Show

Saturday, November 7, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast

Our first Small Plate was a game, but this time, we're going for a review. Hey, remember how much I loved the first season of The Great British Baking Show? Well, that love cannot be contained to just the written word, so guest host Tiffany Greenwood (Episode 20) and I take this opportunity to talk about what makes this program so special.


Interested in a television show that will nourish your soul, plays a siren song for your sweet tooth, and gives you a good giggle all at the same time? Go take a listen to the review here. Then go find Season 1 on Netflix and get started! You won't be sorry.
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American Plate - Bite #43: Fried Catfish

Monday, November 2, 2015 0 comments
When we learn about the Civil War in school, it's pretty much just a recounting of the battles and the key figures of the time. Schoolkids aren't really asked to imagine what life must have been like for an everyday citizen at the time, so let's do that thought experiment now. You live in the South, but aren't in the army. All the foodstuffs you'd usually purchase from Northern suppliers are gone, plus the Union has set up a salt blockade, so you can't preserve meat. And the problems don't stop there.

There's nobody around to harvest crops, because most of the able-bodied white men are off fighting, and most of the able-bodied blacks (aka slaves) are fleeing to freedom. Your state has limited interest in centralized government, so no system of food distribution has been set up. And to top everything off, the weather has lately been especially punishing in your region. What do you do?

If you're a Southern citizen, you start to rely on the few remaining sources of protein: Game and fish. Squirrels, rabbits, trout, and catfish became the backbone of the Southern diet during this period. Though depending on these foods certainly wasn't a choice that people willingly made, they quickly learned to adapt. A single large catfish could feed an entire family, and could be prepared with a minimum of ingredients. Once the Civil War was over, proteins like squirrel receded back into obscurity, only eaten in a few mostly poverty-stricken regions. Catfish remained popular though, and continues to be so to this day.


Fried catfish remains a dish-of-the-people, readily available in casual settings like inexpensive restaurants, bars, and any community fish fry during Lent. The picture above is a composite of fried catfish I got at a variety of places, but it should come as no surprise that none of these places had a dress code. Happily, there was variety to the serving methods. Sometimes, the fish was just served by itself, alongside a side of fries or green beans. Some places made an effort to dress it up a bit, though, incorporating it into a po boy sandwich with greens and sauce.


The quality of the fried catfish I ate depended on the restaurant. The po boy was extremely tasty, while some of the others tasted of nothing but frying liquid. I decided that this is one of those Bites that shouldn't just be left to the service industry, and that I should make my first attempt at making some myself. As befits its history, catfish is far more affordable than other fish, and the only other ingredients you need to whip it up is some oil, some eggs and milk, something to dredge the fish in (cornmeal, preferably, though flour also works), and some spices. The verdict on my first batch? Not bad. I'd use cornmeal next time, and bump up the spices; these filets wound up needing some Sriracha to give them a kick.

That said, once they were combined with some rice and a roasted green vegetable on the side, they made a mighty fine dinner, and I'm looking forward to making this again. It seem so strange that something we enjoy as a casual dish today was once consumed almost entirely out of necessity, but hey, forging a connection with the citizens of our nation's past is part of what this project is all about. Maybe high school history teachers can learn something from this, themselves. Kids likely don't have much interest in dry recitations of names and dates, but they just might pay attention if they were asked to imagine having 90% of their food supply cut off.
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Pita Hoarding and the Environmental Booze Hounds

Friday, October 23, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast - Episode 20

Despite a bundle of new work duties and a persistent head cold, nothing could keep me from this month's Four Courses. There are always so many wonderful food topics to explore, and this month, we tackle some of the yummiest. Hows about you wander over to our site and take a listen to Episode 20?


Topics include Olympia, an unhealthy obsession with pickles, our go-to selections when it comes to bread, and the trend of rapidly-disappearing cork in favor of wine bottles with twist-off caps. We also welcome our guest host Tiffany Greenwood, who finally lends a much-needed female voice to what's been a total dude fest until now. Enjoy!
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Small Plate #1: Cheese or Band Name

Saturday, October 3, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast

Sometimes, you may be peckish, but not have room for a full meal. And sometimes, you may want to enjoy your favorite podcast, Four Courses, but not have time to engage with a full episode. Good news!

Welcome to the first Four Courses Small Plate! Small Plates are mini-episodes that will periodically show up between main episodes, and can come in a wide variety of flavors: Maybe it’ll be a game. Maybe it’ll be an interview with a local chef. Maybe it’ll be a review of some food-related media. Or maybe it’ll be something else entirely.

For this first small plate, guest host Jeffrey Ricker (from Episode 19) joins in for a game: Cheese or Band Name.


Think you can tell the difference between a rockin’ band and a regional Irish Cheddar? It might not be as easy as you think, Grasshopper. Play along with the game here, and see how you do! And if you have suggestions for other Small Plates, please feel free to email fourcoursespodcast@gmail.com
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American Plate - Bite #77: Hershey Bars

Tuesday, September 22, 2015 0 comments
While I'm not dreading any of the Bites I'll be sampling for this project, there's no denying that some of them are a lot more fun and accessible than others. I'm not even a sugar-hound, but I was very pleased to see Hershey Bars on the list. I mean, just about everyone enjoys chocolate in some way, shape, or form, so what is there to dislike about being tasked with wolfing some down? Americans can't get enough of it, but its popularity is anything but modern.

Archaeologists have found vessels in Olmec sites dating to about 1700 BC that still have remnants of chocolate in them. Ancient citizens of South American and Mesoamerican societies loved chocolate at any temperature in its natural, more bitter form. They consumed it as a drink, as medicine, or with added cocoa butter. Their intense love of chocolate caught the attention of European explorers, and it was speedily transported back to the Old World. Religious types feared it as a powerful aphrodisiac, so it was kept mostly under lock and key during the 16th century.

Chocolate couldn't stay secret forever, though, and once it was sweetened, it spent the 17th and 18th centuries exploding into popular use. It was definitely a luxury, but during the 1820s and '30s, a Dutch family named the Van Hootens developed a method of processing the beans that made cocoa powder a lot more affordable, allowing chocolate to filter down to the common man. By 1875, the Swiss had perfected milk chocolate.


