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October 2009
‘Winemakers’ finalist Ross Outon: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
For Austinite Ross Outon, being a wine freak is finally paying off.
As a wine consultant for Twin Liquors, Ranch 616 and several other restaurants and stores, Outon has been a heavy hitter in the Austin wine scene for many years, and over the past six weeks, he’s been competing on the PBS reality show “The Winemakers,” which concludes tomorrow. Outon is one of three finalists, and the winner gets to produce his own wine label.
In addition to a standard kitchen fridge, Outon also keeps a wine fridge stocked with special occasion bottles. He says it’s usually packed with dessert wines, which aren’t as versatile and regularly consumed at his house as reds and whites. He’s even got a few good reds and champagnes that he’s holding on to for a really special event.
“The regular fridge is where the daily drinking stuff is,” he says, noting the importance of keeping wine cool after a bottle as been opened.
At 12:30 p.m. tomorrow, Twin Liquors Marketplace at 41st and Red River streets will host a watch party so you can watch with Outon and his fans to see who won.
Here’s to hoping tomorrow brings him something worth toasting with one of those fancy bottles.
What three things are always in your fridge? Lone Star, orange juice, Tabasco
What’s your favorite condiment? I’m huge lover of cool mustards. French’s old school yellow mustard, at least one kind of Dijon. Right now I’ve got a spicy brown mustard from Germany and Jack Daniel’s Honey Dijon.
What’s the first thing you pull your of your fridge in the morning? Orange juice. I drink either straight or in a smoothie.
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Halloween, when it’s OK to play with your food
Pumpkins, we might forget, are food, too.
So whether you are carving free pumpkins with your kids from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday at La Condesa or at your home or school this week, keep in mind that you can toast the seeds and eat them, and sooner than you realize, you’ll be devouring pumpkin pie, too.
But we all know pumpkins aren’t the favorite food of Halloween. You — and your kids, your coworkers’ and your coworkers’ kids — are in it for the candy.
Halloween is the favorite holiday of Quincy Adams Erickson, owner of Fête Accompli catering and retail store, but not because of the candy or the pumpkins. She says she loves finding ways to make food playful and memorable.
“Halloween lends itself to silliness,” she says. “It brings out all my creativity.” This week, she’s serving holiday foods that include rat tail salad (made with beet roots) and maggot and cockroach salad (black beans and rice). The best part? Erickson requests that customers ask for each dish by its Halloween name.
In that case, I’ll have the vomit (pea and cheese salad), please.
Bakeries all over town are creating spooky treats. Quack’s Bakery has both Halloween cookies and these beautiful pies topped with pastry leaves. Holy Cacao on South First Street is serving zombie cake balls, which are chocolate pumpkin cake balls covered in melted zombie skin (or blue-hued white chocolate for those of us among the living).
Costume-clad adults will be roaming downtown on Saturday, but for a classier Halloween party on Friday night, Aquarelle is hosting its first (and free!) Moulin Rouge Halloween Celebration from 8 p.m. to midnight. Compete in the costume contest or feast on a “specially sinful” selection of $6 appetizers, desserts and wines.
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Join us for a wake to mourn Gourmet
Or at least that’s the overwhelming response I’ve read and heard since Conde Nast folded the nearly 70-year-old publication this month.
For a bittersweet happy hour at Fino on Tuesday, let’s gather, favorite issues in hand, with fellow readers to celebrate the long life of Gourmet. RSVP here.
Bar manager Bill Norris and guest shaker David Alan of TipsyTexan.com will mix classic cocktails from the past seven decades, and chef Jason Donoho will prepare bites inspired by the magazine’s rich culinary history.
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Stop eating my garden!
It’s been more than a month since I’ve written about my family’s backyard gardening efforts, and in those four weeks, we’ve had the nicest (and wettest) weather in recent memory.
Which is great for the garden, right?
Hypothetically, yes, but our seedlings aren’t thriving as much as they had been because something besides us is eating them.
I’ve always had the attitude that sharing with critters gives gardeners some good karma with nature, but after losing 3/4 of the seedlings I showed off in the last garden post, I think I’m due.
So back off, cutworms, snails, birds or whatever has been snatching the young plants before they’ve even had a chance to produce many leaves.
It’s taken most of the year, but my husband has finally caught the gardening bug. Ian dabbled with gardens when he was living in Calgary, where the growing season is a fast and furious three months long. (Nearly 20 hours of daylight will do that to plants.) He’s taken over one of the raised beds and has had quite a bit of success keeping his seedlings growing, such as the radishes above.
I’ve been trying to tame my now-thriving yard from overrunning this new garden bed I created after the fall of the tomatoes and peppers earlier this summer. I’m on round two of sweet peas, lettuce and greens in this bed, and hopefully whatever was after them before has moseyed along to something greener.
My compost pile keeps getting more interesting. A pomegranate I recently tossed in there attracted more grubs/maggots/creepy things than I’ve ever seen in our compost bin. (PS, the hardware cloth I built this second bin out of isn’t holding up like I hoped it would. One of my goals this fall is to build another one, hopefully out of some scrap materials I come upon.)
The spinach I planted seems to have evaded the bugs or birds, but they are growing so slowly. Patience is as essential to gardening as all this glorious rain we’ve been receiving.
We’re on the last of our peppers, and the herbs have put on the prettiest flowers. It’s amazing what a few wet weeks can do to a backyard. Ours was a dustbowl just six weeks ago, but now the grass and overall ecosystem seem to be thriving. Even this anole (right? We’re only amateur herpetologists.) found refuge in our yard, so I can’t be too upset about a few snatched plants.
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Kitchen Confession: Eating my kid’s leftovers
Kitchen Confession No. 3: I am a human vacuum cleaner. My parents teased me about it when I was in high school; I’d always scarf up scraps that were headed to the trash can or garbage disposer.
Now that I have a kid, who more often than not doesn’t finish his food, I have someone else to eat up after.
And here’s the real confession: When I’m making something as scrumptious as kid cheese tortellini, above, I’ll make a little extra, you know, “just in case” he wants seconds.
I’ve loved hearing from readers about their kitchen confessions. Whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter or e-mail, I want to hear yours. Here are some of my favorite of your secrets:
Kristi Willis: I eat mustard on my popcorn. Ronda Dizney: I put herbs like basil, oregano, rosemary and lemon verbena in bed to sleep on at night-nibbling a few tucked in my pillow. I nibble on them if I wake up in the middle of the night.
Rebecca Herrington: I sometimes on purpose burns toast & then slathers it in Brummel & Brown ‘butter’
Rob Moshein: I’ll eat raw beef on occasion. Like when I have ground sirloin for hamburgers I’ll take a taste, or when trimming a steak I’ll cut a little bite of the raw meat for myself.
