Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tasty tidbits from the blog
Food writer Lindsey Nair
- lindsey.nair@roanoke.com | (540) 981-3343
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At the end of this column each week, I highlight one topic on my food blog, Fridge Magnet, that might be of interest to readers.
But for every one of those topics, there may be four or five other cooking- or dining-related entries that go unplugged.
For those of you who are missing out on the blog, I'd like to share a few choice tidbits from the past several months.
Favorite recipes
With summer in season, thoughts have turned to fresh garden produce, cooking al fresco and cool treats to beat the heat. Several of the most well-received recipes on Fridge Magnet of late fell neatly into those categories.
Drowning under zucchini and tomatoes? Well, you might want to try the zucchini breakfast casserole, which is rich with ricotta and Parmesan cheese, eggs and fresh basil. Even though it's called a breakfast dish, my father made it for dinner one night and said it was a delicious, welcome change from the usual evening fare.
For that matter, I'm sure it would make a great lunch or brunch dish, as well.
From the pages of the June/July issue of Fine Cooking magazine came a wonderful article by grillmaster Bruce Aidells called "A New Way to Grill: Barbecue-Braising."
In his article, Aidells offers up four different recipes for testing out his method. All four involve coating the raw meat with a rub, then searing it on the grill before reducing the heat and braising the meat in a pot of liquid, also on the grill. Hours later, the meat is transferred back to the grill for glazing.
On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I tried out the Barbecue-Braised Bourbon Beef with Mustard Glaze. Although I realized too late that I was out of bourbon (my grandfather would be so disappointed), the dish still turned out delicious.
Days later, we mixed up the last of the beef with its sweet glaze and a little Sriracha hot sauce for some killer black bean and beef burritos.
Finally, my blog entry titled "Popsicles for ADULTS only!" really generated some attention. In it, I shared a few recipes, also from Fine Cooking, for frozen treats spiked with a little alcohol.
The three recipes are Bittersweet Chocolate-Bourbon Pops, Lemon-Vodka Cream Pops and Sparkling Peach Bellini Pops. Can you imagine how fun a late summer cookout would be if these icy delights were introduced for dessert?
A few of these featured recipes are on this page.
Around the Web
What is a CAFO? An AFO? What is "grass-fed" or "grain-finished"? Do you ever fear that some of these stickers are just slapped on a package of hamburger meat so sellers can jack up the price per pound?
If so, I would like to refer you to a helpful Web site called Sustainable Table. Now, I will not pretend that Sustainable Table doesn't have an agenda. Judging by the name, you can pretty much tell that they are in favor of environmentally friendly, sustainable agricultural methods.
But the resources on their site are worth a look, particularly the "shop sustainable" section. There, you will find a lengthy glossary with definitions of all the buzz words, as well as printable shopping guides you can take to the grocery store to help answer any questions that may pop up there.
Find out more at www.sustainabletable.org.
Help for moms is also on the Web!
A new site called Mamapedia is geared toward mothers of all ages and descriptions, and the content is primarily driven by those readers.
Wondering how old your daughter should be before she's allowed to shave her legs? What to do about a toddler son who wets the bed? Questions like these are asked and answered on Mamapedia.
For our purposes, though, the cooking section is the most interesting. That's where mothers exchange recipes and tips to help them put dinner on the table without sacrificing too much time, money or nutrition.
Whether you love to cook or don't know a teaspoon from a tablespoon, Mamapedia probably has some cooking advice that will resonate with you.
Find the site at www.mamapedia.com.
You can help!
First of all, you already have helped -- nearly 300 readers filled out our online iced tea poll, telling us how the refreshing beverage has figured into their lives.
Data delivery editor Matt Chittum is crunching the poll data now, and I hope to share our findings within the next few weeks.
On another note, the newspaper received an e-mail last week from a Chicago resident, Bernie Talley, who recently was in Richmond on a business trip and drove to Roanoke and back just so he could try Stephen's Restaurant on Franklin Road.
Talley reported that he and his wife had an enchanting experience at Stephen's. Both the food and service were above par, he said.
The e-mail reminded us that while we often devote attention to new restaurants, Southwest Virginia is home to many old stalwarts that have been succeeding in a tough industry for years.
Longtime residents may easily overlook these eateries, and newcomers may not even know they exist.
Maybe it is time for our restaurant reviewers to revisit some of these old standby places to see how, if any, they have changed over the years.
If you would like to nominate such a restaurant for a review, please shoot me an e-mail or call me at 981-3343.