While all this history is fascinating, this Bite is about one company and its instrumental role in spreading chocolate across the United States. Milton Hershey first ran across the chocolate-making process demonstrated at the Chicago World Columbian Exposition in 1893. He was utterly convinced that chocolate was the future of American sweets, and eagerly jumped into the business. By 1900, he had developed the Hershey Bar, and a short 3 years later, he sold off his existing caramel business to devote all his energy to chocolate.

We've seen time and again that the development and spread of certain food products can take years, if not decades or even centuries. This is emphatically not the case with Hershey Bars. After its development in 1900, its popularity immediately skyrocketed, and variations on it were rolling out in the blink of an eye. Hershey Kisses appear in 1907. Mr. Goodbar popped up in 1925. Hershey Syrup followed in 1926, and by 1938, Krackel was on the scene.

Hershey Bars weren't only used as sweets, though. It was also adapted into a high-calorie ration that could be given to soldiers during World War II. These D Rations were resistant to melting and lightweight, so they could be taken anywhere. They weren't developed to be a delightful treat, and in fact, and most servicemen detested them. They were certainly effective, though, and not only in a nutritional sense. Soldiers would give them out to civilians, some of whom were under-nourished children who really benefited from the calorie boost. American GIs gained a reputation for being generous and kind, and the Hershey company would get a military award for excellence for their participation in the war effort.


Happily, I didn't feel the need to eat military rations for this project. I started with the obvious: Just straight-up eating some Hershey Bars, though I did sneak a little variation in by getting one with almonds, too. You'll also note a bag of Hershey Miniatures in the pic. Those things are not only perfect for trick-or-treaters, but they're usually the sole method by which I can get my hands on Mr. Goodbar and Krackel, both of which I adore. The second picture features some Hershey Bars I broke up as an integral component to the S'mores plate I took to a party, which was very well-received. Though I didn't consume any for this particular project, I can also report that Hershey Syrup is my go-to if I ever find myself in need of chocolate milk.

Hershey is not without its drawbacks. The glut of milk and sugar means it doesn't taste enough like "real" chocolate to a lot of discerning eaters these days. I try to be more expansive in my food habits, and don't feel like I have to choose sides. It's true, I'll often want the stronger cocoa flavor in the bars and truffles made by one of my local chocolatiers. But that shouldn't preclude me from enjoying a Hershey bar from time to time. As I mentioned at the beginning of the entry, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but even I have a fondness for the classics. Hershey represents different things to different people, but it's more than earned its reputation as a benchmark of American sweets.
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Dairy Delights and the Gift of the Fungi

Saturday, September 19, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast - Episode 19

Four Courses has undergone some upheaval in the past month, so you'll notice big changes in this month's episode, including a brand new course. We're delving into food from both land and sea, so if you don't already subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, head on over to our blog and check out Episode 19!


Topics include Kampai Sushi Bar, the myriad uses of basil, the wide and wonderful world of cheeses, and the challenges of falling off the vegetarian wagon. We also welcome our first guest host, Jeffrey Ricker, whose books you should go buy immediately. Enjoy!
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Cookie Party: Volume 6

Thursday, September 10, 2015 0 comments
It's been forever since I've experimented with a new cookie recipe. Lately, if I've had the time to bake at all, I've mostly fallen back on familiar favorites. But I recently moved apartments, and in moving, I noticed a bookmark wedged into one of my cookbooks. I flipped to the marked page, and rediscovered what can only be described as the weirdest cookie recipe I've ever seen. It immediately intrigued me, not only because of its oddity, but for the fact that it looked relatively simple and I already had all of the ingredients on-hand.

Black Pepper Cumin Cookies
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

I like to make a different kind of cookie each holiday season, but it's a bad idea to make a ton of cookies without a test batch first. This recipe seemed promising for December, so I spent an afternoon over Labor Day weekend giving them an initial try. As the name suggests, this recipe incorporates two ingredients I've never seen anywhere near cookies before: Black pepper and cumin. Whaaaaa? Are these cookies or a stir fry? Even stranger, there didn't seem to be much sweetness to counterbalance the spice. There's only a half dozen tablespoons of sugar in the entire batch.

Well, that's why they call it a test batch. Despite my confusion over the inclusion of heavy spice, the scarcity of sugar, and the complete absence of liquid ingredient components (no milk, no eggs), I figured they were worth a shot. One of the things I really like about this recipe is that it utilizes very few dishes. You can keep your mixing bowls in the cabinet for this one; everything is mixed in the food processor.


My question about where the "cookie" flavor comes in was somewhat answered by the butter in this recipe - a whopping two sticks. So, these were to be butter cookies accented with spice. Got it. Now I just wondered how strong the spice flavor was going to be. My delight with the simplicity of these cookies continued after the dough was made. All you have to do with it is make 1-inch balls, then flatten them with the palm of your hand onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Easy prep and easy cleanup! Once my flattened cookies were ready to go, I just baked them until they were golden, then cooled them briefly on a rack.


The real test of these cookies would be in the reactions to their exceedingly strange flavor, so I gave them out to a bunch of friends, and asked for honest opinions. As with many things in life, I got a range from "Whoa. That's way too much cumin," to "Whoa. Give me the recipe immediately." The overall response, though, was far more positive than I thought it was going to be. I gave them to people I do not consider adventurous eaters, and got puzzled faces, followed by "They're really weird, but...I like them!" I liked them, too, though unlike their sweeter cousins, I probably couldn't eat more than four or so at a stretch. After looking down at my stomach, though, that may be a good thing.