Arcie Cola: I lick all the salt and flavor off the chips and throw the chip away. I used throw the chip back in the bag til Memaw caught me and tore up my hide.
Christy Horton: I always shake my sodas with the lid closed to get rid of some of the carbonation. I don’t like them totally flat but not too fizzy. I am also a batter eater: cookies, bread, cake, doesn’t matter. I like it RAW.
Lindsay Lehfield: I’ve never had ramen noodles.
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Beer at the heart of potluck, Eat-Up
Beer isn’t just for drinking.
Two events in the past week prove that beer is just as valuable as an ingredient as a beverage.
On Thursday, blogger and baker extraordinaire Jennie Chen taught members of Addie’s Eat-Ups, the monthly food meet-up group, about how to bake with beer.
Her cupcakes, such as these made from Wells Banana Bread Beer, and other sweet treats, including 512 Pecan Porter mousse, Live Oak Hefeweizen and the Brooklyn Brewery Pumpkin Ale Chocolate Cake she served at the Eat-Up, have gained her a bit of a cult following in Austin.
But baking with beer isn’t as simple as swapping beer for liquid in whatever you’re making. She says that through trial and plenty of error, she’s discovered that very hoppy beers often turn bitter when cooked for a long time and that bubbly beer can cause batters or doughs to break.
Lucky for us, she is generous with recipes. You can find plenty of them on her blog, MisoHungry Makes it with Moonshine.
On Sunday, Austin food bloggers gathered for our fourth potluck, this time at (512) Brewing Company. Keeping with the beer theme this fall, the dishes were supposed to be made with beer. I created Thomas Keller’s roasted cauliflower with rice, the recipe for which we printed in the paper a few weeks ago. I replaced some of the cooking water with Real Ale’s Brewhouse Brown Ale.
Chicken thighs cooked in beer from Michael Chu of Cooking for Engineers, chicken pot pie topped with biscuits from Lisa Lawless and these little tartlets from Teddy Babcock.
On the dessert side, we had everything from beeramisu from Cecilia Nasti to pumpkin beer ice cream from Stephanie McClenny.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Playing with your food
Tim and Karrie League: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
The yardbirds, as he calls them, provide fresh eggs for the couple who forever changed the movie-going experience in Austin when they opened the first Drafthouse in 1997. Suddenly, watching the latest blockbuster with a soda and box of over-buttered popcorn just didn’t seem as appetizer. At the Drafthouse, movie-goers can order above-average food and watch not just the latest Hollywood flicks, but carefully curated films as funky and smart as Austin itself.
The Leagues sold the franchise but still own the downtown, South Lamar and Anderson Lane theaters, and now they’ve entered the bowling business with the food- and drink-centric Highball, located next to the Drafthouse on South Lamar.
Those lucky chickens. Another food venue for the Leagues means another source of quality scrap veggies, stored in those plastic grocery bags in the fridge, for them to eat.
What three things are always in your fridge? Fresh eggs (we raise chickens in the yard). Vegetable choppings from the Alamo (for the chickens and the rabbits - also raise rabbits in the yard). Skim milk - daily morning cereal ritual
What condiment can you not live without? Spicy whole grain mustard. Is peanut butter a condiment? I can’t live without that either.
What’s your favorite thing to eat during a movie (either at home or at the Alamo)? Pizza - I order it at home and at the theater way too often for my own health.
I’m always on the hunt for interesting refrigerators. If you want to show off yours, take a photo of it (please resist the urge to clean or rearrange) and send it to abroyles@statesman.com.
Fridge photo by Tim League; Portrait of Leagues by Nick Simonite.
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‘Sushi Pimp’ drops alter ego for sushi classes
Lee, who performs as his foul-mouthed alter ego Sushi Pimp on Monday nights at the restaurant, is now offering sushi classes at DK’s Sushi Market, the Asian food store he owns at 5610 N. Lamar Blvd.
Twice a week, Lee offers a beginner class on making sushi rolls like the California or spicy tuna rolls. Classes cost $65 and are on Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m. The store, which carries a large selection of sake and sushi supplies, is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. E-mail SushiClass@dksushi.com or call 302-1090 to reserve a spot.
Don’t panic, Sushi Pimp lovers. Lee is still hosting the Monday night party at DK Sushi like he has for eight years.
Sushi photo by David Weaver; Sushi Pimp photo by Sung Park.
Permalink | | Categories: Cooking, Playing with your food
Sunday farmers’ market begins in E. Austin this weekend
A new farmers’ market is coming to a Sunday near you.
The Hope Farmers’ Market will have its inaugural market day on Sunday at 414 Waller St., at the southwest corner of Fifth and Waller streets.
Market manager Greg Esparza says there will be more than 20 food vendors on Sunday, but because the market is part of the Austin-based HOPE (Helping Other People Everywhere) Campaign, a nonprofit that brings artists and media to places in need, there will also be plenty of artists and nonprofits.
HOPE founders Andi Scull Steidle and Brian Steidle “wanted to throw the doors open to the community to have a festival every single week where people could come together around their passion and craft,” Esparza says. He says that the Hope Farmers’ Market, three blocks east of Interstate 35, is a way “to infuse this East Austin arts culture with the growing local food movement that has been picking up so much steam in the last couple of years.”
Esparza says they wanted a way to bring together all the subcommunities that call Austin home, a place where musicians could perform, artists could create and the community could learn from each other.
The market will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with free yoga from Empower Yoga at 11 a.m. This Sunday, there will even be free coffee (BYOMug, the Facebook page suggests)
If you’re interested in participating as a vendor, contact Esparza at 699-6077.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Eating locally
Gary Vaynerchuk is crushing everything but grapes
Wine might be the subject of Gary Vaynerchuk’s video blog and first book, but business — and helping other people be better at it — is what is driving him on a book tour zig-zagging across the country. Sandwiched between events in Seattle and Los Angeles, Gaynerchuk was in Austin on Wednesday for four events (yes, four) in a 12-hour period.
You can’t say the 33-year-old isn’t practicing what he preaches.
Hustle and passion have always been at the heart of Gary Vee’s mission, and his new book, “Crush It,” is a 142-page bible of how to do it. He admits he’s not a great writer, and the book isn’t as infectious as hearing him speak in person, but it’s a good starting point if you own a business, write a blog or are trying to build an audience or consumer base in any way.
Whether he’s talking to a group of several dozen, like at yesterday’s book signing at Cost Plus World Market in Sunset Valley, or several hundred, like at this year’s South by Southwest Interactive Conference, Vaynerchuk’s sermon is the same: Find something you’re passionate about, embrace new technologies, connect directly with your audience and, above all, work harder than you’ve ever worked before.
It’s been interesting to watch Vaynerchuk evolve in the 18 months since I first met him. (I drove him to Houston for an event, which turned into a bonafide road trip with Arby’s, New Kids on the Block and all.)