These cookies are definitely a conversation starter. They may not be for everyone, but given their uniqueness, their simplicity, and their overwhelmingly warm reception, I think we've found a winner for the 2015 Holiday Cookie. Now I just need to stock up on butter.
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Kyle's Appetizer Platter

Friday, August 28, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast - Special Episode 2

It's time for another Very Special Episode of Four Courses. Our last special episode was a flashback to some favorite Dessert segments of episodes past, but this all-Appetizer episode is brand new content. Kyle is branching off into some new creative ventures, and so we have to bid good-bye to him as a regular host. We had to mark the occasion, though, so we send him off by hitting the town and eating/drinking at some of his favorite places.


Go listen to the episode here to join us for stops at Pi Pizza, The Royale, The Kitchen Sink, The Cup, and The Fountain on Locust. Enjoy!
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American Plate - Bite #62: Bananas

Saturday, August 8, 2015 0 comments
It's fortunate that of the multitude of fruits that we eat these days, The American Plate chose bananas and blueberries to symbolize our country's historical relationship with that category of the food world. I detest cherries, but if they'd been selected for the book, I'd have gritted my teeth and suffered through it. Happily, instead of that tedious chore, I get to enjoy my absolutely favorite fruit. Man, do I love bananas. And I'm not alone in that love; bananas have been popular for what seems like forever. But how did they rise to prominence, and why are they listed in the book's Progressive Era section?

It's not as if bananas were suddenly discovered at the turn of the 20th century. Plenty of people were eating them in the tropical areas they were growing, and cultivating them as far back as 600 A.D. in Africa. The spread of bananas more or less followed the spread of Islam, as Arab traders made their way to Europe. Portugal introduced them to their colonies in South and Central America, where they gained another foothold.

As you've no doubt noted, bananas spoil quickly, so it's no surprise that they didn't make the jump to North America until the 1880s, when new technology allowed steamships to have refrigerated storage tanks. Suddenly, it was a whole new ballgame. Bananas began a rapid climb in popularity, thanks to a number of factors. Not only are they tasty and packed with vitamins, but as we saw in the entry on hot dogs, this was a time marked by great concern over the conditions in which food was being prepared. What could be better than a snack that has no toxic additives, and comes in its own germ-free wrapper?

Health wasn't the only public relations triumph that bananas enjoyed. They also meant big money for businesses that could establish a presence in Central America. These businesses were helped by president Theodore Roosevelt, who was expanding America's military and economic power in the region. Marketing played its part, too. Ellis Island was reaching its peak in the number of immigrants it was processing each day, and the United Fruit Company hit upon the idea of giving each new arrival a free banana as a welcome present and an inducement to become attached to them.


That tactic would have totally worked on me, by the way, though by this point in time, bananas would have been as exotic to American citizens as to the immigrants who were just arriving. It didn't take long for either group to latch on to these delicious fruits, and our country has never looked back, turning bananas into a dominating presence in modern produce sections.

It's no accident that bananas are among the first Bites to get logged, as I'm always eating them in one form or another. They're a perfect portable snack, but as you can see in the picture above, I like using them in recipes as well. That banana bread I've made a number of times, and has a healthy amount of spice. I like banana to be the star ingredient, though, and put no fewer than four into a single loaf. I also wanted to get experimental, so you can see my first attempt at Bananas Foster, as well. It wound up being fairly tasty, though I'd probably opt to make it a little sweeter next time.

There's no shortage of exotic foods in the world, and I'm excited to try the great majority of them. Part of me wishes I could see bananas as the wonder those turn-of-the-century Americans must have seen them as. But then I remember that far from them being a rare and strange marvel, now I can take a quick stroll to the local market and easily load up on the best fruit in the world. So I guess this is a pretty nifty time to be living, too.
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Crustacean Crushes and the Futuristic Sugar Robot

Wednesday, July 29, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast - Episode 18

My god, is it hot outside. This is what I get for complaining about that first part of summer when it was cool and rained seven inches a day. But now that we've reached the intolerable heat and humidity part of the calendar, it's time to talk summer food. So head on over to Four Courses and check out Episode 18!


Topics include Peacemaker Lobster and Crab, the wrap-up of the Our Favorite Drinks seasonal segment, a comparison of regional barbecue styles, and the best snacks to enjoy at the movies. We go out on a Sell Me On... segment all about ice cream flavors that deserve a second chance. Enjoy!
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American Plate - Bite #61: Hot Dogs

Tuesday, July 7, 2015 0 comments
Careful observers might take a look at the timeline on the main page of The American Plate Project and think to themselves: "Hey, why are hot dogs listed in the period from 1900-1928? Haven't people been eating sausages since forever ago?" Good catch, careful observer! It's true. Americans have been stuffing meats into casings for more than 200 years. Sausages, weiners, frankfurters, bratwurst... Whatever you call them, they were a part of the American experience long before 1900, and it's not difficult to see why. They're inexpensive. They're portable. They have a long shelf life (when dried). And though we're in no danger of forgetting this, they're delicious.

So why the placement in the Progressive Era? Because not only did the modern form of hot dogs come into vogue at the 1893 fair in Chicago, but hot dogs are a handy symbol of the big societal shift that occurred in that time when it comes to how our food is prepared. Everyone may have been eating sausages long before 1900, but there weren't many people verifying that the meat that people were consuming was safe. At that Chicago fair (the World's Columbian Exposition), an awesomely-named vendor, Anton Feuchtwanger, noticed that the white gloves he provided to customers who purchased his sausages had a habit of not being returned. His solution was to start serving the franks in long, narrow buns, and the present-day idea of a hot dog was born. From 1893 to 1906, hot dogs flew off the shelves (or the food carts, as it were).

But along came Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, and the party was over. Sinclair was attempting to expose the terrible working conditions of the men who toiled in Chicago's meatpacking slaughterhouses, but readers took a more self-interested lesson from it: The meat they were eating was being processed in disgusting, filthy conditions. There was a huge public outcry, and reformers immediately began advocating for federal legislation to improve the quality of food preparation.

Teddy Roosevelt was totally on-board with this, and a short six months later, the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed. The popularity of processed meats quickly bounced back, and by 1939, the reputation of the hot dog had been restored so thoroughly that Franklin D. Roosevelt served them to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth when the royal couple was visiting him in Hyde Park. News coverage of the picnic cemented the warm feelings between the United States and the United Kingdom, which was a pretty big deal, given the world war that loomed on the horizon.