At first blush, Vaynerchuk seemed poised to become the Robert Parker of wine on the Web, which was why I was so interested in writing about him. He’s still doing Wine Library TV and challenging the status quo that Parker long ago established, but he seems to be drifting from wine even further into the role of a social media and business guru.
He has nine more books to write to fulfill a contract with Harper Studio, and the preview he gave at Wednesday’s World Market event indicated they will be about business and not wine.
So why am I still writing about him on a food blog? As much as I like writing about chefs, recipes, farmers’ markets and gardening, when I’m out and about in the community, so many of you are trying to find ways to be better at whatever you’re doing. The conversations almost always come back to the Internet and how to use all the online tools that are out there to reach our goals.
Look at all the restaurants, grocery stores, liquor stores, home cooks and food producers who have joined Twitter in recent months. It’s like business owners are watching the Web 2.0 train pull away from the station, and they know that if they don’t jump on, they’ll be left behind.
The Internet as we know it has only been around for 14 years. Just imagine what things will be like in another 14 years. Everything from how we buy wine to how we find recipes to how we cook will have evolved.
And even if you don’t own a business, I guarantee that his advice is reflective of how you consume content. If you watch Hulu.com, use your iPhone to find a bar, become a fan of your favorite chef on Facebook or make a restaurant reservation online, you are engaging in this cultural shift.
Vaynerchuk is on a tireless mission to help willing businesses and consumers get on that train before it’s long gone.
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Sandra Bullock loves Austin-made Maine Root
Matt and Mark Seiler, the guys behind the Austin soda company Maine Root, tell me that Sandra Bullock has been special ordering their fabulous fizz at her restaurants across the country.
The Seiler brothers say they was surprised to find out last week that Bullock had given this short ribs recipe that just so happens to use their soda to People magazine. Apparently, she served the ribs at her sister’s book release party at Walton’s Fancy and Staple last month.
I also found out that they are tinkering with some alternative sweeteners to create a low calorie soda for those Diet Coke fans looking for a little more excitement.
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BBQ title on the line at Elgin v. Lockhart football game
Enjoy barbecue and high school football, two of Texas’ most beloved icons, at the first BBQ Bowl before the Elgin and Lockhart football game Friday.
The game starts in Elgin at 7:30 p.m., but at 6 p.m. outside the stadium, four barbecue restaurants from Lockhart and two from Elgin will have samples available for barbecue-loving tailgaters. The city of the winning team will get to display a traveling trophy at the chamber of commerce until next year’s BBQ Bowl.
For more information, call the Elgin or Lockhart chambers of commerce at 512- 285-4515 or 512-398-2818 .
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Free baking classes, plus recipe for cinnamon swirl loaf
As part of a national baking tour, bakers from King Arthur Flour will be in Austin on Sunday for two free baking demonstrations at Embassy Suites, 5901 N. Interstate 35. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., learn about sweet yeast breads, and from 3 to 5 p.m., get tips and recipes for making pies and tarts. No registration required. For more information, call 1-800-827-6836. Can’t make it to the class?
Here are several of the recipes they will be demonstrating.
Basic Sweet Bread Dough
Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion
This soft and pliable dough is suitable for all sorts of shapes, from braids to cinnamon rolls to monkey bread. Soft dough is the secret to soft, tender bread. Yields two loaves.
3/4 cup (6 ounces) warm water
2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. Red Star active dry yeast
1/2 cup (2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup (6 ounces) plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring, or 2 teaspoons citrus zest
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups (19 to 23 1/4 ounces) King Arthur All-Purpose Flour (or substitute up to 2 cups All-Natural King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour)
1 egg + 1 Tbsp. water (for egg wash)
In a small bowl, combine the warm water and 2 teaspoons sugar. Stir to dissolve. Stir in the yeast and 1/2 cup flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until bubbly and active, about 10 to 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, and yeast mixture. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing until the dough comes away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, adding only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the work surface, knead the dough about 5 minutes, until soft and pliable but not sticky. Let the dough rest while you clean and grease the bowl. Finish kneading the dough until it’s smooth, supple, and springy.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, turn to coat all surfaces, cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel, and let sit in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled.
Gently deflate the dough and divide it in half. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest on a lightly floured surface for 15 minutes. Form the dough into desired shapes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush loaves with egg wash and bake until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes, to an internal temperature of 190 degrees. Remove the bread from the oven, and let it cool on a rack.
Cinnamon Swirl Loaf
Roll half the Basic Sweet Dough into a 10” x 15” rectangle. Brush the surface of the dough with egg wash. Cover with half the filling mixture:
For filling mixture, combine:
1/2 cup raisins or currants
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Starting with one of the short ends, roll the dough into a log, pinching the seams and ends to seal them tightly. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Place each loaf in a well-greased 8 1/2” x 4 1/2” loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel and let the loaves rise for about an hour, or until they’ve crowned about 1” over the rim of the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Before baking, brush the tops of the loaves with egg wash. Bake about 45 minutes, tenting with foil the last 10 minutes if the bread is browning too quickly. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool completely on a rack. Yields two loaves.
Permalink | | Categories: Cooking
Oyster Club and Alton Brown: Guess who’s the crabby one?
I don’t mean to pick on Alton Brown.
He’s a nice guy. A fantastic host of “Good Eats” and commentator on “Iron Chef,” and one of the few celebrity (non)chefs I’d get excited about. The commercial-maker turned mad scientist turned head food geek was in Austin on Sunday for a big book signing at Whole Foods. There was a small meet and greet for area journalists and bloggers beforehand. We all queued up, book in hand, to get a photo and have a few words with Mr. Brown.
It’s like I can’t help myself; I knew the man hated all forms of social media, but I asked anyway: “So what do you think of all this Twitter and Facebook stuff?”
Whoops.
He didn’t blow up, as would many celebrities who suffer through a real-life Groundhog Day, answering the same questions over and over at every stop with every star-crazed fan or curious member of the media.
But he did set me straight: No Twitter, no Facebook, no involvement online whatsoever. He and his team spend $20,000 a year to kick impersonators off, he says, and he’s so fed up that he’s ready to take down his entire Web site.
(Cue jaw drop. Thanks for the photo, Sean!)
He’s a nice guy, though, so he went ahead and signed my book and posed for a photo with me, apparently not worried that he’d catch the dreaded social media virus I so clearly am afflicted with.
Later in the day on Sunday, we headed south to the Plant at Kyle for the kick-off party for the Oyster Club, a group that meets monthly (September through April) to explore arts and food in Austin. (Membership to the club benefits the Rude Mechanicals performance group, and Edible Austin always has a strong hand in planning and executing the event.)
This year’s party was as lovely as last year’s, plenty of seafood and locally sourced grub to go around.