So, it's entirely fitting that hot dogs are considered an intensely patriotic food, even to this day. I'm writing this a few days after the Fourth of July, and you can bet that plenty of hot dogs have been consumed this past week, and not just by me. They're not only handy for celebrating our nation's birthday, but other very American things, both noble (enjoying a footlong at a good ol' American baseball game) and ignoble (grabbing a quick hot dog from the local gas station because you don't feel like waiting for dinner).

Both of those activities are represented in the picture above, as well as a backyard BBQ, another extremely American activity. Come to think of it, though this entire project is about how our national identity has been shaped by what we eat, there may not be a more quintessentially American food on the list than the humble hot dog. So if you're a true patriot, do your civic duty and chow down on one with me.
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American Plate - Bite #6: Blueberries

Tuesday, June 30, 2015 0 comments
In my entry on Pie (and the attendant research post), I noted that "As American as Apple Pie" is a bit of a misleading phrase, since apple pie was popular long before America was a country. If we want to accurately reflect our patriotism through fruit consumption, then your first step should be casually dropping "As American as Blueberry Pie" into your conversations. I'll willingly lead the charge on that one, because I love blueberries.

Blueberries are enjoying a cultural renaissance right now. "Superfood" is kind of a bullshit term, but there's no denying that these berries are bursting with nutrients, and are low in carbohydrates to boot, so they show up in several ingredient lists for a multitude of diets. Modern, health-conscious Americans aren't the only folks to do cartwheels over blueberries, though. Since they're indigenous to the American continent, and happily grow everywhere but the arid desert regions, they've been consumed for as long as people have been here.

Even Native American tribes that weren't big on agriculture found a lot of use for blueberries, gathering them fresh in summer and storing them dried for winter. While chili peppers could be used in the Southwest to flavor several dishes, the Northern tribes didn't have that luxury. Wild blueberries could be eaten as a snack, stirred into corn and bean mixtures, and made into easily portable pemmican bars with seeds, nuts, and buffalo meat/fat.


These days, blueberries mostly stick to fruit bowls or sweeter fare. I must admit I fell into that preconception for this project, as well. Sure, I threw back a handful or two of plain berries. But as you can see in the picture, the rest of them went into topping some ice cream, getting baked into a blueberry buckle, and enlivening some cinnamon-spiced cornmeal pancakes.

And sure, as with most people, I like blueberries in muffins and cupcakes and yogurt and such. But there was a time that blueberries were regularly made into sauces for meat dishes, and people don't really do much of that anymore, which is a pity. I remember having a calf liver dish with blueberry sauce in New York that knocked my socks off. Perhaps once all the Bites have been logged, I can look into re-elevating blueberries to Entree status in my cooking experiments. It'd be nifty if part of the American Plate Project could entail exploring new or forgotten ways of using familiar ingredients, and blueberries would be a fantastic starting point.
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Just Desserts

Tuesday, June 23, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast - Special Episode 1

Both Kyle and I have a lot of Big Life Stuff going on right now. In fact, me even having the internet connection to type this right now is a minor miracle. But instead of leaving a black hole of content, we're putting up a special episode: All Dessert.


These are our favorite and/or most popular Dessert segments of episodes past. You can listen to the episode here, and that post also includes links to the episodes when these segments originally aired. Enjoy!
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American Plate - Bite #99: Salsa

Thursday, June 11, 2015 0 comments
Very few of the Bites that comprise this project exist in a vacuum. Sure, there isn't much to connect Ginger Carrot Soup to the other entries, but most of these foods and drinks link quite naturally to at least one of the others, if not a big group of them. So, since the entry on Tostadas wasn't too long ago, it should come as no surprise that Salsa isn't far behind. With Cinco de Mayo still visible in our rearview mirrors, we're at the high point of the year as far as my salsa consumption.

Talking about it as if it's one homogenous product is a mistake, though. "Salsa" literally translates as "sauce" in Spanish, and obviously, there are about a bazillion kinds of sauces besides chunked up tomatoes with some cilantro in it. Ever enjoyed the smoky richness of a mole sauce? That's salsa. The summery freshness of corn mixed with beans and fruits? Salsa. The pungent mixture of avocados, garlic, and feta? Salsa.

Salsa has endless variations that are constantly being updated, so it's no accident that the aspect of American culture that this Bite represents in the book has to do with shifting demographics. Back in 1992, the New York Times reported that for the first time, people were buying more salsa than ketchup in the United States. There was some debate about the mathematics, given that ketchup and salsa are sold in different forms and quantities, but there was no arguing that Americans spent more than $100 million more dollars on salsa than ketchup. Naturally, this kicked up a lot of jingoistic hand-wringing about 'Murica and dem gosh-durned immigants coming to steal our jerbs.

Buried in that bigotry is the kernel of an interesting debate, though. What, exactly, is American food? My podcast partner and I tackled the idea of Patriotic Food in Episode 7 of Four Courses, but we only had time to barely scratch the surface. To my mind, there's nothing more American than welcoming all the cuisines of the world with open arms, and incorporating the best aspects of other countries' dishes into our own lives. Who could eat better than a country that embraces the fish dishes of Asia, the cheeses of Europe, and the sauces of the southern parts of the Americas? Nobody, that's who.


Let's get back to that general idea of tomato salsa, though. Unlike most Americans, I'm historically not a huge fan of salsa. I never buy it at the grocery store, and generally ignored it on restaurant tables up until just a few years ago. I'm always looking for ways to expand my culinary universe, though, and re-embracing salsa seemed like a natural step. This project certainly helped to kick experimentation with different restaurants' salsa recipes into high gear, too.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the results. Gone is the cheapass, leftover tomato gunk. Restaurants have realized that having a interesting salsa that someone put some actual thought into can give them a stamp of identity that customers latch onto. I've heard more than one recommendation for a place based just on the salsa that lands on the table before a single menu item has been ordered. Just look at the rainbow of colors and various textures of the salsas I've gotten recently in the pic above. Even though it's been popular for a long time, it seems like salsa has only recently gone through a creative resurgence.