Plus, people love an excuse to eat with their hands, so they got to work shucking oysters and ripping open shrimp brought up from the Gulf by Roberto San Miguel.
I really do feel for celebrities like Alton Brown. They make millions of dollars off being their funny, witty selves, but they become so well-known that they don’t really get to do anything but that.
It’s too bad, because I bet Brown would have had a real laid back time enjoying guests and great food at the Oyster Club.
But when you’re Alton Brown, you are the party.
What’s that they say about eating your own cake?
Alton Brown photo by Sean Woods.
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Book tour brings Gary Vaynerchuk back to Austin
Maybe it was the million-dollar, 10-book deal that wine and marketing guru Gary Vaynerchuk made with Harper Studio.
Or perhaps the high-profile story by Eric Asimov in The New York Times last month.
Or maybe that he’s recorded more than 700 videos for Wine Library TV, the video blog that spurred millions of fans to think differently about wine.
But it seems the in-your-face wine renegade, a South by Southwest regular, is finally hitting the mainstream. His new book, “Crush It,” which focuses not on wine but on his style of social media marketing and personal branding, came out earlier this month, and he’s got a handful of appearances slated on Wednesday:
- noon at Cost Plus World Market (5601 Brodie Lane)
- 3:30 p.m. at Texas State University at San Marcos
- 7 p.m. book signing at BookPeople (603 N. Lamar Blvd.)
- 9 p.m. at Omni Hotel downtown for Cork’d Keeps Austin Weird event with Other Inbox
The free tickets to event at the Omni are gone, but I’ve got a couple to give away. Leave a comment about why you’d like to go to a wine tasting Gary Veek, and I’ll contact the winners via e-mail on Tuesday (so leave a valid e-mail address!).
If you miss him during this stop in Austin, rest assured that he’ll be back. Here’s the video we did at this year’s SXSW, and he’s scheduled to speak at next year’s interactive conference as well.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Categories: Beer/Wine/Spirits, Playing with your food, SXSW
Young chefs shine at Driskill cooking competition
Who says kids aren’t excited about cooking?
Sure, sports, video games and Miley Cyrus take up a lot of kids’ time these days, but a kids’ chef competition at the Driskill Hotel last weekend reminded me that children — or at the least the kids at Young Chefs Academy in Austin and Round Rock — really love to cook.
Chef students ages 4-14 created recipes for the contest, and the finalists presented their dishes on Oct. 11 to judges, including me, Texas Monthly senior editor Pat Sharpe, Driskill sales and marketing director Brette Boring and Driskill chef Jonathan Gelman.
At the event earlier this month, the chefs-coat clad kids eagerly described how they came up with their dishes and what they like best about cooking. Sarah Worthen, left, got my vote for the most elaborate story for her dish, Dragon Chow, which, of course, wasn’t made with pasta but with dragon fingernails. (Creativity is still alive and well in the kitchen, it seems.)
As judges, we got to try all the food and pick our favorites. Each of the dishes will be featured on the kids’ menu on a rotating basis at the Driskill 1886 Cafe and Bakery, but Celeste Gaudin, Sarah Kenerson and James Mayberry were the judges’ top picks. Their dishes will appear on the menu for the next year.
The crowd also got to vote, and 6-year-old Ayden Sturr’s chip sandwich won people’s choice.
Celeste Gaudin made Chicken Pinwheels.
Sarah Kenerson and her dish, Sausage Delight.
Brothers Sean and James Mayberry. James’ Fantastic Fruity Fish dish was one of the winners, but Sean’s Wild Salad, the recipe for which he was kind enough to give me after the event was over, was also noteworthy.
Additional photos by Alex Turkovic.
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Living the sweet life at La Dolce Vita
Maybe it was the beautiful weather. Or the smiling chefs serving bite-sized portions of their fine fare. Or the proud winemakers showing off their newest creations. Or the babysitter who made it so my husband and I could have a date night. Or spotting a smooch between Daily Juice co-owner Matt Shook and wife Kelly, who skipped out on the sitter and brought baby Annabelle along.
Something about last night’s La Dolce Vita was special.
Sure, parking was tough, it was packed and, like every year, they started to run out of wine and food toward the end, but the annual fundraiser at Laguna Gloria for the Austin Museum of Art was full of friendly folks who were getting more friendly by the bite (or, more likely, by the sip).
Chefs, such as Bhupender Singh Rawat of Taj Palace, above, handed out samples of dishes that represented their restaurants, which explains why the playful Kevin Williamson and Antonio Vidal of Ranch 616 served fancy Frito pie straight in the bag.
Some of my favorite wine of the night came from Spicewood Vineyards owner Ron Yates, whom I profiled for last year’s wine guide. Yates was eagerly pouring 2008 Touriga Nacional and 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, two of his newest wines. The touriga in particular stood out from many of the wines we sampled.
Sao Paulo’s Restaurante had their own little surprise in the form of these little pumpkins, which were filled shrimp sauteed in red palm oil with cilantro and tomatoes and topped with crispy plantains.
By the end of the night, photographer Annie Ray didn’t have to try too hard to pull people out of their shells in her fun photo booth.
They were already having a good time; she just had the delightful job of capturing it.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Playing with your food
Ed and Susan Auler: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
Ed and Susan Auler of Fall Creek Vineyards split their time between the winery in Tow, northwest of Austin, and the capital city, where they reside. Their winery, established in 1975, was one of the first in Central Texas, and it’s still a leader in the growing wine region.
Their Meritus is considered one of the best reds in the state, and they are so picky about which Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec grapes they use that only five vintages have been released (the most recent in 2004). (At last night’s La Dolce Vita fundraiser for the Austin Museum of Art, I had a sip of Meritus for the second time, and it really is a Texas wine worth seeking out.)
The Aulers are busy folks, pouring at wine festivals and hosting dinners and events throughout the year. Most recently, they put on the Fall Fest in Marble Falls and Spicewood, which raises money for local charities and Texas wine and grape research.
Another Fall Creek fundraising project is two Mission wines, one of which you can see in the fridge. The wines — a 2007 Sauvignon Blanc and 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon — raise money for the restoration of the Alamo.
What three things are always in your fridge? Milk, oatmeal, which we make once a week and just eat every day. There is always a bag of shredded slaw, as Ed Auler likes to eat it several times a week with crumbled blue cheese and apple cider vinegar/olive oil dressing.
What’s your favorite condiment? My favorite condiment is Fall Creek Wine Foods Chenin Blanc Mustard.
What’s the first food/drink you pull out of the fridge in the morning? First beverage I have every morning is one percent milk with my steel cut cooked oatmeal and blueberries.
Fridge photo by Susan Auler; photo of the Aulers by Laura Skelding/American-Statesman staff.