And why wouldn't it? Salsa is one of the most adaptable Bites of the entire project. It can be smooth or chunky. Sweet or salty. Refreshingly cool or shockingly spicy. Imitating another country's approach to food is somewhat symbolic of welcoming their citizens into our nest, and that's one of the things I love about the USA. Much like salsa itself, America is an infinite variety of different mixtures, and we're all the better for it.
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Tofu Conundrums and the Veggie Ultimatum

Wednesday, May 27, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast - Episode 17

Listen, I love meat. I love beef and veal and lamb and sausage and bacon and chicken and fish and shellfish and sweetbreads and ham and and just about any other one you can name. But once in a while, it's nice to step back from the meaty extravaganza that is the modern American diet and focus instead on the realm of vegetarianism. So, we've turned over an entire episode to it! It was enjoyable to take a break from the butcher shop and stick to the produce department for a while. How about you join us? Click over to Four Courses and listen to Episode 17!


Topics include Tree House, the fruits, veggies, and herbs that insinuate themselves into the world of drinkin', reliable vegetarian dishes for an omnivorous diet, and a fun discussion of the social responsibilities surrounding vegetarianism. We go out on a Sell Me On... segment in which vegetables we don't love get a second chance. Enjoy!
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American Plate - Bite #1: Maize

Tuesday, May 19, 2015 0 comments
It should come as no surprise that maize is first and foremost in a book about the history of American foods. What else would kick off the story of our nation's cuisine? It's been cultivated on our continent since 7000 B.C.E. That was in Mesoamerica, though, so you'd have to skip up to about 4000 years ago for maize to reach what would later become the United States, grown by ancestors of the Hopi tribe in Arizona and New Mexico. From there, it took at least two thousand additional years to pop up in the agriculture of New England, though historians argue about whether it spread from the Southwest or was "discovered" independently. Point is, corn has been with us for our entire lives as a culture.

I'm using the words corn and maize interchangeably, but they're not truly identical. Corn refers to a region's local grain, which could be anything, from wheat to oats to barley to maize. The latter obtained such a strong grip on America's diet that it became symbolic of corn itself, the way that people say "Kleenex" instead of "tissue". How did maize get to be King of the American Grains? It has a lot going for it. Though every tribe had their own methods and traditions regarding the best way to cultivate maize, the plant itself helped them out by being extremely hardy and adaptable. It can grow in poor soil conditions. It doesn't need an abundance of water. It requires no special tools to farm. It's easily stored, and lasts for a really long time. And nutritionally, it's packed with calories, which may be a concern for modern society, but was vital to a populace that needed as much caloric bang for the buck as they could get.

There's another nifty benefit for maize that will span a trio of Bites for this project: It's the first member of the Three Sisters. Maize was planted in low mounds, around which were planted the other two members: beans and squash. These three crops formed an incredible symbiotic relationship, both in their growth and nutritionally. As bean plants grew, their tendrils climbed the cornstalk, providing structural support to both plants. Large, flat leaves of the squash plant spread out at the base, providing cover from pests and discouraging weeds. And while maize isn't a complete protein, it becomes one when eaten with beans. Add in the extra punch of vitamins from squash, and it's easy to see why the Three Sisters stuck together.


While the history of maize is endlessly fascinating, the American Plate Project isn't just about research. Let's get to the eating! I'm writing this entry in May, so we're entering an excellent season for corn. True, modern corn has little in common with the plant the ancestral Native Americans would have been growing. Ours is soft and yellow, bursting with sweetness. The maize of old would have grown in a rainbow of colors, and been extremely hard, requiring a soak in water before eating so that the nutrients could be absorbed.

Corn is the sole Bite of the book to be mentioned more than once, so I thought that since this was Bite #1, I should focus on corn by itself for now, rather than as an ingredient in recipes. And it turns out there's really no bad time to have corn. The picture above features corn in three vastly different situations, but it's an equally-appropriate side dish in all of them. I ate corn at a friend's celebratory barbecue with some smoked brisket. I ate corn at a Cajun restaurant to complement the spice of the gumbo. I ate corn as an essential component of a comfort food plate at a local upscale restaurant, alongside a hearty meatloaf and some mashed potatoes.

And those are just the occasions where I remembered to snap a picture! It takes so little to make corn delectable. All you need is a dash of salt and pepper with some butter, and you're ready to go. I mean, just try and take a look at this and tell me you don't want some corn right now. Just like I do with actors, I mostly tend to admire foods that are versatile. Hot dogs are great, but they're really only good at being eaten as hot dogs. But give me a food that's as portable, as tasty, and as welcome in as many situations as corn, and I'm a fan for life.
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Unpronounceable Entrées and the Ethics of Cake Destruction

Friday, May 1, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast - Episode 16

Sppppprrrrrinnnnnnng! Once the weather lightens up, there's so much more to get out and do, food-wise. OK, everything-wise, but that's not what we're about. Want to know what we are about? Then click over to Four Courses and listen to Episode 16!


Topics include Yemanja Brasil, the Spring edition of "Our Favorite Drinks", the shoddy reputation of wedding food, and a very careful chat about how one should tip when there isn't a server in play. We go out on a Sell Me On... segment in which the herbs of the season are passionately advocated for. Enjoy!
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American Plate - Bite #70: Tostadas

Tuesday, April 7, 2015 0 comments
It's impossible to separate the history of American food from the history of technological development. It's all well and good to talk about honoring our past or recreating our ancestors' recipes, but when new inventions arrive on the scene, food often evolves in a way it can never come back from. Just look at what happened to pies when wall ovens came along. A similar fate lay in store for tortilla chips, also known as tostadas.