Permalink | | Categories: What's in Your Fridge Friday
How to make Mediterranean Festival’s famous falafel
Everyone in Austin knows that some of the best Mediterranean food in town is served during the St. Elias Mediterranean Festival in October. People flock to the festival, now in its 77th year, for foods like Marie Wakim’s falafel, which the Lebanon-born Austinite has been making for 22 years to help raise money for her parish, St. Elias Eastern Orthodox Church.
Wakim says she never used to make falafel when she lived in Lebanon. “We used to buy it back home, but when I came to the U.S., nobody was making it” like it was supposed to be made. So she developed her own recipe, which she says tastes even better than the falafel she was used to buying in Lebanon.
The festival takes place from 6 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday at the St Elias Eastern Orthodox Church, 408 E. 11th St. Tickets ($5) are available at the gate and at all Twin Liquors locations.
Falafel
2 cups dried garbanzo beans
2 Tbsp. baking soda
5 cloves garlic
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
canola oil
In a pot of water, soak beans overnight with 1 Tbsp. baking soda. Wash beans very well and process in a food processor until beans turn into a paste. Remove garbanzo beans from food processor. In the food processor, mix in garlic and onion until soft.
In a large bowl, combine garbanzo paste, garlic and onion mixture, spices and 1 Tbsp. baking soda. Shape mixture into small patties.
Fry patties in hot oil and serve in a pita with chopped tomatoes and mint or parsley. Serve with tahini sauce (In a food processor, combine 1 cup tahini paste, 2 cloves garlic, pinch of salt, 1⁄2 cup lemon juice and 1 cup water).
Photos by Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman staff.
Permalink | | Categories: Cooking
Grapevine Market in Austin to close in December
Just as we’re all looking for signs that the recession is nearing an end, news travels that Grapevine Market on Anderson Lane will close before the end of the year.
I haven’t had a chance to verify it with the store, but Austinist is reporting that Grapevine Market in Austin close December 15. (No word on the Round Rock store.)
With six Spec’s stores in Central Texas, as well as countless other discount beer, wine and spirit outlets, I hope the holiday season is kind on Grapevine and other smaller, independent wine shops.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Food in the news
Tis’ the season for food fundraisers
Food is one of the best ways to persuade people to open their wallets for nonprofits. Fall is one of the busiest fundraising seasons, especially when it comes to food events. The next few weeks are packed if you’re looking to eat good food and support a local nonprofit:
On Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., the grounds of the Austin Museum of Art-Laguna Gloria, 809 W. 35th St., will be transformed into a scene straight out of an Italian movie set for the museum’s 20th annual La Dolce Vita fundraiser, with food from more than 50 restaurants and an array of wines and spirits. Tickets are $100, $20 more for the cigar-and-scotch lounge. 495-9224, ext. 223.
Oyster Club, an ongoing fundraiser for the Rude Mechanicals performance group, is back for its second year. Membership to the group costs $200 ($300 for two people) and gets you into monthly food and art events from September through April. The biggest event of the year is on Sunday, Oct. 18 at the Plant in Kyle, with locally sourced dishes from local chefs and cocktails.
Slow Food Austin is having its first annual fundraiser Oct. 21 at the Barr Mansion with raw milk cheeses, Round Rock Honey and beer from (512) Brewing. $50, $40 for Slow Food members.
At the Driskill Hotel next week, enjoy great food and drinks from local restaurants and support local young filmmakers at the Austin Film Festival’s seventh annual Film & Food event from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 21. $85, $70 for AFF members. 478-4795.
For the third year, the Austin Discovery School is hosting a Slow Food Feast in the Field dinner at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24 to raise money for the East Austin charter school. Jesse Bloom of Ecstatic Cuisine will prepare a multi-course using local ingredients, most of which will come from the school and nearby Green Gate Farms. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased online.
The Green Corn Project, which builds organic gardens for area families and schools, is hosting its 11th annual fundraiser at Boggy Creek Farm, 3414 Lyons Road, from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25. Restaurants including Wink, Blue Star Cafeteria and La Traviata will be serving food and drink, and three chefs will be teaching cooking classes. There will also be live music, a silent auction. Tickets ($35 before the event and $40 at the gate) are available online and at Wheatsville Co-Op, The Natural Gardener and Boggy Creek Farm. Children under 12 are free.
The Sustainable Food Center has snagged some of Austin’s most renowned chefs for a fundraiser Nov. 8 at La Condesa. Rene Ortiz (La Condesa), Tyson Cole (Uchi, Uchiko), Todd Duplechan (Trio), Shawn Cirkiel (Parkside), Laura Sawicki (La Condesa) and Jesse Griffiths (Dai Due Supper Club) will create the first of a series of chef dinners to raise money for the center, which is in charge of the downtown and Triangle farmers’ markets and a handful of other programs around town. Buy tickets ($150) online.
Slow Feast in the Field photo by Cliff Cheney for the American-Statesman.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out, Playing with your food
Driskill pie contest winner opens trailer on S. Congress
When Jaynie Buckingham won the Driskill Hotel’s Pie Bake-Off last year with her silky Betty Lou’s Buttermilk Pie, she was a nurse with no plans of becoming a full-time baker. But winning the contest was just the push she needed to pursue her passion for pies, she says.
Just more than a year later, Buckingham has walked away from her nursing job to start Cutie Pies, a pink trailer on South Congress Avenue next to the Mighty Cone and Hey Cupcake where she sells mini pies, including the buttermilk pie that is still on the menu at 1886 Café & Bakery inside the famed Driskill downtown.
She says that with more than 500 pie recipes, she’ll rotate the pies on the menu, but buttermilk always will be available. The 5-inch pies cost $5. Whole pies ($15) and custom orders are also available.
Open Wednesday 1:30 to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday noon to 8 p.m.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
After the fall of Gourmet, what’s next for food magazines?
I had a sad reality check last week when reporting on the state of food magazines for a story in tomorrow’s paper.
Like many of you, I was heartbroken at the thought of what the closing of Gourmet would mean for intellectual food writing. You know, the kinds of pieces that invoke a sense of place and personality, the profiles or in-depth articles meant to savor and actually tell a story. It’s the kind of writing that drew me into this whole journalism thing in the first place. I don’t read food magazines just to learn (for the 100th time) how to make a calzone or cut up an artichoke
When interviewing magazine expert Samir Husni, I brought up the gaping void Gourmet left behind for thoughtful, emotive writing about food. Before I could even finish my thought, Samir stopped me: No one cares.
But I care. Legions of friends on Twitter care. The nearly million subscribers to Gourmet — who will now be getting Bon Appetit to fulfill their subscriptions — care.
It’s not enough, Samir says. The masses want celebrities and recipes, not good reads. Long gone are the days when the inner circle of New York magazine editors get to bask in their own intellectual glory and ignore the American public and its incessant hunger for the famous and the familiar.