Prior to the 1920s, plenty of tostadas were being produced; it's just that they were all being handmade in Southwestern homes. Grinding maize into corn flour, then forming, drying, and baking the tostadas was a time-consuming and messy process. Enter José Bartolomé Martinez, who owned the Azteca Mills company in San Antonio. Martinez successfully sold corn flour, tortillas, and masa, but in 1912, he took a leap forward by using his leftover masa and developing the technology to create and sell the first machine-made chips in the country. Productivity skyrocketed, and Azteca Mills hit upon another good idea by shaping their tostadas into triangles and marketing them to Mexican restaurants as handy dip/salsa conduits.

From there, it should be easy to guess the two things that happened next. Firstly, the machine-made tostadas were cheap, delicious, and easy to transport, so naturally, they quickly made the jump from restaurants to grocery stores so that people could enjoy them at home. Secondly, the machine-made tostadas promised a healthy profit and the technology wasn't difficult to comprehend, so Martinez' process was quickly copied by other companies. One such imitator was C. Elmer Doolin, and what he lacked in innovation, he made up for in business sense. Doolin bought out a Mexican company and its tostada recipe, and renamed his chip "Fritos". Perhaps you've heard of them?


Doolin also came up with the idea of the bag rack, making Fritos and his other baked-dough development (Cheetos) easier to display in stores, heralding a Golden Age of Chips that we're still in today. Tostadas marked a change from homemade to mass-produced food, a necessary adjustment as more and more Americans began moving to cities from their rural communities.

They continue to be incredibly popular today, be it as the precursor to an evening of Mexican food and margaritas with friends at a restaurant, as a dip-conveyance system at a neighborhood party, or even just as a fistful of Fritos on the couch as you binge-watch Netflix by yourself. I've indulged in all three of those methods of tostada consumption for the American Plate Project, and I'm not ashamed to admit that all three of them are a delight.
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Meals on Wheels

Monday, March 30, 2015 0 comments
I always like it when the entertainment world encompasses my equally fierce love of the food world. Or at least, I like it when they do it competently. Just cause something has to do with food or cooking is no guarantee that I'll be automatically on board. I didn't worry too much when it came Chef, though. Chef is a 2014 movie written by, directed by, and starring Jon Favreau. Clearly, he felt pretty strongly about the material. It got mostly good reviews and came highly recommended by friend-and-cohost Kyle, so I was fairly certain I was in good hands.

Chef revolves around the story of Carl Casper (Favreau), a chef who has found a large measure of success at an LA restaurant, but in exchange for that success, he's given up his opportunities for creativity and personality in his menus. An acidic critic (Oliver Platt) calls him out on this, leading to a Twitter war and Casper's eventual joblessness. Casper resolves to re-discover why he became a chef, and with the help of his still-amiable ex-wife (Sofia Vergara) and sous chef (John Leguizamo), starts a cross-country trip on a food truck. The trip is his chance to not only re-ignite his career, but to forge a stronger connection with his son (Emjay Anthony), whom he's often neglected.


The movie has a lot of themes on its mind. Obviously, the importance of maintaining relationships with friends and family is the big one. No man is an island, and Chef tackles this not only by addressing Casper's attempts to make up for his disappointing parenting, but by pointing out to him that he can't accept the accolades and success for running a popular restaurant without also accepting its limitations. In order to express himself artistically, he must strike out on his own.

The movie also takes on the often-tired trope of criticism, and frankly does a better job of it than Best Picture winner Birdman. Caspar attacks Platt's character for glibly shitting all over his life's work, but the movie balances that out by admitting that Platt's review was entirely correct; Casper really has lost his way.

Not everything in the movie works. The relationship hurdles it sets up are cleared too easily. It's got a very odd view of social media, in which a taco truck cruising through town causes more online enthusiasm than it would if it were Beyonce. The story is also based on the life and work of Roy Choi, who we've met before, and who is, not to put too fine a point on it, kind of an egotistical ass.

Overall, though, it was a very enjoyable movie, and not just from a story perspective. It's got some great music, and the beauty shots of the food are incredible. If Chef accomplishes nothing else, it'll have you running for the refrigerator in no time.

Chef: B
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Aquatic Adoration and the Greaseball Banishment

Sunday, March 29, 2015 0 comments
Four Courses Podcast - Episode 15

There are countless foods that appeal to me, but there's a special place in my heart for shellfish. Maybe being born in Baltimore has infused my blood with Old Bay seasoning, or maybe I was always destined to fall in love with crab, lobster, mussels, etc. etc. Happily, we set aside some time to talk about it this month, along with so much more, so why not head over to Four Courses and give Episode 15 a listen?


Topics include Juniper (both for a crawfish boil and their regular menu), the ups and downs of rum drinks, the aforementioned ode to shellfish, and a fun discussion of what makes famous food names a Cook or a Personality. We go out on more sea creature talk, as we attempt to win each other over to the oceanic animals that aren't as popular on our dinner tables. Enjoy!
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American Plate - Bite #27: Pie

Wednesday, March 25, 2015 0 comments
Americans have had a long and rewarding relationship with pies, be they savory or sweet. In its early incarnations, settlers made crusts that were not really made to be eaten. Pie filling would be sealed into a "coffin" of hard, tasteless crust before baking. Afterwards, the coffin was broken open and discarded, and the filling enjoyed on its own. In the 1600s, France finally latched on to the idea to make pastries (including pie crusts)...you know...GOOD. From there, the idea spread quickly to Britain, and then across to the colonies. Crusts were also helped along by an emerging technology: Ovens built into the wall. Making consistent pie crusts and other baked goods was infinitely easier with wall ovens than cooking over open flames.

From there, the pie as we know it today became inextricably linked to American cuisine. New England developed the double-crust blueberry pie. Pennsylvania Dutch/German colonists in the mid-Atlantic region tweaked old, ancestral recipes to bring us the shoo fly pie. Farmers in the south that had ready access to vast fields of corn (and thus cornmeal) introduced the chess pie. Notice what isn't mentioned there? The good ol' "American" apple pie, and there's a good reason for that. It's not really American. The American Plate mentions this, but in a serendipitous overlap, so have I, in my research post for Episode 7 of Four Courses.