There are still a few publications where you can find this kind of food writing (Eat Me Daily has this great list of them), but Gourmet closing is a wake-up call to the few of us who care: support the publications that print (or publish online) the kind of writing you enjoy.
The top-down versus bottom-up argument exploded last week when Christopher Kimball, editor of Cook’s Illustrated, skewered the food blogging community in a New York Times’ op-ed piece:
Google ‘broccoli casserole’ and make the first recipe you find. I guarantee it will be disappointing. The world needs fewer opinions and more thoughtful expertise — the kind that comes from real experience, the hard-won blood-on-the-floor kind.
Food bloggers, including Adam Roberts, aka the Amateur Gourmet, were incensed. Roberts offered this reply, including this zinger: “Kimball may consider the food blogosphere a ‘ship of fools,’ but his ship is the one that’s sinking.”
But what exactly is this sinking ship? Cook’s Illustrated seems to be getting by just fine on a subscriber-only model with no advertising, and on the opposite end of the scale, the Food Network Magazine is getting thicker — with more readers — by the month. By Husni’s count, there were more new food magazines launched last year than in any other category.
It’s hard to say for sure, but I imagine there were 200 times as many food blogs started during that same time. Sixty percent of new magazines fail in the first year, and I suspect everyone, including food bloggers, are on the verge of experiencing some level of food blog overload.
So the question to me is, how much generic, often repetitive food content can we consume? What magazine, blog or other publication will pick up Gourmet’s readers? Will the demand for something more than how-tos, recipes and a smiling Paula Deen ever return?
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Food in the news
Hot Links: Austinite in Bayless’ kitchen, Coke teams up with doctors
Rick Bayless may have been the subject of this Chicago Tribune profile, but Austin native Shaw Lash, who is also the daughter of Farm to Table owner John Lash, gets a nod in the article as one of the chefs at Bayless’ Xoco restaurant.
To make us feel even better about the money spent lobbying the people who make decisions about health care, the American Academy of Family Physicians and Coca-Cola teamed up last week. Marion Nestle has some insight into this “embarrassing conflict of interest.”
Apartment Therapy found these cute pot holders that apparently actually work to protect your hands from heat, as well as these wooden stands to display produce.
Feeling pantry burn out? Epicurious has a great list of ingredients, including sriracha and ume plum vinegar, to keep on hand to liven up that next pasta/rice/potato/canned tuna dish.
Remember those microwave mug cake recipes that circled around on blogs a while back? Now you can buy a whole book of single-serve cakes to be “baked” in a mug in the microwave.
Cupcakes and smoothies might be coming to a Taco Bell near you.
People are already buzzing about a new PBS series based on Michael Pollan’s bestselling book, “The Botany of Desire.” (Can’t say the same about Bravo’s “Top Chef” spin-off, “Chef Academy,” which premieres Nov. 16. and is reason No. 9,409 I’m glad we don’t have cable.) “Desire” debuts on Oct. 28.
Speaking of PBS, Austin’s Ross Outon is still hanging on in “The Winemakers.” With only three episodes to go, the competition is getting fierce.
Drink Safe Texas has created customizable coasters with a test so you can see if your drink has been spiked. Reminds me of those strips from the Austin-based company Milk Screen that detect alcohol in breast milk.
On Saturday Night Live last weekend, Guy Fieri gets carried off birds.
Photos from the Chicago Tribune, Apartment Therapy, Fun Foods on a Budget and PBS.
Permalink | | Categories: Hot Links
Kitchen Confession: I like ramen noodles
I eat — and quite like — ramen noodles.
Ramen noodles straight from the bag are pretty blah, but with just a few tweaks, the fried-then-dried noodles can be the base of a downright delicious meal.
Broccoli and sesame oil are my go-to add-ons, but after an impromptu survey on the Interwebs this weekend, it seems you all have some mighty sophisticated ways of preparing one of the cheapest foods in the grocery store (see below).
This week, I’ll need your inspiration. For a story next week, Ian and I are embarking on a seven-day ramen noodle challenge. Can we eat ramen once a day for the next week and not get sick of it?
Unlikely, but we’re sure going to try.
We started yesterday with my standard broccoli-sesame oil ramen, and tonight, we’re making a stir fry.
Many of you said you add vegetables (spinach, asparagus, peas, peppers, green onions, mushrooms, greens, carrots, celery) and an egg or meat (chicken, shrimp or beef, depending on the flavor of the noodles you start with). Soy sauce, sesame oil, sweet chili sauce, lime and even a handful of cilantro also help kick up your ramen.
Christy Cramer has this suggestion for adding an egg to create something similar to egg-drop soup: Add beaten egg while water is boiling, stir with chopsticks so it cooks in “ribbons.”
Ricardo Guerrero ditches the MSG- and sodium-filled seasoning packet and uses spices like garlic powder and paprika instead.
Jenn, aka @treelight, is among the ramen lovers who adds cheese to the dish. (I might have to actually try this to understand its appeal.) Kim chee, the pickled condiment/relish from Korea, with a fried egg are Jenny Wang’s favorite add-ins.
Ramen fanatics have created one of the most interesting online food communities, which find crazy things like these ramen lapel pins or ramen T-shirts.
Ramen blogs abound, which surely will guide us on this week’s ramen binge, but I’m still looking for your suggestions. Has anyone dared try to make a ramen dessert, like this coconut ramen pudding? Do any restaurants in Austin serve authentic ramen? Which grocery store has the best ramen selection? (I was disappointed that my regular H-E-B only had two brands of ramen blocks.) What are your favorite ways to prepare it?
Ramen lapel photo from ramenramenramen.net. Other photos by Addie Broyles.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: 15 Minutes or Less, Cooking, Kitchen Confession
Alamo Drafthouse chef John Bullington: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
The inventive menus aren’t just for show. Bullington’s a serious chef, spending years as the executive chef at the now-closed Mars, and this week, he’ll be serving food alongside some of Austin’s best chefs at La Dolce Vita next week, the annual fundraiser for the Austin Museum of Art that is considered one of the best food events of the year. Word is he’ll be serving shrimp cakes with Drafthouse-turn-Highball chef Trish Eichelberger.
What three things are always in your fridge? Milk, lots of fruit, and sharp cheddar. We have a 2- and 4-year-old and these are the necessities. What’s your favorite condiment? Mustard, I currently have 5 kinds. What’s your go-to late-night snack? Popsicles for sweet or a cheese and pickled jalapeno nacho for savory both are great and easy after a long day
Photo by John Bullington.
Permalink | | Categories: What's in Your Fridge Friday
For farmers, rain isn’t always a good thing
I heard from Jo and John Dwyer of Angel Valley Organic Farm this week with another perspective on all this rain we’ve been getting.
This time of year, farmers such as the Dwyers are trying to get seeds and seedlings in the ground for fall crops. A powerful rainfall can wipe out weeks’ worth of work and put farmers perilously behind schedule.
Dwyer says their farm in Jonestown, 25 miles northwest of Austin, has been hit hard by several back-to-back deluges from the sky, including one stretch of seven inches of rain falling in 12 hours.
“(Last week) the soil was so saturated it delayed some of our fall planting,” Jo Dwyer writes. “Then finally…John was able to till and we scrambled to get as many transplants out of our greenhouses and into in the ground as possible.” That night, a storm dumped more than an inch of rain and nickel-sized hail in 10 minutes, crushing the tender plants they’d just put in the ground. “To say we were devastated is putting it mildly,” she writes.
Another two inches of rain the following day cemented the damage, which meant that the Dwyers would have to start from scratch on that round of planting.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she writes. “We’re thrilled that the lake is filling back up and the drought is getting a good dent put into it. We all need this water from the sky, just not so much in one fell swoop would be preferable!”
Permalink | | Categories: Eating locally
15 minutes or less: Pear sorbet with cardamom, ginger
How do you take a bunch of ugly pears and turn them into something divine?
Just blend them with a little sugar to make pear sorbet. That second-hand ice cream maker I bought a while back is earning its keep in my kitchen with yet another delicious dessert.
I bought a few pounds of nearly overripe pears specifically to make sorbet. After digging around on the Internet, I combined several recipes to make my own treat:
Cardamom Ginger Pear Sorbet
5 cardamom pods
1/4 tsp. ground ginger or a few slices of fresh ginger
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
5 overripe pears, peeled and chopped
In a pan, combine water, sugar, cardamom pods and ginger and simmer for five to 10 minutes to make a cardamom ginger syrup. Let cool. Put syrup and pears in blender and puree. Strain mixture through a sieve and pour into ice cream machine. Freeze sorbet according to manufacturer’s directions. Once mixture turns into a thick slush, pour into a container and freeze overnight.
Note: Adding splash of brandy or other liquor to the syrup will create a softer, more desirable consistency after freezing overnight.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: 15 Minutes or Less
Camping - and cooking - in the rain
To all of you still cleaning off the mud from Austin City Limits this weekend, I can sympathize with the mess.
We skipped the festival this year and opted for a weekend outside the city limits on a two-night camping trip to Colorado Bend State Park.
I’ve waxed on and on about how much I love to cook outside, and this trip was no different, except we had to deal with the same rain that turned Zilker Park into a big muddy mess.
The rain held off long enough for us to cook some late-night eggs and bacon on Friday night and go fishing on Saturday morning, but by Saturday afternoon, the rain had quietly started falling on the park located on the Colorado River.
Good thing that after breakfast on Saturday morning (more eggs and bacon), I started roasting a chicken in our beloved Dutch oven.
After our adventure in not catching any fish (do I look surprised?), we took a not-so-quick trip up to road to Alamosa Wine Cellars, where we picked up a bottle of their signature El Guapo wine to go with dinner. When we got back to the campsite, the chicken was still happily cooking in a stew of potatoes and carrots.
The rain stopped just long enough for us to enjoy our bottle of wine and succulent chicken and vegetables.
For much of the rest of that night and the next day, minus another late-night round of grilling protein over the fire, we were cramped in our tent playing Yahtzee as the rain soaked that part of the Hill Country.
By the time we packed up our campsite the next morning — in the rain, of course — we didn’t have it in us to swing by the final day of the Texas Fall Fest that was taking place at Fall Creek Vineyard in nearby Tow.
Thank the comfort food gods for Country Kitchen in Lampasas.
We rolled in, starving and soaked, and enjoyed some fine Texas fare, including homemade bread and chicken fried steak.
It wasn’t cooked over an open fire, but it was the perfect end to our camping adventure.
Campfire chicken in a Dutch oven
2 Tbsp. oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 onion, chopped
1 whole chicken (cut off the excess fat and skin before you leave home)
3 Tbsp. paprika (optional)
salt and pepper
1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 potato, cut into 1-inch pieces
2-3 cups water
charcoal briquettes, heated
Heat up Dutch oven by placing on top of hot coals (charcoal or wood coals work fine). Heat oil in pan and add garlic and onions, stirring often. Rub the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Push the garlic and onions off to the side of the oven and place the chicken, breast-side down, in the oven to brown the skin. After five to 10 minutes, depending on how hot your coals are, flip the bird. Wait a few more minutes, then add carrots and potatoes and pour two to three cups of water in Dutch oven. (You want enough water to cover the potatoes and carrots, but with enough of the bird above water to continue browning the top.)
Put the lid on top of the oven and place about a dozen already heated charcoal briquettes on top. Cook for at least an hour. Bring along a thermometer to check the temperature in the thigh. Chicken should reach at least 170 degrees (the temperature will continue to rise after removing from Dutch oven).
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Cooking, On the road
Chef John Besh brings tale of New Orleans recovery to Austin
As the recovery continued, he expanded his restaurant empire (La Provence and Luke) and got to work on a cookbook, which came out this month. “My New Orleans” (Andrews McMeel, $45) is more than a collection of recipes; it is a tribute to one of the richest culinary cities in America. He’ll be in Austin on Sunday for a talk and book signing at BookPeople at 3 p.m.
Permalink | | Categories: Cookbooks, Playing with your food
Kitchen Confession: Drinking milk from the carton
This is the first of an occasional series about bad habits in the kitchen.
It’s time I fessed up: I drink milk straight from the carton.
Not all the time, of course, but sometimes, when it’s late at night and all I want is a swig of thick, creamy milk, say, after a cookie or sweet bite to eat. I don’t want enough milk to warrant dirtying a cup, but just one tiny sip won’t hurt, right?
I hid this habit from my parents, roommates and now my husband for a long time, but I suspected that they, too, sneaked a sip of milk or juice here and there without going through the three-second step of getting a cup. I’ve even caught Ian — who has this weird aversion to sharing milk as it is — in the act.
Family members swap so much bacteria as it is, what’s another contaminated surface?
Besides, there’s something deeply satisfying about drinking milk from the carton. I can’t say it necessarily tastes better — it’s the same milk, after all — but maybe it’s rebelling against the nagging motherly voice in my head that tells me I shouldn’t.
Kitchen Confession is a series of blog posts highlighting the bad habits we refuse to break in the kitchen. I can’t be the only person who occasionally cuts up vegetables with a steak knife. My husband, for example, always puts olive oil in water before boiling pasta and, no matter how many times I explain how it affects how well the sauce sticks, washes off the pasta when it’s done cooking.
What’s your dirty kitchen habit? E-mail me at abroyles@statesman.com. Photos are optional, but encouraged.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Kitchen Confession
Alton Brown brings blend of weird science, cooking to Whole Foods
To celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary, Brown has published “Good Eats: The Early Years,” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $37.50) which chronicles the first 80 episodes with recipes and tips written in Brown’s signature funny-man style.