Pie has made another contribution to American food culture, though in a modern context, rather than a historical one. The number π is immeasurably important to the fields of science and mathematics, and since π kicks off with 3.14, people hit upon the genius idea to designate March 14 as "Pi(e) Day". According to Wikipedia, the earliest known official or large-scale celebration of Pi(e) Day was organized by Larry Shaw in 1988 at the San Francisco Exploratorium, and it's been embraced nationwide ever since.

That embrace definitely includes me. Speaking of Four Courses, we discussed Pi(e) Day in Episode 3, in which I declared my deep and abiding love for it. I try to make something for Pi(e) Day every year, often using it as an opportunity to experiment with pies I've never made and/or eaten before. This year, I got my pie on in a multitude of ways, as you can see in the picture above.

First, there's the classic key lime pie, which I make often. In fact, the one pictured is one I made at request for my boyfriend's birthday in lieu of a cake. Next to that is my first lemon chess pie. As described above, chess pies incorporate cornmeal (and do not make the mistake I almost made and substitute corn starch for cornmeal - they're decidedly not equivalent). The chess pie was well-received by my friends, though the next time I make it, I'll likely bump up the lemon rind to balance out the intense sweetness. And finally, there are some bacon/onion/cheese tarts. I'm normally pretty rigid about following recipes, but this one was a true experiment. The only onions mentioned in the recipe are a dusting of scallions, but I added some sauteed white onion as well. I also included other ingredients not mentioned, like sauteed garlic and a healthy punch of cumin.

Though some of the Bites I'll be eating for this project are firmly ensconced in America's past, pie thankfully continues to evolve, presenting new and exciting flavors and techniques all the time. Although we certainly don't need an excuse to eat it, having a day to celebrate not only these sweet and savory marvels, but a number that represents a linchpin of scientific achievement, makes pie one of the more beloved entries of this entire enterprise.
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Recipe For Success

Sunday, March 22, 2015 0 comments
Back when I was reviewing/recapping Top Chef, I had a common...well, it wasn't a complaint, per se. More of an observation. The producers would bring in these big names from the food world to be guest judges, and the contestants would be duly impressed by them. The audience, however, was often left out in the cold. If you weren't familiar with the person, then all you had to go on was a gushing interview from a contestant, talking about how much they respected the Name of the Week. It's not that I didn't believe that these guests were accomplished; they were just unfamiliar, so I didn't know how much stock I put in their opinions.

We so often don't know what goes into forming the opinions and motivations of chefs, no matter how famous they may be, which is why the PBS show The Mind of a Chef is such a nice change of pace. It's produced by Anthony Bourdain (who also narrates), and each season focuses on one or two particular chefs. We follow the chef through multiple episodes, as they explain and demonstrate the aspects of food and food culture that inspire them or that they concentrate on.

As of this post, three seasons have aired, and I've worked my way through the first one. Season 1 centered around David Chang, the Korean-American chef who founded the Momofuku group of restaurants. Naturally, he loves working with Asian ingredients, specifically noodles. But he is by no means a single-minded chef. Through these sixteen episodes, we visit several countries with him, diving into ramen, the edible parts of a pig, whiskey, eggs, cookies, and much more.


Each episode fills us in on a part of Chang's history or a particular ingredient that has been important to his development as a chef, and this deep exploration of a career is something that audiences and diners see far too rarely. As a television concept, it's brilliant. It's executed well, too, though I did have one or two issues.

The first is just a personal thing: Season 1 features several scenes of people eating ramen, and I don't believe there's a food that's less attractive to watch people consume. The other is more structural. Since the chef is involved with foods, trends, restaurants, and people that they enjoy, it can get a little repetitive watching them heap praise on everything that's featured. Everything can't be awesome. I don't expect them to eat foods they hate or to delve into stories of their career's failures, but it would be nice to get a more multi-faceted look at the chef's personality; I want to hear about the foods or cooking methods they avoid as well as the ones they flock to.

Aside from that, though, this show is not only entertaining and informative, but important to the television landscape. We're always being told that so-and-so is an expert, but now, we don't have to take a host's word for it. We can see the evidence for ourselves.

The Mind of a Chef - Season 1: B
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American Plate - Bite #49: Lunch Pails

Friday, March 6, 2015 0 comments
It makes sense that the first bite I tackle for the American Plate Project incorporates a lot of the allowances I gave myself in the rules. It's easy to get my hands on, requires minimal preparation and planning, and is generally a solitary eating experience: Lunch Pails (Bite #49).

Lunch Pails are brought up in the time period between the Civil War and the Industrial Age, which makes total sense. Gone were the days that a majority of workers ate at home or had family members bring them the midday meal in the fields they were working. People were beginning to spend their lunchtimes in factories and coal mines, and needed a more convenient way to eat. The American Plate mentions this as a time that immigrants flooded into the country, and singles out the Welsh for their work in the coal mines. Immigrants from Wales were more easily accepted into American society than others, since they shared language and religion with the people already here. They were also crazy about leeks and helped popularize them in America, which I'm grateful for. Leeks are damned tasty.

Welsh miners would take a three-level pail to work: A bottom layer of hot tea (which warmed the food above), a middle layer of hearty food, such as ham and bread, or a leek/cheese pastry, and a top layer of fruit or something sweet. Sounds like a pretty good system! Several household supplies were sold in tin boxes in the time after the Civil War, and people naturally wanted to repurpose them, hitting upon the idea to send their kids off to their schoolhouses with the boxes packed with food.


It wasn't until 1902 that these tins were sold with the express purpose of being lunchboxes. After that, it didn't take long for merchandising to grab a hold of them, with Disney selling their first Mickey Mouse lunchbox in 1935. After that, an era of lunchboxes swept in; they were an important fashion accessory of American schoolchildren everywhere. They featured cowboys, television characters, cartoons, bands... Anything that was popular at the time. The rise of convenience food put an end to the lunchbox era, but some of us still "brown-bag" it to work.

My lunchbox was chosen for its insulation rather than any sort of eye-catching design. It keeps cold items chilly for an impressive amount of time! There are plenty of restaurants and carryout places near my work, but in an effort to save both money and calories, I tend to try and bring my lunch most days. It can consist of usual lunch fare (sandwiches, crackers, yogurt...anything easily portable), leftovers from the previous night's dinner, or as is most often, pre-packaged, microwavable meals. It's an easy way to mimic having an "actual" meal, incorporating things like meat, rice, sauces, and veggies into lunchtime, where they're relatively new arrivals.


It's always interesting to hear how different countries handle the midday meal, whether it's by taking a long break to enjoy a sumptuous feast, or by grabbing a quick bite on the go. In America, we have a long tradition of bringing our lunches along with us. Speaking of which, it's almost noon. Time to pay homage to those post-war miners and factory workers by busting out the honey balsamic chicken with steamed vegetables. Sadly, there aren't any leeks in there, but it'll have to do.
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Upper Crust

Thursday, March 5, 2015 0 comments
Know what just took my breath away? A competitive reality show. I know, I'm shocked too! I still can't believe just how great The Great British Bake Off was. Season 5 is the first one to be aired on American television, and I don't understand why it took so long. Over on these shores, it's called The Great British Baking Show. I'm not entirely sure why the name was changed in the transition, but I've heard theories that maybe Pillsbury has some sort of trademark on the phrase "bake-off". Fuck them, I'm using the original name.

I've watched plenty of competitive reality shows, and I've watched plenty of food television, and cannot emphasize enough just how stellar this show is. The contestants? They're all talented people that...wait for it...don't use that talent as an excuse to act like raging dicks. No, really! Everyone is nice and supportive. They have friendly chats as they compete, and they don't backstab each other. All their criticisms are directed at themselves, and how they'd like to improve their skills in the future. The biggest contestant drama of the season is BinGate, which I won't spoil here, but look it up. That's as fierce as it ever got. American reality shows like to excuse terrible contestant behavior with an excuse about how awful people generate drama that audiences want to watch, but The Great British Bake Off puts the lie to that claim. This was a group of wonderful people all doing their best to display their abilities without ever once feeling the need to tear each other down. It was such a breath of fresh air.


The judges? Equally awesome! They have names that don't even sound real (Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood), but they are just as superior to their American counterparts as the contestants. They articulate their opinions clearly, they're firm about their criticisms without being needlessly cruel, and they freely compliment people for work that was done well. In other words, they're judges, rather than catch-phrase spouting personalities.

The challenges? Equally awesome! Each episode is split into three challenges. There's the Signature, in which the chefs all make the same type of baked good, and are allowed to bring tried-and-tested recipes from home (the openness about these recipes is another good change from American cooking reality shows, in which everyone is expected to make things up as they go along). Then there's the Technical, in which the bakers all make the same thing, and are just given the barest of instructions. The best thing about this challenge is that it's blindly judged; Mary and Paul have no idea who made which entry until they've ranked them. And finally, there's the Showstopper, in which the bakers are challenged to make something complicated and visually arresting.

The production design? Equally awesome! I cannot over-praise the camera work on this show; everything looks incredibly beautiful. The editing makes it clear how every contestant is progressing, ties in check-ins and interviews, and intersperses the challenges with pretty illustrated animations about what each baker is making.

The hosting? Equally... OK, this is the one nitpick I have, and it's a minor one. The show and challenges are hosted by two women named Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, and when they're chatting with the judges or contestants, announcing winners and losers, or voicing over the explanations of what each baker is making, they're perfectly capable. But the other 60% of their time is throwing out terrible puns, cringy double entendres, and annoying fake accents. Mel is usually fine, but Sue really needs to cool it with the need to pronounce "bake" with a different quirky tone in every episode.

That complaint right there? Is literally the only thing I can find to criticize about the show. I don't know if I'll be able to track down any of the previous seasons, but you can bet I'll be trying. And it is my fervent hope that this show continues on, in exactly its current form, for a long time. As long as they keep sending it over here for us poor Yanks to enjoy.

The Great British Bake Off - Season 5: A+
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Second Helping

Sunday, March 1, 2015 0 comments
In an effort to tie this food blog to my other online activities, such as the podcast and the entertainment blog, I thought it'd be helpful to link to the overlaps, so that there will always be a way to jump to what's cooking! First thing's first, though, so let's begin by linking to the posts that have already been written.

If you're interested in the podcast, you can always subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher. If you're a more old-fashioned sort who would like to listen directly through the site (and to have access to a wealth of other food info and recipes), here's a list of the episodes published to date:

Episode 1: Facebook Fury and the Naan of Tears
Episode 2: Fruit-Wrapped Genitals and the Buffet of Shame
Episode 3: Websites of Mystery and the Great Pastry Wars
Episode 4: Polish Hospitality and the Schrödinger Brunch
Episode 5: Señor Skrillex and the Citrus Dichotomy
Episode 6: Sacred Sandwiches and the Romantic Meat Connection
Episode 7: American Food Mythology and the Feast of Waffles
Episode 8: Cornbread Canaries and the Crêpe of Perpetual Motion
Episode 9: Reluctant Companionship and the Astonishing Pepper Gradient
Episode 10: Sugar Imperatives and the Shortbread Concierge
Episode 11: Thanksgiving Tune-Ups and the Parsley Dispute
Episode 12: Blackened Tongues and the Christmas Calamity
Episode 13: Fireside Spirits and the British Literary Deception
Episode 14: Salmon Fury and the Tower of Spice

Then there are the posts that straddle the line between entertainment and food. They'll have their own posts going forward, but here are the ones that have been published to date:

Around the World in 80 Plates
Books 2013
Batter Off Dead
Food-themed Time Management Games
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2
The French Chef
From Scratch: Inside the Food Network
The American Plate: A Culinary History in 100 Bites

And finally, there are the Top Chef and Top Chef - Just Desserts recaps over at What'ere, Jane Eyre:

Top Chef Recaps/Reviews
Top Chef - Just Desserts Recaps/Reviews

Jeez. It's a good thing I just ate dinner, or all this culinary entertainment would have me galloping for the pantry. Enjoy!
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