From 1 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 18, Brown will be in Austin to sign copies of the book at Whole Foods Market, 525 N. Lamar Blvd. To get books signed, they must be bought from BookPeople, which will sell them at its store at 603 N. Lamar Blvd. and inside Whole Foods during the event.
Permalink | | Categories: Cookbooks, Playing with your food
UPDATE: Cake Wrecks event at BookPeople, Jester beer tasting canceled
UPDATE: Due to illness, the Cake Wrecks event last night was canceled due to sickness.
Also, if you were planning to go to the Jester King beer tasting at the Draught House on Thursday, it also has been canceled.
If you thought the first birthday cake you made for your mom when you were a kid looked goofy, check out the disasters posted on Cake Wrecks, a photo blog of cakes gone awry.
Jen Yates, founder of the site, just published a collection of the worst of the worst, “Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong,” and will host a talk and cake contest at 3 p.m. on Oct. 4 at BookPeople, 603 N. Lamar Blvd.
To enter the contest, bring in a “wreckplica” of a cake gone wrong on a cupcake. RSVP for the event here.
Permalink | | Categories: Playing with your food
Hot Links: McDonald’s in the Louvre, ‘Top Chef’ casting in Dallas
McDonald’s strikes not once, but twice. Last week, the fast food chain was one of hundreds of Texas restaurants who participated in the Go Texan Restaurant Round-Up, which touted eateries’ use of Texas products. Texas beef may have been on the menu, but Cake Austin wasn’t fooled by this very mixed message.
And what better than the golden arches to complement the Louvre’s iconic glass pyramid? This fall, McDonald’s will open a restaurant in an underground shopping complex within one of the most famous museums in the world.
Everyone from Robb Walsh to Corby Kummer is chiming in on the loss of Gourmet, the National Geographic of food magazines. A stunned and sad Ruth Reichl and staff have 48 hours to pack up and leave. “Sorry not to be posting now, but I’m packing,” she tweeted. Tyler Florence hints that he thought the magazine was “too Gourmet.”
Bravo announced its seventh season of “Top Chef,” with a Dallas casting date of Nov. 11 at Abacus.
By now, most of you have probably recovered from the three-day madness that is the Austin City Limits Festival, but have you gotten over all that bad beer you probably drank? Liquid Austin blogger Patrick Beach did his part to try to convince the organizers of the event that 65,000 people a day deserve better than Lone Star and Tecate.
Austin food photographer Penny De Los Santos’ gorgeous South Austin home, whose light-filled kitchen was designed specifically for food photography, was featured on Design Sponge last week. Don’t overlooked the recipe for spicy radish salad, an incredible dish from Austinite Rachel Lomas.
Did this Los Angeles waiter get fired after tweeting about celebrities’ orders and bad tipping habits?
To promote their new national food blog, Eater offered $25 to the first 25 food bloggers to quit their blogs. Nothing like alienating your readers, Eater.
To curb childhood obesity, New York City schools put a stop to bake sales at schools. Forty percent of elementary and middle school kids in that school district are considered overweight.
“Whip It,” Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, was a flop, according to Statesman movie critic Chris Garcia, but WastedFood.com writer Jonathan Bloom is more upset at the amount of food wasted in this food fight scene.
McDonald’s photo illustration by Eat Me Daily. Radish photo by Penny De Los Santos.
Permalink | | Categories: Hot Links
After 68 years, Gourmet magazine to close after Nov. issue
What a day for food news.
The New York Times is reporting that Gourmet magazine will cease publication after the November issue. After 68 years as one of the best food magazines around (the most recent 10 years with food powerhouse Ruth Reichl as editor), this news is a sad reminder of the changing times.
Yes, the economy is bad, but magazines have been struggling for a while. Ad sales are down. Subscriptions are down. Free content is everywhere, but you can’t find the quality of photography and articles published in Gourmet just anywhere. Especially in Bon Appetit, the “other” food magazine Conde Nast owns.
Few in the industry thought that Conde Nast could continue to publish two food magazines for much longer, but many put their bets on the less-prestigious (and to me, less engaging and enjoyable to look at) Bon Appetit. But when you look at the other food publications out there — Cooking Light, Eating Well, Saveur, Food + Wine, Every Day with Rachael Ray and even the Food Network’s magazine — readers want quick bites, tips, low-fat recipes and dinners they can cook in less than 20 minutes.
Gourmet just released “Gourmet Today,” a collection of more than 1,000 new recipes for “how we cook today.” A great concept and a fine book, I’m sure, but I haven’t seen it. Budget cuts must have forced them to reduce the number of review copies they sent out. (We haven’t received review copies of the magazine in a long time, but I subscribed anyway.)
It’ll be interesting to see what Reichl, a former New York Times restaurant critic, does next. She has a series on PBS that is supposed to air this fall and has had success with her memoirs, but what do you do after 10 years at the helm of the world’s most elegant food magazine?
UPDATE: It appears Gourmet will continue in book publishing and television programing. From an e-mail quoted on LA Observed:
Gourmet magazine will cease monthly publication, but we will remain committed to the brand, retaining Gourmet’s book publishing and television programming, and Gourmet recipes on Epicurious.com. We will concentrate our publishing activities in the epicurean category on Bon Appétit.
As if the news of Gourmet closing wasn’t enough to digest this morning, the Federal Trade Commission announced that starting December 1, bloggers must disclose freebies or payments they get from companies in exchange for reviewing their products.
From AP: “It is the first time since 1980 that the commission has revised its guidelines on endorsements and testimonials, and the first time the rules have covered bloggers. But the commission stopped short Monday of specifying how bloggers must disclose any conflicts of interest.”
This is an interesting ruling that will without a doubt affect the food blogging community. Violators could face up to $11,000 in fines, but I’d really like to know who is going to be perusing the millions of blogs to find out who is breaking the rules.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Chewing the fat, Food in the news
Reader Leon Miller: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
Reader Leon Miller of Austin snail mailed me the most touching letter last week, along with a few photos of his fridge.
Miller wrote that his wife died eight years ago suddenly of a heart attack, and the fridge feature in the paper a few weeks ago made him clean up his fridge. “Married 60+ years, and God didn’t bless us with any children, but we had a very happy life,” he wrote on the yellow piece paper from a small legal pad. He shot photos of it (“Sorry I didn’t use a flash,” he writes) and sent them to me. I put them together and shot this digital image.
No questions this week. Just a look inside a fridge of a nice man who is still mourning his wife. Have fun at — or away from — Austin City Limits this weekend. Be careful and enjoy the people you have the pleasure of spending it with.
I’m always on the hunt for interesting refrigerators. If you want to show off yours, take a photo of it and send it to abroyles@statesman.com. You can also mail photos to 305 S. Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78704.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: What's in Your Fridge Friday
